Advice on my rough sketch?

[black-raven]

Hey, first post on the art forum, haven't been on newgrounds for a long time,

The attached image is a rough sketch i drew today,
The idea is to make a character which is holding a staff roughly formed like a scorpiontail, pointing forward in the picture, but i haven't drawn it yet, the creature i'm going to draw is a rakshasa (humanly build animal) special about this creature is that his hands are backward, the fur will come later i just want to have a good base to start drawing.

One of the main questions is, is everything in order, nothing to big, to small, i find his left shoulder kind or weird, this is the first time i drew a character without having some kind of reference to how i whould want it to look.

The stance i was going for was him bending a bit forward with his upperbody twisted a bit (because of the staff being on one side of his body) and his legs in a firm stance to hold of any recoil from a blast,

So any pointers, or tips and tricks to get this base a more "realistic" or dramatic look, anything positive is welcome, and negative things better have constructive items in it :)

i'll be on later to check the responses, thanks :)

[Ashman]

for the basics, brush up on some muscle anatomy that help you fix the problem with the arms shoulders and neck, then learn some bone anatomy for proportions on the arm and elbow because the arm on the left looks a bit mishapen, then finish it off learning a bit about head shape facial features and hair, its all about learning and practice

[Decky]

Its good for a loose sketch. Obviously it needs more work before it can be submitted to the Art Portal, especially in the face.

[Ne7ers]

The rough sketch gave me a good idea of what your after, the one thing i would advise is cropping the image, i usually use this trick to give pictures more of a cinematic feel, rather than a static figure in the middle of the page... another reason is that im lazy and the viewer usually likes to figure out what is going on for themselves.

Also i would recommend reference as this is a tricky pose, the top of the right arm could do with foreshortening to give more depth.

One rule of foreshortening that has really helped me is that proportion is measured in width not length.

I would also suggest getting a copy of dynamic anatomy by Hogarth, or going to posemaniacs.com

[sven647]

Its very rough and sketchy

and the anatomy is off a little unless thats what your going for idk

[black-raven]

At 4/30/10 09:07 PM, Ne7ers wrote: The rough sketch gave me a good idea of what your after, the one thing i would advise is cropping the image, i usually use this trick to give pictures more of a cinematic feel, rather than a static figure in the middle of the page... another reason is that im lazy and the viewer usually likes to figure out what is going on for themselves.

Also i would recommend reference as this is a tricky pose, the top of the right arm could do with foreshortening to give more depth.

One rule of foreshortening that has really helped me is that proportion is measured in width not length.

I would also suggest getting a copy of dynamic anatomy by Hogarth, or going to posemaniacs.com

Thanks for the tips i'll go check out that site u gave and look up about the foreshortening, about the cropping, i like to give the whole picture since i use these to give an idea for my characters, but i'll try it on the finished product and see if i can work with that,

@ angryglacier, thanks for the link, next time i'll post there, about the comment it self, the muscles are a bit over the top but i want him to be a bit brutal, and i didn't put a head in there because it is a animal head and i could look up that where i was drawing :)

@ all the rest, i'll look up some more anatomy and for those interested i'll pm when the result is up :)

thanks for the replies

[black-raven]

I'm gonna post in here again, since the critiquing art post doesn't seem that alive.

My art to critique/improve

this isn't the finished product and i just added the colors to give it a better look, these colors aren't permanent. the things i want to know from u are asked in point 4.
before i finish it with color and shading i want to know posible improvement from your side.

SIZE: 700x486 pixels (it will be a A4-paper big when finished)
MEDIUM: pen and paper+flash
TIME SPENT 2 hours including clothing tutorials

1. what i'm trying to create: I'm trying to create a sorcerer rakshasa, this is a humanoid beast (cat-like animals). these beasts are always evil and i want him to look angry/furious. he is holding a staff with a end looking like a scorpions tail, also the hands of these animals are backwards.

2. Style I'm going for the typical line-art found in most anime. but instead of shading abruptly like in dragonball z i'm gonna try smooth shading (the shading on the picture right now is to give it more depth it's not finished)

3. things i already know: I know the hands are backward, this is on purpose, i know the head needs stipes, and i know the stripes aren't very pretty/good,

4. WHAT I NEED TO KNOW
- Anatomy: Is everything in order, i used my body for the pose, only the head, reversed hands and clothes are things i doubt about.

- Expression: I want him to be a bit meaner (hopefully detailing the face will add this) but if anyone has tips they are welcome, the stance is to have him bent a bit forward, is this coming to it's right?

- Clothes: some parts need a few more details but in the overal, what should i add or adjust, or maybe delete

- Colors: I will redo the colors and shading but except for the skin these are the colors i plan on using, if u think of any details or other colors that might fit better u can tell me.

-Anything else: U can always critique/suggest other stuff, including ideas for background and such.

[Aigis]

At 5/11/10 02:03 AM, black-raven wrote: 3. things i already know: I know the hands are backward, this is on purpose

Might I ask why?

[Hyptosis]

lol, thos backwards hands are breaking my mind

[Ashman]

At 5/11/10 02:03 AM, black-raven wrote: - Anatomy: Is everything in order, i used my body for the pose, only the head, reversed hands and clothes are things i doubt about.

it all looks acceptable but the reverse hands are just.....wierd, also the thumb on the back hand needs a bit of tweaking, and the closest foot looks a bit flat

- Expression: I want him to be a bit meaner (hopefully detailing the face will add this) but if anyone has tips they are welcome, the stance is to have him bent a bit forward, is this coming to it's right?

detail in the face and mouth and use the eyes and eyebrows to add to the expression

- Clothes: some parts need a few more details but in the overal, what should i add or adjust, or maybe delete

add a back onto the thing around his waist, at the moment its just sides with no back, also his shirt would have some folds

- Colors: I will redo the colors and shading but except for the skin these are the colors i plan on using, if u think of any details or other colors that might fit better u can tell me.

skin/fur needs shading too, and same for the vest

[black-raven]

At 5/11/10 03:07 AM, Aigis wrote:

At 5/11/10 02:03 AM, black-raven wrote: 3. things i already know: I know the hands are backward, this is on purpose

Might I ask why?

Beats me, it is a D&D creature and research on it has told me his hands are backward, i only know he isn't handicaped by it and he can change form so he can turn them like they should be standing, but i thought it would be a chalenge,

the other comments i'll answer/read at home because now i'm at work (my break is ending now)

[black-raven]

At 5/11/10 07:02 AM, Ashman wrote:

At 5/11/10 02:03 AM, black-raven wrote:

it all looks acceptable but the reverse hands are just.....wierd, also the thumb on the back hand needs a bit of tweaking, and the closest foot looks a bit flat

detail in the face and mouth and use the eyes and eyebrows to add to the expression

add a back onto the thing around his waist, at the moment its just sides with no back, also his shirt would have some folds



skin/fur needs shading too, and same for the vest

yup, i'll see to the foot and the thumb, and i also noticed the back of the cloth, shading will also be done when i'm happy with my overal looks. but i'm geussing it's gonna be something for in the weekend.

[Ne7ers]

Strange decision on the hands. Although they are drawn well, Im guessing you will get a lot of criticism from people for drawing them backwards.

[Fifty-50]

Pretty decent, but as the other guys said his' hands are drawn in awkward way. The anatomy is somewhat acceptable and the coloring is okay. One question: what program do you use?

[bigjonny13]

At 5/11/10 07:30 AM, black-raven wrote: Beats me, it is a D&D creature and research on it has told me his hands are backward

Actually, I did some research on it too, and by backwards hands, it means left hand where it's right hand should be and vice versa. It's still an akward position regarding the hands/arms even with the switched hands.

[black-raven]

At 5/12/10 10:57 AM, Fifty-50 wrote: Pretty decent, but as the other guys said his' hands are drawn in awkward way. The anatomy is somewhat acceptable and the coloring is okay. One question: what program do you use?

I draw in flash, i like the way flash can make the lines fluid because i don't own a tablet (yet) i'm suppost to get one for my birthday (wich has already passed)

:Actually, I did some research on it too, and by backwards hands, it means left hand where it's right hand should be and vice versa. It's still an akward position regarding the hands/arms even with the switched hands.

well yeah if u put the hands on the other arm u got backward hands, i know it looks pretty akward, i first just sketch the hands normally then i made pictures with my left hand holding the right hands position on a stick and the same for the other hand and i came up with it's positions where they are now,

i geuss because it isn't like it is supposed to be it looks akward no matter how well u get it right, now i'll do some tweaking on it anyways, shadow and stuff might help :) lets hope for the best