Link

[adcrusher524]

for this one I'm planning on having a soldier fighting him,but at the moment I just have link done. I'm almost finished with the background (well not finished but up to the point where it wouldn't be a complete embarrassment to post it on here.) so I'll be updating with that soon.  Any comments or criticism would be appreciated. Thanks.

[Vermolius]

The head doesn't make much sense, it looks like a chili pepper, to put it humorously. I don't understand the shape of the head, or why you changed his hair to red. Also the entire left arm looks as though it was originally drawn to be facing us (as if it were his right arm, which would be correct since Link, up until the Wii iterations has been left handed.). Were link facing away the shield would be closer to the viewer then the left forearm. I see a lot more, but I've got to run...

[adcrusher524]

thanks for the reply.  If I changed the sword to the left hand, would I have to change the whole body position?... Or I could just flip the whole thing horizontal.  His hair is red because in link to the past he has that hair. I don't like blond hair version haha. Thanks for helping me out with the shield, I didn't even notice that. I hope this one is better.   Does the head read now?  His hat is supposed to be falling off from being shot by an arrow. That might change though because the background I was working on is falling apart. All the colors aren't working right and it's messing up the readability.  I'll have to start it again from scratch I guess. Anyway here's the new link:

[pistachio]

His head looks too flat, overall and his left and right feet seem to be standing on two different positions. And I'm not really sure if the shield was really that...curvaceous.

All I have to say, for now.

[dpixel]

From the position of the body, it looks like his head would be facing away from the sword a bit.  It's such a dynamic pose, but the head position doesn't seem to be in tune to that.
A very rough edit:

[adcrusher524]

thanks for the edit dpixel! is this enough of his face showing? or should his head be turned more.

[dpixel]

thanks for the edit dpixel! is this enough of his face showing? or should his head be turned more.

Yes.  That's much better.  It was a bit hard to read before.

[Manjaman]

Frankly, his pose and anatomy are complety off. Don't feel like enumerating what's wrong, so i'll show you my point with this humble edit :

This edit is far from being perfect, i made it just so you see how you could fix all these issues. I honnestly recommend you make it again from the beginning, working hard on his pose and anatomy before you start the shading.
Good luck, and sorry for being that tough 

[WM]

thanks for the edit dpixel! is this enough of his face showing? or should his head be turned more.

I'm confused about the lightsource: the shirt reads as it being in front of Link, while the pants say it is actually higher than him and behind. The hat is the inverse of the shirt.  

[adcrusher524]

wm-  I have the hat fixed in this version but I still need to fix the pants.
 
  is this better anatomy? I'm going to try to stick with this pose, but if I can't get the anatomy right with it I'll have to change. sorry it's pretty sloppy.

[dpixel]

I didn't think the original pose was off that much....I looked at it as he was ready to strike with the blade.  Which would be correct with the extended leg to create a balance when the blade was swung forward. 

Manjaman's edit looks correct too if the blade has already started it's motion.

I agree with WM about the light source.  Maybe just the lightest color on the pants should be used just as highlights on the knees?

[buddy90]

The main problem is that the legs are waaaay too far apart. It's like he's trying to squat and spread his legs at the same time. It's a very uncomfortable position.

Keep in mind when you have a dynamic pose, how your character should move. Practicing the pose yourself and seeing it in the mirror can help get you an idea.

For this though, I would focus on making his back straight, standing upright, with his legs closer.

[adcrusher524]

Okay, updating and this time link has a foe!

Do you think I should fill in the legs of the soldier or leave them black? Thanks for the help so far.

[Medevenx]

He has an incredibly tiny left arm.

[adcrusher524]

Wait who has a tiny arm link or the soldier? And do you mean tiny as in short or skinny? Update on the background:

I'll  have to define the brick on the side more, but I just wanted to see what you guys thought on the color and composition or whatever you think should be improved. 

[Koi Kami Mauro]

I'll de-lurk for once to say I think this would work ouch much better in a horizontal composition, like a cinema shot.

[Singularity]

You might consider boosting the contrast on link a little.
His hat is placed directly over where a bush should be and it uses the same colors. I think a stronger single light source with darker shadows could pull him into the foreground. 

[Sleepless]

I don't think adding another color on the pants, as a shadow would hurt. Other than this it is great, and you have made alot of progress

[Organ_House]

An aside about the background, unfortunately the characters are not in perspective with it. For the background, we're looking down on it from a much higher angle than the characters.

[bengo]

I think you should pick up a book on perspective, a good one I own is Perspective! For Comic Book Artists by David Chelsea. You should also think your light source(s) more. I think your problems are fundamental though, so you should pick up some fundamental books too and study some more from life, mainly still life. You're young, get the tedious stuff out (though to be honest, I enjoy studying, but it can be a bit over-whelming at times) of the way so you can be creative and know what you're doing!

[adcrusher524]

woah I haven't checked the forums for a while so I didn't even know people were posting on this thread. I'll work up an update and post in a day or two. I'm ordering that book in a minute, thanks for the suggestion Bengoshia.