My art

[duoz]

Critiques?

[Luwano]

At 2/14/11 09:33 PM, duoz wrote: Critiques?

Ok let's see.... there are grey splotches to the left and right of the blonde guy. Are they supposed to be there? And if yes, why?

The pic looks kinda unfinished, especially the background.

I seems as if they are waiting for something, so if this was your intention: good job bringing that across.

The drawing lacks depth. You should add some shading to make it look less flat. Also I would like to see it finished, could be interesting.

[duoz]

At 2/14/11 09:44 PM, Luwano wrote:

At 2/14/11 09:33 PM, duoz wrote: Critiques?

Ok let's see.... there are grey splotches to the left and right of the blonde guy. Are they supposed to be there? And if yes, why?

The pic looks kinda unfinished, especially the background.

I seems as if they are waiting for something, so if this was your intention: good job bringing that across.

The drawing lacks depth. You should add some shading to make it look less flat. Also I would like to see it finished, could be interesting.

Yep was left unfinished, it was more of a test of the characters than anything. I could of done better on the background, the gray splotches being mistakes. I was thinking about shading, but not sure how to go about doing so. Also I have more on the way, been doing a bunch of tests like this to refine the style I want, but I don't plan on finishing this, the most I would do would be a remake.

[SoConfused]

What program are you using to make this?
If you are using MS Paint... I would try Gimp (similar to Adobe Photoshop) or Inkskape (similar to Adobe Illustrator). Those are much better. If you are using Photoshop I can tell you how to do shading, although I am new to the painting aspect of Photoshop.

[duoz]

At 2/14/11 10:56 PM, SoConfused wrote: What program are you using to make this?
If you are using MS Paint... I would try Gimp (similar to Adobe Photoshop) or Inkskape (similar to Adobe Illustrator). Those are much better. If you are using Photoshop I can tell you how to do shading, although I am new to the painting aspect of Photoshop.

Photoshop using a tablet.

[SoConfused]

PM sent, I'm not great at illustrations, but I do know my way around Photoshop.

[TurkeyOnAStick]

At 2/14/11 10:56 PM, SoConfused wrote: If you are using Photoshop I can tell you how to do shading, although I am new to the painting aspect of Photoshop.
At 2/14/11 11:07 PM, SoConfused wrote: PM sent, I'm not great at illustrations, but I do know my way around Photoshop.

What's wrong with this thread? :( It would be handy for everybody to know how you paint, and we may be able to offer you some tips.

[Falonefal]

You need to do some detailing, I suggest you don't get too lazy and color everything properly, then maybe add some more details, so that everyone can get a better idea of what you have drawn, and finally you could pimp it up with some shadowing and adding of more little details, first step: Don't get lazy on the coloring, even 'more first' step, put more work and thought into your original drawing, before it is even colored.

[duoz]

Another. Tried some shading, yet i'm still getting that "flat" look. Working on getting more detail at the moment on other works. Keep bring the critique people.

[Falonefal]

It's a wee bit better, but you really need to put more into your picture, it's really empty now.

[Batto]

If you're wanting to improve I'd suggest not using such a simplistic style.
Shading practise, like spheres and apples and so on, would be good for getting a less flat look

[duoz]

At 2/15/11 04:11 AM, TurkeyOnAStick wrote:

At 2/14/11 10:56 PM, SoConfused wrote: If you are using Photoshop I can tell you how to do shading, although I am new to the painting aspect of Photoshop.
At 2/14/11 11:07 PM, SoConfused wrote: PM sent, I'm not great at illustrations, but I do know my way around Photoshop.

What's wrong with this thread? :( It would be handy for everybody to know how you paint, and we may be able to offer you some tips.

Courtesy of SoConfused:

Ok, what you need to do is make a layer for the line art and below it make a layer for the color (you probably already know this). To do shading, what I do is make a 3rd layer above the color layer and below the line layer. I set the opacity to around 55% and use a solid black brush to paint where the shadows are, then I clean up the lines with the eraser. Now, to keep the original color of the picture, but just a darker shade, what I do is put the opacity of the shadow layer back up to 100%. I then double click the shadow layer so that I can get into the blending options (you can also right click the layer and select blending options). Next you set the blend mode to "Soft Light". I then duplicate the shadow layer (right click, duplicate) and then change the blending mode to normal and set the opacity to around 20%. This is just to make the shadows darker. You don't have to duplicate the original shadow layer if you like how dark it is, but I usually like my shadows to really stand out.

There are also some great tutorials in NG on how to make good Lineart and how to color lineart

And I'll just link you my .Psd document of my latest picture for the Apocalypse Now Collab. The PSD document is 11mb so I just gave up after 10 minutes of loading... Anyway, if you have any questions about PS, ask me and I may be able to help.... Here is a link to the picture so you can see what I mean by using the solid brush and touching up with the eraser. If I ever get the PSD to upload I'll send you a link to it.

[duoz]

At 2/15/11 04:37 PM, Otto wrote: Please never use the word 'style' as a defense for something you know you can do better on. This is genuine friendly advice.

Don't think I was using it as a defense; I realize that my stuff is below par, and thats the point of posting it for critique. What do you personally think I could do better on?

[Ashman]

At 2/15/11 04:37 PM, duoz wrote: Courtesy of SoConfused:

Ok, what you need to do is make a layer for the line art and below it make a layer for the color (you probably already know this). To do shading, what I do is make a 3rd layer above the color layer and below the line layer. I set the opacity to around 55% and use a solid black brush to paint where the shadows are, then I clean up the lines with the eraser. Now, to keep the original color of the picture, but just a darker shade, what I do is put the opacity of the shadow layer back up to 100%. I then double click the shadow layer so that I can get into the blending options (you can also right click the layer and select blending options). Next you set the blend mode to "Soft Light". I then duplicate the shadow layer (right click, duplicate) and then change the blending mode to normal and set the opacity to around 20%. This is just to make the shadows darker. You don't have to duplicate the original shadow layer if you like how dark it is, but I usually like my shadows to really stand out.

see, in my opinion, not that its worth much, you should never EVER shade with black on colours, even if you are using blend modes and opacity, it generally comes out as crap, shade under lineart on your colour layer, lock opacity so you dont go farther than you want, and just colour in a darker value/saturation, same goes for highlights just go higher than your original, but yeah, get away from that wierd style, its not helping you and its not exactly appealing, id suggest trying something else, use references and practice whatever, and remember pencils are generally easier than digital, you can always digitalise it later

my two cents

[duoz]

At 2/15/11 04:47 PM, Ashman wrote:

:...shade under lineart on your colour layer, lock opacity so you dont go farther than you want, and just colour in a darker value/saturation, same goes for highlights just go higher than your original...

my two cents

I think I'll try that for my shading next time, see how it works.

[duoz]

At 2/15/11 05:11 PM, Jow279 wrote: i don't wanna be a dick but it needs arms and legs doesn't it?

Seems like the general consensus haha.

[duoz]

Using arms and legs makes it look worse, but if anyone has ideas let me know. I'm working on highlighting and shadowing even more, which is producing great results. I used to freehand my line art, but i'm moving to vector instead; I also increased my resolution so I can fit more details than a 5 px brush ever could.

As a general FYI I am not trying for realism at all.

Keep up the good work, you guys are helping a bunch.

[duoz]

Also, feel free to doodle on my stuff if you need to get your point across.

[bigjonny13]

At 2/15/11 06:20 PM, duoz wrote: Using arms and legs makes it look worse, but if anyone has ideas let me know.

If you're not gonna use limbs, then define the hands and feet more, instead of having just circles.

[BluGil]

A good strategy for seeing how good your art is is to go to 4chan.org/ic and ask them for critique, they'll tear you apart and put things into perspective.

Anyways there's really nothing going in these, since you're using boxes for features, and leaving out limbs. Artistically it just has no momentum to go anywhere. Either bid this style goodbye or never progress

[duoz]

At 2/15/11 07:34 PM, BluGil wrote: A good strategy for seeing how good your art is is to go to 4chan.org/ic and ask them for critique, they'll tear you apart and put things into perspective.

Anyways there's really nothing going in these, since you're using boxes for features, and leaving out limbs. Artistically it just has no momentum to go anywhere. Either bid this style goodbye or never progress

Did the 4chan thing once, gave me some feedback but was mostly nothing to build on. It's why I came here.

[duoz]

Just an update of what i'm attempting.

[Daverom]

The lack of any features in general makes the characters look bland, look is all in the pose and without limbs you need to rely on the faces, which so far are looking kinda B^U

If you are struggling with limbs, ignoring the problem doesn't make it go away. Practice drawing them.

[duoz]

At 2/15/11 09:07 PM, M-Vero wrote: The lack of any features in general makes the characters look bland, look is all in the pose and without limbs you need to rely on the faces, which so far are looking kinda B^U

If you are struggling with limbs, ignoring the problem doesn't make it go away. Practice drawing them.

It's not that I can't, it's the problem with making them fit the character. I'm trying to follow big-jonny-13 advice for now and see how that works.

And fuck I really don't want B^U. Thanks from bringing it to my attention.

[duoz]

More. I think shadowing/highlighting really gave it dimension, and the vector lines instead of freehand lines give it a cleaner, and overall better appearance. I still have a bit to go before it's anything spectacular, but I think it's the best so far.

As for the background, I tried to convey a night scene lit up by an explosion/flashlight/ufo, with the main character on a sidewalk. I don't thing the sidewalk turned out well, but I'm happy with the shading of the scene.

Right now I'm still working on detailed hands and more in-action shots to see how well I can convey posing without limbs. But I continue to experiment with different ways to add limbs, as it would solve alot of problems; we'll see what wins out in the end.

As always, I need your guy's critique. Bring it on!

[duoz]

Friend informed me that it looks like he's standing on a satellite dish. I guess I'll go with that.

[duoz]

Should of put this in the right thread to begin with. I realized I need to really revisit my style. This is the result. This work in particular was a scene for a special attack the character was performing. Critiques are highly welcome.

[duoz]

Another. Critiques as always are welcome.

[duoz]

More.

[duoz]

Don't even know if i'm still getting views. Oh well.