Actually not that terrible???? (maybe)

[Breakingchains]

Girl hanging a bird feeder. Working on anatomy and color.

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[Breakingchains]

Trinket boxes for Christmas gifts:

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Sister just really likes Kirby, and Friend just really likes anything with a moon motif. Sculpey, Vallejo acrylic paints, polyurethane.

Have y'all ever tried to freehand a Kirby face with a paintbrush because *VIOLENTLY SHAKES DESK*

[Breakingchains]

Me: Y'know I think we've improved. We should draw something respectable now

Also me: No

Me: ??

Also me:

Also me: disgusting evil anime man being sexy

Me: ...ok

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Lol guess what I'm still Dragon Ball Z trash. Full-size link is above. Never speak to me or any of my problematic faves ever again

[Moni]

i have no idea who this is but this is great improvement chains!!! i like the perspective

[Breakingchains]

Moni Evil pretty alien boy who dresses like a space-floozy, then turns into a lizard monster for some reason. Dies in six episodes. There you go that's his entire character arc. I immediately SomeGremlin'd him upon first watching the show at like nine years old and haven't stopped. Dunno what's wrong with me but I sure hope I get better just kidding no I don't

But yeah thank you! Been doing what I can to just study art I like and learn to better use the tools I have and I think it's helping a lot especially re: humanoid characters.

[Breakingchains]

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WIP! Lineart is almost done, the steps need some work and I'm debating background objects, but oh my god all those tiny little details I'm gonna die

I'm probably taking a break on this piece for a day or two so if anyone has feedback or wants to suggest fixes before I start coloring that would be super appreciated! Think I'm gonna just doodle some more cute animals while my neurons cool off Dx

[Twillie]

This is already looking really impressive! Agreed that you've made great progress, and I think it especially shows here with the efforts you took to create depth, as well as in your anatomy (those hands!!)

I played with the image a little while thinking of any tips that may help, as I usually think better with my hands when analyzing art. I've got a couple things, and you're free to take them into consideration or ignore them as you like haha.

This is something usually considered a "no" in comics and illustration, but I noticed that the fully visible boot and stair it rests on create a tangent. This is basically when two lines look like they're melding into one:

It's often advised to avoid these as they can confuse the space's depth and be jarring to look at/difficult to decipher. Not that it'll automatically make a piece "bad" though, and I've seen artists who deliberately don't worry about tangents. It's something I see brought up a lot, though, so it can be good to be aware of at least and make your judgement call from there.

This could be a matter of preference, but I'd also suggest perhaps thickening some of the line art on the figure, namely their outer lines. Right now the stairs have the heaviest lines, drawing the eyes to those first and then the character's expression last. Some of their lines I see are thicker, like around the neck and jawline, but it feels a bit imbalanced right next to the light cheek and hair lines. I'd suggest pushing those lines more, especially where the face rests on the hand. Heavier lines can be a good way to convey weight and pressure, and added weight around the face could help balance the composition and bring more attention to the emotion of the character.

Regarding background details, you could probably go either way! I think the composition as is creates a nice contrast between fine  detail and open space, which could be good depending on the mood you want to convey. Minimal details could also create a similar atmosphere.

Overall, a really cool piece with a ton of effort clearly put into it, and I look forward to seeing the final product of it! :3

[Breakingchains]

Twillie Thanks Twillie, I appreciate you taking the time to give feedback! I see what you mean about the tangent line and I think I can probably fix it (was planning to alter the shape of the toe of the boot anyways so that works out) and I think I get where you're going with line weight. I'll play around with the lines on the face and see if I can emphasize them more, if not I can see if I can pull off more emphasis there in the coloring stage.

[Breakingchains]

OK so there's a subreddit called "two-sentence horror" where people attempt to write short horror stories, and in turn there's a twitter account that showcases the really weird/bad/troll ones

So they posted this one and



...Look I'm sorry I just HAD to

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[censored on moderator request, let me know if that's not sufficient lol]

[Celestial]

Breakingchains, it is a very funny comic, and very well drawn! Nice job!

As a mod though, I do have to mention that the middle finger is not an acceptable thing to post here according to our site rules. Could you please blur it out, perhaps?

[Breakingchains]

Celestial loooool I'm sorry Celes, I wasn't thinking. I'll edit that post until I can get around to censoring it later.

[Twillie]

Breakingchains No problem! And if need be I can also mock up a visual of what I was talking about with the line weight or word better anything I said before, since I know it's not always easy describing visual techniques with words xD

[Thorn]

I love the Moodiness of the piece on the steps! And animeguy is very nicely drawn, even if I also was unfamiliar with who he is. xD

(This is not much, but I wanted to say something besides lurking and liking because you've improved so much, and these are so good!)

[Breakingchains]

Twillie Don't feel obligated to do so but actually if you do want to try a mock-up, that might be helpful. Considering the line weight issue and my understanding was always that line weight was for emphasizing weight and shadow, and with that in mind I'm having trouble applying it to the facial features in a way that looks good. ^^; The steps were basically a placeholder anyways so I should be able to get them done no problem but the face is a sticking point for me for whatever reason.

Thorn Thanks Thorn! I appreciate it, been doin' my best to improve.

Celestial Edited the pic, hopefully that covers it? Was trying to get a happy medium between the necessary censorship and keeping the gesture readable and the flame effect I wanted but if it's not enough I can just yank it, it's up elsewhere on the interwebs anyways.

[Twillie]

Yeah, I can do that! Here's basically what I was trying to describe (I only touched the lines of the head, hair, and hand):

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Shadow plays some part here, as I filled some area in black where the face is covering the palm of the hand. I also emphasized the creases of the hand to show how it bears the weight put on it. Line work can be used for a number of other effects, though, like texture or style. It just depends on personal taste and how you want to implement it, which can take exploration to discover.

With my style, I like making lines thicker at connecting points, as well as making dramatic transitions between thin and thick. For example, I thickened the outer outline of the ear, making it most heavy when it connects to the jawline. When it transitions into the hairline, though, to emphasize the hair's softer texture, I made a sudden change from thick to thin. Then, to keep going with dramatic contrast, the bottom of the hair swoops transition into heavy and then right back to thin the further inward they swirl.

Principles like conveying shadow and weight do still play a part in style, it's just that they don't always need to be implemented in a realistic way. Like with my heavy lines at connecting points, they're based in the idea that heavier shadows are created when two objects interact/sit next to each other. Or when I make the hair swoops or bottom of the nose thicker, it's because they're closer to the floor and thus "heavier," even if in reality they wouldn't weigh more than the facial features above them.

With face line work, it can definitely get tricky, as you have much more detail and less room to create a good variety of line weights. I rely on pen pressure a lot, and the eraser tool can be just as much a friend as the brush, as it helps to taper and thin lines. It can also just take plenty of patience and figuring out what lines are even worth keeping, since small detail can change a face dramatically!