Back from the Abyss

[aeoxo]

back up for air for a second... more as soon as i can...


http://www.ranierkeith.com/xpo/ratLord.jpg

http://www.ranierkeith.com/xpo/7SanC-creatures.jpg

http://www.ranierkeith.com/xpo/batfaces.jpg

[aeoxo]

I did this on the train ride in, and home ...

http://www.ranierkeith.com/xpo/ShawnCarter(JayZ).jpg

[quickman]

You're definitely getting a hold on things. On this last one, you are rendering the individual features pretty nicely, but as a whole they are sliding all over the place. If you drew a line down the middle of the face (from the middle of the eyes to the middle of the chin) you will see that the features are sliding from left to right in alignment away from each other, making his face look skewed. Also, they are off axis of each other horizontally as well. The eyes and eyebrows slope up from the centerline of the face to the left, and the nose and mouth slope downward to the left off of the centerline. Lining up the features with each other is a big step in making a face look good, you'll want to pay extra attention to that, and if you need more information, please refer to loomis.

Another thing to think about is the value. It's pretty spotty all the way around, the tones are reading nice and flat, which makes him look like he's got dirt on his face or something weird. Try to shade in even tones, and either with or against the form. For the shadows, you've got to make them noticable, or else why put them in? If you squint at the drawing, notice how almost all the tone goes away. You've got to squint (just a little bit, 10-25 percent) at the person you are drawng (or if you are drawing from memory, squint at your drawing to help you, but try to eventually see this without squinting (it takes a long time)) to simplify the values and really see where those shadows are. You should be able to recognize the planes of the face and indicate them in the drawing to show dimension in the face. Squint!

[aeoxo]

Yo Quickman, Thanks for the crit, you are right, it is skewed... Tell me what you think of this one...

http://www.ranierkeith.com/xpo/SoulSnatcher(Villain).jpg

[madster]

The explanation reads real rough...
"The Sword eats Souls that he (he, who?, the sword?) must gather in order to give power to the sword."
The next two sentences are pretty repetitive, without clarifying much, here...
"The souls are kept in the golden skulls on his side." (Whose side? I thought we were talking about the sword that eats souls...)
"These skulls were crafted to house the souls (yeah, we gathered that in the previous sentence telling us where the souls are kept) that the bearer (who's that? the SoulSnatcher, perhaps?) must feed it. (It being what? The bearer or the sword???)

Once you untangle that snarled-up intro, the illustration is not bad, but you have too much high contrast in the energy beam running around the sword, and the top of the golden skull that is escaping this piece on the LH side (as viewed.)

The position of the handle for that sword looks like a really deformed codpiece... :O

And, the SoulSnatcher himself still needs some clean-up in his hair and facial features.

The concept sounds interesting, though.

~M

[aeoxo]

Thanks for the most useful crits on CA... I appreciate your time, m'man. I always walk away from your critiques a more informed artist.

Pardon the intro... i put in on around 3 last night, when i was adjusting this stuff.

Basically, this guy steals souls to power his sword. His sword takes the life force of the souls it eats to allow the SoulSnatcher to work his necromantic attacks. He casts illusions to inspire his opponents to fear. When the Soul Snatcher claims a soul, he stores it inside the golden skulls on his side.

I wanted to create a badass villain. I am working up his story now...

Thanks y'all.

R

[madster]

aeoxo, I figured you were either half awake or on a good Jagermeister buzz when you wrote that, I just had to mess with you a bit about it...

This will look pretty awesome (which it does now, but I mean, like...more awesome (ass-pat, ass-pat ;) ) when you get back and tighten it up some.

The overall concept of the piece is cool. Of course, I am curious as to the whole Soul snatching thing...whose souls? Good, bad, or ugly (or does it matter)? What does he do with a "well-fed" sword? If the sword gets hungry, how does the SoulSnatcher know? Does the sword's "stomach" growl? What if there aren't any spare souls lying around when the sword wants to eat? Why is that one golden skull escaping from the situation? (if it's a Soul, you should re-think its representation, as it's confusing [although you should also render the golden skulls on the belt as well as him!].)

Gotta readjust that hilt, though...lol!

Looking forward to the update.
Thanks for your support of my humble ramblings...

~M

[aeoxo]

gonna post a WIP that adds a lil bit to his story... Madster, I am going to finish the posted one a lil bit more, tightning as critiqued, hopefully.


R

[aeoxo]

ok.. bout to crash in t-minus 10

but before i go...

the promised WIP

http://www.ranierkeith.com/xpo/soulSpell_WIP_1x.jpg


it's just a screen capture (pardon the brush in the shot :x

[madster]

This one is looking good!
Love the color palette for his clothes! You'll get the viewer's eye and keep it if he dresses that way all the time, the man be stylin' big time!

Inquiring minds want to know, though...
* Since he feeds souls to his "pet" sword, why does this one look like he's sending a soul forth to go fetch him a cheeseburger?
* What happened to all the other Golden Skulls, or is he just "dressed down" for this pic? (Side note - Does one Golden Skull only hold one soul, or are they like apartment complexes? How often does that sword eat, and does Ol' S.S. stockpile souls for "dry periods?)
* Why does it look like S.S. has had an exploding fart out the backside of his outfit?

The Golden Skull still needs a bit of tweaking, as the highlight off the top of his head is a bit too high in value, but this is really starting to shape up as a very interesting (and fairly complex) concept.

You do create some interesting conumdrums when you're low on sleep, but some great art, nevertheless!
Look forward to the next update.

~M

[aeoxo]

Hey thanks man!

Hey, I don't give a damn about those dudes pissin and moaning... I wouldn't be drawing as much and as hard as i have been without your kind of critiques. I respond to the honesty, and i really hope you at least post here or any posts i make. I consider your advice to me a good thing, and i have even learned a thing or two from you.

Holla at your boi...

R

[aeoxo]

http://www.ranierkeith.com/xpo/guardian-of-time2small.jpg

[aeoxo]

ok ladies and gents...

another WIP
http://www.ranierkeith.com/xpo/guardian-of-time2.jpg

[madster]

Yo yo YO, aeoxo!
Thank you MOST kindly for the words of support. It's members like yourself that make the slings and arrows of the Whinybabies roll off me like water off a duck...I may not spoonfeed you guys suggestions on how to do things, but I'll always be willing to point out things you might not want to intentionally do, and I'll tell you what DOES work visually.

Icy Boi, here works visually.
But, he don't need the flames.
His power is quite evident with the "high spots" in his palms. The first one is definitely more powerful by being less "in your face..."

One of my few paintings that survived the "great burning" of the past is of a female angel WIP. The canvas is all cracked, and the frame is warped, but I painted her stepping out of the picture frame, enveloped in a flowing red drapery that looks remarkably similar to what you've painted...Needless to say, it caught my eye and made me like this piece just a wee bit more...lol!
http://img367.imageshack.us/img367/3877/angel9uu.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
Great minds think alike, eh? (Mind? I don' need no stinking mind! I have my attitude, who needs a mind!...LOL!)
Mind you, this poor thing is another piece old enough to vote, and older than a lot of CA members...I just couldn't bear to toss it, tho'. I keep her around as my "muse..."

Stick with the first version. Sometimes, too much of a good thing is just too much...

~M

[aeoxo]

I thank you kindly for your words...

I appreciate your critiques, they motivate me with their honesty. Do yer thing.


that's is kinda cool... The robes are very similar... never saw that picture before now tho.

Here is a pic i did in about 40 mins...

http://www.ranierkeith.com/xpo/quickface.jpg

[madster]

Nice! Good, strong, features. I like the nose.

Now, go put another :40 into it, and give him the rest of his jawline and a neck. He looks weird with just a chin, a hint of helmet side flaps and then...nothing...

~M

[aeoxo]

Dude you are hilarious. You are still right on the money. I shoulda said that it was a speed drawing... i sorta just let my pen stray to see what came out. Dunno if i am going to do something else to it.

i dunno, maybe you convinced me. We'll see what happens.

Either way, the WIP ain't ice-man, (although i definately see where you are coming from... i wanted to really take my time on it, but as the deadline approaches, i feel myself rushing it...

Hopefully the mysterium of it all will tide you over till i write some explanatory copy (not at 3AM either :wink: )

R

[aeoxo]

And the Lord God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil: and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever:
Therefore the Lord God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from whence he was taken.
So he drove out the man; and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden Cherubims, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life.
-- Genesis 3: 22-24 (KJV)


It was believed that in the Garden of Eden, the light had a different nature... With this light one could see from the beginning of existence to it's destruction and ultimate redemption.

When the Garden of Eden was cut off to Mankind, Man also lost access to this light, for fear that he might use it to cause harm to existance. Therefore "a guardian" was placed at the gates so that Man would never again be able to "see time from the beginning to the end".

Hence, the Guardian of "TIME".


http://www.ranierkeith.com/xpo/guardian-of-time_Final.jpg

[aeoxo]

Is it at this point that one starts a sketchbook or something?

SoulSnatcher Screaming Victim Spell...

W.I.P 1

http://www.ranierkeith.com/xpo/soulSpell_WIP_1x.jpg


and current state

http://www.ranierkeith.com/xpo/screamingSoulSpellSig.jpg

[stoph]

nice body of work. i coulda sworn ive seen the very first two sketches in earlier posts.. oh well im probably mistaken :)

the piece with the blue guy with the red cloth swirling round him is really nice, but i feel youve cropped it too close to his feet.. in the version where he is the face of a clock, he is too far down as a result. move him up and youll have a stunner :)

oh yes, good to see you taking madster's crits so well (with joy, even)! hehe :P

[aeoxo]

you seen rat lord ?

Tell that phugger i want my money... >:D

Stoph, Thanks for the post. I appreciate when people critique my stuff. Personally, I think Madster is one of the best critics i have found at this site. His critiques are usually on the money. I learned how to seperate myself from the artwork so that anything said about it won't affect me as an artist or person. I think that the best critiques i have recieved weren't concerned with my feelings, as much as my work, and what i needed to work on.

I love this place, and i really hope to be able to contribute more as time goes on.

[aeoxo]

http://www.ranierkeith.com/xpo/ratLordWIP.jpg

more WIP's to come...

[madster]

This shaped up better than I expected. I like his skin coloring. It gives it a Mayan/Inca feel mixed with ghetto attitude...

The only thing I can crit on this is your light source...
the light reflections on the end of the nose, his hairline, and his left leg suggest a light source that is bright and highly directional.
But then, we have his thighs, his right hip, and his neck, all suggesting a fairly bright light source coming from his upper right side (the upper LH corner, as viewed).

Consistency...consistency...consistency...

~M

[aeoxo]

http://www.ranierkeith.com/xpo/ratLord_Merge.jpg

Hey! Let me know what you guys think, aight?

I want to present this once it's done, so any crits would help me (get paid hopefully) :^^;:

Holla back

[aeoxo]

Started off as a selfportrait, and ended up bursting into flames... :nohope:

http://www.ranierkeith.com/xpo/selfPortraitflame.jpg

this is still a WIP...
so keep that in mind...

R

[madster]

Okay, I'll keep it in mind, but I still just gotta ask...
Why is your right hip jammed up under your ribs?
WIP or not, c'mon, now!

Unless you plan on really going to town with a background (as in "spend a LOT of time on it"), I'd suggest cropping it down quite a bit. I think you've done a good job of self-immolation, here.

The feet and hands need to be tightened up, but that truly is a small detail. The hip, though...damn...

Looking good! Tighten up and finish this one!

~M

[aeoxo]

http://www.ranierkeith.com/xpo/gabe.jpg

[asoir]

Man you just keep on posting! Great thread!

[aeoxo]

I was afraid nobody else was looking at my work! Glad to see somebody besides me and Maddy is interested in my hard work.

Thanks. hey, next time, leave a crit! So i can learn something.


R

[aeoxo]

i see that i am getting a lot of views, but not that many replies...

let's do a poll to see if this thing should die, and i start a sketchbook, or what? :D

Sike!

Check it new WIP...


http://www.ranierkeith.com/xpo/gabriel2.jpg

[L. Scott Knight]

I dig your work.

And ya, I've noticed a recent change in the way things have been going here at CA. The energy is lower. There also seems to be less high end and pro's commenting lately.

Not that my own threads lack of replies has anything to do with it. That's usually the case with my stuff. I figure at least they aren't telling me I suck and to go home! :dur:

[madster]

I vote for the sketchbook!

It's hard to clearly explain/define the difference between Sketches & WIPS, and the Sketchbook section, but the easiest benchmark is content. If you are adding new work regularly to a thread, then it should be a sketchbook.

I don't care for the square looking arms on this guy. The shoulder pads are square, and the arms themselves look that way, too. Also, his oversized gloves look kind of cartoony...but, they can't all be gems.

~M