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!
Re: Thanqol Learns 2 Draw: Every Step Is The First
Day 389: Dragon Puppies
And we start on Amish's theme week. Starting off with a basic design sketch as well as a lot of reference study to get the hang of kobold anatomy. Amish, anything further to request or push towards or should I use this as the base?
Re: Thanqol Learns 2 Draw: Every Step Is The First
Quote:
Originally Posted by Thanqol
Day 389: Dragon Puppies
And we start on Amish's theme week. Starting off with a basic design sketch as well as a lot of reference study to get the hang of kobold anatomy. Amish, anything further to request or push towards or should I use this as the base?
Well, you've certainly got the posture down pat with the constantly bent knees. I don't see a tail, but I think it's just hidden behind him. Kobold tails can be on the short side. And you also made him good and cantankerous-looking, your work on expressions is really paying off. I can almost smell the disdain from here.
Two things though, one that's completely on me; he's actually a fairly young Kobold. I think it's a combination of the sketchiness and the scale-brows, but he looks really old here. That can be intentional on your part, and may in fact be hilarious to see fully realized, but I just wanted to make sure you were aware of that. The second is the shape of the snout/mouth. I've been trying to find a Kobold reference to match what I see in my head, and, admittedly, each picture has had a drastically different head shape. So take any and all advice I'm about to give with a grain of salt. Right now, it looks a bit more like a crocodile head than a draconic one. What you might try doing is narrowing the head the closer you get to the mouth. Shape that part of the head more like a sideways pyramid instead of a rectangular prism. You also might consider trying to add a sort-of overbite, like what you see on the dragon here.
Also, the one with the head from the front looks a heck of a lot like Discord in his teenage years. Just sayin'.
__________________
Quote:
Originally Posted by Eakin
We're like the weeping angels from Doctor Who, except with cuddling and friendship instead of horrible death. Don't look away.
Re: Thanqol Learns 2 Draw: Every Step Is The First
New brushes are always fun to play with. I remember when I discovered that I could download new brushes into Photoshop. My favorite is a sort of . . . elongated slanted rectangle-shaped brush (Kind of shaped like this symbol /. I'm sure there are better ways to describe it and I'm just too tired to think of them right now). If you find something like that for the program you're using (SAI, right?), definitely try it out. I know where to get it for Photoshop, but that doesn't really help for SAI.
Also . . .
Quote:
Originally Posted by Thanqol
EDIT: BABYLON 5 UPDATE
Spoiler
I'd been shipping TaliaXIvanova since S1 and I just hit the point in S3 where it became canon.
I feel inordinately happy about that.
Spoiler
Oh man, I remember how happy that made me. TaliaXIvanova is my favorite pairing in Babylon 5 and I really wanted them to get together, and I was SO HAPPY when they did.
Re: Thanqol Learns 2 Draw: Every Step Is The First
Quote:
Originally Posted by Silviya
New brushes are always fun to play with. I remember when I discovered that I could download new brushes into Photoshop. My favorite is a sort of . . . elongated slanted rectangle-shaped brush (Kind of shaped like this symbol /. I'm sure there are better ways to describe it and I'm just too tired to think of them right now). If you find something like that for the program you're using (SAI, right?), definitely try it out. I know where to get it for Photoshop, but that doesn't really help for SAI.
Also . . .
I'm currently using a square brush for paint-flatsing, which is actually doing quite well by me. I'm sure there's that shape there somewhere, will give it a try.
Quote:
Spoiler
Oh man, I remember how happy that made me. TaliaXIvanova is my favorite pairing in Babylon 5 and I really wanted them to get together, and I was SO HAPPY when they did.
I love that kind of incidental romance that doesn't force itself on the story, but feels a natural part of it.
Quote:
Originally Posted by TheAmishPirate
Well, you've certainly got the posture down pat with the constantly bent knees. I don't see a tail, but I think it's just hidden behind him. Kobold tails can be on the short side. And you also made him good and cantankerous-looking, your work on expressions is really paying off. I can almost smell the disdain from here.
Two things though, one that's completely on me; he's actually a fairly young Kobold. I think it's a combination of the sketchiness and the scale-brows, but he looks really old here. That can be intentional on your part, and may in fact be hilarious to see fully realized, but I just wanted to make sure you were aware of that. The second is the shape of the snout/mouth. I've been trying to find a Kobold reference to match what I see in my head, and, admittedly, each picture has had a drastically different head shape. So take any and all advice I'm about to give with a grain of salt. Right now, it looks a bit more like a crocodile head than a draconic one. What you might try doing is narrowing the head the closer you get to the mouth. Shape that part of the head more like a sideways pyramid instead of a rectangular prism. You also might consider trying to add a sort-of overbite, like what you see on the dragon here.
Also, the one with the head from the front looks a heck of a lot like Discord in his teenage years. Just sayin'.
All very useful feedback, thank you.
Day 390: Fourbolding
Here's some variations to look over. Feel free to mix and match features from any of the sketches. Any of these more what you had in mind?
A: Aviator. Swept-back design, focused, triangles and curves
B: Hunter. Hooked and reptilian, lean and hungry. Hooks and jagged edges.
C: Dragon Tales. Adorable.
D: General. Long, poised and sleek. By far the most draconic.
Re: Thanqol Learns 2 Draw: Every Step Is The First
Quote:
Originally Posted by Thanqol
All very useful feedback, thank you.
Day 390: Fourbolding
Here's some variations to look over. Feel free to mix and match features from any of the sketches. Any of these more what you had in mind?
A: Aviator. Swept-back design, focused, triangles and curves
B: Hunter. Hooked and reptilian, lean and hungry. Hooks and jagged edges.
C: Dragon Tales. Adorable.
D: General. Long, poised and sleek. By far the most draconic.
A is the absolute perfect head shape. While B and D certainly have the draconic look down, they fall more into the look of Kobolds that have bird-like shapes to their heads. A seems more like the dragon mutts that they are; primarily lizard-like, with enough draconic features to see the resemblance. That, and there's an intensity to that design that just screams Ssalik.
B has the best look for the "hair", a sort of rocky, jagged stubble. I never really saw Ssalik with something resembling hair like A's (though I bet my party would get a kick out of the mental image of a Kobold with long, flowing hair), and D's is a little too physically imposing. Ssalik's presence comes from his own force of personality, not his physical form.
C is adorable, and I will stop at nothing until I am giving that little dragon pup a hug.
__________________
Quote:
Originally Posted by Eakin
We're like the weeping angels from Doctor Who, except with cuddling and friendship instead of horrible death. Don't look away.
Re: Thanqol Learns 2 Draw: Every Step Is The First
Quote:
Originally Posted by TheAmishPirate
Alright, going with my gut reactions on this one:
A is the absolute perfect head shape. While B and D certainly have the draconic look down, they fall more into the look of Kobolds that have bird-like shapes to their heads. A seems more like the dragon mutts that they are; primarily lizard-like, with enough draconic features to see the resemblance. That, and there's an intensity to that design that just screams Ssalik.
B has the best look for the "hair", a sort of rocky, jagged stubble. I never really saw Ssalik with something resembling hair like A's (though I bet my party would get a kick out of the mental image of a Kobold with long, flowing hair), and D's is a little too physically imposing. Ssalik's presence comes from his own force of personality, not his physical form.
C is adorable, and I will stop at nothing until I am giving that little dragon pup a hug.
Noted, filed, and now for something completely different:
"Spike, you're the new Rainbow Dash."
"Awesome! I cast Magic Missile at the darkness!"
"What."
"It crits!"
I love it.
But more to useful critiques: That left arm is just a little bit too long. The tail also seems to be going in odd direction, with respect to the cape fwoosh. The rest I can attribute to sketchiness, but those are the standouts. Judging by your theme last week, you're still putting your focus into expressions. And I can say that it's continuing to pay off. What we have here is an expression of pure anger, with all remnants of self-control long since obliterated. Something has been getting under his scales long enough, and the reckoning is here. This kobold will have blood tonight.
__________________
Quote:
Originally Posted by Eakin
We're like the weeping angels from Doctor Who, except with cuddling and friendship instead of horrible death. Don't look away.
Re: Thanqol Learns 2 Draw: Every Step Is The First
Quote:
Originally Posted by TheAmishPirate
"Spike, you're the new Rainbow Dash."
"Awesome! I cast Magic Missile at the darkness!"
"What."
"It crits!"
I love it.
But more to useful critiques: That left arm is just a little bit too long. The tail also seems to be going in odd direction, with respect to the cape fwoosh. The rest I can attribute to sketchiness, but those are the standouts. Judging by your theme last week, you're still putting your focus into expressions. And I can say that it's continuing to pay off. What we have here is an expression of pure anger, with all remnants of self-control long since obliterated. Something has been getting under his scales long enough, and the reckoning is here. This kobold will have blood tonight.
Yeah, that's stuff that's obvious when you point out but I completely lost track of. Easy fixes. Unfortunately...
Well, you seem to have regressed your progress on head shape, and it looks like you just gave up on the claws this time. I know I gave you free creative reign over the keyblade, but honestly? I don't think you're trying anymore on that front. That, or Australia has some messed-up keys. Also, I didn't think I would need to tell you what glasses were, but a top hat is most certainly not-
Waaaaaaaaaaaitaminute...
__________________
Quote:
Originally Posted by Eakin
We're like the weeping angels from Doctor Who, except with cuddling and friendship instead of horrible death. Don't look away.
Re: Thanqol Learns 2 Draw: Every Step Is The First
Quote:
Originally Posted by TheAmishPirate
Well, you seem to have regressed your progress on head shape, and it looks like you just gave up on the claws this time. I know I gave you free creative reign over the keyblade, but honestly? I don't think you're trying anymore on that front. That, or Australia has some messed-up keys. Also, I didn't think I would need to tell you what glasses were, but a top hat is most certainly not-
Waaaaaaaaaaaitaminute...
trollface.jpg
Day 393: Intermission 2
Test went well! Proper schedule resumes tomorrow. Sorry for the blur.
The problem I'm increasingly coming up against with this show, mid way through season 4, is that it is the least compelling vision of the future I can possibly imagine. That is to say, not one single technological discovery of any kind (aside from space flight) seems to have occurred in the 310 years since the year 1950, which we are culturally and scientifically trapped within.
A novel set in today's 2012 would demonstrate a higher ambient technology level than B5 and humanity's cultural adaptation towards it.
I also don't like Delenn. She sounds like she's constantly about to burst into tears.
Oddly, for all the telling of how the show took a while to get started, I think I preferred the earlier episodes because the premise - a United Nations in Space - genuinely intrigued me and I liked the crisis-of-the-week format. The more they focus on the Orwellian regime on Earth the less I buy it.
Re: Thanqol Learns 2 Draw: Every Step Is The First
Anyway, back to Kobolds.
Day 396: Tumbling
Some days I've got to take my own advice to prove I'm not full of crap.
This was genuine close-my-eyes and throw paint at the wall until I can fight a shape out of the mess. I could spend all day trying to get this right. But I'm not gonna.
The process of doing this taught me some really handy stuff about speedpainting in general, about my brushes and how they interact and what they can be used for - sharpening, pattening, spreading, distorting. I particularly learned some cool stuff about focus. And, it was fun!
I hereby declare today a moral victory, onwards to tomorrow!
Time: 1 hour Music: Spiralling (I love this song. It was in my head for every minute when I was in Japan, and it and the country are now inexorably linked in my head)
Re: Thanqol Learns 2 Draw: Every Step Is The First
Quote:
Originally Posted by Thanqol
Anyway, back to Kobolds.
Day 396: Tumbling
Some days I've got to take my own advice to prove I'm not full of crap.
This was genuine close-my-eyes and throw paint at the wall until I can fight a shape out of the mess. I could spend all day trying to get this right. But I'm not gonna.
The process of doing this taught me some really handy stuff about speedpainting in general, about my brushes and how they interact and what they can be used for - sharpening, pattening, spreading, distorting. I particularly learned some cool stuff about focus. And, it was fun!
I hereby declare today a moral victory, onwards to tomorrow!
Time: 1 hour Music: Spiralling (I love this song. It was in my head for every minute when I was in Japan, and it and the country are now inexorably linked in my head)
For some reason, I'm picturing this as a Kobold who is both focused on the task at hand and unimaginably tired. Don't know what it is, but that's what I'm getting.
I like it, though I'm not entirely sure what the thin lines in the eyebrow-scale thing are.
__________________
Quote:
Originally Posted by Eakin
We're like the weeping angels from Doctor Who, except with cuddling and friendship instead of horrible death. Don't look away.
Re: Thanqol Learns 2 Draw: Every Step Is The First
Quote:
Originally Posted by TheAmishPirate
For some reason, I'm picturing this as a Kobold who is both focused on the task at hand and unimaginably tired. Don't know what it is, but that's what I'm getting.
I like it, though I'm not entirely sure what the thin lines in the eyebrow-scale thing are.
Zey are progress, my friend.
Day 397: Sword Get
Was gonna be a more ambitious day but got called into work. Ah well.
Re: Thanqol Learns 2 Draw: Every Step Is The First
Day 397a: Spectacular!
Hoity Toity just naturally looks good. You can't mess it up.
Saw an art style that I absolutely adored today so I'm going to do this one in it tomorrow to see if I can. Got the sketch in this evening so I'd be good to start colouring tomorrow.
I've made an enormous mental breakthrough with sketching recently, and curiously I put a lot of it down to the brush settings I've got for my sketch pencil. A solid line you obsess over and fiddle with, a sketchy pencil-like line you feel more okay with erasing, drawing over or ignoring. Resultingly, this step was curiously easy for me.
Breaking up the outline with the eraser and cutting the shapes down to size. This part took a surprisingly long time but that's mostly because I hadn't done anything remotely like this before.
Re: Thanqol Learns 2 Draw: Every Step Is The First
Looks very nice, but it seems the concern I expressed in the other thread was justified. The jittery lines on a neutral pose make for some sort of mixed message, I can't tell what the picture does. Besides that, you actually managed to pull the style off quite well. Looks great!
__________________
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!
And there is a Kobold who is dang proud of a sword. As for actual suggestions, I'd say the right foot is a bit too big, even for being closer to the foreground. It's also a little tough to see the left knee(s) from this angle, but that could just be sketchiness.
Re Hoity Toity: I feel like we should either be seeing the tops of his eyes, or those glasses should be a hair higher. Also agree with Sean, it's an odd style for a neutral pose. That said, I think you nailed the style you were going for, and it looks great on him.
__________________
Quote:
Originally Posted by Eakin
We're like the weeping angels from Doctor Who, except with cuddling and friendship instead of horrible death. Don't look away.
Re: Thanqol Learns 2 Draw: Every Step Is The First
Quote:
Originally Posted by Sean Mirrsen
Looks very nice, but it seems the concern I expressed in the other thread was justified. The jittery lines on a neutral pose make for some sort of mixed message, I can't tell what the picture does. Besides that, you actually managed to pull the style off quite well. Looks great!
Quote:
Originally Posted by TheAmishPirate
And there is a Kobold who is dang proud of a sword. As for actual suggestions, I'd say the right foot is a bit too big, even for being closer to the foreground. It's also a little tough to see the left knee(s) from this angle, but that could just be sketchiness.
Re Hoity Toity: I feel like we should either be seeing the tops of his eyes, or those glasses should be a hair higher. Also agree with Sean, it's an odd style for a neutral pose. That said, I think you nailed the style you were going for, and it looks great on him.
*Nod nod* Thank you.
Day 399: Scholarly
Another test day so another rubbish sketch.
I'm about done with Kobolds but I've got another few packed days ahead of me. My commitment is to get one, proper, coloured kobold piece to you on a sooner-or-later basis.
Re: Thanqol Learns 2 Draw: Every Step Is The First
Day 400: Ah'm The Fastest
Okay, back to the schedule proper with a new case study: The Scout from TF2.
The scout's always annoyed me, in a good way. I can't play Scout to save my life - my core competency is Spy, which I'm sickeningly good at. The Scout is unfortunately a class with a hard counter - he cannot do anything to a sentry gun, and on the attack/defense maps that I favour, playing Scout is a form of elaborate suicide.
But in terms of what I want out of this particular drawing experiment is to A) Capture some of the scout's facial expressiveness and annoying attitude and B) Draw a lot of pictures of people running. I'm going to focus primarily on sketches even though my schedule has finally opened up because there's not too much for me to play with in Scout's relatively simple colour scheme.
Re: Thanqol Learns 2 Draw: Every Step Is The First
Quote:
Originally Posted by Thanqol
*Nod nod* Thank you.
Day 399: Scholarly
Another test day so another rubbish sketch.
I'm about done with Kobolds but I've got another few packed days ahead of me. My commitment is to get one, proper, coloured kobold piece to you on a sooner-or-later basis.
Only real thing I can say about this one is that it's a little unclear what happens to his left arm. I can see it start, and I know it ends behind his back, but the transition is somewhat nebulous. Likely due to the sketchy nature, but it's still difficult to spot.
And thanks. I've still gotten some great sketches (and I know SpikeKobold will get some laughs out of my D&D group) out of this theme week. No regrets there.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Thanqol
Day 400: Ah'm The Fastest
Okay, back to the schedule proper with a new case study: The Scout from TF2.
The scout's always annoyed me, in a good way. I can't play Scout to save my life - my core competency is Spy, which I'm sickeningly good at. The Scout is unfortunately a class with a hard counter - he cannot do anything to a sentry gun, and on the attack/defense maps that I favour, playing Scout is a form of elaborate suicide.
But in terms of what I want out of this particular drawing experiment is to A) Capture some of the scout's facial expressiveness and annoying attitude and B) Draw a lot of pictures of people running. I'm going to focus primarily on sketches even though my schedule has finally opened up because there's not too much for me to play with in Scout's relatively simple colour scheme.
Everything I know about how to play scout is summed up in this. Use it well.
Yeah, nothing really stands out that I can nitpick, even with checking against the Meet the Scout video. I can say that I never noticed how much bigger the hat makes his head look.
__________________
Quote:
Originally Posted by Eakin
We're like the weeping angels from Doctor Who, except with cuddling and friendship instead of horrible death. Don't look away.
Re: Thanqol Learns 2 Draw: Every Step Is The First
Quote:
Originally Posted by TheAmishPirate
Heh, Ssalik is best grumpy old professor.
Only real thing I can say about this one is that it's a little unclear what happens to his left arm. I can see it start, and I know it ends behind his back, but the transition is somewhat nebulous. Likely due to the sketchy nature, but it's still difficult to spot.
And thanks. I've still gotten some great sketches (and I know SpikeKobold will get some laughs out of my D&D group) out of this theme week. No regrets there.
Sorry that it had to coincide with test week!
Day 401: The Shortest Theme Week
Okay, I got distracted in record time. Will do some more sketching on the topic later tonight.
This one, hmm. Not sure how I feel about it. I definitely felt the limitations of the style there. Also took way too long for what it was.
RSS Feeds: 
Re: Thanqol Learns 2 Draw: Every Step Is The First
Bleeeeh! Alfalfa Monster!
