VanillaPenguin's Art thread, (opinions needed!)

[VanillaPenguin]

Hello to all those of you who are reading!

I just started creating the artwork for my game, and so before I did any inking and coloring, I'd like to get an opinion on what I should do.

So...

Here's the Picture ^-^

"Deep End Debt"'s main characters Raine and Akira

The above is the title/menu page. the sketch and lineart were all done by hand and then scanned (1200dpi) and colored on the computer.

NOTE: THIS ART IS NOT FINAL

I wanted to know if I should continue to do lineart by hand or if I should switch to doing the lineart on the computer (which I've done before).
I'd like to know if there's anything that can be done to improve upon my skills.
For example, I don't think I've found a coloring style that suits my drawing style. If you have an idea I would like to know.
Anyways, any and all critique is welcome and I'd be happy to hear from you!

[Paul Mesken]

I wanted to know if I should continue to do lineart by hand or if I should switch to doing the lineart on the computer (which I've done before).

Keep doing it by hand.

Why? Well, you're in the production process now and you're used to doing it by hand. Switching to doing it on the computer will take time to get used to.

I've never gotten used to it. I got a Cintiq but I still draw by hand (I trace stuff on the Cintiq though, I've taped a peg bar to it ). It's simple things like the posture that make it hard to switch. I draw on a loose animation disc in my lap while sitting in my lazy chair. Sure, the Cintiq can be placed in your lap as well but that's only a theory I also constantly rotate the disc, that's something that's also not as easily done on the Cintiq (though it does rotate). And that plastic pen has nowhere the response you'll get from a good W&N Kolinsky brush.

So, to switch will take a big effort to chance the way you're working. And this might not be the best time to switch.

[VanillaPenguin]

Keep doing it by hand.

Why? Well, you're in the production process now and you're used to doing it by hand. Switching to doing it on the computer will take time to get used to.

I've never gotten used to it. I got a Cintiq but I still draw by hand (I trace stuff on the Cintiq though, I've taped a peg bar to it ). It's simple things like the posture that make it hard to switch. I draw on a loose animation disc in my lap while sitting in my lazy chair. Sure, the Cintiq can be placed in your lap as well but that's only a theory I also constantly rotate the disc, that's something that's also not as easily done on the Cintiq (though it does rotate). And that plastic pen has nowhere the response you'll get from a good W&N Kolinsky brush.

So, to switch will take a big effort to chance the way you're working. And this might not be the best time to switch.

Thank you for your feed back! Alright, I'll keep on doing it by hand. And I do have to admit that I never got used to inking with a tablet either (kudos the people who can). I can do it, the out put isnt all satisfactory at times.
I've never heard of Kolinsky before, but I use prismacolor and Sakura Pigma for line art

Another question if you don't mind, does the lineart look a bit thick to you? I've seen other artwork,and I feel that it's not crisp or thin enough (T3T due to scanning it in) Could the pens I'm using be interfering with quality?

[Paul Mesken]

Another question if you don't mind, does the lineart look a bit thick to you? I've seen other artwork,and I feel that it's not crisp or thin enough (T3T due to scanning it in) Could the pens I'm using be interfering with quality?

The lines aren't that thick. It just looks in places like it is.

Take a look at the guy's trousers (cover everything else). Do the lines look too thick there? I bet they don't. Now look at his face. The lines are the same thickness here but they look thicker. That's just because the color of the face (and the background around it) is so light. It makes the black of the line stand out more, it contrasts more. In the old (1930s-50s) Disney movies they used colored lines to prevent this. Disney didn't use black lines to outline a face (until they started using the Xerox process which used the pencil lines for outlines).

One way around this is simply using a tiny shadow on his face following the line (or you could make the background darker, whatever looks best). It takes the harshness out of black lines.

By the way : kolinsky is not a brand. It's a type of hair for brushes. It's the best type of hair for inking because the hairs form a perfectly sharp point (you can draw lines with it as thin as a single hair). It also releases the ink very evenly (unlike those bloody synthetic brushes) and holds quite a bit. The hair comes from the tail of a cute Siberian weasel called "Kolonok". Quality does differ though and the hair is often mixed with lower quality hair. Good brands are W&N (Winsor and Newton), Isabey, da Vinci, Talens. I prefer the W&N's because of the length of the handle.

[VanillaPenguin]

Good brands are W&N (Winsor and Newton), Isabey, da Vinci, Talens. I prefer the W&N's because of the length of the handle.

Thank you so much! I will put what you said to good use. And I think I'll look into the W&N brand as well. I'm always on the look out for new inking pens to experience with

And again Thank you!

[Itwasneveradream]

It's cute.The only thing bugging me is the anatomy. Although I know with the anime style, unrealistic proportions are ok, your characters look a little to skinny in some areas...that and short :/

[VanillaPenguin]

The only thing bugging me is the anatomy. Although I know with the anime style, unrealistic proportions are ok, your characters look a little to skinny in some areas :/

Thank you for pointing that out, I've noticed that to be a common thing I do in my art (my proportioning leans more on the lankier side of the spectrum). I've recieved comments much like yours that they (girls more than the guys) look almost anorexic. Then again it is sort of a style so perspective varries from person to person. I'll see what I can do to fix the skinniness. If you have suggestions I welcome them.

If you may, could you point out some of the areas that appear 'too skinny' and if you can, explain why they look skinny? That would be a great deal of help to me and my art. As far as I can tell the only point of problem would be the girl's waist (maybe?).

...that and short :/

Looking at the picture, I am unable to acertain where you got 'short' from (pose maybe?). The head body ratio that I use is 1:6-1:6.5. Originally I used a 1:5 ratio but found that too short.

Again if you could go more in depth as to why it appears short I would greatly appreaciate it. ^0^

Thank you for taking the time to give me feedback!

[Auro-Cyanide]

The only thing bugging me is the anatomy. Although I know with the anime style, unrealistic proportions are ok, your characters look a little to skinny in some areas :/

Thank you for pointing that out, I've noticed that to be a common thing I do in my art (my proportioning leans more on the lankier side of the spectrum). I've recieved comments much like yours that they (girls more than the guys) look almost anorexic. Then again it is sort of a style so perspective varries from person to person. I'll see what I can do to fix the skinniness. If you have suggestions I welcome them.

If you may, could you point out some of the areas that appear 'too skinny' and if you can, explain why they look skinny? That would be a great deal of help to me and my art. As far as I can tell the only point of problem would be the girl's waist (maybe?).

...that and short :/

Looking at the picture, I am unable to acertain where you got 'short' from (pose maybe?). The head body ratio that I use is 1:6-1:6.5. Originally I used a 1:5 ratio but found that too short.

Again if you could go more in depth as to why it appears short I would greatly appreaciate it. ^0^

Thank you for taking the time to give me feedback!

It's probably a couple things, and yeah, more evident in the girl then the guy. The head is probably too much on the large size, but the main thing is the relationship of the proportions. Her legs are as thin as her arms If you look at yourself you'll see that that isn't quite how it works. The shoulders on both characters could probably be a little wider. The girl's chin is a bit off centre and her left eye needs to come a bit right. The guys face is pretty good. Though a great deal can happen with stylisation, it's best to do that after learning correct proportions so you have a good idea of what looks right and wrong and why

[VanillaPenguin]

It's probably a couple things, and yeah, more evident in the girl then the guy. The head is probably too much on the large size, but the main thing is the relationship of the proportions. Her legs are as thin as her arms If you look at yourself you'll see that that isn't quite how it works.

o.o whoa you're right about her legs being as skinny as her arms! I've never noticed that before. I always get concious of whether the legs look too fat and so I keep shaving it down... I'll be sure to work on legs

The shoulders on both characters could probably be a little wider. The girl's chin is a bit off centre and her left eye needs to come a bit right. The guys face is pretty good. Though a great deal can happen with stylisation, it's best to do that after learning correct proportions so you have a good idea of what looks right and wrong and why

I saw that eye spacing, that's one of the hardest aspects for me to get right sometimes (it's easy to spot though)
What also I found that bugged me is his neck looked too long from thes start. (I got lazy and tried my best to cover it with the jacket collar)
By correct proportions do you mean realism or the general anime/manga standard? I've dabbled a little bit in realism but that was only specific parts of the anatomy and not as a whole.

Thank you for your critique it was very well recived.

[Auro-Cyanide]

It's probably a couple things, and yeah, more evident in the girl then the guy. The head is probably too much on the large size, but the main thing is the relationship of the proportions. Her legs are as thin as her arms If you look at yourself you'll see that that isn't quite how it works.

o.o whoa you're right about her legs being as skinny as her arms! I've never noticed that before. I always get concious of whether the legs look too fat and so I keep shaving it down... I'll be sure to work on legs

The shoulders on both characters could probably be a little wider. The girl's chin is a bit off centre and her left eye needs to come a bit right. The guys face is pretty good. Though a great deal can happen with stylisation, it's best to do that after learning correct proportions so you have a good idea of what looks right and wrong and why

I saw that eye spacing, that's one of the hardest aspects for me to get right sometimes (it's easy to spot though)
What also I found that bugged me is his neck looked too long from thes start. (I got lazy and tried my best to cover it with the jacket collar)
By correct proportions do you mean realism or the general anime/manga standard? I've dabbled a little bit in realism but that was only specific parts of the anatomy and not as a whole.

Thank you for your critique it was very well recived.

Realism. Learning 'manga' proportions is learning things second hand. It's better to go to the source to begin with. There are other things you can study as well, such as how other artists interpret reality and how they do do gesture and base sketches, but generally it's easiest to do these things bit by bit. Instead of freehanding stuff, make sure to use photographic references so you can check out things like proportion, bone structure and perspective. For me, I often used photographic references to create my base sketches, or to figure out certain details, but then I apply my stylisation over the top of that, possible changing that or accentuating this. It takes a long time to build up all the different skills you need, but that's okay. Art is a very fulfilling skill in the meantime and it's always a great thing to learn more

... I feel like I did a poor job of explaining myself there, but basically I feel like doing art is and of itself is a learning experience that never stops. There is no line between art you do to study and art you want to do. Both should be intertwined together.