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Banana stickers are metal
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 Posted: Fri May 29, 2009 5:58 pm
Hey, call me Banana. I've got somthing I like to call "Sudden Realization Blues", or SRB. SRB is when you realize that everybody else is a much better artist than you are, and you get discouraged and stop drawing. I need help and criticism to get me out of this stage. Will any of you help me? Please critique my art. I'll tell you the circumstances, because of course, if I were 20, my art wouldn't be good. I have just turned thirteen and I have been drawing since I was nine. This isn't my best artwork, in fact, it fails miserably. But it's the best picture I have uploaded on my computer, so I have to use it as an example. Apollo, God of the Sun:  I drew it for an English project. I freehanded it and Photoshopped it. Please tell me how much I suck and how I can improve a little more.
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Posted: Fri May 29, 2009 6:03 pm
Hm, pretty good, I'm not sure how to say what I want, I like the depth you get from shading but it feels like it could be a sharper contrast on the outlines to make it look even more so. I was looking at the arm across the chest when I thought that. Also the hair could use some contrast in it. But you definitely have something. Keep it up!
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Posted: Fri May 29, 2009 6:16 pm
First, don't ever try to use your age as an excuse. I've been drawing portraits since I was 14 and even if they weren't the best I wouldn't try to use my age as a crutch and excuse why I couldn't be doing better.
Moving along, the picture isn't bad but the lack of solid lines really bothers me. They're very transparent and while it may looks fine for a black and white image, throwing colour into it, especially when the colour isn't very solid either, makes it look messy.
Despite that I can see you attempted shading it still looks pretty flat.
Additionally, there seems to be a complete lack of highlights despite that there are shadows in the image.
Proportionally it needs work, too.
If you're serious about art I highly suggest studying anotomy from life, or atleast getting a book that has picture of REAL people, not drawings, and that really makes a point about how muscle groups look while the model is in different positions.
Believe me, studying from life will help you so much more in the long run than just copying other already stylized cartoons (even if your ultimate goal is to be more of a cartoonist).
Anyway, everyone gets in the same rut. Just keep at it until you do something you're proud of and then keep going to improve even more 'cause no matter who you are, there's always room for improvement.
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Posted: Fri May 29, 2009 6:47 pm
Thanks, I'll try to work on the transparent lines and shading and highlights. Is there anything else?
P.S. I'm not really using age as a crutch, I'm telling you my years of experience.
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Banana stickers are metal
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Posted: Sat May 30, 2009 7:28 am
All right Banana, first I will say to better connect your work you have to work out the outlines. What I mean is the visible line you see around Apollo. Instead of having that black line around him, you have to connect him to the piece by erasing that outline or coloring over it. This should make a magnificent difference.
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Posted: Sat May 30, 2009 6:22 pm
ε ♥ з  Ok. First off, the compliments. 4laugh
It's very cute and you've obviously practised quite a bit. The fact that you've tried a pose other than just standin' there looking like a fool is good, most people can't pose their drawing for absolutely yonks. The light source is more-or-less defined, which is a good start. The hands are absobloodylutely awesome for someone of your skill level - you obviously didn't shy away from them early on, so kudos for that.
Now for the critical part.
Stylistically it's a bit boring - it looks much like the average manga style that a lot of people start off with. Try playing with style a bit so you can get your own unique vibe into your work.
The positioning of his limbs is quite awkward. His left (our right) arm is ok, but the other one is pressed too close to his body and disappears behind the lute when it should be quite clearly seen. The hand holding the lute is nice - aside from the fact that it is absent where it should't be - but the other one is a bit too splayed out. Grab a coathanger or somethine else remotely lutelike and pretend to play it - either look down at your hands and get someone to take a photo, and it should be quite curved. The legs are too bent outwards and too straight at the same time... Just try standing like he is and you'll probably get a groin injury. rofl One of the legs should be straight with the knee faciing towards the camera, the other should be angled out slightly with the knee facing outwards a bit. This is because if you watch people, they rarely put their weight on both legs.
The lineart, as others have said, is too see-through and too messy. There's also some anti-aliasing blobs of white that lead me to believe that you didn't use layers correctly... Or used the scanned lineart as the actual lines. If you have a tablet, go over the lines in a separate layer with a thin black anti-aliased brush. If you don't, prepare to master the pen tool, because that's the only way you can get smooth CG lines without a tablet. Either way, you MUST go over it if you want it to look better, and it MUST be on a completely separate layer from everything else. Capiche? x3
Now, colouring and shading. The tones you've used in the skin look good, but you need some highlights. You also need to get a better idea of where shadows and highlights go - you don't seem particularly confident in this area, so you end up with little contrast in the shading. Places like under the neck get little to no light, so they should be a lot darker than they are.
You also need to put more shading in the rest of the picture. The hair looks really flat, even a few small highlights and a bit of shading around the edges would do it a world of good. The buckle, the lute, the quiver and the wreath also look quite flat - you've tried a bit of shading but you really need more. As for the clothes... Well, they need their own paragraph.
White clothes are not white. This sound weird, but find a white tshirt or some white fabric and look at it. It's usually a little bit yellowish, a little bit greyish, sometimes bluish, but never, ever pure white. Even brand-new-freshly-washed-crisp-clean-linen-white-sheets are not perfectly white. When shading white clothing, use a lightish and bluish or yellowish grey for the base colour. Then for the shadows (Whish you haven't added, though you should,) use a mid-grey with bluish tint, and for deep shadows (if you need them) use a dark purply or bluey grey. For the highlights, either get pure white with a fairly transparent brush, or use a very pale blue or yellow. NEVEREVEREVER use pure white, EVEN FOR HIGHLIGHTS!!!!!!!!! scream I don't want to sound angry, but it is something you MUST remember. =)
Oh, and try plopping some sheets around to see how they fold. You've just drawn little lines, but it's really much more complex than that.
Still, it's a great start. Remember to use layers and practise! Practise with a pencil from life too, it's very useful. Just sit there and draw people or fabric or leaves or whatever. Just draw. =)
I hope I made sense and you find this useful! ε ♥ з
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Posted: Sun May 31, 2009 12:14 pm
I'm really not sure what to say. I can't draw anime guys becuz I don't no how so I only draw girls. I would say this is pretty good, just don't ever usee pure white.
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