Curse

Charlie Dayman · Feb 25, 2011, 08:22 PM // 20:22

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ravenhawk

@Charlie- My pose reference actually has the arm like that...so I might crop it to her waistline later. Haven't really decided yet >_<"

Ah, just checking since it looks like you've drawn two separate arms in different poses to see which you liked better.

Or maybe the lower part is a scarf or piece of clothing? Kind of hard to tell right now with the B&W.

As for brushes, I'd say create different brushes with scatter and more texture effects to help differentiate between cloth and metal. It looks like you've already started using some, though it looks like they could be a bit stronger since the brush work on metal and cloth surfaces are treated similarly.

Treat cloth with smooth lines and smudging techniques. With metal, you can be far more experimental and expressive with how you treat your line work and textures.

Tommy's · Feb 26, 2011, 11:49 AM // 11:49

Metal sucks imo

Hard to get a good high contrast and colors. I think this artist got them pretty nice, one of the best armors I've seen

: link and link. I think the lighting is more crucial then the texture, although I like using such textures a lot. One mistake I think I make too often though, is that I use a bit distorted brushed for metal (which I think you did in the Noble Berserker too) instead of applying a texture only, and perhabs some small roughness yourself. But the distorted brushes oftenly make it look like someone took some sandpaper over the armor, rather then making it shiny with small bumps in it. Armor = tough time

Ravenhawk · Feb 28, 2011, 03:59 PM // 15:59

lol okay! I am glad that I am not setting myself up for being banned. It's the same way about the other threads, I am interested in looking at all types of Art from you guys, not just GW!

@Charlie - I actually realized how similar her pose is to Pery's assassin after I already am almost done rendering. >_<

And thanks for the tips on textures. I'll try those. I just haven't been really confident about it because I generally don't like to rely heavily on pre-made brushes that they become a crutch to me (unless I made them myself so I know the process).

I created a couple of brushes for painting and texturing but yeah I need more variety on this. I probably should devote some time creating my own brushes so next time I sit on a drawing I will have these at my disposal. One of my books have this and I just need to read/follow them through.

@Tommy - Those are really good example. i am always envious of how some artists get such nice effects with minimal effort/brush strokes

Yeah I just used my generic textured brush on the Noble Berserker armor. Like I said in my reply to Charliepai, I only just use two atm lol. I got a brush for smudging which is basically a hair brush that I don't use for hair at all ..because I feel guilty for the shortcut ..despite the fact that artists say they are free to use. But yeah it's another story if I created them myself. I just want to know/understand the process (since I am really a novice at drawing and need to learn the basics first) and I seriously need to dedicate some time in doing these things

Not saying that it's bad to use pre-made brushes but I just want to be able to understand the underlying concepts to these which I haven't really looked into yet. I've skimmed through a few tutorials but it was more speed reading than anything. =P

Anyhow, here's Nian's art trade. Background is a stock that's free to use. I might polish it further but I probably need to work on the landscape thingy >_<

http://roguemina.deviantart.com/art/...rade-199101894

Eastern Magik · Feb 28, 2011, 06:10 PM // 18:10

oooh, thats nice, so dreamy

Ravenhawk · Mar 01, 2011, 12:23 PM // 12:23

Thanks Eastern!

I fixed a lot of stuff in that Neesa drawing.
http://roguemina.deviantart.com/art/...rade-199101894

And I tried speed sketch last night with Tommy's brush (1 hr). I wish I didn't smudge at the end. Next guinea pig would be *looks at her fanart requests link* Sheik from Zelda

And I plan to use pose reference next time. Just drew this pose from memory in my workshop

Ravenhawk · Mar 05, 2011, 09:12 PM // 21:12

thought I'd make an update. Got an urge to draw Mina again. I thought about painting the background as my entry to the landscape contest..but we'll see.

http://roguemina.deviantart.com/art/...-WIP-199666533

close up, still on rendering stage:

Ravenhawk · Mar 07, 2011, 12:36 PM // 12:36

(Initial) finished version and my new avatar. Planning to do more of it (e.g. by smoothing it out, fixes and/or adding background and stuff).

I got to play with new brush settings I found on a tutorial and I love it! Actually the reason I did my own character because I usually use them as guinea pigs for new things I try.

http://roguemina.deviantart.com/art/Deception-200009433

Tommy's · Mar 07, 2011, 06:07 PM // 18:07

Looks good Raven. I think she could use a bit more color in her skin though, specially with the very red lips. Perhabs some reds and pink/purples here and there will bring her alive a lot more. Also something I noticed when people are painting latex (which I think the boots are?) is that they use a lot higher contrast (some even at a point of black with one white line on it). Maybe something to try out when you draw Mina again? :3

Eastern Magik · Mar 07, 2011, 06:50 PM // 18:50

i like how you always give her some unique look, her eyes are just captivating, and she looks beautiful ^^ And you should definitely paint background

Ravenhawk · Mar 07, 2011, 07:14 PM // 19:14

*hugs* Thanks you two

Quote:

Looks good Raven. I think she could use a bit more color in her skin though, specially with the very red lips. Perhabs some reds and pink/purples here and there will bring her alive a lot more.

Actually, she's a vampire so the color kinda worked out fine BUT the coloring I did to this was the basic coloring I do after rendering -- Paint with mode Color

I usually add more stuff than that such as ambient lighting, more shadows/highlights, blush, etc which I think what you saw is missing. Good eye there! And yep, I do plan to add those.

Quote:

Also something I noticed when people are painting latex (which I think the boots are?) is that they use a lot higher contrast (some even at a point of black with one white line on it). Maybe something to try out when you draw Mina again? :3

Good point, thanks! I plan to work more on this throughout this week so that's one of the things I'll keep in mind. I also want to apply Charlie's advise on texturing, since there's a good opportunity to do that here. I think her dress is some silk or chiffon material while her boots is leather. So, I do plan to play around with that

Quote:

i like how you always give her some unique look, her eyes are just captivating, and she looks beautiful ^^ And you should definitely paint background

Thanks. I guess it just comes with RPing this character for about five years, I got a good grasp of her personality already and a general look in my mind. One thing I try to achieve is I want to at least give the viewer an idea of the character just by looking at them. I may or may not able to achieve that all the time, but the more I know the character the best chance that their personality will shine through in my interpretation of them.^^

Perynne · Mar 08, 2011, 07:11 AM // 07:11

Wow, Mina looks beautiful (and scary!) in that drawing. Good job! The dress reminds me a bit of that chick from Resident Evil 4.

I love how flowy the hair looks. The only thing I'd suggest is adding more random strands of hair flowing out, just individual strands that flow apart from the main hair. Her face does look very vampirishly pale and I like the overall lighting you've chosen.
Tommy's had a good point about the boots. They also look a little unfinished compared to the rest of her, but I think that also serves to draw attention to her face more.

Ravenhawk · Mar 08, 2011, 07:03 PM // 19:03

I know who you're talking about, Ada Wong, right? lol Yeah I just noticed that now.

Here's the finished version, thanks for all the comments! I've taken them into account while working on the finished version

http://roguemina.deviantart.com/art/...tine-200204560

Tommy's · Mar 09, 2011, 10:14 AM // 10:14

Mucho better colors! I talked too soon

Ravenhawk · Mar 09, 2011, 04:27 PM // 16:27

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tommy's

Mucho better colors! I talked too soon

Thanks! Hey it's all good! Really helped me a lot in the finished version. Also Morag_D pointed out that the shadows from her feet and dress are missing on the floor so I'll add those later lol.

Ravenhawk · Mar 18, 2011, 11:33 AM // 11:33

having a mild art block recently..so just did some FFVIII doodle and an unfinished art of my Night Elf in WoW (that I don't plan to finish).

as for what's next. Like Thistle, I am doing some work on my comic and I just remembered the poker drawing that I was working on lol. So I'll continue that while I wait for Murke to tell me what she wants me to draw for her prize in my workshop. Oh yeah, my workshop just recently concluded ^^

http://roguemina.deviantart.com/journal/39107366/

Eastern Magik · Mar 18, 2011, 03:32 PM // 15:32

when i saw that ff doodle, i though: "oh look, Ran again" but then i read your post XD

Ravenhawk · Mar 18, 2011, 03:52 PM // 15:52

Quote:

Originally Posted by Eastern Magik

when i saw that ff doodle, i though: "oh look, Ran again" but then i read your post XD

haha I know. I also thought the way I drew Squall in that sketch looked like Ran..but that's not surprising since Squall is one of the characters that actually inspired my idea of Ran's persona. I did kinda hate Squall when he dissed Quistis who was my favorite FFVIII female character! lol

Ran is basically a merge of all the male fictional characters I liked in his initial design..about 10 years ago. Then the character just grew to be his own/matured over the years.

Thistle Xandra · Mar 19, 2011, 12:14 AM // 00:14

oh no

not an art block! BTW, are you thinking of hosting another workshop? It was a lot of fun, and you did an amazing job hosting it

Your elf looks great

I felt like drawing my old WoW toons a while back, but when I checked the armory, they weren't there anymore since I hadn't played in such a long time

I wish I would have taken screen shots T_T

Ravenhawk · Mar 21, 2011, 04:29 AM // 04:29

Quote:

Originally Posted by Thistle Xandra

Your elf looks great

I felt like drawing my old WoW toons a while back, but when I checked the armory, they weren't there anymore since I hadn't played in such a long time

I wish I would have taken screen shots T_T

yeah I know what you mean..I cant view my draenei shaman anymore..since I haven't played her in forever and she's on another account.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Thistle Xandra

oh no

not an art block! BTW, are you thinking of hosting another workshop? It was a lot of fun, and you did an amazing job hosting it

Wasn't really an art block I think..more like a case of overwhelmed with stuff I want to draw ;_; And yeah I do plan to host a workshop just dont know what theme yet lol.

Got a sketch of my first comic page done (not shown yet) and Murke's workshop prize (WIP) below. ^^

Ravenhawk · Mar 25, 2011, 05:16 PM // 17:16

That artist dbase idea by Tommy is very handy. I remember IH requesting a drawing from me from awhile back. Tried a bit of loose sketching of Kimi..didnt use a reference so anatomy might be wrong. But yeah I just tried to go for the mood and not worry about technicalities too much.

On another note, my WIP on Murke's char:

edit: I cant stop sketching apparently...