Creative Corner

@razu First, sorry if I ping the wrong person! I'd like some critique on this human version of one of my dragons I did. [img]http://orig09.deviantart.net/b5f3/f/2017/079/0/f/nymstryxgijinkaresize_by_valekivi-db2z5i8.jpg[/img] (This dragon: http://flightrising.com/main.php?p=lair&id=206197&tab=dragon&did=22048509) Lately I've been trying to draw more humans so they wouldn't always look so wonky and same-face-for-everyone. For this piece I know that the eyes are not from the same face and look funny, and the mouth is wrongly aligned, but at least it's a mouth and not just a line:'D Critique other than that would be great! (If you have tricks/advice to fixing those that'd be great too). Other info: Pen lines coloured with watercolours on off-white paper.

[sub][color=4d4b4f]@Adamonstro first of all i really like your work (especially the first one) very pleasant to look at ; v ; i'll divide this one into your three pieces so you hopefully have an easier time reading through everything! [b]1st) picture[/b] elements that overstep the borders of a piece are used to emphasize a foreground/forward position and thus create more depth; i think it'd be perfectly fine to apply that to the cloak however it'd have to be consistent since you're only giving the back part of the cloak a forward position while the actual side that's turned to the viewer has a more backward position which makes the perspective look a little off! i also want to quickly touch on the hand because it doesn't seem to be gripping the mask properly, it's more like a gentle touch (they also appear to be missing a finger;;) here are three quick sketches hope they kinda show you what i'm talking about ;;[img]http://i.imgur.com/Ngku5ot.png[/img] [b]2nd) picture[/b] i think the palette is already pretty great, you have a warm light source thus a very warm palette with a few hints of cool colors however the left stone gives a wrong idea from where the light is coming from (from the left instead of the top and behind) also make sure to include some ripples in your reflections (especially the stone ones) since any wind or movement (your character turning) in the water will affect it [img]http://i.imgur.com/s3RfpGe.png[/img] looking at your thumbnail you might also want to give the character a little more focus - as in the character is the main point of focus your eyes directly attach to instead of going 'around' the picture. i darkened the surroundings a little to make them still visible but less of a point of interest compared to the character [img]http://i.imgur.com/VrtInbW.png[/img] the colors are looking a little muddy now because that's usually something you do while color picking and gets harder to do as time goes on! so it's best to zoom out, step away, or squint your eyes a little when you are blocking in values c: also going back to the picture above: don't be afraid the introduce more plants, rocks, leaves or bushes that are hanging or maybe sticking out of the water! since you went for a very forest-y scene the water and the surroundings aren't very cleanly divided - here's a more clear example of what i'm talking about: [img]http://i.imgur.com/AzeeZsZ.png[/img] ([url=https://pixabay.com/de/photos/forest%20pond/]x[/url]) adding to that the trees look a little bend (?) and very even - trees have a lot of texture to them which doesn't need to be detailed out 100% but it's a nice thing to hint at ~ last thing is anatomy; the hand is really small, the arm pretty stiff and the muscles on the shoulder/arm aren't in the right place, but i'll touch on that more with the third piece ;v; [b]3rd) picture[/b] keep the body in mind that's underneath the cloth! [img]http://i.imgur.com/CWGMBnG.png[/img] i really hope you don't mind me saying that the anatomy is kinda off ( the head seems too big, ear is too far up, feet too small, some parts of the character are turned while others are not etc.) picking out references from stock images or taking some yourself will probably help you out a lot! also maybe try [url=http://reference.sketchdaily.net/en/]figure drawing [/url] (there are a lot more websites with more images~) i really hope that didn't sound rude, but i had (and still have) tons of problems with anatomy myself especially slightly turning characters torsos - it's by no means an insult just something many people struggle with and overall very difficult to get right ; o ; hope this was helpful to you (and i didn't sound too rude hah a) <3

[sub][color=4d4b4f]@Valekivi you didn't don't worry i'm also giving out critique! ; v ; i really like the overall colors you went with; although they are a little desaturated so you might want to look a little into editing your photos so they look similar to the original (e.g. upping saturation, maybe adjusting color if needed etc.) ! [b]contrast and media[/b] however what's very apparent to me is the low contrast - i already talked a little about contrast [url=http://www1.flightrising.com/forums/cc/2141770/1#post_26141789]here [/url](1st part) but to sum it up: a high contrast/wide spectrum of values will create the illusion of 3d (if applied correctly that is) so when going for a simple portrait you'll probably want to aim for high contrast in general watercolors aren't very covering and you'll have a hard time introducing shadows and coloring over the same area more than once/twice unless you're using specific paper - so that might be part of the problem; although i admit i only know little about traditional media and most of that is pen, pencil and aclyics haha so i'd recommend doing some research on watercolors, used paper and if they are suitable for achieving the result you want (if you are actually going for more than flat colors which is what i assume since you have some shadows on the wolf cape!) [b]clothes and anatomy/proportions[/b] the top of cloak don't seem to be bent the right way - i don't actually know how to describe it so i just made a visualization i hope that gets the point across;; [img]http://i.imgur.com/PgilXDM.png[/img] on a side note: wolfs pelts are usually made to spend warmth so they'll cover the ears; that may be just a preference thing of me though and not very important when thinking about fashion ~ moving on to some anatomy/proportions (sorry for no actual cohesive text;;): - your nose is in profile view while face is almost fully frontal which makes it appear very big - adding to that the mouth is pretty small when compared to the other facial features - the face also appears very spiky (chin and left cheek especially) - the thoat is usually less bend/curved and more straight, it only gets more curved when you move into shoulder area or the head's tilted - the inner ear anatomy is a little off [img]https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/236x/98/e8/d1/98e8d1d559a75390ea9b625f637ad431.jpg[/img] ([url=http://human-anatomy101.com/external-ear-anatomy-pinna/]x[/url]) [b]general tips on face layout[/b] visualizing the different planes of the face will be very helpful! you can divide the face into as many planes as you want, but here's a simple one for now [img]https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/564x/12/f9/7d/12f97d2b83359ded183e6a8c607b83cf.jpg[/img] ([url=anatoref.tumblr.com]x[/url]) proportions will vary with different faces though, but it's good to stick to a layout and start experimenting/shifting one feature at a time also [url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zC3OxonJcXQ]here's a good video[/url] talking more about planes and showing off different lighting on faces [i]tip on mouth alignment[/i]: as you can see above going from the middle of the nose to the middle of the upper lip/cupids bow is the philtrum (basically the little dent/middle plane between nose and lips hah a) they're always aligned and can maybe assist you as a guideline! hope this was helpful to you again sorry if i sounded too rude/harsh in any of these parts! ; o ;

@razu

ooOH GEEZ I should have noticed the anatomy on the last one (that poor hip!)

It appears only drawing headshots for years doesnt help me with drawing anatomy and backgrounds, who would have thought ; v;

also, dont worry! I came here for harsh critiques, so im happy ^^
Thank you so much for the critique! <3

_{@Adamonstro ahh no worries i have the exact same problem haha;;;
i'm glad! you're welcome ~ <3}

@casscain Hello! :D In these dot points, I am gonna address your first picture!: [LIST] [*] Try to keep [b]proportions[/b] and [b]anatomy[/b] in mind. I think the eyes are too small - a face on front view should be 5 eyes wide, so between your eyes is a gap roughly the size of your eye. The legs may also be too thin and small, and hands may need more practice: remember joints! The shape of the waist is also strange. Use references where possible to get proportions and anatomy(muscles! bones!) correct, and remember the 7-8 head rule :) [img]http://media-cache-ec0.pinimg.com/236x/ac/31/1f/ac311f037a299a019427c72d133e9763.jpg[/img] [*] [b]Perspective[/b] is pretty hard, and I haven't really gotten the hang of it yet, actually. It's one of the many 'tricks' that artists use to create the illusion of depth, aka. something 3D. The perspective on the arms and the rest of the body are things to consider! [*] Another 'trick' is [b]shading[/b]. You did some pretty good shading. However, your shading is too light and should be darker(I almost didn't notice it), and I suggest harder shadows in places such as clothing creases and hair. [*] The shoulders are almost horizontal and therefore gives your character a stiff pose. The shoulders should slant a little if the arms are down in a relaxed [b]pose[/b]. Here is an example: [img]http://img03.deviantart.net/8ecd/i/2016/143/5/2/shoulders_reference_sheet_by_kibbitzer-da3jrz4.jpg[/img] [/LIST] It's awesome that you decided to draw a fullbody(I hardly do any) and I like your choice of colour :D Now lets move on to your second drawing!: [LIST] [*] The first thing I notice is the [b]composition[/b]. I think it would be best for a symmetrical composition, like this: [img]http://cdn.picturecorrect.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/underwater-whale-photography.jpg[/img] Or like in the famous Jaws: [img]http://vignette3.wikia.nocookie.net/jaws/images/d/da/Jaws-movie-poster.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20131015071208.png[/img] I can't really say precisely what is wrong about composition, but it is something that you will have a sort of intuition for. The composition of your drawing is[u] imbalanced[/u], making the drawing look strange although technically nothing is wrong. Think about what the [u]Salient Image [/u]should be: the one that I will look at first, the one that is the main subject. In this case it should be the monster and the human. Instead however, my eyes move to the top left bit of the sea. Why? Because it is white (Our eyes get drawn to the lighter parts) and the guy is looking that way (vector). Here is a quick exercise! Which one of the pics below look better? The one on the left or the one on the right? [img]http://www.better-digital-photo-tips.com/images/xExample-of-bad-composition.jpg.pagespeed.ic.38ORkv3omQ.jpg[/img] The one on the right, isn't it? This is because the cup fits a horizontal frame better - why put tons of empty space around the salient image? The triangle of sunlight in the left photo is distracting, so cutting it out gives a better composition. [u]Do not feel obligated to fit your whole subject in your frame, and cut out where the composition benefits. [/u] Composition is such a broad subject I'm just gonna stop this point here otherwise this will turn into an essay XD [*] The lines are indeed messy, particularly on the human. Cleaning them up would be pretty good. [*] The ocean is wrongly drawn: unless there is a tsunami I believe waves shouldn't be that big. They should be smaller and sharper-ish. Once again, use references: [img]https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/564x/5a/4d/fa/5a4dfafc6c732bb19b0e85344e6988fc.jpg[/img] [/LIST] Everything else about the drawing is spectacular though. I like the monster... it looks so cool and the colours are nice! Sorry about this late critique, but I hope that it helped! :3

@Inquirable , I think AboveClouds is still active so I'm gonna ping them again in case they missed your ping!
@AboveClouds if you were aware but were just busy or forgot, you don't need to rush :)

Edit: When did you change your name Inquirable? I thought that your art style was familiar, haha XD

Anybody else want so critique? :)