Here's a long overdue redraw of Enzo. I didn't get near the time I wanted to draw stuff over vacation, but I'm cramming some in tonight. Here's a sketchy version of the new and hopefully improved Enzo. There's still refinement needed before I start post production. :P

Getting there. Lots of refinement, changed his weapon (ahem)...tool into a wrench, flipped the canvas, and did a quick grayscale. I also tried making him less feminine, but he's about 14 so....maybe he still secretly plays with Barbies. LMAO j/k..OR AM I >o<

At 8/27/14 08:47 PM, fxscreamer wrote: Getting there. Lots of refinement, changed his weapon (ahem)...tool into a wrench, flipped the canvas, and did a quick grayscale. I also tried making him less feminine, but he's about 14 so....maybe he still secretly plays with Barbies. LMAO j/k..OR AM I >o<

I'd look up a reference for the material of his shirt. It looks a fair bit thicker and clumpier than what I generally associate with a shirt.

At 8/28/14 02:30 AM, Havegum wrote:

At 8/27/14 08:47 PM, fxscreamer wrote: Getting there. Lots of refinement, changed his weapon (ahem)...tool into a wrench, flipped the canvas, and did a quick grayscale. I also tried making him less feminine, but he's about 14 so....maybe he still secretly plays with Barbies. LMAO j/k..OR AM I >o<

I'd look up a reference for the material of his shirt. It looks a fair bit thicker and clumpier than what I generally associate with a shirt.

Ya, I'm finding that I'll need to do more refinement (everywhere actually), and the shirt is one of them. It's a bit blousy and makes him look more feminine with the way it hangs down. I'll try to let gravity do more of the work.

I went ahead and drew the whole body and did a bunch of tweaks. His eyes were a big focal point for me. Anyway, there's a 1870x1870 version on my page for much higher detail. I'm pretty happy with this considering how many revisions this guy has gone through all year.

Here we go again, a re-invented Ivan. Back to my main man....you terrible bastard. :D He likes cigars, but isn't very amused here. :P

Rough body, clothes....really rough color. I'll be doing a ton of refinement tomorrow and probably finish it Saturday. Meh....

It's not done yet (line art, color, shade, blah blah), but went through heavy refinement. I decided to do some grayscale, and um.......could Ivan be the most interesting cat in the world? LMAO

I haven't been on in a while but man you've gotten so much better at expressions, well done.

At 9/5/14 01:10 AM, LurkinMcClerkin wrote: I haven't been on in a while but man you've gotten so much better at expressions, well done.

Haha, well thank you. :) I realize I have a lot of smiling characters through these pages, so I'm gonna need to bring the PAIN.....I mean other emotions. :P

All done! 1920x1200 version on my page.

When designing characters, I think it would be a good idea to apply your knowledge of composition. Use your knowledge of contrast, economy, rhythm, emphasis, balance, and movement to make sure your character is being viewed the way you intended.

A very simple example is, in most cases you want the face to be the main focus, so you make sure there are directions in his design, rhythm, emphasis, and contrast to lead your eye there. If you find that other areas are competing for attention, it's easy to tone them down, to bring the focus back to the face!

I'd also recommend reading up on colour theory, and maybe even do some master studies of artists whose colours you like and want to emulate!

I don't think I'll finish these, but I was doing even more Ivan sketches and experiments with design. I'm forcing myself to think more in shapes and body types. It's also a bit more disney-esque than I've usually done. :P

Played around with Holly tonight.

I'm realizing I need to crank shit up to the next level and ditch my old ideas. I had some good pep talks with some very influential people, and gotta push it further in expression. Here's my latest attempt...drunken drawing tonight. More Holly....More Ivan.

Drew another Ivan tonight, and I think I'm liking this one....meaty. I think I'm hitting a new personal plateau in character design, and getting faster to boot. This was roughly an hour tonight.

At 9/18/14 12:03 AM, fxscreamer wrote: Drew another Ivan tonight, and I think I'm liking this one....meaty. I think I'm hitting a new personal plateau in character design, and getting faster to boot. This was roughly an hour tonight.

Looking good! Also did you draw this traditionally? It really looks awesome with the pencil and paper texture. xD
Reminds me of an old cartoon movie.

Ugh, I really need to somehow get a chance to watch your livestream.

At 9/18/14 01:13 AM, 123mine123 wrote:

At 9/18/14 12:03 AM, fxscreamer wrote: Drew another Ivan tonight, and I think I'm liking this one....meaty. I think I'm hitting a new personal plateau in character design, and getting faster to boot. This was roughly an hour tonight.

Looking good! Also did you draw this traditionally? It really looks awesome with the pencil and paper texture. xD
Reminds me of an old cartoon movie.

Ugh, I really need to somehow get a chance to watch your livestream.

Thx! I've actually started using a new sketching program called Mischief. I'm liking it more than Sketchbook Pro. I really LOVE the way it feels when drawing on tablets, it's super lightweight (very small program), has infinite canvas, and great brush options. I'm finding that I love drawing with the crayon brushes and textures. It has a more "charcoal" feel. I then just grabbed a canvas texture off the internet and played with it a little to give the effect you see above.

I may have a stream this Saturday, and for drawing only...not painting! (a first). I'll try to announce it if it happens (usually 3PM EST).

Another round of Holly. Also, ya...I'm gonna draw tomorrow. :P

Here's Holly's body shot in rough pencil and shade. She's come a LONG way since the first concept I did of her. :D

Well, I finally redid Holly's design....which was long overdue. I uploaded a big version on my page for more detail. Hell, she'll probably get redesigned AGAIN before Christmas with the way things are going. :P

Shall we dance? :P One of many many.......many sketches I've done over the last few days. My wrist and shoulder hurt.

A little redesign of my main character....Arlo, the guy that started all this drawing madness for me.

At 9/27/14 11:13 PM, fxscreamer wrote: Shall we dance? :P One of many many.......many sketches I've done over the last few days. My wrist and shoulder hurt.

I dont know why but I kinda like this guy.
Maybe because of the head shape. xD

At 9/30/14 08:33 AM, 123mine123 wrote:

At 9/27/14 11:13 PM, fxscreamer wrote: Shall we dance? :P One of many many.......many sketches I've done over the last few days. My wrist and shoulder hurt.

I dont know why but I kinda like this guy.
Maybe because of the head shape. xD

Haha that's good then! I've had the whole idea of "shape design" slammed into my face the last couple of weeks by some pros and I'm hoping there is improvement. Here's a version of Titus I did tonight...although I had roughly 6 other concepts before this one the last week. I hadn't drawn him since April or May (I think). I'm happiest with this so far, oh...and I gave him a vest cause he's a classy mofo.

Redid the line art....BY HAND! I experimented with lighting and colors more in this piece, as well as doing the line art by hand rather than the path tool. It definitely has a different feel *shrugs*. I also made him not all meth eyed with a calmer look. I suppose I wanted a vintage feel to the piece, almost like an old photo. Lackadaisy influence perhaps? Maybe. :3

Dapper as hell I tell ya.

At 10/3/14 12:58 AM, fxscreamer wrote: Redid the line art....BY HAND! I experimented with lighting and colors more in this piece, as well as doing the line art by hand rather than the path tool. It definitely has a different feel *shrugs*. I also made him not all meth eyed with a calmer look. I suppose I wanted a vintage feel to the piece, almost like an old photo. Lackadaisy influence perhaps? Maybe. :3

Dapper as hell I tell ya.

This is awesome! I wanna do something similar now. xD
Also, oh yeah, you do every line art with the pen tool.
In my oppinion, if you want really good lines, Paintool Sai is amazing at that.

Well, awesome art Fx. Still hoping for me catching you do some streams. :3

so dapper.

Hey thx! I'm just trying to mess around with other techniques and find out what I like. I did this one this afternoon, but didn't do any digital line art or clean coloring. It was a bit of a splash job. I might go back and redo it all "crispy." :D

"A Moment of Clarity"

Decided to take it to the next level. :P

Oh yeah...I'm going there.......a Halloween piece, and the first time we get to see the whole family together. It should speak for itself. This was a couple hours after work. Lots of refinement needed and damn it....I'm totally returning to the cell shade cartoon style. I actually had FUN on this piece and it didn't feel like a chore. :P