CAA: Christian Anime Alliance

Hi guys,
This is my art thread but you already knew that. Ok...ummm... let's see... right... OK the first thing I'll post is a pic of the youth group leader and the assistant youth group leader for the manga I am thinking of/ trying to make. It is in pencil, uninked (because I don't have the right pens to do it), and unedited in photoshop. It's just the pencil drawing. Please fling and attack me ruthlessly with all the constructive criticism you can. Be harsh, strict and ruthless. I need it. that way, i can improve. Thanks!

Oh wait a sec... How do you insert pictures into posts?

go to manage attachments own near the bottom of the page. im sure you can figure it our from there

OK then... here it is:

Say, that's pretty good. (I like the guy's 5 o'clock shadow. ^_^ )

Nice drawings, wiggins!

Very good. ^_^ I like the girl's hair. Her fingers are a bit too long, but man! The detail on them is awesome. I can't draw hands worth a crap... XD

yea, those are good, great job!

Ok, here comes constructive criticisms.

Overall, great job. Just some tips to help along the way.

1) I'm assuming the person on the left is a male. I think you added eyelashes, which makes him too feminine-looking. It constrasts with the masculine unshaven chin he's got.
2) You can clean up the scan by adjusting the brightness and constrast function in Photoshop. The gray area's either due to your scanning or your penciling technique. I know pencil works always smudge it's annoying! If you think it's the pencil, I suggest having an extra small piece of blank paper under your palm while penciling to avoid smudge.
3) Body proportions are fine. I might pick a little on the hands (especially the peace sign) but then again, my drawing skills of 'hands' aren't very good either. ^^; I always refer to RurouniKenshin manga's style of drawing hands. Usually manga style hands do not put in too much details in the hands (creases, nails).

Keep practising, wiggins! I like your spirit and enthusiasm. You've got interesting character designs too. Cool looking youth leaders, I hope their personalities and spiritual levels are as cool.

hey you're good at thi s wiggins. keep it up. IMO i like putting very subtle lashes on my guys and even more on girls. and well i cant say much about the hand either... i cant draw em.... anyways jsut listen to mave and nie drawings

Hey Wiggins! Cool drawing! I like the stubble... I'm a sucker for details like that.

Just some minor criticisms... the hands have been mentioned, but they are notoriously difficult. Also, the girl's right arm is a bit too straight... Arms have some curves to them even if they're not bent. Her other arm looks great. Also, her waist should be a tiny bit wider... I know it's anime and most girls are drawn really skinny, but she's got no room for internal organs! Also, the inking is a bit darker in some areas than others. But I never use ink, so I don't know anything about it.

Anyway, in spite of the critique, it looks great!

Hey that looks really cool nice job!

Thanks everyone!
Just a few questions

To Cobalt Angel: Thanks!

To Mave: I was trying to get a subtle eyelash, but I'll consult Ruroken on that. What would you pick on about the hands in specific?

To Ruroken: Subtle eyelash? I was trying to do something like that. How do you do it? Can you show me an example?

To Eirewolf: Thanks, I'll work on that, and btw, it's in pencil only... no ink.

Thanks again everyone! I'll try my best to rework the picture.

I like it a lot wiggens, sorta speaks to me... (mebbe its the stubble and glasses)

Hey wiggens,
Over all composition interesting, I think you need to use a better contrast of darks and lights, that will bring out alot of the character, the hands have been mentioned. I'm with ya on the eyelashes thing in my comic alot of the characters, well almost all the characters are a bit femaleish. It was been made fun of, however classicly in Anime the best looking characters that are guys are the ones that look like girls. Need I bring up Fushugi Yugi, anything by clamp, except chobits, and Untana, oh and Karo Kano. So just lessen the eyelashes things. About the girl curves are coming back, Marlyn Monroe type of girls will be used alot more in the next few year I'd imagine. So give the girl some organs. About the props, I.E. the chair. I think if the girl is sittting on the chair she's uncomfortable because shes on the curved up side of it. Crease the pants and draw her knees back up so she looks settles in the chair. Thus giving the chair weight enough for the YM to lean on. So thats my look on things. Give the detail to the face and clothes, leave the hands simple. The more you have to draw the less you'll want to put all the little details into stuff. THe further you go the more the fans will expect things like that and then you won't be able to get out of it. Bam hurt hand. Well sorry if that was too harsh, I recommend a piece of paper or a smudge glove. Go to Kingdom Come's thread for my instructions on how to make the glove. I use a bic pen so my stuff doesn't smudge alot anyway. Just a few ideas. Try em out if you don't like them, drop em.
BYE NOW, GOOD LUCK

oh if you want to see what my work looks like, and or comment on my art I would love to hear your opinion and cratique. CHeck that out at http://www.theflamingcat.com or I also have a thread posted here you can check out and cratique.

-chapel-

hehe

I forgot to mention that everyone's entitled to their own preference (referring to the eyelashes thingy). What I do for my bishies is give them thicker lines on the upper lid of their eyes (something like what CLAMP does to their bishies in X)

About the hands, what I was mostly referring to was the detail parts and general proportions. Like I said, some manga usually don't showcase creases and nails but then again, it's personal preference. I can't really give much details on "proportions" coz it's something you pick up as you practice more. I suggest using your own hands to model your drawings...I do that, by looking at the mirror. ^^ Very useful as well when modelling facial expressions. I don't draw hands that well but I make the length lines, smooth over the joints. (does that make sense? 0.o) Anyway, hope this helps.

More drawings pls? hehe Would love to see more of your creations.

GOD bless you! your artwork is great as well, If you keep up your practice, you will become professional in no time. If you want a tip, I could give you a couple:

1) If you can practice your pulse, then you will amnage cleaner images, (JUST IN CASE, PULSE MEANS THE AMOUNT OF PREASSURE ON THE PENCIL). That way you will sketch cleaner and safer to ink!

2) DONT BE AFRAID! for instance, some people feel afraid of doing a picture because it looks hard, but that's the thing, if you want to be tough, you cant skip the hard parts!

and last but not least, PRAY! I always talk to GOD before drawing, that way he gives me sureness.

I hope it is usefull, you can ask me anything you wish, you got a new friend here!

darkoon

Yeee! I LOVE it! Wiggie-kun, you did a great job ^^ I think you'll do just fine when you do get your manga up, because those characters look like you've really put a lot of thought into the design. I love the amount of detail that you put into them. If you make sure to have that much detail and dedication to all of the aspects of what you do then I'm sure you'll do wonderful.

Draw more! Now! Go! XD I wanna see more of your pictures!

*looks around. No one is in sight. Tip toes in with a picture.*

I'll just leave it here... With this note

Note: "Hi guys! As you can see I am still experimenting with style... I tried to cg the shadows of the 2 unnamed video game maniacs but failed and erased the error to the best of my ability...I cleaned it up with levels...on photoshop, and that was all I did due to lack of time...Please attack me ruthlessly with constructive criticism. Thanks! God Bless you! - Wiggins

(Edit)P.S. the black blob beneath the girl's chin was meant to be hair that gathers but she's not turned enough to let her hair go over her shoulder. Does that makes sense? I hope so... Somehow when playing with levels the nack and the bunched up hair marged... I would post the original but it is too light...scanning wasn't great either, but I don't have time to redo that..."

*tip-toes out of the room and closes door quietly behind him. Nobody has noticed him. Returns with protection gear in case of projectiles.*

go wiggins:jump:

Wow! The detail is awesome, and the fingers have improved alot! *highfive!*

yyyaahh Wiggins!

I like the idea but I must ask, "What resolution are you scanning your pics?" Also, I would like to know how you drew the original pic. Using pencil? Or completely digital? Feel free to take this to PM with me or post here, OK? ^^

Good Job Wiggin's, I didn't know that you were so talented...

Mave wrote:yyyaahh Wiggins!

I like the idea but I must ask, "What resolution are you scanning your pics?" Also, I would like to know how you drew the original pic. Using pencil? Or completely digital? Feel free to take this to PM with me or post here, OK? ^^

Resolution = ? I don't know... you can scan @ different resolutions?

Pencil!
Sry 4 short answer; no time

[quote="wiggins"]Resolution = ? I don't know... you can scan @ different resolutions?

Pencil!
Sry 4 short answer]

Yes, you can. Normally, I scan at 200 dpi (dot per inch) for my webmanga but if you're planning to print-publish you wanna reach 500 to 700 dpi, so I've heard.

I also usually scan in "color" format..I have the choice of black/white, grayscale, color or custom from my Umax scanner.

nice potential you've got here. ^^ generally, the anatomy needs a little refining to make it less stiff (and i don't think it's humanly possible for the little guy in the 2nd picture to twist his waist to that extent) and some cleaning could be used (although i understand the scanning problem of the 2nd pic). the perspective of the 2nd pic is a bit awkward too, but then perspective isn't exactly the easiest thing to do. otherwise, nice work. ^_^

SwordSkill wrote:nice potential you've got here. ^^ generally, the anatomy needs a little refining to make it less stiff (and i don't think it's humanly possible for the little guy in the 2nd picture to twist his waist to that extent) and some cleaning could be used (although i understand the scanning problem of the 2nd pic). the perspective of the 2nd pic is a bit awkward too, but then perspective isn't exactly the easiest thing to do. otherwise, nice work. ^_^

Stiff? Please elaborate. Thanks! God bless youh\!

That... IS GOOD! You rock!

This is the first time I've come here. Wow, you're pretty good, Wiggins! I like the way your characters look on the first drawing you posted. I'd have to agree with all the comments here and I'm sure you're taking their advice to heart. Keep it up, looks good. ^_^

wiggins wrote:Stiff? Please elaborate. Thanks! God bless youh\!

no problem; glad to oblige. ^^

normally when we're not yet quite comfortable or practiced with our sense of drawing anatomy, the people we draw tend to be a little "stiff," or in other words, have some rather unnatural-looking poses because they sit / stand up too straight or their arms and legs are locked in the joints or bent the wrong way, maybe because you aren't very familiar yet with how people sit/stand/etc. it sort of lacks the "naturalness" that comes to the human figure in a relaxed pose (and i am assuming that the people you drew were supposed to be relaxed). but it's no biggie since the more you draw, the more observant you will become when it comes to how humans move or stand or sit or what, and the more comfortable you'll become in putting those observations into your work. ^^ lol, during my first attempts in drawing, it looked like my people had crowbars up their spines. XD XD and sometimes they still do.

anyway, wish i could be more detailed in accordance to the works themselves, but i have very little time left. ^^ hope that helped.