I want to bring your attention to where the torn fabric is on he upper leg you did the top section with 2 different brush i think the lower part isn't working.The upper part where the stroke tapper have a more authentic torn feel but you made alot of uniform stroke for me who doesn't make it read as a torn fabric.
One thing i would suggest on a different topic is to do more fabric study i am not totally convince by your understanding of how fabric fold and twist astleast in this one.
Something thing that bother me for some reason is that you use the ellipse tool in the cybernetic part since it the only perfect circle it automatically attracted my eye as it break the the hand drawn feeling that was present in the rest of the piece.
For your metal idk what kind of finish(matte,metallic,chrome) you where going for but i am not to convince either.I think it a general leak of contrast between the lit part and the shadow.If the environnement is mostly yellow around the character you should be getting more yellow into your shadow due to reflected light always something to be aware of.
Public Enemy: Great input, will try to implement it by the next update. Glad you like how it's coming along!
Danny: Thank you!
darktiste: Great point regarding the fabric, will see what I can do! I'm trying to go for a chrome look for the metal, it needs more work to be more convincing as you stated. Will try to incorporate your feedback by the next update!
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I reworked the leg significantly, updated the anatomy and design. Also revised the image overall to bring in more refinement and detail. It's getting there!
Well i think if you want to go for chrome look you would have it to reflect more of the color around for example the part that face up should reflect the color of the sky will the metallic part that reflect element such as the ground or debris should have more of those color.But not only that chrome is the most reflective metal there is so to get a chrome effect you actually have to think about distortion and mirroring thing that aren't necessarly in the picture frame.I think right now if you want to have sucess in making it chrome lyou would need to do a separate study to try and absorb how it done.This way you won't work in a destructive manner.
One thing i also noted is that some lineart is erase will some is still present maybe that intentional just pointing it out because i find it odd of a choose.
An advise for the ground would be to add more medium and smaller rock to make you surface more realistic.Right now it look like rock that melted together.I think what doesn't help is your missing some shadow that would separate your element even more that would indicate to the viewer that there a gap between the rock.I think your rock edge are to clean and the fissure aren't really push to create the feeling of rock breaking up.
I want to say that your fabric look better where it torn apart.
darktiste: Thanks, decided to go with a bit of a metallic look overall. Regarding the sketch, I always try to lower the opacity of it as I go along, with the goal of fading it or blending/removing it with the painting. Hopefully it's better now that I refined and finalized it! Refined the rocks and clothing as well, hopefully it works more naturally as well!
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I continued to revise the image and finalized it. Pretty happy with how it turned out! Thanks to everyone who helped me with the image, received some great feedback which I tried my best to incorporate, and I feel the image is much stronger as a result. Calling it done now, already have an idea for a new painting and will be posting a sketch soon for that as well. Here is the final image:
Starting on a new painting, something a bit more classical and Fantasy themed. I spent quite some time on the sketch, wanted to get some input before I begin the painting process, however. Here is the sketch:
I think drawing stuff in profile is often a weak choice, there are many ways you can show size difference with perspective.
for instance...
Google "daenerys dragon" and look at how the story board artists arrange her compositions with dragons. Most of them have a "big medium small" dynamic. Your picture, the girl is Big, the dragon is Big and the castle is medium but almost big.
this kills the flow of gesture, especially in am amorous way. Its a slamming motion, best used for fighting. Go for a more graceful curved parallel line choice.
id reccomend getting some of Matessi's books on Force or watching some of his free videos online; he also has a site im signed up on for 20$ a month; i think his philosophy could greatly help you loosed up on your gestures and advance quickly with the right intuitions
Hmm, I think to me the point that makes me wonder most is the creature eye, right now is very human like, which on one side gets a friendlier, trustworthy vibe (more relatable?) but on the other hand might make it look a bit uncanny? I can't say yet, depends on how you render it I guess, it could be also a placement/size/underlying skull anatomy thing?
You could maybe expand on if they are saying farewell or greeting one another somehow, maybe like play with the background castle, if its on fire or destroyed could be a sign of leaving or escaping, while a brighter or sunnier could be a greeting but you would get the read mostly on the woman's reaction face I guess, the kind of smile she would do, right now she's a bit neutral but also could be seen as somewhat sad?
Oh also maybe hint the woman's other arm somewhere, easiest would be to just show some bit of the upper arm going towards the other side of the monster but it could go down or put on the railing.
Forgot to say but the previous one, got rock solid read overall! Only thing I caught on it maybe is the nearest foot? Floating a tad because the stone below seems to go sloping meanwhile the foot goes flat angle? You could shadow the area somewhat or change the texture direction (the toes mainly).
Keep it up!
I think there's a lot of good going on in that sketch. The only thing that jumps at me is the dragon's forward-facing eyes, which tend to look strange on a reptilian character, but it's probably not worth changing if you're going for a very friendly look on the dragon. Apart from that, I'd add an indication of her other arm, like Rotohail mentioned.
darktiste: I reworked the image to make it more intimate, hope it's better now!
Fedodika: That's true regarding the profile view, I wanted to make sure both figures expressions are shown and that was the simplest choice, although maybe not the most dynamic. Excellent point regarding the composition, I reworked it so the castle is much more 'back' and smaller in scale, should help more depth! Thank you kindly for the tutorials and resources as well, very much appreciate it!
Rotohail: I reworked the eyes and poses a bit, have them both closed now to make it a bit more emotional. I want the image to appear quite calm, so I think I'll avoid destruction on this one as that would conflict with the vibe I'm going for! I added the woman's arm as well, a bit hard to see but I think it's a solid addition, thanks for your suggestion and input!
Public Enemy: Thanks! I reworked the eyes, decided to keep all of them closed for now!
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I reworked the sketch a bit based on the suggestions, decided to have them embracing more and have their eyes closed, which makes the image a bit more intimate. I'm pleased with the sketch so I went ahead and began the painting process, here is the current preview:
The eye should be more like a ball but it read as flat to me.The nostril would need more definition.I think it would also be nice to try to imply scale texture rather than have this over render scale texture.I added some atmospheric perspective to create that distance that was leaking before.I also created some horn texture pretty easly with the dodge and burn tool.
I certainly like the bound they share they look really calm and almost meditative.
darktiste: Thanks for taking the time to do that, very much appreciate it. Great tips on texture as well! I refined the image further according to your feedback, looks much improved I think!
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Continued to work on the image, spent a lot of time on the Dragon especially. Pretty happy with how it's turning out, here is the current progress:
Thought I'd replied to this, but apparently not. I just wanted to say that you did a good job of implementing the suggestions regarding the dragon's eyeball and the woman's arms; the image is much more appealing on the whole now. Latest progress update is looking very nice and colorful. I'm sure the finished work will be a beaut!
Public Enemy: Thank you, hope you enjoy the final version! :)
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Finally had time to finish this piece, very happy with how it turned out, especially in regards to lighting and color. Here is the final image:
I began on a new illustration, spent a ton of time on the linework. The 'owl' is placeholder for now, want to create a sort of magical effect during the painting process, will keep it or discard it depending on how well it goes. Here is the current sketch:
Feedback would definitely be appreciated before I begin painting, so feel free to offer any input!
the owls face is tangenting with the circle behind it, as is the front curve of his breast, it is tangenting the angular pattern you have there. The woman is overlapping the bg very well and its a strong pose and composition, id just give some more thought to the owls placement, and maybe research owls some more, he seems cartoony compared to her
The finished dragon piece looks great. The textures, saturated colors, and glowing effects on everything look very nice. Some might find it overdone but it works for me. It reads very well from afar, also.
That sketch looks good. The only thing that jumps at me is the owl's eye, which is oddly shaped. Owls have forward facing eyes so the shape of it would be similar to a human eye in profile, except a lot taller (generally). It should also have an elliptical pupil.
That might all be an artifact of this being an early sketch, but if not, just search for "owl profile" and you'll see what I mean.
Very nice lines and composition on the last drawing. The details on the helmeth are great! I feel the perspective is a little off on the helmeth maybe, as if the upper and lower part have a different perspective.
Fedodika: Great point regarding the owl, I did a minor adjustment so it compliments the symbol behind it better. Also made the owl less cartoony!
darktiste: Ah good eye, just fixed it!
Public Enemy: Thank you! Had a lot of fun with the dragon image so I'm glad you enjoy. Great point regarding the owl, just reworked it so it looks more natural.
Ash: Thanks! The top part is intentionally a bit twisted, I think it looks more interesting that way, hopefully it's not too distracting. Added some depth to it so it looks more natural now as well.
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I began the painting process for Athena, focused on establishing the lighting above all. Still fairly early but I think it's looking fairly decent at this stage:
So old helmets can have little hits of greys in them to make the gold look golder
Notice how the saturation is dialed down near most of the image which is in shadow. The middle has a big hit of saturation to contrast all the dull greys despite the image feeling very golden
Right now your image is
Strong helmet
Strong face
Strong strong red feather
Strong white toga
As far as contrast and saturation, When you let things go down other things shine
Note how the lights and darks are placed to make a path for the viewer. Also his head is mostly ghosted like a charcoal piece, and his hand loses detail; Hes highlighting important areas to look at and busting up stuff that the image isnt about.
Same with this, lots of stuff in shadow as its unimportant. The sword, flag, hand, and vest have light which all lead you to the focal point of the face. The contrast in those values find whats important in an image. Which in your image is the most important thing? the face perhaps? make everything service the focal point of the face, pull back saturation, and dont shade with black like the background gradient. Red is a powerful color, and you make it more powerful when its a big red
Look at sargent and how he handles reds masterfully, all looks much richer and interesting because the values its surrounded by
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