[Art] Keaton the Black Jackal: Commission Preview~ (21/10/09)

[Jairus]

Agreed. I think we took our revenge for Bright Moth's death too far. He would not want all that violence. He was always against the violence.. *sob* Call off the attack, Jay! This will not bring Bright Moth back!

You're right... violence is not the answer. We must respect his wishes and what he would have wanted us to do. We salute you, Bright Moth!

Hey Ren, one of us could name a ship in our story the "Bright Moth" in his honor!

[ShadesFox]

If you will not avenge the moth, then avenge your own knee caps!
*gets out a tire iron.*

[Ren Gaulen]

If you will not avenge the moth, then avenge your own knee caps!
*gets out a tire iron.*

I would strongly recommend against it, good sir...

[ShadesFox]

What?  You're not one of those Star Trek VI aliens are you?

[Ren Gaulen]

No, but if you don't put the tyre iron down, I'll go Dakota Lesmercy on you. Only with less mercy...
Just kidding.

[Mao]

So....  How about that fixed scanner?  Sweetness.  More goodies from the Keats.

[Tapewolf]

So....  How about that fixed scanner?  Sweetness.  More goodies from the Keats.

I have it on good authority that the replacement scanner is working very well.

[llearch n'n'daCorna]

*borrows the tire iron and applies it to the back of Ren and Jubblies' heads*

"Bad boys. No cookie. Stay unconscious."

[Mao]

I have it on good authority that the replacement scanner is working very well.

Sweet.

*borrows the tire iron and applies it to the back of Ren and Jubblies' heads*

"Bad boys. No cookie. Stay unconscious."

...

Sweet.

[Jairus]

*borrows the tire iron and applies it to the back of Ren and Jubblies' heads*

"Bad boys. No cookie. Stay unconscious."

No thanks. I've already almost fractured my skull one time in my life, and that was one time too many. Keep the tire iron away from my head, or I retaliate with "Mail to Dubai" stickers. Then again, it depends on what kind of cookie they are... if they're coconut I'll gladly stay down.

Still a pretty moth.

[Sunblink]

...that last picture was insane. XD Alright, here we go. Shinies that I promised since my replacement scanner is working perfectly.

Boy am I feeling wonky. I woke up at 5:40 AM and couldn't get back to sleep.

CLICK HERE

Time Taken:
Drawing: I forgot
Inking: 3 hours

One of my quickest inking works so far. I'm currently working on coloring this, but you'll all only get to see it when Tape posts that page of Future History

Actually, this picture has already been posted in Future History, but it was taken from a crappy low-resolution image I took using a digital camera. Tape also did the coloring and inking in that picture because I typically only ink a picture when it has a high resolution. Fortunately, my new scanner has some pretty serious resolution capacities.

This picture, in particular, has something slightly new. I figured out there's an easy way to make the lines a bit more funky-looking and dynamic by tapering them slightly, so I used this method in the creases of Azrael's clothing and his whiskers. I might incorporate that tapered-line, dynamic style into future pictures by spreading the style to the rest of the lineart. However, it might be fairly time-consuming.

Blah. There are a few issues I have with this picture; particularly Azrael's legs and their alignment with his hips, but I tried to fix it to the best of my ability. Doing anymore would have made the picture look too awkward.

As a note, his tail looks a bit weird in this version of the picture but I improved it. You'll all see it in the colored version.

[llearch n'n'daCorna]

The creases in his clothing look a bit heavy in B/W; I presume they'll balance out better once it's coloured...

Other than that, there's an awfully smug look on his face...

[Tapewolf]

Other than that, there's an awfully smug look on his face...

I noticed that, but I let it pass.  If I can leave the readership dead confused about whether he's good or evil, I'll be very happy.

[llearch n'n'daCorna]

I liked it. ;-]

That whole "I know something you don't" look.

Admittedly, that's not really Azrael, but I'd expect him to be somewhat knowledgeable...

[Sunblink]

Other than that, there's an awfully smug look on his face...

I noticed that, but I let it pass.  If I can leave the readership dead confused about whether he's good or evil, I'll be very happy.

It's the structure of his mouth, I swear I rarely draw felines with mouths like his, but I ended up doing it to make him look more like a snow leopard.

As for Llearch's comment, darn. I just realized what you meant - this'll probably be improved in the future, if I adopt that style of inking the creases as something to expand to the other lines. When I think about it, while it'd look really good, it would make the character stand out a bit too much. My artwork isn't exactly the pinnacle of realism (ahahahahahahaha etc) but thin lines tend to lend itself more to the picture by making the characters more background-friendly. Maybe I'll save thick lines for chibis and cartoony artwork.

[Zedd]

That's a cool kitty

[Mao]

I can't wait to see the colored version!  Hmm.. this means I'm going to have to pay you soon, doesn't it?

[Tapewolf]

I can't wait to see the colored version!  Hmm.. this means I'm going to have to pay you soon, doesn't it?

Actually that's not my commission, if that's what you're thinking.  It was intended to be guest-art for my webcomic to cover for while Ren was off, but a series of technical hitches meant we had to settle for a low-res photograph of it until Keaton could get her scanner replaced.

[Brunhidden]

while i do like it, i sadly have to critisize it a little

unlike most of your other characters who seem to be a whole person this looks more like an animal head stuck on a human body

also, the jacket seems like its tight on a very thin person and yet is bigger then the torso, this boggles me


dosent sound like 'good job' but trust me, it is








why does my daughter smell like tuna? not relavent, but when your 3 day old smells like a fish nobody in the house eats it really puzzles you

[Sunblink]

while i do like it, i sadly have to critisize it a little

unlike most of your other characters who seem to be a whole person this looks more like an animal head stuck on a human body

also, the jacket seems like its tight on a very thin person and yet is bigger then the torso, this boggles me


dosent sound like 'good job' but trust me, it is








why does my daughter smell like tuna? not relavent, but when your 3 day old smells like a fish nobody in the house eats it really puzzles you

OH NO! It's my arch nemesis - CONSTRUCTIVE CRITICISM!  I'll never draw again.

...I'm just shitting you. I'm perfectly alright with this.

I think I do have some explanation as to why the animal features look so conflicted. Lately I've been trying to make my anthropomorphic characters resemble their animal counterparts, so I tried to incorporate more traits of a snow leopard into the artwork. As I've told Tapewolf, one of the reasons I admire Amber's artwork is that she draws furries in a distinct style, yet makes individuals recognizable as his or her specific species. But I don't want to rip off Amber's style, so I've been juggling around a style of my own.

This is my first time drawing a snow leopard, so I did get some things wrong. This will probably improve as time goes on - the fact you can't really see where Azrael's neck connects with his head kind of worsens the situation

As another note, I really didn't mean to make Azrael look so thin. I have a horrible habit of drawing my characters in a far too thin way and I reaaaaaaaaally hate it. I'm hoping on taking art classes in the future, but finding a good one and getting through my mother's/my own procrastination isn't helping. Usually I can thicken the body when I draw some curves on the character, which is why I like drawing girls so much, but with guys... I don't know what to do with them. Clothes interfere a lot with how I draw anatomy, which is why I like to draw naked bodies first (without the naughty stuff), then the clothing.

I hope this was of some explanation behind why those errors are there. I'll try and keep all of these things in mind when I experiment with my art. This is probably more incentive to get art classes. As for your bebe-daughter, it's probably just the scent of love. Or the scent of being submersed in a womb for several months.

[Mao]

I find that for males, it's best if you use the shoulders/chest as a reference for how big the rest of the torso is going to be.  If the chest/shoulders are small, the body is small.  If you think the body might be too small, redraw the chest/shoulders and work your way down.

(without the naughty stuff)

Pfft... booooooring. 

As for your bebe-daughter, it's probably just the scent of love. Or the scent of being submersed in a womb for several months.

And that is why I've stayed single for so long.    Brought new meaning to the phrase:  "love stinks".

[Sunblink]

I find that for males, it's best if you use the shoulders/chest as a reference for how big the rest of the torso is going to be.  If the chest/shoulders are small, the body is small.  If you think the body might be too small, redraw the chest/shoulders and work your way down.

... *thiiiiiinks*

I'll need to keep this in mind. I always have trouble with keeping the shoulders/chest proportionate to the head, so maybe if I fiddle around with this, I'll be doinitrite. Thanks!

[Brunhidden]

another helpful how to would be to get a lot of pictures of men wearing little to no clothes to see how the proportions are

however i know you mostly draw women, in which case largely its the features and addons such as bosoms and hips that make a girl look more fleshed out then a mans muscular framework

also, somehow, this encourages you to look at pictures of women wearing not much


and yes, theres naked people who are not porn


i do like the idea that you are trying to improve to make your characters more recognizable, heavens know ive seen so many people who draw everybody the same, or their art palate seems to be the cast of sonic the hedgehog with swapped colors. however try to keep your own style, what threw me off is that the head didn't look YOU per say, maybe stick with a more gradual evolution or find other ways to suggest what the species is. zedd has been taking me on tours of FA, and ive seen some really cool anthros where the face looks practically human, and yet looks better and more recognizable then some of the far more feral ones.



mia briefly smelling like tuna is the least of the mysteries i have to face, and vagina farts during delivery is one of the unsubtle cachophy of smells they never warn you of for childbirth.

its a great experience though, i suggest you try it someday

[Mao]

Ahhh, there's nothing like a good ol' shot of reality in the afternoon to shake of the shackles of mind numbing work.  Thanks Brun.

[Lysander]

I must say I enjoy your style of art. Simple yet very nice pictures, and the hair and eyes make many of them look both cute and, if needed, intimidating. great wings overall too. 

[WhiteFox]

Niiiiiice. I love the inks.

Also, I much understand the attempt to emulate more realistic anatomy, I'm working on that myself. Loooots of google image searches for animals. The upside is that it looks less like stereotypical anime. The downside is that it looks more like disney. (I'm having the same problem... )

If I could say tho... those wings don't even look remotely realistic. There's a lot about Amber's style I love, but feathery wings are not one of them. Of course, I've found wings harder to draw then feet, hands, and faces combined. So, there you go.

Anyway. My 2c

[Sunblink]

Hey, new people responding in my thread! Hi there!

I must say I enjoy your style of art. Simple yet very nice pictures, and the hair and eyes make many of them look both cute and, if needed, intimidating. great wings overall too. 

Heh, thank you very much, dude. I'm really glad you like my style; it's still very much under development and subject to change but I'm kind of proud of it. I hope to see you around in the thread a lot more often.

Niiiiiice. I love the inks.

Also, I much understand the attempt to emulate more realistic anatomy, I'm working on that myself. Loooots of google image searches for animals. The upside is that it looks less like stereotypical anime. The downside is that it looks more like disney. (I'm having the same problem... )

If I could say tho... those wings don't even look remotely realistic. There's a lot about Amber's style I love, but feathery wings are not one of them. Of course, I've found wings harder to draw then feet, hands, and faces combined. So, there you go.

Anyway. My 2c

You can probably add me to the list of people who have thanked you for the brutal, savage, raking-over-the-coals feedback of my art now. This was actually very helpful advice, particularly about the wings. Something I've been concerned about is emulating too much of Amber's style, and while she's one of my artistic influences, I don't want to totally imitate her style. Ever since you mentioned this thing about the wings I've been looking up pictures of wing anatomy and have a few pictures saved on my hard drive. Since I've been trying to make my animals more resembling their feral counterparts, it'd probably make more sense if I were to make my style of wings realistic as well.

I should probably do some test sketches once I'm done with a certain commission.

Speaking of test sketches, I made this during school when I had some paper and a pencil as a small interlude from commissions, since I didn't have what I had so far on hand.

CLICK HERE

This is a quick sketch of Piix, one of my original characters. Her markings haven't been added yet so she isn't immediately recognizable, especially since I altered some physical aspects of her appearance to make her look more like an alien creature. The last time I drew her she looked too skinny, so I decided to try again. Paladin really likes Piix, anyway, and paid me to design an outfit for her, so this was a good opportunity.

This figure will have clothing drawn on it, later, but I figured the anatomy was good enough to show off on the forums. This was a bit of an attempt to finally draw a woman without making her look like an emaciated twig. What do you guys think? Am I doing it right? Am I doing it wrong?

Since I really need any and all advice on improving my anatomy, constructive criticism is encouraged for this picture.

[Ren Gaulen]

Nice one, Keats. Actually, Piix doesn't look very "alien" because of the very human-like anatomy. But it looks great. I haven't mentioned it before, but many of the characters you have drawn before look like they were born and lived in the low gravity environment (very tall and thin). With Piix you moved in the right direction in terms of the body and limbs proportions. And I can't wait to see Piix coloured - your colouring is always great.

[techmaster-glitch]

Wasn't Piix supposed to have spines or spikes on her back or something? Or am I thinking of something else?

[Sunblink]

Nice one, Keats. Actually, Piix doesn't look very "alien" because of the very human-like anatomy. But it looks great. I haven't mentioned it before, but many of the characters you have drawn before look like they were born and lived in the low gravity environment (very tall and thin). With Piix you moved in the right direction in terms of the body and limbs proportions. And I can't wait to see Piix coloured - your colouring is always great.

Haha, true. XD And thank you so much, Ren! I'm really glad this is an improvement over my usual anatomy work. I'm definitely going to try and keep the information about the limb proportions in mind.

This'll teach all those people who thought Keaton was anorexic!

Wasn't Piix supposed to have spines or spikes on her back or something? Or am I thinking of something else?

Don't worry, you're not going crazy. Piix does have spines, but I haven't added them in the picture yet.