Nian
Btw, it's always interesting to read the things you say about your illustration class and how you do things at school. Like drawing several thumbnails before doing the final render. Never had actual illustration classes since somehow I never had the priority/chance to go to an illust class even though I wanted to. Fail. 
<--animation major(?)
Ravenhawk
Aeronwen
Unlucky Slayer
Verene
frostkisses
Invertation
Unlucky Slayer
Thistle Xandra
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Quote: Originally Posted by Charlie Dayman @Raven: Don't worry Mina, I certainly haven't forgotten Ran. THIS THREAD NEEDS MOAR TESTOSTERONE. Indeed! Especially because of the fact that no one wants to do the hunk series
haha, totally! Where are the hunks?!I like both your versions of Shala although the latest one does look more playful/fun btw, I *really* like the color & armor combo of Invertation's second screenie. Now I need to go shamelessly copy that on my rit D:
Charlie Dayman
Lots of good looking Rits in here, thanks for posting everyone. Gonna' keep the slot open for maybe another day or two before I decide which one of you to draw.
Moar progress.  I tried angling her right leg back a bit more on account of V's and all the other ladies advice. However, what I forgot to mention is that when I created the pose, it was based more on Shala's personality rather than realism. One of the things I learned in my class is not to let reality get in the way of how you design your characters. That was the biggest problem I had when I first starting - trying to abide by the laws of realism while still creating interesting characters. When I tried that, my first poses always came out looking like garbage or extremely weak. It wasn't until I just said "F-it", stopped shooting for realism in my poses and went for more personality that I started getting far more visually interesting designs. I mean look at this: http://i.cubeupload.com/EY0R8e.jpg Seriously. What the hell. Shala's pose would of course be hard to pull off in RL with heels like that on. But that's what makes character design so great, you don't always have to follow the rules of reality. You can create characters based on their traits and adjust/exaggerate their poses to properly match their personality. The pose I made for Shala is supposed to portray her confidence and sexuality - exaggerated S-Curve, gestured hands, tilted neck, strong vertical posture, etc. But you see with the edited picture, that simple little change in her leg really took a lot away from that stability in her legs, and really changed how Shala comes off in this picture. So this is just a little insight for some of you guys. Realism is always good, but don't bog yourself down with it when designing characters and poses. You might end up creating an amazingly dynamic pose, but end up changing it to fit those realistic requirements. Don't settle for less: most people would rather see an interesting design with lots of personality than a pose that follows the rules, but lacks any emotion.
Verene
I see your point, but I can't help at look at art that ignores realism and flail a bit
 Personality is important, yes, but if something looks off to my eye it's going to bug me; it looking realistic is just too important to me (which is probably a big part of why I'm never happy with my art).
Charlie Dayman
That's understandable. But I think it gets to a certain point where you just need to start moving away from "complete" realism and start to interpret things the way you see them. I know some people cringe at Picasso's work, but he's a perfect example of this. He made a lot of great life drawings, but eventually branched out into something entirely different.
People certainly don't have to venture as far as someone like Picasso, but it is all right for them to simply "let-go". As artists, we sometimes over-think our ideas too much and that ends up compromising the end product. Here's another example from what I mentioned in my previous post:  The picture on the left was when I was still thinking in terms of realism. So when Aubrey, my teacher, kept telling me to "push your poses further", it felt like a constant head-meet-wall moment. The figure on the right is where I started drawing Dorothy based more on her personality rather than a "life model" pose. That's not really a strut or pose you see in daily life, yet it gives far more information about Dorothy's character than the version on the left. She's also far more simplified in terms of shapes, making her the more visually interesting one. That is arguably one of the biggest lessons I took from that class: Simplify and don't be afraid to exaggerate.
Verene
I guess what it comes down to is that I'm not confident enough in my art to really try and push myself like that, when I have enough trouble just getting basic poses right. Maybe I just need to branch out, try new stuff, and try and not worry so much about getting everything perfect.
Charlie Dayman
I think in that case, it's all about practice until you do feel comfortable enough with drawing anatomy freehand. It's certainly not something that should overlooked or ignored, regardless of a certain style you're trying to achieve.
I've met and spoken to a few students who like drawing stylized figures, but don't bother learning how to draw proper anatomy on account that it's not their style, and therefore not important. And that lack of basic understanding can really show in their end product. Anyways, just stay loose when you're fleshing out your poses and try not to get too frustrated when things don't work out. If things aren't working, don't be afraid of restarting and analyzing what it is you did wrong with the previous work.
Aeronwen
What you have told us about pses is very interesting Charlie. I can really see that the right Dorothy is a much better pose than the left Dorothy (though 'wrong' in all sorts of ways). Of course both Dorothy's are really good.
Drelias Melaku
O my, I'm probably too late for the call for rits, eh? I'll try my luck anyway. Here's The Sacred Silence.
Elite Imperial Headwrap Obsidian Raiment Elite Imperial Bangles Elite Luxon Leggings Ancient Shoes Deldrimor Scepter + Straw Effigy As for 'simplify and don't be afraid to exaggerate' - this is a problem I have when drawing, and might be why I have such a hard time ever finishing anything. I want to make everything as realistic as possible, but I don't have the skill for it yet, so I just get frustrated and give up. I know I need to learn proper anatomy and such and aim for better poses, but I suppose it couldn't hurt to stylize it a bit once in awhile. Most of my drawings look pretty stiff because I'm afraid to branch out into more complicated poses that I'll inevitably botch. I'll keep all this in mind when I attempt to draw a couple of Gattsu's characters. Gattsu05
Here's my Rit. My main character. Sin found herself retired once I started playing him.
Dread Mask Obi Top Obi Gloves Elite Kurz Leggings Elite Imperial Top A take at trying to be unique in a game of limited options. Did still end up dying him all black but it does tie everything together quite nicely. Would like to note the minor glitch on the gloves where the "obsidian" is actually dyed a shiny black instead of purple, as it is on the rest of the armor. Really annoying it is. 
Charlie Dayman
Whelp, after reviewing all the pictures everyone has posted, I've settled on who I'll be drawing in between Shala: Sacred Silence
Congrats Drel, you win a free SoS Rit drawing.
Unlucky Slayer
So sad.
Guess I'm just not good enough. *sulks* Naw we all got great rits and its good to see one done. Grats Drel.
Charlie Dayman
Yeah, I spent a good while trying to decide which out of the whole lot to pick. Still, thanks to everyone for posting their chars
Aeronwen
Gratz Drel
Really looking forward to seeing what you come up with Charlie. *walks away before weeping*
Tommy's
I must admit that indeed is a lovely Rit Drelias has, very nice dye-tone. Congrats!
*quickly follows after Aero*
Drelias Melaku
Ee, thanks, Charlie! -happy dance-
And thanks, Aero and Tommy. It's brown+silver, I believe, though one or two of the pieces might just be brown.
Charlie Dayman
TEARS, THEY SUSTAIN ME.
I'll hopefully get around to drawing everyone's char, even if they are just simple sketches and not full blown productions. Anyways, here's another fun painting from Spring semester that's completely different. My first "real" attempt at comic book stuff - ignoring everything I did when I was three years old :\ Two of four panels. The project was to illustrate a sentence, mine being : Batman fights the Joker above Gotham City. Three panels were to highlight the nouns (Batman, Joker, Gotham City), and the fourth was focused on the verb (fights). These two panels are "fights" and "Joker". 
Tommy's
I like the lighting of the city better in the right one and the face of the Joker comes out more there too. Though I like the very orange hands in the left one as well, even though they may distract you a bit from the Jokers face and how batman is holding him. The Joker is looking so evil (specially in the left one where his teeth pop out more). Now you got me curious on the other panels!
Drelias Melaku
So I just wrote a reply, somehow managed to close the tab before submitting it, and now I don't feel like retyping it.
The short version: Red = blood, aggression. Stylized Batman cape = win. I kind of want to try some of Charlie's assignments.
Nian
Absolutelly love your Dorothy artwork! Neat retro style. Nice Batmans too. I like the left panel because soft yellow of the right one kind of mellows down the "fight".
Interesting, seems like a very basic idea that you should not go for realism with character designs such as these but it's still something you never really think about enough while drawing. You are right about the poses though, for me who loves comic styles, the non-realistic versions look best for both Shala and Dorothy and now that you mentioned it I notice how much the leg position change did for Shala. In your case however, it doesn't really take away from your l337 painting skillz. All the detail and shading still looks pretty amazing. =P I usually have the opposite problem you mentioned. I have tried life drawing but maybe not enough. Anatomy and symmetry especially are difficult for me. Always have been. but you inspire me to try the wonky/personified style too next time!
Aeronwen
I am with Tommy, I want to see the other panels.
Originally Posted by Drelias Melaku
Quote:
I kind of want to try some of Charlie's assignments.
Haha, and I was thinking I want to submit some sentences for drawing.
Smilin' Assassin
haha, after all those awesome conceptual GW pieces, it tickles me to see DC fanart from you, Charlie
and I know what you mean about veering away from realism - once you've mastered anatomy, you can break the rules more effectively. I'm having a concept artist give Alacrity a makeover, and to evoke emotions and bring her character across, it's necessary to bend realism to our purposes :}
Verene
Quote:
I'll hopefully get around to drawing everyone's char, even if they are just simple sketches and not full blown productions.
Since I've always wanted art done by you and missed out when you were taking commissions ages ago cos I had no money then...<3 | And hmm...I can't decide which I like better. I like the lighting of the one on the right, but I also like how Batman has deeper contrast on the left...
Unlucky Slayer
Yeah I agree with Verene. Yay for drawings! lol
Charlie Dayman
@Toms: Would have been nicer including all the points of the sentence in one frame, rather than dividing it up into four panels. Hence why the "fights" panel pulls all attention toward the red wash, and the highlights on Joker's face in the right.
@Drel: The assignments are fun, but time consuming. Having to rush work because you have no time sucks the fun out of everything -_- @Nian: I also like the left one, more for the contrast of the cool city glow against the cadmium red wash. Stylization and detail seem to go hand-in-hand whenever I think about it. If a pose is weak, all the detail in the world won't save it. @Aero: I didn't really care as much for the other two panels as these two. Meh. @Smilin: Cool, which artist are you getting to work on Alacrity this time? @V and Unlucky: Sketches can sometimes be more fun than fully rendered drawings 
BlackXI
Nice to see you drawing again Charlie that Shala looks amazing. Aww I missed the Rit posting *pout*
Verene
Hey, I love sketches
Drelias Melaku
I've heard the same thing from a lot of other art students, too - they would have enjoyed the assignments had they not been so overloaded and rushed.
They do seem really helpful, though. Can't argue with results.
Ravenhawk
Quote:
Originally Posted by Charlie Dayman
Wow this looks like official DC artwork stuff!! O_O Is it digital too? It has a traditional feel to it.
Charlie Dayman
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ravenhawk
Anyways, here's more progress on Shala. This changed A LOT in terms of what I had originally planned for it. Because of how big I had painted Shala, the canvas size needed to be pretty large as well - larger than what I'm used to. Anyways, I wanted the environment to capture that same "epic" feeling the GW game has. With Shala shrunken down, she'll meld more with the background rather than it being just a "background + character" formula.  NO photo textures here. Spent a fair chunk of time creating proper custom brushes for this after analyzing that GW2 Asset Kit. Just make the textures on a new file, then copypasta like crazy. It's like making a collage - saves a LARGE amount of time.
Del
Fantastical!
Drelias Melaku
I probably overuse this word in Nolani, but it just fits so often.
Stunning. You have definitely achieved that epic look. I really like that character in the background, too.
Nian
Well hot damn you Charlie~ That's just an amazing scenery!
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