Crimson Daggers — Art forum

Glad to hear you got your motivation back and also doing a healthy lifestyle. :)

Critique! The Gavalier design is nice (as are the others), but the position of her head looks really off to me. I think it's not really the high shoulder pads, but that chestguard piece of armor that is shaped like it covers her breasts - it is really close to her neck/chin area. Moving the head a bit more to the front/up might help. But maybe it's also just me that is confused by all the armor :o

Nonon painting is cute =)

Triggerpigking: thanks man! i got another hit from life recently, but i'm thankful that at least now i'm condition to fight back! I took a good look at some tutorials by Dan Luvisi specially, but i still have some to stuff from Alex Negrea and Maciej Kuciara to watch :D i cant recommend those enough mate.

Cyprinus: thanks a lot! indeed, but more than anything, a change in my life was needed. So though that making a schedule to balance illustration/comic, etc, and a healthier lifestyle was necessary. Otherwise you will just feel deppresed again and again, like a vicious circle or something like that. And i'm glad you like that nonon study! to be fair, the original cosplayer was awesome to begin with. :)

Lyraina: thanks! :D indeed, time to be constructive instead of self destructive haha.
You are totally right about that critique, i didnt notice until you said it, it really looks off, like a severed head popping out an empty armor. (I know i'm weird) i dont remember but i probably just sketched the armor and then added the rest, just an example of how you shouldnt work. xD

So guys, i really wanted to update this earlier, but sadly my grandma passed away some days ago and the mood is still pretty heavy here. So i kept focusing on stuff, going to the gym, running to keep me busy but i didnt feel like posting anything.
But i'm okay and more motivated than ever. Lets do this!

I will start with this new challenge illustration i'm doing. The idea is to make a full illustration without relying heavily on photos. Meaning that i can only use reference to help me correct the stuff i'm already doing from head. I want to keep doing little challenges like this to stop being so dependent on photos. I know there is a lot of awesome artists who dont mind using a lot of photo ref, but i want to be more independent.

[attachment=53635]

And after watching some tutorials by Maciej Kuciara on Gumroad i though about trying some photo-manipulation myself to make a character. I... suck at it haha but it was really fun.
I dont really think photomanip is my thing, but i still want to keep exploring this technique.
I will admit its really awesome to flesh out new characters and props really quick.

[attachment=53634]

And Rainfall 2: Cake and blues is here! :) I'm so rusty with this stuff, but now that i'm following a schedule to balance both illustration and manga, i should get into shape again in no time (hopefully!)

[attachment=53632]

[attachment=53633]

Damn, sorry to hear about your grandma man, good to see you've tried to keep a positive face on during it though.

Your work is lookin good, interesting challenge with the illustration & yay for more rainfall!

Slight crit though on the rainfall cover, her eyes atleast to me anyway look a bit dodgy, not sure if it's the left eye being to close to the nose or the right eye being to far away from the nose.

My condolences about your gradma.

I have to say really great portraits! :D
Agree with Triggerpigking, her right eye is a bit too close to the noce :)

Oh my, i dissapeared, again!
Good news are, i'm feeling better than ever, still living healthy, going to the gym daily, doing commission whenever i can, i dont really smoke anything anymore and i rarely drink either.
Life is too short to waste it with drugs kiddos! :)
(I'm still working on my comic, but thats on hold at the moment, since my priority is to finally a build a portfolio and get some jobs if possible)
But lets not lose anymore time and get to the point.
There is way too much stuff i've done this month to post everything here, so i will only post the most relevant stuff, if someone is curious about the rest can check deviantart of facebook.

Triggerpigking: thanks dude, and sorry for the late reply!

Nowio: thanks man! You two were right about that one, i normally suck at anime but that one was specially awful haha.

So i made a new cover for the comic:

[attachment=61244]
[attachment=61245]

And some fanarts here and there

Fire emblem awakening depicting My Unit and his hilariously amnesiac daughter in the game (you have to play to understand)

[attachment=61246]

Some xenoblade (who is pumped for xenoblade on the new 3ds?)

[attachment=61247]

And a bit of Tokyo ghoul, the anime was trash, but i really recommend the manga.

[attachment=61248]

And just something i did today, Just testing some tools in photoshop and trying to see how far i could get without ref again, better than last time, at least.
Soundtrack: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JSf1USPENcA

I will make sure to keep this updated (for real... i swear... xD)

I also want to start doing progress shots and mini tutorials? i just want to share all the little tricks i've been discovering in this last months so i will get on it in the next update.

Awesome news that you fell better now! :D
You improved once more, great cover and the other images (didn't see Fire Empblem for a while :D)
Also not bad on those without reference, keep it up!

On a side note, how much would you reccomend tokyo ghoul? Keep hearing about it again and again lately :O

Hey thanks dude! :)
About Tokyo Ghoul, like i said the anime was a train wreck, but the manga on the other hand was really good, both the art and story. There was some awful shonen stuff here and there but overall it is a dark and tragic fantasy tale. If you like tragedies combined with some philosophy, action and questionable psychology, you will enjoy it.

Okay thanks, I will look into it ;)

Hey, your style is very dreamy and whimsy. I like! As long as you continue, you've really got a great thing going on. You can only get better. :)

Hey man good to see you back!
Already commented on some of these from deviantart but nice work on the piece without ref that rough look really looks good on it. Also cool idea about the mini tutorials and progress shots i'd like to see them :).

Can only join the others, it's great to see a new post from you and to hear that you're feeling better! Really dig the colours you used for your new cover and the last picture in particular. I just LOVE seeing and reading how other artists work so I'm looking forward to your progress shots and mini tutorials *_*

Also.Tokyo Ghoul. My friend keeps on recommending me the Manga all the time. It seems to be really good XD

Bookend: Many thanks! well this wasnt the most productive year ever, because of stuff, but thats over, and i'm not going to give up anytime soon. :)

Triggerpigking: sup mate! indeed its good to be back. Yeah deviantart isnt really the best place for feedback right? i still prefer a good old forum. That piece from imaginaton was more like an experiment to try some new brushes and tools in photoshop so i put some brushtrokes here and there just to try how they will look haha.

Cyprinus: hey there thanks! :D glad you like the new cover, i'm still not satisfied with it, will do another one sooner or later haha. About the last one sadly i didnt save the steps, but i started in black and white and then i added colors first with an overlay layer and a multiply one on top. I still struggle with values so i will try starting in grayscale more often from now on.
About tokyo ghoul, like i said to Nowio, the manga is good, not a master piece but really good nonetheless, i speacially like how rough and energic and creepy at times the art is.
The central theme of the story is pretty nice too, and it isnt explored in manga or anime often enough. (to live is to consume, so is living evil?)
Sorry for the rant, i like talking about manga way too much. xD


Oh and some things i did today.

Katawa shoujo readers will recognize her and this scene too. Saved the steps for this one, but i didnt add any explanation since it was just a little sketch and i didnt put too much thought into it either, i just started painting without thinking. No ref for this one, i admire those artists who can blend reality and anime for awesome results, i'm still far to achieve something like that but i will keep practicing, its just too fun!

[attachment=61384]

[attachment=61383]

And some silhouettes for the CHOW i really want to build a concept art portfolio focused on videogames, so this challenge was pretty convenient to start practicing.

Its supposed to be a barbarian/warrior santa from the frozen wastelands. (or a barbarian character from a game with a christmas themed armor set. xD)

Ah, the woes with comic covers...I feel you. For my current project I kept on thinking over months about the cover...now I finally have an idea I think I might like enough to actually draw and paint it. Don't even talk about the scrapped versions in between...
Yeah, I think the roughness about the art is what I also really like about it. My friend showed me a mini artbook with all the covers in it and some additional illustrations, and it's a welcome change from the usual rather clean styles you often find in in Manga these days. And don't worry about ranting when it comes to Manga, you can always rant about Manga to me XD I'm afraid though I don't know much about most stuff, because I only read very few these days.

Thank you for sharing those steps! I really like how you did the hair, and she has a cute face! I know what you mean about those artists who can mix anime and reality well. It's something I'd like to do as well, and when it comes to digital I think the use a lot of soft edges. And when I paint faces, I always have the impression that I tend to add too much detail still.
Good luck with the CHOW! I kind of like the fist one most of the coloured ones. (The right one looks like he is wearing shorts which gives me a bit of a comedic impression). Curious to see what you're going to make out of it!

I feel this is a very long and pointless comment orz

I'd have no idea where to start when it comes to comics, even if I'd love to do that. It's an awesome way to improve, and have fun while doing it, and share your ideas. I guess I should start looking it up.

The great thing about comics is that it doesn't need to look pro to get attention and support. I mean, just look at xkcd.com.

That being said, I'd say you're really close to pro. Great work so far.

Ah katawa shoujo, dem feels man and thanks for sharing your process on this one, I really like how you painted the nose adds some nice extra cuteness.
Being able to paint in a realism/anime look is something i'd love to be able to do as well, i'm not sure what style i'll end up naturally developing, but I do seem to be leaning more towards anime.
I might have to read Tokyo Ghoul soon, I have several people in rl who keep reccomending it nonstop as well XD and I did like what I saw of the art reminded me of Kouta Hirano's work which is insanely over the top and energetic.

Cyprinus: nope, its not pointless and not that long either haha yeah i think, the more you like a story, the more difficult it is to actually start working on it, because at least i think i wont be able to make it justice haha so i think, maybe when i get better...
I dont read too many new mangas either, the thing is, there are already waaay too many classic series to read and the new stuff isnt that great for the most part.
About the CHOW character i was about to pick the girl in the middle because i dont really like painting dudes, but xD but i guess in the end i will pick the first, to practice something different.
There is this artists who is imo one of the very best in that realism anime style, his name was Ilya kuvshinov, i think he is pretty famous right now.

Bookend: "almost pro" is being waay too kind haha, thanks! Also, the secret to start with a comic is simply to keep the ball rolling, just start. Think about a story you would love to hear and tell, basically is doing something you are passionate about, then write down a basic script and think how to translate that into pages and panels, the pictures will flow in your head.

Triggerpigking: i think i already recommended you Tokyo ghoul some time ago, well go read it anyway. xD
I personally enjoyed it alot. About the Rin nose, i too think that kind of nose is kinda cute, dunno why haha
About the styles, i think your (our) priority should be getting really good at realism, why? because thats the base, once you have that all sorts of stylizations become just a modification on that base you have.
Thats the primary reason why deviantart teens who only draw naruto fail so hard. (I know, i was one of them, when i was young and foolish)

And now for some update, i started a new personal project to get into video game concept art and stuff more, since i want to build a portfolio focused on videogames.

So, this project is like a redesign/spiritual successor of the now pretty much dead Advance wars franchise.
Think a turn based military strategy rpg.

[attachment=61521]

I started doing some concepts of the infantry of each faction. Every faction has 3 technology levels, except the unplayable enemy faction which starts with much more advanced tech than you.

[attachment=61522]
[attachment=61523]
[attachment=61524]
[attachment=61525]
[attachment=61526]

And i started sketching the first CO of the game, i call her stalin chan.

[attachment=61527]

Oh yeah, it's defineitly best to focus on realism,(Lest we all go down the path of Naruto and sonic OC's XD) I was just saying thats what I feel i'm generally edging towards eventually.
And yeah you did reccomended me Tokyo Ghoul before.

Also I really like how much thought you've put into them concepts like the map and tier upgrades(Also I like the crazed look you gave Stalin Chan XD).

Yeah, my main problem is thinking of a story I can stick to. I did a novel for nanowrimo last year, finished it, didn't touch it again, haha. It kind of reminds me of that, only... I think that, for me, a story translates better through comic. But, I have no idea what I'd do. I was thinking of making one of my crazy dreams into a comic, and taking it from there, because it was a really wicked dream... But, then, I don't know where I'd take the dream when it was over, y'know? Hm. I'd have to think about it.

But, anyway, I checked out your comic, man! And it's awesome stuff. Only thing I could possibly point out is that you might've fudged an English expression slightly. We say: "I think we/I got off on the wrong foot."

Anyway, keep up your great work. I'll be here, hovering, like a ghoosst, woooo.

Triggerpigking: haha oh man, i would show you the hundreds of hideous naruto fanarts i did from 2006-2008 xD But i burned them to ashes. Glad you like the project dude! oh in the end i went for a totally different direction with stalin chan, just for fun. xD

Bookend: making a story about a dream is a cool starting point. Me i just though about things i liked and piled them together, then tried to cook something, so there is a bit of sports/martial arts there, music, slice of life, etc. Probably not the best method, but oh well everyone has to walk its own path. :)
And yeah i know the english texts is pretty much broken haha i will need to ask a native speaker and rewrite everything someday.

And today i started studying the style of Takehiko Harada, japanese artist better know for his works on the disgaea franchise. And for his cute, even comical approach to lolis haha.

So i will just leave this here and run away... work in progress i will submit the final tomorrow in 3 versions: underwear, official outfit and casual outfit. The good stuff is, you do the underwear version first then you can dress the character however you want. Very useful. I will submit steps with small notes and explanations this time. (So i can remember what i did myself haha)

My stalin cant be this cute!

[attachment=61801]

And here it is, only 9 Commanding officers left, this is going to be fun.

EDIT: i forgot to mention, this was done in Manga studio 5 but photoshop or any other similar program should be same.
And merry christmas!

[attachment=61834]
[attachment=61835]
[attachment=61833]