New Drawing--Opinions?

[SapphireDragon13]

Wild Uyen
by: Jenelle

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

So, uhhm, this is a picture that someone requested on DeviantArt, and I wanted to know what you all thought? Basically, they just wanted me to draw their DeviantID in my drawing style, because for some reason they liked one of my other drawings... Anyways, thanks for any comments or criticism that you may have! :)

~Jenelle

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

Edited with:
-Corel Photo-Paint X3 (Used to add skin tones)

P.S. She is supposed to be facing away, with her back turned towards "us", and she's turning her head to face towards the front of the picture.

Reference Picture:

http://i262.photobucket.com/albums/ii100/FirestarOfDarkness13/UyenReference.png

[darkwoon]

Since nobody else seems to comment on this...

First, it lacks of shadows. Contrast is lacking for those that are visible. I'm not sure if there is any consistent position of the light source, either.

Second, I think that the design of the nose is fundamentally wrong - the human (and assimilated anthros) face has that very visible think right at the middle called the nose, and you can't really dismiss it with just a barely visible hint when you're doing a 3/4 view from a nearby distance of the subject.

The bump in the middle of her back doesn't really seem to match real human anatomy. I'd strongly suggest taking a picture of you or a model in a similar position, and see where the differences are.

The hair volume is not properly rendered. Hair on the drawing tend to look very flat and doesn't follow the curve of her skull. I believe this is because the lightning on the front hair is "straight" and doesn't change from left to right, as one would expect from a curved surface.

I greatly like the thin color work in the hair, or the gentle, smooth tone transitions. I really think you're wasting talent trying to fit into pseudomanga-style; my opinion is that you should attempt to draw your characters with a more "realistic" tone that would put forward your coloring skills in volume handling. This (http://zone.wallpaper.free.fr/galleries/Bande_Dessinee/De_Cape_et_de_Crocs/De_Cape_et_de_Crocs_03_1024x768.jpg) seems definitely closer to your coloring technique than this (http://www.naruto-uzumaki.net/fanart/albums/Autres/naruto-kakashi-sakura-sasuke.jpg). (And swordmen are soo much cooler than ninjas anyway... :P)

Hope this helps!

[Ender]

I like it, its far better than anything i could ever do :P

[SapphireDragon13]

Since nobody else seems to comment on this...

Lol.

First, it lacks of shadows. Contrast is lacking for those that are visible. I'm not sure if there is any consistent position of the light source, either.

It's much easier to portray shadows and highlights with markers, and I've really been struggling with the skin tones lately (I assume this is where the most problems are?), because the markers I normally use are completely out of ink, and I've been relying fully upon my computer program to finish my pictures after colouring the hair, eyes, clothes, etc. ... I'll probably replace them when I have time and money to do so; Lol.

Second, I think that the design of the nose is fundamentally wrong - the human (and assimilated anthros) face has that very visible think right at the middle called the nose, and you can't really dismiss it with just a barely visible hint when you're doing a 3/4 view from a nearby distance of the subject.

I don't like noses, though! (Haha....) :P

The bump in the middle of her back doesn't really seem to match real human anatomy. I'd strongly suggest taking a picture of you or a model in a similar position, and see where the differences are.

Based on the awkwardness of the position, I tried to make it obvious that it was her back, by showing one of the vertebrae in the spine--I did actually use myself as a model; sadly the bones right there and a few other places are visible in most positions...

The hair volume is not properly rendered. Hair on the drawing tend to look very flat and doesn't follow the curve of her skull. I believe this is because the lightning on the front hair is "straight" and doesn't change from left to right, as one would expect from a curved surface.

Agreed. The problem with the way I coloured it is that her hair wasn't really supposed to completely follow the outline of her skull, because it was being blown by the wind. It doesn't really look right, though.

I greatly like the thin color work in the hair, or the gentle, smooth tone transitions. I really think you're wasting talent trying to fit into pseudomanga-style; my opinion is that you should attempt to draw your characters with a more "realistic" tone that would put forward your coloring skills in volume handling. This (http://zone.wallpaper.free.fr/galleries/Bande_Dessinee/De_Cape_et_de_Crocs/De_Cape_et_de_Crocs_03_1024x768.jpg) seems definitely closer to your coloring technique than this (http://www.naruto-uzumaki.net/fanart/albums/Autres/naruto-kakashi-sakura-sasuke.jpg). (And swordmen are soo much cooler than ninjas anyway... :P)

I do prefer swordsmen to ninjas, too, but I also prefer *attempting* to draw manga, because it's far more of a challenge for me than drawing more realistic stuff... The difficulty is what sparks my interest in that particular drawing style, lol. :) Haha, by the way, I'm not really fond of the Naruto series, because it's too common/overrated. :P

Hope this helps!

Thanks! ^_^

~Jenelle

I like it, its far better than anything i could ever do :P

Thank you! :D

~Jenelle