Haha Chico I genuinely scrolled past that to look at your study after the photo. Nice job.
NZ, the jaw is massive on that scull! If it's meant to be then no worries. Liking the watercolour so far.
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NakedZerglingA more apocalyptic post apocalypse Portland OregonRegistered Userregular
The jaw is out of place it's being dislodged from a bullet...i was worried it wouldn't read like that. So the jaw isn't even connected to the skull anymore.
If the Mandible is meant to seem bigger because it's so wildly disconnected from the skull that it's shifted closer to the viewer, then your problem is that you've basically created an optical illusion. Even then, the size of the Ramus (the upward swooping "wing" part of the Mandible) is too small compared to the rest of the jaw, contributing to the sense that it's super chunky and huge.
The way the picture reads right now is that the Mandible has been cleanly disconnected from the skull and then floated down an inch or so while still staying in proper alignment, then it became vertically stretched to nearly twice its previous height for some reason.
You should try it out. Buy a cheap pack of printer paper, some ballpoint pens and then just ruin all that paper by building constructions freehand. It's intensely frustrating but also very rewarding.
Those are good Frank, keep it up. The value study is a great way to learn about portraiture, and I think you will also learn a whole lot about light by doing more of those alongside the quicker sketches. I basically learned how to paint through portraiture and anatomy studies that were also careful value studies.
My one suggestion would be to keep an eye on how much you are simplifying and stylizing features, and really try to capture the essence of the feature, don't settle for something in roughly the right size and shape. The eyes in particular all look a little too simplified and similar. Getting the eyes just right is very important in portraiture, there is a whole lot of likeness and character bound up in them.
I'm not sure how much I really read them as "mage" towers. They're certainly towers but the visual design seems to evoke something more like the abode of an engineer or a tinkerer than something explicitly arcane in nature, particularly B and D. They almost look like something that wouldn't be out of place in Half Life 2.
The little story in my head while I worked on them was some sort of eccentric town person who supplied electricity to the people and did strange experiments in his tower. Maybe I should do another set and make sure they fit the theme.
The little story in my head while I worked on them was some sort of eccentric town person who supplied electricity to the people and did strange experiments in his tower. Maybe I should do another set and make sure they fit the theme.
The little story in my head while I worked on them was some sort of eccentric town person who supplied electricity to the people and did strange experiments in his tower. Maybe I should do another set and make sure they fit the theme.
When I think of wizard abodes, I tend to like designs that suggest impossible architecture. I don't mean, like, non-euclidean geometry or anything. More like designs that violate what we know about center of gravity and weight support and that sort of stuff.
I love Howl's Moving Castle! And you guys are right, for sure, but maybe this can be a tinker's tower? Honestly, I found a couple open positions and I just want 1-2 pieces in a similar style as the company before I apply. The jobs are only one state over too. I really need jump on it, I may have a chance.
So, with that in mind, I'm just going to finish this tower and maybe a few props that would go in it?
I love Howl's Moving Castle! And you guys are right, for sure, but maybe this can be a tinker's tower? Honestly, I found a couple open positions and I just want 1-2 pieces in a similar style as the company before I apply. The jobs are only one state over too. I really need jump on it, I may have a chance.
So, with that in mind, I'm just going to finish this tower and maybe a few props that would go in it?
You have a better chance of being hired if you can show that you understand the development process. If this is now a tinkerer's tower, IMO it still needs some work. It just looks like a windmill attached to a stone tower. What does the tinkerer DO? I'd add large gears, funky chimneys, whimsical devices, more asymmetry, etc. Rather than using a base design and assigning a story to it, you need to develop the design to fit within (and more importantly, show/sell/exemplify) the story. Make it so there is no question who lives in that tower. How would a witch's tower be different from a tinkerer's? Or an engineer's? Or a royal chef? Etc...think about inserting more personality into your designs. List adjectives, and then list design cues that fit those adjectives. Make it so that you can get a dozen people to look at your design and tell you who lives there, with no words or explanation needed.
Witch's Hut:- the witch that lives here is insane and evil!
What words do I associate with this witch, and how I might show that in her house design?
adj: foreboding
- design cues: foggy, in the shadows, harsh -looking trees and foliage, muted color palette
adj: creepy
- design cues: faces in the bark in the surrounding trees?....bramble bushes that seem to have "hands" that would reach out to travelers on the path, subtle blood splatters/streaks along path that lead to door
adj: crazed
- design cues: asymmetry, architectural elements or surrounding objects are off-kilter or upside down, a lack of order in the design (roof tiles do not line up perfectly), a sense of chaos or obsessive behavior (sharpened-tip bones staked into the ground surrounding the hut, like grotesque lawn ornaments every foot) or doors/windows in places that don't make sense
Et cetera. You really, really have to focus on the design more than rendering. Showing off a page full of varied thumbnails and a detailed black and white line drawing of a single design will do so much more for you in showing them you're a valuable candidate, than will taking your current design to a final polish.
I like the first one, the way the silhouette expands from the base gives it an unbalanced feel which adds a lot of personality. I also like the giant cog in the third one, that kind of thing evokes a 'function over form' feeling which fits the idea of a slightly potty inventor or engineer.
@F87 - that's not a bad start! But do, like....twenty of those. Or thirty. Change up the main shape some more. Be bold! If doing these is hard for you or too time-consuming, remove the 3-level value technique, and just do quick line sketches. I feel like you're still trying to settle on something very very quickly, but what you need to practice is not rushing to the polish level (though trust me, I completely understand why you'd want to do that )...it is concepting. It is coming up with ideas....ideas that are varied and fit well within an established theme. How often do you look up reference before you hit the thumbnail stage? Try to really soak up as much inspiration beforehand as you can. Try to push your ideas into wildly different directions - this is your exploration phase. If you make some really weird ugly design that's never going to work, that's okay! That's even good, because you got that idea out of your head, and had time to think about what worked and what didn't...which is knowledge you can use on the next thumbnail.
I just looked up some random tower designs that I think you should see, just to see the variance that's possible:
Just as an example of word association gone right: when Marc Davis and Eyvind Earle designed Maleficent they thought of the most evil combination of words they could come up with: black fire.
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I made a doodle
I realized I should not just start shading while thinking about everything else and then go "wait what the hell have I been doing"
Pirate man study.
Work in progress
NZ, the jaw is massive on that scull! If it's meant to be then no worries. Liking the watercolour so far.
The way the picture reads right now is that the Mandible has been cleanly disconnected from the skull and then floated down an inch or so while still staying in proper alignment, then it became vertically stretched to nearly twice its previous height for some reason.
*gasp* so realistic!
Is that book also full of fun perspective exercises and section building? Are you doing those things as well?
Head studies, as per @Scosglen 's suggestion.
@ChicoBlue You are so fucking good! That pirate study wow...
Keep goin'!
My one suggestion would be to keep an eye on how much you are simplifying and stylizing features, and really try to capture the essence of the feature, don't settle for something in roughly the right size and shape. The eyes in particular all look a little too simplified and similar. Getting the eyes just right is very important in portraiture, there is a whole lot of likeness and character bound up in them.
In the mean time, do you guys like any of these "mage towers" ?
I really like C and D.
Also A and B.
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You can never have too many thumbnails!
When I think of wizard abodes, I tend to like designs that suggest impossible architecture. I don't mean, like, non-euclidean geometry or anything. More like designs that violate what we know about center of gravity and weight support and that sort of stuff.
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So, with that in mind, I'm just going to finish this tower and maybe a few props that would go in it?
You have a better chance of being hired if you can show that you understand the development process. If this is now a tinkerer's tower, IMO it still needs some work. It just looks like a windmill attached to a stone tower. What does the tinkerer DO? I'd add large gears, funky chimneys, whimsical devices, more asymmetry, etc. Rather than using a base design and assigning a story to it, you need to develop the design to fit within (and more importantly, show/sell/exemplify) the story. Make it so there is no question who lives in that tower. How would a witch's tower be different from a tinkerer's? Or an engineer's? Or a royal chef? Etc...think about inserting more personality into your designs. List adjectives, and then list design cues that fit those adjectives. Make it so that you can get a dozen people to look at your design and tell you who lives there, with no words or explanation needed.
Witch's Hut:- the witch that lives here is insane and evil!
What words do I associate with this witch, and how I might show that in her house design?
adj: foreboding
- design cues: foggy, in the shadows, harsh -looking trees and foliage, muted color palette
adj: creepy
- design cues: faces in the bark in the surrounding trees?....bramble bushes that seem to have "hands" that would reach out to travelers on the path, subtle blood splatters/streaks along path that lead to door
adj: crazed
- design cues: asymmetry, architectural elements or surrounding objects are off-kilter or upside down, a lack of order in the design (roof tiles do not line up perfectly), a sense of chaos or obsessive behavior (sharpened-tip bones staked into the ground surrounding the hut, like grotesque lawn ornaments every foot) or doors/windows in places that don't make sense
Et cetera. You really, really have to focus on the design more than rendering. Showing off a page full of varied thumbnails and a detailed black and white line drawing of a single design will do so much more for you in showing them you're a valuable candidate, than will taking your current design to a final polish.
Fuuuuuck, I totally getcha. Great advice!! Are these any better?
I just looked up some random tower designs that I think you should see, just to see the variance that's possible:
Go nuts.