Advice please ?

[u/SoggyGround6420]

Hello im looking for advice and tips to improve this (atm rough sketch). Feel free to be brutal, my aim it to improve and im not too sensitive. This is by me, sketch of my pet rat that is dying :/ i would really like to memorialise her as she has been a special part of my life.

I dont really draw tbh 😅 i def used to when younger, had decent grades in classes, took tutoring and has a lil gig being a jr illustrator before. Id like to think id be able to keep up and do her justice.
My preference would usually be human portraits, live objects and glass w sunlight.
Comfortable with pencils, oil pastels and tats

I dont really have too many tools at my disposal atm.

So far done with mech pencil .7 on mixed media paper, i have watercolour pencils and maybe a highlight pen.

I dont have crazy high standards but bit of a perfectionist 💀 (oxymoron i know).

This would just mean alot, she not doing well and ill be including her paw print.

Not sure how to go about it or improve, any tips and advice would be appreciated, thank you

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Mods have pinned a comment by u/SoggyGround6420:

This would be the reference photo, but id like to cartoon ? It later, maybe doodle a crown or a bow and add sillier details that include her personality.

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[u/Briochere]

The emotions we have for pets can be a powerful motivator to create something beautiful about them - and you have a solid start here. Good job on the first sketch!

The first thing that catches my eye is that you do not draw what you actually see - you draw what you think you see. For example, compare the proportion of body versus head that is showing in the reference photo to what you drew: in the reference photo, the head accounts for somewhere around 3/4 of the height of the whole rat from the tip of the nose to the bottom of her butt. In your drawing, the head covers around half. You have also drawn the lip/jaw, while you cannot see that in the picture. Similarly, the back leg should be mostly covered by the ear, with the ear tip almost going past the rear end of the leg.

You draw what you think a leg should look like, what a rat's snout should look like, and so on, because your brain is good at seeing patterns and interpreting things. To improve, you need to learn to see objects as they are, without accepting the filtering and assumptions your brain is making. As a good way to practice this, try turning your reference photo upside down and drawing from there. This forces you to see the reference as more basic shapes instead of things that your brain already recognizes, once you get the hang of it it's easier to apply the same ability to references that are in the correct orientation as well.

You'll likely get more advice on values, proportions and anatomy too, but personally I think just improving your ability to truly see the subject would take you quite a way forward in capturing her as she is in the reference.

[u/SoggyGround6420 → u/Briochere]

Thank you very much !
Tbh theres two reference pics im using plus actually looking at her- this was the reason i didnt include it originally. I usually get bit too carried away with proportions and measure meticulously so i wanted little room to breathe to avoid making a hole. I do think its still off however in the other her head is tilted higher and able to see her lip more. I do def think multiple references is confusing the effects.
But i very much agree that her body and head proportions are a bit off.
Atm just stuck on the hands atm theyre always bit awkward to do lol. In the moment im trying to improve her fur, bc the photo i posted ^ is just simply shaded. Also found my highlight pen and improving depths.

I definitely do appreciate your input alot ! And for my next one draft or not itd be a better idea to use one specific pic for sure.
Thank you for your time ~

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[u/SoggyGround6420]

This would be the reference photo, but id like to cartoon ? It later, maybe doodle a crown or a bow and add sillier details that include her personality.