[Art] Lostangelkira's art: The beginning

[lostangelkira]

I've decided to share my first pieces of artwork with everyone and get some nice, constructive critism.

This first one is pretty much just free hand copying to me. It's ok to me and I did it to see how accurate I could be. And I give much due credit to the creator of this adorable ball of fuzz. Maybe you recognize it.

http://i141.photobucket.com/albums/r47/lostangelkira/ryo-oh-ohki.jpg

This next one is an original I did. I don't really like it myself, but maybe someone here will. I used one of Amber's comics as reference for the wings. I'm hoping to eventually develop my own style.

http://i141.photobucket.com/albums/r47/lostangelkira/solemn.jpg

This piece was done as an exercise from the E-book, Art of Otaku. I love this book. It's very well written and is helping me improve my skills. I think he's quite handsome. 

http://i141.photobucket.com/albums/r47/lostangelkira/fig1.jpg

Another drawing exercise. This one is female. I don't really like how the face turned out, but I did give myself a pat on the back for how the pose turned out.

http://i141.photobucket.com/albums/r47/lostangelkira/fig2.jpg

This last one is a tracing for practicing drawing wings and getting them to look right on the body. Suggestions on how to improve his design and I welcome anyone to color him. I kind of suck at Photoshop coloring and any tips anybody has for me are greatly appreciated.

http://i141.photobucket.com/albums/r47/lostangelkira/Matthew.jpg

I know these aren't furry, but once I'm comfortable and confident at my skills at a humanoid figure, I'm going to develop my skills further and hopefully do renderings of my characters that I'll feel proud of.

[Tapewolf]

Nice.  I see the wing design is cribbed from DMFA.  Nothing wrong with that as such, but bear in mind that it's not a particularly realistic style.  If realism is your plan, you probably want to talk to Whitefox.

[llearch n'n'daCorna]

Nice.  I see the wing design is cribbed from DMFA.  Nothing wrong with that as such, but bear in mind that it's not a particularly realistic style.  If realism is your plan, you probably want to talk to Whitefox.

Who, last I looked, had changed his name to Fox NaBan. Just in case you missed him. ;-]

[Tapewolf]

Who, last I looked, had changed his name to Fox NaBan. Just in case you missed him. ;-]

If he does it again I'll start to refer to him by his UID 

[WhiteFox]

I've decided to share my first pieces of artwork with everyone and get some nice, constructive critism.

I know these aren't furry, but once I'm comfortable and confident at my skills at a humanoid figure, I'm going to develop my skills further and hopefully do renderings of my characters that I'll feel proud of.

I live for constructive criticism, and you may love me or hate me for it as you will. But all things I say are to help an artist improve, nothing more and nothing less. Let's have a go.

This next one is an original I did. I don't really like it myself, but maybe someone here will. I used one of Amber's comics as reference for the wings. I'm hoping to eventually develop my own style.

http://i141.photobucket.com/albums/r47/lostangelkira/solemn.jpg

One or two things to note about the figure. The back of the neck is tucked way to far in. It should slope smoothly down and out from the back of the head. The jaw should "T" with the front of the neck, which slopes inward. I made a diagram. Second thing to note, the legs are very short. The hips, and the wrists of the hand, are actually the halfway up the height of the body.

Ambers wings are highly stylized, and aren't really anatomically correct. You have to think of a wing as a limb like an arm: a shoulder at the root, the knob at the top is actually a wrist, and somewhere in between should be an elbow. The other thing to consider is the feathers, the different kinds and how they layer and arrange themselves. I swear, bird wings are like animate decks of cards.  Also bearing in mind that for a production like a webcomic, or animation, the work of drawing wings anatomically correct would be a nightmare. But it's better to understand something completely before you develop a stylized, easier to draw version. Bird ref pics can be found here:

This piece was done as an exercise from the E-book, Art of Otaku. I love this book. It's very well written and is helping me improve my skills. I think he's quite handsome. 

http://i141.photobucket.com/albums/r47/lostangelkira/fig1.jpg

This is awesome all around. The feet look a little massive, but I salute your bravery in actually drawing all the toes. The one hand looks smaller then the other, but aside from that they're nicely done. The wrist of the one braced on the floor is a bit fat, tho. Nother diagram.

And, a personal request. Please look into different ways to draw eyes. Eyes can be depicted in so many ways, and people always seem to go with a standard make and model. 'Nother thing about the eyes: The upper eyelid rests just on top of the pupil when it's relaxed. Which is why he might look like he just ate a whole bag of chocolate espresso beans. 

Another drawing exercise. This one is female. I don't really like how the face turned out, but I did give myself a pat on the back for how the pose turned out.

Like before: The eyes are a little off, and the feet look kinda massive. Feet are a real pain, tho. The eye on the outer edge of the face looks painted on: from our angle, we should see the contours of the face. The eye is a sphere, the eyelids wrapping over it, and a slight tuck inward before the concave curve of the cheek bone. Lastly, the mouth isn't very realistic: the corners of the mouth line up with the center of the eyes, and at that angle are only slightly offset. That style is done by animators, so they can draw the face once and draw a half dozen mouths without having to redraw the outer edge of the face. Also, when the eye is relaxed the lid yadda yadda yadda.

http://i141.photobucket.com/albums/r47/lostangelkira/fig2.jpg

This last one is a tracing for practicing drawing wings and getting them to look right on the body. Suggestions on how to improve his design and I welcome anyone to color him. I kind of suck at Photoshop coloring and any tips anybody has for me are greatly appreciated.

http://i141.photobucket.com/albums/r47/lostangelkira/Matthew.jpg

If you just mean to copy Amber's style, they look OK to me. I would suggest taking a look at real bird wings, tho, as mentioned above. Especially look up feather shapes, take a look at how the feathers layer on each other, and take a little time to study the bones.

Anyway... All of this is some good work. Your characters are expressive, and it looks like you're starting to get into anatomy and proportion. I'd like to see more work that isn't done from a guide or tutorial. I mean, go nuts.

[lostangelkira]

Thank you for your honest opinions. I will make sure to take this and run with it. You might not see me post anything for a bit, but when I return with more art, hopefully we shall see some improvement.