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Drawing Tips And Critique?; For people in general not just me
Topic Started: Mar 26 2016, 05:43 PM (1,211 Views)
TAXESbutNano
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I'm going back to basics.
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Hi guys, Nano here!

I had an idea- Perhaps we could have a topic for giving out tips and recieving critique? I mean, I've improved a load since my original drawings, and I'd still like to improve further.

My drawing tips-
-For shading, I use criss-crossing pencil lines. I draw them parallel or perpendicular to the shape of the object. For the darker bits, continue the perpendicular lines from less curved, lighter parts of the object into that shaded bit.
-For textures, put the bulk of it towards the edge of the object- it makes the flat bits look flatter.

My stuff I'd like critique to be based on-
Simple Scene
Complex Scene
Simple Standalone
Complex Standalone

I think this format might work. I'll try to provide critique, but I'm rather low on the spec-artist food chain. :P

(Edit: Links sorted out, dunno what happened there...)
Edited by TAXESbutNano, Mar 26 2016, 05:45 PM.
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malicious-monkey
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I can't speak much for technique. I have a very specific coloring technique that I might make a tutorial for later. But there are some basic principles specific to animal coloration. Just a few general pointers first: mix brown and blue to make gray/shadows. More brown = wamer gray, more blue = cooler gray. Just using black will make your grays look flat.

Animals tend to have lighter underbellies. This is called countershading and is a form of camouflage almost universal to Earth's animals. Sea animals have stark countershading because they are often viewed from above or below.

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Subsurface scattering. Look up some pictures to get an idea of what this is but basically it's that red glow you get when you shine light through thin skin. Animal ears will pop out in your painting if you add in some pink to the thinning center.

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Agouti striping. This is a mammal-specific thing though similar patterning is seen in some birds as well. Look at the two mouse pictures and note how each individial hair is ticked with color. The agouti gene manifests differently depending on the animal - see bay horses, tabby cats. It is also a camouflage thing.
"My recommendation would be to just draw things now and draw good things later." - Nanotyranus

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malicious-monkey
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I also found this

http://kulindadromeuszabaikalicus.tumblr.com/post/148885304078/franzanth-how-to-draw-pterosaurs-texturing
"My recommendation would be to just draw things now and draw good things later." - Nanotyranus

Ilion: an illustrated tour of a tidally locked planet
Spoiler: click to toggle

malicious-monkey.deviantart.com
sunriseonilion.wordpress.com
supermalmoworld.tumblr.com
Redbubble - Ilion art prints and more
Commissions are OPEN
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Flisch
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Also avoid overly saturated colours, at least in large doses. It seems to be a common mistake to use very saturated colours. Personally, I barely if ever use a saturation of more than 33%. Of course, some things like flowers etc will need a high saturation but I always prefer to err on the side of less saturation. Too much can ruin an otherwise perfectly fine picture, while less saturated colours look still okay in most cases. This counts double or triple even in underwater settings. Water soaks up colour fast, especially red and yellow.

Of course, it also depends on your style, but I'm usually aiming for a somewhat realistic style, so.
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Sheather
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Adding on, I always look to real animals for inspiration, but unless I'm going for a very intentional allusion to some living creature, I don't directly paste one animal's whole pattern onto a speculative creature, as it can look lazy. You don't have to stick to wild animals if a domestic animal has a neat pattern you want to use - as long as it fits your animal. The harlequin foon's markings (see below) are based on a merle-coated Australian shepherd dog. Aesthetically, I'm very fond of black and white patterns set on brown or grey backgrounds. Working with all neutral colors almost guarantees a natural look no matter what sort of pattern you decide on.

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Use references. There is almost never an illustration I put up that hasn't utilized references for proportion, details, and also to snatch colors out of. The references you utilize don't have to be animals that look just like the animal you want to design. The orguar is a giant two legged rat, but I heavily perused images of lions to produce the expression (particularly the gaze) and mannerism I wanted to convey in its illustration as a cat-like ambush predator - but at the same time, even though the the orguar has a mane and feline eyes, it doesn't look like a lion on two legs. Speculative animals that are clearly reminiscent of real life animals without overtly copying them are some of my favorites aesthetically and my animals are often designed with that in mind.

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And while conservative color schemes are the easiest to get to look realistic, don't be afraid to completely abandon any sense of convention and go all out with totally unique color schemes. Particularly with fish, birds, or animals in similar niches, nature has shown almost anything goes when sexual selection gets involved, making even something like this a possibility (compare real world parrots or reef fishes)

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