Manga Character Re-Re-Make [Ughhh... Sorry, Lol]

[SapphireDragon13]

Kitsune
by: Jenelle

http://i262.photobucket.com/albums/ii100/FirestarOfDarkness13/KitsuneMoonlightLake.jpg

Yeah........ The last post I made of this character just seemed a little bit too prissy, with the dress and all, so I changed the clothing a bit and included a background *from the internet* to fill the white void of nothing that was previously behind the character. Anyways, I'd love all of your comments and criticism, thanks!

~Jenelle

Drawn with:
-Pencil
-Faber-Castell Inking Pens
-Copic Ciao Markers

Edited with:
-Corel Photo-Paint X3

P.S. I know the hands are slightly too small, and the head looks a little large.... maybe not? ... That's just how I see it. Oh, and my scanner messed up the colours on the tail a little bit--It looks slightly pink-ish and it isn't supposed to. Dx

[Brighter.Tomorrow]

The hair is awkward, it's square at the bangs, and the ears, one is longer then the other.
Other then that, it's done fairly well, would have preferred a drawn background, but still good.

[SapphireDragon13]

The hair is awkward, it's square at the bangs, and the ears, one is longer then the other.
Other then that, it's done fairly well, would have preferred a drawn background, but still good.

The hair was supposed to be awkward like that... ... And :eek: one of the ears IS longer than the other one!! :( I guess I'll have to work on it some more... Thanks for the comment! :)

~Jenelle

P.S. Yeah, I'll sketch the background next time. ;)

[TySpeedy]

That's pretty good! I love it!!!!^^

[SapphireDragon13]

That's pretty good! I love it!!!!^^

Thanks! :)

~Jenelle

[darkwoon]

Oooh, I didn't notice that one!

Ok, some comments:

Proportions: I think you correctly noted that there were proportional issues. The head is definitely too large for the body - consider as a rule of thumb that the whole human body is around 7-8 heads tall, and about 2 heads wide on the shoulders. Also note that a hand fully extended covers most of the face.

Consistent lightning: You took a background where the sun was visible. Nice, but then you have to make your shadows comply with it on the drawn part. And, obviously, your character needs to interact with its background - that is, it should project shadows over the landscape.

Shadowing: The position of the light source is hard to determine from the shadows you added to the drawing. I'd suggest using a little stronger contrasts and a firmer definition of the light source - that would greatly help giving the character a feeling of depth. Try also to vary the way you apply shading: soft transitions work better on the textile parts, but sharper ones usually render better on metallic parts. Use multiple levels of shades on the tail to underline its volume as well as the fact that it is not a single piece, but instead an assemblage of hair.

Background: Using a stylized manga figure with a realistic background is taking risks. It doesn't work very well, because the difference between the two styles is too big. As a result, the figure appears flat, while it would have appeared much better on a drawn (or monotone) background. As you noted yourself, don't use such a mix in the future - a single color background is always a better choice.

Minor details: One eye seems larger than the other. Ears look very rigid - cosider making their fur more visible or flex them a little so they look part of the body rather than added prosthetics.

Nice drawing overall. I really think you shouldn't attempt to post-edit your drawings on the computer (safe for colorimetry adjustments) - your traditional media skills are quite sufficient enough to not require tweaking. Hope to see more of your work soon!

[SapphireDragon13]

Oooh, I didn't notice that one!

Ok, some comments:

Proportions: I think you correctly noted that there were proportional issues. The head is definitely too large for the body - consider as a rule of thumb that the whole human body is around 7-8 heads tall, and about 2 heads wide on the shoulders. Also note that a hand fully extended covers most of the face.

Consistent lightning: You took a background where the sun was visible. Nice, but then you have to make your shadows comply with it on the drawn part. And, obviously, your character needs to interact with its background - that is, it should project shadows over the landscape.

Shadowing: The position of the light source is hard to determine from the shadows you added to the drawing. I'd suggest using a little stronger contrasts and a firmer definition of the light source - that would greatly help giving the character a feeling of depth. Try also to vary the way you apply shading: soft transitions work better on the textile parts, but sharper ones usually render better on metallic parts. Use multiple levels of shades on the tail to underline its volume as well as the fact that it is not a single piece, but instead an assemblage of hair.

Background: Using a stylized manga figure with a realistic background is taking risks. It doesn't work very well, because the difference between the two styles is too big. As a result, the figure appears flat, while it would have appeared much better on a drawn (or monotone) background. As you noted yourself, don't use such a mix in the future - a single color background is always a better choice.

Minor details: One eye seems larger than the other. Ears look very rigid - cosider making their fur more visible or flex them a little so they look part of the body rather than added prosthetics.

Nice drawing overall. I really think you shouldn't attempt to post-edit your drawings on the computer (safe for colorimetry adjustments) - your traditional media skills are quite sufficient enough to not require tweaking. Hope to see more of your work soon!

As I was reading your critique, I agreed with almost everything that you mentioned. I would like to mention that I'm aware of the rule with the length of the body being about 7 heads tall, I just made the mistake of drawing the head last... Lol. Also, I'd like to note that one eye is slightly larger than the other in an attempt to portray the fact that her face is at a slight angle--However, I think I may have made that a little bit too apparent. Anyways, thank you for the comment! :)

~Jenelle

[SapphireDragon13]

it's just a tiny little detail of her face. It's still awesome!

Thanks :confused:

~Jenelle