[Visual] Aco-Arts and Crafts

[Acolyte]

Thought it was about time for an update. I didn't really post any of my non-anime work, and since I'm thinking about going into an art-related field, I thought I should show that I'm at least a semi-competent artist.

[Mishka]

It looks okay, but the linework on the top one is messy and interspersed with white dots, and the bottom one has an off-centre mouth and something of an overly large facial area.

[Acolyte]

Yeah, the scanner I was using wasn't very good. I tried to digitally clean it up as best I could.
It was mostly just a coloring practice with photoshop. ^^

I get what you mean about the second one. The head is a little off. I didn't really notice it until I had already inked it though. Ahwell, live and learn, right? 

Thanks for the feedback.

[Mishka]

You could try SAI or Pixia if you like touching up.

I don't even have a scanner; I take pictures of my sketches and use the linework tools (of which SAI's is superior) to create a linework layer, and then colour underneath it.

[Acolyte]

Thanks for the suggestion. I downloaded SAI, and it seems like a pretty spiffy tool. 

[Acolyte]

[spoiler][/spoiler]

SAI test. I really like this program.

[Sashikinaroji]

If that is a proper example of what Sai can do... IMUSTHAVEIT!

It looks lovely.

I would like to say though, your Chibi only has one thing wrong with it, because chibis are supposed to have really big heads, ammirite?

[Acolyte]

Thanks.   

It is a really nice program.

[tSwitch]

[...] the bottom one has an off-centre mouth and something of an overly large facial area.

That's the point of Chibi (a.k.a super-deformed).

Yeah, the newest one looks good, but aside from the obvious things to work on, the right leg is a stump and is way too short, and you need to learn how to keep a light source constant.  Also the shading itself looks awkward in places, like on the hands there's shadow on the knuckles, but light on the back of the hand, making the knuckles appear sunken into the hand (super weird), and amongst other places the cape needs some work.

How do you start a drawing?  Do you draw the pose like a mannequin, or just jump right into the picture? 

I'd also work more on detailing.


edit: oh yeah, and in that first one, death girl, her wrists look broken, try replicating that exact pose yourself, with the twist of her wrists how they are, you really can't, without breaking your wrists :p

</critique>
</heretohelp>

[Acolyte]

Thanks for the con-crit. ^^

Yeah, I'm still experimenting with the shading in that paint program. I'm not used to doing things digitally. ^^;

That's actually a rather old drawing that I imported and colored. I didn't draw skeletal structures for them then, but I do now.

And maybe I just have flexible wrists, then.

[tSwitch]

The left wrist is the problem.

[Acolyte]

Oh, I didn't really see it before, but I tried looking at it upside down, and now I kinda see what you mean. I have a bit of trouble trying to figure out poses sometimes. I try looking in the mirror, but it doesn't always work very well. 

[Mishka]

[...] the bottom one has an off-centre mouth and something of an overly large facial area.

That's the point of Chibi (a.k.a super-deformed).

I know that, but I am aware that the ideal chibi keeps certain consistencies (anatomy, for instance) while the only thing undergoing a drastic change is actually the proportions.

When I say "overly large facial area", I am referring to facial real-estate and not the size of the face (or the head it is appended to). All of the features are too much confined to the central area of the face, whereas they should "spread out" just a tad, or else the indication that the head is in fact a round, 3D object should be given (the narrowing of the jaw and inclusion of the ear.) Because as it stands, there is too much face and not enough head.

[Acolyte]

[spoiler][/spoiler]

....better:Y/N? ^^;

[MagitekElite]

Wow, really nice art.

This one is my favorite, but may I make a suggestion?
[SPOILER]

[/SPOILER]

Her left leg needs more a...um, how do I explain this? Well, where the knee is (hidden obviously though ^,^) you should try and emphasize that that her knee is there...ya know? Also, love your shading! But, the shading (dark lines on her sleeves) should be a little more smudged/smeared.

Other wise, really good art! :thumbsup

*reppitied you *

[Acolyte]

Thanks for the rep, and the advice.

[MagitekElite]

You're welcome!

I like your art, I hope to see more soon!

Good luck!

[Shifting Psychosis]

I think they both look wonderful, i'm not much for con-crit so sorry about that but beside the point- Alucard has always been my favorite anime character so I would have loved him regardless. Even if he was wearing a dress o.O

I like his sketch best though, im not much for computer art of good ol'fashioned handiness, 

[Acolyte]

Thank you very much.

New pic of my rpg character, Ashelin.

[spoiler][/spoiler]

[Sashikinaroji]

the fingers are a bit round and stubby... Remember, that in art like this, going for "realism" just doesn't worK (trust me i have tried to make it work)... You have to slender things down quite a bit to make them look "right"

[tSwitch]

Thank you very much.

New pic of my rpg character, Ashelin.

[spoiler][/spoiler]

very small hands comparatively to her head, also the body (palm/back, where the fingers come off) of the hand is extremely small on both hands, to make hands look right, the body of the hand should be half the size of the hand (fingers included!)

[Esmeralda]

Remember, that in art like this, going for "realism" just doesn't worK (trust me i have tried to make it work)...

I strongly disagree. If you feel like going for realism then you should by all means add as much in as you can. Also, what do you mean by "art like this"? RPG Maker characters? Anime-styled characters? There is no such thing as two elements that "don't work" when you're drawing people for various reasons if you feel comfortable making it and you feel proud over what you've accomplished. That said I should probably contribute something meaningful to this topic as well...

Girl-reaper
[spoiler][/spoiler]

The angles on the hands are a bit off. You have a very good perspective going on with the feet and they're angled nicely, but it doesn't show on the rest of her body. Don't be afraid to add shadows to her skin to make her look more "3D"! The secret to making anything look lifelike is to add shadows to it that emphasize what part of the body is closest to the person looking at your drawing. The proportions here are rather good. I would suggest focusing more on the hands for now, since they require quite a bit of work to get to look just right!

[spoiler][/spoiler]

There's a rather subtle shading going on here which is a shame. You shouldn't be afraid to go all-out with things you are a bit unsecure with for the moment, it'll benefit you greatly if you go all out with shading and try to come up with as much contrast as you can. It won't look very good but you'll see how much more "alive" the character seems to be. I don't know much about chibi-stuff so I can't really comment on that, but it's a very nice detail you put on the hat there. Remember that details are important

[spoiler][/spoiler]

Welp, you've gone with a pretty bold pose here. For starters, the shading on the cloak is pretty good. It would seem like your light source is above her because of the outer rim of her cloak and her hair, so it shouldn't be too bright on the inside of her cloak. Minor detail, but it's worth noting. The shading on the sleeves seems a bit random and like it folds a bit too much. Most common clothing doesn't fold quite that much, it might be worth putting a bit more observation into that. The hands here are pretty good actually, just remember that the middle finger is to be a bit longer than the rest in most cases. There's also an odd bend on the thumb, but it's rather minor.

What's most confusing here, really, are the legs. Her right one, to be precise. Because her knee doesn't really seem to be round it appears to me as if her right leg is twice shorter than her left one! You should, as was stated, place a larger emphasis on where the knee is to put to make the leg seem more natural. The boots are rather well made though. I would personally recommend you not to draw an outline at where the foot starts as it sort of messes up the dynamics you have going here, but it's still a valid option for adding a greater depth of perspective into the drawing. Your proportions are in order as well, however the left arm seems a bit too tiny in comparison to the rest of her. All in all it's a very successful attempt at a bold pose.

New pic of my rpg character, Ashelin.
[spoiler][/spoiler]

Now this is a nice improvment! The hair does come off as a bit "metal-y" because of how you shaded it but that's alright if that's what you're comfortable with it looking like that. Normally light forms a circle around your hair like a halo when it reflects off it, giving people a shiny circle around it (This is obviously for long, straight hair. It works differently on short hair which is irrelevant right now). As NAM said before your hands are bit too small in comparison to the rest of her body, but it's not that bad really and easily passable. Lots of people have tiny hands, after all. I love how you've added more shading to the skin, she looks more alive than the others so far! The ruffles on her clothing are very well-made, even if the shading is a bit lacking in contrast.

I'd say you're making obvious improvements here and hope I've shed some help into how you can push your limits a bit more. Good luck!

[Acolyte]

Thanks so much for the advice you guys.

I got a webcam recently, and I'd like to post some of my more traditional work, but the picture quality is kind of bad.

[spoiler][/spoiler]

[Acolyte]

Now we'll take a break from my crappy attempts at digital art to my crappy attempts at traditional art!

A wallet:
[spoiler][/spoiler]

A cape:
[spoiler][/spoiler]

A Japanese-style painting:
[spoiler][/spoiler]

And a warrior....soldier....horse riding person. >.>
[spoiler][/spoiler]


Updated.

[Matthew]

Ashelin's face and hair look really good. I'll wait to comment on the newer ones--it wouldn't be fair to critque half a picture.

I like how your digital stuff is turning out so far (and I also like your choice of digital drawing programs--Sai FTW).

Skanker hit on everything I saw, so I won't do a critique this time around.