Help with sketch, please.

[Squinky]

Hi all.

I am doing up a sketch here, and am happy with most things except for the face, it appears to manly and I think it has something to do with the jaw. I have tried re-drawing it until I am sick so was kinda hoping you crazy guys could point me in the right direction, and maybe give some tips onthe rest of the image.

It will be inked eventually though, it's still in rough pencil stage, just for the info....



Thanks for any help.

[Evil]

Her torso seems short to me. I dunno. I think she would be holding the gun more vertical, IE James Bondish.

As for the head, make the helmet much bigger, tilt the nose up, and make the chin smaller.

[big brother]

Take a step back from your work and look at it from a distance. You're getting too caught up with rivets and eyelashes.

Right now, it looks like each part was drawn separately with great attention to detail. Nothing quite seems to fit with everything else.

The gun seems to be at a perfect profile, while everything else looks like it's at an angle. The left arm is shorter than the right, the knees look like macaroni pasta rather than a joint.

If she's sitting on that crate at an angle, her left shoulder would be higher because you're looking down at her. Her head and other parts should be turned to fit the angle rather than being straight on. It might be worthwhile to invest in one of those wooden dummies (they can sit still much longer than a real model) to get the feeling of drawing figures in 3d space.

Don't be tempted to overwork the details to compensate for the anatomy or composition.

I think this is an improvement over some of your other work, as you're trying to portray a more natural pose and you didn't rush to ink this one.

[esper]

Awesome work, Squinky. Big Brother pointed out some things that are obviously wrong with it from an artistic perspective, but an artist of average skill couldn't replicate what you've done and manage to make all the perspective issues, etc., look perfect. You've seen my webcomic, so you know how I draw... I take a more simplistic approach, because I'm by no means a great artist, and it seems to work fine for me and get what I'm trying to portray across... So therefore, there really isn't too much I can say to critique this.

However, I will help you out with what I can in what you initially asked of us: the face. First off, I don't see how it being non-feminine is really a problem. The character doesn't look like it would be a pretty girl, based on the rest of the pic. However, she DOES look a lot like a certain "sweet transvestite from Transexual, Transylvania" that I can think of. However, for the apparent age and occupation of the character, it seems appropriate. If she were younger, the only thing I could suggest would be to lower the eyes, reduce their "bulbousness," and get rid of a lot of the additional lines in the face, then smooth the outline of the cheeks and have it a bit more oval shaped instead of following so closely to the contours of the skull.

And the left arm, by the way, looks broken. It's at a very awkward angle, and the patch on the jacket seems to be in a place where the patch just wouldn't be (kind of on the inside of the inner arm...). Also, I agree with BB that it looks like she's straining a little too hard to put that gun at an exact profile view to the camera.

[ildu]

I agree with Big Brother. You've come a long long way, but it's still a bit wonky. Why is the rightmost edge of the box slanted? It should probably be straight like the other edges. I like the detail, but it's a bit so and so. Some of the detail is well done, but some is lacking. For example, the ropehandles don't look too realistic, nor detailed.

[Sean]

I like the image overall.. really good work!

However as others have pointed out the arm looks a little dodgey and the perspective doesn't match. Although if I'm honest I didn't notice any of that until after I'd read the crits  :. I think the eyes are a bit weighted and dark and that makes her look a little manly. Her chin is too square and wide to suggest feminine form. Overall it's a great piece it just needs refinement