Ok I have a hard time visualizing complicated poses that’s why a lot of my work is typically face shots or just basic poses. I X-copy a lot of my fav artist poses (min-woo, falcoon tae-kim) to maybe get a feel for a pose I’m trying to draw an original character in, but I just can’t visualize it. Can someone help me get over this hurdle? Any practice tips? I would post up some of my stuff but I don’t have a scanner and my web cam sucks.
I usually grab some plain old copy paper and do 5 or so poses on a page. I look thru the poses and refine and change stuff on new pages. Sometimes the pose is good, but the angle it’s viewed from is wrong. Changing the angle of the entire body helps sometimes. If I can’t visualize something, I just keep spitting stuff out until I get something that works.
Basically quantity will equal quality with enough refinement.
Sometimes it helps to draw small to get an overall feel for the pose. I hear a lot of comic book artists will draw their thumbnails on litte post-it notes, then use a projector or scanner to blow up the thumb for the full size art.
Get yo’ self a mirror, son! It’s helpful to have a full-body mirror and one you can have a closer look on a large scale, like a bathroom mirror.
Consider these things.
General Composition…
Draw a square or rectangle the shape of your paper/screen/whatever. Then setup basic shapes that create interesting or dynamic feelings. Then see how a figural pose could work similarly.
Uniqueness…
You probably don’t want impossibly crazy, but try a pose you’d never do. In my crouquis class, the models will often stretch after holding a pose so long. Those stretches are often more dynamic and interesting than the ones they were directed to hold.
Reference/Continuity/Authenticity…
If it’s a karate guy, make it a karate pose. Likewise with other styles. Or dances. Modern, hip-hop, b-boy, locking, jazz. All have a giant range in style and flashiness. A great jazz dancer will look much better than a wannabe b-boy. Is it a boy or a girl? Man or woman? (feminine/masculine) Personality!
Mirrors/Props…
I have a giant ruler used for general art purposes, but when I want a pose it’s also a sword! The body mirror will help in getting the overall pose. While the up-close mirror will help in incorporating details and foreground elements into the composition. Like if you have a hand or fist up close, you’ll want to know how much you plan on foreshortening it and how its form and shape will influence other elements in the composition. Taking the mirror off the wall and into your hands will create awesome effects. Hold in above you and look into it. Now hold it by your waist. Pretty sweet!
Look at sprites from games, famous scenes from movies, dancing images, body building pictures, whatever!
Get some friends. I’ve gone on many excursions to create scenes for which my fellow artists planned on painting. Have a sibling, parent, or roommate take your picture or sketch you. Likewise, you could have them do the posing. Go to a dance studio, dojo, sports or cheerleading practice and sketch your heart out.
To me, a great gesture is way more satisfying than a nicely rendered image.
A WONDERFUL thing to remember is that sketching is a time to make mistakes and take risks. I often fall into the trap of caring too much about a sketch. Think of a general shape that would be cool. Generally i stick with triangular shapes. Make them flat, make them skinny and super long. How would a pose fit into that? Try drawing an arm, leg or fist, way way up close, then finish the rest. Seriously have fun. Whenever I get antsy from sitting/painting/drawing too long. I turn up the music, bust out my sword(or hands and feet) and start swingin’ and dancin’ around in front of a mirror or window. Think of other elements like the background, clothing, and hair that can greatly increase the dynamics or other emotions you may want to suggest like sorrow, anxiousness or sexuality.
In a recent documentary on the history of comics, one artist spoke of an incident where a ‘love scene’ was edited. It was a fully clothed embrace, but the censors thought it to riske. So they opted to zoom in on a portion of the image from the background~ a gun in a holster. Obviously the most sexual part of the whole image!
Both the aesthetics and the emotional and psychological portrayals are important to a great image!
Character Design
Sorry 'bout the double post, but I wanted to have a clean break from my last topic.
This one’s 'bout… Character Design!
I’ll go through some basic things to do and not to do. Go through my process. And cover a bunch of characters that we all know and explain why they work/why i like them!
Getting the abstract things about a character is important because it makes them deeper AND makes the rest of the process easier and more fulfiling.
To start this, you need to consider the very very basic elements. So… Are you designing for a comic? A movie? A video game? A PnP RPG? Just someone to study?
From here consider what you’re trying to convey overall. If it’s a drama/love story, characters are going to portray way different things than if you have a revenge story. I currently have 2 games on the drawing board. The one I’m currently working on is a love story.
The personalities, flaws, and other traits are more related to interpersonal relations. One character, Pine (the black haired guy in my avatar), is very outgoing and charismatic. This will have a direct effect on all the romance and drama that happens between the characters.
The next project I plan to hit up is one about philosophy. It has to do with martial arts and how and why to fight. While being outgoing and charismatic is certainly a valid trait for a character in such a setting, it won’t be the main focus. Ideals like tradition, open-mindedness, and vendettas will be a bigger part.
You can compare two other related things… Cowboy Bebop and Samurai Champloo. Cowboy Bebop had a lot to do with family. It dealt with issues where many of the characters were selfish and how their actions affected the ones around them. These same elements appear in Samurai Champloo as well. However, the focus on SC is about the old and new clashing. The name itself means mixing in okinawan. Mugen represents the new~denying tradition. While Jin represented the past~preserving tradition/scared of the new.
Now that you have an idea you want to tackle, you might consider your message. This may not be clear even to you. Should Jin have just given in and allowed the changes? Should Mugen have been so headstrong about not doing what he’s supposed to? I don’t know! Often it will be about ‘wallowing’ in the idea rather than answering any questions outright.
Whatever the case, you’ll want to take these elements and make them a person!
The next step can start in several ways… I often like to reference other things and I highly promote this concept. We, in our cultures and sub-cultures, have a unique ‘language’ that has already been established. Visually communicating in this language is so wonderful.
No matter what the setting, think of historical, literary, stereotypical and archetypical characters you may want to reference. Samurai, pirate, famous comedian, a music style, philosophy, fashion period, hero, foil, whatever! Now consider how these types of characters behave or ideals they hold. (mugen and jin were both warriors/samurai, but were VERY different. being a warrior brought them together, but their ideals/piont of view made them clash).
I’ll go through my character Pine. He’s pretty cocky, so I thought of bosozoku (japanese gangsters; not yakuza). A classic look they carry is the open shirt with a belly wrap. The belly wrap is also a cool samurai thing. I carried the look of the belly wrap to other parts of his body. This is because he has a secret ‘death wish’ of sorts. He often injures himself and takes dangerous risks. These wraps mimic bandages all over his body from all the injuries he’s sustained. He utilizes capoeira/b-boy in his style so i went with the baggy shorts. He’s also of an islander/phillipino sort of decent so the shorts and wild flip afro went in too. The sandals and no shirt mimic a beach/island attire. And the sandals tie back into the samurai.
I took visual elements of a samurai to tie into his personality and lifestyle. The ronin look is a reference to him having a past very different from his current life. Capoeira is flashy and fit well with his outgoing personality.
http://img204.imageshack.us/img204/6412/advertjq9.png
A glimpse at Pine and others.
Let’s take another look. I have another character who is a bounty hunter of sorts, only she works for a very organized, conservative, and religious organization. (she’s the chick in yellow)
I wanted, again, to reference a samurai. Only this time, I thought of strict ideals of bushido and service under a master. I wanted to have a ‘uniform’ of sorts, only have it be more personal. I thought of a running suit being a sort of modern way to portray this. From there I thought of cool running suits. Only two come to mind, Bruce Lee and Little Mac. I went with Bruce Lee, thought many of you are probably thinking Kill Bill. This was no accident. Though they fight for different reasons, I used the language of our culture to portray a feminine warrior who is fighting for something she loves dearly. In this case, Religion, rather than a child. I took other stereotypes from games and myths that I really enjoy. Throughout square games, samurai throw money. This comes from myths surrounding an ancient warrior who did the same. Other incarnations occur in Zenigata from Lupin (who throws handcuffs) who similarly comes from an old japanese tv show. Inspector Gadget gets his looks from those two! All cases of using the language of our culture to portray a strong character.
Let’s look at some others.
One Piece…
A main concept here is following your dreams. Each character has his or her dream/ideal they are trying to reach/uphold.
This is a neat case because of the main character. Monkey D. Luffy is a kid whos name is a reference to Lupin and his creator’s pen name. This is probably an homage to the artistic style of the two works. Luffy is interesting because has no flaws. He’s outgoing, headstrong, powerful (unbeatable?), and sticks to his ideals. The other characters have flaws along with their personalities and backgrounds.
Zoro Roronoa-His name to is a reference to a swordsman and a famous french pirate. He fights with three swords. The 3rd held in his teeth-a reference to pirates climbing a rope with a sword/knife in their teeth.
Sanji-a chef who fights with his feet and only his feet. This is because he believes his hands are used for sustaining life/creating art so his feet are used for destruction.
Many other characters and ideals exist in this series. What’s interesting is that Luffy has very few flaws. This is because he represents the ideal of following your dreams. While he is doing this as well, his impecible character and charisma make others follow him. As they follow their dream, they follow Luffy (the ideal of following your dream).
Guilty Gear…
A little less deep (from my gathering), but quite interesting and totally cool and likeable.
Sol~stereotypical hero. Headband (heroic/warrior), red (masculine, passion), belt says Free- a reference to his past and changed ideals.
Ky~another stereotypical hero. Clean cut, uniformed, blond hair (upper class), blue (calm, collected, clean)-both contrasting Sol.
Johnny~impossible not to like. Samurai, Pirate, Cowboy… seriously. Hilariously has the name Johnny (reference to american view from japanese eyes) Similarly has long blond hair in a pony tail-a reference to Ken and Terry. Quick draw style references cowboys and samurai.
Jam~historical portrayal of a chinese chef/martial artist trying to prove their cooking. Has attire that is chinese and hot. A reference to timeless means to entice customers. One of the characters with no ‘weapon’ so references such martial arts in other ways. My favorite is her screaming (kiai) especially the “ACHOOO!” which you may have heard/seen in Disgaea and FF4. And the trademark/cliche jump side kick.
Baiken~archetypal samurai who survived a massive attack. Now has a vendetta. (Yoshimitsu too!)
Street Fighter…
Ryu~defined a stereotype. Headband holds a lot of symbolism.
Dudley~references 50’s style. Has a modern haircut with a 50’s flair. Keeps his boxing gloves on at all times-makes for comedy, throw back to balrog/bison, and represents his gentleman ideals. Clean cut and rich! (a reference to east coast hiphop~rise to the top)
Yun/Yang~two bros who came from the same place, but took the same beginnings and made it their own (fighting style,personality,etc) Their clothes too reference a mix of chinese and hip-hop.
Oro~eccentric, a result of seclusion and old age. Both are reflected in his fighting style. Fights with one arm as to not hurt anyone~a strong ideal, yet insulting at the same time! Very stern/grumpy.
Vampire…
Lei-Lei~crazy ghost chick that references chinese fighting styles and myths (moose!)
Talbain~a stereotype in games that i love! Werewolf=martial artist (Digimon, secret of mana)
Quick Shout Outs…
Batman and Villains~very psychological, shows the pros and cons of certain ways of thinking. Blurs the line/shows the grey area.
Onizuka (GTO)~takes a lot of modern things and makes them cool
nearly all capcom and square characters (especially summons, they hold a lot of history and culture)
Naruto~also does a good job of mixing modern day styles with traditional/cliche ninja stuff.
Whoo! That’s a lot. A nice thing to remember is TAKE A RISK! Some of the best characters seem almost cheesy, but are executed so nicely they work wonderfully. (zasalamel is seriously wearing adidas!) Many newer KOF characters are simply copies of something cool then made into ‘hip’ anime conversions of that-no good in my book and are an insult to other SNK homies.
When making a character think of an old story or myth you liked. Think of the ideals and personality behind a character, not just how they look. If you see something that reminds you of a character you like~look into it! You’ll probably find the roots of that character and develop a better understanding of them and creating characters.
haha wait, i remember you posting something similar to this on another forum i go to.
do you happen to be Kunio on gamingw forums? [with 1 post … and registered way back in 2002]
if so, i had no idea you were him but i always had a hunch because of that avatar.
just to make this post not completely useless, here is a guide i made a few months back on how i color my stuff.
Secret’s out!!
Here are some very useful excercises to do.
http://www.conceptart.org/forums/showthread.php?t=76955
The notes in between should be read and studied carefully as well. I just read up on light and how it travels and it just blew my mind. Diffused reflection, specular reflection. The color of a highlight is actually dependant on the color of the light and the texture of the object. The color of the object matters too, but only if the the light is not white or the texture of the object is less than smooth.
http://www.conceptart.org/forums/showpost.php?p=699669&postcount=175
I’m Photoshop CS2 dumb
<breaks 3rd person>
I downloaded PS CS2 a week ago & I’m still having trouble.I can’t get NONE of my artwork to look smooth or crisp.Hell rook went out of his way to give me the link to Kandoken’s step-by-step tutorial & my stuff still didn’t come out the way I want it.I gave up at this point because the shit is frustrating & went back to using Prismacolors.Can anyone of you guys help me out?
DFist: that’s hella long thread on CA, will get to it in time. Looks really interesting at a cursory first glance! Good link, thx.
you got to give it some time man. There’s some learning and re-learning when you switch to digital colouring.
I suggest you might want to start a new thread, and in it list specific areas you need help on. That way we are able to try to help where we can, as opposed to a general question like you have right now… we wouldn’t know where to begin! 
Also post some examples of what you’ve done in PS so far (in the new thread). Have you checked out some of the tuts listed in this thread? SFMC did this step-by-step thing where he did a Sagat pic too, might want to run a search for it.
Here’s a tip I learned the hard way:
There’s more to art than anime.
Think about it, won’t you…
Does anyone have a link to an article/pos about making facial expressions?
lol for real
dont go buyin those HOW TO DRAW ANIMES books and expecting to be a master artist after looking at it
just images of facial expressions in general? uhhhh i would say your best bet is either to study your pretty face in the mirror or google some stock images for ref on different facial structures
Get a Andrew Loomis and/or Burne Hogarth book. Both pdf versions are readily available on the net.They do a good job of explaining expressions.‘Drawing the Human Head’ by Hogarth is especially nice.
This one:
http://img.verycd.com/post_thumbs/0610/post-406186-1159879136_thumb.jpg
hi heres my simple tutorial on using ms paint with mouse since im using it a lot, to those who likes to try/choose the path of paint mouse XD.
That’s a good exercise. Too bad people missed the point heh.
lol XD,that’s why children should just do coloring books its best for them XD.Really good work hadouken i enjoyed browsing your works aside from other artist here.
I like that style a lot. I have no idea how to draw it though.
Would it be wrong to make a thread about this to get more exposure?:
Who else doesn’t use stick figures at all and still has decent artwork?
make a thread about what?
I honestly don’t know about that. I can’t imagine very many people even fall into this category. Even if a particular artist doesn’t use ‘stick figures’ (ie skeletal underdrawings-- are we talking about the same thing?), its most often the result of years of study regarding the skeletal structure. In other words, a lot of artists have already done their homework and can skip straight to the main body masses (torso and pelvis) and get right into the muscle structure.