Finished? pencils for knight

[keenerbean]

This piece has been quite an adventure. Accessories and little bits are not exactly my fortay so I've been pushing myself to do work involving those very things. It may not look it, but this drawing tortured me to no end. I'm glad it's done. Or is it? You tell me. I've already noticed a couple of posing and proportional issues just in posting this but I'd love for people to tear into it and lemme know if there's anything serious I might change before moving on to ink and then (the best part) painting!:D

Thanks
Dylan

P.S. profuse apologies for the quality of the scan. I'll try to post some quality details tomorrow. Oh yeah, I especially wanted to know if his studded shoulder plate matched the rest of the armour. Thanks again.
http://members.shaw.ca/dylan.chater/images/scullmaster_2003.jpg

[Scotty]

I think it's great man. I too have had pieces of art that have plagued me to no end. One thing I might do.....just so the guys armor won't cut his "groinal region" is round out the tops of the leg armor. You know....so it looks like it's been hammered out at the top away from his legs.....like you did for the left arm. (at least on the inside parts...if you get what I mean) I like it.:) Keep workin hard man.

[kabuki]

my only critique would be with the image's left arm (to our left) its tricep would be deformed if it really was in that position. it should be more behind the arm. or atleast you shouldnt be able to see the whole tricep.

otherwise im ok with it.

[Injun]

I can see how this piece could torture you to no end, but as far as incorporating smaller design details, accessories, etc., I'd say you nailed it.

The veins on the arms... so well done, but I don't think they add anything to the picture. This isn't a technical crit, just me stating an opinion, but if I were you, I'd only explicitly outline that cluster on the biceps, and then maybe suggest a few veins on the forearms. I think that would allow the eye to be drawn to more interesting parts of your design, like the helmet/left shoulder-plate (the one with the great studs), the sword, and the gauntlet.

Can't wait to see the later stages of this, I think you may find that the details that were so torturous in the drawing make painting way more fun.

[Aleksi]

The armour seems to be too thin. it hadn't weight, heaviness ( doesn't seem "true" )
Maybe you can solve that minor but important thing by adding dark area and thickness at the edges...
I'm sure it will add something strong to your piece
I don't know exactly how to explain.
The armour seems to be made of very thick sheets of metal.
If you render it heavier, your character will even looks more powerful and the whole concept will be more impressive...
Some part of the armour are very interesting, give them more "realism"

[chudzta]

hey as far as the accessories go and stuff u did good.. listen to the ppl above.. thats a thing u just get betr and mroe creative with as u do more and more.. my biggest prick is that its almost outlined.. is that the scanner or are there very few middle tones?? who knows might just be the way u work, but if it were me and that was how i wanted to end it , i'd add some more shades for depth.. be nice if u gave it some jazzy color too sometime, eh? keep up the work .. lata

Ry

[keenerbean]

Man, you can't slip anything past a conceptart.orgian! This forum rocks.

Scotty: Aah the groin. My dad visited and told me that his package wasn't big enough (the knight's, not my dad's) so I changed it as demonic folk do have a reputation. However yesterday I was told by a girl that it still doesn't cut it. It's going to get ugly. You're right though, it does look uncomfortable. His inner thigh is going to be chainmail so perhaps that will help.

Kabuki: Your absolutely right. Thanks!

Injun: I wondered if someone might mention the overly pronounced veinage. They do pull the eye. I plan to tone them down in the ink stage and they will be much more subtle at the painted phase.

Aleksi: Good point. I'll apply the solutions you suggested when I emphasize the line weights.

Chudzta: I tend to use rendering as a security blanket so I've been trying to produce tight clean linework lately to discipline myself. The shading you see is mostly smudges.

Big thanks to all of you. Your critiques are very helpful and make me feel more confident about moving on to the next stages. I'll keep you posted.