Face Study

[DreiGrasheir]

So i've been working at drawing faces for a while. not looking for perfect realism here, but still want them to be convincing enough to get the point across and be accurate enough to color in PS. Thanks for constructive C&C.

http://www.3dgstudios.com/images/faces.jpg

http://www.3dgstudios.com/images/Ryudo.jpg

[DreiGrasheir]

i drew this freehand, like a still life.
http://www.3dgstudios.com/images/face.jpg

[vitaliyvladimirov]

Hi there! Just want to let you know that i think that this is great. A good, interesting style, and emotive. For me, personally the eyes seem a bit large, but you're making that work. Also, it seems like in #1, the woman's head should be larger, as it seems she doesn't have a forehead, but i really like the details you put in her clothes, with the chainmail and all. I find that it's little touches like that that make the difference. And, um, her breasts seem like they're in the push up bra of hell, but maybe that's just the breastplate. >.<
So yeah. And it seems like one of her arms isn't really attached to her, but you can easily fix that. :)

And #2, it seems like is the better variant. That thing on/around his head is really cool. It'd look great in color, with some kind of texture on it. And way to go on the volumnous (lol) hair. I think it's great, and a nice expression too.

And as far as #3, i'm glad you didn't just trace it, but it looks like you might have. So for that, i would suggest maybe varying the line widths and using gentler strokes on the hair, but i really like how you managed to get the likeness and gesture across. It's really nice, but maybe more definition of the nose. ^_^

So yea. I'd love to see at least one of these colored, if not all. And hooray for first post. yay!

[DreiGrasheir]

Hey, thanks for the comment. I see what you mean with the forehead on #1. After I drew the face, someone told me it looked kinda elvish. So I just did a quick job on the body and hair so it was my character Sami... the sketch is quite old, and ill have you know i've gotten better at bodies since :P And yeah, the breasts were meant to be 'locked in place' by hard leather armor. She'd have trouble sneaking around with em bouncing around, right? ^_^ I know they look kinda bleh, but like I said, old sketch.

Thanks about the hair on #2. It's based off an anime character (Ryudo from Grandia II), so translating the hair into something more real was kinda fun and tricky. I totally envy those guys at square-enix for doing it so well with cloud :P On #3, and all of em really... geh... the linespeed is a *very* new concept for me :P I'll give it a try on one of these at least, and probably end up coloring one. Which is sorta why I posted these. I want to make sure it looks good before i use it for reference in a full color pic.

Thanks for the comment again, welcome to CA, and post your stuff so I can look at it. I'm not as good as some of the folk on here, but I'll help where I can.

[vitaliyvladimirov]

^_^ you're very welcome. ...and i'll be posting something in jus' a minute.. ^_^ i'll be looking forward to your comments. :)

[dogfood]

I think you've done a very good job with the reference. One thing to think about is that your lines aren't just defining shapes, they're describing value shifts. When those shifts are more subtle, the lines should be lighter, and when they are more dramatic, they should be heavier. Right now, your line weight is very static.

I think you should also relate your reference work more to your work from imagination. Draw something from reference, then draw it again without reference. Do that a few times and you'll really start to get your arms around the face. As you seem to like the 3/4 view, I'd work on that, first.

[Infinit]

what dogfood said

values are more important then outlines
(esp when it comes to colouring)

[DreiGrasheir]

thnks for the help on the line weight. i was going to alter on of therse, but then i decided to start the 'wings' project. I gave the line variations thing a try on that one.

[DreiGrasheir]

I realized a few consistent mistakes i've been making with Female bodies.

--Making them too buff.
--Not giving a good 7/10 ratio to torso.
--Making legs too short.
--Giving them stiff poses.
--Having the lower torso stretched too vertically (hip lines around 60 degrees from crotch).
--Mickey Mouse shoes.

I think I took care of most of those here. I've also given varied line speed a try. Whaddaya think?

http://www.3dgstudios.com/images/girl.jpg

[voraz]

I think the drawing you did using reference was the best. This last one still seems to have severall issues. You should probably get a reference to compare.
Some of the issues I can see right away are for example the begining of the biceps zone in her left arm.
The pelvis seem way too short.
her arms seem to have different sizes.
Don't give up on the feet... more detail and some toes.
The gun seems a little off too.
Ok, don't get me wrong I don't think it is that terrible, just trying to point some stuff that could use some improvement. Keep working and you will get there.
I hope this helps.
Cheers
Fil

[DreiGrasheir]

yes the ref one is most accurate, but im trying to learn without using too much reference. of course i still do use them, but copying direct reference isn't as educational as doing something of my own ive found. i noticed the arm, I fixxed it and the crotch, and refreshed the image. The feet im not too worried about because they'll be shoes anyway. thanks for the crits.

[dogfood]

I understand the desire not to want to be crippled by only using references (and some folks are slaves to them), but if you are going for less-comic-like, more reality-based, I don't think you should push off from the shore quite yet. I would also advise not to draw things (especially face, hands and feet) anticipating covering them with clothing (toes are OK).

I'm afraid the general anatomy is still wanting. Shoulders, knees, breasts, hips, elbows, hands, face... there are still some places that need to be tightened up (and those club feet, of course).

You've come a long way, but I still think you should try the exercise I was talking about.

[DreiGrasheir]

I did this the other day while my roomate was playing Grandia II. It was kinda neat doing so many different body types. it was really weird drawing men... i rarely do them, i noticed. this is just pose reference... ill add detaisl(face, hair, etc), line value, tone when I hae some time. Left to right; Mareg, Tio, Elena, Ryudo, Milennia, Roan.

http://www.3dgstudios.com/images/grandiaII.jpg