Messages

Good one, Saltwater Taffy!



Draw the most disturbing face/expression you possibly can.

Yeah, I agree with the last part of what Fitz said a lot. Don't be afraid to fail, don't be self-deprecating, and stop trying to be someone else's perfect. (These are probably some of the hardest things for an artist to do, at least for me.) If something turns out "bad", don't beat yourself up. Look objectively at the pic to see what went wrong and what you can do to fix it. Try drawing the same thing again with these corrections in mind.

I think all artists hit multiple walls with their art throughout their life. I was deeply into anime in high school and part of college, and in retrospect, feel this really restricted me artistically. I unintentionally trained my eye to look at the outlines of things and simplified forms instead of looking at internal musculature, light sources, and so on. I also had more trouble with realistic faces, proportions and perspective. My style has changed over the years, and I still really enjoy drawing cartoonish (not really anime-style) stuff, but it was hard to train myself out of bad habits.

One of the things that helped me improve the most was surrounding myself with art I liked and extensively looking at art and art styles that resonated with me. Looking really critically at these pieces to see what made them work, as well as the artist's process was really useful. Another thing that helped is getting outside opinions on my own art from other artists and non-artists. Don't be afraid to show stuff to others, even if you think it's bad. (This was and still is really hard for me to overcome.) Oh, and of course, practice practice practice.

I don't consider myself an amazing artist, but I feel I've improved a lot in the last couple years. Just work though this hump, and don't give up. You'll most certainly come out stronger as a result.

Misj', thank you so much for the feedback! You had some really great comments that I'd like to try out with the piece.

• The light source/shadow idea is a really interesting thought. I'll be experimenting with that next week for sure.
• I really like the way you made the hands and cards more dynamic. It's a lot more interesting to the eye. I'll be playing with that idea more as well.

Thanks again, I really appreciate you taking the time to give me your thoughts!

Yeah, I was gonna say Conan too.

[Week 1, Step 2: Thumbnails (May 9, 2013)]

Update! (Click here to go to the original post.)

***********************************

Week 1, Step 2: Thumbnails (May 9, 2013)
After looking through a bunch of reference images, I made 5 thumbnails in order to explore
the composition of my piece. I always force myself to do 3-5 thumbnails before starting a pic,
even if I already have a strong idea on what I'm going to do. It's a challenge to go against my
preconceived notions for a piece, but sometimes, I'm able to come up with a more dynamic composition.



My first idea for the piece was the bottom, left image, but I ended up going with the top, right image instead.




Week 1, Step 3: Rough Sketch (May 9, 2013)
Here's the beginnings of a rough sketch. During the sketching, I often flip the canvas horizontally or
vertically. Your eyes get used to seeing the image in its regular form, so rotating or flipping it allows
your eyes to better spot glaring errors with the piece.

         




Here's the end result. I think this will be enough to build on, but I may revise it in the coming days.

I often have trouble with perspective, so I suspect I will have problems making the cards/table/hands look right. If anyone has any pointers, I'd be much obliged.

Ok, my turn!

Cool! The images look neat. Looking forward to seeing the final project!

OHMYGOD! This is going to sound insane, but I totally chose a hermit crab based on the fact that I saw Parasect when I looked at the shape!!!

WHO'S THAT POKEMON?



...IT'S PARASECT!

Here's my entry:


[imgzoom]http://i.imgur.com/hVPSw5k.png[/imgzoom]

It's a hermit crabbish creature with carnivorous worms living in its shell.

Btw, nice theme, Kasander!

This looks totally amazing and original! I'm excited!

Can I ask how you did the art? What's your process?

I like the character a lot! I think Anian's done some good revisions too.

The only suggestion I'd make is using a lighter color for the outlines. I find it a little distracting, since his head and shoes don't have any outlines. (Unless that's the visual aesthetic you're going for and it matches your game backgrounds and w/e.)

Maybe something like this?

[imgzoom]http://i.imgur.com/ENVoqIT.png[/imgzoom]

The Haunting?

That's a pretty good start for the walk cycle. A couple of thoughts though...

-Head and shoulders should bob up and down when walking. After a step's been taken and both feet are more or less on the ground, the head and shoulders are lower.
-Legs should extend forward, not out horizontally. Right now, the character is doing a little bit of a duck walk.

Here's a really good reference video that may help you out:

[embed=425,349]<iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/vq9A5FD8G5w" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>[/embed]

[Setting]

This sounds fun. I'm in.

-----

Ok, so my monster pic is based off a story I heard on The Drabblecast a couple years ago that really stuck with me. It's called "The Second Conquest of Earth" by L.J. Daly.
Excerpt:

    He sits across from me, a stone slab between us like a tabletop, in what used to be a mausoleum before thieves, human or Kus, shattered the crypts. The Kus's crocodile teeth are bloodied, flecked with gobbets of
    white and gray. The smell of his fresh meal ferments in the summer heat. That blood, that gristle were someone's child. The Kus eat their meat live. Before the image can ignite memory or panic, I force myself to
    examine the details of him. 'Observe, Kasandra.' The old picnic bench creaks under his weight. Even for a Kus, he is huge. The bumpy, loose skin at his throat is the pale green of spring leaves. It hasn't yet darkened
    to full green-brown or begun to swell and dangle, so he is younger than the bulls who rule hereâ€"but old enough to wear the purple chest blazon and whip of a drover. Brawn, not brains. A young tough. He's traveled
    far from the nest. Why? To visit me, of courseâ€"the only attraction in this human cemetery. A sham fortune-teller.

If you're interested in listening to it too, you can...
LISTEN TO THE AWESOME STORY HERE.
Skip to the 1/5 mark, that's where the story begins. It's really well done, you won't regret it.

------

Notes I took from the story for my pic:

Setting
-Story takes place in cemetery
-Cards placed on stone slab (tabletop) that used to be a mausoleum.
-Fortune teller

Lord Jagged (Kus)
-blood on teeth flecked with gobbets of white and grey
-pale green gullet, loose skin.
-young
-purple chest blazon and whip


Week 1, Step 1: References/Inspiration (May 7, 2013)










Week 1, Step 2: Thumbnails (May 9, 2013)
After looking through a bunch of reference images, I made 5 thumbnails in order to explore
the composition of my piece. I always force myself to do 3-5 thumbnails before starting a pic,
even if I already have a strong idea on what I'm going to do. It's a challenge to go against my
preconceived notions for a piece, but sometimes, I'm able to come up with a more dynamic composition.



My first idea for the piece was the bottom, left image, but I ended up going with the top, right image instead.




Week 1, Step 3: Rough Sketch (May 9, 2013)
Here's the beginnings of a rough sketch. During the sketching, I often flip the canvas horizontally or
vertically. Your eyes get used to seeing the image in its regular form, so rotating or flipping it allows
your eyes to better spot glaring errors with the piece.

         




Here's the end result. I think this will be enough to build on, but I may revise it in the coming days.

I often have trouble with perspective, so I suspect I will have problems making the cards/table/hands look right. If anyone has any pointers, I'd be much obliged.

[Atmosphere:]

(In all fairness, I stole my categories from Kastchey's Background Blitz, so it's all good.)

Atmosphere: Kastchey
Composition: Kastchey
Functionality: MeditativePixel
Technique: MeditativePixel

Damn, I guess that was too easy.

Your go, Armageddon!

Seems like a really original idea and I love survival horror! I'll definitely keep my eye on this one.

*EDIT*
You should include a link to the Kickstarter!

Since no one's responded, I'm gonna jump in...

I'm sorry!

Wow, you have a ton of games to play there. Super happy you got We Love Katamari. I do think it's the stronger game, but I would play the first game first, since the second game may not make a lot of sense otherwise.