Nisaren's Art - New WIP - Updated - 2/10/13

[nisaren]

So I believe I'm done with the Frodo and the Rock Troll picture... at least for the time being.

I decided to try another piece using the same techniques - mainly sketch, then values, then color overlay, then painting and refining. I also decided to attempt the Manga Academy's 100 theme challenge. Here's the rough sketch with values blocked in of the first theme - Magical Girl.



I plan on adding more stuff that will make her more... magical. :X

Also for those that haven't seen, here is the final of Frodo and the Rock Troll.



It doesn't look that much different from the last post, I know, but I did do quite a bit of work on the troll's face and some on Frodo's hair and face.

[doghateburger]

Great work mate, Love those wall texture you did.

I think you could have use more soft brushes and low opacity setting in certain areas, especially the facial area and the clothes.

But overall good work C:

[nisaren]

@DHB Thanks for looking! I agree with you about the face, I'm not completely happy with how it has turned out. I may have to go back through and attempt to fix it. I didn't spend a lot of time on the clothes and it shows, another thing to work on when I come back to it.

[Celestial-Fox]

Yeah, I think that the facial shading has some lines that look a wee bit too hard for the piece. I'd suggest using the eyedropper tool and low opacity settings to smooth out those gradients (like in the cheek) to make the shapes seem rounder and more organic. But the work you did on the troll's face paid off well in my opinion. (Also, have I mentioned that I really like the colors in that piece?)

As for the newest piece, I like the lighting sceme you're starting to develop. Also, the shirt and the skirt look really nice. I would watch out for the feet, which in this rough stage look like they run the risk of becoming too big, though. Can't wait to see what you do with coloring, though.

[nisaren]

@CF Thanks for looking and critiquing. I'm definitely planning on going back over Frodo's face in the near future, hopefully, I can get it more acceptable.

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Some more refining on the new piece. I concentrated mostly on getting the facial features acceptable. Still lots of work to be done.

[Scarletlight]

I like the style of digital painting you have, Id be careful with the lips because they dont look to life like at the moment. Perhaps add a bit more of a definative shape to them.

[Celestial-Fox]

Hmm, lips are very tricky in this style of manga. I, personally, would leave them as is and instead work on the cheeks to make it look more natural. You can actually get away with less lip detail n this style and leave them alone if you can just get the right cheek shape. I would suggest removing the highlight by her mouth and putting a base shade there instead. That should help. My only other thing would be to watch out for the eyebrows. The arch is really think and dramatic, which causes the eyes too look very rodent-like. I suggest that you play around with other shapes of eyebrows with a less dramatic curve that doesn't follow the top line of the eye so closely. But I like how the blending and hair are coming along!

[nisaren]

@Scarletlight - Thanks for looking. I did a lot of more work on the face which I think makes the face look a lot better.

@CF - I think faces are generally tough especially the closer to realism you go. I believe I solved the eyebrow problem but it kind of feels like the whole face is a little tilted or something. Not sure if that's just me since I've been staring at it for so long already XD.

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So here's the latest update. It's taking me a long time to get through this, but I'm enjoying it a lot more. Doesn't feel as tedious as it used to.

[Celestial-Fox]

I think, actually, you solved all your problems with the face! I would suggest adding a tiny circular-shaped shadow to the corner of the mouth, but that's pretty much it!

[nisaren]

@CF Awesome, thanks again for the comments. It definitely helped.

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Here's the latest iteration of the painting. I have quite a bit to add still but I was mostly worried about getting the body right. I haven't really worked on the feet at all yet. At any rate, C&C appreciated. Also I included a final final of my Frodo and the Rock Troll painting. I think the face looks a lot better now.