Rotten's Pocket

[DK]

Really like how it turned out, great work! The transparency on the cloak is a nice touch.

[Nick Waldinger]

Thanks for welcoming me to the forums man! Looking at your most recent piece, it's clear that you have pretty solid drawing skills. However, try pushing the values a little more. It looks realistic already, but deepening some of the shadows and placing more highlights on the face would help make it a subtle focal point.

Keep up the good work!

[RottenPocket]

Thank you, guys. I'll take what you said Nick for this next one - I've been told to lengthen my values and I have made an effort, but not enough, or I need to practice dramatic lighting instead of everything being so ambient. 

On that note - unplanned drawing spiney whippy taily thingy

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I wouldn't say that the head is too big, but that the body is too small- it's just that in an effort to make the body more lithe and lizard-like I should have extended the proportions more, so instead she's a demony bobblehead... I WILL FIX THIS.

Also not sure whether or not to give her weapons or magic... Suggestions welcome!

[crackedskull]

You've been putting out some nice stuff lately, good job :)


As for that last wip, give her M̢̞͕̱̘̳̟͔̱͎͕̒͛͊͋ͬ̇̅͋͐A̛̛̩̯̳̟͉̗͖̰̣̝̘̣̙̬̘̿̔ͯͩͪ̎̅̅̾͌ͧͭͭͤͅG̶̨̧̬̬͍͓̰͖̖̤͚̳̤͓̓ͧ͋̎̇͛ͪ͊͆̃̀̍͛̒̊̓͞ͅI̷̧̫̟̠̞͉̺̰͎̖̰͚͚̩͍̯̥͖̹̓̍́ͬ͑ͣ̓Ç͛̈̏̒̔ͣ̏͏̴̫̬͇̫̦͙̬͎̺̭̲͕͕̭̖̭͙͖̤͘.

[RottenPocket]

Wll do. :D 

Drawings have slowed down this week, looking at getting a proper drawing stand for my desk, I've injured my back and shoulder something fierce and my eyes are severely bloodshot from poor posture and focus. For now just using books propped up on one another in a makeshift easel and painkillers. Many many painkillers. And by that I may also mean wine. 

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Working on adding as much detail traditionally before painting digitally. I scratched out the magiccy doodad because i still couldn't get the right look, and that's kind of making it hard to think of appropriate values. It'll get done. Eventually.

[John]

Many many painkillers. And by that I may also mean wine.

Not an expert, but that sounds like a bad idea. I just hope you know what you're doing. Pain killers and alcohol can do a number on your liver if you aren't careful with the stuff.. Visit a chiropractor or something, get somebody to stretch you back to form.

Get well soon!

[RottenPocket]

Nothing sedative, that effects people differently with alcohol. All medication can cause trouble with your liver and stomach, especially when you don't eat beforehand, it can eat away at the lining. Alcohol renders penicillin less effective and ibuprofen isn't influenced by it at all. Basically so long as i eat properly through the course of the day, one glass of wine to soften the edges isn't going to destroy my liver.

[RottenPocket]

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Almost finished the drawing before my back twinged and called it quits for the evening. Mostly been trying out using powdered carbon/graphite and brushing it before using my fancy shmace electric eraser to build formand then apply detail. Still hesitant to go dramatic with the values so for now light indication with the details and then when i work on it in Photochop I'll use paint instead of ddge and burn.

And also after asking people here and there what magic i should use, i ended up with floaty boney snake. Possibly soon to be on fire flamey floaty boney snake.  

Bckground comes later if at all. Baby steps people, baby steps...

[Amit Dutta]

If feels like you're expanding on your sense of design a bit more and while it is still very RottenPocket-y, you're pushing things a bit more. Great! Love that bone snake thing
You seem to work in a very very precise detailed way, and I am just wondering out loud, whether you might benefit from doing some sketches that are looser, and use more tones and values and lost edges instead of lines to contrast against the most detailed focal points? Not because what you are doing looks bad, but just to play with.

Take care of that back! If you can afford it a good osteopath can sort you out fairly quickly and is worth it. I am having back issues at the moment too which makes every day an annoyance.

[RottenPocket]

Lost edges, like This??? 

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Who knew getting sorta sick of lines was a smart design decision! 

But seriously now, it's great to hear that and i am beginning to push my drawing more. I am also now a fan of brushing in graphite and using erasers to relief.

[Amit Dutta]

oooh, yeah that's closer to what I mean in that context on the larger piece, sure. I have to go to sleep now, but I will see if I can find examples later of what I was thinking of specifically. Anway carry on...great drawings regardless. It is a bit stiff now that I see the full pose actually, bit of a tangent also with left hand and thigh, but just keep going!

[RottenPocket]

See, I keep hearing different things about stiff poses.

Currently reading up pages like this: http://sweetmonia.com/Sweet-Drawing-Blog...-drawings/

It's confusing, like the blog says, because a lot of what I see in other artist's work you would call dynamic - are the backbreaking poses you would never witness a person doing in real life. If I illustrated motion or action I would but I've stuck myself in that zone of 'draw characters and nothing else' so the poses are always simple, relaxed, or hanging in space.

Also I see now her left knee is too high, by a scale or two.

Here's the scan so you can have a better look - 

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At the moment I'm happy with to go ahead and finish this one as it is and try to plan the pose better of my next work. I'll wait for your input before then.

[Heliux]

Hey! Joining the conversation a bit late, but yeah! maybe its the heavier contour lines (than the line inside the form) I think it looks fine, as long as its a conscious choice vs. a unconscious habit to make things appear to have a more illustrative/graphic quality. -like Mucha



-an example of lost edges in pencil (most likely smudged with a blending tortillon or smeared with a chamois cloth/straight up finger) makes a more painterly approach to values blurring edges vs hard lines to define contours:

http://66.media.tumblr.com/cddbe53e14c74...1_1280.png

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-TIedMkFniJM/Vi...6%2BPM.png

Mike Mattesi's "Force" is another good resource; all about loosening up for a gesture that's then completed with construction.

another thing could be the way you're drawing-as if you're seeing in a telephoto lens where things appear to be a bit flatter. -while accurate, things do appear less dimensional which could account for the description of things being less "dynamic"
100mm lens flat distortion vs. 55mm eye vs 10 mm fish eye distortion

http://forums.permanoobs.org/viewtopic.php?f=17&t=1452

Hope that's somewhat helpful! <3 your drawings! ^_^
Keep 'em coming!

[Amit Dutta]

Yep I should have quantified "stiff". It often is a way of describing a feeling of lack of energy rather than some specific things wrong. It is hard to identify to be honest, so you can consider this a nitpick, but I think for me perhaps the arm at her side feels a bit "deliberately posed" rather than being part of some natural motion...perhaps the shoulder is a bit too taught and pushed backwards? Not sure, but I think it is something about that arm for sure. It's not wrong in a technical sense.

The rhythm of the figure in general is really great, a lovely pleasing meander around the page, so it's not about that. I definitely didn't mean do some contorted crazy pose; you can have the most static pose in the world that still thrums with dynamism because a certain energy was used in the creation of the strokes...perhaps that is a small part of it as well?

Heliux brings a good point when it comes to camera "lens" choices. Something to think about for sure. Depends on your goals with each piece.

But anyway, it really was a small nit-pick, so carry on finish it off!

[RottenPocket]

Both very helpful replies, guys, thankyou.

I have heard that my drawings remind people of Mucha, and if you read back you'll see some refer to my drawings as some sort of gothis art neveau. Graphic illustration is what has influenced me most - i might use more detail and consider line as a sculpting technique, representing an edge in 3d space - and i may see my drawing in tiers in regards to level of detail, representing form. Drawings like this where i get lost in deisgns like scales i understand completely that by having them be received in the same focus across the board makes her appear very flat.

The bold edge is a bit of a quick technique for removing a character from its ambient background and incorporating it into a scene easily. It's deliverate but not necessary, so i will make the effort to try alternatives.

I'll address each of your points in the next drawing, but for this I'll see if i can work on it digitally. I'm sill a hybrid media gurl. ^.^

[Ricky Martinez]

damn, great work!

[John]

First off, Love the theme. Love the rendering. Now, let's get that out of the way for this:


Main thing:
- Changed the thickness of the leg away from the viewer. It seems a bit thick comparing it to the leg on the foreground. With that, I took the liberty to change the pelvic bone a bit. Made the lower part of the pelvic bone jut out so the viewer can see how the pelvis and leg connect.


Optional:
- Titled her/its head back. It gives it/her that distinguished look of confidence that says: "Look what I can do with just one hand."
- Her other hand placed on the waist, just because! Idk!

Not sure what the grand scheme for this piece is.. that's why I'm guessing my critique might not be useful to you. I'm one of those guys who would sacrifice proportion, perspective and "rightness" for the sake of composition, so I get it if this means absolutely nothing to you! Haha! (cue in nervous laugh)

Love where it's headed as it is. Stoked to see it finished. Make a killing out of this RP!

[RottenPocket]

... i don't liek et.

Haha, sorry, THANKYOU for the draw over, I've never had someone take the time to do that, but in this case I'd have to disagree on a couple of points.

1. THE FACE. The new direction points the face away from the focus of the -spell-, which leads the eye to empty space and loses the connection to the rest of the image.

2.THE LEGS. That thigh should be a bit thinner - easy fix - but not to the extent of your drawover. Your version looks too thin, and more importantly too human. When the legs appear more saurian I as a viewer of the work of others, mark appropriate anatomy as one of the most important factors. In all secondary/ankle jointed animals - horses, dogs, bipedal dinosaurs etc. The flank is broad and flat.
Just a peeve of mine when someone makes a humanoid critter and it's literally a human being with a few extra features like horns and a tail. Make that shit lizard-like. This one's hands are a poor example but on my first page i think there's a shot of an iguana lady - claws yes, but lizards have long fingers and the ring finger would be the longest.

2. THAT HAND THO. That pose is so not this character. It's like the 'i want to see the manager' or 'what do you MEAN I'm grounded?' Pose.

I must remember to use direction/axis lines as a guide. I mostly work it out as I go but your lines look good.

Thanks again John, i will fix the bits that don't work.

[Jan Kloidt]

You really have a strong style already, really recognizable! It looks like you're spending a ton of time rendering with pencil but without using the flat side of the pencil too much. Maybe you'd also enjoy drawing with a cristal BIC pen? I tried those and they feel a lot like pencil, but without the temptation of using an eraser and without smearing or shining at all. They also can draw really tiny details without having to sharpen them all the time. So if you don't use the flat side of the pencil, it's pretty much the same workflow, but with those benefits added on top. Give it a try, you might like them (no im not getting paid to make ads for BIC, they're just great imo :D and they're dirt cheap aswell)
I'm not sure which direction you want to take with your work in the future, so i don't want to give too much advice on that, especially since you seem to have found your style already. Just always keep challenging yourself, push towards your goals, study hard, stay curious; the usual.

PS: I'll say one thing: that devil concept is really really detailed and you put a lot of time into that, but it might be better to keep that level of detail you have on almost every part of it on the most important areas only and stay looser on the rest, just like a camera or the human eye would. Fogging out the feet is a step towards that direction already, you can push that aspect further by only detailing the leg in the foreground and leaving the other loose, same with the arms, the tail, one horn vs the other... Not only would that give the figure more depth and improve the illusion that it's taking up space, it would also simplify the image a lot and make it read more easily because you'd tell the eye where to look instead of unintentionally pushing it all over the place. It's also more interesting to look at because you'd create contrast: detailed vs blurry; which is always a nice thing to have. No need to change that piece and fix it, though, just leave it as it is and consider focusing your detailing a bit more next time!

[RottenPocket]

Thanks Jan,

I am thinking more in terms of pushing a drawing further before I scan it in to edit. I dabble with ink, I find it creates a different feel altogether. Maybe I'll try ballpoint again, but I do love the evolution a drawing goes through when I use an eraser :-( 

I appreciate the advice. I will put it to good use!

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Just a doodle in hangout
 name courtesy of Jan.

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