I got a Tablet as a Christmas gift and I whipped up a drawing of my Cataclysm character Nate, without his gear. What do you all think about it? Honest, constructive criticism is helpful!
[quote=“Closet Pankin, post:241, topic:4055”]I got a Tablet as a Christmas gift and I whipped up a drawing of my Cataclysm character Nate, without his gear. What do you all think about it? Honest, constructive criticism is helpful!
[/quote]His head looks a little off, like it is too far back from where his shoulders should place it, kind of like he is recoiling in surprise/fear. Might just be the turtle neck making it look odd though. Otherwise, a fine job. Better than I can draw, and much better than I can do with a tablet (I never got the hang of mine at all.)
[quote=“Taikei no Yuurei, post:242, topic:4055”][quote=“Closet Pankin, post:241, topic:4055”]I got a Tablet as a Christmas gift and I whipped up a drawing of my Cataclysm character Nate, without his gear. What do you all think about it? Honest, constructive criticism is helpful!
He’s supposed to have his head back like that, yeah. And I guess the silk scarf obscured that.
Pankin! I think your pic looks fine and with further arting, you will see anatomical details settle into where they look best (be it by leaning towards realism, or towards how your style develops).
I think the picture just needs some basic shading. I speed-tossed some onto your pic just to see what would happen and here is what I got after a couple minutes:
So like, the sort of shading that implies interior details without having to use more lineart (which makes people look over-detailed or really old and line-y)! Noses and lips benefit from this a Looooooooooot. So I think the main thing your pic needed was some shading to lessen any flatness. 
Also I am very sorry if colouring on a copy of your work was unwarranted and unwanted. I can always edit this post to exclude it if preferred.
[quote=“Pthalocy, post:244, topic:4055”]Pankin! I think your pic looks fine and with further arting, you will see anatomical details settle into where they look best (be it by leaning towards realism, or towards how your style develops).
I think the picture just needs some basic shading. I speed-tossed some onto your pic just to see what would happen and here is what I got after a couple minutes:
So like, the sort of shading that implies interior details without having to use more lineart (which makes people look over-detailed or really old and line-y)! Noses and lips benefit from this a Looooooooooot. So I think the main thing your pic needed was some shading to lessen any flatness. Also I am very sorry if colouring on a copy of your work was unwarranted and unwanted. I can always edit this post to exclude it if preferred.[/quote]
Oh wow, that looks fucking amazing! That’s what I felt was missing when I drew it 
any tips for getting shading right? I can never seem to put it in the right place.
Edit: And dude, please, don’t sweat it. I’m just getting started and you doing this means more than you know! I’ve enjoyed your artwork, and very much want to improve.
Start taking selfies with a strong lightsource pointed at your face. Start drawing your selfies. A lot. Eventually you’ll get an instinct for it.
Start taking selfies with a strong lightsource pointed at your face. Start drawing your selfies. A lot. Eventually you’ll get an instinct for it.[/quote]
That’s a good idea. Thanks!
Super quick pixelart time! I’m probably going to animate the picture so that Jakers winks, breathes and looks around and that stuff - kind of struggling to do that but here it is. It’s super small I know xD
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OH gosh yeah, work with strong lighting from single sources to start. I had the benefit of a really long art unit where we drew objects and cloth drapery with such setups. Really, what you need to know is the shape of the object you’re shading. Then you can figure out where shading goes.
A well-drawn object will often not have every detail drawn, but implied. There’s a lot of implying in art. This is why sketches with the groundwork visible often have way more lines than the finished and cleaned-up product - they help describe the intended object shape so the artist can choose which ones to draw in explicitly, and which to imply.
To that end, here is a pic I drew up with basically nothing but groundwork:
The top four are me constructing a generic male head shape. Note the sphere with it’s sides shaved to make the base for the skull. Also note the ‘cross’ on the front which determines where the face is looking, and roughly where the eyes will go and where the chin ends. I add in details in a very geometric fashion. This makes easy lines I can soften later, and allows me to think of what I am drawing as a 3D object much easier.
[size=7pt] (This is what happens when I read how Loomis does it, and oversimplify. I have ommitted guidelines for placing facial features with a good sense of proportion for the purpose of this tutorial. I have stopped using them personally, since I’ve drawn so many damn heads a lot of it is style/instinct now. This tutorial is just for thinking in 3D and lighting.)[/size]
So yes. The head is now an outline with unfinished, simple chunks with mostly-flat planes. With this, it becomes much easier to decide where shadows go. Pick a direction for your light source and go. You may find shadows overlap to almost completely obscure a good chunk of the face you’ve drawn interior details for. Don’t be afraid to leave these obscured if the lighting is extreme. The silhouette the shadow creates will heavily imply what should be there, and an observer will assume correctly. Again, lots of implying in art.
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The first bottom one might be comparable to outdoors in the sun: lots of reflected light so the surfaces are mostly unshaded, but parts that are much deeper (under eyebrows, inside the ear) get very dark very quickly.
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Second one, indoors with a bright window or lamp, maybe. To make it more extreme, I only used light, and very dark. Notice how the nose both is dark on one side, and casts a shadow that covers more of the cheek beside it. The man’s left ear and sideburns would not be drawn in if at all, but the silhouette tells us where they would be anyway.
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Third one may have errors of my own making, this is a weird angle that doesn’t come up a lot. It mostly highlights how parts of the object closer to the light source can completely obscure details above them. For instance, the upper cheekbones and eyes both become totally darkened, because the jaw and lower cheeks stick out so far that no light makes it to them. The upper eyes/underside of the brow however, jut out enough to again be very bright.
Actually, let’s go with “All of these pics are imperfect”. I used no references. However, I get away with things looking passably okay, because enough has been implied to get the ideas across.
Implication is your hero.
Sorry to interrupt, because this chat is going really good and i am actually learning stuff. Just needed to post this. But please, please inore and keep chatting!
[spoiler=Work In Progress]
Know the game?[/spoiler]
Battle Block Theater?
A gem for the gentleman!
A gem for the gentleman![/quote]
Now I just need two more to get one step closer to save Hatty Hatington.
[quote=“Jakers, post:248, topic:4055”]Super quick pixelart time! I’m probably going to animate the picture so that Jakers winks, breathes and looks around and that stuff - kind of struggling to do that but here it is. It’s super small I know xD
[center][/center][/quote]
There’s some weird jagged areas in the head there, and the proportions are really off, especially in the body. Other than that, it’s okay.
Also, Battleblock Theater!
This is one of those drawings that it does not matter if it’s liked of not. I had a lot of fun doing it!
You make good use of perspective (AND PERSPECTIVE LINES TO PLAN IT OUT AHEAD OF TIME) so you have my envy, StopSignal.
I’ve been attempting to use a real perspective grid for this art trade I’m assembling but good golly. For someone who can disassemble objects in his head, I have the worst time making an environment sit still and viewable from one angle.
People who post their WIP’s in addition to the finished product are the reason I ever learn anything about making art.
[quote=“Pthalocy, post:256, topic:4055”]You make good use of perspective (AND PERSPECTIVE LINES TO PLAN IT OUT AHEAD OF TIME) so you have my envy, StopSignal.
I’ve been attempting to use a real perspective grid for this art trade I’m assembling but good golly. For someone who can disassemble objects in his head, I have the worst time making an environment sit still and viewable from one angle.
People who post their WIP’s in addition to the finished product are the reason I ever learn anything about making art.[/quote]
Woah, thanks!
To be honest that’s all that i can do. Perspective is incredibly hard! Nothing to envy here d:
Aren’t you pushing yourself too much in that trade? Because woah, you are struggling there!
And yeah, works in progress are awesome! Especially when you get to how each detail is slowly drawn.
Here’s a trick for perspective.
Make sure it all fits in the front, and don’t be afraid to cheat in the back.
In the end, what matters is consistency. You’re not making a scientific illustration that requires 100% realism. You can cheat in the back.
Just don’t make mistakes like magically growing/shrinking floor/ceiling tiles… hahahahah, those are the worst.
Yeah I got it down now. I went and napped some and I realize my biggest problem with perspective this evening was in fact having a fever. Oops!
Figured that lacking anything else, I could post some of my recent doodles.
Small dump:
If you care, this is what the drawings are, clockwise from upper left:
-Random adventurer guy
-The archaeologist from my last post
-Random face.
-Several sketches of the masked guy (including one that looks like a card illustration).
-A colored sketch of the same guy.
-A fancy glaive.
-John and Ann.
-A knight from Dark Cobaltblue
