My Sketchbook - Crit welcome

[Talon of the Silver]

Hey people,


Here is a pic I drew today of the Ragnarok from FFVII.

[Fayt]

what is that?

[deez]

its from the video game final fantasy 8? right...? and its a ship...? i think?

[Talon of the Silver]

Erm, yeah it is. Tell me what you think though, not just asking WTF it is.

[sixBlade]

try and give more form to the object - shading should mainly be used to give depth to the object so it doesn't look like a 2d mess on a piece of paper. also, unless you want your work to look particularly comic-like then i would suggest using that thick black border you put around this piece ONLY on parts closer to the 'camera' view we see the picture through to bring them closer.

I'm not too good and I really don't understand what it is meant to be so I can't crit any further, sorry!

[Sok N. Wett]

What it looks like to me is just random shapes and lines slapped on paper. Use some of the crits that sixBlade just gave, and give the object more depth by using those bulkier lines. Some of your lines looks like you were lazy to make them curve or even make them straight take your time, and double check how your laying it out. Use some shadings to make them feel more like a 3d object, add some shadows to the point where it seperates the ships from each other, that would let it show some depth, right now things looks way toooooo flat. Well keep at it and take your time.

-Sok

[ApolloNuevo]

first of all you need to learn about perspective. second about emotion and how to rough in a form then continually hone it down to what the final image will be.

-dan

[Kaoki]

also in this section you just keep adding your images to the one thread, i noticed you had another one in here a while ago, not having a go at you mate just letting you know, so just keep sticking em in here, helps people to get a feel for your stuff and help you better (and we can keep track of your progress)

[Talon of the Silver]

Hey,

Thanks for the crit. I see what youi mean that it looks a little random. Probably not to me because I know the image.
I'll go over the edges and outlines of things I want to stick out with my fineliner.

In the mean time, here is a copy sketch I did of cloud. It isn't perfect, but then no art is, is it?

[Talon of the Silver]

Heres some new work,



This one is from the front cover of the 24 series 3 box. It doesn't look that much like Kiefer Sutherland, does it?



These are random faces I spent an hour or so doing. They are all no ref, so feel free to tell me what you think are the main things I should work on in facial make-up.

Crit welcome,

Talon

[Talon of the Silver]

Just in case I ever get any actual critique around here.

I hope that someday someone from this forum will actually help out someone who needs help, not just telling Phuzion or Robolus or whoever has the best art how good he/she is.

Heres another image, I'v been keeping to my at leat two hours a day schedule, but only posting things up on here that are remotely worth looking at



As always, crit is welcome, but I doubt I'll get any...

[Farvus]

I have few suggestion. Adults have eyes always in the middle of the face.Just try sketching from life or anatomy books. Your lines improved but try to vary the thickness more.

And the last, most important thing - keep posting .

[Talon of the Silver]

Hey Farvus,

Thanks for posting, and yeah, I see what you mean about the eyes. I'm looking into getting some anatomy books from the library sometime soon so I can work on faces.

Don't worry, I'll keep posting whenever I have something worth showing.

Here is a pic of my sisters Boyfriend Ross. Problem, is, it doesn't look like him, and I can't figure out how to make it look like him. Drawing people is bloody hard, and in this pic he looks a little zombie-ish.

[Masmak]

Well, as promised, here's the witty retaliation

I'll have to agree with Farvus there - all your pics have little in the way of forehead. Look into those anatomy books, or if you want a temporary solution, go here:
http://www.bartleby.com/107/indexillus.html
several hundred pics of bone, muscle etc. in different parts of the body. It might take some browsing, but you should find something useful there.

The other major issue I notice is the flatness of your faces. I think this is mainly a case of form, but with the exception of your Kiefer Sutherland pic, it looks almost like a mask with some features plastered on.

To crit a few pieces individually:
Ragnarok: nothing that hasn't been said, although I'll concede that it's a fairly difficult piece to pull off.

Cloud: Pretty good. Only thing that irritates me is his hand. I think the view of the fingers and the body of the hand is slightly askew, hard to pin, it just irritates me ever so slightly. Looks enough like Cloud, though, and that's the main thing, eh?

Kiefer: I reckon it's your best one. It might not look a great deal like him, but it's the face with the most depth, and looks like the most care has gone into it. Little bit of eyelid detail wouldn't hurt though

Face studies: hmm.. not so sure. Some look rushed, and they have issues with features distances relative to each other. Farvus covered the eye thing, which shows up here the most. Something about the open mouths pisses me off, I think you need to add interior detail and perhaps make it wrap around the skull more.

Dragon: Yah, I talked to you 'bout this one. It's good, second best by only a little, head could be turned slightly towards the viewpoint though - not digging the profile thing. But that's a matter of preference, I guess, rather than technique.

Ross: there's the flatness and eye thing here, but to a lesser extent than the others - the eye can pass over it with less notice than on the face studies. As much as it doesn't look like Ross, I can definitely see the likeness, moreso than in your Kiefer one, in fact. I reckon if you take out the drawing again, rub out those cheek bones and pronounce them with value rather than line, and add more shading around the eyes and stuff to take away some of the flatness, it'll be one of your best pieces.


Sorry if that seemed overly harsh, once I get criticising I'm kind of hard to stop, and will point out some seemingly insignificant stuff. All negativity aside, I think you've improved dramatically in the time you've been posting, and if you address the issues in these pieces while drawing future ones, and check out that anatomy book like you're planning to, the improvement will only be more pronounced. Keep posting, and if you crit me again expect some more hot 'n' painful retort .

Later, keep it up.

[Talon of the Silver]

Thanks for the critique, it may be harsh, but it is fair and as long as I know what is wrong with my pieces and can do my best to fix themm, then I suppose harsh crit is better than none.

Masmak, thanks for the link to the anatomy site, I'll look through that and work on both body structure and faces, especially faces and hands. In case you hadn't noticed (somewhat of a joke between me and Ross) in Ross' pic he seems to be wearing oven gloves :>

Anyway, thanks for the crit and I'll post up my next drawing tomorrow, when it's not so damn hot and I can actually think about what I am going to draw.

[Talon of the Silver]

Newest Artwork, thought I would post up tonight.

This is drawn by Ross, so he takes credit for that. I photoshopped it from the lineart with help from the front cover of the fable box.

This was basically a test to try out a new method of Photoshopping and in my opinion it is leaps and bounds over the last method I used (in both quality and amount of time it took) This probably took a good 8 hours or so, split up over 3 days.

Hope you enjoy it,



Any crit is welcome, of course, I know that there are still problems. However, as the lineart is not mine, I would prefer it if youi didn't crit on things like anatomy, and only on things like colours and blending.

Thanks all

[Robolus]

Hi Talon.
I´m not good in giving crits because my english is still very bad, but I think that I can give you a good advice: I learned A LOT by doing anatomy copies. Try doing them for two weeks for at least 2 or three hours every day and you will see a HUGE improvement when you do your drawings without reference. Try it!

Cheers,
Robolus

[Talon of the Silver]

Hey Robolus,

Thanks for the advice, I'm already starting to use referance from anatomy things, and I have noticed a little improvement and I'v only been doing them for about 5 days!

I'll do more work on it though, just as soon as my GCSEs finish I'll be drawing for hours daily.

[Robolus]

That´s great Talon, hope too see your anatomy sketches soon.

[Talon of the Silver]

Hey everyone,

Today is a good day for me. I just finished the photoshopping of this dragon and I am very pleased with it.



Enjoy, and give me as much crit as you can!

[darkchild]

Hey, thought I throw in my 2 cents... I like your stuff. But some of your sketches are flat. The dragon is very good in the sketched form.. but if you noticed after you ran it through PS the image doesn't quite look right. There is no shadow where the dragon is standing on. I thought you did an excellent job at the water. Also the line work for your faces are too much. Most people do have the indentations and stuff but if you flat out sketch a hard line where a shadow needs to be it gives the impression of wrinkles, thus making your characters look older in appearance. Ok, I hope I didn't offend. Keep the sketches coming. Later....

[Summer Pudding]

I worked on Fable, and showed your picture of the young hero to the artist who designed him. He's really flattered.

Pud'

[Talon of the Silver]

Hey everyone,

This post is a dragon from a Neverwinter Nights wallpaper. I got so frustrated with this one after spending an hour or so getting just the head and neck right, and those bloody scales. Ah well, here is the pic, hope you enjoy it.



Expect some anatomy pics later today or tomorrow.

[darkchild]

Hey... I like the dragon. Why don't you finish it? I know about dragon scales, I did a dragon tattoo in my SB and the scales took forever. Well, hope you finish it... looking forward to the anatomy sketches. Later

[s.ketch]

From looking at all your drawings I think you have one problem, you rush. Even though you said you spent some time on some of your drawings, som dont look like it. If it takes you 2 days to draw an eye, oh well. Another thing is your attention to detail. Take the Keifer portrait for example, you had a ref, yet you didnt put in any big amount of detail. There are more lines to the eyes than you drawn, theres more detail to the eyebrows and hair also. Dont worry about speed when you are a beginner, you will get faster as you become more experienced. Next, its good that you draw and that you practice, but dont draw anime. Its an extremly stylized art, and there are many rules that dont apply to realistic art. Start off by drawing real people, real anatomy, proportions, perspective. Then once you get comfortable with that, then start to learn anime. If you get a job drawing, you will have to draw more realistic stuff than anime.

[mindfields]

From looking at all your drawings I think you have one problem, you rush. Even though you said you spent some time on some of your drawings, som dont look like it. If it takes you 2 days to draw an eye, oh well. Another thing is your attention to detail. Take the Keifer portrait for example, you had a ref, yet you didnt put in any big amount of detail. There are more lines to the eyes than you drawn, theres more detail to the eyebrows and hair also. Dont worry about speed when you are a beginner, you will get faster as you become more experienced. Next, its good that you draw and that you practice, but dont draw anime. Its an extremly stylized art, and there are many rules that dont apply to realistic art. Start off by drawing real people, real anatomy, proportions, perspective. Then once you get comfortable with that, then start to learn anime. If you get a job drawing, you will have to draw more realistic stuff than anime.

I totally agree with the man here. Start with real people and real proportions. It was very difficult for me to get rid ot the stupid comic look. Once you master the human figure (realistic), then start doing comics or whatever you want. Trust me on this man, you won't regret it.

[Talon of the Silver]

Hey,

Thanks for all the replies,

I am working as hard as I can to move away from the Anime/Manga styles, and I have been doing more realistic things recently, and looking at anatomy drawing. It is hard though, as when I started drawing 2 years ago when I started my GCSE years I started learning by looking up manga sites with tutorials on them, so I learnt from that.

You are completely right BuckWeisel, I do rush quite often, which I am starting to address now, and have been told many times by friends that I do rush my work a lot. Though in my defence I did draw that Kiefer pic with two people watching and that made me nervous, and also I didn't have much time.

Here is the dragon re-done (gone over) for you DarkChild (though it is as much for me as it is for you).



I am actually glad you told me to redo that as I feel that it is much more sucessful now with the scales added. It looks a lot more professional.

Stay tuned, more drawings coming as soon as they roll off my pencil and into being

[darkchild]

I'm glad to see you stick with the dragon and finish the sketch. Looks good. Not that I'm a big dragon expert or anything.... but you should extend the scales all the way into the tail. Right now the tail looks sectioned off from the rest of the dragon. Also put a bit more detail into the wings. Maybe some "fingers" sectioning off the wings. Anyways it's your dragon... I'm just ramblin'... great job. I'll check your stuff later when the anatomy sketches come up.

[Sam Saunders]

Nice dragon dude! I'm really impressed with the pregression in your last few posts. That's good to see. Maybe you could try adding some shading or tones to give it a more three dimentional feel. Keep posting!

[Talon of the Silver]

hey,

Thought I would post up another sketch, just to show all you guys what I have been doing recently.



Tell me what you think