[QUOTE=Bynine;49452958]oh yes, absolutely! i'm big into french and japanese illustrators. here's some of their ([url]http://blackyjunkgallery.tumblr.com/[/url]), ([url]http://airfortress.tumblr.com/[/url]) work (NOTE THIS IS NOT MINE:)[/QUOTE]
Okay cool. Love the samurai and the guy with the big cleaver. Anyway, I think you're pretty close in finish and in quality to the last piece there, so if you're happy with that just continue how you're going. However I do find that probably the least interesting of these examples, maybe you should abandon colour or any sort of fill entirely and try pushing the linework itself in a couple of different directions? Most of what you're showing us is all about the lines, that's obviously something you're into, so try to light your character using line.
you might try to define a couple of rules for yourself per attempt, one version might have no lines thicker than a certain width but the shadows are all blacked in, another might use no straight lines at all, everything in contour, another could be mostly straight lines hatched, etc. etc.
[QUOTE=kirederf7;49454764]I would really like some crits on these before I continue. Obviously not finished but I guess you can see where I'm going with this right?
[IMG]https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/49828537/Art/paints/040116raven3.png[/IMG]
This was just a quick color test, might go with more of a moonlit nighttime setting.
[t]https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/49828537/Art/paints/040116raven3color.png[/t]
Also finally managed to do some clouds :v[/QUOTE]
It's really difficult to see where you're going with it actually. I have no idea what you're trying to say. Everything you do should be saying something - even if it's a personal sketch with no focal point, a quick painting of a field or some other inactive subject (or if you're just playing with shapes in thumbnails and a composition comes out of that without any premeditation), everything you do should have an aim. You're not doing it to kill time hopefully, you want people to remember your work. So try to capture what is exactly that appeals to you about that field for example. Does it make you wish you could have a picnic there, or do you want to roll down a slope because it the grass looks so lush and cushioned, or is it a certain time of day or weather which you like (or dislike, maybe it's a scary bleak field). The point is to decide what quality of your subject you want to portray - don't think "giant raven" and then give the viewer exactly that - a big raven with nothing else and nothing going on and no mood and no one cares.
Following this train of thought you can start designing your composition to a purpose. What you have is this:
[img]https://i.gyazo.com/bd42c0e64b74c3f4b7c870395f6e509f.png[/img]
The terrain + raven silhouette at the bottom are quite nice and work pretty well with the proportion of the rest of the space, but the clouds element is really awkward. It's going into the crow and coming back out. You can't follow it because it's interrupted, which is irritating to the eye. Even if we COULD follow it nicely, it would lead us straight out of the top corner of the image. Aside from composition, it doesn't behave like a cloud, it looks like smoke in its pattern but is painted like a cloud. Plus it tapers downward, as though it came out of a spiraling crashing aircraft or something. The cloud demands more attention than the raven.
Anyway back to purpose, the first thing I consider is that a huge raven would swallow people like a normal raven would swallow insects or whatever. So it's dangerous. Now I have an aim in mind when composing, to put the stress on the potential danger:
[img]https://i.gyazo.com/acce698c3086c5c7a28addab55cd33a0.png[/img]
I've put a mountain in which repeats the shape of the rock to strengthen the design and also provides a sorely needed background - your comp had no horizon, just a bit of land and then nothing beyond (except a baffling cloud formation). I've suggested some cloud at the top with the notion of squeezing down the amount of visible sky and making it feel a bit more oppressive. Then I added the road, which gives us the scale for the raven and also tells the story - without any action taking place the bird seems threatening now because it's watchfully inhabiting a location where there could be people travelling. This isn't a sophisticated comp but I think it's working - if I wanted to make a piece out of this design I would be confident going forward with it. I can already imagine the mood, the colours, the weather. The purpose is there.
incidentally in silhouetting the bird it looks like it could be turned away from us, watching something over the rise which we cannot see, which is kind of cool.
[QUOTE=MakoSkyDub;49450017]Mirroring does not look good and is a technical cop out
[/QUOTE]
Most of those images were concepts for a project i was working on, so, i was creating them that was so i can correctly get the size of the characters. Though, if you want something that wasn't using symmetry.
[IMG]http://puu.sh/mjYSz.jpg[/IMG]
made Agent 2 from Splat◔◔n
[img]https://49.media.tumblr.com/c090a80fede791b0d254a2b9caf5c258/tumblr_o0gos0LfIO1twjo1jo1_500.gif[/img]
[img]http://i.imgur.com/akwe2IG.png[/img]
Decided to try and draw the new Godzilla design since I'll have to accept it one way or the other
been playing too much IL2 BoS
[img]http://i.imgur.com/RyMje55.png[/img]
[IMG]http://puu.sh/mkafB.jpg[/IMG]
Mr and Mr Smiley.
[QUOTE=MakoSkyDub;49457215]Okay cool. Love the samurai and the guy with the big cleaver. Anyway, I think you're pretty close in finish and in quality to the last piece there, so if you're happy with that just continue how you're going. However I do find that probably the least interesting of these examples, maybe you should abandon colour or any sort of fill entirely and try pushing the linework itself in a couple of different directions? Most of what you're showing us is all about the lines, that's obviously something you're into, so try to light your character using line.
you might try to define a couple of rules for yourself per attempt, one version might have no lines thicker than a certain width but the shadows are all blacked in, another might use no straight lines at all, everything in contour, another could be mostly straight lines hatched, etc. etc.
It's really difficult to see where you're going with it actually. I have no idea what you're trying to say. Everything you do should be saying something - even if it's a personal sketch with no focal point, a quick painting of a field or some other inactive subject (or if you're just playing with shapes in thumbnails and a composition comes out of that without any premeditation), everything you do should have an aim. You're not doing it to kill time hopefully, you want people to remember your work. So try to capture what is exactly that appeals to you about that field for example. Does it make you wish you could have a picnic there, or do you want to roll down a slope because it the grass looks so lush and cushioned, or is it a certain time of day or weather which you like (or dislike, maybe it's a scary bleak field). The point is to decide what quality of your subject you want to portray - don't think "giant raven" and then give the viewer exactly that - a big raven with nothing else and nothing going on and no mood and no one cares.
Following this train of thought you can start designing your composition to a purpose. What you have is this:
[img]https://i.gyazo.com/bd42c0e64b74c3f4b7c870395f6e509f.png[/img]
The terrain + raven silhouette at the bottom are quite nice and work pretty well with the proportion of the rest of the space, but the clouds element is really awkward. It's going into the crow and coming back out. You can't follow it because it's interrupted, which is irritating to the eye. Even if we COULD follow it nicely, it would lead us straight out of the top corner of the image. Aside from composition, it doesn't behave like a cloud, it looks like smoke in its pattern but is painted like a cloud. Plus it tapers downward, as though it came out of a spiraling crashing aircraft or something. The cloud demands more attention than the raven.
Anyway back to purpose, the first thing I consider is that a huge raven would swallow people like a normal raven would swallow insects or whatever. So it's dangerous. Now I have an aim in mind when composing, to put the stress on the potential danger:
[img]https://i.gyazo.com/acce698c3086c5c7a28addab55cd33a0.png[/img]
I've put a mountain in which repeats the shape of the rock to strengthen the design and also provides a sorely needed background - your comp had no horizon, just a bit of land and then nothing beyond (except a baffling cloud formation). I've suggested some cloud at the top with the notion of squeezing down the amount of visible sky and making it feel a bit more oppressive. Then I added the road, which gives us the scale for the raven and also tells the story - without any action taking place the bird seems threatening now because it's watchfully inhabiting a location where there could be people travelling. This isn't a sophisticated comp but I think it's working - if I wanted to make a piece out of this design I would be confident going forward with it. I can already imagine the mood, the colours, the weather. The purpose is there.
incidentally in silhouetting the bird it looks like it could be turned away from us, watching something over the rise which we cannot see, which is kind of cool.[/QUOTE]
Great crit! I'll work on it later today and keep in mind what you said! (I was so proud of my clouds :cry:)
[QUOTE=kirederf7;49459096]Great crit! I'll work on it later today and keep in mind what you said! (I was so proud of my clouds :cry:)[/QUOTE]
Can't wait to see it
[QUOTE=Deathtrooper2;49457267]Most of those images were concepts for a project i was working on, so, i was creating them that was so i can correctly get the size of the characters. [/QUOTE]
I don't understand this reasoning haha
[QUOTE=Deathtrooper2;49457267]Though, if you want something that wasn't using symmetry.
[IMG]http://puu.sh/mjYSz.jpg[/IMG][/QUOTE]
I think you're clinging to the whitish forms coming out of complete blackness cuz it's easy to make something okay looking and punchy and also to conceal your mistakes and weaker areas. I also think you're not fooling anybody (no offense lol) you should just start learning to paint properly if you're interested in painting
someone asked me to draw a sexy nazi... with a cape.
[t]https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/32719274/Phone%20stuff/ilse.jpg[/t]
So I did... uuuh I tried. It's Ilsa - She Wolf of the SS.
I lack the right pen nib right now, so its mostly white blobs.
[QUOTE=salmonmarine;49458044]been playing too much IL2 BoS
[/QUOTE]
Play more. I want moar
[QUOTE=MakoSkyDub;49460384]I don't understand this reasoning haha[/QUOTE]
There isn't really anything wrong with using symmetry for just doing character concept stuff and working on silhouettes, at least if it's something that isn't supposed to be an actual piece and just reference
[QUOTE=Mindfuck;49462686]someone asked me to draw a sexy nazi... with a cape.
[t]https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/32719274/Phone%20stuff/ilse.jpg[/t]
So I did... uuuh I tried. It's Ilsa - She Wolf of the SS.
I lack the right pen nib right now, so its mostly white blobs.[/QUOTE]
The white highlights everywhere in your drawings are not really working. In this one it looks like random chalk marks, and on the mulder picture it looked like something else lol
[QUOTE=Eric95;49464278]There isn't really anything wrong with using symmetry for just doing character concept stuff and working on silhouettes, at least if it's something that isn't supposed to be an actual piece and just reference[/QUOTE]
There's nothing "wrong" with hundreds of inadvisable things. Doesn't mean you shouldn't do it a better way.
plus symmetrical silhouettes look as bad as symmetrical characters
[IMG]https://40.media.tumblr.com/4d547f2342e1c02eba4fd4e7b52be68a/tumblr_o0i1e1XTns1rzx4geo1_1280.png[/IMG]
did some fanart of a webcomic.
Some silhouettes.
[img]http://i.imgur.com/DvtiI08.png[/img]
[QUOTE=lintz;49455510]i think it just needs some happy little trees in there to convey a better sense of scale. rocks are notoriously bad for scale[/QUOTE]
Eye level and detailing of areas outside of the focal point (think tilt shift) can be sufficient alone to suggest scale, especially if the rocks and grass are painted in a way that supports that. I think if you want to add trees or a person or some kind of known scale indicator then that makes it easier, but it's certainly not required.
[QUOTE=MakoSkyDub;49464442]
There's nothing "wrong" with hundreds of inadvisable things. Doesn't mean you shouldn't do it a better way.
plus symmetrical silhouettes look as bad as symmetrical characters[/QUOTE]
If you're talking about the pure design of a character outside of their pose, then there's nothing wrong with symmetry. Use it when it's appropriate.
For actual internal iteration, if working with symmetry is what gets your ideas out quickly and efficiently, and if it allows you to produce good iterations, then do it. Showing to producers and clients - sure, fancy it up, strike a pose. But there are a lot of times where symmetry can be used well
I really don't get the "right and wrong" line of thought. Why do people like to play devil's advocate so much here lol? As far as I'm concerned people can do whatever they want, that's tacit. it's not "stop doing that you naughty boy" it's just what I actually said - mirroring looks bad. And it does lol. Let's leave it at that, no need to argue for somebody's right to do it
I mean, it's not like there's really anything better to talk about besides actually posting the art.
[QUOTE=MakoSkyDub;49464442]The white highlights everywhere in your drawings are not really working. In this one it looks like random chalk marks, and on the mulder picture it looked like something else lol
[/QUOTE]
Ya, I know. But someday I'll figure out what the fuck I am doing.
[editline]6th January 2016[/editline]
[t]https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/32719274/trumpler.jpg[/t]
delicious
Did a quick repaint of the background following the crits, going to change the stance of the bird a bit i think, might open the wings or something like that.
Better?
[IMG]https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/49828537/Art/paints/raven4.png[/IMG]
correct me if i'm wrong, you're going for a big, intimidating crow, right? because i don't think the pose or composition are doing you any favors. it's certainly the focal point but it takes the eye a while to notice that it's supposed to be large (a more appreciable landmark like a tree or person would help matters), and it takes up such a small space of the composition that it feels less oppressive and menacing and more random and incidental. just my two cents
Not an artist, but it might help if the 'camera' angle, or the perspective, is a bit lower and wider. Make the crow feel more menacing and 'towering' above the viewer.
also before i forget
[QUOTE=MakoSkyDub;49457215]Okay cool. Love the samurai and the guy with the big cleaver. Anyway, I think you're pretty close in finish and in quality to the last piece there, so if you're happy with that just continue how you're going. However I do find that probably the least interesting of these examples, maybe you should abandon colour or any sort of fill entirely and try pushing the linework itself in a couple of different directions? Most of what you're showing us is all about the lines, that's obviously something you're into, so try to light your character using line.
you might try to define a couple of rules for yourself per attempt, one version might have no lines thicker than a certain width but the shadows are all blacked in, another might use no straight lines at all, everything in contour, another could be mostly straight lines hatched, etc. etc.
[/QUOTE]
thanks, this is great advice! i've been experimenting with straight ink, using lines to tell value and dimension, and it's much more satisfying than trying to do it digitally. hopefully i'll have some results soon
I'm just going to start over, I have something in my mind. I hope you guys will like it. Thanks for the crits!
throwing together an idea i had for something vaguely post apocalyptic
[t]https://41.media.tumblr.com/f3b93e10aa1b75261d8a971fd3133ed4/tumblr_o0jyq6qldh1r3e2fho1_1280.png[/t]
[QUOTE=Biscuit-Boy;49467692]I mean, it's not like there's really anything better to talk about besides actually posting the art.[/QUOTE]
Maybe you have the time to quibble about redundant things, I don't
[QUOTE=kirederf7;49469390]Did a quick repaint of the background following the crits, going to change the stance of the bird a bit i think, might open the wings or something like that.
Better?
[IMG]https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/49828537/Art/paints/raven4.png[/IMG][/QUOTE]
The composition is much better, but to make the piece work you'll need to do more than a quick repaint lol, you didn't really touch the foreground. If you painted all the stuff closer to us to make it look the size it's supposed to be, the idea will start to come across more. Also I think the bird might be a bit too absurdly huge, it's 20 storeys tall or something... I know you've already said you're going to start from scratch but I think it would be worth continuing with this one, it has the potential to be effective. Go on though, I'm interested to see how you would compose the idea again
[QUOTE=kirederf7;49469390]Did a quick repaint of the background following the crits, going to change the stance of the bird a bit i think, might open the wings or something like that.
Better?
[IMG]https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/49828537/Art/paints/raven4.png[/IMG][/QUOTE]
It would be nice to see something happening with the wings. There such a godd asset.
[QUOTE=MakoSkyDub;49471851]Maybe you have the time to quibble about redundant things, I don't[/QUOTE]
mako bb i crie :( :(
I'm just saying, there's always going to be new people coming to the thread so these kinds of discussions are bound to repeat themselves at some point. And you don't have to respond to something if you don't think it's worth your time, you're here on your own free will after all
I made a mascot for a software library I wrote for work.
[img]http://i.imgur.com/3aLgLKD.png[/img]
I'm only back on FP to help people in this thread with their work, I don't want to be sucked into pointless arguments that nobody gains anything from. But when silly replies are aimed at you it's pretty difficult to leave them with the last word, because it makes your previous post look wrong and if people get that impression then you wasted your time writing the helpful thing in the first place aaaaaah lmao
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