[Art] Spooks' Art Thread

[Lore]

The old thread was locked due to inactivity, and whereas it was cluttered with art that had long since been removed from the face of the internet, I figured it'd be in everyone's best interest if I just made a new one. So here goes.

I would really like some opinions on my comic, Rended. I don't want to clutter this post with 20 individual comic pages, but the entire comic thus far can be found there. I'm not new to comic making, but I'm not overly experienced either, so advice on anything from paneling and page composition to backgrounds or whatever else is always welcome.

Anyway, on to the other art:

December 30, 2011
-Kazrin stretching
-Playing with Magic
-Kazrin Doodle Dump
-Kazrin Expression Dump
-Nessik sketch
-Across the Sands speedpaint
-Cardinal speedpaint
-Kazrin speedpaint
-Another Speedpaint: with lineart or without lineart or a mix

January 2, 2012
-Doodle

January 3, 2012
-Rooftop
-Common Misconception

January 5, 2012
-Figure sketches
-Serious

January 7, 2012
-Running

January-February, 2012
ATCs
-Spooks
-Sherlock Fox
-Shades
-Drille
-Spooks and Rai

Traditional Art
-Notebook cover

Digital Art
-Seffer
-Sherlock Hooves
-New Spooks Ref (NSFW)
-Piggyback

[llearch n'n'daCorna]

It's an interesting style there. There's not much background, but just enough to give an idea of where the characters are. And the characters themselves are, while similar in build, given enough different characteristics to make it relatively easy to tell which one is which, even if you can't see all of them.

For example, Kazrin's face scar. Taki's innocent blond/blue-eyed look. Even in B&W, there's enough there to tell which is which.

This is in contrast to another comic I looked at (and promptly ignored) which had indistinguishable characters, unless you could see all of them. And then half the panels showed, say, a single hand. And you were supposed to know whose hand it was purely by what glove they were wearing, even though all previous panels didn't show the gloves on the various party members. *sigh*


I'm of the opinion that navigation links (next, previous, et al) should be both above and below the image, when the image is a full page; in Amber's case, this is not usually happening, so it's fine being just below. In yours, it's a little troublesome to scroll down all the time. However, this is not a strong opinion, it's just a vague annoyance. Feel free to ignore that particular point.

Other than that, I enjoyed this little romp, and I've added it to my list to keep track of.

[Lore]

Thank you for the kind words! I've added a navigation bar to the top of the page as well. That's something that typically annoys me as well, and I hadn't noticed that my page only had the navigation at the bottom.

Edit:

10-min doodle done in Open Canvas, which I still can't seem to get the hang of: http://www.furaffinity.net/view/7124183/

[Lore]

Here's a quick speedpaint of Kazrin.

With lineart

Without lineart

And here is a third version because I cannot make up my friggin mind. click

[bradypodidae]

If you not making up your mind means we get more Spooks art, even if just different versions of the same composition, then I am all for you not being able to do so!

;-]

[llearch n'n'daCorna]

Here's a quick speedpaint of Kazrin.

With lineart

Without lineart

And here is a third version because I cannot make up my friggin mind. click

For what it's worth, the impression I get from the second and third versions is much softer; the first one gives Kaz a hard edge, which is the impression I get from the comic of his attitude - hard-edged, that is.

The second and third are softer and gentler, somehow. And I can't quite put my finger on what.


Having said that, there are some places on the body where the first one looks messy. Perhaps the upper body from the first one, and the lower body from the third? A hard edge on the closer parts, and a softer edge further away from the "camera" ? Just a thought.

Edit:
I just spent five minutes flicking back and forth between the images, trying to figure out what was giving me that impression. I narrowed it down to three or four points: his right shoulder, right cheek, left hand, and hair. The lack of hard edges makes him seem softer all over, even though _nothing else has changed_. It's just odd.

Er. I'm not sure if that's helpful or not. :-/

[WhiteFox]

I like the third version most. With Lineart, the shading gets drowned out by the contrast of the heavy black, and Without Lineart doesn't have as much "pop" to it.

Most of the bend in Kaz' fingers seem to be in the third knuckle... when a hand is relaxed, the first and second knuckles bend most and the last joint only slightly. When flexing, the last joint almost never bends more than the second (unless it's being pushed on by something, or the second knuckle is "locked"), so a bend in the last joint alone looks very unnatural.

Good to see you posting again, Spooks.

[Lore]

Most of the bend in Kaz' fingers seem to be in the third knuckle... when a hand is relaxed, the first and second knuckles bend most and the last joint only slightly. When flexing, the last joint almost never bends more than the second (unless it's being pushed on by something, or the second knuckle is "locked"), so a bend in the last joint alone looks very unnatural..

I'm surprised you didn't point out that he's missing a whole segment of each finger. I tend to stylize hands too much, especially when I'm doing a speedy drawing like this. It's something I really should go about correcting...

[WhiteFox]

I'm surprised you didn't point out that he's missing a whole segment of each finger. I tend to stylize hands too much, especially when I'm doing a speedy drawing like this. It's something I really should go about correcting...

Well, It didn't look like he was missing a whole segment. If the fingers make up half the length of the hand overall, the bend you have is about 3/4ths of the way down the finger. Ergo, third joint of the finger.

It's actually not that hard to cut corners when drawing a hand, as long as the right corners are being cut. Putting more bend in the second knuckle than the third is, for me at least, a cardinal rule with few exceptions. But, I'm rambling now.

[Lore]

I'm surprised you didn't point out that he's missing a whole segment of each finger. I tend to stylize hands too much, especially when I'm doing a speedy drawing like this. It's something I really should go about correcting...

Well, It didn't look like he was missing a whole segment. If the fingers make up half the length of the hand overall, the bend you have is about 3/4ths of the way down the finger. Ergo, third joint of the finger.

It's actually not that hard to cut corners when drawing a hand, as long as the right corners are being cut. Putting more bend in the second knuckle than the third is, for me at least, a cardinal rule with few exceptions. But, I'm rambling now.

I was teasing anyway. Thanks for the advice!

[Lore]

'nother Kazrin doodle. Because the world needs more of those. Was mostly playing around with a quicker method for shading with this one. Ignore the sword... it's... stupid.

Doodle

[Lore]

Today's doodles:

Rooftop

Common Misconception

[WhiteFox]

Did a quick redline of Kaz-with-sword, mostly looking at the line of the spine (assuming the shoulders are turned... I might have gotten the wrong impression there). As the torso turns, the curvature of the spine becomes apparent, which pushes the "center" of the back to one side or the other. The shoulder blades lay at an angle rather than flat across the back, so the far shoulder blade ends up foreshortened.

The two circles between the neck and the shoulders mark the end of the acromion... I use that as a guide for where the trapezius stop, and the deltoids start. The traps slope up towards the neck, so the span between the neck and the shoulders if rarely flat across.

For the muscles on the forearm on the left... brachioradials (diagrams here and here) attach above the elbows and most of the muscle mass is on the upper half of the forearm. So,  they kinda bulge high and taper towards the wrist. Also, the muscles on the inside of the arm bulge higher up and more sharply than those on the outside (Same goes for the calves. What's up with that, anyway?)

Rooftop: I love the pose here, very casual. There isn't any bend at the waist, tho, which looks kind of stiff. The figure doesn't look like he lines up with the perspective of the roof (he could be seated at an odd angle, but it still looks inconsistent). I usually ballpark poses at angles like this by drawing out perspective lines for the shoulders, hips, etc. (Same can be done for  knees, elbows, and feet, for depending on the pose). I could do a sketch of what I mean, if it would help.

Doodle: *Snrk.* Bwa-ha-ha-haa!

Ahem... That would drive me crazy, too.

Once again, nice expression. If you're concerned about real-life facial proportions, the length of the nose is equal to the distance from the bottom lip to the bottom of the chin. I usually mark off the bottom half of the face into thirds for the tip of the nose, bottom of the bottom lip, and the bottom of the chin.

[Lore]

Thank you, particularly for the redline and the diagrams! What I really need to do is sit down and draw a bunch of sketches of human musculature and skeletons.

Today, just some 5-min figure sketches out of boredom and sleeplessness:

http://i1224.photobucket.com/albums/ee365/SpooksFox/figuresketches.png

[WhiteFox]

Thank you, particularly for the redline and the diagrams! What I really need to do is sit down and draw a bunch of sketches of human musculature and skeletons.

Happy to help.

A while back, I downloaded all the images from Grey's Anatomy, Subjects 2, 3, 4, and 12 (Bones, joints, muscles and surface). Extremely handy reference. 10. Senses/Common Integument has a few diagrams of facial features, too. I don't think I'm Hardcore enough to tackle Veins and Arteries... yet. I put it all on my laptop: some artists worry about making goofy faces in public when they draw... I worry about some 13 y/o kid looking over my shoulder and seeing closeups of someone's naked gracilis.

For figure reference, I use pics of athletes. Especially boxers: I can find shots from the front and back, the lighting is usually decent, and they have a well rounded physical build. They only wear shorts, too, that's convenient.

...I'm getting conversational, now. Mea culpa.

Today, just some 5-min figure sketches out of boredom and sleeplessness:

http://i1224.photobucket.com/albums/ee365/SpooksFox/figuresketches.png

Dang, those are great. I love the sense of action/reaction in the upper right one (Right arm forward, left arm back), and the weight and motion of the bottom right one. Nice body language on the top left one (I am such a sucker for expression, aren't I? ). The muscles of the forearms look more muscle-y than previous drawings, by the way. The only thing that stands out is that the bottom left one seems to twist an awful lot at the waist.

On the bottom two figures, the heels are fairly undefined. Granted, these are very loose sketches, but I find that the heel can say a lot about the weight, movement and balance of a figure, so I like to rough them in early. Just an observation.

[Lore]

A while back, I downloaded all the images from Grey's Anatomy, Subjects 2, 3, 4, and 12 (Bones, joints, muscles and surface). Extremely handy reference. 10. Senses/Common Integument has a few diagrams of facial features, too. I don't think I'm Hardcore enough to tackle Veins and Arteries... yet. I put it all on my laptop: some artists worry about making goofy faces in public when they draw... I worry about some 13 y/o kid looking over my shoulder and seeing closeups of someone's naked gracilis.

Ahaha! I downloaded a bunch of reference books a couple days ago, I haven't had a chance to sit down and go through them yet, but I'm pretty excited about it.

Today, just some 5-min figure sketches out of boredom and sleeplessness:

http://i1224.photobucket.com/albums/ee365/SpooksFox/figuresketches.png

Dang, those are great. I love the sense of action/reaction in the upper right one (Right arm forward, left arm back), and the weight and motion of the bottom right one. Nice body language on the top left one (I am such a sucker for expression, aren't I? ). The muscles of the forearms look more muscle-y than previous drawings, by the way. The only thing that stands out is that the bottom left one seems to twist an awful lot at the waist.

On the bottom two figures, the heels are fairly undefined. Granted, these are very loose sketches, but I find that the heel can say a lot about the weight, movement and balance of a figure, so I like to rough them in early. Just an observation.

I hadn't really thought about the heel before, but yes, I think you're probably right on that, and now I want to try it. XD I was pleasantly surprised with how well those sketches came out myself (well, except maybe the bottom left)- particularly the bottom right, as that is an incredibly awkward position, and I was dead set on drawing it without rotating the canvas...

And on to today's doodle! This... is not at all what I sat down to draw, but it's an interesting change of pace, I suppose.

Serious

[Lore]

More playing around with my new shading style. It's unbelievably quick... at least compared to my old method. And honestly I think it looks more polished as well.

Running

[WhiteFox]

Nice work on the pants, shading and detail. The upraised hand is nicely done, too.

He has his right arm and leg forward... when people run, or walk, or whatever, the forward arm is always opposite to the forward leg (ie: left leg forward, right arm forward. Right leg forward, left arm forward).

The light on the underside of the left leg seems out of place.... Unless it's being reflected up from below by the pure, white floor.

I can't say I've ever seen a fur pattern like that on a husky, with the back is lighter than the chest, and black over the whole muzzle. Some Huskies have black along the top of the muzzle, coming down from between the eyes, but not over the whole front. That could just be my limited knowledge of canines, tho.

... For some reason, I really like that stroke for the neck muscle and collarbone. It gives the impression that the shoulder is pushing forward, and adds a little shape to the area in general.

[Lore]

Nice work on the pants, shading and detail. The upraised hand is nicely done, too.

Thank you!

He has his right arm and leg forward... when people run, or walk, or whatever, the forward arm is always opposite to the forward leg (ie: left leg forward, right arm forward. Right leg forward, left arm forward).

...Wow, how did I miss that one. >.< Maybe he's awkwardly leaping or something.

I can't say I've ever seen a fur pattern like that on a husky, with the back is lighter than the chest, and black over the whole muzzle. Some Huskies have black along the top of the muzzle, coming down from between the eyes, but not over the whole front. That could just be my limited knowledge of canines, tho.

I sort of addressed this in the info section on FA.... I have a certain affinity for anthros with natural fur colors and unnatural markings. Nothing gaudy, usually, just something that looks off. It looks neat to me.

[WhiteFox]

I sort of addressed this in the info section on FA.... I have a certain affinity for anthros with natural fur colors and unnatural markings. Nothing gaudy, usually, just something that looks off. It looks neat to me.

Ah. That's kind of cool, actually.

[Lore]

And then I completely forgot this thread existed. Here, have a slew of art.

ATCs
-Spooks
-Sherlock Fox
-Shades
-Drille
-Spooks and Rai

Traditional Art
-Notebook cover

Digital Art
-Seffer
-Sherlock Hooves
-New Spooks Ref (NSFW)
-Piggyback

[Lore]

Here, have some comic pages.

Chapter One, 15

Chapter One, 16

I'm trying to be a bit more adventurous with a lot of things. Backgrounds (sorta), panels (...sorta), speech bubbles... But these two pages (and a couple pages after this) are far more text than action so that was a bit... tricky. Or maybe just pointless. I don't know. I'm not terribly pleased with the pacing thus far, it's like an explosion of exposition all at once. What do you guys think?

[Mao]

It's still early in the story yet.  The plot hasn't really had time to unfurl so periods of exposition are going to be expected.  However, there *was* some action earlier (with the large wolf that Kazrin killed) so I wouldn't say that the action is lacking.  I guess to me, so far, it's fine.  The mistake I made when I was working on my own little comic (and that I often see others make) is that they try to move things too quickly both in plot and in getting to the action.  Sure, these are the things form the core of a story and are the catching bits that readers tend to focus on and talk about and as such are necessary, it's the little details and the slow points that give them meaning and context.  It's during the slow points that one can slide in some character development.  Early on in the story (as we still are) this is particularly helpful because it makes the characters relatable and thus makes us care about what plot befalls them and root for them when the action hits.

Anyway, that's just my 2c.  I'm no writer by any stretch, so obviously, take it with a grain of salt.

[Lore]

Sometimes I wonder how I can draw so much and so little at the same time. Have some artwork nonetheless.

-Venirus Kodyr
This one is an OC that will one day probably show up in Rended. One of the many, many sentient races that populate the world of... whatever world Rended takes place in. This was a pretty quick drawing, and while the shoulders were supposed to look stiff, it came out a little more stiff than I actually intended. Oh well.

-American Assassin
This was a super, super quick speedpaint in reaction to news about ACIII. I thought it came out kinda neat. The index finger looks off but I think that could be rectified pretty easily by erasing the tip of the finger up to the red paint.

-Glower
Another OC- Sid, from a universe completely separate from Rended. He's a rather interesting android character. This was a test in color. I KNOW there are glaring problems with the style and anatomy- anyone who points this out will be stating the obvious and completely missing the point. This was a study in digital painting and color.