Graver

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Also I would appreciate feed back of any kind.


Except kinds that cruelly hurt my feelings. Only nicely hurt my feelings please.

Thanks.

- SL

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Hum, okay... *gives Serengeti a box of cream filled chocolate doughnuts* You art sux... *gives him a hand full of freshly baked cookies and a glass of milk* and it looks like it was drawn by a blind epileptic five year old... *sits him down in a most comfy chair and turns the t.v. to his most favorite program *... so, did I hurt your feeling's in a nice enough way? huh? *hands him another cookie*

Seriously, you have some right nice stuff here, and that was a bang up computer coloring job for it being your first time! On your first piece that you showed, that hammer was just dead awesome!

And on your recent drawings, you got a GREAT pose and some really nice work done thus far on Heavens Agent. However, on DonnchadH, I did notice that his right shoulder (the one with the ax slung over it) is a touch too wide. Well, maybe not the shoulder it's self, but the arm is sticking a bit too far out from the body. It doesn't look like it really connects to his chest under that jacket. Maybe angling the line for the chest out a touch more in the direction of that arm would fix it... or just angling the arm a touch more in to the chest while leaving a slight "puff" at the top to show the shoulder-pad of the jacket might work. It's still a great piece and I love that ax and his hand holding it!

I would have given some more critiques, but for being really slow, you are amazingly fast... and I guess it don't help the piece out too much to point out things like that after it's inked XD

Slow my [censored]...

Oh, nice, and, ya I'd have to... um... 8th everyone else about the shoulders (that's the crux of the problem with the punch). The simple solution, lower the punching shoulder and raise the shoulder in back... you basically have them completely reversed.

As it stands right now, his shoulders are saying "pull back!" not "throw down!". If he were really whompin' states, he'd be putting his whole body into that punch, and that means the weight of his body and forward momentum would be bearing down on his punching shoulder. That shoulder would be driving forwards and down pushing the arm even harder into State's face.

As Jimson mentioned, the best thing to do for any pose is to do it your self. Watch what your doing and, if possible, do it in front of a big [censored] mirror. Pay particular attention to where your weight is going, that will help to tell you what you need to put emphasis on in the drawing.

Another thing that helps out a LOT with dynamic poses is to do a couple of quick gesture burns. Just scribble like mad on some scratch paper (the bigger the better) and focus on drawing the movement as opposed to the figure... that will also help you with weight and movement and keeps things from being like static mannequins or statues mimicking the pose instead of engaging in it.

Just wanted to say that yer work is coming along nicely. I'm really digging Kurse, and I love the diagonal layout you have him on on the paper! Nice choice I would be more constructive, but, eh, my brain's all shut down now. Sorry, but nice stuff

Nice and clean! Makes me wanna crack out the ol' crayola's an' get to coloring...

Great work Mega!

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*grabs Rowr and takes her in the other room*

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You two, get outa there, none of that, none of that! Think of the children, wont someone think of the children?!

Heh, but nice piece LJ... and if you think the fact that Thors Assassin lacks the Viking and assassin qualities, you should try to wrap your brain around AoT. He's steeped in Viking lore... but has ninjas.... Viking ninjas! Try to wrap your brain around that, it'll snap, I swear.. Viking ninjas....

Okay, so I tried some other wing positions, but DJ was dead set on his love of the original wing position so they stay the way they is

Either way, I got the outfit for Angel approved... so here is the finished penciled rough for the painting.

The next thing I should be posting to this thread should be the value layer for the oil painting... once the canvas is finally prepared (it's almost there).

Thanks all for your help on the wings though! I really do appreciate all the comments... they do help me

Now, on a completely unrelated note, for those of you who are wondering where in my queue you happen to be, you can find out HERE.

Also, if you would like more info on how to move ahead in my line, just read THIS

Well, thanks all, and, as always, keep yer peepers pealed for more mad painting updates! WAHOOOO!

Ya, that whole taboo thing makes it a touch more difficult for the art hunters but all you need to do is just ask us artists artists and we're always more then happy to zap the info over too you... we don't bite, seriously

Either way, as Starchasm said, I is a bit backed up, but if your looking for something a bit left of normal, then I'd be more then happy to add you to my queue

You can see my work at
graver13.deviantart.com

I'll also be updating things there tonight with a way you could possibly move up in my queue and all that.... busy busy busy with the painting right now though

Wow, anouther great piece!

I'd have to say that, odly enough, my favorite part of it is her hair. I just love the look of your hair... in fact I think the best parts of any rendered piece that i've seen you do is the parts that you paint on in post.

Beautiful stuff... as always

He he, you should get a scanner!

Or a tablet that lets you draw directly onto the computer. But if you aren't good at computer stuff then that probably isn't for you.

But I think you're talking about a scanner. I have an HP printer/scanner/copier that works pretty well.

Edit: This was Starchasm, Graver logged in on my computer and forgot to log out So pardon the *ahem* coherence and liberal use of smileys

((Oops, he saw me type that XD))

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Graver, you make my creative side bleed with inspiration. <3 <3 <3 LOVE this piece. Question: What kind of paper are you using to paint on?

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It's just Aquarelle Arches 140 lbs hot pressed watercolor paper. I really need something heavier and think i may have found some but I'll have to save up a bit to afford it

And thanks all, I'm glad this piece is so well liked. It's something I've been wanting to do for a while now

Great work there, she turned out quite nice. And, yup, gotta agree with the others about the background. But, as kat stated, your colors are very hot / intense. Maybe just decreasing the saturation of the background might help out imensly as those bright reds really pull the eye away from FR.

Hey, looking pretty good there! Love the feet !

One point that could be improved upon would be the shoulders and head. You need to raise her head and neck up a bit... but not her arm position so that there is more of a slope in her shoulders... and so that she has a little more room in her chest for her lungs. You might also want to lengthen her neck just a smidgen as well.

As is, she has exceptionally manly shoulders, and I know that Kail's dating her because she's twice the man he'll ever be, but she still is a girl :P

Still, great work and grate knees too!

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Me too!


I wanna Chibi of TA! Gimme gimme!

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I made one of you like... months ago!!!!

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and it's still cute too (dammit!!) but TA and his "OCDpokemongottahave'emalleverylastone" disorder makes his memory a little (read ALOT) hazy. That and the repeated boots to the heads....that ain't good for the thinky box. And I ain't talking about the TV.



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Ya, I can't tell you how many times he tried to comish me for the same piece XD! That or he was just subtely hinting that I needed to get to work on him

And, damn, the TA/AoT comic is done? Man, I hope recent events don't stop me from being able to come up for a bit That MUST be scanned... it MUST!

Alright, I finally wrapped up the Dragonberry piece earlier tonight... this morning, when ever. So, for your viewing pleasure, here is

Dragonberry in the Pumpkin Patch

I would write more, but my face is starting to split again... damned stupid face *shakes fist at face*

Hope you all enjoy

Nice combo! Always love AK's drawings and his style went really well with Wriath's. Nice

Heh, I really like this one Juggs. Nice simple, crisp, clean, and wonderfully exagerated! And I love what you did with the lighting. Great work there!

Wow, that's some awesome mad talent your throwing around, sir! The colors are quite nice though, I'd agree with the crazy guy pounding his head into past, I think the penciled version is much more pleasing to the eye. It has a nice classic feel to it and the character is not fighting with the background as he is in the colored version. But they's still both good

I was wondering what you were talking about htere, Squirrel... teach me not to check the boards every day But, anyway, just wanted to say, Damn, LJ, that is looking GREAT so far. I left more coments on the DA page... but just had to say... niice.

Oh damn! A full on digital painting??? Where do you get your time from? I've been shopping in all the wrong places...

Well.... the good ones do...

No doubt!

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Anyways, how did I learn? Line mileage.


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I love this quote! You speak truth, brother!

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*koff* Imachick *koff*

Heh. Glad to be of assistance XD

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Stop with the LIES!!!! Yer a goat, damn it... a GOAT! *runs away screaming... but not before typing the following*

To the OP, how'd I get where I am? About 28 years of practice with some schooling along the way... and I still have a loooooooong way to go. As was mentioned earlier, learning art never stops, ever. The moment you stop learning, the moment you sit back and say "damn, I'm suppa good... better then anyone else, the best I can be, ya!" is the minuet you cease being an artist and start being a blue dog painting hack.

I'd also have to second The Goat and Atomic Knight... and a lot of others who've posted but can't remember (it's 4 in the bloody morning, cut me some slack!) don't set out to learn a style! if your serious about wanting to be an artist,, that will only hurt you in the end... and you'll have a lot of unlearning to do. As has been chanted again and again, start with the basics.. start with life, what's in front of you. In fact, if it's figure art you want to do, you are your own best model. Start drawing self portraits again and again and again.

Since your against art classes (not gonna ask) you'd do good to start posting your work to various art forums for critiquing. After all, a lot of times you are blinded by what you think you did to see what you actually did... or are just too close to the work to really see it. It helps immensely to have some good quality feedback that really dissects your work.

Also, get out in the world and really look at art. Seeing it in person is far different from seeing it reproduced on your monitor (unless it's a digital piece XD) or in a book... but if that's all you got, that's all you got. Study the history of art and of the artists that have come before. There is a wealth of information to be learned from their lives and their work... and the lessons they learned.

In the end, though, you have just gotta want it so bad you will give up everything else for it. A friend of mine once said while we were talking about what it took to be an artist, "If you want to be an artist, you have to be one before anything else, before your a son, daughter, wife husband, lover, friend, or employed." In other words, you have to work at art, all the time, continuously... it must be the most important part of your life, all other things come second.

Oh, and never give up or quit. Like any skill, it can be forgotten. I have seen so many people with serious talent quit for this job or that, because they started a family, because they felt they were inferior to artist x, because they couldn't stand any critiquing what so ever... it's really sad. you have to stick to it no matter what.

That's about all the advice I can give... everyone else already gave you all the good points... I'm just regurgitating here. It's 4am, I'm aloud to do that!

Wow, and for a minuet there, I almost thought I finished the piece up before I thought I did

Either way, seeing as how the deadline has smacked me in the face without me really realizing it, I wasn't able to go as far with the Cuppa piece as I had originally planed for. Just who in the hell decided today would be the 31st anyway? Huh?

Either way, the sudden deadline, did give me an excuse to use some new pens I got today, so it's not all bad Either way, I now give you...

A Tweaky Sniper

I hope she likes it

I like the face if you can't tell...

Wow, grats to TA... yer finally getin' the recognition you disserve... outside of this secluded sick lill' strange place we call the fan art forums

And triple grats to Mega! You is published and that piece definitely deserves it!

You LIE! The pony's dead and there was some guy just handing out inflated [Censored] What the hell... you... you... wait for it... deviant

Honestly... I just shouldn't be aloud to post on nights like this