character design- shadow guy

[ClocktowerArtworks]

this is a character design for a comic a friend of mine have been working on and off for the past year or so (mostly off). anyway, this has been sitting on my hard drive for awhile. i'm not really sure what to do with it anymore. any comments or criticisms are greatly appreciated and needed.

http://mywebpage.netscape.com/OzWolf00/shadow002.jpg

i'm really struggling with painting in photoshop...using a mouse is frustrating...grrrr. oh..and i didn't choose web colors while painting so most of the purples and blues are really light and washed out on the web. anyway, enough pathetic excuses from me. hit me as hard as you like...i can take it.:D

a few more from the same story...

http://mywebpage.netscape.com/OzWolf00/archer004.jpg

http://mywebpage.netscape.com/OzWolf00/knight002.jpg

[Severian]

These all look really well done. I like the archer especially, although most archers are going to have their bowstring on the inside of their arm rather than the outside. It looks like that might cause problems when he tries to shoot something. In the first one, the guy's weapon looks pretty flat compared to the rest of him. Maybe twist it a bit to give it a bit more dimension, or at least shade it to pop it out from his body a bit (which it looks like you're doing anyway). The last guy looks a bit stiff compared to the others, especially in the pelvis and back region. He just looks ramrod straight and a bit off balance, but maybe it'll come together in the colored version. Perhaps twist the pelvis a bit?

I want to commend you on your skill with a mouse. I'd be hard pressed to do something like this with a wacom. Well done. I think these can really come together with just a bit more time.

Severian

[ClocktowerArtworks]

thank you for your criticisms...i agree with all of them. Most of what you've commented on I've already noticed, but it's great to hear another person say it so I know that what i saw was really wrong. that's funny about the bowstring...i must not have been paying too much attention...either that or i put the bow in a really bad place and ended up having to put the bowstring there...i tend to do that alot because i'll start in with the inks before i'm done pencilling and end up screwing myself in to putting things where i don't want them. anyway, enough ranting...thanks again for your insights. i'll see what i can do with them.

[Boris]

Great drawings. Especially if they are done with a mouse.
I have a suggestion - make the arrows that the archer is holding longer.

[ClocktowerArtworks]

the acual sketches and inking were done with pencil and ink...just the color was done with photoshop...just wanted to clear that up. yeah, arrows need to be way longer...thanks.

[Scrubbin Bubbles]

i dont like the colors on the archer. He seems to bright and cliched. I think its got the potential to be a sinister character, especially if hes truckin with these masked types. I dont agree with severian about the last one. I think its the most flexible and dynamic of the three.

[Adam]

the first character seems to simply mix a bunch of the Battle Chasers' costume elements - the girl's gloves, the wizards loin-cloth thing, etc etc. I would try and push the boundaries of your own designs a little farther! The first character's pose is a little unnatural as well - go ahead and bite the bullet and draw the hammer with some perspective! It will make it easier to tell what it is, and will lend some dynamicism to the picture as well.

[ClocktowerArtworks]

yeah...i must've added the battle chasers elements subconsciously...i agree though...i definitely need to start using more references when i draw (poses, anatomy, costuming) something to push my design and believeability further instead of just relying on what's been floating around in my head for the last few months. these guys are in need of some redesigns...i'll see if i can do some tonight. thanks to everyone again for your insights.

[adien]

my main crit about the first guy is your lighting. the inside of the cloak is nearly the same shade as the outside, and the cloak seems to cast no shadow on the character.

also, if this is supposed to be a shadowy character, you might want more of him disappearing into shadow, whether shadow created by the cloak or other sources. right now he is very well lit for a shadow guy. there's no mystery to him.

I really like the archer, although I tend to agree with previous crits. You might want to try some deeper richer greens, although that might be cliche too. :)

[ClocktowerArtworks]

actually, I haven't started adding values to the cloak, pants, or most of the lower body on the first guy yet. dually noted about the archer though...i was going for kind of a cartoony feel, but i'll see how a darker, washed out green looks.