anothernoona's art thread (critiques/help welcomed)

[anothernoona]

I'm creating my first game and I have changed my colouring method drastically (burn/dodge to shading and highlights).

This is how it used to be...

And this is an uncompleted version of a sprite i'm currently working on... The hair isn't coloured because I have a hard time doing it with the shading technique

I would be really grateful if you could give me construtive critiques/improvement tips on my art and/or how to improve it. ^^

[MaiMai]

Right now the issue with your shading is that it's not adding anything to your figure. Everything looks flat and I couldn't even tell you shaded until I zoomed into the image. I do have a good amount of coloring tutorials for SAI you could try out. I don't use just one tutorial. I tend to save a bunch to see which coloring techniques I can use and/or simplify for my own needs.

Part 1 by Rueme (this one gives a basic overview about the tools)
Part 2 by Rueme (part two gives a good headstart on how to approach CGing)

CGing Step by Step by NickBeja (Different technique from Rueme, but still same idea.)

CG Speedpaint by Meago (If you're looking for quicker techniques, I think this tutorial does ok; she uses photoshop, but it's more than applicable in SAI)

Also, technique won't mean much if you don't choose your colors well.

How I See Color (A good crash course in color and how to use it)

The white haired boy looks okay, but the anatomy is off, especially when it comes to the arms and ribcage. Would you like me to correct it using a redline?

[chocojax]

The airbrush technique strangely reminds me of older anime art. (The second picture is also extremely large, just sayin'.)

You have a habit of drawing the bodies too small/head too large. I tend to think of the shoulder being the width of ~2 heads, which might help you in starting out.

I also assume most people start out with large heads because that's the only thing they focus on when they first draw. So, try to focus on learning bodies this time!

A good thing to do is to look at references and see the general measurements for everything (I haven't refreshed my memory in a while, so I might not be too useful for that, haha.)

[anothernoona]

Right now the issue with your shading is that it's not adding anything to your figure. Everything looks flat and I couldn't even tell you shaded until I zoomed into the image. I do have a good amount of coloring tutorials for SAI you could try out. I don't use just one tutorial. I tend to save a bunch to see which coloring techniques I can use and/or simplify for my own needs.

Mh.. I don't understand.. For both of them? Or only the first one?

The white haired boy looks okay, but the anatomy is off, especially when it comes to the arms and ribcage. Would you like me to correct it using a redline?

Sure, no problem! This would help a lot! I don't know if you'll need it but I have attached a smaller ver of the pic..

You have a habit of drawing the bodies too small/head too large. I tend to think of the shoulder being the width of ~2 heads, which might help you in starting out.

I also assume most people start out with large heads because that's the only thing they focus on when they first draw. So, try to focus on learning bodies this time!

You're right, since the past year I've been polishing my art by drawing faces a lot and forgot to work on bodies ^^' I'll be searching for references...

Thanks for the tutorials! I'll get myself on it ASAP :3

[MaiMai]

Mh.. I don't understand.. For both of them? Or only the first one?

I'm talking about both and to clarify, I'm saying that your shading is too light especially when it comes to skin tone. I'll go over your second picture quickly before I post up a detailed anatomy redline to show what I mean. The shading is very messy and undefined on my part, but I'm just showing you colors and how you should approach shading.

[anothernoona]

Mh.. I don't understand.. For both of them? Or only the first one?

I'm talking about both and to clarify, I'm saying that your shading is too light especially when it comes to skin tone. I'll go over your second picture quickly before I post up a detailed anatomy redline to show what I mean. The shading is very messy and undefined on my part, but I'm just showing you colors and how you should approach shading.

Ohh I understand---
btw, his hair isn't white, I just didn't coloured it yet ^^'.. Colouring hair is breaking me in two..
This gonna be a great advice when I'll start doing it!

[MaiMai]

And here's my correction. I actually have trouble drawing males compared to females, but I think this should do. Like Chocojax said, try to focus on bodies instead of heads and the general rule of thumb is breaking body parts down into shapes will help you understand the form a little better.

[anothernoona]

Thanks a million! ^^ That was really useful :3