I think your problem is going to the small brush way too fast. Looking at the joker image makes it pretty evident with all the random splotches everywhere. You can use the smaller brush to do some markings but switch to a larger one to make the actual strokes. When you've done everything you can with the larger brush then you can switch down...
Also in your quest for "definition" I think you've killed most of the parts that should be a lot darker and that's why you are losing depth. You can't make every part of an image "well-defined" cause it'll be too busy. Don't be afraid to remove "definition" in some areas to make other areas "pop" better.
And look at all the paintovers Stahlberg does. Very often all he does is to kill details and add better lighting to make things look really great. I was browsing that whole thread for a few hours yesterday and i was mindblowing I'd say.
Sir you have just Cheezed my it. Probably the best reply I ever got.
I knew you could make things look better by letting the viewers imagination fill in the blanks but damn! Some of the things he does are very simple yet push the picture up to a more pro level.
I've been pretending that I'm a lead game designer, for a game where two gritty mercenaries are paid to stop fairy tale land from being corrupted by some arbitrary government agency from the real world. Puzzelz and destruction ansue.
What do you think about explosive gnome launchers?
Going to make a low poly
I even drew some quick bosses
Humpty-Dumpty (at first I thought the chicken fetus was to much, then I realized it was awesome)
Lil Red riding hood should not be given a necronomicon
Pinocchio " I won't kill you"
He has the organ of a real boy therefore making him real
Not sure If I should take this to the request section but...
This is an unfinished picture I'm working on of a troll deathknight (I'm a nerd)
I'm not asking anyone to finish the picture or anything, just how to make this...
Have more atmosphere, better lighting, maybe if any colors should be muted or kicked up and anything you might find it lacking in. So if your interested and you've got some time I'd really appreciate it.
this latest one has some potential, it looks a bit more solid which is good and you look like your thinking more about where the light is coming from , good progress.
Dumping all my old Dominance War sketches, I was foolish to enter, maybe someday I'll do something with these, for now they collect dust inside my brain waiting to be put in some game I'll undoubtedly be the head director of.
A paliden who's been corrupted by living armor of the consuming locust.
(the little guy keeps kill count because if he kills to little the Armour will consume him)
She's fast, plants bomb, and has big titties, what more you ask for?
This might seem a bit harsh, but one thing that sticks out at me in almost all of them...
They look like they're about to fall apart. Literally. I'm not sure if it's intentional or not, if it is then I guess you keep doing your thing, but the linework, colors, almost every aspect of it is very "clunky" and it's very difficult for me to get a grasp of exactly what it is, or is supposed to be going on. Each character, whatever, gives off a feeling of such jumblyness that it looks like it might just fall apart. As if their structure is "broken", and they're being held together by some sort of invisible out-of-this-world scrap metal.
In the event that you're not going for that, I'd work on being a bit more structured and clear with your linework at the very least - as to define more clearly what it is we're looking at. I guess in short, I think you could help yourself a lot by being less jittery with your strokes. Pencil, paint, and all. Try it out and see what you think.
Colored the faces of to character sketches I had lying around
First one Is a fish guy with armor, second is a guy whose basically a professional zombie killer. He's got a helmet he made from a baseball helmet and welding metal, and chain mail made from.... chains.
Not so much with your zombie killer, but with the fish guy...I still am having a lot of difficulty figuring out exactly what's going on.
I know it's supposed to be armor of some sort, but it's extremely difficult to tell where the plates are, what's the edge of what, how it's connected, how it would move in relation to itself when the fish were to do anything, etc. None of it looks...like it could possibly work.
Take a look at your outfits mate, like the guy with the with the bagpipe...thing, and fire wheel of death. I just don't get it. I mean what is he, is he supposed to be something? A garlic? ? Is he wearing a scarf around his neck, or some sort of strange spongy sweater that for some reason is bunched up at the neck of his...shirt? That...also has a spongy sweater thing around his waist, or is it all underneath the red...shirt? What exactly are his pants, and how is it made? I assume his arms have some sort of armor stuff that on one side has something to do with allowing him to manipulate flame from the fire pinwheel that looks an awful lot like a mutated bicycle, but the rest of it just confuses me.
I've got nothing against abstract and confusing concepts, some people make some really wicked stuff and I have no idea what's going on in it. But you seem to WANT these characters to be understood and have a story, a purpose. If you want to create characters that people can imagine existing, you need to try and put a little bit more thought into exactly how they would exist - and that includes everything about them physically.
Even if it doesn't ACTUALLY work, it just has to make it LOOK like it can work. Someone told me once that our job as artists wasn't to make sure every machine we made could actually exist, just that we needed to make people believe that in the world it exists in - it could.
Or not. I might just be a dumbshit who doesn't know what he's talking about, in all seriousness. I'm pretty new to the whole "artist" thing myself.
The knight to the fire dude is from back when dominance war 3 was first starting up. He's probably the result of to many ideas trying to be crammed into one place. None of those are finished and I don't plan on finishing them. But I can always use a good critique.
The fish guy I see what you mean, basically you have a mask, the chest and neckgaurd are on piece. It protrudes out to protect the neck while keeping it free moving, the mask is not attached to anything but his face. And whats probably hardest to read is whats on the back of his head is just a turban held with a leather strap (now that I look at it it isn't really distinguishable as clothe at all.. and the strap looks like turds) As for what the armor made of, it was supposed to be carved from some kind of magic coral or some bullshit, maybe whale bones I dunno.
Original sketch
Not sure if your being sarcastic on the last part from your sketchbook its very good.
Haha, no man I wasn't being sarcastic at all. I'm glad you think I'm reasonably good, but trust me - there's still a TON I don't know shit about. I'm just some random kid, unemployed, who fidangles with artwork because he isn't sure what else he'll really enjoy pursuing.
The drawing of the fish guy is much easier to distinguish, it makes a lot more sense. Just the linework seems to make it a lot easier to read. One thing you might think about, for things like the neck guard that juts out at the top of his chest plate - you might want to make a distinguishable edge at the bottom of it where it connects to the chest plate. So that it doesn't feel like it's just sort of bent in some inexplicable way to form that piece. For things like indicating the strap to the mask - you might want to think about things like visible latches and strap buckles. Like a belt buckle sort of thing on the outside where the strap connects to the mask, as to indicate it's purpose. You could do similar things where all of the armor plates need to be held together.
If it's supposed to be coral, you might also want to think of adding more variation in texture to it. Looks far to smooth to be coral right now, some bumps and coral-esque extrusions here and there could be cool.
Imagine that he's trying to put on the armor - imagine what it would look like when he takes it apart, how he'd fit into it. I can do a quick paintover to show you what I mean in more detail later, if you want.
I think a bit more planning would help you take a big step forward in your artwork, as a whole. Keep working at it mate.
Ideas after reading Dominance war rules, not sure if I should enter, seems like it might be disrespectful to all the hard workin pros, like an anorexic showing up to a sumo competition.
Behold the "End Miser" Demonic Royalty which devours all in it's path!
A demon who wears the cowl of the yearning dead (a portal from which the dead believe they can reach out and reclaim their lives, if they get a hold of you they'll rip you apart and down into the world of the dead.), and uses a bone blade, infused with an insideout devil toad stomach, as the blade crashes into you the acid boils burst, releasing an emoletion so strong it dissolves time itself.
Posting my current work in progress, because the eyes and nose have been pissing me off, I've redrawn 'em a hundred times, I think I need some fresh eyes.
No reference, she came out looking kind of Italian or Italian/Jewish to me.
Trying to make a demonic battle scene. about what I guess would be half way through.
I'm having a hard time getting to the next level of detail that I want. The facial and left arm, are kind of what I seem to be piquing at, without consuming giant loads of time, and I'm looking for was to speed up my work. I'm also having some trouble conveying materiel types. Are there any good exercises for that?
I'm adamant about finishing this one, I'm doing a concept, then some orthographic views, then some 3D.
The most debonair bladesman in all of the world, dashing charming and such a rogue.
Anyone else seem to have a disease, where you get half way through one project, then you start like twenty sketches, and from that 3 more half finished projects?
Replies
Also in your quest for "definition" I think you've killed most of the parts that should be a lot darker and that's why you are losing depth. You can't make every part of an image "well-defined" cause it'll be too busy. Don't be afraid to remove "definition" in some areas to make other areas "pop" better.
Right now my work flow has been kind of layout, layout color, detail. I'll try and add some more planning on were that detail needs to go.
Art teacher always says I color to fast. Perhaps shes right.
http://forums.cgsociety.org/showthread.php?p=3558243#post3558243
And look at all the paintovers Stahlberg does. Very often all he does is to kill details and add better lighting to make things look really great. I was browsing that whole thread for a few hours yesterday and i was mindblowing I'd say.
I knew you could make things look better by letting the viewers imagination fill in the blanks but damn! Some of the things he does are very simple yet push the picture up to a more pro level.
I'm gonna try a paint over my frog.
Thanks!
I feel like it gained more character.
Found this one to be fussy made a little improvement I think, but I can probably take is farther.
Also, Pirate Walrus sketch
(not good at making explosions)
I've been pretending that I'm a lead game designer, for a game where two gritty mercenaries are paid to stop fairy tale land from being corrupted by some arbitrary government agency from the real world. Puzzelz and destruction ansue.
What do you think about explosive gnome launchers?
Going to make a low poly
I even drew some quick bosses
Humpty-Dumpty (at first I thought the chicken fetus was to much, then I realized it was awesome)
Lil Red riding hood should not be given a necronomicon
Pinocchio " I won't kill you"
He has the organ of a real boy therefore making him real
Not sure If I should take this to the request section but...
This is an unfinished picture I'm working on of a troll deathknight (I'm a nerd)
I'm not asking anyone to finish the picture or anything, just how to make this...
Have more atmosphere, better lighting, maybe if any colors should be muted or kicked up and anything you might find it lacking in. So if your interested and you've got some time I'd really appreciate it.
A paliden who's been corrupted by living armor of the consuming locust.
(the little guy keeps kill count because if he kills to little the Armour will consume him)
She's fast, plants bomb, and has big titties, what more you ask for?
Various picture of the guy I was going to go with.
He is living garlic that controls fire via magical bagpipe, making the fire dance with his awesome conducting skills and fire pinwheel of death.
Yea, but He's using a fire pinwheel, so he might be cheating.
Working on color scheme.
Crayons applied
Red Hot Chili Peppers - Readymade
Incubus - Aqueous Transmission
Red Hot Chili Peppers - Dunno
They look like they're about to fall apart. Literally. I'm not sure if it's intentional or not, if it is then I guess you keep doing your thing, but the linework, colors, almost every aspect of it is very "clunky" and it's very difficult for me to get a grasp of exactly what it is, or is supposed to be going on. Each character, whatever, gives off a feeling of such jumblyness that it looks like it might just fall apart. As if their structure is "broken", and they're being held together by some sort of invisible out-of-this-world scrap metal.
In the event that you're not going for that, I'd work on being a bit more structured and clear with your linework at the very least - as to define more clearly what it is we're looking at. I guess in short, I think you could help yourself a lot by being less jittery with your strokes. Pencil, paint, and all. Try it out and see what you think.
Cheers and keep drawing.
Colored the faces of to character sketches I had lying around
First one Is a fish guy with armor, second is a guy whose basically a professional zombie killer. He's got a helmet he made from a baseball helmet and welding metal, and chain mail made from.... chains.
I know it's supposed to be armor of some sort, but it's extremely difficult to tell where the plates are, what's the edge of what, how it's connected, how it would move in relation to itself when the fish were to do anything, etc. None of it looks...like it could possibly work.
Take a look at your outfits mate, like the guy with the with the bagpipe...thing, and fire wheel of death. I just don't get it. I mean what is he, is he supposed to be something? A garlic? ? Is he wearing a scarf around his neck, or some sort of strange spongy sweater that for some reason is bunched up at the neck of his...shirt? That...also has a spongy sweater thing around his waist, or is it all underneath the red...shirt? What exactly are his pants, and how is it made? I assume his arms have some sort of armor stuff that on one side has something to do with allowing him to manipulate flame from the fire pinwheel that looks an awful lot like a mutated bicycle, but the rest of it just confuses me.
I've got nothing against abstract and confusing concepts, some people make some really wicked stuff and I have no idea what's going on in it. But you seem to WANT these characters to be understood and have a story, a purpose. If you want to create characters that people can imagine existing, you need to try and put a little bit more thought into exactly how they would exist - and that includes everything about them physically.
Even if it doesn't ACTUALLY work, it just has to make it LOOK like it can work. Someone told me once that our job as artists wasn't to make sure every machine we made could actually exist, just that we needed to make people believe that in the world it exists in - it could.
Or not. I might just be a dumbshit who doesn't know what he's talking about, in all seriousness. I'm pretty new to the whole "artist" thing myself.
The fish guy I see what you mean, basically you have a mask, the chest and neckgaurd are on piece. It protrudes out to protect the neck while keeping it free moving, the mask is not attached to anything but his face. And whats probably hardest to read is whats on the back of his head is just a turban held with a leather strap (now that I look at it it isn't really distinguishable as clothe at all.. and the strap looks like turds) As for what the armor made of, it was supposed to be carved from some kind of magic coral or some bullshit, maybe whale bones I dunno.
Original sketch
Not sure if your being sarcastic on the last part from your sketchbook its very good.
The drawing of the fish guy is much easier to distinguish, it makes a lot more sense. Just the linework seems to make it a lot easier to read. One thing you might think about, for things like the neck guard that juts out at the top of his chest plate - you might want to make a distinguishable edge at the bottom of it where it connects to the chest plate. So that it doesn't feel like it's just sort of bent in some inexplicable way to form that piece. For things like indicating the strap to the mask - you might want to think about things like visible latches and strap buckles. Like a belt buckle sort of thing on the outside where the strap connects to the mask, as to indicate it's purpose. You could do similar things where all of the armor plates need to be held together.
If it's supposed to be coral, you might also want to think of adding more variation in texture to it. Looks far to smooth to be coral right now, some bumps and coral-esque extrusions here and there could be cool.
Imagine that he's trying to put on the armor - imagine what it would look like when he takes it apart, how he'd fit into it. I can do a quick paintover to show you what I mean in more detail later, if you want.
I think a bit more planning would help you take a big step forward in your artwork, as a whole. Keep working at it mate.
Construction bot
Friends for Killbot?
Two Heads
They are all just messy fun.
Behold the "End Miser" Demonic Royalty which devours all in it's path!
A demon who wears the cowl of the yearning dead (a portal from which the dead believe they can reach out and reclaim their lives, if they get a hold of you they'll rip you apart and down into the world of the dead.), and uses a bone blade, infused with an insideout devil toad stomach, as the blade crashes into you the acid boils burst, releasing an emoletion so strong it dissolves time itself.
...or some BS.
No reference, she came out looking kind of Italian or Italian/Jewish to me.
Using the tutorial below for face coloring, stole a lot of the pallet choices and modified em slightly. Anyone have a picture that looks like this lady?
http://dianae.deviantart.com/art/Digital-Painting-Tutorial-74468761
I'm just happy it at least came out looking human.
Any one have any tips on how to un-crapify, geometry like those ears I destroyed?
I'm having a hard time getting to the next level of detail that I want. The facial and left arm, are kind of what I seem to be piquing at, without consuming giant loads of time, and I'm looking for was to speed up my work. I'm also having some trouble conveying materiel types. Are there any good exercises for that?
What I'm working on at the moment, I probably should have picked I higher rez reference.
Who now?
I'm adamant about finishing this one, I'm doing a concept, then some orthographic views, then some 3D.
The most debonair bladesman in all of the world, dashing charming and such a rogue.
Anyone else seem to have a disease, where you get half way through one project, then you start like twenty sketches, and from that 3 more half finished projects?
Is there a cure?