Student Portfolio- design help?

[kadianimation]

So i'm graduating at the end of April, and i need to start getting things done for my portfolio. I'm still working on drawing animals, aliens and men so that my stuff isn't all girls, LOL. I posted here last year, and the jump between my stuff is a huge difference. I'd love to have crits on style, designs, shape and anything else you can think of. Most of these aren't final designs, or final sketches, so i'm looking for more general crits than image crits, unless things look finished. Thanks a bunch!

[Twoplus]

Your style is very cute - I like it! The only critique I have is the feet - I'm sure it's a style choice, but sometimes they just look too small...like you didn't want them to exist.

[SakariSingh]

I have to disagree with Twoplus, the feet are obviously a stylistic choice. Personally I think it adds to exaggeration of your figures.

I see that you have lots of lovely character design, but do you have any environment drawings that you plan to add?

[Jakob]

wow, lot of pics pld:
I really like your style. don't know why but while looking at your work I had to think about my summer in paris last year
I love the pink-tiger, he looks like an old man living in my neighbourhood
great job

[petitemistress]

i positively ADORE your line of work! sorta reminds me of Kim Possible (thats a rly gd thing in my book).
i noticed some things that looked off to me so here goes:

i would make the shield Maiden's legs a bit longer, her torso seems too long for her legs, even tho its a stylistic choice...
the upper lip of "bringing sexy back" xD is a bit too black, and connects her cheekbones in a mustache-awkward way.
on the girl in the 6th sketch from the bottom (folded arms, angry look girl) the left leg (our left) is curved in the wrong direction; the red line we still see is actually more correct than the shape you chose; it looks like her calf is on backwards... am i making any sense to you? excuse my english lol
your Geisha kicks my ass. i love it!

thats basically all i can see "wrong" right now, which says a lot: minor tweaking in wt id say is overall a real good job! good luck with your job search and congrats on graduating!

[alicat08]

I love your style! My favorite is definitely bringing sexy back!

[Olof]

Think about the expressions in your characters. Most of them have an apathic, blank stare or have a negative, depressive touch. Try using your skill (cause you're good at this) and draw them having different expressions, try hungry apes, tired cats, angry kids, zombies in love, pleased pandas.. and so on. It seems you've tried this but I think you can do it better.

Also think about extreme gestures and poses, even though that bit is probably more covered. Even though it might not be the most important when applying, but have you done anything animated before?

I wish you all of luck and I hope you'll post the full portfolio.

.cheers

[kadianimation]

Thanks so much!!!

@Twoplus: It is a stylistic choice i guess, i wasn't aware of just how much i DO do it until you pointed it out.

@Sakari: Yes i do, but it is a lot weaker than my design, i think. I'm still stuck on making things work in perspective, rather than DESIGNING something.
Attached is a painting i am working on... any comments on the values would be immensely appreciated.

@Jakob: That's a great thing to think of! I'd love to go to Paris in the future, but i need to work for awhile before that is possible.
The tiger does look like a characature, doesn't he? I have trouble drawing animals, so it appears that he has a human face, unfortunately.

@Petite: You are SO right about the sexy back image. I remember doing that and bemoaning the fact that she looked like she had a mustache. I might be able to tweak it in photoshop as i don't want to redraw it and lose the spontanaety of the linework. And the legs on that image are totally wonky. I'm not using her for my portfolio but i will definitely watch myself when drawing legs.

@Alicat08: Thanks, me too! I like to use it to horrify my classmates by making it appear around the class.

@MorteM: Oh, i love those ideas! I am going to draw those right now (great exercise, thank you!) Its funny, i love to draw expressions but when i'm designing anything the characters are A) usually looking to the left (which is weird) or angry/blank. Its definitely something that needs to be addressed in regards to my final portfolio so thank you for bringing it to my attention!

I'm actually in school for animation. I have a REALLY hard time visualizing movement and posing for some reason, which makes it hard to animate and storyboard for me, but i am trying to work through it because i do not want to give up on animating.

Here's something semi-recent: http://youtube.com/watch?v=Jq4HH1Mh5Fc

Her turn needs some fixing, and so does her faint (has no inbetweens) but i think that it shows different expressions well?

I have some more sketches to post once i get my scanner to work, but here are some half finished pieces and a couple of environment designs. I'm re-doing the house interior, the perspective and the atmosphere is COMPLETELY wrong. I was trying to make a crowded witches' cottage with a loft but it is extremely the wrong design for that (it looks like a VAST room)

I really enjoy reading all your crits! Sorry for the massive amounts of images.

[petitemistress]

man, i def like your stuff;

abt the greyscale environment; im no pro on buildings but since it seems tome like thelight is coming from behind the buildings (like a sunrise), you shd def add the buildings' shadows, so it doesnt look like they are floating... i dont know if you see it too?

oh and besides looking vast, that cottage looks pretty awsm!

[radioblur]

If I had one critique for you it would be to watch your contraposto stances a little more carefully. A number of these characters seem like they're physically off-balance-- like at any moment they are goign to fall over from a lack of coordination. Haha, maybe that was too harsh. Still, not many of them seem properly grounded. For standing characters (or even sitting ones) try drawing a straight line down from their head and make sure that the line is not in front of or behind them, and that any foot which is not having weight put on it it adequately compensated for by the foot that must do all the balancing. It sounds kind of hokey, but the technique really works. If the line (their center of gravity) seems off to you, like if their body and legs are 3 inches to the right of it instead of a great dealer closer, consider revision.

Other than that, I have to say I LOVE your style. It is incredibly interesting, and the way you are able to push each character's features to different extremes keeps me hooked, and really yields info about their character without the necessity of words. Keep up the good work.

[kadianimation]

Yeahhhh, I think i'm going to have to do that. The shading was my awful attempt at trying to do atmospheric shading... so less contrast as the picture fades away. But its a failure when it comes to that, so i might as well work with what i have and make it a sunrise. And the buildings definately need some more shadows! (no one wants floating buildings)

And BTW, the bottom picture is just a very very small part of a MASSIVE pan that i am working on. The photographs are all based on Victorian Post-Mortem photography, so everyone in the images died in some horrible way.

One. BY DINOSAUR.

@Radioblur: Oh, that's an awesome thing to use! I love to draw using the "s" curve but i can push it way too much sometimes. The character with the massive hair is sort of clutsy, so in her case i guess deliberately making her look off balance, plus having some poses (for the future) of her falling down and such would work greatly to push that.

And thanks a bunch! I was really worried about my stuff for a long while, I only stopped drawing everything anime-styled two years ago (it was like a very, very hard drug to get rid of... and its still somewhat in my system)

I'm applying for a disney internship (LONG SHOT but i can't NOT apply) and i really really must work on all my stuff so that i have more than an itsy bitsy chance.

[Olof]

@MorteM: Oh, i love those ideas! I am going to draw those right now (great exercise, thank you!) Its funny, i love to draw expressions but when i'm designing anything the characters are A) usually looking to the left (which is weird) or angry/blank. Its definitely something that needs to be addressed in regards to my final portfolio so thank you for bringing it to my attention!

I'm actually in school for animation. I have a REALLY hard time visualizing movement and posing for some reason, which makes it hard to animate and storyboard for me, but i am trying to work through it because i do not want to give up on animating.

Here's something semi-recent: http://youtube.com/watch?v=Jq4HH1Mh5Fc

Her turn needs some fixing, and so does her faint (has no inbetweens) but i think that it shows different expressions well?

I have some more sketches to post once i get my scanner to work, but here are some half finished pieces and a couple of environment designs. I'm re-doing the house interior, the perspective and the atmosphere is COMPLETELY wrong. I was trying to make a crowded witches' cottage with a loft but it is extremely the wrong design for that (it looks like a VAST room)

I really enjoy reading all your crits! Sorry for the massive amounts of images.

Ah yes, I re-read your post and I figured out you were in artschool. Just didn't manage to re-write mine.

I understand you want to make neutral poses for characters, it's probably be easier for the person that's supposed to turn them into orthos, 3d or whatever the next step in line will be. Nothing wrong with that, but they'll make up pretty dull illustrations. I think you already knew this but it might be worth pointing out anyways.

I'm not close to your standards, but I really believe visualization of movement will come by practice. I don't know if you've used it but Eadward Muybridge did take alot of wonderful photos that's excellent for references. Try posting your storyboards for critique (you'll have to fix that scanner first).

I'd love to see more of your enviromental works. The witch hut that you're describing as wrong design is actually my favourite in all of your posts. I really enjoy the style of this art and the way you're using line weight to describe the room. If I were to be nitpicky and crit the design, I'd say add more general crap. I wouldn't see a witch as someone who cleaned her hut more than once in a lifetime

I like the movie! Disneyprincess on a plane. From what I've tried that looks like really loads of work..

Don't apologize for the number of pictures. It's just good to see alot of works with lot's of variety! Though if you're working on a portfolio you shouldn't include this many pictures. Keep it simple and include only relevant works (if you're applying for a job as a storyboarder you probably don't have to show your character designs).

.cheers

[Noah Bradley]

Loving the work here. A lot of great gestures, emotions, and linework. I really like the painterly feel you've got in some of the more "finished" pieces. The last interior line drawing is really nice; good detail, solid sense of space.

Good luck on getting a job.

[SakariSingh]

It looks like you're approaching the way you draw your buildings the same way you approach your figures. I think your buildings are lacking weight. In your characters, the weight seems to come from the linework, but the lifework for the buildings look a little stiff (I have the same problem when drawing almost anything nonfigurative). Try using more extreme value and highlights in your environments.

Nice animation by the way, I'm an animation student too! http://raw.channelfrederator.com/profile/SakariSingh

[Jigokusabre]

Well, I can't really comment on how you draw guysm because amongst all the drawings, there hardly a single full drawing of a guy. What I've seen looks OK.

You draw girls very well in a very DCAU-esque style. Your backgrounds are simlarly simple / crip and fit with your characters' motif.

[Ito Saith Webb]

I like the style and it reminds me a lot of the "Old School" Disney style back in Walt's days, believe my while today's Disney style maybe very good it is also very static unlike the old days when it was looser and open to more creativity. You have a large amount of stuff but I would advise that when you put it together that you do it in sections. Separate them in categories like character, animal, outdoor & indoor environments. I would also suggest that you keep working on pieces that are designed for just a portfolio, because it should reflect your very best.

Hope that helps.

[`rawr]

good luck with the disney internship, you may want to do a add a few character designs that are a bit more pushed and out of your usual style to show some versatility. Also downplay the layouts except for that awesome forest one, they are not a strong point. post some thumbnails of your next layouts because once they're cleaned up, it's over.. oh and the old school swimming outfits one is way too brosgol

great stuff

[kadianimation]

@Rawr: I think for my main portfolio, especially the one i will be sending to Disney, i won't be putting in many environments at all, mostly because I am not too good with them. I have a couple of others i want to work on, and i will be definitely posting them. Hopefully i can start posting some stuff that will actually BE in my portfolio soon... most of this stuff won't and were mostly character designs and school projects. And i completely agree, the beach one is way too Brosgol lol. I really have to watch that because for awhile i was pretty much drawing just like her without much of a thought and i had to correct it.

@Ito: Thanks for that! I agree with the current disney style... Its been the same for such a long time that i hope they start experimenting with different looks soon. And i definitely will be focusing mostly on character design, so most of my portfolio will be just that.

@Jigo: I'm going to do some guy drawings tonight, so that i can get some crits on them. The vast majority of guys i draw are old men lol. I can't get guy's legs to look right...

@Sakari: That's a great idea to think about, and if i do another (and I should be) i will be thinking of that.

@Morte: mmm, although i am working on a portfolio, most of these pieces aren't actually portfolio pieces. They're mostly concept stuff, which will be included but not actually at the forefront for the portfolio. I have to get cracking on finished designs, characters and things. I'm going to be working on the Witch model pack tonight.

[jenzi]

I must say, that you have a really nice portfolio coming along here. and I really like your environments, characters, and lighting! I still like to see some more stuff from you thats not just girls, being able to do a lot of different things is a must when working as a concept artist. perhaps a character as evil in one version and good in the other, or an environment thats toxic and one that is paradise, showing diversity and inventiveness will score you a lot of points at any company. anyways thanks for showing us these beautiful pieces of work!

[EricElwell]

Yeah, I don't have much to crit, you seem to know what you are doing and producing great work in a particular style. The only real thing I would critique is the coloring on the redhead girl specifically lacks contrast and is feeling a bit flat. Other than that, I would just recommend diversifying a bit. Seeing a lot of cartoon women, which is fun to see because those are two things I can say that I am NOT good at but it would be great to see some pieces from you in different mediums and emphasis on different styles. I think you'll find, especially in animation, that you'll have to work together with a large team of artists, and the style will be dictated for you. So as far as marketing yourself and building a great portfolio, you want to show that you are capable of delivering in a variety of mediums and styles.

[emerging]

dude you should totally go into animation as a lead animator or something, just draw keyposes and let other animators fill in whatever is in between

[yujlee]

Your style is absolutely adorable. And anything that I was going to say, seems to be said already... But just wanted to let you know that i adore your style!

[Sadetar]

Perhaps you could add more different kind of men and little boys to your portfolio. But I loooove your style. You definitelly got a new fan.

[kadianimation]

Thanks for all the comments!!! I'm working really hard on finalizing designs for the "Wyrding U" (which is the witch one) model pack and i have some new images. The animal images will probably be used as they are, with some colour added. I really am leaning towards experimenting with bristleboard, grey markers and watercolours for final stuff, i really want to achieve a storybook-like feel to the pack.

Plus a cowboy and the witches familiar's for good measure. And crazy face tamaura displaying an emotion other than sad or angry XD

@Jenzi: "perhaps a character as evil in one version and good in the other" I am doing that for this model pack and I hope i can get it up today. The indian character gets possessed by a djinn at some point in the story, and she physically changes.

@EricElwell: As of right now, I'm focusing on my disney model pack for visdev, which will be more focused on my own personal style than a diverse sample of styles. I contacted a few people who won internships in that area, and they all said that this is what disney wants to see, so that's what i'm doing. Aside from that, since its more of a "it would be cool if it happened, but im not banking on it in any way" i am planning a much more diverse portfolio for the local vancouver scene. I am pretty good at working with different styles, though i do not show much that is diverse here. Hopefully in a few weeks i can get cracking on some different styles.

@Emerging: Unfortunately, in a class of 24 students in animation, i am practically near the bottom when it comes to animation ability. I'll leave that job to my friend Heather, who will blow away all competition with her awesomeness.

@Yujlee: Thank you so much! So much praise from everyone, i don't think i can contain it! Its probably because its a happy breath of fresh air from all the sci fi stuff? (my teacher told me that i was ill-suited to this board and should go to drawing board... but you guys are all so helpful!)

@Sadetar: Hey thanks! And I plan on doing a lot of both, though when i will get the time is questionable.

[Chibi Kami]

Your style is one of the most delightfully whimsical and simultaneously thought-provoking that I've ever seen. The characters's thoughts, personalities, and attitudes can be glimpsed in every pic. I think your art reminds me of the likes of Kim Possible, The Gorillaz (oddly enough), and the works of Osamu Tezuka (with smaller eyes). I'm going to recommend giving a nice, fat portfolio to Disney (maybe you can help them make cartoons that don't suck again).

[kadianimation]

good luck with the disney internship, you may want to do a add a few character designs that are a bit more pushed and out of your usual style to show some versatility. Also downplay the layouts except for that awesome forest one, they are not a strong point. post some thumbnails of your next layouts because once they're cleaned up, it's over.. oh and the old school swimming outfits one is way too brosgol

great stuff

I just realized who you were lol. I worked as an intern at Bardel over the summer and I think i either saw you or you were working on the VP trailer that i was working on too *cannot remember*

@Chibi: Thats one of the nicest compliments ever. *getting a big head over all the praise*

[kadianimation]

I need some help on this picture; the colour balance is SUPER OFF, and i don't know how to fix it. It's supposed to be a lush, harem like room, and I wonder if I should add some more detail to the back, or keep as is...

and my perspective is MAJORLY off, but i'm not sure how to fix it. Help?

[Chibi Kami]

To fix the background perspective, try drawing it seperately from the rest of the image and mess with the angle in PhotoShop or Paint Shop Pro so it's the proper angle. Then, figure out where the lines should go and redraw it from your new knowledge.

For detail, I'd throw in a little something near the top. Look for images of actual Persian palaces on Google Images (or just play Prince of Persia: Sand of Time) for ideas. Don't make it too detailed or it will become more important than the foreground.

For coloring, the points where the flame's light hits the background at it's brightest should have some yellow. The backs of the curtains and pillows should be shadowy. Try to think about where no light is hitting, and give it a little shadow.

Out of curiosity, what kind of cartoon would you be interested in making?