Artwork (progress)

Started by Matty, June 16, 2017, 20:48:40

Previous topic - Next topic

Matty

Quickly sketched with biro on Saturday (my birthday) and then coloured in on Wednesday morning:



biro version:


Matty

Picture drawn very early this morning when I woke up briefly.



Matty

Sometimes I like the pixelated effect...


Derron

I think you prefer the pixelated ones as your brain auto-corrects now hidden errors and fills-in missing details.


bye
Ron

NRJ

You need to do some improvements on the shape of the nose and lips.
IF YOU CAN DREAM IT,  YOU CAN DO IT...

http://www.nksoftgames.blogspot.com

Rick Nasher

Quote from: NRJ on January 19, 2018, 16:50:09
You need to do some improvements on the shape of the nose and lips.
That would kill the weird but interesting style..
Making a picture perfect portrait is something anyone can learn over time. Capturing emotions and expressing them so that they get the attention of the onlooker is something quite different.

I didn't get it(always admired the skill of Rembrandish painter) and tried to copy that. Till I spoke to some artists who are doing really, really well. They will tell you it's important that you have skill, but when have it it's even more important to let it go for otherwise you are just a photographer..
_______________________________________
B3D + physics + shaders + X-platform = AGK!
:D ..ALIENBREED *LIVES* (thanks to Qube).. :D
_______________________________________

Matty

Drew this while at a cafe at 730am yesterday morning (Saturday).

I like it...

Derron

Her breasts are positioned way too high.
The emphasizing of her breast shape makes them look similar to "muscles" (while they are more of the "fat"-shaped style). Also the shadowing of her cleavage is pretty much borked up - as if it was some kind of "latex shirt" poured into form right on her body. Normally you will lose "details" in the center of the breasts as the bulge will keep the tension on the cloth-material high enough to not lay on the skin there. If you like big or uhm "emphasized" breasts, then have a look at the older Tomb Raider images - she has worn a similar shirt and should explain more "lively" what I want to express.

Another thing - which I and others told you some weesk ago: pay attention to symmetry (which you are intended to break up - but first you should master it). The whole head seems as if she had a meeting with something heavy - like a bus.
I imagine it happens because you rotate the paper while drawing - or keep your hand position "fixed".


Her body is rather masculine (wide shoulders, v shaped chest) - while her waist is kind of roundish/female...
Her neck is also rather masculine (fitting to the chest) - and nearly equally sized to the head. So I would call it a bit "misproportioned".

Maybe you should try to come up with simple-shaped sketches (head, body, arms... consist of simple shapes). It is important to get the porportions right before doing exaggeration (cartoon) or adding all the details (wrinkles, scarfs, color...). Once you are able to do proportions you must learn doing the outlines - and shadowing. Still no color needed.

By the way you used pillow-shading on the shirt: think it does not suit so good.


Is there a reason why you have this kind of char-coal/crayon black outline? As you already use a tablet (from time to time) I would suggest you the following:

- create a layer for your first sketch-out (the rough idea)
- create a new layer and reduce layer opacity of the first one to 25%, now redefine what you sketched out
- make first layer invisible and reduce second ones opacity to 25%, create a 3rd layer and draw the "final" outlines (you can still adjust later on)
- create a fourth, fifth... layer while you do the initial coloring
- add a last layer for the shading: set it to "overlay", so it allows to just use gray colors to shade, lighten up ..

If you use layer "masks" it is even easier to correct your drawings - and eg. remove overlapping colorization-areas. Splitting it up into layers eases things like making shadows less dark/intense, to change the color of a shirt ...

Nonetheless for _you_ I assume the first steps are the most important for now: create rough outlines, redefine, correct, redefine ... using layers allows to use the same rough sketch over and over. Sometimes you will recognize, that the rough outline was not perfect, that the arm should bend a bit more, that the head is too big ...
The rough outline could be edited using simple editing tools (selection tools, cut, past... resize). It is just something for your orientation. once you are happy with it (again), you will create another layer and do the redefining part.

With redefining I mean drawing only simple strokes, not that "stroke over stroke over stroke" approach which is visible on the arms or waist in your painting.


As always: do not take above too personal. I just want to help you to improve - and it is only my POV.

bye
Ron

Matty

Watercolour pencil and felt pen.  My first portrait drawn using watercolour pencil. The paper was damaged by the use of water because it was too thin and I rubbed too hard but as a first go I like it. It's valuable to me.


Matty

Another water colour on water colour paper drawn with 2b pencil and water colour pencil.


It's a slow process of improvement but I enjoy it.

Derron

#40
Nose shading is pretty good.

To repeat myself: PLEASE please try to improve on "symmetry" - nobody wants to have a head looking like it was smashed from one side. People tend to have a slightly symmetrical head (not talking about mimics/face).

also have a look at her forehead - while there are many people with that "big" foreheads, it is less common that they have a very very small chin area.
Ok, so the chin might look "smaller" if you bend your head forward (as if you want to look over the glasses you are wearing). But in that case her neck would be way smaller (hidden by the head) and should receive some shadows. So my assumption is that she does not bend her head forward but you just use some odd proportions.

Color is indeed better than before: seems you should enjoy soft pencils (2 or 3b) compared to these charcoal ones - until you are becoming confident in drawing the "perfect suiting" outline.


PS: what's up with her left ear, it looks like if you blurred it out - or melted it with the head :-)
PPS: Once you corrected the symmetry and perspective her mouth wont be that wide anymore (should go about to the center of the eyes - left side of her mouth is ok, her right side is a bit too far to the right)


Keep drawing -  but try to avoid the "mistakes" you did in the previous pictures.

bye
Ron

Matty

Derron. I appreciate your feedback.  It is constructive.

I agree about symmetry and the other points as well.

One thing however, I'm not sure how much drawing you've done:

It takes practice.  There's a reason people simply draw circle after circle to be able to draw a round shape correctly.

And so these mistakes you are picking up - they will likely be present in my pictures for quite some time to come, and you will end up repeating yourself.  Not because I am deliberately making mistakes but because improvements are incremental.  I might know in my head that symmetry is required but then I will need to practice it over and over and over.

Now in terms of practice. I could simply draw circle after circle, nose after nose, eye after eye, and so on component at a time.  But...and this is important - I draw to entertain myself.  I would get totally sick of drawing circle after circle, nose after nose, eye after eye as a repetitive practice and it would dissuade me from continuing with this.

So instead - I draw what I enjoy.  The imperfections do actually give it a certain quality. A certain rawness. 

Each attempt will be a gradual improvement with the occasional slipping back into old habits. It's normal.

So I take your comments on board - but in all honesty I can see for myself the faults in my own pictures quite clearly too - and eventually they will start to become less and less.

Derron

The Problem is that you are aware of them - but already start writing: "The imperfections do actually give it a certain quality. A certain rawness.". So you already found an "excuse" for things which need/should/like to get improved.

As you state you improve over time, please try to annotate in your next painting on what you put your main focus (outlines, color, shape, mimic/facial expression, ...) - if you put one (see the part about "entertain myself").

So why am I focussed so much on "symmetry/proportions": they give images another quality. It is not that hard to pay attention a bit to "should the eye big that big" or "is the head looking like by a mutant". For me (might be different to you) it is a quite important thing and of course hard to master to perfection - but easy to take at least the first steps.

For me I prefer a good looking outlined dice than a "trapezoid" styled dice (unintented of course) with good looking shading and colors. It does not matter if you can draw good looking gradients on a letter if nobody is able to say if that letter was an A or a wooden bench.
Shape (aside of color) is a very important information for the eye. Shading, and "details" (crinkles, pimples) are there to make things look "alive". One of the reasons why cartoons "work".

If you draw simple objects, is there also this kind of assymmetry (do not mix that up with "cartoonish looking")? Maybe you have the wrong way of drawing (like fixing your hand on one position, just "rotating" it as it seems to be needed)? So it might not be your "skill" but a simple wrong "approach" to draw the things?


On the other hand you say you do it for your personal entertainment, so of course it is up to you on what to concentrate, on what do next or not. 


@ paintings
I paint nearly everyday: simple things for my little boy (2yrs) - and I shade them the way I like it until he takes a pencil and scratch-paints "chaosively" over them. I recognize that the paintings, sketches, ... look the worse the more I have to bend (eg. I sit on a chair, he on a second one and I try to paint on the paper right in front of him). For organic things it looks better when drawn "fast" (without much thinking). Also interesting is to draw things on "upside down" (if we sit facing each other).
If there is the right mood we also paint using the digitizer (this allows me to add another layer for him to paint on - removing it and allowing to paint again and again).

Sometimes it's only sketches (whatever he wants me to draw - even if I have no clue how it should look, in that case I later look how it should look and try to remember for next time). Of course it is only simple stuff - a rainworm looking out of the ground with some grass and flowers, ... or food, toys.

I also sketch the things he wants to paint (water color, finger colors). So they are unique each time. It is always fascinating how fast he recognizes certain things - even if I think I have drawn it rather bad (or even were not finished with the object yet).


For me these little painting/sketching sessions are also small "practice sessions". Because I always can extend the scenery to my likes. He wants a Pretzel drawn? I paint it, add a glass of water next to it, maybe a fork (not that easy to paint when doing "perspectives") and a knife. Add things _I_ want to see if _I_ am halfly capable of doing. Failing is happening often enough but as said my son at least recognizes it :)


PS: I am pretty experienced now in drawing ice cones with 10+ scoops of icecream :p


bye
Ron

Matty

I did this one this morning. Skin Tone Pastel Pencils, 2B Pencil and Water Colour Pencil on Standard Paper.
I think the face shape is wrong but I still like it.

Matty

Pastels only on watercolour paper.....

I tried to get the symmetry better...improvement...not perfect but better.