Critique is needed

[v3gar]

My mains issues so far:
I have a problem with my character looking to flat
Dont know how to light the background
I want do get a bigger color range and contrast, but dont know how

Please tell me evrything that you think could be better, it would be very appreciated

[Artimatum]

According to the cut and paste thread critique ,"The piece feels really flat because it is lacking any believable/dynamic lighting. Remember that form is shown through shadow"

I like the idea of the piece,but it looks like his shield is a giant chocolate bar,and his hand holding the spear looks like its fused to it.

Remember to do plenty thumbnails and get plenty of references for everything

[AmeryB]

Something that stands out to me is the arm anatomy - you have a very bulky character there, yet his arm seems quite tiny and too short.
As far as your character looking flat - aside from what was said above, I think his skin tone is rather lost in all the pastel colors behind him.
The texturing on the shield and armor looks quite nice.

[Mr. Corlan]

Yep, huge value issues are the biggest thing. Check it out in greyscale:


You can hardly see a thing. If you squint a little, the figure is all one value, which is the same value as the ground, the castle, the mountains, and the sky.

Also, you might want to think about your subject matter a bit? What this appears to be, is a very muscular and scary old man, wearing nothing but a belt, one pauldron, and a scrap of cloth which is blowing in the wind so we are in great danger of glimpsing his shriveled genitals. That's certainly not something I would immediately think to paint, but if it's what you want, I'm sure it could be pretty fantastic.


So, Value Arrangement. Simple is best. This is one reason why you should do thumbnails: they're small, so you have to simplify. Picture what you want in your head, and maybe scribble some rough line thumbnails first, then go get references and start figuring out how you can make reality fit what you want. Here are a couple:



Some good refs should give you a good idea what your value arrangement will be like. In it's simplest form, this image might be just a silhouette—the dark figure and trees in the shadow, against a light background.


Add just one more value and you really have all the important stuff in your composition. With some different size stripes of light on the ground, we're starting to get some depth.


Then just keep refining it. If you keep everything in the background light, you'll have plenty of room for some value shifts in the figure without messing up the overall arrangement.


In line with the references, I've made the castle much smaller, and with more tall, narrow forms, so it looks less childlike.

Gotta run. To be continued . . . (probably)

[v3gar]

reply to : Artimatum
It didn´t strike me as I was making it, but after you mentioned it i just wanted to eat the shield. And i will make more thumbnails and use more references from now on, and thanks for responding!

[v3gar]

Reply to: AmeryB
I will fix that arm, as i see whats wrong clearly now I am glad you like the texturing! And I will also try to fix his skin tone getting lost

[v3gar]

Reply to: Mr. Corlan
I am very new to this site, and this is the first time I am posting anything here. And i got to say I was very pleasently surprised when i saw the response. I really appreciate that you took the time to do this, because this is quality information and really useful tips! Seeing the painting in grayscale, really makes it clear to see what the major flaw is. As for the character, my intentions wasn´t to make a male medievel hooker but more a fearless barbaric looking machoman. I see now that I wasn´t quite spot on and I need to cover him up a bit.

You also made me realize the importance of thumbnail sketches and reference pictures( Which was also mentioned in the above posts), and how much the value arrangement will affect the impression of the picture as a whole. I also have a question: Do you recommend working in grayscale to practice values and then apply colors. Or should I work with colors and check the values in grayscale once in a while.

I gotta say that last thumbnail sketch you made me see that my idea had potential to look good, and it got me really inspired to work more on it. I will post a update on the painting sooner or later when I have tried to apply the things that have been mentioned here.
And thanks again for the constructive critisism

[Mr. Corlan]

Good. You're welcome.

Haha. Well, if I was wearing a loincloth, I wouldn't want it flapping in the wind. Tighten it up a bit. Check out Frazetta, he does these sort of guys a lot. And your man looks old because of his baldness, large-ish ears, jowls, and his prominent veins.

Hm, good question. Doing value studies is always good, but if you're doing a full-color, finished piece it can be hard to color in a black & white painting. So yeah, working with color and checking it in grayscale is a good idea. If you make thumbnails in B&W up to the point of my last example, you can work full-color from there and you shouldn't have to worry about your values too much.

Here's some tips for the figure. You're proportions are way off. Now my example is a pretty average man, so if you want something more bulky, that's fine, but it's always wise to learn what's normal before you go messing around. It's also flat: no perspective or tilting masses.

Also, here's a little mini-tutorial I did a while ago on torso anatomy: http://conceptart.org/forums/attachm...1&d=1337277536

[Mr. Corlan]

Also, here's a way to draw figures from an inclined view. It doesn't really work for complex stuff, but for some things it can make your life much easier. You just draw an easy, 2D view of a figure on an angle and then carry the horizontals over.

[Lulie]

Also, here's a way to draw figures from an inclined view. It doesn't really work for complex stuff, but for some things it can make your life much easier. You just draw an easy, 2D view of a figure on an angle and then carry the horizontals over.

Dude, black magic! So that's how it's done. Any book recommendations that teach more figure-in-perspective tips?

[v3gar]

Dude, black magic! So that's how it's done. Any book recommendations that teach more figure-in-perspective tips?

If you haven´t already, you should checkout Andrew Loomis-Figure drawing for all it´s worth
Link:
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[self-epidemic]

I was going to help, but honestly. You are getting SO MUCH help. I can't wait to see it when you've tried them out.