Female Character

[yyboyyy96]

Yes but its only because I copied your style. A lot of time when I'm doing it on my own it gets bulky out of shape bad proportions and weak posture.

[dpixel]

Yes but its only because I copied your style.

But you created the pose.  You didn't copy that from me.

A lot of time when I'm doing it on my own it gets bulky out of shape bad proportions and weak posture.

Step one. Identify the problems.  Check.

Sometimes it helps to look at it with fewer colors or silhouette.


Anyway, I think you did great!

[yyboyyy96]

what should I be looking for with fewer colors and silhouette?

I mean the lines in between her Left arm (not the one holding the stick) it looks like 90 degrees, but when you have color it doesn't look that bad in my opinion.

[eishiya]

You're looking for whether the pose, character design, and mood come across in the silhouette/low-colour version, not the details. It's easier to spot weak/hard-to-read poses in silhouette, and it's easier to spot contrast/readability issues if you reduce objects to 1-2 values.

[Chonky Pixel]

Something I've learned about shading on limbs is that it can serve (at least) two purposes. One is to show direction of light and areas of shadow. Another is to give a sense of depth.

In essence, both have the similar effect of creating the feeling of a 3D shape.

So in simple terms, a leg that's further away can just be made darker to give a sense of depth. But, also, the lower part of a leg that's nearer the viewer can be made darker to look like it's "tucked in" or bent back (and thus in shadow).

So this piece by Kenthecaptain shows the lower part of the legs bent back, giving a strong sense of 3D and emphasising the exaggerated 'hips thrust-forward' pose.




And after a quick scan through Twitter, here's an example of some characters with darker 'rear' legs:

https://twitter.com/_alihusain_/status/1315397330170978304

I'm sure you can find more!

The reason I mention this is that your recent version:



seems to do the opposite, if you see what I mean. The leg in front is darker, even though it's not bent back. The rear leg is bent back and lighter. This makes my brain interpret it as a very awkward twisted leg pose... But you know, that's just me.

[yyboyyy96]