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dragon_by_my_pet_rock

dragon

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just a dragon i drew awhile ago...
colored in photoshop.
it was originally a short animation, with the smoke rising from the dragons nostrils, but i just took one frame of it to show here. ^^

Details

Submitted by: my pet rock

Posted: Nov 13, 2006 7:24 pm

Completed: Dec 3, 2005

crit Critiques (4)

Galleries: Fantasy, Finished Work, Mythical Creatures, Original Art

Keywords: smoke, dragon, fantasy, dragon

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BogusRed

Total Posts: 2845

View Visual Critique!
Nov 14, 2006 8:30 pm

This is a crit as you requested. Again I'm going to focus on the color and shading. This one has all of the same color problems as the other one I critiqued.

Now I'm going to get into the technique you are using to shade, not just the color choices. This is a little advanced so don't worry if you don't get it right away. Am I right in saying that you use the color burn or color dodge tools in photoshop? if you are using them for shading and highlighting, i highly suggest you break that habbit. it creates a lot of problems with the coloring and shading if over-used. those tools should really only be used sparingly. If you aren't using the burn and dodge tools, then you are probably using the paint brush with a soft round airbrush tip. If this is the case, I suggest dropping that too and start using a paint brush with a hard edge. You may be asking yourself, well how the heck do I blend it then? vary the oppacity of your brush by using the numbered keys on your keyboard. hitting 3 sets it to 30% oppacitiy, 5 to 50% oppacitiy, etc.

Ok, see the attached image. It has three balls shaded. The first is a representation of the shading method you are using. Notice how it looks very flat. You have the darkest parts of the shading at the end of the form. The middle ball shows a different method of shading where the darkest part is where the form starts to turn away from the light. This creates a core shadow as described in the diagram on the right. This method is a much more accurate representation of how light interacts with surfaces in real life. Not that your art has to use real lighting conditions. You are free to take creative license and color things how you want. But if you want your artwork to feel as though it has more solidity and more form, this new method of shading works better at describing forms.

Hope this helps.

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my pet rock  (Reply)

Total Posts: 40

Nov 14, 2006 8:45 pm

wow, thanks. ^^
like i said before you have been such a big help.
and you were right, i have been puting down basic colors, then using the airbrush for highlights/shadows. I will definantly try the new method you described because solidity and form is definantly something i am trying to accomplish.
thanks a million^^
david

BogusRed  (Reply)

Total Posts: 2845

Nov 14, 2006 10:59 pm

you are very welcome [emoticon]
I'm glad you found all of that info useful.

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[emoticon] Hope you are enjoying PaperDemon.com. Let me know if there's anything I can do to improve your PD experience [emoticon]

shadowdragonsphinx

Total Posts: 453

Aug 24, 2007 2:42 pm

Ah! Very nice! The colors show up well and I love the over all appearance! Lovely work! [emoticon]

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