Warlock & Felguard

[GoddessVirage]

This is my 3rd digital piece- I normally paint traditionally but figured that if I want an industry job I'm going to have to cross over at some point! It's my boyfriend's Warlock character, Constayn, and her Felguard from World of Warcraft. I am about 65% finished I'd say...

I wonder if anyone sees any mistakes that I can still catch and correct at this point, or any overall suggestions they think would be worthwhile! This is only my third photoshop attempt so my brain is still fresh for absorbing new habits (both bad and good)! If you want to see my other 2 digital attempts they are in my sketchbook linked in my sig- then you can see where I'm coming from

Let me know what you think, and thank you for being patient with my learning process!

Virage

[Brandon Pilcher]

I don't know if it's a stylistic decision on your part, but her eyes look too big for me.

[FourTonMantis]

I have to agree with the thing about the eyes. Not only the size, but those lines underneath make her look old and tired. With some more subtlety they could be a lot sexier. Besides that, though, I like this piece a lot.

[Izi]

I'm a little bored by the values, compositionally it's suicide....just one big neutral value desert with conflicting color choices. It could be made a lot more interesting by bumping the value on her and a few key accents to high and using a dark wash on everything else. Orange, green, blue and red arn't very exciting. If i were to fix it straight off the top of my head I would do an orange outfit with blue smoke.

The anatomy appears to be stylized so i won't add to what others have said, however his chin looks like a penis and his shoulder a massive butt. The thighs to support that weight would push his arms further apart, fyi....

I used to do RPG portraits so i know the limitations of "being close to the game itself" but in all instances it always comes out looking like crap compared to hard artistic choices. (and to the above poster, if it were my warlock I would want her to look old and tired, not sexy, so lets not jump to conclusions here)

Here is what I am talking about with the value composition:

[clarithium]

Why are satyrs always engaging in lewd acts?!

Anyways, once you fix those eyes, bump up the contrast.

Even just 2 [and might I add sparingly adjusted] adjustment layers liven it up... see attachment

[arenhaus]

I'd tighten the structure. There are a lot of little annoying "off by a bit" things everywhere, that get in the way of a cohesive volume and structure. The lower eyelids kill the roundness of the eyes, the collarbone area is fake, the mouth has a painted-on look instead of being a structured form...

[Giacomo]

This piece looks good, nice color, good control of the brush. You have "da mad skillz," as they used to say back in the day.

I will stick my neck out and say I'm not sure if "the eyes are too big" is as much an issue here as "it looks like fan art." There are all sorts of shortcuts and stylizations (giant eyes being only one instance) in this piece that seem to be accepted as OK by the fan art community, but would be considered cartoonish in a "realistic" painting. If you're looking to work professionally, I'd strongly recommend that going forward you get in the habit of working from observation, whether a live model or a photo.

Just my two cents.

[tmth]

The eyes may or may not be too big, but they're definitely too high on the skull. The eyebrow line is actually around the center of the skull.
Watch out for these values, while the armor looks better now, it contrasts way too much to be in the background, it pops to the front now, which gives it a flat, graphic look. May be what you're going for with this piece, in that case you should adjust everything else.
Add some color accents to the face. It is usually divided into three areas - yellowish forehead, reddish eyes and cheeks and blueish/greenish mouth.
Don't get caught up in the detailwork too fast. It's nice, I know, I love it too, but make sure everything else works before jumping into details. Read: FINISH THE DAMN LEG.

[GoddessVirage]

Ok! This is awesome! I am reworking the things everyone has pointed out so I will update when I've made some progress I really appreciate everyone's suggestions, thank you!

[Izi]

You're welcome, also looked at your deviant art gallery, very nice. i am in the exact opposite boat, I can paint digitally but have become rusty traditionally and am trying to get a show together for the first time in 3 years.

Why are satyrs always engaging in lewd acts?

In this case it isn't lewd, the nymphs are trying to get him to take a bath - maybe thats why they are always running from them. Satyrs are personifications of Pan, the "progenitor" a mega-creator godform....procreation involves lots of sex, and sex is considered lewd by cabbages or something.

My body, weary of empty clasp,
Strong as a lion and sharp as an asp ---
Come, O come!
I am numb
With the lonely lust of devildom.
Thrust the sword through the galling fetter,
All-devourer, all-begetter;
Give me the sign of the Open Eye,
And the token erect of thorny thigh,
And the word of madness and mystery,
O Pan! Io Pan!
Io Pan! Io Pan Pan! Pan Pan! Pan,

- Magick in Theory and Practice, Hymn to Pan

[Sulphur]

As a rule of thumb, the eyes should be far enough apart from each other so that you can just about squeeze another one of the same size in the middle, but as people are saying, changing the eye size is optional.

Not so sure what she is doing though - sitting on a rock I think, however the rock is somewhat oddly shaped (somewhere between a maggot and a croissant?) and is looking man-made. What were you aiming for?

Also, it could be interesting if you made it clear where this is set as it might give it an added layer of depth

[wooblood]

I sort of skimmed through the other comments, so forgive me if I repeat anything.

First thing that happened when I looked at this was that I saw the girl sitting there and thought that behind her was some graphical/ornamental background mixed with clouds, and then I realized that's another character (after looking at your title also). The odd anatomy, hidden face, ambiguous silhouette, and currently muted contrast all contribute to that effect. I don't know what a Felguard is supposed to look like, but I have a really hard time reading his face in your image.
Also, I feel that once you finish drawing in her lower body, it will confuse the pose that the Felguard is in. I'd consider shifting things so we can see his hand holding the weapon back there.
And this is pretty irrelevant, but aren't warlocks by definition male? Or is it being used in a different context here?

[Sulphur]

And this is pretty irrelevant, but aren't warlocks by definition male? Or is it being used in a different context here?

Nah, WoW warlocks can be female too

[wooblood]

Nah, WoW warlocks can be female too

Sonuvagun. What will they think of next? Male nuns?? Female voters???

[Iridyse]

Overall the only thing that bothers me is that is lighting is really flat. See the Bouguereau example, how the rich and lively the painting looks thanks to the lighting. I did a quick paintover, I tried not to change too much on the face but I ended up making the eyes a bit smaller, sorry.
Hope it helps!