Need a bit of drawing help | Creative Corner

Okay so I have a vague idea of how sky dancer hands now work, but I’m still struggling on claws and shading (I am trying realism, it’s harder then expected.)
(Need help with jewelry too) I’m also trying to stay lineless!
Any help appreciated!

Here is what I have so far

RingMaster

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February 23, 2018 21:27:37

Okay so I have a vague idea of how sky dancer hands now work, but I’m still struggling on claws and shading (I am trying realism, it’s harder then expected.)
(Need help with jewelry too) I’m also trying to stay lineless!
Any help appreciated!

Here is what I have so far

Last edited on Feb 27, 2018 13:48:39 by RingMaster

@RingMaster As someone who does not draw, I will begin by saying that your drawing is probably better than something I can even do myself. However, I do have a few observation-based suggestions, plus a few tips that I can't back up with anything other than theory: [list] [*]Skydancers are incredibly graceful in appearance and their wrists/arms are noticeably delicate. I have no idea what the proportion of egg-to-skydancer is, but I will point out that I think you could slim those wrists up compared to the hands. This would also include making the wrist bone less prominent, just to make the appearance more delicate. There are fewer bones in something with one whole less digit in their hands. [*]I would also consider tapering the fingers off into points rather than having the nail-bed-inspired claws attached to the top, as the FR skydancers themselves appear to have tapered claws that are all one solid color with no line breaks (albeit, you may consider that type of claw as your particular artistic interpretation, in which case stick to it). [*]Alternatively, maybe reference some reptile claws. A human's nail sits on top of the finger, a reptile's claw grows out of the tip, and some even seem to be part of the finger bone? That may or may not be true, though, but still good reference visually. [*]You may want to have the fingers cupping the egg more. As it is in your drawing, the fingers look stiff rather than following the natural curve of the egg. I imagine in the general scene of a dragon giving an egg to its owner, the dragon may be holding the egg more reverently, as though the egg is important, a thin, fragile shell protecting a small life from the harsh realities of the world. Whereas in this particular presentation, the fingers look like they could be holding a mug, not wanting to touch the hot surface with the whole hand. [*]I think the middle digit is actually supposed to be slightly longer than the first and third digits, kind of like a predatory bird in the number and length of digits. [*]The fingers might look chubby because they don't taper at all. If you look at the anatomy of a human finger, you have three separate bones attached by joints. The individual bones are slim compared to where they meet at the joint, so finger skeletons become both slim and knobby. The skin and ligament that stretch over the bone might take away some of that definition, but a skydancer's fingers probably don't lose too much definition because they all look like they could gain a few pounds anyway. Rather than having the fingers the same width all the way through and rounded at the tips, imagine them as very long isosceles or scalene triangles. On people, they might eventually round off, on skydancers, maybe not, but they start wider where they meet the hand and get thinner, at least a little bit, by the end. [/list] As for general non-human drawing, my tip would be to practice drawing what you see a few times, try to get a feel for how the original FR dragon (or alternative creature) images are shaped. What I mean is recreate a skydancer in the traditional FR pose. That may help you better interpret how the anatomy of the dragon/other non-human actually works. This of course depends on what your inspiration/source material is. My thought process on this is: if you can recreate the exact image (without tracing, though tracing may be a good first step), then maybe you'll be able to work out the proportion a bit better on your own as you go, which you can then translate into your own style. In this same line of thought, if you can work out what the non-human is based on, or what animal parts make up or look similar to what you're trying to draw, that might also give you better reference for proportion. Keep in mind, these are all suggestions. If you try them and they don't work, continue trying and experimenting with other ideas and suggestions. I am by no means an expert or authority on the subject of art. I hope this helps you, even a little bit!

FlyingButtress

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February 24, 2018 01:48:56

@RingMaster

As someone who does not draw, I will begin by saying that your drawing is probably better than something I can even do myself. However, I do have a few observation-based suggestions, plus a few tips that I can't back up with anything other than theory:

Skydancers are incredibly graceful in appearance and their wrists/arms are noticeably delicate. I have no idea what the proportion of egg-to-skydancer is, but I will point out that I think you could slim those wrists up compared to the hands. This would also include making the wrist bone less prominent, just to make the appearance more delicate. There are fewer bones in something with one whole less digit in their hands.
I would also consider tapering the fingers off into points rather than having the nail-bed-inspired claws attached to the top, as the FR skydancers themselves appear to have tapered claws that are all one solid color with no line breaks (albeit, you may consider that type of claw as your particular artistic interpretation, in which case stick to it).
Alternatively, maybe reference some reptile claws. A human's nail sits on top of the finger, a reptile's claw grows out of the tip, and some even seem to be part of the finger bone? That may or may not be true, though, but still good reference visually.
You may want to have the fingers cupping the egg more. As it is in your drawing, the fingers look stiff rather than following the natural curve of the egg. I imagine in the general scene of a dragon giving an egg to its owner, the dragon may be holding the egg more reverently, as though the egg is important, a thin, fragile shell protecting a small life from the harsh realities of the world. Whereas in this particular presentation, the fingers look like they could be holding a mug, not wanting to touch the hot surface with the whole hand.
I think the middle digit is actually supposed to be slightly longer than the first and third digits, kind of like a predatory bird in the number and length of digits.
The fingers might look chubby because they don't taper at all. If you look at the anatomy of a human finger, you have three separate bones attached by joints. The individual bones are slim compared to where they meet at the joint, so finger skeletons become both slim and knobby. The skin and ligament that stretch over the bone might take away some of that definition, but a skydancer's fingers probably don't lose too much definition because they all look like they could gain a few pounds anyway. Rather than having the fingers the same width all the way through and rounded at the tips, imagine them as very long isosceles or scalene triangles. On people, they might eventually round off, on skydancers, maybe not, but they start wider where they meet the hand and get thinner, at least a little bit, by the end.

As for general non-human drawing, my tip would be to practice drawing what you see a few times, try to get a feel for how the original FR dragon (or alternative creature) images are shaped. What I mean is recreate a skydancer in the traditional FR pose. That may help you better interpret how the anatomy of the dragon/other non-human actually works. This of course depends on what your inspiration/source material is. My thought process on this is: if you can recreate the exact image (without tracing, though tracing may be a good first step), then maybe you'll be able to work out the proportion a bit better on your own as you go, which you can then translate into your own style.

In this same line of thought, if you can work out what the non-human is based on, or what animal parts make up or look similar to what you're trying to draw, that might also give you better reference for proportion.

Keep in mind, these are all suggestions. If you try them and they don't work, continue trying and experimenting with other ideas and suggestions. I am by no means an expert or authority on the subject of art.

I hope this helps you, even a little bit!

It looks like skydancers have four fingers (three fingers and a thumb). If you look at the pictures of them you'll see the index and ring fingers are about the same size and the middle finger is the longest. That's the same as it is with humans. The thumb placement is also similar to a human.

So I would recommend holding your own hand up and pretend you're holding an invisible ball. Ignore your pinky finger. Your three fingers and thumb, all move into a position where they are about equal in length. They also spread apart. When you hold something with girth, your fingers spread to accommodate that. See if you can find reference pictures of people holding basketballs. It will probably only be one handed pictures, but it should still help. The bigger the item being held, the wider the space between the fingers.

In your drawing, your fingers are all together, and they are all different sizes. When you do that it makes the egg look flat. And I believe that is what's not looking right to you. Also, the skydancer wrists are very thin, so if you cut off about a third of the width you currently have them I think you will like it better.

As for the claws, I draw claws a lot. They aren't easy. Their shape changes depending on what direction the finger is positioned and I'm not sure how to describe it without actually drawing it. All I can say is practice and experiment with those and it will get easier. Look at pictures of long fingernails on humans, and claws on dogs. Ferrets might be a good one because they have longer fingers. But their fur gets in the way. You can try finding skeleton images of them.

I hope that helps. It's easier to show than explain. So, I am sorry if it doesn't make sense.

Maijic

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February 24, 2018 01:55:53

It looks like skydancers have four fingers (three fingers and a thumb). If you look at the pictures of them you'll see the index and ring fingers are about the same size and the middle finger is the longest. That's the same as it is with humans. The thumb placement is also similar to a human.

So I would recommend holding your own hand up and pretend you're holding an invisible ball. Ignore your pinky finger. Your three fingers and thumb, all move into a position where they are about equal in length. They also spread apart. When you hold something with girth, your fingers spread to accommodate that. See if you can find reference pictures of people holding basketballs. It will probably only be one handed pictures, but it should still help. The bigger the item being held, the wider the space between the fingers.

In your drawing, your fingers are all together, and they are all different sizes. When you do that it makes the egg look flat. And I believe that is what's not looking right to you. Also, the skydancer wrists are very thin, so if you cut off about a third of the width you currently have them I think you will like it better.

As for the claws, I draw claws a lot. They aren't easy. Their shape changes depending on what direction the finger is positioned and I'm not sure how to describe it without actually drawing it. All I can say is practice and experiment with those and it will get easier. Look at pictures of long fingernails on humans, and claws on dogs. Ferrets might be a good one because they have longer fingers. But their fur gets in the way. You can try finding skeleton images of them.

I hope that helps. It's easier to show than explain. So, I am sorry if it doesn't make sense.

@FlyingButtress @Maijic
Taking into account both of your very helpful suggestions, I looked into lizard hands (can’t belive I didn’t even think of that!) and tried drawing a rough idea of how the hand might look.
I would like to know if this might look a bit better? (Ignore the bones lol. I tried mapping a quick anatomy sketch for finger placement. Sometimes it helps)

I did a simple top view of the back of the hand. Feedback is appreciated!