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furry arts discussion => artwork techniques & tutorials => Topic started by: Daxenobis on January 16, 2013, 03:51:37 am
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So this is my first attempt at drawing my character, and it's a work in progress. Overall I would like critiques please, and below I have listed a few issues I am having with it. Thank you so much for any help!
So I'm not 100% sure he looks like a mouse, trying to make him look mouse like. Any tips on how I might make it look a bit more mouse like? Though it might be too early and not enough drawn to determine. If so that is fine. I think the ears look pretty mouse like, though you may disagree, if you do please tell me so and how I might be able to fix it.
I am having issues with trying to get the top of the snout area to not be as flat not sure how to convey that it is roundish. Why right now there are just lines going from the tip of the nose to the base of the eyes.
The cheeks I think I need to make a bit more... chunky I guess. I'm not exactly sure. The cheeks and snout or maybe just the snout are just too skinny I think, so I might make them a bit wider.
I'm not sure on how to do the hair, and the fur.
I will continue to post progress on here, and on my FA page, for anyone interested.
(http://i1300.photobucket.com/albums/ag84/Daxenobis/IMG_20130115_135946_zpsc8eecfbb-1_zps623ab120.jpg)
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Your front view sketch is well done for a mouse character. Depth and
roundness is best shown with highlights and shading. Here is a video
for help on drawing fur.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9MhIzzekM14 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9MhIzzekM14)
I would google for furry mouse drawings and images. References
are always helpful.
It takes lots of practice, but I am sure
you will do well.
Old Rabbit :orbunny:
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Thanks for the video and for moving it, sorry for putting it in the wrong forum section.
That does help, and I will have to get a mechanical pencil (need one anyways) with some red graphite.
Edit- So here are some changes I made. I did implied fur rather than realistic like in the video. Eventually I will try that out though.
So I also made his cheeks a bit wider, which I think made him look more mouse like. I can't decide on the teeth. I could do just the canine teeth, or a full set. Can't decide.
(http://i1300.photobucket.com/albums/ag84/Daxenobis/IMG_20130116_235613_zps0abda32b-1_zpsaf3cc859.jpg)
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Hey, that looks really great! Nice work :D
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Teeth can add to the character of your subject. Big teeth gives an agressive look.
The smaller buck teeth generally is more of a cute look.
Glad to help. This section of the forum is better for helps.
Keep up the good work. :orbunny:
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Thanks Drake.
Old Rabbit, I agree teeth do add something to the character. So I decided on a partial set, which matches the more cartoony style.
I know they aren't mouse like, but he isn't full mouse. I think he is ready to ink, (except the teeth I will wait on those because I might change it.) Then I shall proceed to color him in.
Though I might scan it and switch to a digital medium so that the drawing itself can be cleaner, and I can fiddle around with the coloring without having to worry about changing the color if I choose to change it. For the hard copy once I figure out the color scheme, I don't know what medium to use. I am considering pastel, though I don't know if those are too dark. I am thinking of a grey and white color scheme. I also want to fill in the background with some color.
(http://i1300.photobucket.com/albums/ag84/Daxenobis/IMG_20130117_220011_zps4124dffa-1_zpsfa476e74.jpg)
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The furry adds and teeth look fine ..
Should make a nice drawing when done. :orbunny:
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Lol, I love how each time you draw him, he gets furrier and furrier :D! But as for what I'm seeing with the teeth xD well, I know he's not full mouse and that's a way to show it. I can get use to that, just gotta see if you keep them so. But, I can't wait to see the final product you have with him :3! Cute heh.
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Thank you for the compliments :)
Okay so I started to color him in. My PC wasn't responding well with the tablet and gimp just doesn't seem to work too well. So the outline lines are not as smooth as they could be. I have never done color before, so this is new to me haha.
I am going to add more grey around the muzzle, I might even change it to black. I wanted the color around the eye to sort of resemble ancient Egyptian eye makeup, as my character is part Egyptian. I also want to make his eye different colors, that will change later.
My only concern with changing the grey to black is that the eyes pupil will get lost along with the inside black of the mouth.
(http://i1300.photobucket.com/albums/ag84/Daxenobis/DaxColor02_zps5631a7ec-1_zps70885eaa.jpg)
Edit- Mods if you guys need to delete any images or stop posting images until I finish the artwork due to site bandwidth and whatnot I can remove them if need be.
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Your doing well. It takes time to get used to computer drawing
and coloring. There are other free art programs. Here is one
that you can check out. www.inkscape.org
I haven't used it, but looks like it has a good variety of tools.
Keep up the good work. :orbunny:
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I got a bit carried away in drawing and just fiddling around with color, and learning this new program. This drawing has now sort of turned into a painting. I found a copy of Corel Painter and started using that. I will have to check out the program Old Rabbit, free programs are sometimes better than the ones you can buy (especially since they are free :D)
So now I am getting more into creating depth. I haven't touched the tongue, nose, or teeth yet. So they still look just like they did in my previous post.
Anyone have any tips on highlights and whatnot? Such as, should I make the brightest parts just white and the darker parts near black? Or should I use more of just a lighter version of the color? I am thinking of keeping the outline, as it helps keep that cartoony look. Though I might post it once it is finished without the outlines (well without necessary ones).
(http://i1300.photobucket.com/albums/ag84/Daxenobis/DaxColor07_zps32d36487-1_zps4f6ac9cf.jpg)
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Usually I dab a bit of white on, and then use a tool that smudges
the color enough to mix it in to lighten the area I want.
Shading can be done the same way if you like. Add a dab of dark
color and smudge it out
I am not sure about Gimp or other programs. But Photoshop has
smudge, burn, and other tools that work well for highlights and
shading. Might check helps to see if they have anything special
for that.
Since you colored it I did notice the lower jaw on the
right curves out a bit. Probably would look better if it was
straighter
The markings are a nice touch though. :orbunny:
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Okay thanks, I tried to smudge it in. I think I am pretty much done with it. Please rip it apart haha, that way I can improve.
I decided to invert the colors so I could get white fur with black markings instead to see what it would look like. So this one isn't quite as polished as the original. I also have another one without the outline just for fun. Which do you think looks like a better fur color scheme black base with white or white base with black?
(http://i1300.photobucket.com/albums/ag84/Daxenobis/DaxColor10_zps48da8eac-1_zps447439f9.jpg)(http://i1300.photobucket.com/albums/ag84/Daxenobis/DaxColorInverted_zps2ac1ddc5-1_zps0aba72c0.jpg)(http://i1300.photobucket.com/albums/ag84/Daxenobis/DaxColor10without_outline_zps0725b91e-1_zps340d74d9.jpg)
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It's really depends on what kind of personality you want the
character to have. Kind of like the white hat black hat good
guy bad guy thing.
Otherwise it's just what you the artist likes. Both views have their
good points.
Now you need to work on a 3/4 view. Front/side views are
a good place to start, but off center views have a more natural
look to them. Foreshortening and perspectives are always good
to work on.
Keep up the good work.
Old Rabbit :orbunny:
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Okay gotcha, I will keep that in mind.
I was going to go for a 3/4 view of just the head for my next attempt. Then followed by working on the body and clothes of the character, along with accessories. Each on their own, then combining everything into one piece. Slow pace, as to not get frustrated and give up haha
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That's good. Don't worry about making little mistakes. It's part
of the learning process.. I used to worry about them, but I
found after while mistakes often can be worked into the
drawing just like it was planned. Which takes the worry
out of it.
That's when the fun of drawing really begins. Soon you will
look at the world with the eye of an artist.
If your having problems with perspective and shading. Good
practice for that is drawing still life. Apples, oranges, bananas,
stuff like that. Another thing, practice things that are hard
for you. Not all the time of course. But putting off things like
that will come back to bite you later.
Keep up the good work, and draw every day. :orbunny:
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Thanks, I will keep that in mind incorporating mistakes. That's a good idea.
Things that are hard I can probably do, my biggest things is just trying to figure out what to draw, but I should (as far as practicing still life) just not worry about it, as it is just practice haha.
Draw everyday, I could do that. I am guessing you mean smaller things everyday, that are more quick and don't focus a lot on details? Such as if I was at a coffee shop or something, I would draw a cup, draw the basic shape for perspective and then shade it in? Just to get some everyday practice in.
You have been very helpful. I really appreciate it :)
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Drawing every day is just good practice. Improves your eye/hand control
for drawing.. Things to draw can be just doodling, or working
on a larger piece..
The key to making a nice drawing is the details. It's the little things
that make a drawing look good or make someone do a double take.
Example. Drawing a pirate one needs to do a good job with the
clothing, and weapons.
Of course you need to draw the figure well too. Wither it be a
furry, or cartoon character.
It gives it more of a natural look the human eye expects.
Ideas for drawings can be any idea from stories to daily experiences. Sometimes
one can offer to do small drawings for others.
I am always happy to help where I can.
Keep up the good work. :orbunny:
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dude this looks amazeing keep it up this is really good and remember that the front veiw is the hardest one to do yet you did it perfect ^_^
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Thanks icefox302 :)
I am having issues with the 3/4 view.
The snout is really bugging me. And the hair I can't seem to get too look how I want. He doesn't have his markings yet which I will add it later once I get the rest down.. I tried making the snout a bit more narrow and moving the right eye closer because of that and it still just doesn't look mouse like. Can't seem to figure it out. Maybe make the end of it a bit more narrow?
Definitely a different style then my last one. I'm trying to make it a bit more realistic. I'm going to re-do the fur and follow that video you linked Old Rabbit, but first need to get that shape down haha.
(http://i1300.photobucket.com/albums/ag84/Daxenobis/68d79c7d-d4e8-4f61-825b-5ed528eed702_zps42a1358c.jpg)
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The 3/4 view drawing is looking pretty well.. The only things I
see is the ears are shifted a bit to far to the characters
right, and the right ear is little too far forward.
You could just leave the left ear alone and move
the right ear back and to the left a bit.
The hair should look better after the ears are shifted
to the left a bit. Otherwise the hair design looks good.
Unless your going for more of a toon design the muzzle
is really too small for a mouse . A mouse head is a lot
like a rabbit, just more pointed.
Another thing study the things that make a mouse
look like a mouse. In toon designs it's always helpful
to exaggerate things a character is known for just a bit.
The head by it's self might be part of why it's not looking
quite like a mouse. Sometimes you need the whole character
to get the look your wanting. skinny tail and all.
If I may. I suggest looking online for a picture of Stuart Little.
This is a cute design of a humanoid mouse. You might not want
it to use this character style, but the design has a good mouse face.
The following link has several pictures and cartoon renditions of
the character which can be very helpful in designing your
own character.
http://images.search.yahoo.com/search/images;_ylt=A0oG7ljMNDZRiz8ADbdXNyoA?p=stuart+little&fr=moz35&fr2=piv-web (http://images.search.yahoo.com/search/images;_ylt=A0oG7ljMNDZRiz8ADbdXNyoA?p=stuart+little&fr=moz35&fr2=piv-web)
Over all your doing good with the 3/4 view
Getting everything lined up takes practice, but
your getting there.
Keep up the good work.
Old Rabbit :orbunny:
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Hello again. I haven't posted in a while.
Old Rabbit, I have scrapped the image I posted and started fresh. This is going for a more cartoony look. I am trying to get it done before a con, so I can have a badge haha. Critiques would be helpful :) I appreciate any feedback as usual. I just started shading it in, but I can easily go back and fix the outline and placement of parts if need be.
I moved the (in this case his left ear) more towards the back of his head, since from what I could tell from Stuart Little that is how his ears are. I also made his snout a bit more mouse like. Lower jaw being further back than upper. I think it looks better. I also tried making the tip of his upper jaw a bit slimmer, and sleeker. Since that is how the actual animal's is.
(http://i1300.photobucket.com/albums/ag84/Daxenobis/76358bb9-ea75-4f04-ac72-e1bb7d3d240e_zps6c542bbd.jpg) (http://s1300.photobucket.com/user/Daxenobis/media/76358bb9-ea75-4f04-ac72-e1bb7d3d240e_zps6c542bbd.jpg.html)
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It's a nice toon design Dax. The ear positions look good too.
I presume his head is tilted to the right since the left ear, and
eye is higher. The fur, and hair look nice.
The neck is a bit too long I think. A little more detail work on
the eyes would make it look better too.. Perhaps even make
them a bit larger since it's a toon design.
Eyes are the window to the soul, and emotion.
so it's always best to do them well.
Keep up the good work. :orbunny:
Don't forget to shade the left ear. It
looks unfinished or uncolored as is.
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Okay I made the neck shorter. The eyes I took from my previous attempt and they freak me out a bit XD. I originally drew them to be realistic. I am probably going to change them to make them more toony, but I put them there so I have reference on detail. I made the eyes larger, and I added shading to the left ear.
I think the eyes need to be a bit more...vibrant in color. They seem kind of dull to me.
(http://i1300.photobucket.com/albums/ag84/Daxenobis/7638499c-921b-45dd-bbaf-bf771270ef65_zpsa582e0bd.jpg) (http://s1300.photobucket.com/user/Daxenobis/media/7638499c-921b-45dd-bbaf-bf771270ef65_zpsa582e0bd.jpg.html)
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It looks a lot better.. The left eye looks a bit shorter in height. The
ear looks real good, the shading makes it look much better..
With toons you may have noticed most pupils are just black, and
usually fairly large. Not a lot of the white of the eye or iris showing
depending on its emotion. You can play with a iris and color it, but
it's best to keep the iris thin, and the pupil large.
Fear usually is shown as a tiny black pupil. Cute or sad with large
pupils and two reflections. You can look at how others show emotions
if you wanting to show it.
One thing that makes the eye look nice is the light source reflection.
It helps give it depth, and shine. After all the eye is wet. Just like a
shiny nose. It's nice if the reflection can help show a bit of the curvature
of the eye as well.
I noticed you are using a pink nose that mice have. Most toon
mice/animals have black noses. That's up to you of course. It
looks alright as is.
Keep up the good work :orbunny:
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Okay I added bigger pupils and made the eyes more cartoony. I also added reflections. I did make the eyes a tad bit smaller, but still bigger than the original. Just the size of the eyes were too big for what I wanted, and were bugging me. I am really not sure what to do next.
(http://i1300.photobucket.com/albums/ag84/Daxenobis/43a480f6-f4fb-4548-951d-800ade18f8ba_zps78f87300.jpg) (http://s1300.photobucket.com/user/Daxenobis/media/43a480f6-f4fb-4548-951d-800ade18f8ba_zps78f87300.jpg.html)
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The drawing looks really good overall. The iris changes helped, but I think you
need to practice drawing eyes separately. It's not easy for me to explain with
words on how to draw them, but my way isn't necessarily what you like either.
I know how it is to work on a drawing and not have it look the way I want it.
If you like I can draw the eyes to my satisfaction, then you can decide if they
look better to you or not.
There is some other references you should look at. I have encluded google links for
Redwall Characters. Some of these are more realistic, but to me some of the best
small animal character designs I have found. You can look at their eyes, and perhaps
see some designs you like.
Keep up the good work. :orbunny:
https://www.google.com/search?q=redwall+martin+the+warrior+characters&client=firefox-a&hs=F7J&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=8jCiUej1Cof89gTZ9YC4BA&ved=0CAoQ_AUoAQ&biw=1053&bih=494
https://www.google.com/search?q=redwall+matthias+the+warrior+characters&client=firefox-a&hs=Poe&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=ZTGiUdadFIvy9gTL0IDQAw&ved=0CAoQ_AUoAQ&biw=1053&bih=494
https://www.google.com/search?q=redwall+characters&client=firefox-a&hs=5qe&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=CzKiUYvTGY_O9ATkxIHADA&ved=0CAoQ_AUoAQ&biw=1053&bih=494
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Yeah go ahead if you want to draw some eyes yourself. And okay, so I should just practice drawing eyes themselves. Redwall's drawing are awesome. One of my favorite series, I just didn't think to look at the art. I do see the big pupils in the tv show/movie version of the books.
As for my drawings, I was looking at this set of tutorials. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AeSmClhlxxw
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Yeah go ahead if you want to draw some eyes yourself. And okay, so I should just practice drawing eyes themselves. Redwall's drawing are awesome. One of my favorite series, I just didn't think to look at the art. I do see the big pupils in the tv show/movie version of the books.
As for my drawings, I was looking at this set of tutorials. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AeSmClhlxxw
Looks like a nice tutoria Dax.. One needs to be carful not to put over realistic eyes
or other parts on a cartoon style drawing though. It will look out of place. That's
part of where experience helps a lot. The good Redwall art is very nice artwork. I
enjoy looking at the animation and still art. :orbunny:
Ok I will give it a shot. Might be a day or two.
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Hopefully this will be helpful to you Dax. Not only did I
change the shape of the eye I addes some highlights and
shading to show some eyelids and depth. This might have
been what you were missing. The head had shading and
highlights but the eyes had a painted on look.
The Iris is the same size, but I did make the pupil a
bit larger. I changed the eye reflection to show a bit
of curvature. I have found this to look nicer.
I decided to set the eyes to show the character looking
to the right. I don't know if you had that in mind, but
it seemed to fit the head tilt.
(http://www.oldrabbit.org/odds/daxmouseeyes.jpg)
Oh I shortened the neck a bit more. Seemed a little long yet.
Keep up the good work Dax. :orbunny:
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I agree about the eyes, and I tried to make it a bit more like your by adding depth of eyelids and stuff. Those are tiny details haha. So I attempted it, and it kind of works. Not quite as well as yours though. I think I need to add more shading, mine isn't too visible. So I will probably add more, and work on the eyelids more.
I tried to change the eye shape a bit, but not too much.
(http://i1300.photobucket.com/albums/ag84/Daxenobis/5018486f-dd0d-4345-90c6-3f6bf32b1674_zpsedefb169.jpg) (http://s1300.photobucket.com/user/Daxenobis/media/5018486f-dd0d-4345-90c6-3f6bf32b1674_zpsedefb169.jpg.html)
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Looks better Dax.. In case your wondering the work I
did was with photoshop. I increased the resolution so
I could blow it up, and still make small changes.
Keep up the good work. Your gaining experience each
time you draw. :orbunny:
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This is awesome work Dax!
I'm really loving this new art of yours!
Hmm, His shirt looks a little...Flat? If you get what I'm saying ^^
Keep up this brilliant art!
-Scar
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I changed the resolution to a higher amount, so I could do minor details like you did Old Rabbit. I added outline of shadow and highlights for around for where the eyelids would be. I need to make the eyelids a bit bigger, like your drawing on the right eye, top eyelid.
I also realized I should probably add eyebrows, for expression in the face. As those are an important part for conveying emotion.
Scar- Yeah the shirt is flat, I get what you are saying :). I have dark areas for where wrinkles are supposed to be, but I haven't really put in much effort into the shirt.. for now. Clothing is a new challenge for me, I have never done it before.
I got a critique at a furcon, about this image saying that the snout was too long. They confused my character for a rat because of it. So I have two different version. I have the original length and the shorter length. I also thinned out the outline. Which do you think looks better?
I do know that mice have more triangular and thinner snouts around the nose area. There is some issue with coloring going outside of lines. I was just too tired to fix it for now.
I also realized that the left eye gets lots within his fur, so I need to add in more shadow or something to help define that there is an eye there. I also didn't redo the shirt outline, just cause of getting tired once again haha. I am going to do some research on shirts before working on it.
Thanks again for all the help! I really appreciate it. I feel like this drawing is turning out better than the last one I did.
(http://i1300.photobucket.com/albums/ag84/Daxenobis/94617147-3a24-4bec-910a-2b81af860c95_zps8790d8bb.jpg) (http://s1300.photobucket.com/user/Daxenobis/media/94617147-3a24-4bec-910a-2b81af860c95_zps8790d8bb.jpg.html)(http://i1300.photobucket.com/albums/ag84/Daxenobis/29dc8229-0430-4d33-81d2-987a0a426398_zps4f5c76b8.jpg) (http://s1300.photobucket.com/user/Daxenobis/media/29dc8229-0430-4d33-81d2-987a0a426398_zps4f5c76b8.jpg.html)
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Your doing better all the time Dax. The changes
you did were good too. It takes a lot of practice
to be able to see all the little details that help make
a drawing come alive so to speak. Eyebrows are a
good idea for showing emotion.
The length of the snout probably is better drawn a
bit shorter, but everyone has slightly different ideas
about those kinds of proportions. After all furry
characters are largely drawn to suit the artist, or how
someone asks you to draw it. You can't please
everyone. It all depends on how realistic you wish to
make it.. Of course if your planning to be a professional
artist then you do need to learn how to draw using
proportions most people like or expect. Better plan on
going to art school too, since few if any studios will hire
self taught artists.
Disney's Goofy has a very exagerated snout. Mickey
isn't drawn to look much like a real mouse or Goofy a dog.
Of course they are cartoons, but it shows the variations
you can have.
It's part of your style, how you like to draw. It's what makes
it fun. (at least to me.) If we all drew the same it would be
rather boring to the viewer.
Then there are the variations for the following.
Cute...big eyes, small nose, small muzzle, high forhead.
Tough...Blocky features, slightly furrowed brows, large chin.
Mean...Large mouth, showing teeth, Large features, and chin.
Mad...furrowed brows, mostly like mean. except female would be
smaller features.
Sad...droopy features, eyes, and eyebrows, frown. tears perhaps.
Male...sharper features, larger muzzle, mouth, nose. short hair.
Female...softer features, smaller muzzle, mouth, and nose. long hair.
These are just the basics. and by no means cast in stone. I am
sure you have noticed many of them yourself. There are other
subtle differences that help show emotions and gender. They
all come with experience and how you like to draw.
Keep up the good work. :orbunny: