All 4 of those have some structural flaws. On the blonde girl the jaw line is coming in way too much into the neck. The chins need to come out on all of them, and the cheeks should be more round if you're looking for cute (mainly the blonde girl).
EDIT: Edited for tiny face, huge noggin on 3/4 view. Lexxy comment below was quite right.
Hey ken, I had some free time so I whipped this up. Maybe took it a bit further than did cakez. Thoughts below the paintover. Hope it is helpful!
First major area of concern -- head structure. Boy, this was one of the most weak-chinned gals out there -- not a feature you will typically associate with attractive females. Popping that chin out adds character and appeal. Going up from the chin, the jaw area was also a major problem area. Go do some skull studies and you'll start to get a better grasp on the form of the jaw and where it attaches to the rest of the head. Aside from chin, she also seemed to be lacking cheekbones. Other tweaks -- using the eyebrows and the contour of the head to more clearly define the brow ridge. Those were the the big structural areas of concern that I addressed.
The next major area of concern is the expression, and more generally, the *appeal*, of the character. It essentially boils down to knowing what an attractive female's features would look like. I basically repainted the eyes because I kept reshaping them, but my advice is a resounding: Open those peepers! Drooping eyelids make her look lethargic and depressed, not happy and pretty. Eyes in profile can be tricky as well -- get some reference. I'm seeing way too much iris. Another feature -- lips. In the front shot, they look puffy and shapeless, not to mention downturned and sad. Somebody once told me to think of a goose in a nest, and I find that to be a pretty helpful rule of thumb . For lips in profile, the top lip typically will extend out past the bottom lip a bit. Of course there are plenty of exceptions, but it's an appealing feature for an attractive female in any case. Finally, I already mentioned the eyebrows -- lift em up and use them to help define the brow ridge. And don't worry about going a bit darker for eyebrow/lash hairs. Leaving them a so light gives her the look of one of those freakishly pale people.
Whoa, Penguins. The profile looks good (though still on the old side), and those are good advices, but man... You gave the 3/4 view a really big head and a really small face D;
I also took a stab at a paintover, but for the brown-haired girl. Didn't take the painting very far--it's more for proportions than anything else:
Not in your style at all, and I don't know how young you're trying to go exactly (my version is maybe 10), but the younger they are, the bigger and softer their features in proportion to the rest of their body. Even a 14 or 15 year old post-growth spurt is going to have some roundness to their face. Your girls look like adults because they're features are small and chiseled, their faces are really lean, and they look somewhere between bored and annoyed in their 3/4 shots.
I'd say bring the eyes and nose down a bit (give em a bit more forehead), soften those features, and cheer up their expressions a bit. Maybe relax/messy up their hair a bit and give them thicker eyebrows--young girls' eyebrows are usually pretty full--yours look tweezed. Also freckles are usually only a couple shades darker than the skin, so you might lighten those up a bit too.
You may also want to watch out for drawing what you see, and what you think should be there. Especially in her eye-region on the left side (our left) I can see quite a dark shadow that comes down from her brow and hits the corner of her eye, across her lid. However, in your piece the entire brow area is quite light, which throws off the look of it.
I would do a paintover but I don't want to hook my tablet up >.>
Oh lordy, now THAT'S embarassing. Thanks.
Charis, no need for a PO, I see it, thanks for the tip Gonna work on her a bit more this evening (although these are supposed to be just quick sketches...). I can also see numerous problems with proportions now.
Also, now that it's daytime (I was drawing that at night) it is even more obvious that the contrast in my sketch is like 1% of the original... should I be trying to replicate that as well? I'm just trying to learn facial proportions but maybe it'd be useful to work on eyeing the lighting too?
Nice Little Red, worstcase! I've just done one myself (textured background and everything XD) but I'm saving it for the AC challenge. I'm going as Little Dead Riding Hood this Halloween--waiting to post pictures till my full makeup run on Friday.
Hey thanks beav. it got rejected again anyways and I stopped sucking enough to get a different slightly older version approved.. well Only the blonde has been approved. Havent heard back on the burnette yet. Whats making the profile look older to you? The proportion of the lower half of the face? Forehead not big enough? How much older does it look? How old do each look to you?
Im freaking out a little because I have to do 34 paintings in 28 days and these are just some of the character comps that didn't get approved on the first go. I really suck at painting children.
Hey thanks beav. it got rejected again anyways and I stopped sucking enough to get a different slightly older version approved.. well Only the blonde has been approved. Havent heard back on the burnette yet. Whats making the profile look older to you? The proportion of the lower half of the face? Forehead not big enough? How much older does it look? How old do each look to you?
Im freaking out a little because I have to do 34 paintings in 28 days and these are just some of the character comps that didn't get approved on the first go. I really suck at painting children.
well the biggest problem i see to start out with is not really in painting children, it's with maintaining the proportions that you have set out
in this drawover, I shrunk the profile down to make it the same size as the 3/4 and lined up the top of the head and chin as best I could
look at how much longer the nose is in the 3/4, and where all of the features lie.
Children typically have much bigger heads than adults
oversized eyes, oversized ears and oversized foreheads are commons tools that artists like rockwell used to depict children.
The girl has sort of a fat face going on in the profile, it's evident in the chin which hangs really low when compared to the front view. Also I feel like her features are kind of squished up, her nose needs to be elongated and shaped more like the nose on the 3/4
I made this for my little sister's get-well card, poor thing will be in surgery on halloween
she likes neopets so i just googled "halloween neopets" and choose something that looked cool
I hardly ever softshade because... I'm terrible at it (: turns into a gently gradiated blob. So I tried to actually get some shape out of this
just realized it's putting no weight on its hind leg(s?) lol
Ken, I've been meaning to track down this little movie for a long time now. I watched it in 6th grade and was absolutely amazed by it. I found out what the name was and found it last night
Donald in Mathmagic Land
None of the math is anything too advanced, but the way they explain it along with the little tricks they show to understand it makes me smile every time I watch it.
Especially the part that reminds me of your dilemma and what Beavo is telling you. They talk about the Golden Rectangle and those perfect dimensions.
I know it's a basic concept and one the vast majority of artists know, but seeing it always makes me think COOOOOOOOOL. I
It's important to, well, get back to basics every once in a while. This film helps me do that and I just wanted to share it with all you wonderful people.
here it is. They talk about the Golden Rectangle near the end of the first video and into the second
I made this for my little sister's get-well card, poor thing will be in surgery on halloween
she likes neopets so i just googled "halloween neopets" and choose something that looked cool
I made this for my little sister's get-well card, poor thing will be in surgery on halloween
she likes neopets so i just googled "halloween neopets" and choose something that looked cool
I remember neopets being a lot of fun.........until they started going corporate, and offering things for real money, and then everything just went downhill at an accelerated pace.
Posts
Shoulda looked to them in the first place.. and yes they have to be happy and pretty. Pretty cheesy, but its monies.
PSN: MaximasXXZ XBOX Live: SneakyMcSnipe
Hey ken, I had some free time so I whipped this up. Maybe took it a bit further than did cakez. Thoughts below the paintover. Hope it is helpful!
First major area of concern -- head structure. Boy, this was one of the most weak-chinned gals out there -- not a feature you will typically associate with attractive females. Popping that chin out adds character and appeal. Going up from the chin, the jaw area was also a major problem area. Go do some skull studies and you'll start to get a better grasp on the form of the jaw and where it attaches to the rest of the head. Aside from chin, she also seemed to be lacking cheekbones. Other tweaks -- using the eyebrows and the contour of the head to more clearly define the brow ridge. Those were the the big structural areas of concern that I addressed.
The next major area of concern is the expression, and more generally, the *appeal*, of the character. It essentially boils down to knowing what an attractive female's features would look like. I basically repainted the eyes because I kept reshaping them, but my advice is a resounding: Open those peepers! Drooping eyelids make her look lethargic and depressed, not happy and pretty. Eyes in profile can be tricky as well -- get some reference. I'm seeing way too much iris. Another feature -- lips. In the front shot, they look puffy and shapeless, not to mention downturned and sad. Somebody once told me to think of a goose in a nest, and I find that to be a pretty helpful rule of thumb
I also took a stab at a paintover, but for the brown-haired girl. Didn't take the painting very far--it's more for proportions than anything else:
Not in your style at all, and I don't know how young you're trying to go exactly (my version is maybe 10), but the younger they are, the bigger and softer their features in proportion to the rest of their body. Even a 14 or 15 year old post-growth spurt is going to have some roundness to their face. Your girls look like adults because they're features are small and chiseled, their faces are really lean, and they look somewhere between bored and annoyed in their 3/4 shots.
I'd say bring the eyes and nose down a bit (give em a bit more forehead), soften those features, and cheer up their expressions a bit. Maybe relax/messy up their hair a bit and give them thicker eyebrows--young girls' eyebrows are usually pretty full--yours look tweezed. Also freckles are usually only a couple shades darker than the skin, so you might lighten those up a bit too.
thanks guys, alot of good advice between here and the chat thread..
went much more cutsey and younger.
Looks way better already, Ken.
Then the art direction was basically young and cute. so.. dunno what reponse ill get this time around.
Those freckles are still way too dark though. Freckles are skin tone not hair tone!
sent these off, and I went back and changed the freckles, thanks lex.
Silly doodle before heading off to teach :
artistjeffc.tumblr.com http://www.etsy.com/shop/artistjeffc
You may also want to watch out for drawing what you see, and what you think should be there. Especially in her eye-region on the left side (our left) I can see quite a dark shadow that comes down from her brow and hits the corner of her eye, across her lid. However, in your piece the entire brow area is quite light, which throws off the look of it.
I would do a paintover but I don't want to hook my tablet up >.>
Got bored. It sucks and I'm sorry for raping your character.
Charis, no need for a PO, I see it, thanks for the tip
Also, now that it's daytime (I was drawing that at night) it is even more obvious that the contrast in my sketch is like 1% of the original... should I be trying to replicate that as well? I'm just trying to learn facial proportions but maybe it'd be useful to work on eyeing the lighting too?
EDIT:
Also, little dead riding hood? Im pumped. Can't wait to see it!
[IMG][/img]
ken the profile does not match the 3/4 view at all
the profile almost looks like an older, chubbier version of the 3/4
edit: wow lots of responses between when this was posted and now, sorry about that, i still feel the comment stands though
Im freaking out a little because I have to do 34 paintings in 28 days and these are just some of the character comps that didn't get approved on the first go. I really suck at painting children.
well the biggest problem i see to start out with is not really in painting children, it's with maintaining the proportions that you have set out
in this drawover, I shrunk the profile down to make it the same size as the 3/4 and lined up the top of the head and chin as best I could
look at how much longer the nose is in the 3/4, and where all of the features lie.
Children typically have much bigger heads than adults
oversized eyes, oversized ears and oversized foreheads are commons tools that artists like rockwell used to depict children.
The girl has sort of a fat face going on in the profile, it's evident in the chin which hangs really low when compared to the front view. Also I feel like her features are kind of squished up, her nose needs to be elongated and shaped more like the nose on the 3/4
I made this for my little sister's get-well card, poor thing will be in surgery on halloween
she likes neopets so i just googled "halloween neopets" and choose something that looked cool
I hardly ever softshade because... I'm terrible at it (: turns into a gently gradiated blob. So I tried to actually get some shape out of this
just realized it's putting no weight on its hind leg(s?) lol
edit BOTP
Donald in Mathmagic Land
None of the math is anything too advanced, but the way they explain it along with the little tricks they show to understand it makes me smile every time I watch it.
Especially the part that reminds me of your dilemma and what Beavo is telling you. They talk about the Golden Rectangle and those perfect dimensions.
I know it's a basic concept and one the vast majority of artists know, but seeing it always makes me think COOOOOOOOOL. I
It's important to, well, get back to basics every once in a while. This film helps me do that and I just wanted to share it with all you wonderful people.
here it is. They talk about the Golden Rectangle near the end of the first video and into the second
Donald in Mathmagic Land 1
Donald in Mathmagic Land 2
Donald in Mathmagic Land 3
I love you
It's still super cute and that's all that really matters.
I randomly got on neopets the other day. My account was 9 years old.
haha good old neopets
I haven't played since I was 11 but I remember it being hot shit