Arts and CraftsThe place to talk about stick figure avatars, graphic design, fan art, or any application of the visual arts and creative writing--or just to show off your latest masterwork!
If anyone's interested in the ATG I thing, here's the "blank" page I made before I started timing.
---
Quote:
Originally Posted by Thanqol
Hahaha brilliant! Very Hark A Vagrant-y.
This shouldn't count, since all the other times referred to the style of drawing, but still, you're the fourth person to compare me to Beaton (I sorta keep track because she's the most I've been compared to).
Quote:
Originally Posted by Thanqol
#15 is the personal favourite, though 22-23 are masterstrokes.
Thanks. Hah, yeah, that was a neat accidental set-up. I would've done more sequential things if I had time to think.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Madcrafter
I agree it could use a bit more dynamic action-ness. I tried, but Iron Will's body ended up straight, and it was really hard to bend his legs backward to do the more cartoony run style. But having him walking away from the fire shows his real confidence.
Well, I'm not saying make him run; I mean, make him look like he's actually walking instead of what looks like a mock-walk (you know, the kind where someone would slide their feet instead of taking steps) or walking backwards.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Madcrafter
I think those quick drawings are brilliant (agh, Thanqol already used that adjective, pick a synonym of your choice) though.
Danke! Though doing it made me realize that I draw too slow; one should be able to do quick sketches (with discernible form!) in 30 seconds or so.
---
Here I took 7 minutes for NATG I #1; still a bit wonky (esp. the right arm) and the expression and body language's changed from "I, Pinkie Pie"-ish to something closer to "let's party!":
Spoiler
People from 1973's Jesus Christ Superstar film, mainly Pilate, Caiaphas, and Simon the Zealot:
Spoiler
Trying out Paint Tool SAI, here's the sketch layer of a Pinkie Pie picture I hope I'll be working on (any tips and tricks with SAI welcome!):
Spoiler
Last edited by flyingchicken : 08-23-2012 at 04:14 PM.
Trying out Paint Tool SAI, here's the sketch layer of a Pinkie Pie picture I hope I'll be working on (any tips and tricks with SAI welcome!):
Spoiler
I find SAI to be much better for lining and a painterly style of shading, but I prefer photoshop for eyes and more cel-shading styles as it's easier to get hard lines on your colouring. I also set it up in a very similar way to my PS setup, but that's personal preference. Not really any tips from me...
Maybe grab a few custom brush sets? They can come in handy depending on what you're doing.
Trying out Paint Tool SAI, here's the sketch layer of a Pinkie Pie picture I hope I'll be working on (any tips and tricks with SAI welcome!):
Spoiler
SAI is fortunately pretty straightforwards, and nothing you can't learn without playing around briefly with it's settings. There's scope for including custom brushes, textures and shapes if you're looking for them but you should learn the ropes first.
SAI has no gradient feature; you're going to have to use the blur tool for such things.
There's a really neat shading technique involving using black pen on three 25% opacity Shade layers.
There's a really neat shading technique involving using black pen on three 25% opacity Shade layers.
Nope nope nope nope nope. Never shade with black unless the base colour is a grey/white, even then it's better to use a slightly coloured darker grey since it gives environmental colour.
Nope nope nope nope nope. Never shade with black unless the base colour is a grey/white, even then it's better to use a slightly coloured darker grey since it gives environmental colour.
Ah, cool, thanks for the heads up
__________________
"Take precaution, heed what's said
Learn the lessons of the dead"
Nope nope nope nope nope. Never shade with black unless the base colour is a grey/white, even then it's better to use a slightly coloured darker grey since it gives environmental colour.
Oh my god, someone after my own heart! When I read this I was just ranting about how a lot of MLP fanart (and I'm guessing amateur art in general) use what I call "airbrushed charcoal," combining poorly-executed airbrushing and black-on-color shading.
Last edited by flyingchicken : 08-24-2012 at 01:43 AM.
Oh my god, someone after my own heart! When I read this I was just ranting about how a lot of MLP fanart (and I'm guessing amateur art in general) use what I call "airbrushed charcoal," combining poorly-executed airbrushing and black-on-color shading.
Black shading is actually the bane of my existence in most art forums :P
Ever so rarely it can be done right, but 99% of the time, it looks like ass. Please people, learn how to use an rbg slider, or the colour wheel. Please.
Good to learn that before I start shading for reals.
----
Day 60:
NATG: "Draw a Pony Staying Up Late / Draw a Pony in the Dark!" Fair bit went wrong with this one, including drawing it really skewed by sitting beside my sketchbook instead of in front of it (fixed in post production). But anyways:
Spoiler
Time: 20<x<90 minutes
Music: Pony
__________________
Devoted artificer of the church of Scorching Ray.
THAT’S MORTALS FOR YOU. THEY’VE ONLY GOT A FEW YEARS IN THIS WORLD AND THEY SPEND THEM ALL IN MAKING THINGS COMPLICATED FOR THEMSELVES. FASCINATING.
Spoiler
Quote:
Originally Posted by Madcrafter
...in case Whuragen has to keep trying to bandage him:
It's a bit rough, yeah, but I'll end up fiddling with it waaay too much if I started to. All in all, including the sketch I posted earlier, this took about two and a half hours. Finally, I think SAI's a fine tool.
I'm sorry if you expected Adventure Time Pinkie
Last edited by flyingchicken : 08-25-2012 at 11:50 AM.
Reason: fixed leg a bit
Very useful to see the step by step, for future reference hopefully.
----
Day 61:
NATG: "Draw a pony with a secret/Draw a pony master thief." Was originally going to be a generic pony, but the Pie thief pun was irresistible.
Spoiler
Time: 40ish minutes
Music: None
__________________
Devoted artificer of the church of Scorching Ray.
THAT’S MORTALS FOR YOU. THEY’VE ONLY GOT A FEW YEARS IN THIS WORLD AND THEY SPEND THEM ALL IN MAKING THINGS COMPLICATED FOR THEMSELVES. FASCINATING.
Spoiler
Quote:
Originally Posted by Madcrafter
...in case Whuragen has to keep trying to bandage him:
Sorry for dropping off the map back there ponythread. First I went on a surprise road trip, then I fell off of the art ball do to various real life issues. But I got better I'm still alive and at the end of the day that's what life is all about. Being alive. Yep. And drawing.
Quote:
Originally Posted by flyingchicken
What time is it? It's Pinkie Time!
It's a bit rough, yeah, but I'll end up fiddling with it waaay too much if I started to. All in all, including the sketch I posted earlier, this took about two and a half hours. Finally, I think SAI's a fine tool.
I'm sorry if you expected Adventure Time Pinkie
Pinkie's hair. I like. A lot.
The legs are a bit splotchy compared to the hair, but you already noted it was just a rough.
Still, I'm probably going to steal that hair.
And now I want to try out SAI and leave the eternally buggy/freezing gimp behind. A fun handicap of course (who doesn't like to draw the same thing over?), but I'm getting the feeling it's time to move on.
A-100-10 or "If you spend *too* long pecking away at a picture, you will grow to hate it."
Spoiler
This one was a bit of a half request. Someone mentioned something about more sweetie vampire and I was sorta like "I-had-a-few-ideas-in-the-back-of-my head-why-not". So I chose a simply scene to get myself back into the game. Nothing complicated. Sadly, this picture has been giving me a lot of pain for the past 1-2 weeks.
It's an annoyed disgruntle melancholy vampire Sweetie Belle sitting down eating chocolates with telekinesis. Yay. It's compressed a bit, so the image is kinda bad. But that's the gist of it. I need to clean this one up some more, but by this point, I'm ready to chuck it out the window.
I think it looks good Bakuel. Horn glow is hard to see though (I think it is there, but I'm not completely sure). Also, is that sunlight streaming through the window directly on the back of her head? It looks a little too warm to be moonlight IMHO. Unless she is one of those vampires that plays nice with the sun.
----
Day 62:
NATG: "Draw a pony Singing/Draw a pony wailing."
Spoiler
Time: Dunno, got interrupted in the middle
Music: Pony
EDIT: And now when I see it blown up on my computer screen, I realize I forgot the iris. Crap.
__________________
Devoted artificer of the church of Scorching Ray.
THAT’S MORTALS FOR YOU. THEY’VE ONLY GOT A FEW YEARS IN THIS WORLD AND THEY SPEND THEM ALL IN MAKING THINGS COMPLICATED FOR THEMSELVES. FASCINATING.
Spoiler
Quote:
Originally Posted by Madcrafter
...in case Whuragen has to keep trying to bandage him:
I think it looks good Bakuel. Horn glow is hard to see though (I think it is there, but I'm not completely sure). Also, is that sunlight streaming through the window directly on the back of her head? It looks a little too warm to be moonlight IMHO. Unless she is one of those vampires that plays nice with the sun.
Thanks!
It's moonlight. A recurring theme with my night time pics is that everyone says they are too dark. Now this one may be too light... Maybe more blue will offset this?
The hornglow is there but the site compresses the image and it's harder to see as the colors get all messed up. I wanted a faint aura though, but it might be a bit too much. I tweaked it today though, but it still is pretty faint.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Madcrafter
----
Day 62:
NATG: "Draw a pony Singing/Draw a pony wailing."
Spoiler
Time: Dunno, got interrupted in the middle
Music: Pony
EDIT: And now when I see it blown up on my computer screen, I realize I forgot the iris. Crap.
Singing in the rain! Classic!
A-111, Or "The end of vampires!"
Spoiler
Added some more blue to the highlights and darkened it a tad. Made the unicorn magic thingy less transparent. Also uploaded it to deviant art so the colors should be better.
Anyway, I'm done with this one. Onward to better things! Hopefully anyway.
Only comment on the vampy picture is that the telekinisis glow is so subtle as to be almost undetectable. I think it should stand out more, especially in the low-light conditions.
__________________
"Take precaution, heed what's said
Learn the lessons of the dead"
Very useful to see the step by step, for future reference hopefully.
Glad you think it's useful!
Quote:
Originally Posted by Madcrafter
NATG: "Draw a pony with a secret/Draw a pony master thief." Was originally going to be a generic pony, but the Pie thief pun was irresistible.
Spoiler
Time: 40ish minutes
Music: None
Do you draw with your elbow loose or anchored?
Quote:
Originally Posted by Bakuel
Sorry for dropping off the map back there ponythread. First I went on a surprise road trip, then I fell off of the art ball do to various real life issues. But I got better I'm still alive and at the end of the day that's what life is all about. Being alive. Yep. And drawing.
Good to have you back!
Quote:
Originally Posted by Bakuel
Pinkie's hair. I like. A lot.
The legs are a bit splotchy compared to the hair, but you already noted it was just a rough.
Still, I'm probably going to steal that hair.
Yes, they are a bit splotchy, though I must resist the siren call to fix them... Feel free to steal the hairstyle!
Quote:
Originally Posted by Bakuel
And now I want to try out SAI and leave the eternally buggy/freezing gimp behind. A fun handicap of course (who doesn't like to draw the same thing over?), but I'm getting the feeling it's time to move on.
With what little I know: SAI comes with its own quirks, but I think it's pretty lightweight size and processing-wise for what it can do.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Bakuel
Spoiler
Quote:
Originally Posted by Bakuel
Spoiler
Quote:
Originally Posted by Madcrafter
I think it looks good Bakuel. Horn glow is hard to see though (I think it is there, but I'm not completely sure).
Quote:
Originally Posted by Thanqol
Only comment on the vampy picture is that the telekinisis glow is so subtle as to be almost undetectable. I think it should stand out more, especially in the low-light conditions.
What they said, completeness notwithstanding. I think it could use with a bit more contrast and a few more light areas. But I say just reflect on it and leave it behind!
Quote:
Originally Posted by Madcrafter
NATG: "Draw a pony Singing/Draw a pony wailing."
Spoiler
Time: Dunno, got interrupted in the middle
Music: Pony
I think you should practice the basic 3D shapes (spheres, boxes and cylinders) a bit, and maybe a little perspective. That would help with the lamp-column thing immensely!
---
Some un-pony drawrings:
Giant worm with arms terrorizing city, a... robo-zombie (?), something that looks like a wrist watch (but isn't, idk), a fish with legs (yes I've read Gyo, how did you know?), and a mass of lips and eyes I guess:
Spoiler
Sexy (?), wiry (literally!), robot women with no mouths:
Spoiler
middle one looks bloated, right one's boobs are uneven
I colored one in:
Spoiler
the eyes need to be reoriented with the face, her right cheek doesn't align with the corresponding thigh (pretend it's ROBOTICS), the left thigh aligns too well with the left arm that it looks like they're merged, I'm not entirely too happy with the color choices I've made for the wires, and the highlights are a tad too white
I think you should practice the basic 3D shapes (spheres, boxes and cylinders) a bit, and maybe a little perspective. That would help with the lamp-column thing immensely!
Usually with my forearm braced on the edge of the desk, so my elbow acts as a lever. I agree with perspective, that and volume are things I sometimes have some trouble with.
----
Day 63:
NATG: "Draw a pony searching for something/Draw a pony finding a treasure." Thought I wouldn't do much today, since I'm super tired and something weird is going on with the nerves in my elbow, but I actually had a lot of fun with this drawing. I think it turned out ok, and that the Daring Do is much better than some of the other ponies I've drawn. (Go basic circle shapes!)
Spoiler
Time: Some time, less than an hour
Music: None
EDIT: Another drawfriend for Bakuel! I don't know if that is exciting or not.
__________________
Devoted artificer of the church of Scorching Ray.
THAT’S MORTALS FOR YOU. THEY’VE ONLY GOT A FEW YEARS IN THIS WORLD AND THEY SPEND THEM ALL IN MAKING THINGS COMPLICATED FOR THEMSELVES. FASCINATING.
Spoiler
Quote:
Originally Posted by Madcrafter
...in case Whuragen has to keep trying to bandage him:
Congratulations, Bakuel, on yet again making it into the drawfriend. I'll add another voice to the "magic glow too weak" complaint, and point out that Sweetie's face looks odd because of the slightly too wide mouth and a lack of visible nostrils.
Congratulations everyone else on good progress in your respective endeavors. Rather nice job on the stonework there, Madcrafter.
Me, I don't seem to have much luck with drawing lately. Doing bits and pieces, on and off..
"Fluttershy and a random alicat" is now at a state I'm going to call "finished", because I won't torture the background any longer, I'll just accept I can't do any better right now and move on. I think I need a couple more levels of Artist before I can do landscapes neatly.
"White Wind, meditating... or something", a picture I have no idea why I've drawn, on a whim and within about an hour, but which everybody seems to like, so something must've gone right. White Wind is Gadora's character on the ponythread IRC channel.
__________________
Bearer of the Psionic Flame
---------------------
Current occupation: Considering drawing a better Psionic Flame avatar.
---------------------
Skills: Competent Modder, Proficient Programmer, Accomplished RTD Game Master, Adequate Artist, Dabbling Writer
--------------------- Join Dropbox! It's free! And useful!
I may wander off, but I always come bumbling back in the end.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Thanqol
Only comment on the vampy picture is that the telekinisis glow is so subtle as to be almost undetectable. I think it should stand out more, especially in the low-light conditions.
Quote:
Originally Posted by flyingchicken
What they said, completeness notwithstanding. I think it could use with a bit more contrast and a few more light areas. But I say just reflect on it and leave it behind!
Quote:
Originally Posted by Sean Mirrsen
I'll add another voice to the "magic glow too weak" complaint
I was actually working from the assumption that the telekinesis spell power was an aura type thing which didn't produce a light but just reflected it. Maybe it would glow though. But then would the aura around the objects glow too? That would mess up the shadows (making more work) but it would have made the lighting more interesting, with minor light sources floating around (and tie into flyingchicken's suggestion). Maybe an idea for another nighttime telekinesis picture...
Quote:
Originally Posted by flyingchicken
Sexy (?), wiry (literally!), robot women with no mouths:
Spoiler
*snip*[/IMG]
middle one looks bloated, right one's boobs are uneven
I colored one in:
Spoiler
*snip*
the eyes need to be reoriented with the face, her right cheek doesn't align with the corresponding thigh (pretend it's ROBOTICS), the left thigh aligns too well with the left arm that it looks like they're merged, I'm not entirely too happy with the color choices I've made for the wires, and the highlights are a tad too white
"My date turned out to be a deathrobot... Again."
Once again. I like. Even if the middle and left one have the mistakes you noted, I still like their designs.
On the color, my only comment is that I don't know if it's because of the highlights in the hair, but part of me thinks that there should be a *little* more defined/bolder highlights on her skin. Namely her bum. But that's a matter of style.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Madcrafter
Day 63:
NATG: "Draw a pony searching for something/Draw a pony finding a treasure." Thought I wouldn't do much today, since I'm super tired and something weird is going on with the nerves in my elbow, but I actually had a lot of fun with this drawing. I think it turned out ok, and that the Daring Do is much better than some of the other ponies I've drawn. (Go basic circle shapes!)
Spoiler
Time: Some time, less than an hour
Music: None
The pony is a nice improvement! I can see you didn't use perspective for the stone walls, but you winged it alright and I like the lines on some of the stones and the general feeling. If that makes sense. But you should look into using some basic perspective lines on structures, for things like buildings you almost always need perspective lines to get it to look consistent.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Madcrafter
EDIT: Another drawfriend for Bakuel! I don't know if that is exciting or not.
It's always exciting for me! *does happydance*
Honestly I don't know how anyone else does it, but those scenes are a lot work and headscratching for me. I have a wonderful mental picture of a scene. I draw something. It doesn't look nearly as good as it does in my head. I sit around looking at while taking part in beard pulling and head scratching trying to figure the reason why it doesn't. I make a change that I think is good one day, wake up the next and realize it's a bunch of crap and I notice a whole lot of problems that I need to figure out how to solve. Leading to more beard pulling and headscratching. Make some changes, go to sleep and then the process repeats. After all this, it still isn't as good as the mental image.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Sean Mirrsen
Congratulations, Bakuel, on yet again making it into the drawfriend... and point out that Sweetie's face looks odd because of the slightly too wide mouth and a lack of visible nostrils.
Thanks! :D
The nostrils! Why couldn't you have posted this yesterday before it went to drawfriend!
Now I'm afraid to edit it. Poor Sweetie Belle will be forever without a sense of smell... No wonder she's so blue, sweets are probably one of the only things she can still taste.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Sean Mirrsen
Me, I don't seem to have much luck with drawing lately. Doing bits and pieces, on and off..
"Fluttershy and a random alicat" is now at a state I'm going to call "finished", because I won't torture the background any longer, I'll just accept I can't do any better right now and move on. I think I need a couple more levels of Artist before I can do landscapes neatly.
"White Wind, meditating... or something", a picture I have no idea why I've drawn, on a whim and within about an hour, but which everybody seems to like, so something must've gone right. White Wind is Gadora's character on the ponythread IRC channel.
The scenery does look wonderful! I guess you coloring it is out of the question?
And the second one is nice, maybe it's the pose and expression that makes so many people like it.
A-111 or "I HATE PARTIES!"
Spoiler
First, let's get the doodles out of the way,
First, a shocking personal revelation.
Spoiler
Life is all about studying! And hard work!
A five minute doodle. Yeah, I'm pretty slow.
Then the result of all the talk about glowing horns.
Finally a rush color job on boxing Scoot. I finally got around to listening to RainbowCrash88's fighting theme for Dash. So I drew fighting Scoot instead. Messy lines all the way! No more clean up! Alright, sorry about this I was just really in a hurry today, but I wanted to color *something*. Even if it's simple 1-2-3, base color, shading and highlight. And poor Scoots has poor anatomy, even for a marshmellow figure. Specifically her bum area and legs seem a bit off. And the less said about the length of her arms, the better. But it is what it is.
I would probably have something to say about the Scootaloo, but... best I can come up with is colour is a bit off putting. And the right shoulder/clothing looks a little strange to me; maybe the corner is too sharp? Otherwise agree with your assessment.
Sean Mirrsen is good as always.
----
Never saw that test before, so I had to give it a try.
Spoiler
Can't say I'm terribly surprised, though I found it interesting that I had a larger total area than Bakuel. I wonder how that works (more answers relating to multiple types maybe?).
Day 64:
NATG: "Draw a pony attending a masquerade/Draw a fancy pony." Fancypants, who is best pony, as the Dos Equis guy.
Spoiler
Time: 30-40 minutes
Music: Pony.
----
Day 65:
NATG: "Draw a pony moving on/Draw a pony charging." Obligatory Sweetie Bot.
Spoiler
Time: 10 minutes
Music: None
----
Day 66:
NATG: "Draw a Pony Celebrating / Draw a Pony Graduating." Bad, but there is no time!
Spoiler
Time: 15 minutes
Music: Pony
----
Day 67:
Last day of NATG. Did every theme, 30 seconds each (with some getting 10 seconds extra cleanup time if they were accidentally marked or something). As expected, most of them turned out pretty bad; I learned I need to go more longer form strokes, rather than rushing over details. Something I knew already in an intellectual sense, but this reinforced it. As such, the best one IMO is the Shining Armour/Cadance in the upper right. It helped that their eyes were closed, since ovals are hard to draw nicely quickly. Anyways.
Spoiler
Time: ~20 minutes
Music: Some Pony
----
Day 68:
No more ponies for a while...
Spoiler
Time: Lost track, 20-60 min
Music: None
----
Day 69:
Tried out something in PS today, since I had the time. Still definitely needs some work, but better than I'd thought I'd be able to do on a first attempt. Plus I learned a bunch of tools. Rushed the starscape quite a bit too.
Spoiler
Time: ~3 Hours.
Music: None.
----
Day 70:
The Thinker, with overly hard shadows.
Spoiler
Time: 35 minutes
Music: Pony
----
Day 71:
Just a quick sketch of the stadtbahn car.
Spoiler
Time: 10 minutes
Music: None
----
Dya 72:
I draw ugly people. Good thing they are canon in real life.
Spoiler
Time: No idea
Music: Pony
__________________
Devoted artificer of the church of Scorching Ray.
THAT’S MORTALS FOR YOU. THEY’VE ONLY GOT A FEW YEARS IN THIS WORLD AND THEY SPEND THEM ALL IN MAKING THINGS COMPLICATED FOR THEMSELVES. FASCINATING.
Spoiler
Quote:
Originally Posted by Madcrafter
...in case Whuragen has to keep trying to bandage him:
Usually with my forearm braced on the edge of the desk, so my elbow acts as a lever.
Try raising your elbow, draw from the shoulder! I hear it's good practice, especially when making spheres and ovals, since you don't let the elbow-lever hamper the motions.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Bakuel
"My date turned out to be a deathrobot... Again."
Once again. I like. Even if the middle and left one have the mistakes you noted, I still like their designs.
On the color, my only comment is that I don't know if it's because of the highlights in the hair, but part of me thinks that there should be a *little* more defined/bolder highlights on her skin. Namely her bum. But that's a matter of style.
Hm, idk. The more I look back at the coloring the more I want to strangle myself for it though.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Bakuel
Spoiler
Everything's a bit too light and desaturated IMO, which might work if you're trying to convey, like, pseudo-old timey or something, as part of a bigger scene, idk, but as it is it's a bit boring.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Madcrafter
(Go basic [...] shapes!)
I was gonna make a wall of quotes of your work but this sums it all up really. Go work on those shapes!
Quote:
Originally Posted by Madcrafter
Tried out something in PS today, since I had the time. Still definitely needs some work, but better than I'd thought I'd be able to do on a first attempt. Plus I learned a bunch of tools. Rushed the starscape quite a bit too.
Spoiler
Time: ~3 Hours.
Music: None.
I guess some of it is neat but I don't understand why the background things are so blurry. The atmosphere with the clouds and stuff also looks unappealing, but I don't know anything about atmospheres. The landmasses look like they were made with a clouds filter, both completely random-looking but at the same time uniformly green which makes it look dull IMO .
Quote:
Originally Posted by Madcrafter
Day 71:
Hm, while I haven't stuck to a ridiculous draw-a-thing-a-day thing (taking breaks for as long as weeks), since about 90 days ago my drawing-dump album has been filled with nearly 150 things, meaning I've drawn and uploaded more than 1 thing a day on average.
---
Big ol' pile of stuff (obligatory reminder that the mouse wheel button is your friend):
Spoiler
Rarity sketches:
skeletal sketch that didn't go anywhere:
so I erased the freckles here
when I colored it but forgot to color them back in
faux-medieval lord and lady
mostly playing around with grotesque designs and lighting
I'll with the shoulder tomorrow; I think it will make my drawings have to be larger from a quick motion test. We'll see how it goes.
I rushed the background on the space thing, and I agree with you assessment. It being my first real thing in PS besides flat ponies and some diagrams for work though, I definitely learned a lot, so it was a victory.
__________________
Devoted artificer of the church of Scorching Ray.
THAT’S MORTALS FOR YOU. THEY’VE ONLY GOT A FEW YEARS IN THIS WORLD AND THEY SPEND THEM ALL IN MAKING THINGS COMPLICATED FOR THEMSELVES. FASCINATING.
Spoiler
Quote:
Originally Posted by Madcrafter
...in case Whuragen has to keep trying to bandage him:
Definitely looks more blended colour-wise to me. Nice. (I quite like the lighting on the hair particularly, dunno why).
----
Day 73:
Spent a few hours in in PS, but it amounted to nothing, so I instead drew boxes and spheres and some shading stuff. Not so interesting really. (I also found my left hand twitching Ctrl+Alt+z every time I messed up drawing, which concerns me somewhat).
Spoiler
Time: Just a few minutes.
Music: Pony
__________________
Devoted artificer of the church of Scorching Ray.
THAT’S MORTALS FOR YOU. THEY’VE ONLY GOT A FEW YEARS IN THIS WORLD AND THEY SPEND THEM ALL IN MAKING THINGS COMPLICATED FOR THEMSELVES. FASCINATING.
Spoiler
Quote:
Originally Posted by Madcrafter
...in case Whuragen has to keep trying to bandage him:
I like the slightly burned edges around the horn and chin; how'd you do that?
Fringe effect on the layer.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Madcrafter
Definitely looks more blended colour-wise to me.
I'm triyng to avoid blending but sometimes I just lack the discipline
Quote:
Originally Posted by Madcrafter
(I also found my left hand twitching Ctrl+Alt+z every time I messed up drawing, which concerns me somewhat).
If you were using a tablet, well, a lot of people advise against using the undo button a lot. I'd agree, especially in the starting stages of a drawing; can't have happy accidents when you squish everything from the get-go! I think it's useful to be trigger happy with undo when you're inking or something similar, less useful when painting.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Madcrafter
Spoiler
Time: Just a few minutes.
Music: Pony
I still suggest making your strokes bigger, faster, and looser. The only reason I can think of as to why (for instance) that triangle has un-straight lines is because you were taking too slow or doing several smaller strokes to make it.
If I had a tablet I'd do a lot more in PS. No, I have to use a mouse, and drawing with a mouse is something I always thought was difficult. I try and avoid using things like the brush tool freehand with it.
Interesting choice on the texturing. I like it, but I think it comes out a little to strongly on the darker parts of the sky. Nice painting though.
----
Day 74:
Took the suggestion to try working with my shoulder instead. Was a bit skeptical, since holding my arm free always added that extra dimension of movement and made me feel like it would be difficult to control my pencil. After a little while it turned out to be not so bad, but I have determined that my shoulder fine motor skills need some work.
Just did a bunch of lines really, testing it out. Circles, lines for straightness, spirals for accuracy, curves for flow, shading, and the thing I found I had the most trouble with, sharp angles. The lines always end up curving at the corners, so I'm thinking it might be better to just do two lines and erase the extras.
Spoiler
Time: Dunno
Music: Pony
__________________
Devoted artificer of the church of Scorching Ray.
THAT’S MORTALS FOR YOU. THEY’VE ONLY GOT A FEW YEARS IN THIS WORLD AND THEY SPEND THEM ALL IN MAKING THINGS COMPLICATED FOR THEMSELVES. FASCINATING.
Spoiler
Quote:
Originally Posted by Madcrafter
...in case Whuragen has to keep trying to bandage him:
Interesting choice on the texturing. I like it, but I think it comes out a little to strongly on the darker parts of the sky.
It's just one of the default paper textures ("Canvas"). I agree that it's a bit distracting, so visibly different in a large block of the painting.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Madcrafter
Took the suggestion to try working with my shoulder instead. Was a bit skeptical, since holding my arm free always added that extra dimension of movement and made me feel like it would be difficult to control my pencil.
Spoiler
If you want to practice control of those large elbow-shoulder movements, don't draw, but try writing (with your wrist completely stiff). Regular cursive letters, maybe along guide-lines at first. Try to make long lines of uniform 'n's, 'e's, and undotted 'i's then maybe a few sentences. The nice thing about this is that you'll know you're improving if you can make it all regular and neat.
Personally, I can't do all the way, with only the tip of the pen touching the surface (but I've seen videos of people who can, so it's not impossible), at least not with a good degree of control, so I cheat by letting the side of my palm slide along the surface as well (shouldn't be hard on smooth paper; with my tablet I keep baby powder handy, though I might try chalk at some point because baby powder tends to get icky IMO).
Finally, with larger ranges of motions at work, I think it'd be good to not be hesitant about making large drawings. I find that some of the sketches that I've made and I'm most pleased with are the ones I've made with large movements while taking up quite some space.
Those are just some things I find that work for me, things I picked up here and there. I'm likely full of it; I'd be happy to get corrected, though.
tl;dr try writing cursive with your shoulders and I'm full of crap
---
I was working on the big RD in the middle but I got bored of it so I just doodled around:
Spoiler
The fox is #ponythread's fault; not directly, but still is.
Princess Mouse-lestia, first pass:
Spoiler
Princess Mouse-lestia, again:
Last edited by flyingchicken : 09-08-2012 at 01:27 PM.
A head, from the shoulder. Started in the morning, went off to do other stuff and forgot, so that's all I have. Some of the lines are squiggly, so I can work on that.
Spoiler
Time: 10 or 15 minutes
Music: None
__________________
Devoted artificer of the church of Scorching Ray.
THAT’S MORTALS FOR YOU. THEY’VE ONLY GOT A FEW YEARS IN THIS WORLD AND THEY SPEND THEM ALL IN MAKING THINGS COMPLICATED FOR THEMSELVES. FASCINATING.
Spoiler
Quote:
Originally Posted by Madcrafter
...in case Whuragen has to keep trying to bandage him:
The IRC, primarily. For once I was contributing to creating a random idea rather than just getting one from someone. :P
Spoiler
In essence, it was a language pun thing. "Celestia" is pronounced in Russian with a "ya" at the end, making the phrase "Celestia is the bestia" have a different connotation in Russian, where the word "bestiya" has meanings centered around cunning and subterfuge - "rogue" is one of the primary ones. However apart from that, Google Translate offers "ratface", slang for a shady person or a crook. Therefore, Ratlestia.
I see. This IRC channel sounds like it spawns a lot of weird ideas.
Nice works as always Sean Mirrsen
----
Day 76:
Teemo, a LoL champion. Tried to start with the shoulder but found there was too much detail work to get very far.
Spoiler
Time: 50 min I think
Music: Pony
----
Day 77:
A tree.
Spoiler
Time: Dunno
Music: Pony
__________________
Devoted artificer of the church of Scorching Ray.
THAT’S MORTALS FOR YOU. THEY’VE ONLY GOT A FEW YEARS IN THIS WORLD AND THEY SPEND THEM ALL IN MAKING THINGS COMPLICATED FOR THEMSELVES. FASCINATING.
Spoiler
Quote:
Originally Posted by Madcrafter
...in case Whuragen has to keep trying to bandage him:
RSS Feeds: 
Re: Ponythread Learns to Draw! Together!
