>>754587
cont'd:
Nevertheless, you can't just study old masters and draw from life in just any willy nilly way. Understanding and applying the concept of Construction is crucial. Let's take a look at your Gustav copy: in it, you are "seeing it" much clearer than with the anime pic that I assumed you drew mostly from your head. However, there's still some symbolism sneaking in because of a lack of understanding of Construction. You see, you're just copying the piece. Outlining it. You're not studying the underlying forms and structures of the the figures and animals. I've attached the original you've copied from for reference.
Pay especial attention to the central mounted knight in the middle swinging his mace: notice how in the original, the arm holding his mace is going over his head towards the viewer. In your version, said knight's mace holding arm is going over his head towards his back away from the viewer. This is because you just copied the outline rather than drawing the arm as a foreshortened cylinder going towards the viewer.
I've attached two additional pics to demonstrate this concept further. Notice how in the drawing of the standing figure, and the reclining figure, the artist is not just outlining or copying - the artist is breaking the figures down into simplified shapes and planes in order to understand how the figures exist and behave in three dimensional space.
A good beginner book on the concept of Construction is this:
https://www.amazon.com/Fun-Pencil-Everybody-Easily-Learn/dp/0857687603/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1547166738&sr=1-1&keywords=fun+with+a+pencil
Don't write it off as some old-timey kiddie book: it teaches powerful fundamentals, and I consider it a formative book in the development of my own drawing skills.
If you want something meatier and more advanced, go for this:
https://www.amazon.com/Figure-Drawing-Invention-Michael-Hampton/dp/0615272819/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1547167451&sr=1-1&keywords=michael+hampton+figure+drawing+design+and+invention
Also people have recommended Bridgeman in this department. I personally found his stuff a bit obtuse, but YMMV. Plus, Frazetta is famously said to have learned from it, so if it's good enough for him, it should be good enough for you:
https://www.amazon.com/Bridgmans-Complete-Guide-Drawing-Life/dp/1454926538/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1547167672&sr=1-1&keywords=Bridgman
If you want another good book that specializes in head construction (which is in fact, the golden standard of head construction that most artists learn), as well as those devilishly difficult hands, go for this:
https://www.amazon.com/Drawing-Head-Hands-Andrew-Loomis/dp/0857680978/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1547166738&sr=1-2&keywords=fun+with+a+pencil
If I were you, I would either go back and redo that drawing, or if you're burnt out by it, do another Gustav drawing you like or something else by one of your heroes, or something from life, and instead of copying/outlining it, break it down into shapes and planes, and try to understand it on the level of how it fits into three dimensional space.
TL;DR: Draw from life, break free from symbolism, study your heroes but not too slavishly, utilize construction in your training and studies, and find your voice!
I hope this helps. God Bless!