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Meet the Andrew.
Zeldrak
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
Hi, my name is Andrew, i'm 19, and am still not entirely sure what to do with my creativity. 
I've always liked concept art and character design from games, and would like to someday persue that route. Though recently I have been getting some ideas from another forum i go to, I've been doing some comics, and hope to start a small webcomic soon.
Right now, i'm trying to set on a style. I don't want it to become obsessively realistic or cartoonish, but something in-between, so that i can play with proportions a bit without looking too freakish. Although I started out with manga (still like the whole lot of styles in every artist, and new things they bring over to the art scene.) i really don't want to stick with it.
Recently, with the comics, I've been trying a more simple style. Although the main thing I think I hould get down to is color theory and learning to paint properly in Photoshop.
So, without further ado, I'd like to show you (some) of my work, and would be grateful and honored by your critique and feedback on my stuff.
Also, 1 more thing, I really need help with lettering and a good way to make more dynamic speech balloons for the comics. I've been loking at how Gabe does his speech balloons and can't really figure out how he does it.
-Cheers,
Zeldrak.
Massive dump Incoming.
PS: I have setup my website for my comics, it can be found @ http://www.zeldrak.net/ along with a live feed for my broadcast and others, and a forum. Feel free to join if you like my work
I've always liked concept art and character design from games, and would like to someday persue that route. Though recently I have been getting some ideas from another forum i go to, I've been doing some comics, and hope to start a small webcomic soon.
Right now, i'm trying to set on a style. I don't want it to become obsessively realistic or cartoonish, but something in-between, so that i can play with proportions a bit without looking too freakish. Although I started out with manga (still like the whole lot of styles in every artist, and new things they bring over to the art scene.) i really don't want to stick with it.
Recently, with the comics, I've been trying a more simple style. Although the main thing I think I hould get down to is color theory and learning to paint properly in Photoshop.
So, without further ado, I'd like to show you (some) of my work, and would be grateful and honored by your critique and feedback on my stuff.
Also, 1 more thing, I really need help with lettering and a good way to make more dynamic speech balloons for the comics. I've been loking at how Gabe does his speech balloons and can't really figure out how he does it.
-Cheers,
Zeldrak.
Massive dump Incoming.
PS: I have setup my website for my comics, it can be found @ http://www.zeldrak.net/ along with a live feed for my broadcast and others, and a forum. Feel free to join if you like my work
Zeldrak on
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I love the wow and shadow of the colossus drawings tho.
thank you. even though it's a 2 year old drawing, i haven't really improved with anatomy recently, probably due to my lack of practice and time to do so. With luck, I can start off this month with more intensive pratice so i can get back on my feet.
The sea creature was part of omething i was doing a while ago for conceptart.org forums, they had a weekly challenge and the theme was to make up a sea creature. I ended up not finishing this, but might gve it another go soon, I need to make some more creature designs for my portfolio.
new comic done, i really need a new way to draw my balloons...
Also i think your priorities are a little messed up. I would learn on how to draw the human form first. Like before anything. Deal with volume and mass, shading. Also there's no "right" way to paint in photoshop. I would recommend maybe playing with actual paints so you don't have to rely on eyedropper, and other PS crutches.
Just remember there's no shortcuts to being a good artist, it's just practice practice practice. And the more you practice on stuff like Anatomy, perspective, proportion, and actually understanding the way things are constructed...the easier time you will have finding your voice or"style".
Just keep at it, have fun, practice, and learn.
Hmm, I'm still not happy with his pose, but at least he's a little more firmly grounded. Design is nice, anatomy and structure are a little off. Look at the arrows I put next to his limbs. The pose looks like a stiff starfish. Try standing like that and see where it gets you. Line weight also an issue. In general though, lots of potential.
And the Colossus pic rocks.
That's a very helpful link, thank you.
I am aware there's no "right way" to paint in Photoshop, and i know i need to work on anatomry and flow, I know there's no shortcuts to anything, I ws just curious about the balloon structure Gabe uses because it's simple and effective, rather than unsing the elipse tool, which looks awful when the piece is finished.
Thanks for the tips on the flow of the character. Even though it was just a reference to show the design itself, I didn't mean to give it a suitable pose, but I guess it would be better than not having one.
Thanks for the tips though, I appreciate every single one of them
It begs the question as to why you need a "reference" pose though. Are you planning to draw more of this character? Where is the context? If these are going to be one-off drawings, try loosening up and having more fun with the poses. I have a few friends working as concept artists in game studios right now, and presentation and story context are two very important elements. Just drawing neat things from your mind is insufficient for that kind of job.
Just keep practicing, though. You'll figure out all this eventually on your own if you try hard enough.
Yeah, i was planning to use this a reference to draw it more, since it's my protagonist (sort of), but i'll try doing some turnarounds.
An exaggerated example:
Anyway, thanks for the tip. I think do-overs are 90% more helpful than word-based advice, even though I love words, because, well, we're mostly visual learners here...
I wanted to make him with small legs, so he uses his arms like a gorilla does when moving.
New comic done yesterday night.
I don't get it.
If you're going to make a webcomic and want people you don't know to start reading it, inside jokes are a big no-no.
I find it amazing how nobody commented on the colossus picture. I really waned to know what you guys think of it.
Also, I am only doing the inside jokes, because it probably the first ones to come to mind when i start looking for ideas for a new strip. I'll try and be more universal on that subject.
There are some structure issues in the arms/shoulders as well. The arm propped on the ground has no shoulder - the whitespace in the armpit suggests it's all arm. And rather skinny at that.
Keep doing these things, because you can get really creative with silhouette and form. And that first colossus is just badass. I think there is a lot of success with line weight and use of black, especially in the fur. Your second colossus lacks these things.
I am still getting used to having to look at the screen and not what i'm doing with my hands while drawing, and since i'm getting a job soon, i might save up for a Cintiq
I also made a couple of other comics. I think the latest one is understandable, with no inside jokes, at least to anyone who has played Metal gear
see the italicized part?
that is a big no-no
if I can't laugh at it without any previous knowledge, you are not doing comedy right
and I have played metal gear
and I am still not getting where the joke part is
The third maney did nothing for me, altough maybe it's from the game. i dunno.
anyhoo, the font is nearly illegible.