A good painting starts with a good drawing. Having a developed drawing saves lots of time and frustration later on.
Don’t copy photographic reference slavishly. If you do, you might as well trace. Use it as a reference or inspiration, but mainly use your knowledge of anatomy and proportion to create the drawing.
Don’t draw what you don’t have to. There’s lots of detail that you can leave out.
Simplify. Simplify your lines, your values, your anatomy.
Often you have to change the lines as they appear in reality, since reality isn’t trying to make a good picture. You have to look out for tangents, you have to overlap to show depth, and you have to place your lines rhythmically so they harmonize with the picture as a whole.
A good color scheme begins with a good value scheme. Limit your values to 3 or 4.
Limit your highlights. They draw attention to themselves. Use that attention where you need it most.
Hard edges advance. Soft edges recede.
If you aren’t composing your pictures using classical principles, you should have a damn good reason.
Cast shadows have hard edges. Shadows that show turning form have soft edges.
Look for reflected light and color.
Vary your line weights.
Imagine the figure in 3 dimensions. Draw it that way. Draw through the form.
Take your own reference photos when you can. That way you can have exactly what you want and you can be sure no one else has used the same photo.
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