Thanks a lot scos! I really appreciate your crit. I will definitely try and fix all those problems as I work on it more.
For some reason Im afraid of contrast/saturation. Im trying to push myself, but obviously am not doing it right yet. :P
[edit] SICK! That loots much better! Not only is the coloring better, youve made my design look like a mere sketch! Thanks again, and I'll try and work more towards this direction.[/edit]
Because I've had some really great paintovers done for me here, I figured it's time I give one a shot. This is just a quick example of how I would handle most of the changes I mentioned, plus a few minor cosmetic tweaks to make him seem more balanced. Without changing your forms much you can see how some more accurate lighting really goes a long way to making your character read better.
Knight - I would do a paintover for you, but I wouldn't know exactly where to begin. I think one of the issues that you have here is that your forms are so loosely defined - your robot-thing(?) seems so "lumpy". The armor or whathaveyou isn't symmetrical (not that is needs to be in any design, but it looks like you were trying for symmetry here). You look stuck on using large round brushes...which can be good! That can be fine! But don't let that back you into a corner, where all you end up doing are soft-edged, rounded shapes. If you need to, get a small rounded brush and make an edge. Clean up that shape. Still too round? Take another color and go over the edge to make it poin-teh! I honestly think that if you just cleaned up your shapes a bit, everything would be easier to read, visually. You may also want to use a more opaque brush in the beginning, and then use a light-opacity brush for the shading and highlights. I think the water-color effect you have in that image is contributing to the lumpy look, as well.
Miso - that is bizarre. I like it.
Scos - great paintover. The beak-metal thing is especially nice.
Yeah, I actually would have tightened up form on this if I spent more time on it, but I only spent about 20 mins on it... probably less. Thanks for the pointers, Nightdragon
How do I get a brush other than round? I'm just using tofushop right now to learn my way around my tablet XD
It's damn problematic to decide how much wrinkless and stuff you want to depict. I mean I'll probably give it to her as a mother's day present so I'd like it to be atleaast a bit flattering.
Yeah, I actually would have tightened up form on this if I spent more time on it, but I only spent about 20 mins on it... probably less. Thanks for the pointers, Nightdragon
How do I get a brush other than round? I'm just using tofushop right now to learn my way around my tablet XD
Well, I'm not familiar with Tofushop, but using Photoshop, there's a dropdown-menu where you can pick different brushes.
I hope you understand that using a round brush is fine, right? :P As far as I know, most people tend to use round brushes for the majority of their work. I do, at least. You can turn the naturally-rounded edge into a sharp edge by "shaving off" the excess with another round brush. You don't need to find a specific brush in order to make a specific shape...and in lots of cases, doing that is a bad idea. This is how people get stuck using the "hair/grass" brush for the grass, the cookie-cutter "leaves" brush for tree leaves...and end up making their entire picture looking really, really fake. It's also generally just a good idea to understand how to make all types of shapes and textures using only a round brush.
I hope I don't sound patronizing or anything...ths stuff can be obvious to some, but not to others.
@Toast : I think that will look really good once you align the eyes, eyebrows, and bridge of nose better. The left side (viewers) especially seems to be shifted up and right, as if you drew the stuff above the cheeks with a vertical face, and the stuff below with a tilt. Do you have a ref pic?
To elaborate on ND's point, I use round brushes exclusively, usually an elongated oval type shape at a 45 degree tilt, sort of like a painting knife.
When painting figures like that speedpaint of the armor guy you have there, one of the critical elements that you should always aim to get right as a main goal of the SP is to nail the silhouette. Silhouette is very important, and ideally you should be able to tell what you're looking at with only the silhouette if the character were pure black. Making sure your silhouette is strong is a good way to ensure that your gesture is good and that your character reads well.
In your SP you have lots of blobby, low-opacity strokes muddling up the silhouette all over your character, and these are prime targets for what ND was talking about with cutting back into your forms with a small eraser to get a clean edge.
Drawing of a girl I recently had a big thing for. She turned out to be not so cool. I kind of dig the drawing itself though, so I figured I'd show other people before I delete it.
Drawing of a girl I recently had a big thing for. She turned out to be not so cool. I kind of dig the drawing itself though, so I figured I'd show other people before I delete it.
It looks like her face is getting squished into the middle. I think its because her left eyebrow line, nose bridge, and cheek create a C making her face look like a jellybean. Or I could just have googly eyes. Your mom looks like one of my aunts that I haven't seen in years. CRAZY OUTRAGEOUS!
McGibs, you have some really cool stuff there. Love the Machiko drawing from AvP. The girl with the rotary gun bothers me a little. Something that large would probably be extremely heavy. I remember hearing on the set of Terminator 2 Arnold Schwarzenegger was one of the only people on the set who could even lift the mini-gun. Good stuff as always though!
yeah, its chewing up hippies. I was way too lazy to draw all the combine blades (it was drawn in a coffee shop at 2am)
lol @ nib, I know a gun that huge would be impossible to carry (its longer then she is tall), I just wanted to draw a girl with an obscenely huge weapon.
The minigun used in predator isnt actually that large by itself, and it was a lighter blank firing version which also had an external power source (there was a cable that went up ventura's leg) an average sized person could lug it around.
In reality, a minigun probobly the most impractical infantry portable weapon. If you took the real version of the gun in predator, its not the gun that kills you in terms of weight, its carrying the power scource (you have to carry a huge battery to power to barels) and several thousand rounds of ammunition (which would still only last a few seconds). After the weight, the next thing that woud get you would be the insane recoil, which would litterally have you on your ass after the first half-second.
There's a reason air-cannons are only mounted on vehicles
But babes with big guns look cool, which trumps all that.
In reality, a minigun probobly the most impractical infantry portable weapon. If you took the real version of the gun in predator, its not the gun that kills you in terms of weight, its carrying the power scource (you have to carry a huge battery to power to barels) and several thousand rounds of ammunition (which would still only last a few seconds). After the weight, the next thing that woud get you would be the insane recoil, which would litterally have you on your ass after the first half-second.
There's a reason air-cannons are only mounted on vehicles
well, because its a miniturized version of the 30mm and other huge rotary cannons they use in aircraft and AA emplacements. Military slang at its finest.
Yeah McGibs, I wasn't trying to give you a hard time, miniguns are probably never used as infantry weapons. I just couldn't say the picture was cool without the explanation. I think they are called miniguns because they are the smallest weapon mounted to a helicopter. But thumbs up on the art. I think you should color the minigun one, it does look pretty sweet.
Doodle of a pencil holder I made in grade 3, in PS. :P
edit:I mean grade 5. And it was done by mouse.
Why do I not believe you did that in 5th grade? Maybe because in 5th grade you wouldn't have enough understanding of value to pull off that shading (no matter how poorly the whole piece is executed). Or maybe because your current work would be much better, and thus you wouldn't post that but your current work instead. Or maybe I've just never heard of a 5th grader that has much of an interest in photoshop.
You pick. Or you know, post your current stuff. And I'm kind-of skeptical someone would keep an old drawing they did in 5th grade and hold it in such high regard as to actually post it.
bread of wonder on
Long distance runner, what you standin' there for?
Started back up work on this guy again, after a few months' hiatus. Still a lot of wierdness going on, lots to fix and detail out more fully. Also some symettry problems on the back of the torso there.
Previous iteration: http://bacon.iseenothing.com/DK_003.jpg
Posts
sketch a sketch a
For some reason Im afraid of contrast/saturation. Im trying to push myself, but obviously am not doing it right yet. :P
[edit] SICK! That loots much better! Not only is the coloring better, youve made my design look like a mere sketch! Thanks again, and I'll try and work more towards this direction.[/edit]
Hope this helps
~ 20 minutes
Getting better.... tiny bit by tiny bit.
If anyone has any comments/critiques on my fairly poorly developed style, let me know, they've been really helpful so far.
EDIT: LOL AN IMAGE WOULD HELP
Miso - that is bizarre. I like it.
Scos - great paintover.
How do I get a brush other than round? I'm just using tofushop right now to learn my way around my tablet XD
But you're right, I should go back and work on it some more.
Heck yeah! Even better!
More speed portraiture from english class today, while watching another movie.
It's damn problematic to decide how much wrinkless and stuff you want to depict. I mean I'll probably give it to her as a mother's day present so I'd like it to be atleaast a bit flattering.
Well, I'm not familiar with Tofushop, but using Photoshop, there's a dropdown-menu where you can pick different brushes.
I hope you understand that using a round brush is fine, right? :P As far as I know, most people tend to use round brushes for the majority of their work. I do, at least. You can turn the naturally-rounded edge into a sharp edge by "shaving off" the excess with another round brush. You don't need to find a specific brush in order to make a specific shape...and in lots of cases, doing that is a bad idea. This is how people get stuck using the "hair/grass" brush for the grass, the cookie-cutter "leaves" brush for tree leaves...and end up making their entire picture looking really, really fake. It's also generally just a good idea to understand how to make all types of shapes and textures using only a round brush.
I hope I don't sound patronizing or anything...ths stuff can be obvious to some, but not to others.
Alot of really cool stuff on this page. =D
When painting figures like that speedpaint of the armor guy you have there, one of the critical elements that you should always aim to get right as a main goal of the SP is to nail the silhouette. Silhouette is very important, and ideally you should be able to tell what you're looking at with only the silhouette if the character were pure black. Making sure your silhouette is strong is a good way to ensure that your gesture is good and that your character reads well.
In your SP you have lots of blobby, low-opacity strokes muddling up the silhouette all over your character, and these are prime targets for what ND was talking about with cutting back into your forms with a small eraser to get a clean edge.
edit: baleeted, a long time ago.
Bottomed
some newer sketches.
chick with a bigass rotary cannon (the barrels go on to the next page).
I'll probobly start painting this one today.
Little hunter/killer robot guy. Got inspired by this crazy robotic "mule".http://youtube.com/watch?v=mpBG-nSRcrQ
Bigger tank-type version.
metal-slug-esque "battle combine"
Toad shaman guy.
guy with a big head.
Lots of ass.
Machiko Noguchi from the AvP books/comics
steam-bot
It looks like her face is getting squished into the middle. I think its because her left eyebrow line, nose bridge, and cheek create a C making her face look like a jellybean. Or I could just have googly eyes. Your mom looks like one of my aunts that I haven't seen in years. CRAZY OUTRAGEOUS!
Damn hippies!
Also Gibbs lovely work
lol @ nib, I know a gun that huge would be impossible to carry (its longer then she is tall), I just wanted to draw a girl with an obscenely huge weapon.
The minigun used in predator isnt actually that large by itself, and it was a lighter blank firing version which also had an external power source (there was a cable that went up ventura's leg) an average sized person could lug it around.
In reality, a minigun probobly the most impractical infantry portable weapon. If you took the real version of the gun in predator, its not the gun that kills you in terms of weight, its carrying the power scource (you have to carry a huge battery to power to barels) and several thousand rounds of ammunition (which would still only last a few seconds). After the weight, the next thing that woud get you would be the insane recoil, which would litterally have you on your ass after the first half-second.
There's a reason air-cannons are only mounted on vehicles
But babes with big guns look cool, which trumps all that.
McGibs - those are always, nice steampunk stuff. Very metal slug-esque.
the term minigun always cracks me up.
Then BAM! Random ass page smack in the middle.
They're all great man.
Twins?
Oh and chicks with mini guns? Yes plz.
My Portfolio Site
Yes.
This is now an obligatory draw a woman with a big gun thread.
First post btw.
Doodle of a pencil holder I made in grade 3, in PS. :P
edit:I mean grade 5. And it was done by mouse.
Why do I not believe you did that in 5th grade? Maybe because in 5th grade you wouldn't have enough understanding of value to pull off that shading (no matter how poorly the whole piece is executed). Or maybe because your current work would be much better, and thus you wouldn't post that but your current work instead. Or maybe I've just never heard of a 5th grader that has much of an interest in photoshop.
You pick. Or you know, post your current stuff. And I'm kind-of skeptical someone would keep an old drawing they did in 5th grade and hold it in such high regard as to actually post it.
Twitter
SNAP
THAT'S what was bothering me.
Also, her left thigh seems larger than her right one. that thigh seems to meet the boot and/or shin kind of off.
Oh, and also...
Previous iteration: http://bacon.iseenothing.com/DK_003.jpg
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