photo realistic, as close as I can get

[Tanika]

Ok, before Fozzy bashes me *winks at him* [I'm joking], this is my first real attempt, it's been two days working about eight hours a day and this is all I have done, now I'm stuck, the cloak and broach just doesn't look right. This is only part of the drawing.......x.x there is another drawing that fits into it like a puzzle, I'm working on seperately. I can do one of two things. I can A) Remove the cloak and broach and leave her nude or B) fix it somehow and make it look more real.

http://tanikadevour.250free.com/sneakpeak2.jpg


This is a view of the image at 12% So this is very small. Now, I know she is dark, I already have a background planned to fix that, with lighting effects, that is not my concern now. Can anyone help me with the cloak and broach. If she looks better without it then just tell me and I can remove it in one click. ^^ Thanks!

[edit]
someone just asked me "did you draw that by hand?" My answer is: No, I did not, it was all done with a tablet, her head position is hard to see right now, her chin is slightly tucked in and her head is slightly tilted, I'll be pulling that out more [so you can see it better] once I complete the base of the drawing! Thankies!

[Fozzybar]

There is yet no reason for removing the cloak and the broach...you just need time to render them the right way...actually you rendered the broach the way you should have done with the cloak and vice versa...the broach is made of metal, so there are hard edges in the different color areas, the cloak is made of fabric, the colors should fade into each other...but you did this the other way round ;)

Also think of the shininess...hard or smooth reflections (bad english...who cares...)...same as you did in the eyes, they are rendered very well!

I also think you have to investigate more love and patience in the fur...the strokes are hard and stiff, but they should follow smoothly the cat's form...

Btw it would be very helpful for the viewers here to give c&c when you post a sketch of the whole scene, so the decision if you should remove or keep the cloak/broach would be much easier...

[Ostrander]

I like the initial idea, sort of a regal animal portrait, I think its kinda cool. The only advice I'd like to suggest is to look at some references of "big cats" (tigers, leopards, lions, jags, pumas) any of the larger species. Just to see what their structure is made up of, the way the skulls are shaped and mouths. It looks like you are working from imagination, I could be wrong but I'm guessing thats the case, and I think if you were to study what the animal looks like and how they are built, it would solve some of the structural issues I see in this cats head. The ears for instance seem to be straight on at the viewer where as the face is near 3/4 view. I'm not suggesting working meticulously from reference since that would take the fun out of your project, but just to see what would make your catperson look more natural and convincing.
I just think that it might help take your work to the next level.
:chug:
hope thats constructive enough for you :)

[Tanika]

Thanks you both, I'm still kind of half asleep so I'll work on it tonight when my head is a little more clear. I haven't even started blending the cloak, I stopped when I saw it was looking bad, I'll color the other side and then blend it, I still need a few more values in it, I'm also going to change the broach so it's smaller, that way your eyes go back to the face, the ears will be easy to fix, I'll try to work on the fur, I know what I'll do to fix it but I don't know how to explain it. x.x'
Oh, and the problem with her ear is that her right ear is too far back on her head. I used a reference, yesh, but since it 'looks' like I used my imagination I wasn't going to mention that. x.x There is a technique to do on the fur to make it flow, I haven't gotten to that part yet, not sure if I'm even going to attempt it, since it tends to freeze up my computer. Oh well, worth a try. x.x