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Frank's Thread - Update #4
F87
So Say We AllRegistered User regular
So Say We AllRegistered User regular
Hi all,
I'm going to post most of my personal work here. I really need to make sure I'm not collecting bad habits.
General feedback would be great, please don't hold back!
I really need to finish more personal art, but work is keeping me pretty busy. :?
Thanks for any help!
I'm going to post most of my personal work here. I really need to make sure I'm not collecting bad habits.
General feedback would be great, please don't hold back!
I really need to finish more personal art, but work is keeping me pretty busy. :?
Thanks for any help!
F87 on
0
Posts
What???
hahahahahahaha
thank goodness!
What a great start to my shiny new thread. :P
You guys...
As far as critiques go......I'd probably just sound like a broken record...you need to branch out more, I think, and do more dynamic poses. The shirtless-guy doodles are a really good start - you should do more of those. You also need to think more out-of-the-box with your clothing designs. Look at the wackiest-ass runway fashion you can find. Look through (and buy) books on fashion through the ages, clothing trends around the world and in different cultures, and look at professional concept artists' designs, try to analyze them, and try to put yourself into the same mode of thinking. If you see a design where the clothing is pretty normal and traditional...but is made much more interesting through the use of scale, for instance (making sections much much smaller, and making others much larger), try to think about what they did, and how you can mimic that idea in your next piece. Combine different cultures' styles to create something new. Base the clothing off of a bird (as in, the silhouette or anatomical aesthetic of a bird....don't draw the dude in a bird suit) or something. Pick an environment/setting and think about a list of character designs you can make for that setting (emperor and his court? military designs - grunts/mercenaries/special ops? humanoid creatures? slaves? common folk? town mayor? marketplace people? children of the impoverished? children of the wealthy? The town idiot? The resident senile old man who collects moldy loaves of bread to plant in his garden? etc. etc. etc.....the possibilities are endless, and all offer unique design ideas).
Also think about the style or "look" that you're going for..."fantasy" could be a lot of things...think about all the games and movies that are of a fantastical genre...the design aesthetics can be RADICALLY different! Same with a sci-fi genre, and etc. Star Wars and Star Trek have distinct design aesthetics in comparison to one another....as do LOTR and WoW, for example. You have to think about what you're aiming for...making multiple things that fit the same "look" would also be good practice for you, I think - an environment, few characters, a few props, and a creature or two, or something. See if you can make it obvious that they all come from the same world.
Try to figure out ways to think about your designs differently. You're going to be hired based on your ideas, so you'd better learn how to wow them. Rendering, and adding one standard bit of generic shoulder armor, and a belt with some things hanging off it it...is not going to wow your potential employers. You need to come up with stuff that is new and original. Show them you can come up with unique things that others can't.
That's a lot to think about. But you're right, I really need to focus on the concept of what I'm doing a lot more. I've always struggled with that! Even though different cultures (and their fashions) always interest me...
I appreciate the advice, I will put it to good use!
Awesome! That would be a great exercise. I must study this intently! Thank you.
I really am an extremely picky eater as well.
Thanks, Scos. I will try!
I guess it shows! I was following his process tutorial while working on those.
Thanks, Mayday. I will definitely study PSG some more.
EDIT:
I found a reference and tried again:
Also, threw down some quick colors on this:
Going to do a nice healthy exercise tonight after work.
However, it's not very practical is it? I like it though.
I like the top part of her outfit, it's cool-looking.
You visit conceptart.org, right? You know what I'm talking about. Something more like this? There are actually only a few ideas in here, but he's mix-and-matched a whole hell of a lot of them, to create new designs. I'd honestly suggest to you that you do something along these lines, but with MANY more base ideas, and much less mixing and matching...just because I think you need to push yourself and practice coming up with different designs (many of them) and really challenge yourself.
Yes, it's hard to tell where you're at in rendering and everything. You've gotten anatomy down pretty well, but seeing final products would give more people more to say.
I just wanted to say, in your thread about the demomen propaganda, I did not realize it was you when I said something about 3d forms. They were all rough, and I thought they were final, and I often forget your username because I think of you as Frank.
ND - I will do this a lot more now. I tried it out (not 30 of them - YET!) and I'm so suprised at how many different ways I could change things. I really have to keep exploring using this method, thank you so much for the help and advice! I really think it will help me.
Let me know what you think! I'm partial to #8 myself.
Glad it's working for you. Keep it up! And remember, when it starts to get hard to come up with new ideas...that's when your brain starts really working.
I remember one of my professors said something last quarter, and it really stuck with me: when you do thumbnails like this, or silhouettes, or whatever....you're getting rid of the obvious and "tired" design ideas first. At the end of it all, you may still think the 1st one you did is the best, or even the 5th one.....but the more you do, the more creative you're forced to be, to avoid repeating designs. Usually the first handful of iterations I do go pretty quickly - and they usually end up being the more obvious or cliche designs. When it starts getting difficult, I start coming up with things I wouldn't have thought of earlier....and to my own surprise, even if I liked the 3rd idea the best after doing 25 versions.....I might hit something really unique and cool and interesting on the 30th or 40th version, that I like MUCH more than that 3rd idea.
I'm really glad you're doing this! If you can, I'd suggest you do another dozen - or two, if you're feeling up to it - and see what you come up with.
I think #8 is cool - I like the torso-part a lot, and I like the shoulder-thing on #12.
(And just as a reminder - in a concept artists' portfolio, it's a really good idea to have some process work to show. I know a lot of companies that like to see your entire process, from start to finish....silhouettes/thumbnails/linework/values/color/color variations/etc, or however you tend to work. Showing them that you're doing 30+ thumbnails, and really pushing yourself and your ideas, is MUCH better than showing them 3 or so thumbnails, and then jumping straight to final.)
Awesome. Pure awesomeness. It's amazing how many options of mixing and matching or variations are possible. I never realized that to this extent before trying.
That makes a lot of sense. Thanks for all the great advice, please continue to help! I think I'm getting somewhere now.
Here are some more design iterations, which do you like the BEST?
Ha, but seriously my favorite one is probably either 29 or 9
That's acutally rather creative
So, would it be a good idea to now take number 14 and do another 30 variations?
I guess I should refine who this character really, so I can make more intelligent design choices?
It'd probably be a good idea to blow the thumbnail up a bit, and go for a slightly higher-quality of finish...and do maybe 4-10 variations on her costume. You want to keep the general idea of her costume intact, when you're doing these next variations. Maybe do 4-8 head designs as well (could just be something as simple as different hair designs, which I noticed you dabbling in with the 30 thumbs...though you could also do variations of her face).
After you've done those, and have whatever #'s approved, you can start on your final artwerkz. (Just as a disclaimer, this exact process isn't necessarily what every company is going to ask you to do, and the numbers aren't necessarily the exact number of variations you'd be asked to do - I just figured I'd give you some step-by-step direction to slow you down a bit and help you out with your process work :P).
I'd suggest you post the linework before moving on to color, too...I guess if you're having *us* be the "approvers", it'd be good to show us that the linework is spot-on and there are no confusing bits, before you go into values or color+values, whichever you end up picking.
I like having you guys as "approvers", thanks.
EDIT:
Alright, I'm cleaning up #14. The legs and hands need work still, but I'm done for today.
Couple things:
1. Would her butt be hanging out the back? :P
2. The metal skirt/flap would be too heavy without extra support, so maybe I should make it a leather type?
facebook.com/LauraCatherwoodArt
I appreciate the feedback my friends! Now which of these 5 options appeals the most? The setting is somewhat medieval customs and futuristic tech. I'm still working that out.
Which is the best looking?
Is #2 not short enough? I'm leaning towards it.
I think I see what you mean about teenage girly... not sure how to remedy this. Maybe take the hair clip/tie out?