A suggestion: Try drawing a "skeleton" outline of the character using very light pencil/pixel strokes, before you actually put in the inked lineart.

In your original piece, the actual outline of the "skull" is too small in proportion to the body. The hair gives the illusion of it being the right size, but in fact the way you drew the hair, it rests on top of the head like an oversized wig.

@ XPAWNED01

hmmm... there's some anatomical/proportion problems still. I'd draw up a quick guide for anatomy, but it's late and I have work tomorrow Ah, the demands of a 9-to-6 job...

I'll probably write up something a bit more detailed tomorrow. Send me a PM, so I actually remember

That's where the anatomical problem is. Frankly, unless she's a gymnast and/or double jointed, she can't twist the body to that extent. You can feel this yourself: lie down on a flat surface (bed or floor, doesn't matter), on your back, with your chest facing the ceiling. Then, making sure your shoulders remain touching the flat surface, twist your lower body (legs and hips) to one side.

You'll find that you can't really turn your torso and lower body to more than a 90-degree or right angle turn to each other (that is, your chest/torso facing the ceiling, your hips twisted to the side). Unless of course, as I mentioned, you're extraordinarily flexible. Even then, not more than a 120-degree angle. Any more, you risk snapping your spine. >.<

Anyway, point I'm trying to make is that considering the angle of her butt, you should only be able to see the side of her body. Certainly not both her breasts at the same time!

Not my tutorial, but the angle illustrated in this manga drawing tutorial fits closely enough to your sketch, with just some slight differences (the character in the pic has her arms facing forward)

Female perspective tutorial, by legendra on deviantArt

Hmmm.... Game sprites might not be a good place to refer for drawing figures, but a live model or a photographed model would be pretty good reference

My take on the same pose, but with more realism. You can compare the two to see the difference.



You might be wondering: Why does she have such strange hairstyle? Why is she wearing cowboy boots? Why is she carrying a fantasy sword?

My answer: Why not?

Anyway, I did give her a skimpy outfit on purpose, so you can see her body shape and probably use it as a reference. Also, doesn't hurt to show some skin

My opinion? Knowing how to achieve realism is actually key to making characters lifelike. Once you know what the rules are, you'll also know which rules can be bent, which can be broken, and which are ironclad. Manga art is largely a highly-stylized medium, but even in manga, you need to know basic things, like how the human body works, etc.

After all, even in chibi form, you don't stick the arms on a human character in the middle of the torso, no?

Definitely not me. I prefer flesh and fabric to metal and machinery