Portfolio Zero learns to draw!

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Hey everybody, I'm learning to draw! By which I mean I'm going to teach myself to draw! How will I do this? By just doing it!

Spoiler: Why am I doing this?

To be honest, I really don't want to draw, I have very little interest in it right now. However, as I've been preaching a lot lately, I am a firm believer that any human with the requisite body parts, time, and motivation can at least not-suck at any physically possible task. I'm putting myself to the test with this by teaching myself to draw, since I have at least one working brain, one working hand, and one working eye.

Something I recommended to someone else a few months ago who declared "I wish I could draw Eevee" was that they should just sit down and draw a bunch of Eevee. 133 of them, to be exact, arbitrarily chosen because Eevee is #133 in the Kanto Dex and National Dex. Now, I don't like Eevee very much, so I'm choosing something else that I do like. Ditto is too easy, Jigglypuff's eyes are too hard to start with, Steelix is too complex, Crobat is too dynamic. How about Accelgor? Yes, Accelgor! It's got curves, it's got lines, it has no fingers, it has chances to practice shadows as well as perspectives on curves, and maybe even some emotion too!

Now, Accelgor is number 617 in the National Dex, and where I am now, I don't got time for that. However, it is #123 in the BW Dex and #158 in the B2W2 Dex, so this is what I'm going to do: I'm going to draw 123 Accelgors, and if I'm enjoying it still at that point, I'll keep going to #158. Not "I'm going to try to draw 123", but "I am going to draw 123 Accelgors". It will be done, because I'm motivated to prove a point that I'm not full of crap.

Spoiler: How am I doing this?

I'm a big fan of setting milestones for myself. For instance, when I'm doing leg-lifts and sit-ups, I'll tell myself to do another 25 and 50 of each. When I'm in pain after 10 and 15 more, I keep going, no matter what. So even without knowing what I'm getting myself into, I'm setting parameters for myself, and they will be as such:

01-19: Basic outlined Accelgor, looking at the image, but not tracing. Going based on the official Sugi art.
20-49: Basic outlined Accelgor, not looking at any other images while drawing. I'll refresh my memory, but won't look at any pictures at the same time. This will give me opportunity to try new things and develop style.
50-69: Emotions and personality. I'm telling you now, one of these will be a Ditto-faced Accelgor.
70-99: Shading. This part really scares me, since out of all of my lacking art skills, this is by far the worst. I think I'm going to do pencil shading on ink outlines.
100+ Whatever I feel like doing, as long as it's Accelgor.

I'm going to photo/scan these as I fill a full sheet of paper each and welcome commentary. This isn't me trying to show of mad skillz, it's me going on a journey and keeping a journal for anyone interested.

Spoiler: A few things I'd like to mention:

1: I don't have a tablet or anything like that, so direct digital uploads are not an option, but I will be scanning ink drawing on paper. This also means no ctrl-Z.
2: This is completely honest my best drawing skill. I am not holding back. I dropped out of Freshman Art in high school... in my senior year.
3: I'm very busy, but if I don't upload anything for about two weeks between, please bug me about it. If I quit early, shame me to no end and call me a quitter. Petition an admin to change my username to "faker" "hypocrite" "loser" "quitter" "charlatan", or whatever seems appropriate. I *will* draw these, so I don't even know why I'm mentioning this ultimatum.
4: If you have any tips or ideas, I welcome those. If you have any criticism, I welcome that too. If you want to tell me that I suck, just make sure you pair your trash talk with an upload something new that you're trying for the first time too. Like, uh, a video of you trying to do a standing backflip. Or your first ever fanfiction. Or documentation of the first time you tried to change a car's oil and filter. Gotta be the first of any of these though.

AND LET'S BEGIN!
First post: 01-06 commentary

01: This thing is a monstrosity. I almost regret starting this. Almost.
02: Proportions are terrible, but it's less monstrous.
03: Holy. Crap. I actually like this one. This is the first drawing I've ever made and enjoyed!
04: started with the torso and arms this time.
05: Started with the head curves, realized I made the line way too close. But then I converted it into a green stripe! Surving without ctrl-Z!
06: Tried a new pose with no guide, as well as shading. The body shading works okay with pencil, but the head? Not so much. I actually have an idea of something stylish I might try in the 100+ though. Anyway, I'm pleased with this first attempt. Oh, and my obligatory haiku.

Spoiler: 01-06

 

A few more done this morning, after I've lost the temporary muscle memory I gained with the first six.

07 - started with the arms. Not terrible.
08 - a preview of how a black outline could look, but I like the glide of my red pen better
09 - oh gods why...
10 - trying something new, a mirrored image. I think it turned out fine.
11 - I like this one, it has attitude
12 - that lower face is terrible
13 - that upper face is terrible
14 - I should have taken a break after 11

Spoiler: 07-14

 

So to get your clarification on this, are you suggesting I do body parts separately and fully, like how the head is still there behind the collar and how one arm is folded under the other; and then just outlining the final result while still gaining experience and comprehension from drawing the complete form? I can see how that would help will fuller and more consistent anatomy, so I think I'll give that a shot, unless I'm misunderstanding and you know an even better strategy.

 

My next few are done! After way too long of not keeping up with this, I'm back to it. For now, at least. See attached.

Spoiler: 15-19

15: rough, getting back in the swing of things.
16: breaking it apart for focuses
a: Arms: I still hate how I can't do these. Remind me to learn shadows later.
b: Face: My best face yet. If only I could copy it into a layer, resize it to match scale, and Frankenstein a good one together.
c: Leg: Trying to look like slightly loose wrappings. I like the finer tears of the "fabric" over the very jagged tears of the official art.
17: ugly face. I don't like this, but I think my fabric tears are on path to being better than official.
18: focus on torso and head, since the scarf and foot I think I have well. The arms don't totally suck, and it has some personality, maybe the bigger eyes help. And still, the head is way too tall. I tried to have him look forward, but it just didn't look as good as facing back.
19: started with a large circle for the head (not fully erased), to try to get a better head shape. I mostly think that worked. What didn't work is the scarf, right after I brag about feeling like I have it done well in 18. Still need to work on the arms, and I feel I'm getting the foot better. I'm going to start drawing him as if the foot part is empty fabric, just loose excess laying flat on the floor. Tried to give a slight banana shape to the forehead cross, and I think it helped.

15 and 19 taking @Gwoomy's advice on getting a rough shape done first, and then working from there. It was more helpful in 19, after I was awake again.

After this is number 20, which according to my blind gameplan is to spend the next 30 drawing Accelgor while not looking reference while drawing. I want to use that limitation to learn to be more independent and self-defined, but we'll see how that goes. Will Zero be stylish and creative with is endeavors, or will he be too afraid to try something new? Stay tuned to find out!

Thanks for the encouragement, @EveryoneWhoCommented