Jade's WIPS

[JadeSky]

I must admit I am very nervous about this. I know nothing about game of thrones but research reassured me a bit. I had a few ideas and I decided to go with a different culture. There are two different cultures I am thinking of...Egyptian, and Chinese. Though I am leaning more towards Chinese I feel like Egyptian would be far more unique. 

I am focusing on composition first and the overall expression of the illustration before moving into detail. I don't know if  anyone can follow my sketches lol they are VERY loose and messy. 



[img]blob:https%3A//mail.google.com/f33dae09-f730-45a1-b60e-1ebfa328a3f6[/img]

[img]blob:https%3A//mail.google.com/f33dae09-f730-45a1-b60e-1ebfa328a3f6[/img]

[JadeSky]

Let me clarify my character of focus is  daenerys targaryen. I have no idea how to say that name so...yea. Lol.

[Amit Dutta]

Great choice. A Chinese redesign with a chinese dragon instead could be very very cool. I am also intrigued by the idea of an Egyptian Queen Daenerys...they were into their snakes too so that might be pretty unique to play with. :)

This is all about learning and pushing yourself, so don't feel nervous, just do your best!! There are some key powerful moments with Daenerys in the series (tv, I haven't read the books myself) you might want to check out. When she walks into fire but emerges with her hatched dragons. Also when her grown dragon saves her and she goes on her first ride. These are very iconic moments. Not saying do those for sure, but it is one way of connecting the two worlds. Good luck!

[Piotr Jasielski]

Yeah, Chinese redesign with a Chinese dragon seems like a really good idea. Keep it up!

[slash razor]

hey JadeSky yea Im like you a little nervous but dont worry we are all here to fail in front of everyone lol just joking, no this is a good place to push ones skills get some feedback, look at what we can improve on, and we are improving plus its so much fun lol...

keep pushing thumbs/comps, haha I should have taken my own advice, I do like the ones with the circles around them, shapes do give off a feel/vibe, Like a circle has a serene/calm feel, whereas a triangle with its sharp points invoke danger or menace... so to me the first two already give of that vibe of mystery... keep pushing, looking forward to seeing where you head next

[JadeSky]

Very interesting what you said about shapes having a different feel. I am going to try and apply a lot of different things I learned recently to my composition planning. I think I often suffer from bland compositions. I am also looking into the Egyptian idea, planning a composition for that as well. I think I found my inspiration too. Back to work... ^_^*

[JadeSky]

Wow, I surprised myself when I started working on the Egyptian style. I was really into the Chinese idea but now I am not so sure. O.o This one seems to work better. Maybe I am just getting too comfortable with one comp?

I feel as though I was struggling with the Chinese one until I finally got a position I liked with both characters but I feel like this one has more of a story to tell. Idk, maybe it's just me. 

[Hobitt]

Cool idea perhaps try some cultures around asia like mongolia, japan, same for african cultures, you may never know what cool designs you can find, keep it up!

[JadeSky]

Taking into account what the wonderful people on this site have already gave me in advice about my drawing I put a lot of thought into this drawing. I am not done, I still have to draw the background which is honestly my weakest point. There are some thing I see I need to address with this sketch though, one being the right arm with the dragon on it, I think I need to turn the upper part towards the camera so to speak. I think it feels softer and looks less odd. Also I am going to make the dragon on her crown smaller, I don't want it to conflict with the others. 
Other than that did I miss anything?

[Amit Dutta]

Quick tips. Her left forearm is a bit small and not quite working in foreshortening. I would say her breasts would need to be a bit lower and exhibiting some of the effects of gravity unless the Egyptians in your world had silicone :) It would also make the connection of her right arm to the pecs feel a bit more anatomically correct. The face needs a bit more structure in perspective to it, atm it feels a bit flat., probably the eyes are too high up on her head actually. In general for any pose issues working with a mirror or take photos of someone to explore that pose to use as reference would be very helpful.

I like the idea of cobra-like dragons. The dragon wings at the moment are a bit too stylised and jar a little with the design overall I wonder if you could play with their design, maybe drop the wings and go with larger hoods so they look like they almost could glide on them? I like the bold shape of the crown in your original sketch better though the horns might not quite fit with the culture. Perhaps some design work using the cobra motif might be fruitful to explore. Keep it up!!!

[JadeSky]

Made some adjustments.  ^_^* and back to work lol. 

[JadeSky]

Thinking about the colors that are going to go into the painting. I tend to struggle with not overdoing it with color and I don't want to make that mistake with this one.  I think I want the image to be more warm and I want to implement smoke and fire. I will have to play around with the colors once I get the background together. 

[smrr]

Wooooahhh your char is really coming together!

I liked the Chinese idea you were goin' with, but I mean, look at those Egyptian designs o_o dayum.

Oh yes, colour - yeah, no need to over think it, Jade (although it's tempting haha)! You can do so much with 3-5 colours max, just varying the value. n_n
But yeah, sounds like you're on top of things "I will have to play around with the colors once I get the background together." Try to think about the colours as you're sketching up the background though ;) what colours spring to mind when you think of Egypt? Or, on the contrary, what are the opposite colours you think of?
I would suggest experimenting, researching by looking at photos or movie stills - and of course, having fun lmao ^_^

Keep up the great work!

[Legion Brewer]

I liked the Chinese design as well, especially those larger dragons, but I have to agree that the Egyptian route is working very well. The "hood" on the dragons heads even gives them an Egyptian feel as well. Great job so far.

[JadeSky]

I am trying to illuminate my character so that we focus on her and her dragons but I want it to look dramatic. Here are a few examples. I am not sure if I can pull it off. I just learned about the technique where you plan your composition using shades of grey such as the background being test painted black, and it really has helped me. Now I am a bit stuck when trying to utilize my planning of that. I will have to play around with it some more. I think I did better planning in the second image and I think its more of what I want.

[Amit Dutta]

Heya, the first one is definitely very chaotic with not a lot of design to the shapes, and a lot of high values which might compete with the character, but the focus is mostly on the charcter. The second one is a bit more balanced has better shapes and a sense of perspective to the environment but the core shadow seems a little strange, especially as it ends at her neck.

It will depend how you like to work but you can think of this as your lighting pass, if you like, where you figure out where the lighting is and what the overall value scheme will be. Then when you get to rendering that stuff is worked out...you just have to do it in colour. :)

[JadeSky]

...finding myself getting very frustrated. I feel like I cannot achieve the look I am trying for. (Her standing in the flames) I am not sure at this point whether I should just drop the gray scale technique and go for what I know or try harder to continue with it. If I drop it will probably be less realistic which was originally not what I wanted but maybe it's what I am better at. Maybe I should go for a more toonish look. 

Sigh* I am not sure but I don't want to give up. I worked too hard and I still have enough time to start over painting.

[Amit Dutta]

Don't give up! I think you are getting caught up in drawing forms and values too much from your head. The nose for example. You can actually get away without that harsh outline.
So this is exactly the point where studies of reference are best used. Study what it is you want to achieve then apply it to your piece. This is how you get over these obstacles and learn, and why we require studies for every piece.

Look at the last image in Post #16, it is more successful even though it has less work in it. Go back to that and start to tone down the white of the flames. Do some quick studies of flames and then apply that to your piece. Find some reference for figures/faces that match parts or all of the effect / lighting you want to achieve, do quick studies then apply.

I would say go straight into colour if that is what you are used to. Or you can take colour ref and desaturate them for study and apply to your grayscale. But do, studies studies studies! Don't have to take long, but you are trying to solve problems by doing them so you don't have to mess about in the real painting.

[JadeSky]

Ok, I will go and find more reference. Thanks.

[BjorkJT]

Ditto what Amit Dutta said, don't give up! You're doing fine :)
Definitely think of reference as your friend, do a study or a couple and go back to your painting and apply that.
You can do this! ^^