Messages

1

Manga Art Gallery / Re: Redeem art

« on: September 29, 2013, 06:45:37 AM »

...if you have a right sketch of the pose with right proportions, drawing details is the really easy part...

This is the truth. It is critically important that you build off of a solid "skeleton" so to speak (not always a literal skeleton). Otherwise it's just polishing a turd. 

As for the images you just posted, it appears you're at least a little better now that you were then. 

2

Manga Art Gallery / Re: Kyoume's Digial Art Gallery~

« on: September 29, 2013, 06:41:02 AM »

You can place new images in new posts...you don't have to edit the original.  At least that's how most of us do it.

One critique, hands! Practice drawing hands in various poses, at various angles, and also gripping various objects (e.g. swords, coffee mug, etc). Then you won't have to keep hiding them. Also, the shoes (in both images that have shoes) are a little wonky. They aren't terrible, but they aren't quite right.

I think your rendering style is quite nice though. The image with the girl in the white and blue dress is very good.

3

Manga Art Gallery / Re: Redeem art

« on: September 26, 2013, 04:33:36 AM »

Well you said it. If you want to be good you'll have to put in a lot of hard work and be able to take harsh criticism (sometimes non-constructive criticism too). :-)

If you want to do this type of thing for a living you'll need to improve, and you definitely have a lot of room for improvment (to put it nicely). 

Some basic pointers to get you going in the right direction:

1. Learn the fundamentals of art (non-anime/manga). This would include learning perspective (absolutely necessary for all artists, and especially manga artists as they will be doing plenty of backgrounds), composition, lighting/values, color theory, etc.

2. Learn human anatomy, inside and out. Quite literally. Memorize the size and placement of the bones and major muscles (names too, though that isn't as important). You need to know what's going on underneath the skin if you want to be able to draw people well. Once you understand human anatomy and can draw a well proportioned "real" person you'll be able to simplify them down to the anime/manga style.

3. Draw from real life. Sketch anything from random objects around the house to people to vehicles to architecture, working on accurate perspective and proportions initially. As you improve, you can start adding values (shading and highlighting). But a detailed drawing is still crap if the line work is faulty.

I could go on, but basically you'll need a much stronger understanding of the fundamentals of art if you want to be good. :-)

Hopefully that was motivating, not depressing.

4

Manga Art Gallery / Re: Pirate-Empress's Gallery :D

« on: September 26, 2013, 04:21:26 AM »

...

However I do have some criticism for the purposes of hopefully helping you as well as helping me, but one issue I have is the eyes. Don't get me wrong, they're brilliant, but they're the one thing about your art that stops it from being alive. They look like they're just not coordinated enough or they're actually looking at things, they look as if they've literally been painted. Sorry if I'm being harsh or digging into this, but I'm trying to describe why the eyes are an issue for me. But hopefully you get it.

I understand. It's actually a problem for me. I'm just starting to color in this method, I used to do realistic ones, like this (It's a super old picture I made)


So I can't find a style yet for the eyes? (I think..) I'm trying to keep it away from realistic, that probably it dies in the process because I try to keep it anime-ish.. Maybe I need to practice this style more.

But I really appreciate the critcism.. Now I have an idea on things I have to work on in this style.

Thanks! 

I didn't notice it at first, but after TOF mentioned it I see it too.

The simple fix? Make the eyes looking some direction other than straight fowards. You might also want to adjust the upper eyelid too, e.g. lowered if the character is angry or tense (or sleepy), wide open if they are surprised or startled, etc. The lower eyelid will also move a little, but not as much as the top one.

I like the hair on the second girl (the one that's being screamed at by the cactus). The brush strokes are pretty good, as are the colors.

5

Manga Art Gallery / Re: Kesashi's Gallery

« on: September 26, 2013, 04:12:29 AM »

Looks good! :-)

A quick tip: white on white is a little hard to "read." Adding some sort of background—even if it's just a quick bit of color—can help define things a little and make the image easier to look at:



Of course, doing that makes the white appear even brighter. Pure whites really don't occur in art (except for very reflective highlights), so it might be a good idea to darken them a little, and bring in a little of the surrounding color (ambient light). In this case it would probably look better to make the white suit and hair ever so slightly darker, with a hint of magenta/pink. Done right they would still appear white, but they wouldn't be unnaturally so.

I think I've rambled on enough. 

6

Manga Art Gallery / Re: Redeem art

« on: September 26, 2013, 03:57:29 AM »

Hi there!

Unless you have a tablet (Wacom tablet, not an iPad  ), I'd recommend sketching using pencil and paper. You'll likely have a lot more control over it, and will be better able to put lines where you want them. But maybe that's just me. Pretty much everything I do starts out on paper. I know a lot of artists do everything digitally though, so if you're confident with your digital skills then go ahead.

As for getting better...how good do you want to get, how fast do you want to get that good, and for what reason(s) do you want to get that good?

My advice would vary greatly depending on your answers to those questions. ;-)

7

Comics and other Gallery / Re: JP89's other artwork

« on: September 26, 2013, 03:49:33 AM »

First post in a long time. I've been rather lazy for the past few months+ when it comes to drawing/art, so I'm amazed I even finished this.

It's not manga at all, but I thought I'd share it just the same. It's in the comics and "other" part of the forum anyway, so don't complain.



I spent too much time on it.

It's on deviantart here http://jdp89.deviantart.com/art/Girl-with-two-M1911-45-ACPs-402984509. I love it when people view (and fave!) my art, so if you're feeling particularly nice or have nothing else to visit the page. 

8

Manga Art Gallery / Re: Suuper's manga (now includes digital!)

« on: January 14, 2013, 04:11:59 PM »

The torso seems a little short with the one on the right. Make sure you are sketching out basic proportional guidelines before you start actually drawing in the character. ;-)

9

Manga Art Gallery / Re: Suuper's manga (now includes digital!)

« on: January 12, 2013, 01:06:16 AM »

I don't think the head shape is a problem. I mean, that style does exist in mangas. Now if suuper was going for more of a realistic approach, then yes it would be incorrect. ;-)

I think the arms need a little work though. They aren't structured quite right, as revealed by the elbow and wrist joints.

10

Manga Art Gallery / Re: JP89's artwork

« on: January 11, 2013, 07:24:30 PM »

I don't know Nyosan, my methods are pretty slow; you might not want to learn from me. My method does give me a lot of control over things though, which makes editing a little easier.

 

11

Manga Art Gallery / Re: Proteus' Gallery

« on: January 04, 2013, 03:58:45 AM »

Hah...keep working at this pace and you'll be pretty good pretty quick. (And really good in the long term.)

Either that, or burned out after a short while longer. ;-) Don't want that to happen!

12

Manga Art Gallery / Re: JP89's artwork

« on: January 02, 2013, 08:25:26 PM »

@ Marche: Our styles are definitely similar in a lot of ways. We both have a semi-realism style, though I think yours is just a little closer to true anime than mine. (The face and eyes mostly.)

@ Sayuri: Thanks! The hair did take me quite a while. Too long, actually. ;-)

13

Manga Art Gallery / Re: Marche' Idée

« on: January 02, 2013, 04:37:40 AM »

I must say, you are very good at getting clothing folds/creases right. That's something I have a hard time with. The only way I can get mine to look good is if I spend a REALLY long time working on it.

14

Manga Art Gallery / Re: JP89's artwork

« on: January 02, 2013, 04:28:49 AM »

@ Suuper: You really need to try spending at least a couple hours on a single work. ;-) Although it's definitely a good idea to do quick sketches and stuff for practice, I think every now and then you should work on a larger project. This will help you see how far you've come (the practice should be paying off), where you are at currently, and where you still need to improve. I'm kind of the other way around; I need to do more practice, and less of the larger projects. :-D

@ Marche: Actually, I'm quite impressed with your work. Your character designs (especially their outfits) are far better than mine. You're actually one of my favorite artists on these forums. ;-)

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Manga Art Gallery / Re: JP89's artwork

« on: January 01, 2013, 06:49:30 AM »

For those of you that don't follow me on deviantart, here is one of my most recent works. :-)

She's the same girl from the previous page of this thread. (Or at least she's supposed to be.)



It's not really an anime/manga drawing, more of a semi-realistic approach. I figured I'd post it here in my thread anyway though. I spent quite a while on it; at least 15-20 hours from start to finish. I do think it turned out pretty good though, if I do say so myself.  I really need to work at speeding up my process though.