Character: pirates of the carribbean please crit.

[levitateme]

This is my first sketch of the character. the clothes that are torn look terrible. he just isnt a pirate rightnow. i was watching the trailer from pirates of the carribbean, so i thought it would be ..."fun" to draw one and then color it. i know nothing about pirates, as you can see he is really plain, he has that scarf thing on him taken off. can people out there give me crit on what they like, what i should add, take away. im sure some of it may be hard to make out. his left arm is deteorating, along with his leg. that cape im sure should go also. please help out a fella in need. thanks. i would really like to add alot before i do my final drawing. really could use the crit, thanks.



http://home.bresnan.net/~planetofsound/WebHelp/Pirate.gif

[I.was.ink]

Okay, well first off the things you mentioned are true.

I don't like his face, I prefer the one next to it.

His pose is too stiff, there's no roundness or volume to him.

BEfore continuing this I suggest you practice drawing people more. I know you probably have heard this, but it's what has to be done. A lot of us(myself included) want to do cool finished concept art like the pros. But we can't cuz we dont know the fundamentals, and if we do we haven't practiced them enough. For example, have you taken any figure drawing classes? If so, did you draw this like you would in your life drawing class, with a gesture first? I like where you are heading with this, but until you (and I'm not just directing it towards you, but to everyone out there that struggles with drawing and painting) learn the fundamentals its going to be freakishly difficult.

Jason Manley is always pushing us to do more life drawing, head studies, to copy the masters, still lifes, etc....
And sometimes we just don't want to do it, heck, I know I didn't always feel like it, but the more we try to draw out of our head( and dont necessarily know how) we screw it up, because we don't have that foundation to build up from.

That's why instead of giving you the regular suggestion: change this, this isn't in proportion, this is too long, and so on. I'm giving you my honest opinion. Have you looked at looked at Kevin Chen's (http://www.conceptart.org/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1432) life drawing thread? He is the man, and we would all love to draw like him. Because he has taken so many life drawing classes, and practices all the time, he can draw just about anything he wants. So can Jason Manley, Android, Jon Foster, Dodowa, and the rest.

We all want to be like them, but we can't because we need to study more. So that is my suggestion to you, go to an art school,atelier, study with someone, take classes, and learn as much as you can. (if you want to take this seriously.) I'm not saying not to draw monsters and stuff, but understand that if its hard for you to draw them, its because you don't know enough. You don't have a strong foundation. Unless you're as gifted as Marko that has amazing skills without any formal education its going to be hard. Hell its damn hard for me to, but that's why I took a years worth of life drawing classes(12 hrs. worth of life drawing a week, and 3 hrs. of head drawing), so that I can make my portfolio and go to Art Center this fall and study with Kevin Chen and so many other greats.

If you can't go to school for whatever reason, then you always have the net, books, the people of conceptart.org, the middle class, and so many other people.

This is my true and honest opinion. You can take it with a grain of salt, but after so much struggling and suffering ( you can ask mcm about this too, ;) ) you realize what you "really" need to do in order to become a GREAT! concept artist.

Hope I helped out.

-Iwasink-

[levitateme]

hmmm, yah and ugh...that is a sketch...ahem.

[I.was.ink]

Yeah, i know i was sort of harsh, but well...its just some advice.

Sorry for the harshness :)

[StephenC]

u want it to look better? Do as I.wa. says.

Doesn't look like a pirate?..i would try to find some reference,

also lighting is off in some areas, right looks like its coming from top right, this means his left arm should make a cast shadow on the torse, and right arm should be darker.

I think hes a bit tall also.

[cityworker]

I.was.ink gave some valuable advice. But if you want some reference for pirates I would check out N.C. Wyeth, and Howard pyle, great artists of adventure. If I were you I would take a painting or drawing of N.C. Wyeth or Pyle's or Marc Davis who designed the ride "Pirates of the Carribean" and do a master copy of it, but in the style you are doing. Does make sense? I hope that helps.