Character design input

JimmyMesserJimmyMesser LondonMember Posts: 235

Hey guys and gals,

I'm going through the process of redesigning my webcomic and game infested space and wanted your input on the main character.

It's been a while since I have drawn a human to scale so please be gentle lol. Seriously your input is valuable.

Thank you in advance.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B_Rk-GFlTEtuMy1TR1pWdXV2YW8/view?usp=sharing

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Comments

  • floatingwoofloatingwoo Los Angeles, Calif.Member Posts: 393

    Personally , his arms and legs look a little tree trunk-ish . Possibly bring down the over all size of the arms and legs a bit and don't be afraid to indicate where the joints would be by narrowing in some. Think about the form in space when your drawing and how it will change as its coming forward and going back. I find that if I practice drawing a simple shape rotating in space before I go to drawing something as hard as a person it helps. Like this....

  • JimmyMesserJimmyMesser LondonMember Posts: 235

    @floatingwoo said:
    Personally , his arms and legs look a little tree trunk-ish . Possibly bring down the over all size of the arms and legs a bit and don't be afraid to indicate where the joints would be by narrowing in some. Think about the form in space when your drawing and how it will change as its coming forward and going back. I find that if I practice drawing a simple shape rotating in space before I go to drawing something as hard as a person it helps. Like this....

    Yeah I kinda sketched this on the fly on the train this morning I wanted to give him an edge of super human. He suppose to be 7ft tall.

    I draw this out in a rush on the train. I wanted to just get a feel for it. Thank for the points it will get my brain back in gear I'll do some movement pose sketched tonight and see where I get.

  • floatingwoofloatingwoo Los Angeles, Calif.Member Posts: 393

    Yeah, I normally wouldn't respond to someone asking for a critique on their artwork. Not knowing where they are ability wise, it's hard to know what they're asking for a critique on ( line quality, facial expression,over all design). But having been in communication with you and seeing your work I figured you would be able to hear what I was saying and get that it's coming from a place of contribution.

  • ant_ladant_lad Member Posts: 222

    Thicken the thighs (mmmmmmm), make forearms a little skinnier.

    I like it, but try to keep the same look for any other characters you make

  • SocksSocks London, UK.Member Posts: 12,822
    edited June 2015

    @JimmyMesser said:
    Hey guys and gals

    I'd echo what others have said, he looks a bit thin, and his shoulders are too hunched up, I'd thicken his muscly areas out and generally make him look a little broader, also the flat horizontal stripes flatten any dimensionality, maybe you could curve them to the underlying shape a bit more.

    Also his face has a little bit of George Bush going on, that's concerning me. :wink:

  • JimmyMesserJimmyMesser LondonMember Posts: 235

    lol Thanks guys, he does kinda look like he is just about to ask us to watch his swing.

  • JimmyMesserJimmyMesser LondonMember Posts: 235

    @floatingwoo said:
    Yeah, I normally wouldn't respond to someone asking for a critique on their artwork. Not knowing where they are ability wise, it's hard to know what they're asking for a critique on ( line quality, facial expression,over all design). But having been in communication with you and seeing your work I figured you would be able to hear what I was saying and get that it's coming from a place of contribution.

    It's much appreciated I've been off my game for a little while basically didn't sketch anything like this for nearly a year due to jumping country a few times in the past 18 months. My plan was to do a webcomic page once a month and build the game to go with it but it got away from me.

    Ill do some more sketching today and see how I do. I'm not sure the character will be as Bulky as the one socks drew but it will be better the second time round.

  • GnarlyGnarly canadaMember Posts: 840

    @Socks said:

    Also his face has a little bit of George Bush going on, that's concerning me.

    And a Cheney pudgy body.

    Please America no more Bush/Cheney action figures!!!

    Thanks.

  • GnarlyGnarly canadaMember Posts: 840

    I have a super hero VERY simular to this. Look at my ios game Space Dash if you like. Give you an idea. More muscles. More mouth.

  • GnarlyGnarly canadaMember Posts: 840

    Uncanny how your initial sketch looked like mine as well. Suit is different though.

    https://itunes.apple.com/ca/app/space-dash/id966652258?mt=8&uo=4

  • JimmyMesserJimmyMesser LondonMember Posts: 235

    Btw many thanks to you all and especially to @floatingwoo for putting my brain back into gear. I think I'm going to spend some time working on 3D space in 2D environment and I'll get my human anatomy and perspective books out of my boxes over the weekend and get muscle structure back in my brain.

    I've spent too much time on kids stuff I think it's well worth doing like this. I really do appreciate the community for it's giving nature. Thank you all.

    Here is one of the position sketches did just to try and get my head around this style again.
    https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B_Rk-GFlTEtua3FZMlk5VmtuVk0/view?usp=sharing

  • floatingwoofloatingwoo Los Angeles, Calif.Member Posts: 393

    I had this anatomy drawing instructor in school by the name of Burne Hogarth (Tarzan). His teaching method was to have the students draw from life while he would bark orders at us like a drill sergeant. Not exactly a meditative class, but awesome. I admit I took a more unrealistic approach to drawing after that. Big fan of anyone who takes on drawing realistic anatomy though. Kudos

  • JimmyMesserJimmyMesser LondonMember Posts: 235

    My my art teacher was originally an architectural artist, I really enjoyed his class it just didn't carry through to my work in later life, I ended up cartooning and doing a lot of interface work.

    I really want to up my game. I want to take my art from good to great. might take a few months maybe even years. I'm thinking instead of drawing a page a month I might draw in panel a day and upload the panels to my website. keep it simple no colour until I get more detailed and quicker. then move up to drawing two panels a day and so on.

    I wanted to build enough content to publish a book on amazon kindle and print through create space leave it online and use it all to cross promote the game.

    It will take a while but I have time.

  • floatingwoofloatingwoo Los Angeles, Calif.Member Posts: 393

    @JimmyMesser Heres what I do, and I have been doing it for years. I find the most comfortable spot in the house take my sketchbook and just start drawing not thinking about anything . After a while I get into sort of a zone where hand eye start to become one. I pack in as much as I can on a page and it's like a direct line to my thoughts before I know it an hour has gone by. If I miss a day it's a terrible mistake. I generally don't look at the stuff I draw till a week or so later and I find it really sources me , who knows where my head was at, ask Brian Wilson (beachBoy). Heres a page from my notebook...

  • JimmyMesserJimmyMesser LondonMember Posts: 235

    @floatingwoo I used to spend hours doing a similar thing but my stuff is a little more scribbly ball point then yours.


    I us

  • floatingwoofloatingwoo Los Angeles, Calif.Member Posts: 393

    @JimmyMesser Wicked!!! Nailed it even...

  • JimmyMesserJimmyMesser LondonMember Posts: 235

    @floatingwoo Thanks man, your stuff is Wicked too! lol

  • JimmyMesserJimmyMesser LondonMember Posts: 235

    There is also something about this style though.

  • floatingwoofloatingwoo Los Angeles, Calif.Member Posts: 393

    Just posted on my tumbler....

  • JimmyMesserJimmyMesser LondonMember Posts: 235

    Awesome, Recognise this?

  • JimmyMesserJimmyMesser LondonMember Posts: 235

  • pHghostpHghost London, UKMember Posts: 2,342

    @floatingwoo what do you animate in?

  • floatingwoofloatingwoo Los Angeles, Calif.Member Posts: 393

    @pHghost Flash
    @JimmyMesser Yeah, Is that digital or actually paint?

  • JimmyMesserJimmyMesser LondonMember Posts: 235

    @floatingwoo paint but the original doesn't exist anymore.

  • JimmyMesserJimmyMesser LondonMember Posts: 235

    @floatingwoo You tried toonboom yet?

  • floatingwoofloatingwoo Los Angeles, Calif.Member Posts: 393

    @JimmyMesser I have tried toonboom. I started with flash way back when it was macromedia and it's just a no-brainer and fast for me. I'd like to try TVPaint though.

  • JimmyMesserJimmyMesser LondonMember Posts: 235

    @floatingwoo same here. I feel too boom is pretty good for a long project like if you wanted to my fast animations using bone rigging accompanied with traditional. Harmony is suppose to be really good it allows you to go from pre to post production in one package.

  • AlchimiaStudiosAlchimiaStudios Member Posts: 1,069

    @JimmyMesser said:
    floatingwoo same here. I feel too boom is pretty good for a long project like if you wanted to my fast animations using bone rigging accompanied with traditional. Harmony is suppose to be really good it allows you to go from pre to post production in one package.

    Yeah, i've been looking into harmony too. It's just so expensive!

    Already pay for Adobe Suite sub, and have a Spriter license. So it's hard to justify it. But it really does seem like a nice workflow, everything you need in one place.

    Follow us: Twitter - Website

  • floatingwoofloatingwoo Los Angeles, Calif.Member Posts: 393

    @JimmyMesser Well since I have it already, and I've worked prof. with it for years. I like to compile larger animation projects in AfterEffects. I'm going to google Harmony...

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