Arch Angel: Update yay!

[carakhan]

The warriors of god, the archers of heaven.
Sketched quickly, hoping to make a maquette of her. Just going to post my process on this one, hopefully you will all have great advice to keep me goin on this one.

Hand holding the bow, is obviously a bit on the fucked up side. Same goes for other side elbow. Shading is very off, since I just decided on the new lighting.

Ideas? Critique? Let me know!
http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a3/Arenyth/archangeloriginal.jpg

[Shamagim]

Nice, thought the chest is not in the right angle ...i think XD(because of the arm holding the string) ... and there is no arrow...im sure you will add it later, but dont forget to modify the fingers at the end of the bow to guide the arrow...

Good luck :) ( though is not about luck) looking forward to the next WIP

[carakhan]

Hah, actually, when I thought I'd finished the sketch (before the scan) I was like, there is sooo something missing... Ah! arrow! Although it's meant to be astral anyway, so there wasn't much point in sketching it.

As for the chest, from the reference, her arm wasn't bent in this position, but both arms were outspread. Maybe I should change the position of her breast? It's too far back maybe.

Anywho, I'm in the zone, so I'll be on this with an update probably soon

Thanks for everything so far!

[Mecha Hate Chimp]

Nice idea... great minds think alike :rendered:

Sketch looks good. The astral idea is definitely a plus. I will wait to see what updates you make and comment more as you post them.

[carakhan]

Just gettin some shit done before bed...
I don't like feet. But her stomach is sexay


http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a3/Arenyth/archangel5.jpg

[Paralax]

I like the idea as well.

I like the feet and the chest position myself(even if as they say it isn't at the right angle, it makes it look more...epic/heroic).

Two questions though:

1) Doesnt the bent elbow look like it archs upwards a little too much?
2) The calf seems a little too wide when it connects with the thigh, then again this is subjective, since like someone said in these forums: We all have a different "perfect" body in our minds.

Great job, keep it up :)

[Sems]

really like the looks of this piece

[JERI]

Isn't her right thigh just a tad too short? It looks quite out of proportion no matter which angle it's oriented at.

[carakhan]

Thanks for the info guys.

I already knew about the elbow, just haven't gotten around to changing it yet. I agree the leg seems a little thick, but the thigh doesn't seem too short for me. I drew the pose from reference, and that's how it was. She doesn't look retardedly out of proportion, so I don't think I'm going to change it. Unless someone says it's horrible, I don't see the point. I would hate for every single character to look the same.

Updating later!

[Paralax]

It doesn't really look ''retarded''

I was actually browsing this thread with my brother and he simply said: "I see nothing wrong with it!"

At first glance you won't notice it, but to a careful onlooker it will seem awakward. Regardless, it is still looking great. Keep it up :D

[Dose206]

i'm really diggin this piece. of course it is not perfect, but somebody somewhere said that it's better to do a good drawing with imperfections than a bad drawing with no imperfections. i'm excited to see how this turns out, i think it will be awesome!

[Fellah.]

:^^: That was me. And yeah this is looking nice dude - keep rocking!

[Paralax]

... but somebody somewhere said that it's better to do a good drawing with imperfections than a bad drawing with no imperfections.

God damn it, thats one of the best things I've heard... and it applies to much omre than drawing.

ThinMint: Update? :)

[look]

Her hands are too small. I really like the coloring on the ab area.

[BlueMech]

She's looking pretty neat so far but I think her legs are way too short. If she stood up starigh she'd looks fairly odd I think. Just elongate them and it'll look much finer.

[carakhan]

Bluemech: People are saying that, but I'm not sure you're taking into account where her legs end. There is more leg underneath the cloth as well. Since I haven't colored under the chainmail, I think it makes her legs look shorter than they are. Also I drew the picture from reference, and I don't want to make her legs anime long, I want them to be realistic. If I posted the original figure drawing, would it help?

Look: I can't believe I didn't notice her hands until you said so, thanks! I'll fix that right quick.

And here's your damn update Paralax! I swear, I work on this for hours but it doesn't seem to go anywhere. And I don't think I'm likin my experimentation with the background...Currently searching for some good wing reference, if anyone has suggestions, let me know...

http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a3/Arenyth/archangel7.jpg

[Kian]

Beautiful! I love the mood and content. I'm not gonna crit anything (I think you're doing an awesome job). I think I'll just enjoy the ride :wink:

[Mecha Hate Chimp]

ThinMint,

Just do a search on Google for bird wings. Check it:

http://images.google.com/images?q=bird+wings&hl=en

I just about google everything in image search when I need photo references. Hope that helps - J

[carakhan]

I suppose I'm too picky. I did one last nite and I didn't like what I found. But these are fine, thanks!

[Death-X2]

This it coming out nicely, which could be a good thing. it could come out and be mean, and violent, and knock over your beverage for the hell of it. however, "mean" is a matter of perspective and opinion. the colors are nice. keep up teh action. :D.

[carakhan]

Death: whoa. You just completely blew my mind.

[Mecha Hate Chimp]

I agree, what progress youve made on the image is great. Your color pallette is superb and Im loving how you are blending that background.

[Paralax]

Excellent progress.

I am very eager to see those wings and the bow!

If I may add a comment, make the wings ''finessed'' no so much as an eagle's, which look more ''male''. Try and experiment, obviously, but since the angel is a beautiful and slender creature(at least in this portrayal it seems), you should try and experiment :)

Keep it up!

[NukeouT]

Thats coming together beutifully !

[Madster2]

I enjoy looking at this piece every time you update, although I'm still fond of the original rough most.

The feet need work. The left foot is too long from the arch forward, and the back foot is too wide and club-foot looking.
You also need to adjust her right upper leg. It is far too short for the knee to be where it is rendered,hiding behind the floating fabric off the waistband, and the angle of the lower leg is too high to be believable.

Other than that, the anatomy is quite nice, but it is the overall composition of this piece that just captures my attention every single time, as if I had never clicked on the link before...

I'm too enchanted by the subject to honestly offer any suggestions as to background or wings. I simply enjoy this piece, flaws, finished, or not...

~M

[JERI]

I think that fiery gradient is coming along very nicely.

I'm kinda curious to see your reference image now.

[beyond_the_forest]

thing is, she seems like shes very short, and it would make sense for her to have thick looking thighs ....the space between her feet and hips is obviously smaller, so the transition between the two seems more...all of a sudden?
if you "fixed" this however, to make her legs smaller, you would be implying she was abnormally tiny... she would look proportional TO HER OTHER PARTS (in model terms, but real woman are better) but she'd, logicly, be so small she'd be unable to inhibit a miscarriage (childbearing hips)

good job, looks fine to me ;)

[carakhan]

Paralax: Will do on those wings! Great idea
madster, I'm so glad you like this!And thank you for all your helpful comments.
Jeri, maybe I'll post the reference later, my scanner is kinda broken.
Beyond: Thanks for the support! You certainly explained that better than I could.

I'll post an update probably later today, I went to disney for the past two days, so I haven't really done anything... :yawn:

[Eytan]

This looks really nice! I think your rendering looks gorgeous. Really love the mood and colors. A few things.

-IMHO If she's aiming down I think her arms would be tilted even more, sort of like This (http://www.lotr-collector.com/images/siege_of_gondor/citadel_guard_archer2.gif)
If you can't see it the left arm is tiled higher and the right is even more tilted down.

-Also I think White and gold would be great colors for the armor, kind gives that feeling of holiness.

Feel free to ignore me!

[carakhan]

I gave thought to the white and gold, and then I thought maybe I would use it as an accent, I'm not sure what I want to do now. Maybe I'll do another layer in white and see which I like more.

[Paralax]

The thing about that figurine, though is that he could be doing something else than shooting... so we don't know.

He could be lowring his bow and be prepared to take an arrow from his quiver and knock it(thats my guess since he is on the ground :P).

Needless to say, white and gold are great colors. Usually colors that would also fit are light ones and shiny ones. Light blue or tealish is also good in combination with white, given that the skies themselve sare white and blue. Silver gives it a look of, I dont know how to sya this, um.... Elegance, imponence and combined with whit eit give sit a clena look, imho.

Gold and White though, would fit an angel more. Specially for the bow(Golden bows rule)

[carakhan]

paralax, how did you figure she was on the ground? Cause she's... not. heh

I like silver better than gold, but that's just my personal opinion. But gold is supposed to be better for some reason, so i don't know anymore.

update: not today, sorry. Got to playing Guild Wars, and kinda lost track of time... for 10 hours. Damn I hate that game.

[Paralax]

paralax, how did you figure she was on the ground? Cause she's... not. heh

I meant the soldier picture he posted on the other post above :)

http://www.lotr-collector.com/images/siege_of_gondor/citadel_guard_archer2.gif

Pretty cool little figure, too :P