The "Serious Business" Critque Thread- Art

Better?

Definitely, keep it up.

Recently managed to finish this piece. It's a fanart for The King Killer Chronicle.

I know I messed up with the hands' positioning because I can't find a suitable reference for, but let me know if there's anything else I could improve in (and if anyone has a good tutorial for the hands, I'd greatly appreciate it as well).

I did a redline for you. On the left I sketched out your anatomy so you might see it better; on the right I did how I would draw it. I automatically went into dancer mode so I had him supporting her as a partner might in ballet, which is why their arms are positioned a bit differently. I didn't bother with third person, sorry.

Thank you. Here's◊ an attempt to fix things a little, although I did not follow the redline that closely because that would require me to redraw almost everyting, but hopefully the perspectives and position look more plausible. Not sure what to make of the fingers, so I made it up, but I think it's weirder than the previous one, because of the more unconventional angle.

(In hindsight, I probably should have used an actual image of a dance duet for reference, instead of copying the pose of one person — which isn't even that of a dancer, nor an actual photograph, for that matter — and intersposing the other one to match her position)

And never mind about the third person. I just added him to invoke Left the Background Music On trope, just because.

edited 6th Feb '15 12:14:51 AM by eScore

That's better. But the positioning is inherently flawed, as she is off balance. I would say don't be afraid to draw it over again. I realize that might not be the most fun idea, because that probably took you a very long time. Make note for next time and try to catch flaws in anatomy before going to the final stage where redrawing will be a huge pain.
How does this girl look? I tried to draw realistically from wholecloth. I know the ear and hair are whatever, but focus on the face. (x)

edited 6th Feb '15 4:55:28 AM by piearty

So I did a sketch I was pretty happy with, but I still haven't properly figured out photoshop. Most tutorials seem to be navigating photoshop's interface, but I could really use some advice as to how to shade and colour using photoshop. Also, are there any issues with the proportions?

edited 11th Feb '15 9:29:47 AM by VincentQuill

By shade and colour do you mean using Photoshop layers with blending modes? In that case I suggest Ctrl + Paint's videos. But if you mean understanding how light and colour works, then try Gurney's book and a good number of observational paintings.

About the horse rider: the size of the spear doesn't seem to make a lot of sense; if its tip is on the other side should be smaller. Also, pay attention on anatomy, the character feels very flat (which I assume is unintentional) and his left foot seems more like something being seen from the back rather than the front.

I meant just how to use Photoshop to shade and colour (though colour in traditional stuff is not exactly a strong point either). Both look like really helpful resources, thanks!

As for the rider, not sure I understand what you're saying about the spear but I agree the rider overall looks quite flat. Perspective isn't my strong point, but usually it looks a lot better after it's been shaded. Any tips as to how to make it look less flat before shading? Also thanks for pointing out that foot. I tend to ignore feet and legs when fixing my anatomy.

The biggest thing shading in Photoshop is dependent on doesn't have anything to do with Photoshop itself. The best recommendation I can give you would be to study the principles of colour and light that can be applied to all media. And reference a lot too, of course. :D I second Gurney's book, it's great. Utilising atmospheric perspective when shading will also help you add depth to compositions like yours.

Oh, I have something to contribute too this time: http://dizzyzebra.deviantart.com/art/Sea-Princess-513483794

Any help is welcome.

On the topic of light and colour, that's some really nice use of light and colour. Overall composition and posing looks nice too. The clothing could use some texture, but the flow is really nice. Maybe some more contrast on the face to give better form? Really nice, anyway.

@Vincent Quill: Great details, and I like the overall design of his body paint. I am, however, slightly bothered by how much bigger his right leg looks compared to the left. His right knee in particular seems to be a lot further down than the left one, so I'm not really buying it as a show of perspective. Also, a bit of a nitpick: the horse's abdomen looks way more rotund than the rest of its body (for reference, Eurasian steppe peoples historically relied on small, stocky horse breeds). Overall, though, great concept and great composition.

@d!zzzyzebra: ...Her face is coloured in a really weird shade. That's about all the critique I'm qualified to give because, honestly speaking, the whole thing is awesomeness in pixel form. Great job.

And now: character design, character design, character design, vector character design. Take your pick!

edited 7th Mar '15 9:00:16 AM by eagleoftheninth

Thanks! Yes I should probably be more careful with leg shapes and proportions. I need more practice with them. As for the horse, I was using the Connemara pony◊ rather than Eurasian steppe horses like the Mongol horse, but I see where you're coming from.

I like those designs, they're all a little flat-looking but I think it kind of works with the style.

edited 7th Mar '15 11:36:28 AM by VincentQuill

I think this one turned out okay. Using colour makes things a million times harder, but I'm pretty happy with how it went. Not too happy with the pose though, and I'm kind of unsure about the proportions. Are the arms okay?

Your proportions look pretty good to me! I do think the foot in the front is twisted out a bit too much, I tried replicating it just now and it's a bit tough (but maybe I just have inflexible ankles?) Also on the color, I'd suggest using white and black sparingly when creating shadows and highlights. Since they're not saturated, it makes the colors look duller even when they shouldn't be. But this is getting into color theory which I don't think I can explain well....if you search for color theory tutorials there should be good guides online though!

Good point on the foot, I didn't notice how twisted it would have to be to look like that. Also looking into colour theory is definitely something I should do, I tend to forget the 'Don't use black or white!" rule of thumb along with most of the guidelines about how to shade with colour.

The top half is...acceptable if a little stiff. The left arm is held out a bit awkwardly rather than resting naturally like the right arm. The bottom part is the problem. I did a quick overlaid sketch of the anatomy. Their pose is strange and unbalanced. It's certainly a doable pose, but it's awkward. I imagine you didn't intend for it to look like this, and rather have their leg straight out in front of them; however the boot is skewed leading to this interpretation.

The pose is intended to be a bit stiff, but I see from your redline that it's quite a bit stiffer than intended (thanks for the redline by the way, it's really helpful). I think I need to practice doing legs (and pose in general, but especially legs) because that seems to be an issue that comes up a lot.

I'm trying to colour.

Suggestions? (Her limbs didn't look nearly that long when I scanned it. o_O )

Yeah the arms are very long, but the rest of it looks okay to me. Maybe the head could be a little higher? I'm not really sure. In terms of colour, it's very simple (not in a bad way!) but I presume that's what you were going for. If you wanted you could add a few more layers of tone and shade, but as a cartoon-y type of image it's fine as it is. I probably would have done more shadows on the legs and boots as well as maybe the arms, though.

I think it's pretty good but I think a little bit of shading might give it more life.

I would love some criticism on this piece. I am trying to improve my body drawing skills this year

It's a sketch of supergirl (done on an iphone).

edited 26th Mar '15 9:22:03 AM by RPGLegend

I like the face, and the body overall isn't bad, just veeeery skinny. I know it's stylised, but she has a very long and slender abdomen even for a stylised figure. The body pose etc. works though, and I like the sketchiness.

Thanks a lot! I think that was totally a mistake instead of style. It helped a lot for sure .

Do you ever just get reeeaaally lucky with your shading? Anyway, any proportional issues other than the conspicuous lack of one arm and a head?

It's difficult for me to be sure because his trousers are so dark and baggy, but the impression I get is that those are his knees just above the bottom of the image... if that's the case, either his pelvis is really tall or he has unnaturally long thighs. :P I also thought his upper arm was a little short at first, but after looking at it a bit more I actually think he has enormous shoulders.

...I'm not really sure, but I think his abs are a little large, or go too high on his torso, or something? I really like how you've shaded them, though.

(Oh, and thank you both for your comments about 644! I wasn't trying to do anything too complicated, just practice. I think I need to shade her stomach as well, which should make it more clear that she's supposed to be in a sort of half-crouch, and that might make her neck and torso look more proportionate.)