Getting Lost between Sketch and Linework?

[LittleBlueberryCake]

I am still new to art in general and I only draw once in a while.

I don't know if there is something I am missing or if I have just not yet the skills it takes but I tend to get stuck between the sketch and the linework. When I finish the general idea of what I want to sketch I look at it and always feel like I need something more before I can go to doing linework. Especially since I'm bad at linework. On top of that, I still do not understand how clothing works in drawing and if I need more lines for folds and stuff before I can go to the finishing steps.

The particular piece I'm stuck on currently is this:

To make sure you understand my level this is the direct reference that I mostly copied after posing my character:

Once again I am stuck so I thought I come here and just ask some people with more skills and knowledge. What is the best thing to do when stuck between the sketch and the linework? Is there are a method to get a better understanding of the general picture before starting the finalizing? Am I missing something or is it just practice, practice, practice that can help to get unstuck?

[Kelheor]

Basically the answer to everything is one - more sketches If you can't draw line art immediately after the first sketch - you most likely need 1-2 (maybe more and it's okay!) cleaner sketches between them, not just a few lines you probably have as your first sketch!
The same goes for understanding the general picture or learning how to draw folds - as you said it your story, you just need to draw more of them, and it's more efficient to draw more sketches than immediately jumping into line art. I will definitely recommend looking for photos and tutorials for that though, not 3D art, because 3D can be more stiff and give you wrong understanding of folds, for example. Also try actually "building" something before jumping into lining with simpler figures, it will help you with better understanding how the limbs/hair work, where they are growing from, how they can bend and how they can't, etc.

[LittleBlueberryCake]

Thank you for the reply~

I was hoping I was just missing something but it looks like there is a whole different world being getting from a sketch to linework. I will make sure to look into these things. I always thought I was lacking something because I can't draw freely level something simple as an apple if you show me a picture and I have to copy it I still have trouble and I could never draw it from thought so I thought there was a step that I was missing.

The biggest problem is I mostly work in 3D and don't really translate it into 2D and the picture is important to get this specifically done that's why I even started but now seeing how difficult it is to get from A to B I might be better of not doing it. I want to learn though so I do appreciate the help~~~

[river121693]

remember also that everyone's brain works differently. Some people's brain are better at visualization than others.. I personally need like atleast 3 sketch layer before I can do the final linework, but there are some artists who can just draw straight on a blank paper. You just have to find strategies that works for you and continue practicing.

Translating 3D and 2D especially, is a difficult but fundamental skills. Something that might help is if you look up tutorials on breaking down 3d figures/objects into shapes, and learn about line overlaps. Your line work reminds me a lot of how junji ito draws using contours. It might be good to study his works

[LunarScyphozoa]

Doing a rougher, smaller sketch for your sketch can help but that seems to be what everyone else is saying so I won’t just repeat it. One thing that usually helps me is turning down the opacity of the sketch layer a lot so you can see where your lines are going better

[Lensing]

I had that problem and things got easier for me when I understood that I have to stop
drawing the outlines and drawing "symbols" and start thinking 3d, draw shapes and construct
things that I draw.
When I used to sketch with drawing the outlines it always looked flat when I did the linework,
I also didn´t understand hair or how clothes work. That´s problems you can easily solve
with understanding construction and how shapes work

A good example is drawing a neck and a collar. It never looked right, I couldn´t figure out why.
It was because I didn´t understand what I was drawing, how it is constructed and how to draw it,
I was just eyeballing outlines and hoping that it turns out right. And you can apply that to everything
in drawing, legs, eyes, hair

[TedGravesArt]

There's a lot of great advice in here that mirrors some of the advice I'd give, so instead I'll give you something wholly different.
It seems like maybe you're letting the inking stage intimidate you. I had the same issue when I was a younger artist. It felt like the inking stage was permanent and if I screwed up it would ruin all my hard work. This made it difficult to get from sketches to inks, and when I did ink, it was stiff and personality-less. What I didn't realize was that you can treat every stroke like water, even on your final lines. Mistakes can be fixed. Lines can be changed. Digital lines can be erased, traditional lines can be painted over with white out. These days my pencils are left rough and I "find it" in the inks, so to speak. Be bold dude!
Sometimes the best course of action is just to begin. If you draw more frequently you'll figure out what kind of process works best for you.

[system]

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