Welcome to Gaia! :: Posts By User Unknown User | Forum

Pinning down a favorite artist is difficult. I love so many! Lately Jason Chan and Endling have been rocking my socks.

If you want good critiques and an honest opinion, don't post on DA or Gaia. Post on conceptart.org or share your portfolio with actual publishers.

I'm an insensitive snot because I'll generally pick skin tone based on how good it looks with the image. If darker brown skin complements the violet clothing and warm background of an image, I'll use it. If whitish/albino skin looks best against black, I'll go all vamp because the imagery appeals to me. If I've got a warm toned image, and gold skin is most color palette appealing, bingo, off I go. Peach to go with a pink dress and some shoujo hearts.

All my drawings of people (as linework) have no real indication of race. I'm very generic. I'd like to have more differentiation of character in terms of age, weight, and race. Need more practice!

Reading comics will also help. Comics stories are told 50% through images, and 45-50% through dialogue. Reading several comics might help give you an idea of how much/little text you prefer per page.

For example:

Roza: (tends to have LOW amount of text per page, and tells most of its story through action.)
http://www.junglestudio.com/roza/

Phoenix Requiem: (tends to have HIGH amount of text per page.)
http://requiem.seraph-inn.com/

No Need for Bushido: (tends to have med text per page.)
http://www.noneedforbushido.com/

Then of course there's published comics ^_^ I'm rather fond of Bone. But there's a lot to consider when writing a comic. I started a couple several years ago with no plan in mind and did it as I went. The results were... not good >.< Plan ahead, but don't write yourself into a corner!

I have tried deleting my avatar and all it gained me was the loss of a rather expensive hairstyle. There has to be some sort of fix that can be applied to this problem.

Something I am also curious about.

Live model > Photo Reference > Mannequin. pirate Mannequins are fine for basic shapes and the like, but you're not going to get the sense of muscle, build, or fleshy subtleties that occur from person to person. Heck, I'd recommend poser over a Mannequin. You can do everything a mannequin does with a digital "mannequin" that has more anatomy to it to begin with.

A good drawing is a good drawing. If the artist has a grasp of anatomy, light source, composition, color, and knows the medium they're working in, chances are good I'm going to enjoy the art. If an artist has no clue what they're doing, no matter what the medium, I'm probably going to think their work is mediocre.