Female concept W.I.P (Nude)

[Maerrick]

Hey everybody! I've decided i should take a break and come back with a fresh mind. please say anything you want i would like to take advantage of this forum =)

-maerrick

[JAG.]

the anatomy does look better, but still too smooth in many places and her left knee is still lower than where it should be, making her upper leg look very long. there's also not much arc to her back, which is possible in reality, but it makes her hips look too high and lose definition in this image.

also, her neck looks as if its positioned a bit too far toward her left shoulder, not centered between them. the face and hair look pretty good. overall, just some details to work on but otherwise its not a bad place to start. - JAG

[Maerrick]

thanks jag your comments are always appeciated =) i think this would be a great way for me to get back into the momentum

[Maerrick]

Revise

[Cookiedough]

The body seems better, but the knees are still too low and to small, especially on HER left leg (our right). Maybe it's me, but her head seems really small in the last picture and her neck too thin. I like what you're doing with that hand a lot. Keep posting.

[Maerrick]

oh oops>< i missread jag's comment and purposely lowered the right knee =X thanks for the clearing that up for me cookiedough

[JAG.]

heres a quick paint over..



just to show you how close you are.. just a few details to clean up. - JAG

[Serena-]

Nice line in jag - that looks a lot better.

As for the work - amazing gray scale work. I really like the face and where you're going with her hair and hand... it makes movement in the image. The breasts seem to need some smoothing for the shading though, right now it seems forced. I have no crits aside from those. Love this concept so far, keep posting.

[Maerrick]

slow and steady she goes...I've been spending a lot of time on this but the changes are subtle...since this is my first real attempt at trying to finish a piece in photoshop i guess i'm taking it real real slow

Thanks for your responses, its making me work THAT much harder in trying to improve and finish this piece...i hope to see further responses =)


AFTER piece

[Maerrick]

>< errr another update...be harsh =D

[JAG.]

the neck and body proportions look much better.. but her left upper arm is a bit short. i noticed its that way in my line drawing as well.. sorry about that. usually the elbows line up with the bottom of the rib cage.. it doesnt seem to have the proper length at the moment.

also, where her thigh meets her crotch.. whatever that lighter smudge is really breaks the flow of her leg. tuck that back just a bit.

at her right side of her stomach.. it curves out too much. follow the line starting from underneath her breast. her ribs curve convexly [inward toward her stomach]. at the end of her ribs, the curve should change to a concave curve [outward toward her arm] all the way down to the top of her hips. almost like a very long skinny S-curve:
(
)

as you have it, it appears to be to convex curves joined at an end:

(
(

from the bottom of her breast to the bottom of her ribs; then from the bottom of her ribs all the way to the top of her right knee.. see it? try to change that to show more curvature of her body. nice work - JAG

[Maerrick]

heres an update, i can feel it i'm almost done ><... i really would like to finish this before thursday...please be harsh =)

[JAG.]

her left breast.. the lighting doesnt seem correct. try using a ref for that. - JAG

[Maerrick]

Am i satisfied? no. Could it be better? Hell yes...Am i proud of it? sure why not... Shes pretty much my first "successful" attempt, screwing around with photoshop so i guess she looks decent. her name is Podentiae (Poh-den-shay)... and shes naked ><. I could still give it a go for at least 12 more hours but i think i'll work on it sometime later on in sept. my classes are about to start up again. your feedback means a lot to me

[JAG.]

excellent.. a good a place to break as any. come back and finish this though.. - JAG

[Maerrick]

Hey guys! i decided to continue this side project now that the semester is over o.O it may take a while but i plan on finishing this. please critique more or so on the face =D

[JAG.]

the face looks good.. it could use a bit of cleaning up but its more or less complete. the eyes are nice, though just a bit uneven. and im sure shed appreciate some eye lashes

also, she has a rather short forehead.. maybe pull back the hairline a bit. otherwise its good so far.

any idea where you want to end up with this? what will be the final image? - JAG

[Maerrick]

my god jag! you are extremely dedicated and incredibly consistent! =D... i can honestly say your are genuinely reliable. on that note, now that my semester is over i've taken my knowledge of heads and hands on a whole new level (for myself). i've been motivated to finish this painting by completely making a full figure character in an environment. i'm confident to say by doing this, i'll be improving on my anatomy, workflow, etc,etc,etc. plus its keeping me off the video games =)... i wanna finish this painting not because i'm attatched to the character but because i'm attatched to the amount of effort i have put into this painting. seeing it evolve from its many reconstructive stages makes me very proud of myself.

In terms of what i'm doing i'm obviously working on her face portrait. i'm particularly having a difficult time contsructing the overall jaw structure, and the cheek bones. please help me out, anyone. it'll only get that much better if i recieve critiques =)

-Maerrick

[Maerrick]

update... please be harsh, i'm hungry for crits ><

[Pigeonkill]

Maerrick, just wanted to say you made a lot of progress on the face. It has more emotion to it. I saw you paint this a bit in the hostel lounge and at the workshop.

The nose seems a bit chiseled to me. Along side the nostel it seems to have a hard angle rather than gentle curve. Can't wait to see you render the hair.

[bloopatone]

The eyes are what's bugging me the most one this, really, the eyelids. I think the upper eyelids could be lowered a bit and something about the lower eyelids looks puffy/swollen. The shape of the eye is too box-like, there needs to be a more natural curve moving from the top of the eyelid down towards the tear duct.

I think that the inner edges of the eyebrows would convey more emotion if they appeared squeezed together rather than just turned upwards. Right now it seems like they are moving in a way that is impossible in real life. Think of the muscles that move the eyebrows rather that just the shapes the eyebrow hairs make. Does that make sense? I guess what I'm trying to say is that the expression the eyebrows make (turning upwards) is a result of the facial muscles beneath them bunching up due to stress.Try and paint that rather than just the inner edges of the eyebrows pointing upwards.

Its a great piece and its good that you're continuing with it. I have a tendancy to move on to something else too soon. I'm starting to realize that you live with what you create so its a good idea to get you're creations as finished as possible so that you can live with them happily.

You also may want to do some quick sketches of her profile and other views just so you can get to "know" the character you are creating for this particluar composition. This si something that I have been doing lately.

Hope this helps!!

[JAG.]

bloop's got a point about the lower eye lids.. do look a bit irritated and puffy. and again, she has no eye lashes, maybe thats why shes so upset

i like the design of the hair so far, it suits her. but dont be afraid to experiment either. common mistake many artists make is to cement themselves into one concept for fear of 'losing' the work they've done. you'd be surprised how much changing on element of the image drastically changes the whole work.

her jaw and cheek line looks good i think. you dont want a hard line defining the rim of her face. do that with color contrast from the environment or shadows, or maybe her hair.

also, you're missing shadows. for example:
HER right eye is behind a few locks of hair.. yet theres less shadow on it than her left eye thats fully exposed. gotta watch those details, they'll tear you apart.

and the locks of hair streaming across her face.. no shadows. it seems the light source is off screen left, so they should cast shadows.

and the last bit: her hair seems a bit too out of focus. maybe thats cuz its just in the prelim stages but its worth noting..

its getting better and better.. and your skill is noticably improving, so keep it up. and yeah i am rather dedicated to this one so dont let me down - JAG

[Maerrick]

thanks you so much for your feedback guys it really kept my chin up at the roughest times. i had a fight with my family about what i'm pursuing in life and i guess the more i talk about art with them the more they get pissed... i really didn't know where to turn to and i just had to say... your timing could have never been better... anyways i've decided to pick up my stylus, work on the things you guys said and push it even further to reconsutruct the lighter side of the face until it kicks ass. i'm also having one hell of a time forming the cheeks, mouth, and the part above the eye brows...i feel a bit stuck at this point

pigeon kill- i'll get to the nose right away =D also, after insomaniac i really wanted to work my ass off it was quite an inspiration to just be around everyone

bloopatone- your right about the eyes, i kind of wanted the sad about the tear look but i think i'm just gonna settle for the "breathtaking" look... once those finish the eyes i'll use your advice on the eyebrows

Jag- your right, i did commit to the hair style without seeing what else was out there so i'm gonna play around with other relative styles. should i use the mixtures of that out of focus with confident textures to combine? i want that dramatic feeling but not quite sure if the out of focus feeling would be a novice move.

[JAG.]

holy smokes you nailed it ! i wouldnt touch the nose, mouth or cheeks at all anymore.. id say they're done and ready for the rest of her face to catch up. [but thats not written in stone, mind you ] the crests of the upper lip are a bit pointy though.. maybe just round them down a bit, but thats all.

i noticed you fliped the image too.. so her NEW right eye's lower eyelid is still a bit too pronounced.. soften it a bit, lighten it up some too. its just too 'out there' and it looks like her eye is puffy and rather large.

for the hair.. whatever style you feel fits the image best, whatever helps to express her personality or character. but no matter what, the hair shouldnt be any less out of focus than her face. the level of detail in the hair, however, is up to you. keep on man, you've come this far. look back from the first images to where you are now. goes to show you what some effort and dedication will do

and dont sweat the parents.. do what you feel is best for you and they'll come around when you hit it big time. but keep it nice cuz you'll need their finances at some point - JAG

[Maerrick]

update...be harsh i'm hungry for critiques

[elpez]

Very nice thread. I&#180;m enjoying what you&#180;re doing with this.

The make up and the jewlery of this last update are not working good for me. If you have a beautiful face, maybe the best thing you can do is show it as it is, with nothing to distract the focus from it.
There&#180;s something about her left eye that is looking strange (I&#180;ve got the feeling that she&#180;s got a right eye in a left eye place)
And if you like her having freckles, I would let her have some on her cheecks too.
Keep the good work,

cheers

[Maerrick]

hey thanks elpez for your feedback =D i'll defintely take your advice on the freckles and eyes.


for the sake of this being my first picture I feel like this is a good time to bring up a question i have. i feel like i'm having hard time communicating my concepts. this is purely a side project for me and i'd like to put hints of culture or whats going on in the scene from my imaginations. i have two examples, people have been asking me why shes stoned or giving off a freakish expression (which isn't the case =D) in my story this character is shocked and speechless. also with elpez's response for the jewelry i think it just looks out of place cause it just has more textures then the rest of the face. i see where your coming from in terms of natural beauty although for the sake of my story and concept i'd like her to have jewelry as a sense of elegance/significance... the shiny sparkles underneath her eye is a symbol of her rank.


my question is... for this "side project" is there any way i can unify things without giving off clues about whats going on... for example some people have been making fun of my picture cause of the shocked/speechless face.. saying she must be stoned or stupid

[Skunkitorium]

Her left iris is a bit wonky; it's not a smooth circle like an iris usually is, and it also looks bigger than the right iris.
I agree that the jewelry is distracting.

[n.waters]

just a thought , the sparkles under the eyes seem to be floating and not attachesd to her skin.

[designboot]

Fantastic stuff