Welcome to Gaia! ::

I'm just dropping some of my recent work in here (will update often).

My current project is a set of Final Fantasy fanart pieces. There's some definate problems with the ones I've done so far, but my deadline is fast approaching, and I still have many more to go.


Yuffie from FF VII. Although she's in a Kingdom Hearts outfit. Her weapon is...o_O Hahahaha. That hand and foot..oy vey. Heinous.



Vivi from FF IX. Kind of bored of this composition. I'm thinking about, if I have time, to revisit it later and add to it.



Yuna from FF X. Wedding dress. I like fluffy, furry, feathery trim.

Yuffie, Vivi, Yuna (c) Square-Enix.

My favorite piece is the Lulu/cactaur piece. I don't really know anything about the chracters...but i love the colors and the pseudo-stylization going on there.

The posting is a little awkward in Yuffie's case...i dont really know what it's trying to convey....it's a very clownish and unatural pose, but her face really stands out to me because it seems like it has such a fake expression on it.

Also, i think that when you use shapes like circles and squares like that ina design, it would pay to use a rule or other tool to make them cleaner and more even.

I don't like this at all. It seems to me that you got good at some things but you skipped the basics. All of your poses and facial expressions are awkward and unnatural.

I suggest that you try drawing from life, drawing from posebooks, taking an anatomy class or the like. You need a better understanding of physical form, muscles, weight...

No offense, but if you checked my dA page or website, you'll see I have and do indeed inderstand more than is conveyed by Yuffie's pose.
Here's the link: acrylicana.com
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She's portraying the fool of a tarot deck (my project), hence her clownish pose/face.
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Oh yes, I definately learned to not wing it with circles after creating that Yuffie. XD I fixed that mistake in the Yuna one.
It's sad...I do use rulers (hahaha) I need to be using a T-square for these, though..as that would fix my problem..especially when inking.

Thanks for the crits, I do appreciate them.
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Today's doodle:


Cid Highwind (c) Square-Enix.

And some of my life drawing work:





As well as some studies for pieces above:

I admit a lot was lost while inking. I was so stiff with it that I lost the flow of the original sketch.

So intent on making a cutesy Lulu. I made small, doll-like hands, which don't bother most, but some do have kittens over it, which is silly. Style choice, there. A lot of things were left out in the version above (really not into the composition of either).

Must soldier on...

i'm still trying to sort out what bother's me about Yuffie face, because the explanation you gave, although it provides some insight as to your goal, doesn't completely justify it.

it's almost like the expression isn't being carried through in all of the features of the face. there is a similar problem in the catboy drawing. Try making faces in a mirror and pay attention to how other features beside the mouth convey expression. If Yuffie is supposed to be smiling foolishly, you would expect to see some distortion in her cheeks and the shape of her eyes to be changed as well. The only expressions that are working for me are the ones in the Lulu and Yuna pictures because they show the face in a relaxed pose.

AS for yuffies pose, i think it is fairly well referenced, but still looks stiff because there is no line of movement. if you trace a lin through her skull, spin to her pelvis, you'll see how the curve of her body is not as exaggerated as it could be. especially on a character like Yuffie, whom i would imagine is capable of contorting her body more. maybe you just want to play with making the spine more flexible in your drawings.

Your life drawing stuff looks great, it's even great that you have some to show fter being called out for it...but even if your drawing from observation skills are very well developed, sometimes it just takes more work to be able draw from imagination. None of use claim to be perfect, it's jsut something we notice in your work.

Instead of looking playful or clowny, in that first one the chick definitely looks nauseated and drunk to me. Her hand bent that way looks way awkward, like her wrist snapped and part of the bone is pushing outward... eughh

The other stuff looks a lot more natural. even looking at photos is good to fine tune things like that look on her face, and coordinating it and such