Aaron's Sketchbook - Feedback Appreciated!
vertex
Hello everyone!
I wanted to create a single thread just dedicated to posting my work.
Feedback is appreciated and I look forward to hearing from anyone who would like to throw input my way!
Thanks!
'Star Guardian, Aurora'
2015
Photoshop CC
I wanted to create a single thread just dedicated to posting my work.
Feedback is appreciated and I look forward to hearing from anyone who would like to throw input my way!
Thanks!
'Star Guardian, Aurora'
2015
Photoshop CC
Replies
http://polycount.com/discussion/63361/information-about-polycount-new-member-introductions/p1#make
'Star Reaper'
2016
Photoshop CC
I was wanting to create a reaper type character that seemed as if she could wisp through the air, all the while summoning magical scythe blades rather than tangible traditional weapons. I was experimenting with clear gradient effects for the magical scythe, hoping to create a different effect than anything I had done that accompanied previous characters.
'Blood Wretch'
2016
Photoshop CC
With This Character I wanted to make a very MOBA type of styled character who seemed erratic, agile and as if he might snap at any moment. Using all four of his arms to wield bone blades, I think he'd be an intimidating presence coming toward you in the lane.
Let me know what you guys think!
'Cerberus, Demon God of Mercury'
2016
Photoshop CC
With this character I wanted to convey a type of mythical creature feel. One who could summon magical orbs on which he could jump from and take himself anywhere he needed to be. Foxes and wolves were my primary source of references for this piece and the antlers I felt added a more mythical component to him.
'Vile Lich King, of Dungeon Planet'
2016
Photoshop CC
Being a fan of all things RPG and the lore that's typically involved with them, a common RPG character type is the Lich, so I really wanted to try my hand at this type of villainous creature. The Vile Lich King rules over his very own dungeon planet, using powerful sorcery and curses, keeping many unfortunate souls forever bound to his kingdom of imprisonment.
I have posted my process here to display how my vector style begins and finishes.
First I start with just a traditional drawing in my sketchbook. I may end up drawing a character a few different ways before I ultimately settle on one particular design.
Then I take that sketch into Photoshop and start to essentially trace over the sketch with a 5px wide Pen Tool stroke.
From there I start to do several color tests until I decide upon the best color scheme for the character.
Once the color scheme is set in stone, I start to redo the colors using the Gradient Tool, set to radial as to not make the colors feel flat.
Then I block in the shading with closed paths filled with black and reduced opacity to 40%, to give the character even more depth.
I then add highlight and shine on top of these layers with a white filled path set to 40% opacity to really make the character pop as much as it can without them being too shiny. Lastly I duplicate the lines layer and add a 10px external stroke to it and move that layer to the very bottom underlying layer of the character so that it has a very pronounced border. And there you have it!
'Sigma, Reviled Knight of the Dark Matter Templar'
2016
Photoshop CC
I hope seeing my process gives some insight into how I handle the vector styled pieces.
Let me know what you guys think!
some overall thoughts about your work:
I really like your stuff, have been for a while, there is definitely something there, it has a nice old school Japanese 80s touch mixed with modern cartoons like adventure time, steven universe and gravity falls. there is something missing though, I cant really put my finger on it but I feel like it can be pushed further.
some things I think you could experiment with. different line weight, colored lines, backgrounds, less "childish" colors, more dramatic/interesting light.
Its in the shape of a paintover/coloring. I completely butchered your clean lines as i just had your jpgs to go with, and I didnt wanna spent to much time re-tracing all your lines. anyways, I made a version with a bit more unified and "adult" color palette and with a non-white background. I dont know if you want to go in this direction at all, but I had fun doing it at least =P
as for branching out and doing other styles, try doing a study of a piece you like. and make a WIP thread too, so people can follow along and maybe help out.
I'm gonna sit down and do a study of some of their pieces and see what I can crank out. I'll be sure to post all my progress on it too!
Thanks again.
Here is the initial drawing in my sketchbook. I try to have the line work completely done before it enters Photoshop so I have a solid foundation to build on top of digitally.
And here is where the character currently stands in Photoshop.
Now, where the piece currently sits. All line work completely gone over in Photoshop with my current favorite Kyle T Webster pencil, Ultimate 2B Pencil 10px.
I'll continue to post updates to this character as I make more progress and mess around with more brush styles.
Hope you guys enjoy!
Here's the character with his base colors added.
I'll be experimenting all day today with brushes to see what I can get.
Back with another update, this time with some of the rendering I've put into place. I am working with some more dynamic lighting here and am hoping to get some feedback on anything you guys think I could change because I know there's room for improvement.
Next I want to start putting small details into the materials like chips and indents of some kind.
Thanks for any feedback you can provide!
secondly if your gonna render and use things like rim light I would suggest a non-white background, makes it much easier
my final point is you have to remember light is always lighter then the source its hitting, which is the case with your top blue/white light but not the pink one. in some places its actually the same value or darker as the object its hitting.
keep it up though! really interested in where you end up with this.
I will try and brighten up the pink light some more to get higher contrast from the character itself.
I've spent a lot of time trying to figure out exactly what was missing here. I think you nailed it in saying that the whole piece is too bright. I will mess with the levels and contrast of the character's base colors and see if I can't make the rendering seem more natural on top of it.
I'll post my fixes soon!
@lotet you were right, I had to darken him up using curves. I also gave his colors a higher contrast so he didn't get muted out by the curve adjustment. The gray background helped a lot too as it made me realize he was way too bright!
As for the pink light I made sure that it set itself apart from the characters colors by brightening it up slightly.
I also got in there and added some small chips into the stone and ax to give it more character.
I hope these teaks show through as improvements!
I've fixed some of the inconsistencies with the rendering here and there that were bothering me. I'm pretty happy with it now, I think.
Anybody think it still needs work on anything in particular?
Thanks for any feedback you might have!
for example your skin and your metals are shaded the same.
do you have any specific references on what shading style you are aiming at? it might help a lot with what and how to critique the piece.
Illustration
Illustration
maybe take a look at these two illustrations and see if there is anything you can learn from them. they remind me of your style a lot. but in a more (no intention to offend here) professional and refined way.
As for those illustrations that you sent me I really dig them! I totally understand what you mean about them being more refined, and no offense taken! I am striving to achieve a more uniformed aesthetic in my work. Hopefully I'll get there soon!