AuthorTopic: WIP guy with hammer  (Read 54473 times)

Offline Tuna Unleashed

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Re: WIP guy with hammer

Reply #70 on: October 18, 2008, 02:49:27 pm
After looking at some pixels with a similar style and size to mine and then considering how disgustingly tall my guy's legs would be if they were straight, I think I fixed up the anatomy if only a little bit.

Offline Willows

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Re: WIP guy with hammer

Reply #71 on: October 18, 2008, 06:35:29 pm
The problem with referencing anatomy is that though you may be able to find a good reference in the pose you want, all that will do is help you draw the pose you want. Sounds exactly like what you want, I know, but when you consider that you're almost definitely going to draw someone in a different pose with different proportions in the near future... well, learning how to draw the outline of the one pose won't have helped you much.

I myself have no idea what's the "best" way to learn anatomy. You might think it would be to get one of those hefty books with all the muscles and bones and muscle names, because, hey, they're "anatomy", right? Well, though you will have to learn muscles and bones eventually, I believe you'd be better suited to learning the basic structure of the body and how to make a pose look like it's doing what it's doing before you worry much about how the deltoid and bicep interact.

Quite a few people I know swear by the book "Force :  Dynamic Life Drawing for Animators" by Mike Mattesi. It's a fair building block to start from, but it doesn't really go as much into structure as you should (something that I'm still fighting with, myself), though it DOES push a very fun and exciting/dramatic way to draw. Rhythm, man. If you capture the rhythm of the pose, it'll look cool no matter how much you know about muscles (unless you bomb your proportions, but that's another story).

Force book is great, but as mentioned, it lacks structure. A book that fills that hole (so I've heard, don't own it myself) Would be the Vilppu Drawing Manual. Vilppu is one of the old guys who worked for Disney and as such he literally wrote the book on drawing. I've only watched the instructional DVDs (some of them) and though he draws slow as all hell (so you can actually SEE what he's doing, I assume) he draws virtually flawlessly and helps greatly to understand the process and how to simplify forms into geometric shapes.

The third recomendation that I've got is a touch expensive for its size, and I'm sure there are things similar elsewhere, but I'll mention it because it's the only one I know. Wayne Gilbert's "Simplified Drawing for Planning Animation" brings you back out of realistically-proportioned drawings and into creating cartoony characters. It explains further simplification and how to design a silhouette for your character that tells the viewer what your character is about, just from the silhouette.

Other than that, draw. Once you understand basic simplification somewhat, go sit in a coffee shop and covertly draw people. Like a ninja. Try not to laugh too hard when you draw someone funny-looking, though, because people tend to think you're crazy pretty quick :/

In case you're too lazy to hunt these books down yourself:

Simplified drawing for planning animation, Wayne Gilbert:
http://www.amazon.com/Simplified-drawing-planning-animation-Gilbert/dp/0971343918

Vilppu Drawing Manual, Glenn Vilppu:
http://www.amazon.com/Vilppu-Drawing-Manual-Glenn/dp/1892053039

Force: Dynamic Life Drawing for Animators: Mike Mattesi
http://www.amazon.com/Force-Dynamic-Drawing-Animators-Second/dp/0240808452

I'm not saying these are the best books money can buy and that they'll make you a great artist in 6 months (Though you can improve a hell of a lot in 6 months, believe me :D) but they'll give you a good building block to start from, and aren't that hefty an investment. An' I really can't blame you if you don't even consider getting any of these books at all; I'd have done the same a year or two ago. I do recommend getting the Force book, though. It's fun.

That's all! Cheers.

Offline Tuna Unleashed

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Re: WIP guy with hammer

Reply #72 on: October 18, 2008, 08:03:58 pm
The problem with referencing anatomy is that though you may be able to find a good reference in the pose you want, all that will do is help you draw the pose you want. Sounds exactly like what you want, I know, but when you consider that you're almost definitely going to draw someone in a different pose with different proportions in the near future... well, learning how to draw the outline of the one pose won't have helped you much.
actually the sprite I based the proportions from was in a very different pose, but your point remains solid. I'll probably look into one of those books if I ever come across some money.

Offline TrevoriuS

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Re: WIP guy with hammer

Reply #73 on: October 18, 2008, 08:07:17 pm
You use a sprite to define proportions: bad. Use humans, that's what you're drawing in the first place. And with humans I don't necessarily mean an antomical model or anything, because anything that's perfect and moves according to physiological standard will overcome unrealistic as it is so perfect that it is also impossible to find in life. Of course when drawing your characters in a posed position, alot of rules about proportions vanish entirely, as there is forshortening and further perspective going on. In addition to that every human is different, so when having 2 characters, give them a slightly offset proportion division.

You keep posting stuff defending yourself, and there really is no problem to that and I don't mean to offend you, nobody here while at that, so you are right taking a defensive position leaving room for discussion, but by now quite some people told you, so I recommend you to just start drawing humans, practice on anatomy a bit, and settle down on drawing ability. Then you can redraw this guy entirely, again with reference, because even though you draw endless amnounts of humans, a referenced drawing WILL end up being more convincing than something done from the bare head and that is 'guessed'.
« Last Edit: October 18, 2008, 08:09:01 pm by TrevoriuS »

Offline Tuna Unleashed

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Re: WIP guy with hammer

Reply #74 on: October 18, 2008, 08:31:47 pm
I have been, but what am I supposed to do until then? Quit spriting? I figure that while I practice I may as well at least try to get it right.

Offline Raytheon

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Re: WIP guy with hammer

Reply #75 on: October 19, 2008, 06:06:47 am
the thighs should be thicker than the lower leg, the legs should be slightly longer and in a more practical pose (be able to move into other poses not looking like hes trying to look cool), and the pose should be more natural. the body in general should be a bit wider, but the colours and shading have greatly improved
i am a computern

Offline Tuna Unleashed

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Re: WIP guy with hammer

Reply #76 on: October 20, 2008, 01:17:20 am
Better?

Oh, and pig mask I apologize profusely if I've been argumentative. I seriously don't try to be.
« Last Edit: October 20, 2008, 03:48:51 am by Tuna Unleashed »

Offline Tuna Unleashed

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Re: WIP guy with hammer

Reply #77 on: October 23, 2008, 09:49:17 pm

Offline Tuna Unleashed

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Re: WIP guy with hammer

Reply #78 on: October 24, 2008, 12:32:43 am

Offline Tuna Unleashed

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Re: WIP guy with hammer

Reply #79 on: October 24, 2008, 06:47:31 pm





« Last Edit: October 24, 2008, 07:44:58 pm by Tuna Unleashed »