Akuma and Victor Finals

[petrucci]

I just did these for Sabertooth Games Streetfighter and Darkstalkers series. They were hard for me due to the inherent comic book nature of the material and I hope I didn't overcompensate by making them more realistic than fits the series.
Akuma was my 3rd digital painting and Victor was my 4th. I am still figuring things out so these were done with a minimum of layers and using only the default round brush. I hope to get more fancy as I learn photoshop.

[Mattinian]

The first one`s shoulder looks like a pumpkin. But they both have a solid colour pallette - very vibrant :].
Keep going once you`ll get used to digital pretty fast, don`t be afraid to experiment and go wild with it.

[liquidjack]

Good job on both. Love the play with shadows. My only crit is Akuma's flaming hand. I think the flame could have been worked out more.

[ICH]

Nice style and cool appeal. Just, the kanji on akuma's back seems a little flat and too much "photoshop blending effect".

[petrucci]

Thanks for the comments everyone.

Liquidjack - you are right about the flame. Now that I have done a few more digital paintings what you said seems blatant to me. I might go back and touch it up if I get some time. Cool avatar btw.

ICH, I am still new to photoshop - do you have any advise on how I might get a better effect with Akuma's symbol? I am definatly open to leaning new things with photoshop.

[ICH]

Hi Petrucci (Italian name?), i'm new too on photoshop painting world (although i use it from long time for graphic design purposes). If this was a graphic design work, i can suggest you some different blending effects whit many layers and use of displacement maps, but this is a painting work, cool and fresh. I think that the best way is just painting, like when you paint whit your analog tools. The correct color and the correct brush stroke give many many more emotions than all CG tricks that photoshop can give you. And I think that you have all tools in your hands to do this.

P.S. really nice avatar Petrucci, can i see the original work?

[petrucci]

Sure ICH, here is the avatar. This is an old small acrylic piece I did as a concept for a Scottish kind of Dwarf but I don't remember who I did this for. "Petrucci" is the name of my favorite guitar player from Dream Theater as I am also a musician. The original size of this is smaller than it appears here but is bigger than it appears as the avatar.

I hear you on the symbol. I just need to get more practice with doing things like that.

[ICH]

Sorry Petrucci, I was lost your answer.
I like this highlander dwarf, expecially the colors and the light. Post more!

[sourgasm]

the akuma piece feels a little flat. if you still have the BG as a seperate layer, you could mess with the gradient tool until you get a nice contrast to the flame. then brush in some texture or overlay a few photos and tweak them for a bit. i think it'd give the painting a bit more depth.

second one is fantastic. no critiques there. that image flat out punches you in the face upon viewing. heh