At 3/2/14 09:29 PM, fxscreamer wrote: Welp...here's Nibbles. I took a little more time on him than Scorch, and made a living room setting. I went with soft pastels and colors, going for a minimal yet effective look. Full version is in my gallery.

Whoa, so adorable!

At 3/3/14 04:08 AM, 123mine123 wrote:

At 3/2/14 09:29 PM, fxscreamer wrote: Welp...here's Nibbles. I took a little more time on him than Scorch, and made a living room setting. I went with soft pastels and colors, going for a minimal yet effective look. Full version is in my gallery.

Whoa, so adorable!

Thx :3. I did a line art test in Photoshop and tried some new tricks with the same picture. I'm a bit nervous about the method though, since I'm actually "building" the lines with the vector tool rather than drawing with with stroke pressure. It's the only way I'm able to get consistently smooth lines in Photoshop. Maybe I need a Cintique for pro Photoshop line art?

Not sure which one is preferred.

Thx :3. I did a line art test in Photoshop and tried some new tricks with the same picture. I'm a bit nervous about the method though, since I'm actually "building" the lines with the vector tool rather than drawing with with stroke pressure. It's the only way I'm able to get consistently smooth lines in Photoshop. Maybe I need a Cintique for pro Photoshop line art?

Not sure which one is preferred.

With the default brushes it can be hard to get smooth lines, you can try to find or make a lineart brush set. Drawing on a bigger canvas can help. I tend to draw on a 5000x5000 canvas. Try to never draw on a canvas smaller than 1000x1000 or the lines will always be blurry. But even then Photoshop isnt the best program. You can always try a program like Paint Tool Sai, CC Illustrator, Manga Studios and similar programs. Otherwise It's just down to having the right brush, size and skill from good 'ol practice. A good idea is also to play around with the mouse/tablet settings, see what fits you.you cant really break anything from playing around.

Maybe you didnt want advice. I just thought I'd share what I learned from trying to get better lines. If you have an unstable hand you can for example increase the smooth setting. It will make smoother lines but at the loss of some directional control, depending on what you set it to. Personally I think you should try a different program. Paint Tool Sai has a 30 day trial, I don't know about the others.

If you are trying something else and I misunderstood, forgive me. Good luck to you.

At 3/3/14 09:38 PM, Larkatosa wrote:

Thx :3. I did a line art test in Photoshop and tried some new tricks with the same picture. I'm a bit nervous about the method though, since I'm actually "building" the lines with the vector tool rather than drawing with with stroke pressure. It's the only way I'm able to get consistently smooth lines in Photoshop. Maybe I need a Cintique for pro Photoshop line art?

Not sure which one is preferred.

With the default brushes it can be hard to get smooth lines, you can try to find or make a lineart brush set. Drawing on a bigger canvas can help. I tend to draw on a 5000x5000 canvas. Try to never draw on a canvas smaller than 1000x1000 or the lines will always be blurry. But even then Photoshop isnt the best program. You can always try a program like Paint Tool Sai, CC Illustrator, Manga Studios and similar programs. Otherwise It's just down to having the right brush, size and skill from good 'ol practice. A good idea is also to play around with the mouse/tablet settings, see what fits you.you cant really break anything from playing around.

Maybe you didnt want advice. I just thought I'd share what I learned from trying to get better lines. If you have an unstable hand you can for example increase the smooth setting. It will make smoother lines but at the loss of some directional control, depending on what you set it to. Personally I think you should try a different program. Paint Tool Sai has a 30 day trial, I don't know about the others.

If you are trying something else and I misunderstood, forgive me. Good luck to you.

No offense taken. :D The reason Flash isn't always perfect is a bit how you said, the line control isn't stellar. I can make them very smooth at the cost of curving them. Also, there can be wild fluctuation on pen pressure and brush size. I'm really trying to go for the crisp and clean cartoon edge look like in Disney films and popular cartoons/anime.

I use the Pen Tool for the cat on top, and Flash for the one on bottom. However, I still like that "stroke" look a bit, because it gives style. Perhaps I need to get some better line art brushes, or maybe I'm STILL not doing it at big enough resolution. I usually export a PNG between 200-300 DPI.

I use Photoshop for basically ALL my coloring and backgrounds. I guess I'll I'm in search for is a great line art tool or software. I've heard of SAI, but don't know much about it. Is it redundant software if I'm already using Flash and Photoshop?

I use Photoshop for basically ALL my coloring and backgrounds. I guess I'll I'm in search for is a great line art tool or software. I've heard of SAI, but don't know much about it. Is it redundant software if I'm already using Flash and Photoshop?

It all depends on how you want the end result. If you are aiming for reach-out-of-the-screen-realism it will be pretty hard to accomplish. What I tend to do is draw the lineart in Sai and color in the flat colors and then import it to Photoshop. Sai can save in a Photoshop format so the layers are not lost.

That is an example of how the coloring can look like, you can often tell if someone is usling Sai because brushstrokes look similar, since, indeed, It's a smaller program. Cell shading is much easier and looks better in Sai. The thing about Sai is that is both vector and raster capable so if you like how the program handle both you rarely have to switch program.

I guess the short answer is; best if you try it out.

At 3/4/14 12:53 AM, fxscreamer wrote: I guess I'll I'm in search for is a great line art tool or software.

I find Manga Studio to be the best line art tool around.

Broke my back working on this today. I'm doing new line art methods, and re-working some of my character design. I'm actually pretty happy with this redesign of my character Arlo. It's line art only, but I've decided this will be my next official finished piece. I want to make it epic.

Did a rough base color job for better effect. I have big plans for the finished piece. :D

At 3/9/14 04:33 AM, fxscreamer wrote: Did a rough base color job for better effect. I have big plans for the finished piece. :D

Kewl! But I do think the hands resting on the swords handle make it seems like the handle some kind of bar in it. Maybe just put his other hand on top of the other?
Question though, how do you create those texture in clothes? I saw people create it and I'm really curious how you guys have done it.

At 3/9/14 07:47 AM, 123mine123 wrote:

At 3/9/14 04:33 AM, fxscreamer wrote: Did a rough base color job for better effect. I have big plans for the finished piece. :D

Kewl! But I do think the hands resting on the swords handle make it seems like the handle some kind of bar in it. Maybe just put his other hand on top of the other?
Question though, how do you create those texture in clothes? I saw people create it and I'm really curious how you guys have done it.

I actually agree with the hands. I was noticing that before you even said it. I will be reworking that, along with part of the sword angle, and even adjust one of the eyebrow shapes.

As far as the texture, it's actually fairly easy. In Photoshop I use the wand tool to select the jacket line art, then create a new layer, set it as Overlay, and Create Clipping Mask. I then use a fancy pattern brush I downloaded, and start stamping it in (with white), only going where the jacket area is. Then you can adjust for opacity, blending options, shadow, multiply, burn, dodge, etc.

I'm going to start using all my tricks for the background this time. I'll draw as much as I can this time, but I'm still painting a lot. I'm also going to use a Tracy Butler technique with a luminosity layer and erasing out areas. I'm doing a "majestic as fuck" picture with storm clouds, mountains, lightning, sunrays, etc. Lighting is going to get pretty complex. I'm also going to try and ONLY use the pen tool for my shadow and light edging (no manual drawing). I want everything to be razor sharp accurate.

This is basically ready for background now. This is the first layer shading and lighting. I fixed the hands the best I could, tweaked the eyebrow, added some detail, yadda yadda. Getting close. The background is going to be an entire day of work. Should be worth it though.

And finished! Full 1920x1200 version and description are on my page.

At 3/12/14 10:24 AM, fxscreamer wrote: And finished! Full 1920x1200 version and description are on my page.

Whoa... O.O! This is epic!
I still think it doesn't fit the character's art style, but I don't care anymore.
That storm man. It's beautiful.

At 3/12/14 10:45 AM, 123mine123 wrote:

At 3/12/14 10:24 AM, fxscreamer wrote: And finished! Full 1920x1200 version and description are on my page.

Whoa... O.O! This is epic!
I still think it doesn't fit the character's art style, but I don't care anymore.
That storm man. It's beautiful.

Aw thanks! :3 Also, new upgraded tablet arrived today. Perfect timing. :D

Stuck around the office this evening and played with my new tablet. Decided to do some fan art and made the little moogle Kupo from FF7. 1680x1050 is in my gallery.

Decided to make a new profile pic for myself. I'm happy with how much I've improved since first profile pic from the beginning of the year.

I couldnt help but be distracted that his left eye just seemed to be rotated. >.>

At 3/15/14 04:40 AM, 123mine123 wrote: I couldnt help but be distracted that his left eye just seemed to be rotated. >.>

Or maybe he's eyes are circle and I'm just being dumb about not knowing facial expressions. :C

At 3/15/14 04:43 AM, 123mine123 wrote:

At 3/15/14 04:40 AM, 123mine123 wrote: I couldnt help but be distracted that his left eye just seemed to be rotated. >.>

Or maybe he's eyes are circle and I'm just being dumb about not knowing facial expressions. :C

Well, I might've goofed on some of the shaping. They are indeed a bit more oval, but I was trying to pull the eye lid down and up on each eye for the expression. I think I've done better attempts, but I was moving at a swift pace while doing this (for practical application purposes). I wanted to see what I could do on a whim, since time is a learning factor for me when drawing.

I've been happy some fun in the DA forums in the DrawPLZ section where people create challenges. One of them was drawing a thug animal. I used DA's Muro browser tool to create this, so that's why it looks so messy. I'm just having some stupid fun. :D

Actually, I got a style bug tonight from the crude gun pic, and decided to actually REALLY try to sketch and stylize it. I think I surprised myself tonight.

Finished the line art and cleaned it up. I changed him into a tux and added platform shoes. I think I want to go for a retro vibe. :D

Finished rough base color and shading. Deciding on airbrushed or cell shade look for final piece.

And done! 1920x1200 wallpaper and full description on my artist page. :D

Dang it, I knew I should've slept on it. Something was bothering me, and now I know. I unified the title with the BG.

And this is where I'm hitting a road block. I feel the proportions or something are wrong, but I can't quite figure it out. I think I got too ambitious with the pose and have been staring at it too long. Any suggestions or criticisms are welcome. I might end up redrawing it. : \

The chest looks a tad huge relative to the arm mass, but the head is probably where you've been thrown off. Look where the ears sit, eyes, etc. Enough space for another head under that hat, yeah?

At 3/20/14 10:13 PM, fxscreamer wrote: And this is where I'm hitting a road block. I feel the proportions or something are wrong, but I can't quite figure it out. I think I got too ambitious with the pose and have been staring at it too long. Any suggestions or criticisms are welcome. I might end up redrawing it. : \

At 3/21/14 12:07 AM, maficmelody wrote: The chest looks a tad huge relative to the arm mass, but the head is probably where you've been thrown off. Look where the ears sit, eyes, etc. Enough space for another head under that hat, yeah?

At 3/20/14 10:13 PM, fxscreamer wrote: And this is where I'm hitting a road block. I feel the proportions or something are wrong, but I can't quite figure it out. I think I got too ambitious with the pose and have been staring at it too long. Any suggestions or criticisms are welcome. I might end up redrawing it. : \

Interesting, you mentioned things I wasn't thinking about and now I'm noticing them. The back ear is definitely too high. I was originally thinking about below the waist...the legs. I also think the way the robe was drawn is hurting the entire piece. The "cloth" portion needs a lot of fine tuning. The tail also seems a bit "tacked on" and an after thought.

Had another go at it, being a bit more conservative with the pose. It also probably makes sense for an older wizard to NOT be doing acrobatics. I think the dimensions should be better on this one, but suggestions are welcome. The ball is supposed to be floating, and plan to make it translucent.

Did some touching up on the tail, adding pants wrinkles, and exaggerated the hat size a little more.