[WIP] guardian

[Dex]

One thing that might not be completely evident is that he's not upright. He's leaning forward. I don't know if that makes any sense but that's what I was aiming for, much why when those things are removed, it makes it look much different.

real quick overlay of what I mean. sorry for the white line, too

[EvilEye]

He's not leaning forward he's leaning to the left or backward.

Draw a line from the center of his chest to the center of his groin. You will see that line goes to the left if you follow it from the bottom.

Getting the right posture is not easy unless you are lucky enough to find reference with the exact look you want, or you have the resources to hire a model.

The key is to start with lines, make a line for the torse, the arms, the legs and you can get a feel for what the posture will look like and how balanced it will be.

If the pose doesn't look right then change it or just start over completely. No shame in that. It takes me like 10 tries to get the right pose, just with stick figures.



Then flesh out the shape with volume.



If it still looks promising go ahead and add some more realism. I do this on different layers so I can discard the previous layers which are usually messy.



And here's about where I would start rendering.

[Helm]

This is the inferred structure from your drawing. Do you see how these forms are more akin to rash paint brush strokes on a canvas than they are a description of a three-dimensional piece of armor?

Excellent post by Evileye above too.

[Dex]

Alrighty, I see what you guys mean. I've done a blocked out pose of this- I kind of stole EvilEye's pose since I really liked it, but I didn't make it exactly the same, mine's probably less dynamic in any case :X



This definitely helps me see the forms better, I dunno if it's any better though. It definitely allows for more thorough critique, though!

Sorry if I sounded like I didn't accept you guys' critique, it's really hard to let go of something, but now I'm doing it. Right now. And I hope it'll make this much better than it could have been before! Thanks~!

[EvilEye]

No need to draw all the polygons, just start with lines.

A line for the torso, a line for the arms, a circle for the head maybe. Maybe a few circles to indicate where the shoulders are.

When that looks acceptable then build on that.

Taking your pose here:







The rest is just anatomy, which takes time and practice.

It's hard taking critique, congrats for hanging in there

[Dex]

Oh, haha, I already did that before I did the shapes. The shapes are more for my benefit- it helps me see this more three dimensionally, I guess? I definitely use the above method a lot when drawing my own poses traditionally- it really helps you get a clear idea of what you want!

And yes. I've been studying anatomy for about a year or so now, I'm decent at it, but there's still a lot to learn.

[Helm]

This definitely helps me see the forms better, I dunno if it's any better though. It definitely allows for more thorough critique, though!

Yes, like this, but more!



Welcome to the wonderful world of construction. Focus right now on making the body parts of equal size and volume, while still applying foreshortening and perspective. It's not easy, but who said it would be, heh.

[Dex]

(I actually do something similar to this whenever I draw anatomy and do human-esque pieces, I just should have posted my first try at doing that before showing you guys something I'd gotten half the way into without completely proper construction!)

I see now! I'll study that and even out the proportions a bit tomorrow- 'tis late now! Thank you so much, I appreciate it!

[big brother]

I say kill your darlings. I know it's tough at this point, since you've invested a lot of time into it and the pixel tech looks pretty. Even if you continued to refine it, the piece has a ceiling.

It's more important to see a piece succeed than to complete something for the sake of completion. I think you need to design the piece to revolve around an idea that will evoke a response in the viewer. The colors, composition, and rendering should all work together to serve this purpose. This way, even if the anatomy or pixel tech isn't perfect, it's still effective (successful) art.

Also, EvilEye illustrated a good point about the figure. Even if you only plan showing part of him, you should sketch out the whole body. It'll look more natural in the end.