The_PMD

[ QUOTE ]
Despite the challenges you faced, it really turned out well. The background is simply awesome.

[/ QUOTE ]

I was thinking the same thing, then I had to ruminate...was it despite the challenges, or because of them?

[ QUOTE ]
Ya... brushes... ya... those are the supplies I was taling about... ya *hides the fixatif, glue, and industrial stringht permanant markers behind his back* ya... hehhehehehe :drool:

[/ QUOTE ]

Ever do any printmaking? There are some chemicals in that stuff that will seriously ef you up. Or, perhaps I already have my answer....

[ QUOTE ]
I had complete faith that you'd pull through, Graver! Good going!!
I don't know what gesso, or fixatif are, but they seemed to do the trick.

-Pep

[/ QUOTE ]

Gesso is a primer that one uses to treat canvas or board for painting. I can't say that I've ever heard of someone gessoing for watercolors, though. But, yeah, it worked out amazingly well.

Fixatif is what you spray on a drawing or watercolor to hold it in place when it's done (or sometimes while you're working on it.) It's extremely toxic and is likely the cause of Graver's more...uh...interesting posts.

[ QUOTE ]
ok, now every time I open up one of DJ's thread I'm lookin' to be impressed... this is a great piece man... but...




(now I think I might just bashed for this but)


...this one didn't wow me as much. I'm not sure what it is (maybe just early in the morning for me) but it seems to be missing some BAM!

The hands seem a bit small, but that's not totally it. There's no glaring tech problems (f course not, it's DJ), but I'm still wanting a little more to tease my eye.

For example, look at AoT. His hands seem to be curling around something - perhaps even something big. But instead it's only a few threads of lightning. I think it might be cool if you beefed that up a little and put some sizzle into it.

Basically, I imagin these two as being rip-roarin' with energy... and this piece isn't there yet. I know almost no one would say this to DJ, but I thought I'd be honest. I might be wrong... but it's my opinion.

[/ QUOTE ]

Yeah, it's always hard to criticize Doug here, isn't it? You feel like you're peeing on church pew or something.

Just so you feel better, I don't love this one as much as his last couple of pieces either. I wasn't going to comment unless I can think of a really good critique, and I don't have one just yet, but I don't want you to feel alone in the world!

[ QUOTE ]
"He has drama in his panels. I know he can do sequential action. If he can do, say a romantic interlude as well, then he should be able to find work."

[/ QUOTE ]

This is a good drawing, but, based on this quote, I was expecting to see a whole page of panel-to-panel storytelling. If you're really looking for work as a comic book artist (and you probably draw well enough) you need to do full pages, not pinups. Storytelling is the most important part of being a comic artist, and most editors will just dismiss you if you show them pinups. So let's see the whole scene! The moments leading up to the kiss, and what happens afterward.

[ QUOTE ]
Hmm, those seem to me to be dramatically different styles. The same artist could do something in a cartoony style that would look very different then a more realistic style. He even posted some of the progression steps for the picture of FeralKitty. I am not sure that there is cause for your remarks.


[/ QUOTE ]

ITA. I think it's a difference between using photo reference for a more realistic style and not using it for a more exagerrated style.

Honestly, I don't see a huge quality gap between the first link and some of the next four. Like a lot of us (including me) he does a lot of things well and a couple of things not as well. His work sometimes has drawing problems, but when he uses photo reference they disappear. (Again, like most of us.)

I agree with Jesse, by the way. I think that this new one of Feral Kitty (or Feral Kat, whoever it is. I can't keep them straight) is absolutely his best one to date. Actually, I think it blows all his other ones completely out of the water. I was really excited when I saw it!

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
OOOH! I was one of the requests!
Either Mistress Vine(plant/thorn dom) or Aurora Frost(ice/ice blaster) would be good. Their pics are in my signature.
Yay! Thanks!

[/ QUOTE ]

Your signature seems to be missing. Might wanna try a repost.

[/ QUOTE ]

If she changes her sig, it will just show up without the repost.

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
No, I am the worthless unproductive one here lately.

[/ QUOTE ]

You're unproductive? I haven't picked up a pencil since I finished the TA Chibie!

[/ QUOTE ]

I still think I lay claim to Slowest Artist on the Board. I'm still working on a piece for TA that's taken me almost 2 months. But it's almost done! Yay!

[/ QUOTE ]

I don't know about that. That may be slow and all.. But I hadn't painted/drawn or anything for 4 years until just recently... which actually makes it closer to 5.

[/ QUOTE ]

Yeah, especially since I was wrong. It's only been one month.

And if any thread deserved hijacking, it's this one.

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
No, I am the worthless unproductive one here lately.

[/ QUOTE ]

You're unproductive? I haven't picked up a pencil since I finished the TA Chibie!

[/ QUOTE ]

I still think I lay claim to Slowest Artist on the Board. I'm still working on a piece for TA that's taken me almost 2 months. But it's almost done! Yay!

[ QUOTE ]


He's got potential, but redraws of other people's work isn't using that potential.

[/ QUOTE ]

Well, if they're done freehand, they absolutely can be. Copying the work of established artists is a time-honored tradition that dates back at least hundreds of years. And, if you're going to copy, Mignola is a damn good choice, especially if you want to examine interesting ways to use chiaroscuro in a comic book style. But copies should never be passed off as original work. The Masters always said "after (artist being copied)" and that's a fine way to do it.

[ QUOTE ]
As always, thanks for all the thoughts.

I think there are a few changes I'd like to see done, and now that I've slept on them, I can see them even better...

Now, I've got to find the time today.


PS - the newspaper is staying, but I'm going to try to incoporate it into the pic more.

[/ QUOTE ]

Nobody ever said anything about getting rid of it!

[ QUOTE ]
They are all his, he just has different styles he uses.

[/ QUOTE ]

I wasn't talking about style, I was talking about knowledge of the basics of drawing; composition, anatomy, lighting, perspective, etc.

I made it sound like a question, because I was being polite and all, but there's actually no question in my mind. The only way that these were drawn from scratch by the same person is if there is a huge time lag between the CoH characters and the other two.

Copying the work of others is a great, time-honored way to learn how to draw, but, if you're going to display your copies, the original artists need to be credited.

[ QUOTE ]
I just wanted to share some of the work that one of my sg members does. I think he is pretty damn good in my book and it deserves to be shared with all the artaholics here.

http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n...rrior01/r2.jpg

http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n...lkfinished.jpg

http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n...medandtrem.jpg

[/ QUOTE ]

These don't look like they're all by the same artist. Are the first two copied from other art? The first one looks like it was copied from Mignola (obviously), the second from someone like Kevin Nowlan, and the CoH piece looks like someone who is more of a beginner.

[ QUOTE ]
One of our favorite girls in this forum asked me to take a poke at one of her characters. Juggertha did that and all he pulled back was a stub.

I however am smarter than the brute and decided to draw her instead.

I give you... Feral Kat

[/ QUOTE ]

Overall the piece is great. Excellent pose and composition.

I'm gonna break ranks with the rest of the crowd here, though, and say that the newspaper is completely not working for me. Good idea, sure, but the execution needs work. I'm not sure what it's supposed to be. Is it meant to be an overlay, turning the piece into a collage, or is it meant to be an actual object in the scene? If it's the latter, it needs work. First off, it's completely out of scale with **...it should be twice the size it is. Secondly, it's perfectly rectangular..no crumpling, no worn edges. It doesn't look real. Is it supposed to be stuck on the wall? If it's supposed to be more of a collage element, I wouldn't light it like the rest of the scene.

Anyway, the pose is fantastic and I'm having far fewer problems with your edges these days. And the Feral Kat name on the wall works for me too.

[ QUOTE ]
Wow, I'm glad you guys've thought so much of a piece that wasn't near finished. But fear not, for your sleepless nights of tossing and turning, of wondering and speculation about what the finished piece would look like are over! (that was just probably me ). Either way, here's the finished...

Thors Assassin

It took me a bit longer then I had thought to finish up, but they always do and I think I'm satisfied with the results on this one... just hope the big guy digs it as well.

Up next is HemilyTiger followed by Mysticfire, thanks for being patient with me, guys

[/ QUOTE ]

Wonderful as always. I love how you managed to find a slightly whimsical element in Thor's Assassin, which was most unexpected.

[ QUOTE ]
Oooh, do tell (never used that tool actually).

[/ QUOTE ]

It's your third choice with the Dodge and Burn tools. You can set it to either add to the Saturation or Desaturate. It's a very very handy little tool if you want to emphasize or de-emphasize parts of your piece in a subtle way.

[ QUOTE ]
Agred, a couple of places are a bit too soft (ie. boots and such). But I kind of wanted the emphasis to be in the face region anyway and am scared to put too much into the other areas.

(FYI, did a couple of minor changes for ya NN)

[/ QUOTE ]

Don't be afraid! You can still firm up the edges to make it look more solid without adding a lot of detail. Then, if you keep the detail in the face, the eye will be drawn to that. Another trick you can use is to desaturate areas that you don't want the eye drawn to. (Sponge tool in Photoshop.)

[ QUOTE ]
He's Filipino/Caucasian. His father's Filipino but his mother was a Cabal Witch. I do make note of that when I have work done but yeah, most artists work just off the screenshots so there really isn't a whole lot of opportunity to make that distinction unless there's coloring involved.

[/ QUOTE ]

The artists probably can't always envision what it means. The reason I was asking is that my wife is Filipina (I'm white) and our two kids (so far) totally have that Filipino wide flat nose. And every pic I see of Bayani he's got a total white guy nose.

I should probably take a crack at a more ethnically accurate Bayani pic some day.

[ QUOTE ]
I really like it so far. The lighting is a very nice touch and the pose is... well... it's a good pose

I do have to ask, are you finnished with it because it looks like Miss. Liberty could use a touch more definition in her boots and right arm (our left).

Great stuff though and a real joy to the eye!

[/ QUOTE ]

QFT.

Great pose, excellent lighting, still too mushy in places.

[ QUOTE ]
Just got a scan of the pencils back. This headshot was sketched by Guy Dorian. You can find his website at http://www.guydorianart.com/ I like the level of detail he put into it. Good stuff.

Bayani headshot, by Guy Dorian

[/ QUOTE ]

Good stuff!

Hey, what's Bayani's story? Is he Filipino? Cause I have yet to see a drawing of him where he looks Filipino, but it sounds like he should be. Maybe it's just me...

[ QUOTE ]
psst both Pep and TA have alts on Virtue cause its soo cool

[/ QUOTE ]

I have a couple of alts on Virtue as well, but my mains are on Pinnacle

Do you only play Heroes? That's one of the scripts they put in for Villains. Port Oakes is filled with Family and Hellions on tops of awnings, parked trucks, and bus stops.

[ QUOTE ]
That's a good idea PMD; hadn't given much thought to going back to sketches on and off; but it seems logical enough. It's hard for me to figure out what direction to move in half the time hehe.

I'm definitely moving too fast then... my few 'finished' works have been 3-4 hours total. Maybe I should try just doing a couple hours a day instead of all at once; right now I just sit down and don't stop till I'm just about finished; I may come back and finish the next day; but that's usually it.

Thanks for the help everyone; sorry for asking such odd questions.

[/ QUOTE ]

It's not by any means an odd question.

I find that going to sleep and returning to the work gives me fresh vision that I wouldn't ordinarily have if I just tried to do a whole piece in one sitting.

It's a good thing that TA has 30 people doing art for him at all times. He's so very patient because of that!

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
Mr. Abyss did something I never see with these, which is use demorecord to tell an actual story!

[/ QUOTE ]

0.o

You, my good sir, may appreciate some of these.

[/ QUOTE ]

Thanks!

The most recent 3 are outstanding.

You should go back and forth between quick sketches meant to keep your hand and eye limber and longer pieces. As far as "how long for the finished pieces?" that's up to you. I've been working on the piece for TA for a couple of weeks now, for a couple hours a day. I initially estimated that it would be 10 hours of work, but I forgot how anal I can get (for me.) It's probably going to end up being closer to 20 hours, but I'm not good at keeping track of my time. But I have a lot of other things going on, so I can never spend more than a couple hours a day on one piece. I use that to my advantage, though.