Drawing Tutorials & the Like

Some good stock accounts on DeviantART:

( first of all, stock accounts are run by very kind people who take professional or semi-professional photographs of themselves to help artists to get inspiration or find models and/or pose reference )

http://senshistock.deviantart.com/

Sakky’s gallery is versatile and especially if you draw character designs or concept art, her stock photos will give you great ideas.

http://imperialstarletstock.deviantart.com/

ImperialStarlet has a similarly versatile gallery but she has a few interesting poses you might not find in Sakky’s gallery. 

http://reference-library.deviantart.com/

A gallery featuring many stock images and tutorials that are meant as reference. They have expression stock images, turnarounds…etc. Worth checking out.

http://md-arts.deviantart.com/gallery/23846147?offset=0

Need a few cool pose reference for an awesome male character? Check out MD-Arts’ few shots of male models. ( some images on the page I linked and some on the second page )

http://skydancer-stock.deviantart.com/

Need to draw an old wizard or king? Skydancer is your man! Unfortunately you have to be a DA member to view some of his photos, that have the “mature content filter” on. Both nudes and semi-nudes fall under that category.

http://mostlyguystock.deviantart.com/

Guys have really good stock galleries too. Check his out, it’s quite versatile and holding sword/knife/other weapons are included.

http://kxhara.deviantart.com/ 

She has some very nice archery stock photos and turnarounds - male included!

http://felixdeon.deviantart.com/ 

If you like to draw theatrical scenes with males, Felix’s stock gallery is for you! A special note to people who draw maleXmale couples: the gallery has “simulated sex” and other couple related photos ( it’s also a special note to homophobic people; if you are uncomfortable with the topic, do NOT visit the gallery ) Since most stock images are nude photos, the mature content filter is on. You can only view these photos with a DA account. The titles usually tell you right away what to expect.

http://kristinkk.deviantart.com/ 

Interesting poses often of very muscular people. Some nude, some not. The bodybuilder ladies are good to study muscles.

http://justmeina.deviantart.com/ 

Very good gallery to study human anatomy, draw artistic nudes. Versatile and mostly male body oriented gallery. 

http://raine-angelstock.deviantart.com/

Probably the best stock account if you want to draw mermaids! Yes, mermaid reference photos! I bet your life is complete now :D

http://action-stock.deviantart.com/

This stock gallery will mostly attract the comic artists who seek references for fully clothed action poses of males and females.

I will post more once I get to sit down and organize my own bookmarks =_=

PLEASE ALWAYS READ THE STOCK ACCOUNT’S TERMS OF USE!! This is very important! Never use the stock in ways, that the owner and creator did not agree to!

This may only be a preference but I always draw a custom grid in Adobe Illustrator.

The software has an in-built gird however a self-drawn grid has a few advantages over the in-built one.

If you are using AI, you probably know, that hovering over a shape will show you it’s anchor points, intersection and center point. Well here’s the really cool thing about this feature:

When you create a grid of squares with the rectangle tool and lock the layer, your cursor will immediately show you the 4 anchor points, the intersections and center point of each square. 

Have you ever drawn on squared paper? It’s basically the same routine however it becomes much easier to place anchor points exactly where you want them, without having to worry about slipping further. 

In AI, when two shapes meet, the program shows you exactly when and where they fit - when you draw a shape over the grid, the same happens. AI will show when you hit an anchor or center point, when lines are aligned…etc. Basically you gain better control over your shapes. 

If you are drawing an A/4 illustration, it might come off as a hassle to create the custom grid but in reality the copy/paste makes it very quick and easy. 

I usually use a grid made of 5X5 mm squares because it imitates regular squared paper.

As I wrote, the grid is easy to make:

1. open a new artboard

2. depending on your preference create a [number]X[number] mm ( pixel or inch ) square using the rectangle tool

3. copy/paste the square 4 times and align all squares in a row. Copy/paste the row 4 times and align them into a small grid.

4. I advise to group the grid and copy/paste afterwards. Normally I create a row and just keep on copy/pasting until the page is filled

5. select the whole grid and choose a light color for the outline ( this is mainly to be able to differentiate between the grid and your actual vector shapes )

6. Lock the layer and start your drawing on a new layer.