(zdravo being Macedonian for 'hello' it's the closest thing I know to Russian)

As you can tell, I'm new to these wonderful forums and though I'm usually one to avoid self-introductions, I'll give it a shot here because I come here with a purpose - to improve my lion king art!

I watched The Lion King two weeks ago for the first time since I saw it in the cinemas during its debut. Since then I've rewatched scenes of it maybe 10-20 times, and somewhere along the line I decided to try and draw some TLK characters' faces/heads. I sucked, obviously, so I started copying from stills of the movie to try and figure out how the disney animators would go about drawing Simba or Nala from scratch.

I've done 15 referenced sketches and 17 unreferenced so far, and boy was I finding it hard to make the unreferenced ones look authentic!

And so here I am, thanks to a tracking-down of a fantastic TLK drawing of Sarafina's that I found on the net. Man - is she crazy or what? Crazy good that is, not crazy crazy.

Granted, this forum doesn't seem to be exclusively committed to C&C of TLK art, so I won't treat it as such, buuut I can't rule out relentless questioning of the artists on this forum about how they got to be so good!

P.S. this isn't a cold-hearted using of TLK as a tool for improving general sketching ability, I really do love TLK heaps (the original, mind you). I can't post any major art for about a month because of year 12 exams coming up real soon. It will come though!

Welcome to Pridelands! Please be as at home!
It is very good, that you are interested in a theme of art in TLK. I shall be very glad to look at your art when you can show it. Also I hope with examinations at you all successfully!

Ah, I, too tried my hand at TLK art. It didn't come out as well as Sarafina's (and you're right, she does have some crazy talent - crikey!), but my continued labour eventually produced something of quality. Practise, practise, practise.

Welcome to the forums! Please enjoy your stay.

Welcome, Yuichi!!!

We hope to read you so much and watch your artwork

OK, I managed to hold off drawing anything beyond the usual head sketches of simba or nala for about 24 hours... But after finding some useful pictures of Sarafina's lion(ess) skeletal guidelines, I managed to formulate my own (well, copied off Sarafina) set of guidelines for the body of a lion such as Simba!

And so I've now drawn my first un-referenced full-body sketch of Simba! Not too shabby, I reckon. There are plenty of mistakes, and I'd be much obliged if anyone could point out how to fix specific errors. You know, since the errors are so obvious and all .

My personal take on this sketch is:

1) The nose is tilting down too much.
2) Simba is actually a bit smaller and younger than this (whoops!)
3) The forelegs are quite wonky on the front edge.
4) The back legs' ankles need to be higher.
5) The neck is... too thin? I think.
6) ... I should have done this sketch on something with less typing on it

Also, should I make the dimensions of the attachment a little smaller next time? I don't know what the etiquette on that is. Yet.

[edit: Argh! Forgot to add the whiskers! Next time I shall]

Actually, that's not too bad, really. Better than what I could usually do for drawing a body. My only quip is that he looks to be underweight... which would probably be aesthetically correct, considering his diet consisted of bugs for the greater part of his cubhood.

Hah, yeah that's true - he does look a bit emaciated. I was going for 'lean' or even 'athletic'... Next time I'll get the line of the chest/stomach a little lower to add some meat
I reckon I could get rid of some loose skin if I shortened a couple of the lines of skin near his shoulders and hips, maybe? I think loose skin makes the skeleton a bit more jutting which makes him seem super-skinny.

2 Yuichi wellcome ! ur sketch is nice!

The best way to improve oneself is to keep doing what you like to do. Keep drawing. Each new picture you create gives you more experience.

Have you considered opening an account on fanart.lionking.org?

'Keep drawing' is my preferred method since it's the most fun. I'm gonna try and reference from actual lion muscle/skeletal anatomy diagrams too though. I think it's always helpful to be able to work from a realistic point of view downwards into the more stylised... styles.

As for fanart.lionking.org, I will open an account, but not just yet - I already have a DeviantArt account and I majorly neglect that one. I'm gonna restart seriously sketching after the 20th of November (when my exams are over). I didn't want to just open a lionking.org account with the promise of great (or mediocre) things to come 'cos I already did that with DA

Yuichi Zdravo, zdravo))) Perefect scetch)) I see you like a prof. artist)) ))) And can you take you link? its very interesting to see your art)))

Well, the sketch is far from perfect and I am far from a professional artist, but thank you for the flattery Bandit in Orange

And if in saying "can you take you link" you mean "can you make an account at fanart.lionking.org" I sure will - in a months time! *bwahaha* but seriously I have to concentrate on my exams for now.

Keep up the good work.