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Born Yesterday, my webcomic art is looking for crits.

The_Glad_HatterThe_Glad_Hatter One Sly FoxUnderneath a Groovy HatRegistered User regular
edited June 2009 in Artist's Corner
EDIT: I UPGRADED MY HOSTING PLAN, AND APPARENTLY MY NEW AND MORE EXPENSIVE PLAN DID NOT INCLUDE HOSTING ANYMORE (wtf?), SO MY HOST JUST DELETED MY WEBSPACE AND ALL THE DRAWINGS IN IT, HENCE THE RED X's IN THE OLD POSTS....

After a lot of lurking and occasional commenting, i decided to make my own artdump here on PA. More specifically because i'd really appreciate some comments/ crits. I'm quite pleased with the way my traditional art techniques are evolving (i'm not "there" yet, but i know i'm on the right track), but my efforts at digital colouring/ inking are somewhat disappointing.

Here's my most recent attempt, the first time i've mustered the courage to do a full figure digitally in a long time. I use painter because that's the software my schoolteachers reaaaaly want us to use.
I started out turning it into a cell-shaded piece, and now am smudging out the hard edges in the colours.
the end result feels a bit sterile to me. I have all the fun colouring it, but that has a crappy hard-edged look. the smoothening however, in the way i'm doing it now, is a purely mechanical task (i read the other thread about digital colouring, it helped out a lot). any advise on livening it up a bit?

Any comments on the drawing itself are also always more than welcome.
piratenvrouwPAsml.jpg

And to end off my first post, a comic i completed today. It was a kind of challenge in school, and the story/ lineart were done in 2 hours. Quite happy with the end result, but i was wondering if the "messy" style is too distracting.
mrjans1.jpg

Oh yeah, i spoilered it because it's pretty long. The only translated version i have is for DA, and since DA doesn't have an easy way for navigating comic pages, i edited them so they were one long comic. Infinite Canvas All the Way....

So if anyone could help me spot stuff i could do differently/ better, i'd really appreciate it.

The_Glad_Hatter on

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    MustangMustang Arbiter of Unpopular Opinions Registered User regular
    edited April 2008
    I like that last one, nicely written.

    I'm a wee bit aprehensive to critique your work as it's better than mine and I'm guilty of some of the same mistakes. The first one is sterile and the edges are sloppy, and as I said, all my stuff suffers the same problems. I combat the first issue by always asking myself the question (courtesy of Stephen Silver) 'What is the story?', 'Why is this character here? What is their purpose? and What are they feeling?. Drawing or painting without a set purpose always results in flat uninspiring character.

    As for the second issue, I'm yet to find a suitable solution except to try and work faster to smooth out my lines....though I'm suspicious of whether this is the best method. Hopefully some of the more accomplished individuals can help with that.

    Mustang on
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    beavotronbeavotron Registered User regular
    edited April 2008
    i really like that comic :D
    his balls made me titter like a little school girl

    beavotron on
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    The_Glad_HatterThe_Glad_Hatter One Sly Fox Underneath a Groovy HatRegistered User regular
    edited April 2008
    Mustang wrote: »
    I combat the first issue by always asking myself the question (courtesy of Stephen Silver) 'What is the story?', 'Why is this character here? What is their purpose? and What are they feeling?. Drawing or painting without a set purpose always results in flat uninspiring character.

    Good Point. I've been asking myself questions like those when i choose the subject's pose (to avoid the boring "i'm just standing here, doing and thinking nothing"-pose), but i guess i should carry the same idea over to the inking/painting aspect of it...

    The_Glad_Hatter on
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    SueveSueve Registered User regular
    edited April 2008
    wow i fucking like that comic alot

    Sueve on
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    S_OS_O Registered User regular
    edited April 2008
    The comic is excellent, but the drawing is not that great!

    It appears as if you have hidden the line work layer, and the raggedy color perimeter has been exposed. It is rather sloppy. The anatomy is suspect and the pose is awkward. Do more sketching from life and don't bother with this digital coloring nonsense for a while!

    S_O on
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    The_Glad_HatterThe_Glad_Hatter One Sly Fox Underneath a Groovy HatRegistered User regular
    edited April 2008
    S_O wrote: »
    The anatomy is suspect and the pose is awkward. Do more sketching from life and don't bother with this digital coloring nonsense for a while!

    I know the drawing is far from perfect, it was mainly done to test out digital colouring. I do quite a lot of drawing from life (at least 4 hours a week in class, occasionally some portraits outside of class). But i'm really struggling to find a way to get some power and character in my digital drawigns.

    Maybe the size of my wacom doesn't really help... I have the a graphire 2 with an active surface comparable to a sheet of A6 paper...

    The_Glad_Hatter on
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    FantasyrogueFantasyrogue Registered User regular
    edited April 2008
    Zoom out? I mean, I have a graphire of about that size and I don't think it significally hampers my ability to draw a character in a way I like (there are other things that do that). Unless you like drawing in very large strokes, of course. (Although I've considered getting a new tablet, and a bigger one at that).

    I can't really advise on getting power and character in your drawings so much though, as it's somewhat of a problem for me. I find that, the more I've been practicing, the better my drawings become. The better I grasp anatomy, the better my character's poses become (and more natural looking). Also, looking at references helps.

    And can I jump on the "I like the comic" bandwagon? :P

    Fantasyrogue on
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    beavotronbeavotron Registered User regular
    edited April 2008
    you can't blame your tablet.
    i use a small tablet, it's perfect
    sorry dude, you can't go around blaming the software, the scanner, the old computer, the crappy mouse or any of that shit around here, it just doesn't fly.
    it's about skills, not tools.

    beavotron on
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    The_Glad_HatterThe_Glad_Hatter One Sly Fox Underneath a Groovy HatRegistered User regular
    edited April 2008
    beavotron wrote: »
    you can't blame your tablet.

    No no, i wasn't just trying to use my lil" tablet as an excuse for failures or anything like that. I was just wondering if it played any role in the result (since i don't really use the short strokey lines in non digital drawings, not in when colouring at least...).

    So I 'll gladly admit any faults in the drawing are mine. I made those jaggedy lines WITH my tablet but not because of my tablet (it's not the size, it's how you use it ;) ). i'm doing my best to improve and am looking forward to giving digital colouring another shot (right after i finish off my current schoolwork).

    The_Glad_Hatter on
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    The_Glad_HatterThe_Glad_Hatter One Sly Fox Underneath a Groovy HatRegistered User regular
    edited April 2008
    School was quite busy, so i had to pause my digital colouring. I did manage to finish this drawing JUST in time for the deadline.
    It's a submission to a children's illustration magazine. All the students in our class compete for a single spot. This time it's a story about a family wanting to go to the coast. the car won't start, so they end up just pretending the garden is a beach.

    Done using Gouache, acryilcs, chinese ink, bister and photoshop.
    knuffel6rgbklein.jpg

    I'm quite happy with the results (my first actual piece in goache), altough i'm not completely pleased with the skin tones. I always have difficulty mixing those up. Does anyone have any hints for mixing skintones using cmy+black/white? (i have more paints than those, but i generally start from cmyk mixing).
    Any other flaws/ suggestions?

    The_Glad_Hatter on
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    MustangMustang Arbiter of Unpopular Opinions Registered User regular
    edited April 2008
    I think it's great.
    For some reason I really like everything today, either everything is good or I'm turning into one of those creepy people who think everything is great no matter how bad it is.......I'm hoping on the former, but my lack of critque is becoming distubing.

    Mustang on
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    MykonosMykonos Registered User regular
    edited May 2008
    I'm quite happy with the results (my first actual piece in goache), altough i'm not completely pleased with the skin tones. I always have difficulty mixing those up. Does anyone have any hints for mixing skintones using cmy+black/white? (i have more paints than those, but i generally start from cmyk mixing).
    Any other flaws/ suggestions?

    well I think this is a big improvement. It's a got lot more style and flair and you should roll with it. I'm not sure how to help you out with ur skin tone answer, since I assume your talking within the parameters of a cartoony style, but I would stay away from black and white and use your light source as a partial determinant - like use blues and purples if your characters are out in natural sunlight.

    Now if you wanted to achieve a more natural look, scan the pages of the questions and doodles thread where I posted marta dhalig's skin tone pallete. It's a bit difficult to use though because it requires a mixing of various colors like greens, reds, browns etc but with enough practice you'll be able achieve amazing results using those provided colors

    Mykonos on
    [SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]
    "I was born; six gun in my hand; behind the gun; I make my final stand"~Bad Company
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    The_Glad_HatterThe_Glad_Hatter One Sly Fox Underneath a Groovy HatRegistered User regular
    edited May 2008
    Mykonos wrote: »
    marta dhalig's skin tone pallete.
    I can only seem to find the link to the photoshop brush tutorials she did. The site they're hosted on, imagineFX looks like it's got a lot of helpfull advice though. thanks for the tip!

    The_Glad_Hatter on
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    MykonosMykonos Registered User regular
    edited May 2008
    Here ya go. Just use the eyedropper tool and save the color to swatches.

    I would suggest you read up all you can find on skin hues, color theory, and blending techniques before diving in with these - as using these exclusively can be real tough at first, especially when trying to achieve a porcelain appearance

    Skine_Tone_Pallettes_by_AdventDawn.jpg

    Mykonos on
    [SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]
    "I was born; six gun in my hand; behind the gun; I make my final stand"~Bad Company
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    The_Glad_HatterThe_Glad_Hatter One Sly Fox Underneath a Groovy HatRegistered User regular
    edited June 2008
    With most of my exams being finished, i decided to have another go at digital colouring. I tried to work quicker, and apparently i have more fun that way AND it looks better (to me). The palette Mykonos posted really helped me a lot!
    What say you, AC?

    [IMG]http://users.telenet.be/chrisv/fabienne_chrisvosters 1.jpg[/IMG]

    The_Glad_Hatter on
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    r-jasperr-jasper Registered User regular
    edited June 2008
    i'd do her...

    it looks heaps better than your first go. try blending the colours a little more esp. around her thigh. but since it's better than anythign i can muster i wont say anything further.

    nice job!

    r-jasper on
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    SublimusSublimus Artist. nowhereRegistered User regular
    edited June 2008
    I'd say pick up the pencil more before you try to venture into color, and especially before you venture into digital color.

    The drawing needs work. That can be fixed with pencil drawing. The values need work. That also can be fixed by pencil drawing.

    Also. If you are trying to render something out, ditch the heavy lines.

    On a positive note. You're right! it does look a lot better!

    Sublimus on
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    Deep FriedDeep Fried Registered User regular
    edited June 2008
    After a lot of lurking and occasional commenting, i decided to make my own artdump here on PA. More specifically because i'd really appreciate some comments/ crits. I'm quite pleased with the way my traditional art techniques are evolving (i'm not "there" yet, but i know i'm on the right track), but my efforts at digital colouring/ inking are somewhat disappointing.

    Looks like she's stabbing her foot.

    Deep Fried on
    DF-BANNER_WEAPON-BROWN.gif
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    The_Glad_HatterThe_Glad_Hatter One Sly Fox Underneath a Groovy HatRegistered User regular
    edited June 2008
    Deep Fried wrote: »
    Looks like she's stabbing her foot.

    In hindsight.. it REALLY looks like she is.. should've avoided that...

    Anyhoo, to try and prevent such mistakes from happening, AC, here's my WIP.
    Apparently they're making a new Inspector Gadget Cartoon. Rather quick and quite dirty. trying my hand at digital sketching, in an effort to get more used to the wacom.

    GoGoGadget.png
    I'm not satisfied with the feet yet, so i thought i'd step back from the image and try again tomorrow.

    In other news; The children's illustration a few posts up got selected for a magazine and is going to print As We Speak ( or As I Type....)

    The_Glad_Hatter on
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    SublimusSublimus Artist. nowhereRegistered User regular
    edited June 2008
    Congrats on getting published!

    With the sketch, the foreshortening of HIS left leg is screwy. It looks really long below the knee.

    Sublimus on
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    MustangMustang Arbiter of Unpopular Opinions Registered User regular
    edited June 2008
    Congrats on the publication! I really do like that piece.

    Mustang on
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    The_Glad_HatterThe_Glad_Hatter One Sly Fox Underneath a Groovy HatRegistered User regular
    edited June 2008
    I think i've just about finished the drawing/ sketch, and would greatly appreciate any further comments before moving on to the colouring. I looked at the original inspector a bit closer, and tried to incorporate as much detail as i could. Do the feet look less wonky? abnormal lenght is due to the nature of his go-go-gadget legs....
    GoGoGadget1.png

    The_Glad_Hatter on
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    The_Glad_HatterThe_Glad_Hatter One Sly Fox Underneath a Groovy HatRegistered User regular
    edited November 2008
    So i'm starting a lil' comic.
    A victorian lady being zapped trough time, seemingly without any reason.
    Each time will have its own distict style/ used material, while the protagonist will keep her original appearance..
    Here are the first two strips. Any comments (lettering, style, size...) would be greatly appreciated.
    Bornyesterday01sml.jpg
    Bornyesterday02sml.jpg

    The_Glad_Hatter on
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    winter_combat_knightwinter_combat_knight Registered User regular
    edited November 2008
    Checked out your DA and i really like these ones...
    Nighttime_can_be_Scary____by_Chrisvosters.jpg
    Oh_dear_me__late_again____by_Chrisvosters.jpg

    winter_combat_knight on
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    The_Glad_HatterThe_Glad_Hatter One Sly Fox Underneath a Groovy HatRegistered User regular
    edited December 2008
    first of all, winter_combat_knight: thank you. both for the comment AND for making me realise that i can hotlink the stuff i have on my DA!!!

    i'm still working on the comic mentioned in the above posts, and the latest comic is supposed to have a "wtf" moment, where the main character looks up and stares right into the eyes of some kind of titan/ robot. The robot design is based on some really old drawings, and i'm open to any suggestions to liven 'em up.

    The extrusions on the arms, yea or nay?

    oh yeah, the canvas is super-long because i thought i'd have the reader start at the bottom and scroll up to read the comic.. Do you guys think that would work?
    bigrobottest.jpg

    The_Glad_Hatter on
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    The_Glad_HatterThe_Glad_Hatter One Sly Fox Underneath a Groovy HatRegistered User regular
    edited June 2009
    Long time No Post in here.. Been busy wrapping up my degree (two more days to go, w00t!)

    My graduation project is a webcomic, and i'd love to get some crits for it.
    I worked on it in bits and pieces throughout the year, and have only just started putting it all together in a presentable manner.

    i'll post the comics themselves in here, but i'd also love any comments on the site design.
    The comic won't be expanding after the 9 comics i'm uploading now, so i don't need to incorperate more room on features on the site. The site will probably only be viewed locally from a school computer at our graduation exhibition, so no need for banners/ whatnot.
    So, i hope it's allright for me to give out the URL without it being sitewhoring since:
    - the site is a big part of the work/ presentation
    - the url and my webspace on it will completely disappear in a few months (since they cut you off after you graduate).

    So Here is the website

    i'll be presenting it on an imac with a screen height of about 1000 pxls, so the entire splash screen wil fit on it.
    not all of the buttons/ pages are up yet, i'm updating them throughout the day.
    i'm going to place the file on the computer i'm using to present it, so loading won't be that much of an issue (i notice comic nr 5 is pretty slow when viewing it online).
    Any notes on tweaking the design would be greatly appreciated.

    And here are the comics (spoilered for size)

    Comic 1
    Bornyesterday01_800.png

    Comic 2
    Bornyesterday02_800.png

    Comic 3
    Bornyesterday03_1000.png

    Comic 4, infinite canvas style, huge file.
    Bornyesterday04_800.png

    Comic 5, Read from bottom to top (it works in the site..), huge file.
    Bornyesterday05_800.png

    The other comics are all in flash (navigate using mouse or keyboard arrows.
    I don't know if i can post flash stuff in these forums, or how i'm supposed to do that, so i'll list the urls for the comics.
    Again, not sitewhoring, this website will disappear in a few weeks and i have nothing to gain by whoreing it...

    Comic 6
    Comic 7
    Comic 8
    and Comic 9 (work in progress, not online yet...)

    So any crits are hugely welcome. lettering, levels, design, colour values... It's a bit too late for me to do huge changes in the drawings themselves, but any crits you guys could give me would give me an awesome preperation for the jury (18 people staring at your work and critting it!), so i'll know what to expect..
    i find i've been staring at these for so long that i can't see the flaws in them...

    The_Glad_Hatter on
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    beavotronbeavotron Registered User regular
    edited June 2009
    oh wow i really like that page where you read from bottom to top
    it's a really clever way to add to the confusion the character is feeling
    aces on creativity, duder!

    beavotron on
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