Playing with vector (contains nudity(+1000 views))

[Chicky]

Or atlest fake vector. I've been playing around in photoshop.

here's my latest creation, a picture of my girlfriend:




what do people think? It was fairly easy to do and a good laugh. Looks quite professional to me too, think it's worthy to go in my portfolio? Would it appeal to professional advertising companies?

lots of questions

Kind regards

[Scummbuddy]

I'd say it's close to professional, but I'd suggest more play and less clunky-boxy lines, mostly at the end of her hair. It's also visible at the right side of her dress. There are too many breaks, when I think it would be a smooth ride around. What I meant before when I said play, is that you should stylize the hair, much like the girl of this advertisement campaign.

http://www.esurance.com/home/tv.asp

[Chicky]

Hey, thanks for the comments Scummy.


I took what you said into consideration and made another image from some lineart i drew a few weeks back.




comments, crit? Professional? 

[DoorKnobHandle]

Is that your girlfriend as well?

Why is her left arm darker? It looks strange to me, as there's no reason why this arm should be darker (there's nothing throwing a shadow on it or anything).

Apart from that I think it's good, I like the clean vector style you present.

[lo_res_man]

erm... I am 19 so it doiesn't matter too much to me, but could you please modify the title of the topic? its a common courtisy when you post newd pics. On the whole its quite nice, but shee seems a little too loose jointed to me.

[Chicky]

i didnt really think it was that needed.

And i was going for a free flowing style, Lo_res_man.

[lo_res_man]

I like free flowing, it just she doesn't seem balanced. Its appears not graceful, more like she's  drunk. look at fashion pictures and goggle about “centre of gravity”, I hope it helps you see what I mean. sorry if I seem a prude.

[MashPotato]

Interesting style, but the lines seem a bit jagged to me... when I think "vector" I think smooth and sharp.  Can I ask how you're drawing in Photoshop?  If you're lassoing, I think a better method would be to use the pen tool.  Here is a picture I did a while ago using only the pen tool and the paint bucket:
http://crabshack.bythegoddess.com/images/FairyDance.jpg

The pen tool allows you to made clean curves (which certainly helps me, with my shaky hands ^_^).  This isn't a great example because I don't know the proper method of doing vector art, and for complicated pictures there's probably a better way of doing things, but it could be a start.

Keep experimenting and practicing ^_^

[Chicky]

Heh thanks for the advice Mash Potatoe, i'll try that for the next one.

And LoRes, i don't mean for it to seem like i'm rejecting your critic but do you not notice the thing in her hand? My original idea was to have her walking across a log grabbing for an apple on a tree.

Mind you, i will take what you've said into mid for the next image. Stay tuned.

[Nacho]

For me it does not look professional, I am sorry. And I could be a bad pal, and not post about it, but since you want to put it in your portfolio I think it is a "friend's advise" to tell this. The images, at THIS moment, could harm your possibilities of being hired. I am not saying "it sucks! Restart it all!!!", just that it might need a couple of hours more of work.

Sorry not to put critics on how to do it. I would focus the image in a completelly different way, so I can't really help, but I think you wanted opinions.

[Chicky]

Yeah thanks Farl I'm going to be working on another one soon. But i'm quite busy with my ags game atm.

[ildu]

I wasn't gonna post here, but I read what Farl wrote and I have to say that I agree completely. The first thing you need to have down with vector art is keep the finish consistent. If the line is meant to be blocky then it's blocky, but if you make flowy lines, which is usually the case, you have to keep consistent with the flow, the bends and the details. But this is just technique, nothing to do with design.

The lines of the first one are way too blocky and inconsistent. The shadowing is a bit clunky and the background is basically redundant. Also, it looks like it's been done straight from a photo, which always lowers the score for me. Emphasizing that is the fact that it looks a lot like a self-taken MySpace photo (I guess that's a general phrase nowadays ). You need a little more definition and detail as well.

The second one in my opinion is much better, since it shows more artistic talent. I love the girl from above her waist. Her eyes are especially lovely. However, the hands lack a certain flowing je ne sais quoi and a bit of detail. As for under the waist, the legs are really too weird and unanatomical, even for a pure art piece. The legs need to be redone, so that the balance makes sense and so that they don't basically ruin your otherwise nice concept. The doobie snack is a bit too prominent and cartoony and the smoke coming from it is too solid and boring, and it attracts too much attention. The shadowing is interesting, but you need to work on the finish. The shadowing of the left hand looks incorrect as someone already mentioned. My beef with the background is that it doesn't complement the colors at all. It attract attention away from the nicely colored female with very boring and bland colors that really just cheapen the whole image.

So, if I would be forced to choose one of them to be in an advertisement, I would choose the first one just because it's contemporary, in your face and colorful. I would tell you to work on it quite a lot before that, though. On the other hand, if I was looking to hire you, I would like the second one to be in your portfolio over the first one, since it shows imagination, creativity and artistry, but again I would advise you to work on it some.

[Chicky]

Heh, well i've got a long way yet. So plenty of time to work on my skills. I'm doing a diploma in IT at the moment and by next summer i hope to be doing starting some sort of design course at uni.

But i will keep trying! I'm just experimenting with different styles really, seeing what i'm better at than others. This is probally one im not soo good at.

[Igor]

Heya Chicky!
First of all, i like what i see in this thread.. think you are off to a good start

Problems.. Both pics lack some strong anatomic form that would hold characters together. When working with vectors form is the most important part of pic, as most oftenem than not you can't rely on tons of details that would cover up "mistakes".

First one: define her head a bit more, add a few interesting details that will make picture interesting to look at (hair curls, put a bit more work in her eyes (eyelashes..) and lips, etc.). Also define her nose, right now you can barely see it, even though it's important part of picture.
Coloring is ok, however with stronger shading and a bit more contrasting coloring (red shirt and red lips on pale (or even white) skin for example) you could make everything much more interesting and dynamic.

Second one: my favorite.. however, again, it lacks strong body formation. I can see you tried to do everything a bit more curved.. but then you must stick with it through whole picture to make it consistent. Also the key with this type of coloring is, to use as simple shapes as possible and to avoid too many line crossing (chest area and legs are problematic here).

Anyway, it's a good start! Keep it up

[Chicky]

Thanks man! It's an honor, i've always loved your work.

I'll be onto what you said, the next piece i'll be using some referance images for style and flow. I just can't stop myself working on my game atm.


But yeah, give me a day. Should have something done by then.

[Igor]

Really glad if it helped a bit!