The Joker (comic version) WIP

Kot_Leopold

Hi there,

I've been working on this fella for some time now and I'm close to finishing him off.

Before I do that, however, I was wondering if I could get any suggestions/critiques on the Joker before I send the final to Photoshop? Is there anything off color-wise? I tried to keep him fairly simple and as close to the reference as possible hence such monochromatic coloring.

If there's something I can improve upon, please let me know.

BPR render:



...and here's my reference sheet:



Thanks in advance!

Alberto Rdrgz

Looks great man! if i had to nitpick i would say the smile would benefit from being a bit wider. The teeth look right but the lips aren't matching the expression i would say.

but that may be just me. curious to see what others think.

JeremyRM

Maybe what it is, is how you have the top lip actually cut up at that angle. I think that's what im seeing, hard to tell from the angle but if you bring the top lip across like your refs, then just use the lip paint to further that corner and bulge the muscle a little more it would be more realistic. Im looking mostly at the second and third refs.

either way it's looking pretty cool man.

zakhar2

This is super nice but the eyes seem a little off. I think that making them slightly squintier or bringing the lower lid up a little would make him look more evil, but maybe thats just me.

Kot_Leopold

@zakhar2 Great suggestion about the eyes! Followed your advice and fixed them up a little - he definitely looks more evil now which I really like. Here's a comparison shot:



Very slight change but now he doesn't look like he's a little drunk or about to fall asleep. Thanks again!

@Alberto Rdrgz Hey man, I tried giving him a wider smile and he started to look a bit ridiculous. I also think the expression is off but maybe it is better to leave it the way it is. Thanks though!

@JeremyRM So inflating the corners and extending the paint would make the character more realistic? Correct me if I'm not understanding you right

Here are some more views (maybe a paintover would be nice so I have a better idea of what to work on):

JeremyRM

here this is really quick but it shows what i meant. the upper lip never curls up, its always straight in a smile, granted you can exaggerate it but i think you went too far, the reason it appears like that in some of your references is because you're looking down on him so when the lip wraps around the gums it seems to be more curled up.

Kot_Leopold

Thanks for the paintover, Jeremy! I now totally see what you mean. Unfortunately I already went ahead and did the final illustration... Guess this is what I get for not studying human expressions.



One thing I am certain about is that the next Joker or any "happy" character will have a proper smile!

Impala88

Well, is it meant to be a natural smile or a something more like the original batman film with Jack Nicholson? if it's the latter (i didn't read the comics) then your current smile works better, but if it's meant to be a more natural smile (as-in he's in control of it) then yeah Jeremy's paint over is more fitting really good work anyway!

Alberto Rdrgz

Completely agree with this.



good job on this.

d1ver

Hey man. Just wanted to say nice job and congrats on recap.
My biggest nitpick would be that his face is symmetrical, which is somewhat unrealistic for such a strained facial expression.

CodeFather

Very good work , Vik ! Congrats for the model and I dig the final presentation, keep up the good work:)

TheGoozah

Awesome! Nice comments by the other polycounters too!
Also maybe some wear and tear could have been cool.
But it's awesome too right now