Mages--first colored pics with wacom...

[infinitipo]

...and also my first pics here at Concept Art!:) Hello!

Now to business. These are two pictures I did using my new wacom tablet, both of which are characters from the novel I'm working on. They're not incredibly detailed as I'm still new to drawing directly onto the computer, but I think they're an okay start. Eventually I'll go for a more detailed look, but at the moment I'm content where I am (though I look forward to learning a lot at these forums--great stuff here).

http://www.life-cubed.com/users/infinitipo/salia.jpg.jpg

http://www.life-cubed.com/users/infinitipo/caidrin.jpg

Please, tell me your opinions. I'm not too worried about backgrounds right now, mainly outlining, coloring, etc.

Thanks!

[malicious]

greetings. i admire your enthusiasm. forgive me if i am rough in my wording in this, as my hellish schedule proved quite exhausting today.

compositionally speaking, i don't think your use of text is as effective as it could be. the characters should clearly be the dominant figures. legibility of the text almost becomes an issue in the second piece.

gradiants. this might just be me, but i don't endorse use of gradient tools to generate backgrounds. to enhance them perhaps, but then only as an opacity mask or something of the like.

i think your line weight is a bit too heavy for the size of the images.

i suggest you do a few drapery studies to help with the 'anatomy' of the robes. throw a sheet over a chair and carefully reproduce the folds and forms of the fabric. it's a great way to bolster your skill set, and fun to boot.

the faces of the characters are not visible. i understand this may be part of the characters, but as the pieces are clearly meant to promote the characters, they should be identifyable.

the pieces themselves look very photoshopped. i suggest you push the line work up a notch. i'm again hesitant to comment on the amount of time spent on the images, as i've no idea as to the specifics of your process. however, i suggest that you again push your coloring.

lord. that's a lot of text to say "keep at it", isn't it? the designs, particularly the robes (imo) show a lot of potential. keep going, you'll only get better.

[infinitipo]

Hey, thanks for the tips. Yeah, I'm still new at this and all, so I'll definitely take your advice. I've heard several things about the text, so I'll change that today. And about the amount of detail/thickness of the lines/and colors, I finished these pretty quickly, mainly so I'd have a better idea of what their general appearance is. Today I'm planning on starting a larger piece where you can actually see the character's face, and also has a background.

Again, thanks for the crits!:)