Is he a giant because those skull look strangely out of proportion compare to any of the character in the scene and he also look very big even compare to the height of is guard.Why is there bat ?I would remove the corridor and add curtain to make the scene more royal and the curtain would create a rhymic verticality that flow toward the throne.To me it to busy i think your often using verticale format in your piece why not sometime little bit more horizontal i think i see why you did it but it make for a very busy scene otherwise.The knee protection on the left doesn't have the same volume as the other it read as flat.Oh and before i forget i got a weird feeling looking at is arm i don't like the foreshorten of the right arm to me that a cope out and the arm on the left look anormally short i feel compare to the arm of the women.
The last piece turned out terrific! For your next one I feel this could be one of your best compositions when you are finished with it. The interaction between women and the king are greats and are convincing, but like Darktiste called out we need to fix those arms. They are the only think I see letting this down right now. I attempted a quick sketch of how I would see those arms interacting with the pose. If he had one hand close to his hip and one on his knee the pose is tricky. I think his left arm ( viewer right) needs the elbow raised and more forearm showing. His other arm i feel just needs a little tweak to the foreshortening. My sketch is just a loose idea of how I might tackle that pose so feel free to disregard.
Some subtle changes that might help would be to raise the strap for the shoulder armor to wrap his lats a little more and maybe show his abs being non symmetrical. In that slightly hunched over to his side pose it might be a nice touch to lets his abs contract on one side slightly more the The other . Good luck with this one dude, looking forward to it.
Regarding what suggested CBinnsIllustration i think the only thing i see and also like in your is that he is leaning a bit sloppy sitting is back isn't fully flush against the throne back support which give him a more relax feeling and it also add to the feeling of weight on the shoulder so not as straight as in what is suggested i would say.
darktiste: He's very tall but not a giant. I fixed the proportion issues. I added the bats as I feel they compliment the demon character well. Also fixed the issues with the arms, thanks for your input!
CBinnsIllustration: Thank you! Glad to hear the new image looks promising! Excellent point about the arms, and love what you did with your sketch! I made the changes to the arm and torso and it's looking much better now, so thanks again!
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I refined the sketch and began the painting process. Didn't bother with color tests as I had a very strong concept for the color scheme already, and I got it as I wanted on my first try thankfully. Image is still fairly early but I'm happy with how it's shaping up. Here is the current update:
Hello Myth. Is the bat demoness influencing the king? If so, I suggest for her to turn a side look at him that complements her smirk and shows her power.
The foreshortenings of the forearms are still a bit off in my opinion, as well as the placement of the hands and fingers on the thighs.
Leo Ki: She is yes, I think it shows through better now with the current update. I reworked the forearms just slightly, not sure if it's still looks off so please let me know!
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I finished up the image, pretty happy with it. I think it came together nicely in the end with the warmer tones added. There's still time to make changes to the image, so if something looks off please let me know so I can refine it further if need. Below is the illustration followed by the steps for those interested:
I agree that introducing a bit of color variety in the skin would be a good idea to fight the airbrush feeling you can also think of beauty mark and mole but also sun spot from over exposure to sun for example and some body hair on leg or arm and the hand.Of course not every men is a wereweolf in human form.That just depend if you care enough about such detail. Wolverine and lobo come in mind as character you can study that would come close to a style such as your. There place on the body where it get more blood circulation and those place are a little more redish in general that also something to consider if you want to move further into semi realism more dc like comic style i would call it.
Ben Dagger: Thank you! I agree about the harsher transitions on the gold, just incorporated now, hopefully it's an improvement!
darktiste: Great points regarding the skin tones! I just refined them a bit too push them further, hopefully they're more interesting now!
Leo Ki: Glad you dig the warmer tones. Hope to see more work from you in your sketchbook, love the green figure you posted!
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Another update for the illustration, basically refined the gold so it looks more 'shiny' and also pushed the skin tones further. I think I'm about done with this image, worked on it long enough and I'd like to move on to another painting. Thanks everyone for the awesome feedback as well!
Next up I decided to sketch a Mage, while paying special care to the environment as well. Overall I'm fairly pleased with it, but any feedback before I move on to the color tests would be most appreciated!
The mage and the chair look to be occupying the same space(the chair as no volume really...flat) the ''brick'' floor some of it is out of perspective.The desk to me as a very strange shape some kind of tetris shape.I also spot a tangente with the ellipse of the candle plate and the desk.The desk foot are rectangular do you know how to make perfect square in perspective ?
The last piece turned out really nice. the changes you made to the gold armor is really nice and a good addition as well as the skin color variety really help with a more realistic effect. I feel there are few tiny things for me that stand out to me at the minute that could make the piece a little stringer. the biggest one being the rendering on the throne stick elements poking out. at the minute they look a little unfinished, maybe thats due to the softer edges on them but i think if they were a little more defined to be able to see what material they are that would help.
and one last thing would be the shading on his dong drapery, not sure if thats the PC term for it :) since its attaches to him at this waist it gives the impression that it falls straight down and does not break at the seats edge. maybe a little more of a transition with the lighting might help this effect and in turn give him the impression of sitting deeper into the chair. but i guess i dont know what material it is so take that with a grain of salt.
no additional comments on your new piece aside from the perspective issues Dartiste pointed out. well maybe the right index finger on the staff is a tad fat, but the rest looks good to go.
I agree with the comments on the perspective of the floor and furniture. If it is a desk, it might be too small for the giant mage. But that doesn't bother me that much. What strikes me is the feeling that the mage is a bit cramped in his surrounding and the flame lacks breathing space between the round window and the curtain. It is probably too late to rethink the composition, so please take this only as a general note :)
I like this one! Looks really cool. I would also say some of the furniture seems a bit small for the character. I think I would just shrink him down a bit just to be safe, because most of the stuff I see in this room could be several different sizes, like it would be harder to make it too big, but if it's too small it feels weird.
darktiste: Excellent feedback! I fixed all the issues mentioned, put a lot more thought into the environment and I feel it's much more believable now. Please let me know if it's better!
Ben Dagger: Appreciate it!
CBinnsIllustration: Thank you! Great points regarding the prior image, if I revisit it in the future I'll definitely apply it. Great point regarding the index finger as well for the Mage, just fixed it!
Leo Ki: Great points, made the necessary changes hopefully it reads better now!
JosephCow: Thank you! I made some changes to the sketch, hopefully it more natural now!
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I updated the sketch, fixed some scaling issues and reworked the Mage's staff a bit. Also added some 'magic' spheres instead of a standard fireball, hopefully it's much more interesting now. Also did some color tests as well, most likely going with 'F' as the colors really pop there... although I'd love to hear any input on what works best so please let me know!
I think the thumbs need to be tweaked a bit. The hand holding the staff is very cramped and I think you should see the thumb on the hand being held up to the spell cast.
I got some other issue to point out now.What is this perspective?I heard about force perspective i am just not sure you intended to do what you did for example i am not buying the table behind him specially with the scroll that would roll of the table it look like it as an angle where it not flat.You got more than 2 vanishing point in 2 point perspective that possible but that normally for object that are rotated or on a none flat plane of the scene. It possible in a messy scene but since i am not the author of those piece i am not always sure if i am picking up on your intention.For angular plane my rule make something clearly angular or it can create confusion also account for the perspective as more of a plane show more it seem angle and less we see of a plane the harder it is to estimate the degre.
RottenPocket: Glad to hear it! I went with 'F' after much consideration. I revised the hands a bit as well, hopefully it looks more natural now!
darktiste: Yes there are perspective issues. My mistake was only creating vanishing points towards the left and eyeing out the ones on the right, which caused problems. I fixed it now, marked the vanishing points accurately so hopefully it works better now!
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I fixed some perspective issues, and ended up going with 'F'. Here is the current progress, it's still fairly early but I'm happy with how it's shaping up!
I don't recommend removing outline for the magic sigil it create a more satisfying design in my opinion without one and it avoid a sense of flatness or confusion as to what going on(it look more like light than a solid that way)
Concerning the staff if it was link to the magic process it would create some harmony between the action and the character and the item and to justify the staff maybe it could be like beaming an halographic effect coming out of a magic focus(a stone or whatever)imbedded in the staf right now he is not holding a book maybe that could also be added or maybe he a very advance practionier since he as memorize the spell. He also doesn't seem to be saying a incantation outloud so maybe it could be emanating from a psyhic ablity(perhaps a third eye spell). Try to think as why he doing the spell and how. Why in the air rather than writting it in a book for example.It alot of questioning in a complex scene and sometime there isn't much thought as to why thing are here beyond the it to occupy the space i personally think the more you can think during the drawing the more harmony you can create.For example why are some scroll on the floor why are they on the floor than you get a question that pop out of answering for example why is there no scroll rack anywhere... this help make sense and even add to the scene.We should not be afraid to ask wereself question when we can affford to but i understand it not always constructive to be in this mindset and it not as intuitive as let make what make sense also there time were we just want to render and stop thinking so much and it very brain heavy to ask question that you have to come up with answers you are coming up for the first time.It new brain connection forming.I think personally i would advise for more moment of reflection early on than later on.Delaying gratification make for better design i would say.
For the mage armor try to think more of the volume it very flat looking on those side belt wrapping around the torso.
darktiste: Great input! I wanted the Mage to be conjuring the magic with his mind for a more magical feel, and I decided early on that I didn't want him holding a book as that's a bit too cliche and overdone.
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And the image is done! Had a blast with this one, lots of fun with the colors especially. Any final feedback on the image would be most appreciated as always. Below is the current image followed by the steps for those interested.
Waw some great texture work in here i think the desk could use a bit of maybe photobashing perhaps if you feel that would work for you and hey if the result is great... and you save time it kindacrazy not to do it don't you think?Not saying this to cut corner but it could be great during the thumnail phase for example.The client is king we don't do art for always for wereselve but we also have to sometime try to be creative when we fall behind meaning if you got any deadline consider a bit of photobashing can certainly come in handy.Aslong as you match the level of detail and style it something to consider.
Also when you have texture try to create area of texture and alternate with a area of rest(less detail).For example the wall and the desk are very similar and in term of ''noise'' to move the eye and create interest in flow one of those two element would probably benefit from a little bit more texture also by making texture in the wall for example in object that goes back depth you can create a sense of deep also throught the use of the texture by reducing the scale of the noise as it goes back and more ''out of focus''
I gotta say i had doubt with the direction of this one but you pull this one in the end.One thing i feel is that i would recommend you to do is break up a bit your shape meaning don't do square what do i mean by square don't do furniture with 90 angle corner try to give somewhat of a bevel to your surface to avoid the boxy look also the desk side still look flat even in the final you need to remember to put the occulsion shadow where plane meet.In the big version it still look unfinish but at a smaller scale it might pass just something to remember .
One question what that thing by the side of the book on the table the ornate object?How does it strand like that?
