Help for an amateur?

[Sinsin]

Hi, this is my first time registering for ConceptArt. I've only heard great things about this website and how helpful everyone is, so I thought I'd try giving it a shot...I've always needed help and willing to learn! Anyways, I am working on this but am having trouble:



I have cropped it, but it is Alice from Alice Madness. Her anatomy bothers me a lot, but I can't figure it out. If anyone can give me critique or red lines, it will be greatly appreciated! Not just on anatomy but anything else as well. (Please note that her anatomy is stylized to fit the game but I still want it to be comfortable to look at.)

edit: here's the whole drawing...

[Velocity Kendall]

its really well painted. maybe try shoving things around in photoshop to make sure the composition youve picked is working as well as it can for you.

[sone_one]

i like it. yet id rather have her charging towards the right, into the picture. i also think the placement of her left leg in the shadow area of the skirt creates some readability issues. looks like shes one-legged at first glance.

you got a great start, really looking forward to this.

[Tenchan]

Hope it can helps you somewhat orz

[Giacomo]

Her anatomy bothers me a lot, but I can't figure it out.

Unless Alice has just tripped and is in the process of doing a faceplant, her pose is just so wrong that no redline or paintover is going to save it. On any running figure, the upper and lower parts of the body need to move in opposite directions to keep the figure in balance through each stride; also, the arms swing to counterbalance the legs as the figure runs forward. You'd do well to put in a bit of research on what running figures actually look like and do another version.

[Sinsin]

Thank you so much everyone! I'm trying to apply every critique right now. I'm looking up references of running figures and if I can't salvage what there is now, I will probably start over.

[Maggietoh]

Nice! I did a quick paintover. I think she's leaning forward a bit too much. She's also looking at the ground along with the cat but theres nothing there to focus on and makes it seem a bit lifeless. Hope the paintover helps a little.



EDIT- Just realized the arms are going the wrong way - Giacomo was right about the counterbalance.

[Sinsin]

Wow, after I studied some references I can't understand my own picture anymore. I think the problem came from the fact that she was originally jumping, but I didn't think about what running really looked like and thought I'd just let her leg drop to the floor....didn't work and now we have this.

Going back to see if I can balance anything up/redo her whole body.

@Maggie: did you mean there was no focus point where the cat was or the whole pic?

[Sinsin]

Do you guys think the position would make more sense if both her legs were lifted like she's jumping? That's how it originally was before I planted one of her legs to the ground; she was floating on top of the butterflies.

edit: something like this:

[Griffonnage]

Just a question out of curiosity : did you use photoshop for this painting ? I really love the way colors blend with smooth part and hard lighting at some other surface...

My only crit would be the scratched part... I know Alice mind is the problem in the dual univers, but at first look I didn't understand it was a rift and it was coming from her head... I would make her dress and the rift cross each other, and maybe accentuate the scratch effect

Looking forward to see your final, it's a really nice illustration !

[Giacomo]

Do you guys think the position would make more sense if both her legs were lifted like she's jumping?

Look, the problem here is that the pose doesn't correspond to any gesture in reality. She looks like some kind of mannequin with the limbs stuck at random angles, and she's in the process of tipping over. If you want the figure to work, you need to A) decide exactly what she's supposed to be doing in this picture, B) find some photo reference with a figure whose pose communicates that action well, and C) redraw the figure based on that reference. Cut-and-paste (or cut-and-paste-and-flip) is not going to save you.

[iambanana]

Bear in mind I'm also an amateur so take this with a grain of salt:
Absolutely loving this, the only thing that bugs me a bit is that theres just too much happening, my eyes are going all over the place. I did some lightening and darkening to try and cope.

[Velocity Kendall]

these are dead handy for running, i use these a lot. a well reffed running thing looks so much faster than a made-up one.

[Angel Intheuk]

I love the colours too, the composition is good in my opinion (i'm not an expert either I'm afraid) however it looks like she's wearing a cape in the original post. The one where she is jumping into wonderland makes better sense, storytelling wise, and would be even better if she was using the knife to make the rip in reality. I don't know if that's the story behind it but that would make a more dynamic picture and give her a reason to be jumping.

[Sinsin]

Just a question out of curiosity : did you use photoshop for this painting ?

Yes I use Photoshop CS6 to draw.

Thank you all so much for all the great feedback, it's hard getting crits like this nowadays. Every single one of these posts have been helpful! I've saved all of the posts so that I can look back onto it later. I bought myself an anatomy book and my friend also gave me some of Michael Hampton's stuff so that I can study a little more before I jump back into it. Need a little foundation for things to make sense.

[fersteger2]

You have a great painting technique, a great finish, but like everyone said, study up on anatomy, movement, balance, giving life to the figure, then apply your awesome painting technique and you'll be producing completely well rounded images.

[fxEVo]

Nice picture, cant wait for the final, my comment is about the footwork, you are lacking of the heels here, and the dynamic of front surface of thrusting foot, need more of that, ang considering the original heel and the extra layer of boots.

Here is some pic to look at: