Daikoru's Best Arts

[Souma]

Hello folks! Quite new here, but whatever. I'm an animator in training, and thus I naturally have a few works. So here they are!

Final semester project. We had to recreate a "Hero Factory" in 3D. And darn does it take a long time!

Atsu Atmos, a character based on the Ability to compress matter. It was supposed to be an NPC for my previous RP Forum, but I decided to give up since no matter how hard I tried, no one but me participated on the forum.

Gijinka of Dragonair. This is going to be my avatar in my new Role Play forum I'm currently creating. And up to now, I declare this to be my best work!

Gijinka of Ampharos, followed by Manectric. This image is going to be used for the header of this Gijinka RP Forum.



Enjoy! ;)

 

[Deleted member 143209]

Personally I'd like to keep this here, but my attempts to make this section more broad have come to a stand still right now. However, this belongs in the Art Gallery.

In saying that, you need to have 4 exmaples, so I'll move it, and ask that you add one more so it stays open there.

Moved.

 

[Sheep]

These are very good! I really like the colors you choose for your second image especially; they're very nice on the eyes and go together really well. =D Animation has always interested me as well and I am considering pursuing animation later down the road after I finish my current art degree.

Anyway, it is time! /puts on critique hat

While I do love the colors you chose for your second picture, the anatomy and body structure is a little bit off. The size of the head seems to be a bit large in proportion to the body or might just seem it in comparison because of how skinny the character looks drawn sideways. The curve around his behind is a bit flatter than it should be, too - I'd recommend rounding it out a little bit more. Same goes for the definition between the back and legs.

Also, the forearms (mainly the character's right arm) as is looks like it's just growing out of the shoulder with how it's been drawn here... the hand should probably be curled around the ball and towards the middle more. They look unrealistically straight as they are right now. When positioning the arms correctly, the shoulders should be a bit forward too rather than entirely flattened out. I totally understand the difficulty of foreshortening though, I make these mistakes all the time ;_;

You have some unnecessary bumps on the character's right arm too, not sure if you noticed. Oh, and for the eyes, I'd recommend moving them a few pixels down and to the right.

This (click) is a very good model to use for sideviews and one of my favorites. I recommend giving it a try!

Onto the third image ~

I really like this one! One of my issues is that the nose seems to be a bit too triangular and pointy. The angle of her right hand (our left) seems a bit awkward (it doesn't really look like she's leaning on it either, which I assume was what you were aiming for), too, so I'd recommend making it a bit larger since it looks a lot smaller in proportion to the head than it should. Raise the shoulder a bit, too - the sideways model I linked to above is a good reference for that.

Also, this kind of bothers me...

I don't think the shading should be in those areas; makes the hair seem flat. Try to change which spots you shade in. I'd recommend around the "the tip of the triangle," where the triangle is the space outside the hair spikes. Hope that made sense.. XD;

Anyways, good luck and keep drawing! You have lots of talent! Hope none of these comments scared you off or anything, my goal is to help out as much as I can. ^_^

 

[Souma]

Nah, they don't scare me. I'm always up for criticism.

Currently, I do have a few problems with stability and proportions. You see, it is only recently that I've taken drawings very seriously, I used to play video games all day long (then I took an arr--). So naturally, that means I lack experience. This holiday break, I tried looking for my own way to represent style (instead of purely copying the Manga Style), but of course, there are still some things to work out.

The arm looking wierd of the first drawing picture, I did notice that too, thought it was too late when I did. Failure in representing perspective, I must say. I suppose you must understand how hard it is to do hands too, I've tried drawing those a lot of times recently, but I still show some trouble in drawing them.


Also, Cirno is totally my favorite Touhou character :D

 

[Souma]

New image added. A duo of Gijinka this time!

 

[Kura]

Nah, they don't scare me. I'm always up for criticism.

Currently, I do have a few problems with stability and proportions. You see, it is only recently that I've taken drawings very seriously, I used to play video games all day long (then I took an arr--). So naturally, that means I lack experience. This holiday break, I tried looking for my own way to represent style (instead of purely copying the Manga Style), but of course, there are still some things to work out.

The arm looking wierd of the first drawing picture, I did notice that too, thought it was too late when I did. Failure in representing perspective, I must say. I suppose you must understand how hard it is to do hands too, I've tried drawing those a lot of times recently, but I still show some trouble in drawing them.


Also, Cirno is totally my favorite Touhou character :D

YAY! Another animator at PC!
Your hard surface model looks fantastic, but unfortunately I can't give you a crit on that because I am not a modeller :c

However, I do agree with you on the proportions, stability.. but also structure and overlap (everyone seems to struggle with the last two especially.. it's a tough thing to get right, but once you understand structure more, overlap will come more naturally.)

I think the biggest thing you need to work on, however, is the angle of the head. Here you have them all in profile, and even then the structure isn't right on them. Try drawing a realistic-style profile.. and then slowly trying to merge that profile with your style.

That's from the Andrew Loomis book.. and it's great practice to try and draw realistically with as little "detail" as possible. (And by detail, some people think that in order to make something realistic they need to add a crapload of shading onto it.. and that really isn't the case.) Focus on the big shapes and that way you can translate your knowledge of reality to your own personal style and you'll see that your personal style will grow and become stronger.


As for your animation, I would love to see some if you're up to uploading it :3 I'm predominantly an animator so if you're really passionate about it and up for critique I'd be happy to help!

 

[Souma]

Effectively, they're all on profile. The first two, it's wanted in order to reflect their personality. The duo of Gijinkas, however, I did try not to place them completely in profile, but I did notice that I failed.

I've been trying a new way of making faces, where I think of it as a mask, then shape the head behind that mask. It's working better than the old and usual method where we shape the head from a Sphere. However, I still need to work on my method.

 

[Kura]

Effectively, they're all on profile. The first two, it's wanted in order to reflect their personality. The duo of Gijinkas, however, I did try not to place them completely in profile, but I did notice that I failed.

I've been trying a new way of making faces, where I think of it as a mask, then shape the head behind that mask. It's working better than the old and usual method where we shape the head from a Sphere. However, I still need to work on my method.

I actually wouldn't recommend that since the reason why many artists use a sphere for an aid in drawing is so that they can visualize the form in 3 dimensions with a simple shape. I am not sure if you can visualize those dimensions with a mask, because with a mask you are already plotting features.
I am telling you this because even with your profiles, the structure is off. The eye is too high, angled wrongly, and too close to the edge of the profile (aka the bridge of the nose.) The lips are also flat, when there should be a certain curve to them depending on the angle of the head. However, you CAN get away with a flat mouth when the rest of the head is working correctly since the mouth is pliable.
I would also recommend plotting the ears. Ears are really important to aid you with the angle of the face, even if you end up having hair cover over it later. I can tell that you don't plot in the ears because of the way the jawline is angled and the structure on the back of the head in accordance to the neck.


If you want me to do some examples for you while trying to emulate your style I can give it a shot.. but it might not end up looking like your style because I will have to change the way the eyes look in order to give my example. I can give it a shot if you'd like, though.

 

[Souma]

When I draw the mask, I don't visualize features yet. I've tried many ways to make a good mask and shape correctly the head behind. So normally, that'd allow me to sculpt on it after, depending on the place it is. I just didn't do it correctly on the duo of Gijinkas.

As for why I came up with this method, it simply was because I couldn't manage to visualize stuff correctly using the Sphere method. I was able to make a full 360 degree side rotation, but I couldn't manage to make the head rotate up or down. The mask helps me to do this, and also makes me visualize more easily the space it will take on the page.

Eyes, mouths and stuff, it is still something that I need to work out. There's no ear on this pictures because it's characters that have hidden ears, due to long hair or something hiding it. I usually draw them either on men or elf-like characters. Eyes, I simply am not sure yet where exactly I have to place them. I tend to place them "inside the mask", but obviously, it would be best sometimes to place them further away. As for mouths... I simply didn't draw that many mouths on profile, even less open mouths.

 

[Kura]

When I draw the mask, I don't visualize features yet. I've tried many ways to make a good mask and shape correctly the head behind. So normally, that'd allow me to sculpt on it after, depending on the place it is. I just didn't do it correctly on the duo of Gijinkas.

As for why I came up with this method, it simply was because I couldn't manage to visualize stuff correctly using the Sphere method. I was able to make a full 360 degree side rotation, but I couldn't manage to make the head rotate up or down. The mask helps me to do this, and also makes me visualize more easily the space it will take on the page.

Eyes, mouths and stuff, it is still something that I need to work out. There's no ear on this pictures because it's characters that have hidden ears, due to long hair or something hiding it. I usually draw them either on men or elf-like characters. Eyes, I simply am not sure yet where exactly I have to place them. I tend to place them "inside the mask", but obviously, it would be best sometimes to place them further away. As for mouths... I simply didn't draw that many mouths on profile, even less open mouths.

That is interesting; I would like to see your process if you dont mind drawing step by step. I am really curious as to your method as I still can't quite understand/visualize what you mean by "mask" I'm guessing you mean you draw the outside shape of the face first? Either way I am intrigued.

Managing to rotate the head up and down is important with ear placement and jawline placement especially. When you're roughing something out, those features plot the rest of the features as the eyes align with the ear and the jawline fills in the space for the rest of your features. This is why I recommended you doing it.

I know that they don't have ears because you've placed hair over; what I'm saying is that I also can tell that you didn't even consider the placement of the ears because of that very reason, and the shape of the skull suffers from that decision.

If you're unsure where to place them, grab up some photographs or a mirror and study your own face. Real life is your best guide. It will help you a ton. Same with mouths.. if you're unsure.. look in the mirror and see how your lips part. Or take a webcam photo or picture of yourself in profile view so you can get a better understanding. Practice practice practice and you'll get better; but if you are not conscious of these things you may just end up making the same mistakes over again; that's why I can't stress enough that you do studies to help improve your cartooning/anime style. Yes they are boring for some artists but they will benefit you. I see some real potential and I want you to become a real kickass artist cause I know you can do it!

 

[Souma]

Oh, I know that I can be a real good artist. What I lack is mostly experience, so that's why I show a lot of problems. Too much video games in my childhood.

Anyway, this is a picture I made to test this method.

Not perfect, of course, but it still works. I simply start with a mask, then once I'm satisfied, I start placing stuff like noses, cheeks and everything. The ear is drawn on this picture too.

 

[Kura]

Oh, I know that I can be a real good artist. What I lack is mostly experience, so that's why I show a lot of problems. Too much video games in my childhood.

Anyway, this is a picture I made to test this method.

Not perfect, of course, but it still works. I simply start with a mask, then once I'm satisfied, I start placing stuff like noses, cheeks and everything. The ear is drawn on this picture too.

I see what you mean. I do something similar at times, like I will draw the circle, then do the mask part.. and then my "circle" will be expanded later to accomodate the rest of my drawing.

But that's because I'm used to visualizing structure. I know where to place the features. The way you're doing it doesn't actually work.

For example, I took your piece and I erased all the "details" so now it's in its base form; the skull and the features of the skull. I used the neck you drew to solve the back of the skull- and to you you might think "woah that's way too big" and it's true. It's too big.. but because you placed the neck there, you can see that that's technically where the back of the head would be regardless of big anime hair or not.

Now I'm going to post this post with this example now so that if you're online you can see it and have a think about it.. and I'll edit it in just a few minutes with my take on your drawing that will correct a lot of your structure issues. If you like how it looks and you want help with trying to "solve" this with the sphere method I will be more than happy to help you out!

As an end note: "Too much videogames" isn't really and excuse; I had too many games in my childhood and now I'm an animator at a videogame company. Use your knowledge to your advantage! :3 Even stuff that's not art related will help your art because you'll see the world in a different light.. so remember that and never pass up a good opportunity!! :33

 

[Souma]

Well, I did notice as I posted this picture that I didn't do it correctly. The line on the middle should have been seen on top of the head, which would have made it bigger than on my picture. I can see your version looks more realistic than mine. Somehow, I fail at analysing my own pictures.

 

[Kura]

Well, I did notice as I posted this picture that I didn't do it correctly. The line on the middle should have been seen on top of the head, which would have made it bigger than on my picture. I can see your version looks more realistic than mine. Somehow, I fail at analysing my own pictures.

I didn't even do a version yet in the previous post. I was analyzing your structure. But it's good that you're starting to notice these things! That's how artists grow!! :3

Here is my rendition. I tried to keep your style as much as I could. Unfortunately before I can start emulating styles I need a little while to practice them; but I figured for illustration purposes I'd just have a quick go regardless of style or not. The features might be a bit too big for your style but I think you will see my point:

This one is also very rough. Also not perfect (if you do a horizontal flip on it you'll see what I mean) but I just wanted to show you where you needed to shift things so that your faces would start to look a bit more dimensional.
I used some different colours for structure so you could see where exactly both my "sphere and mask" come in handy.


Let me know if you would like any more help with this.

Edit:

I did another one showing hair and gravity. You can keep the spiky bits gravity-defying.. but you'll sell it much more if you have parts that follow gravity. I also altered the neck into a more comfortable head-tilting pose. Let me know what you think: