Seeking critique on a character render!

[Olphelia]

Hi guys!

I'm at a point in this that I'm really stuck as to what key areas need fixing. I haven't yet finished her toesies or her arm holding the spear. I'm really not too sure on her arm and I don't think she's holding her spear powerful enough. Another area I'm not too keen on is her face.... but I lack the experience to tell whats wrong with it.

I'd like to know what you guys think :) Thanks!

[Newcalibre]

Hey Olphelia,

I like your character concept. Let's see if we can push it a little further.

Your proportions need a little rejigging; in particular the torso and thighs are too long. The right hand (clenched fist) and feet are too small. She also needs a little more head to match the size of her face.

I've butchered your painting a little to serve as an example.




She was lacking muscle definition, so the masses appeared kind of bulbous. I've tweaked the contour of her arm and leg muscles to give her a more convincing, athletic look. You'll notice this in her thighs, calves, tricep and forearm (didn't touch the arm holding the spear).

The lower half of her face was jutting out a smudge too much towards her distant eye, so I've angled that back in.

Also, a tip for painting skirts (or long shirts, tabards, etc) is to capture the action of the torso first, so you know where the crotch ends and where the legs originate from. This will ensure you have your proportions right when mapping out landmarks like the knees and how long her arms are.




Finally, her hand appears a bit rigid in how it's holding the spear. It's a little too posed; this kind of gesture is the kind you'd make to show a mate a mug of beer before saying cheers. The angle of her wrist also makes the grip look dainty. Not really sure what to recommend here, but you could try having the forearm at a right angle (holding the spear further away from her). That might give her a more convincing, strong grip.

Hopefully this helped. With a few tweaks, this piece will turn out great :)

-NC

[Olphelia]

Thanks so much NC for pointing out those issues, I couldn't just seem to see them.

I'll try playing around with her forearm/grip, originally I had her hand placement all this-



Which looks a bit more 'powerful' now that I look at it again, but I cant remember exactly why I deviated from it.

I think I'll take a few reference shots to see what might work better. Thanks again![/php] :)