ratcharmer - I really like the experimentation with perspective in your second sketch especially -- but I think you could really benefit with starting out with the basic shapes of your figure, first (as demonstrated in my tutorial on page 4). I made a little redline overlay showing the basic shapes of your second sketch, including a few minor corrections.
Redline critique
It's really important to sketch the figure first, then worry about the clothing. This makes it so much easier to know how the cloth with drape and fold -- because you'll know exactly what lies beneath. (: I also would highly suggest going with pencils when sketching, if you feel comfortable doing so. Of course you're absolutely free to draw with whatever you want to draw with -- but I find that sketching with pencils usually makes things a lot easier, especially if you want to refine that sketch into a full-blown drawing, later on.
Some specific things I wanted to critique about your sketches: In sketch number 2 (the sitting post), the arms seem rather too long. The elbow typically only reaches to the waist/bellybutton area, and the fingertips reach about the mid-thigh area. The torso also seemed to be twisted rather oddly -- that's where midlines come in handy, while sketching.
In sketch number 1, the proportions actually all seem very nice. (: Again, I'd just like to see more defining of the basic shapes, especially beneath the clothing, before getting into lots of detail.
Great job, keep it up!
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Malduk - First of all, I have to say, the scythe looks epic.
Great job with that. I like your idea as well, and the sketch in general is lovely. I just wanted to point out a few anatomical flaws, and maybe help you fix those up a bit. c:
Definitely work on defining the basic shapes, as I've been telling everyone. Here's how they look at the moment.
And here's my suggestion
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(^^ The legs are just a guess/not really important aside from length, as they're hidden by the cloth^^)
The problem with her chest looking so big definitely isn't that her chest is too big -- it's that her hips are much too small. Generally speaking, women's hips tend to be roughly the same width as their shoulders -- even men have only marginally broader shoulders than hips, and then only in some cases. Secondly, her waist is verrry, very low. The waist should be just between the hips and shoulders, and the hips should be just a bit higher than half the body's total height (depending on how long the person's legs are -- with women, if you're going for sexy, it's better to make the hips higher and legs therefore longer. The arms seem to be perfect in length, but pretty skinny -- especially the forearm on the right. The breasts are a bit wide apart, as well. Obviously they won't naturally be squished up together (which is apparantly the common belief... lol), but they generally don't fall that far to the sides,
Also, really make sure you get the basic figure planned out before going in for clothing. And don't erase the lines, when you do! This is the sketch phase, and that's what I want to see -- messy sketches. (:
Anyway, awesome sketch! c: Great job, and keep working at it!
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bored_ninja - Aw, how cute!
Very cute sketch, not too terribly much to critique, here... Again, I'd like to see the shapes within this figure, try and imagine how this guy would look in 3-dimensions, and try your best to translate that onto paper. Don't worry about the details right now, just focus on getting the shapes right, and the basics covered.
Very cute concept! I like this little guy... :3
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ArtCrusade - Very cool! I like that you added in a background, as well! Really make sure you define those basic shapes before going in for detail. His legs are pretty short -- but that's easily avoided if you plan out the figure beforehand, as in my tutorial on page 4. (:
If you want to experiment with more exciting poses, one thing you can do is to just sit down before you start drawing, and imagine a scene involving the character. What is he doing? Why? The sky is the limit for your imagination -- try to figure out something interesting that he could be doing, and try to capture the essence of that. You can make lots of quick 30-second little mini-sketches (called thumbnails), and then stop, take a look at what you have, and pick the one you like best to flesh out a bit more. When I do this, I always like to find some suitable music to listen to as I sketch.
Make sure you sketch out the basic figure before adding clothes. It's easy to forget that there is an actual body beneath the clothes, when you draw everything all at once. Knowing what's there beneath the cloth actually helps you know how the clothing will fall, where the folds will be, etc.
Keep it up, Art! c:
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Wizel - I take forever on speedpaints, too. It drives vrt insane.
I'm a bit of a perfectionist -- I have a reaaally hard time getting any art done in just 15 minutes.
Anyway, very cool speedpaint. I like the creature a lot. Excellent, excellent job with the shading -- that's really great. I agree that the tail does look a little strange sticking straight up like that, but it's not really a major issue. (: Personally, I think it would be a bit more aesthetically pleasing if the head was turned just a little bit more toward the viewer, so that it wasn't in exact profile -- but that's at your own discretion, and definitely not a major fault.
Let's see... Yeah, I don't see much to critique; I think you've done a very nice job with this speedpaint. :3
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Okay, let us know if we missed anyone! I hope everyone had nice holidays, and I hope every has a happy new year! <3
