What is your method? (Drawing)

[celcius]

Posts do fly so fast here o.o
Okay, let's start:

Zero Shinohara:
So that was what was wrong with the eyes!! Actually, I always had the feeling that she was looking towards our left side. >.>
What about for bottom-up perspective?

Thanks for the compliment, but NO U. You 'ave great skills that I'd hope to have one day. Maybe if I start not being lazy, I'd make progress. xD

http://www.kidoutenshi.net/random/fu...ieceofshit.jpg
I think I somewhat agree on kayos' comment regarding the hands. As for me, I noticed that the sword is somewhat not a 'straight curve' specifically the sword part in between the hands. But really, it's a nice piece. ^^

http://www.kidoutenshi.net/random/Untitled-14.jpg
I like the hair. ^^ I'm not really sure, but maybe the head is a little big in this? I really not sure since I haven't dived into side view bodies so yeah...

nani:
Hi nani~ I are back from the dead.

Thanks, and did I miss you posting yours?
If yes, I'll go dig it up; if no, me wants to see~

kayos:
Actually, you nailed it pretty good. I have a hard time doing accurate upward right strokes. Couple that with some unfamiliarity with wacom tablets and instant weird part.
And your opinions matter btw, don't belittle yourself. ^^

I still remember my works from waaaaaay back. Although I think they got burned from a fire. Just remembering it makes me shudder *shudder*.

Gundam Zero Force:
I'm still eagerly looking forward to your latest work. ^^

I think you should start practicing with digital retouching of pics, even minor ones. You see, a lot of scrapped PSD's I had awhile back were all done on paper and then I attempted going through inking them digitally. Long story short, there's a HUGE difference between inked and pencils. >.< Right now, I'm back to practicing my pen tool. But I leave important parts (eyes, face shape, etc) to the tablet.
Aside from the benefits of getting better with digitizing artworks, you also gain knowledge that can also be used for avatar and sig making. ^^

[Gundam Zero Force]

Wow . . Zero,If you keep drawing pics like that girl you just posted I am going to have to just put my pencil down . . .

no but seriously it looks good, later today I post some more recent drawings for you all to critique

[Aeriths Spirit]

Really good stuff here. =) I like everyone's attitude. Eveneryone here has skills and inspiration. So here I will show you my CG progress from when I started in 2003. Man it seems like a long freaking time =(



Look at the crappyness in the beginning XD But these things are so fun to look at. It's really freaking cool to see your progression through art.

I am currently working on getting my B.F.A in Production Animation so I am with Zero when he talks about wanting to be an animator,but my goal is to hopefully get into character desgin career or concept art for video games. We get to animate our own characters next semester so I really look forward to it. *is excited* >.<

[Gundam Zero Force]

very nice!

Yeah I just started my Animation Bachelors like 2 months ago and forst quarter for me will be over in 3 days . . . .

I hope by the end of my 3 years I will be real good . . .

yes I said 3 years till' I get my Bachelors . . it is accelerated, it works for me due to the fact we still get a total of 11 weeks off every year and it is animation so getting stressed out will not be too bad . . . a lot of work, but hey, it is what I like to do

[Aeriths Spirit]

Originally Posted by Gundam Zero Force

very nice!

Yeah I just started my Animation Bachelors like 2 months ago and forst quarter for me will be over in 3 days . . . .

I hope by the end of my 3 years I will be real good . . .

yes I said 3 years till' I get my Bachelors . . it is accelerated, it works for me due to the fact we still get a total of 11 weeks off every year and it is animation so getting stressed out will not be too bad . . . a lot of work, but hey, it is what I like to do

3 YEARS?!

Nice! =O Thats actually really lucky XD. I have 4 years still. D= I am also finishing my first semester. Finals next week! >.< I also hope to be really awesome by the end of my 4 years. =) Animation CAN be stressful, but its so fun that you dont really care after a while. Seeing your stuff come to life is just so cool. I get all warm and fuzzy inside. <3

[Gundam Zero Force]

3 YEARS?!

Nice! =O Thats actually really lucky XD. I have 4 years still. D= I am also finishing my first semester. Finals next week! >.< I also hope to be really awesome by the end of my 4 years. =) Animation CAN be stressful, but its so fun that you dont really care after a while. Seeing your stuff come to life is just so cool. I get all warm and fuzzy inside. <3

ueah seeing your stuff come to life is cool . .

I am kinda doing it backwards . . I already know how to do CG animation . . now I am drwing . .

of course I have a LOT to learn in the drawing side if you have seen my work . . . later tonigh I hope to post my most recent stuff . . . .

LOL I had no idea my thread would become this popular . . who would have thought a stupid noob who is learning draw created this thread . . . . oh boy I can't wait till' my reputaion increases and when I draw and post stuff it looks as good as your stuff . . .

even your 2003 drawing is phenomenal!

[Gundam Zero Force]

Okay . . .

you all asled for it amd here is my next batch of drawings . . . .

This first set was done all at once like 3 days ago . . . yep I drew all 3 from my head and in a row all less then 30 mins . . . I just had a "rush"

http://i108.photobucket.com/albums/n.../Drawing11.jpg

http://i108.photobucket.com/albums/n...E/Drawing9.jpg

http://i108.photobucket.com/albums/n...E/Drawing8.jpg


This next one well . . . . I think I messed up, relena was supossed to have her head resting on her shoulder,I tried the pose myself but it was very uncomfortable . . but It can be done . . . . the only way it makes real sense is if I were to have her head leanng against a wall and her shoulder toughing the wall al well . . . and her hand is holding her other should which is on the far right "our right" so decide for yourself what is wrong with it . . I never tried a pose like that one before

http://i108.photobucket.com/albums/n.../Drawing12.jpg


Moving along lol . . . I laugh everytime I see this one . .I did a day ago . . . I is Relena . . .shucks I don't want to spil it for you . . this was the one I called real "sizzler" back in my previous posts . . . .mainly I called it that casue it was funny and looked cool . . .I drew it in les than 30 min . . .and yes the object she is hold is correct and it does cover up her arm which is facing you, I tried the pose and the object cover the arm up . . . . so I guess you could say I drew it EXACLTY the way I wanted it too look and it drew it like it would look in real life . . . . so that's that

http://i108.photobucket.com/albums/n.../Drawing10.jpg

Okay here we go . .I did this 2 hours ago,and It took 20 mins to draw . . . and oh my! yes I did a digital one too . . . Personally I think my drawing and the digital one sucks . . . . . maybe I am being too hard on myself and expecting too much too soon . . . but you can tell me . . .

http://i108.photobucket.com/albums/n...Drawing7-1.jpg

http://i108.photobucket.com/albums/n...E/Drawing7.jpg


So there they are, critique a;; you want and until next time I'll have (hopefully) better ones than these . . .

[celcius]

Alrighty~ let's fire away. ^^
http://i108.photobucket.com/albums/n.../Drawing11.jpg
Lessee, I think the mouth is slanted at a weird angle thatis different from the rest of the face. And also, the ear is a bit too high up methinks.

http://i108.photobucket.com/albums/n...E/Drawing9.jpg
Nice work on this one~

http://i108.photobucket.com/albums/n...E/Drawing8.jpg
The lines for the neck should be inward instead of outward I think. And methinks the hair expanded a bit.

http://i108.photobucket.com/albums/n.../Drawing12.jpg
The right (our right) shoulder is too long, but I'm not really sure. Try imagining her head in the center of her shoulders to see what I mean.

http://i108.photobucket.com/albums/n.../Drawing10.jpg
Her cheek a little too large, and her chin is slanted to the left.
Actually, I think the face shape and face details mismatched. Looking at the face shape, it seems correct for a 3/4 and upward looking face. The facial features, on the other hand, look to be for a front view.

http://i108.photobucket.com/albums/n...E/Drawing7.jpg
For this one, her right arm is too long. The hands and feet are somewhat small.
Her right leg seems like there's something awkward too, but I can't pinpoint it exactly...

I think I'll leave better and more experienced artists here to handle it in more detail. ^^;
Nice works~ The different poses you challenged yourself, I'm sure will bring your skill up even further. Great job and keep at it. ^^

I think I'm progressing with the last pic I did. I've done the outlines and some color. What I'd like to ask is whether I got the shading right. The light source I', targeting is from overhead.
http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g8...30965311-4.png

[Gundam Zero Force]

Nice drawing you got there . . . . as for the shading I guess I do it pretty well becasue no one ever somments on that being wrong . . . they way I picture it is you imagine where you light source is coming forom and the opposite side of you character has to be darker . . . I really don't think that will help you, but it helps me visualized where to shade . . .

yourdrawing looks like the light source is in front of her and a little above her head . . . . from what I can tell

nice drawing again

[Aeriths Spirit]

Originally Posted by Gundam Zero Force

ueah seeing your stuff come to life is cool . .

I am kinda doing it backwards . . I already know how to do CG animation . . now I am drwing . .

of course I have a LOT to learn in the drawing side if you have seen my work . . . later tonigh I hope to post my most recent stuff . . . .

LOL I had no idea my thread would become this popular . . who would have thought a stupid noob who is learning draw created this thread . . . . oh boy I can't wait till' my reputaion increases and when I draw and post stuff it looks as good as your stuff . . .

even your 2003 drawing is phenomenal!

Starting backwards huh? Well using traditional media is ALOT of fun. I <3 Charcoal. Its a very fun thing to use. CG is fun too though. =) I hold both to my heart. Have you done life study classes? Those are alot of fun. =) If you havent you will.
Really? you think so? XD
I look at it now compared ot new stuff and its like omg XD if you look through my DA page you can see my art style change. You can kinda see it inthe progress picture. Well I love to give people comments on their art to help them get better and in return I also like to get info back. DA isnt really sticking to that. I dont get alot of feedback on my art. Most popular people on DA are the ones that do fan art mostly. I do dont alot =/ I really dont liek fan art. I think it restricts you if you do too much of it. Anyways, Im hoping to get some feedback on anyart I do here. =)

[Aeriths Spirit]

Originally Posted by kayos

Isn't this thread amazing, created by Gundam. Welcome Aeriths Spirit, to our little art community.

Why thank you! =D And yes it is a very nice thread. =) I enjoy it very much. I like art so you know. =) <3 Much love here


Sorry I double posted =(

[celcius]

Hmm... the shading looks good, just don't forget to highlight her hair on the right and left side (also some of her front hair) because they would be expose to the light from above. But then again if the light is coming from above from the far rear, the image would look good as it is. But overall great coloring and outlining.

Oh right~ Thanks for pointing that out. ^^ My concept of light and dark, as well as shapes are not very honed. I haven't done too much coloring in my life. ^^

Overall you're still in the process of improving. Another word of advice, quality over quantity. It's not how fast you can draw but how good you can draw. You're still starting out and I was expecting you to invest more than an hour on one drawing instead of dishing out 3 or 4 in 30 mins. Some artists actually invest more than a week in one drawing. Well I think that's all I have to say.

While I also agree with that sentiment (I'm clocking 6 days in my current work, but it's not full time though), I think quantity would be good at the early stages. When learing the basics and fundamentals, there's not much to work with. Comparing it to say, a fighting game; it's almost like doing multiple weak combos at first, then doing huge damage combos/highly effective traps/multiple reset mind games (or all of the above) when you get better. I dunno, just my 2 cents. ^^

[nani]

Having lurked here for some time, I think I should contribute something as well. The followings are the draft and the various work-in-progress versions of my recent work, Ayu from Kanon.

Same as most people, the draft is prepared on paper and then scanned to the computer.



The next step is to clean-up the draft and add some preliminary colouring.



Highlights and shadings are then added to the hair layers.



Lighting Effects, logo, background and foreground are finally added to finish the picture.



Everthing is done using Photoshop. While it is great for colouring and adding special effects, I find it relatively ineffective in tracing the scanned image. Should I use Illustrator instead (I have zero knowledge on Illustrator..... )?

[Lotiman]

woah...cool

[Gundam Zero Force]

Everthing is done using Photoshop. While it is great for colouring and adding special effects, I find it relatively ineffective in tracing the scanned image. Should I use Illustrator instead (I have zero knowledge on Illustrator..... )?

Are you like me where you own Illustrator CS2 but never really use it??? Yeah I need to try illsutrator out some time . . . .

[Gundam Zero Force]

Ok Kavos,

Thanks for all the info . . . I will take more time on my drawings and get the quality better on my next submissions . . gosh I feel like some kid at highschool who has homework due every week . . . . lol

But on a more serious note . . . yeah I think I am at the point now where it is going to take a lot of time and practice to improve . . .I think I finally have hit the "wall" and breaking through it is going to be tough . ..but I have 3 weeks of Winter break and no distractions I should be able to at least give that wall a good crack in it . . and maybe by the end of next year or two the wall will be history. . . . .

[Aeriths Spirit]

Originally Posted by kayos

Are you talking about drawing people in the nude and sketching your own hands and feets. Yes that class is full of fun activity. One assignment we had to draw as many as 100 faces over one weekend. I sat on the bus and started drawing the faces of people on the bus. Next thing I know I was trying to defend myself against people that didn't want their faces drawn.



I've checked out your DA site, yeah your style has changed. What can I say it's more darker than before. The color scheme you used before were bight with life (my favorite was the girl flying, although there's something wrong with her behind) than it started to get dark till it's just black and white (hope I'm getting it right).

Hmm... I really don't see the problem with fan art. Because if you had an original style and you incorporated that style in developing a fan art, wouldn't that fan art still contain your style. (lost in thoughts, can't remember what I wanted to say)

Don't worry about double posting.

Yup yup those are the life study classes I am talking about. Loads of fun and you learn alot about the anatomy and drawing your hands and feet in so many positions. Ive had to draw faces then make up a bunch of portrait. The teacher had some issues cause almost everyone drew in an anime style, but what do you expect? DigiPen is full of people that want to be video game creators or animators and most of them are inspired by anime. He assured us though that He likes Manga and he does when I wentinto his office he had manga in it. XD
Well yeah I don't mind fan art either really, but I jsut don't think it should be ALL people should draw. =) I mean I think people should draw on their own after a while and create their own characters. I mena inthe beginning I drew alot of fan art and whatnot. =) So I mean I understand but after a while its fun to explore your own mind and ideas.

Yes, my style got slightly darker. There was a point were I wanted to try a dark scheme, but Im starting to stray away from that again. XD Trying to get back into bright and happy colors, but the color scheme goes with the emotion im trying to capture. I was depressed for a while and jsut drawing dark pictures. xD Thanks for liking one of my pictures it makes me happy. =)

Nani:

Its a very nice picture but the body is too small for that head. Overall, nice effects!Love the hair. =)

Gundam:

Yeah my teacher told a great story about the wall since most people tend to look at it too hard since it tends to be difficult and it was this story:

Here I am trying to break down this wall. I keep smashing into it and my instructors are like "uhh, there is a door right here" I didnt listen I was still being stubborn and trying to break through the wall and I rammed my shoulder in it. "I almost go this wall I think!" The instructors still looked at me and wer eliek "there is a door right here you can walk through!" I still didnt listen, but one day I hurt my arm really bad and I stopped and looked at the wall again and then I turned and saw the door and was like "Hey! Look! a door! I didnt know it was actually this easy!" From them on everything fell into place faster. And thats my story.

Good story. =)

As far as Illustrator CS2 goes, I would really want to try it o I can go vector art. Vector art sounds like alot of fun. Right now im stuck using Photoshop CS2 and Painter IX.

[Gundam Zero Force]

Yeah I plan to keep on drawing Relena until you all can say "That looks like Relena!" Once I can do that (in a year or so, maybe sooner) then I I will make my own Characters . . . I thought it would be wise to study a character that has already been created and figure her out first before I go on a rampage making my own . . . I have screenshots upon screenshots of Relena from evey angle I could possibly find . . . with this it is helping me visualize better and see how all the angles differ or how the curves work . . . so far though . . pretty much evey drawing I did of Relena in perspective was from my head and I did not look at any other drawings to make it . . . I would feel handicapped if I was drawing Relena while looking a picture of her . . . to me that is like copying someone's homework . . you don't get anything out of it . . . . maybe I am wrong . . . I still have a long way to go . . . but trust me you all have no Idea how bad I just want to draw a picture that looks correct . . . . I keep watching these scens of Relena and I slow them down in Adobe After Effects and I see each individual drawing . . . . .my jaw drops at how the artist is able to draw the same person so identical and so perfect evey frame . . . and you only see the frame for leass than a blink of an eye . . . . . my head hurts

[Zero Shinohara]

Alright, let's start and actually do something useful today. Sorry I've been quite away from the scene on these past few days, but I've been trying to get a little time away from the computer while I can, after having a break from finals/papers/presentations and all that end-of-semester crap.

I have been drawing, as you guys saw on that drawing I posted on thursday ( crap, but at least I did something ), and I'm at about halfway with another drawing I actually think will come out right, if I get the time while it's still hot and interesting. I've also done a few modifications on one of the drawings I posted, the one outlined on Manga Studio. I'm actually planning on doing a Manga-style version and a CG-version of it, just to sharpen my skills a little bit.

Alright, let's go.

Alright, let's see what I can do here. First off, I have to agree with the fact that yeah, you should actually spend some more time on a single piece, especially the pieces you think will come out better than the other ones. I say this because you'll get a lot of experience working for a while on a particular drawing, cleaning the lines, trying to get the parts you think aren't good to look better and then doing a overall check on it. But there's also the point that celcius makes, that doing quick sketches of various scenes and positions will increase your experience with multiple types of drawings and all.

As a little side-tip, you have to think ahead of yourself in every drawing you make. If you're at a certain point and you just think it won't work out, then don't bother much about it - still keep doing it, but after a certain level of frustration, let it go. You're better off drawing something you can than hitting your head against concrete over stuff impossible ( in a sense ) to you at the momment. This is, most of the time, the reason why I've lost much of my passion for drawing. I try to do things the hard and expensive way, but it's over my level and I get angry at myself for that. It's a vicious cycle, I must say.

Alright, now to your drawings.

@ http://i108.photobucket.com/albums/n...Drawing11.jpg:

Ok, gotta agree with kayos here. I think you're drawing your eyes a little too wide and that's something to look out for. Remember that in Manga, in front-view, eyes have a space between them of one full eye width. Like most rules in drawing, you can modify a little bit here and there, but abusing too much of it will make your drawing look strange. Also, another thing to look for is that, in the position you're drawing, the right side of the eye ( viewer's POV ) is placed a little more to the center of the face, making that gap between both eyes a little bit larger, maybe 1.5 to 1.75x the width of the eye. It's also a little shrunk, but far less than the left eye, which is farther from the "camera". That one should probably be about half an eye-width. The mouth is also placed in in the imaginary face-line, so watch out for that when you draw them. They should be at around the same axis as the eyes.

Check out the redline file below later.

@ http://i108.photobucket.com/albums/n.../Drawing9.jpg:

This one is just great. I actually really liked it. You got the props right, neck size right and the only thing to work at on this is the width of the eyes and the height of the eyebrows. Remember, they're normally a little higher than the eyes, maybe half an eye-heigth, but it depends a lot on the type of character you're working on. On the character's left ( viewer's POV ), just widen his shoulder a little bit more. Overall, pretty good work. I won't even redline it, 'cause there's no need to.

@ http://i108.photobucket.com/albums/n.../Drawing8.jpg:

This one is pretty good as well, with about the same issues I've been pointing out from the beginning: shorten the width of the eyes and bring his eyebrows a little higher. The position of the shoulders is good and the face has the right proportions too. Just look at the right side of his face ( viewer's POV ) and look at how the line of the face isn't really consistent with the other side. The placement of the nose is good and the only other thing I can point at is to draw the hairline over the top of his head a little bit higher, since more of the top of the head shows as you lower your face or are being looked at from above.

Check the redline just for a few things I wanted to point out.

@http://i108.photobucket.com/albums/n7/DIGITAL_HOMIE/Drawing12.jpg:

Alright, this one isn't bad either, but I'll point some things out just for experience purposed. Positions like these are actually hard to do, because of the very peculiar movements that the ribcage and shoulders do together, so sometimes things aren't as they look. Also, the body doesn't move so much when doing a position like that - it's mostly the shoulder supporting the head, arm and the chest, just a little bit, so you don't have to move so much. Also, watch out for the collarbone line. The way you drew it, it seemed like her torso was at 60 degrees with the horizontal, and her shoulders don't show that. Eyes are nice, on the same level and eyebrows are at the right place as well. Just try to get the face to look proportional and the lines to get in place right, and it will be just fine. Also, the hair to the right ( viewer's POV ) just shouldn't be. because her head is bent in such a high angle to the other side, you shouldn't have hair in that side, unless it's either over the shoulder or being pulled by something, or is of the pigtail type, like the ones Chiyo-chan uses, very tight - tight enough to defy gravity.

Check the redline piece.

@ http://i108.photobucket.com/albums/n...rawing7-1.jpg:

One thing: Tough position choice! But you nailed it for the most part, and the part that's more difficult, wich is the movement of the hips and legs. I'd just point out her face and arms a little bit, but that's the type of position that I have such a hard time drawing, so I can't say much about it. Just keep practicing. I redlined it just to point out some things of how you can improve it a bit.

Same thing goes for the colored one. Nice BG btw.

Alright, that nails down pretty much everything. Here's the file, by the way:

http://www.kidoutenshi.net/random/Drawing5-redlines.jpg

Now...

Originally Posted by Aerithis Spirit

Really good stuff here. =) I like everyone's attitude. Eveneryone here has skills and inspiration. So here I will show you my CG progress from when I started in 2003. Man it seems like a long freaking time =(



Look at the crappyness in the beginning XD But these things are so fun to look at. It's really freaking cool to see your progression through art.

I am currently working on getting my B.F.A in Production Animation so I am with Zero when he talks about wanting to be an animator,but my goal is to hopefully get into character desgin career or concept art for video games. We get to animate our own characters next semester so I really look forward to it. *is excited* >.<

Dang, I envy you guys for being able to go for something related to art and things you like. Character design and concept art would be great, but animation is just not for me. I, though, need to get a high-paying job no matter what, even if it's pulling out fleas from mountain gorillas. Family stuff, you know.

Your CG stile is actually cool and the rightmost one is really good, great collor application there. Looks just like real skin.
And yup, welcome to the topic, hopefully you'll stick by long enough to see more of my hair-pulling drawing-frustration streaks.

Originally Posted by celcius

I think I'm progressing with the last pic I did. I've done the outlines and some color. What I'd like to ask is whether I got the shading right. The light source I', targeting is from overhead.
http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g8...30965311-4.png

Looking good! Great coloring work in the hair, just great. All I have to say is just repeat what kayos said, which is to highlight the extremities of her hair, so that the lightsource remains constant. Also, one thing. Look at the left side of her hair ( viewer's point of view ). See where the hair gets pulled by the ribbon to the back of the head? You have some lines there to show this movement. HOWEVER, down below, after the hair coming down from her face, her hair on the back just doesn't keep up with that curve. I see the ribbon there, but the ribbon doesn't cut down that much of the hairline, so I think you should widen it a little bit. I don't think I was able to convey it into words, so I'll redline just that part, and you make the call on what you think it's right. I just think it looks strange, and if you look at the other side, the right side, it's absolutely perfect.

Also, I'm not sure if this is your style of shading, but I don't think that using such grey-ish colors for shading is a good choice. I can't say much at this point, because I don't know how the rest of the picture will be shaded, but maybe you should try a darker tone of her skin color that doesn't get so much on the "gray" side of the force. But it's your choice, just like above.

Originally Posted by nani

Having lurked here for some time, I think I should contribute something as well. The followings are the draft and the various work-in-progress versions of my recent work, Ayu from Kanon.

Same as most people, the draft is prepared on paper and then scanned to the computer.



The next step is to clean-up the draft and add some preliminary colouring.



Highlights and shadings are then added to the hair layers.



Lighting Effects, logo, background and foreground are finally added to finish the picture.



Everthing is done using Photoshop. While it is great for colouring and adding special effects, I find it relatively ineffective in tracing the scanned image. Should I use Illustrator instead (I have zero knowledge on Illustrator..... )?

Nice CGing skills there, it's really good.


And yes, Photoshop is useless to outline things, unless you got a hand as firm as Mount Rushmore, which I don't think is the case for most people. You could go for Illustrator, Streamline or another program of your choice to do that, it's way better. And having no knowledge about it is no problem. I bet you weren't born with a special talent for photoshop, either, so just play around with it and I'm sure you'll get it quickly enough.

Originally Posted by Gundam Zero Force

Yeah I plan to keep on drawing Relena until you all can say "That looks like Relena!" Once I can do that (in a year or so, maybe sooner) then I I will make my own Characters . . .

Got news for you, it's already been done, lol. And creating your own character isn't much of a bad idea, too, since you'll probably get to liking it more than any already-made character, and you'll strive to perfect that character. I was the same, but I have 5 characters which I just love, so it's hard to focus on each alone, so yeah.

I keep watching these scens of Relena and I slow them down in Adobe After Effects and I see each individual drawing . . . . .my jaw drops at how the artist is able to draw the same person so identical and so perfect evey frame . . . and you only see the frame for leass than a blink of an eye . . . . . my head hurts

Well, they are very professional to be doing that, but if you actually see the actual frames of an anime, they're actually rather badly drawn. Because they go by so fast, people don't even bother to draw things proportionally and in the way it should. One of the animes I see this is most obvious is Naruto - there're so many scenes where Naruto and other characters are looking distorted, but if you don't pay attention, you'll never know.


Alright guys, I've been here for an hour and a half, and it's just way past my time to go to sleep. I'm hella tired, too, over 9 hours of computer checks/cleaning/poking holes in my case to add more fans and a window, painting it and all that stuff. I got so many cuts and bruises I could apply for a job as Goku's stuntman.

On a little sidenote, here's something I found out yesterday, while trying to get good source for a picture I'm fixing.

http://www.shutterstock.com/

This ia picture-board website, with thousands upon thousands of pictures that make very good sources for drawing. There're also a lot of nudes, so you can get some lessons in proportions and anatomy at the same time. People with clothes make great sources for clothing, folds and idea for dresses or costumes. And yeah, it's actually pretty good to have stuff like this around for those times when you just can't figure something out.

In a few days, I'll be officially enjoying my winter break, and my plans for it is to achieve a level of artistic enlightment above average, and for that I'm rushing tomorrow to the library to get good books on anatomy and perspective and go through them and focus on the things that I have more trouble with. I'm also setting a personal focus to do at least one simple drawing a day, or a more complex one in two-three days and actually finish it. As for my breaks, I'll be writing a good introduction to my novel, scripting and creating a website to put it at and posting here, besides eating/drinking and driving grandmother up and down to where she wants to go. This is the plan, now let's see if I can actually put it into practice and not forget about it in the morning. Phew.

I lost my connection last night and I didn't have the chance to finish the post <_< My bad.

Anyway, here's a subtle, but "fixed" version of one of the drawings I posted a couple of days ago.

http://www.kidoutenshi.net/random/untitled-15.JPG

For comparison, here's the original:

http://www.kidoutenshi.net/random/untitled-14.JPG

Things I actually changed were the feet, hands, centralized her nose more and actually fixed the curve in her hips and legs, which was completely out of shape, anatomy-wise. Also, I fixed the back of her had, as the way I drew the hair was making her head seem too big, as celcius pointed out. I'm a bit more excited about this one now, so I think I'll play around with it.

For my most recent one:

http://www.kidoutenshi.net/random/fic-34preview.jpg

After looking at it through the magic computer-monitor lenses, I realized what I needed to change, and here's a quick redline:

http://www.kidoutenshi.net/random/fic-34redline.jpg

Tell me what you guys think, and I'll see if it gets worth continuing with it.

Alright. I'm tired, lol.

[celcius]

nani:
Ayu-ayu~ ^^
As was pointed out by a few of the members here, I also think the body could be adjusted to be larger.
But I LOVE the hair, from the lineart to the coloring. It is magnificent~
The BG is also very nice. It's like, a snowy field with a sunset glow. I aspire to be able to do BG's like that one day~ instead of a gradient each and every single time u.u

Aeriths Spirit:
Just a suggestion, I think you should try giving final works outlines. I'm not really sure what you use for your inking, but I'm willing to guess that you use a tablet. If so, then I think adjusting your brush size to a smaller width could also work. Matter of fact, I had some problems with outlines being too thick just recently (I did outlines with OpenCanvas freehand some time ago). I know the smaller brush is just a workaround until I/we can get used to accurate and fine strokes, but at least it works somehow. ^^;
Also, I noticed with your XP-tan that you inked the individual strands of hair. I noticed from looking at some CG images that some do it with large clumps of spike hair, but create the illusion of "strand-y" like hair with the coloring and shading.
I like some of the colors you picked for shades and highlights though. They remind of one of Konami's Castlevania art and coloring style. ^^
Nice works, and keep it up~

Gundam Zero Force:
Sometimes, when I'm lazy (which is most of the time really), I stop to just look images. I visit chan image boards frequently so I get my fix from there. The idea behind this is some form of research. I frequently find myself looking at some images and then noticing how different poses look like as well as being exposed to different art styles. Aside from that, you can save them for future reference.

Photoshop vs. Illustrator:
I seem to be getting the feeling that Illustrator is better with outlining than Photoshop. Can anyone enlighten me as to why? Since I'm only using Photoshop for outlining, I might consider getting Illustrator if it's indeed much better.