Sagaku-My First Attempt

Posted Nov 17, 2005, 5:16:05 AM UTC

Okay ladies and gents. This is my first attempt at digital coloring. :anxious: I used BogusRed's tutorial on Photoshop to really help me out, although I did use Paint Shop Pro...the basic principles apply!

This is a character I created for a new fanfic I'm making about Full Metal Alchemist. No, I don't have it up yet, I'm just getting ideas about how I want my characters to look. :D

I'm open for any and all comments!

Comments

Stealthnerd
Jan 19, 2006, 12:45:21 PM UTC
Dewd! This is your first try? That's awesome. The coloring is so pretty; kind of soft and milky... and very even. I would never have guessed this was a first try! you go girl
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- karanakaou
  Jan 19, 2006, 5:59:23 PM UTC
  I'm so much better now! But thank you for the comments. I've been using random line works, so I won't be able to post them but...my momma (ha!) has promised me Corel IX and a tablet for my b-day.......I CAN'T WAIT!
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  Stealthnerd
  Jan 20, 2006, 12:34:08 AM UTC
  See, that's how long I've been gone! Waaaaaaaahhhhhh
  Lol. When's your birthday? I can't wait to see your new stuff; and a tablet?? You ish lucky!!! haha
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  karanakaou
  Jan 20, 2006, 5:56:28 AM UTC
  June 4 It's a while off, but I'm still gearing up for it!
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  Stealthnerd
  Jan 20, 2006, 9:49:38 AM UTC
  W00t! Happy early birthday! Mine's in late May, so we're about the same ^_^
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  karanakaou
  Jan 20, 2006, 10:44:00 AM UTC
  Ooo! PM me your birthday so I can start making you something! *I have to know WAY in advance...*
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  Stealthnerd
  Jan 20, 2006, 10:48:48 AM UTC
  Lol! You're so sweet I'll letcha know...
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590
Jan 18, 2006, 7:23:13 PM UTC
I like it ...It's pretty good,but i have never ben a fan of sketch line..just needs to be cleaned up a little.
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- karanakaou
  Jan 18, 2006, 7:50:34 PM UTC
  Thanks again!
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689
Dec 28, 2005, 2:43:17 PM UTC
great job! way better then me when i did my first try,lol. better yet, your style of art is awesome! haha, best part, you didn't have to draw the fingers,lol. the only two things i can see that are wrong with it are the eye-lashes, and the skin tone... the eyelashes seem too clumpy and square, you know? and the skin tone seems a little too pink, i'd suggest lightening it and adding a brown/orange tone? that's all though, i really like this one.
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Saiyangirl4ever
Nov 19, 2005, 3:39:49 AM UTC
Wow! This is great !!!! I really like it! I like her higure though I wish her lines were mor strict...But I love her expression! She looks a little bit sad to me...Anywayz,great piccy! I luv it!All my love to you!Mwah!
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- karanakaou
  Nov 19, 2005, 7:33:08 AM UTC
  Thank you! And she is supposed to look a little sad...ooo...her child is murdered in my fic...ahhh...
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BogusRed
Nov 18, 2005, 9:17:55 AM UTC
I agree with Arkillian that the pose is a bit extreme, but I actually wouldn't tell you to change it because it just looks so darn cool. Her advice about trying out the pose for yourself is good advice though.

About the arm on the left (her right arm), the upper arm is reaaaaally long. If you want to fix it, I suggest, instead of drawing it on paper and rescanning it, just use the cloning tool in Photoshop to fix her arm. Oh wait, I just read that you aren't using photoshop. ah i don't know if paint shop pro has a similar tool. ah well.

And the coloring does look really cool! yay i'm glad someone got some use out of that tutorial lol.

The coloring looks great.
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- karanakaou
  Nov 18, 2005, 4:47:42 PM UTC
  PSP does have a cloning tool,
  It's a tremendously painstaking process, but darnit I'm going to give a shot!
  I wish I could have posted this whole thing (the original shows the ground and such), because it really helps the pose. It shows some of her weight distributed in that front leg...but I didn't like how the color was turning out! Grog!
  Yes, your tutorial helped a TON. I hadn't even been using layers previously...needless to say it helps a whole heap! And thank you so much for the kudos on the coloring; it means alot!...Any tips on how to do the eyes? I realized while doing them that they came out looking more pixelated than anything...It doesn't really go with the whimsical kind of thing I've got going with the rest of the coloring.
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  BogusRed
  Nov 18, 2005, 5:12:15 PM UTC
  glad it helped. about the eyes, i'm not sure what to suggest. i think the best thing would be if you could get the eyes to have the same line quality as the rest of the piece (as in making it look like pencil) but i don't know how to mimic the pencil texture in photoshop.
  actually, what you might be able to do is put the eyes on a separate layer and then create a pencil texture then apply the texture to that layer. oh wait, i'm talking photoshop again. darn it. i haven't used paint shop pro in like 8 years so i don't really know what it can do. gah...
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  karanakaou
  Nov 18, 2005, 6:46:25 PM UTC
  
  I was spoiled and able to use Corel Painter IX for a month; I did all kinds of stuff with my drawings...and didn't save anything! GROG! I can be so flighty sometimes.
  PSP has limited capabilities as far as textures go, well, they're not that great anyway. But the eyes originally have that pencil texture...hmmm...things to chew on. I think in the future I'm going to forego using anything to really 'outline' the eyes like I did in this one, I just think they look too fake. I'm going to have to take this back and fiddle with it some more...Oh! And I'm picking up my Photoshop stuff this weekend, so I'll be able to follow your tutorial right to the T...I'm excited!
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ArkillianDragon
Nov 17, 2005, 11:10:36 PM UTC
*turning on the oven for some xtra crispy comments*

Letsee- Question, is she leaning on something, cause even if she is, she's putting alot of weight on that arm of hers- her face is a little too casual for that pose. What would be sexy, and in balance, is her leaning straight down on that arm, rather than resting the weight on her shoulder and elbow. Sensuous poses are hard- my advise is to try the pose and see how you feel. This would be uncomfortable.
Her part line is a little low- I know that is is a rough edge look, but the forehead starts at that part line, and its barely about the brow.
I know that its probably your style (Ignore this if you wish ) but the far bang (the large one) look out of place without etra hair around the head- It gives the impression that she has a long bang on one side of her head, and another just aside from the middle of her head.
For a more realistic pony tail, if it hangs a little from the head, I've found that looping the hair out a little just befor the tie gives it a more of a feel of gravity, cause with the hang, it doesn't have the strain of wraping around the head to tighten the pony tail.

A few thoughts
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- karanakaou
  Nov 18, 2005, 4:41:37 PM UTC
  Yay! My first roast.
  *takes out butter knife to scrape of crispy topping of critiques*
  Yep, she's leaning against a wall. You can't see it because I cut it (I couldn't color the pants like I wanted... ) but her right leg is slightly bent and carrying some of her weight. And, I wasn't going for any overtly sensuous kind of pose; this character has a back story about ninety miles long, so she's got more going for her than her looks (her child is murdered...oooo...drama....) .
  Ahh, yeah, I agree with you about the hair. I ended up cutting some of it out (along that long chunk of hair) because it looked even weirder than this does...Grog...(I'm gonna' give that thing with the ponytail and try too
  Thank you so much! I have alot of stuff to go back and look over.
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  ArkillianDragon
  Nov 19, 2005, 3:44:14 AM UTC
  Ahhhh- perhaps a little leg for the next picture similar to this- she looks out of balance without it, and props always make a picture interesting. You should only crop stuff that isn't needed to enhance the picture Leaning on a wall or what is imprortant. Experiment a little with the ponytail- maybe a plait or something would be cool too
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  karanakaou
  Nov 19, 2005, 7:33:54 AM UTC
  Yeah, the original is at my dorm, so once I get there, it's eraser time!
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  ArkillianDragon
  Nov 19, 2005, 9:12:35 PM UTC
  Naugh- don't erase it. If you want to improve on this pic, put it against the light and re draw it agains tthe old one Unless its still in pencil only....
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  karanakaou
  Nov 20, 2005, 7:01:08 AM UTC
  Still just in pencil. I think I will fiddle with it, just because I have so many ways of making it look better now!
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  ArkillianDragon
  Nov 20, 2005, 9:42:55 PM UTC
  Ahhh- coolies ^^
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Okami
Nov 17, 2005, 1:06:10 PM UTC
a very cool and very feminine character!
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- karanakaou
  Nov 17, 2005, 3:29:15 PM UTC
  Thank you Okami...I'm humbled!
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MissezNoll
Nov 17, 2005, 10:45:08 AM UTC
Heidi, this looks wonderful. I love the shade of her skin. You have done a wonderful job blending the tones to make it look so natural. I love her pose as well. It looks really smooth and not stiff at all (I sometimes have problems with that. ) And her clothes look wonderful. The shading you did on her shirt is beautiful and flawless. beautiful work my dear. All my love. ^_^
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- karanakaou
  Nov 17, 2005, 10:53:35 AM UTC
  Thank you! I'm really glad people are commenting on this; it lets me know I'm headed in the right direction. I've never done anything like this before, so all of this feedback is very encouraging!
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  MissezNoll
  Nov 17, 2005, 10:58:30 AM UTC
  Well you deserve all of the praise that you get for this one Heidi. It does look wonderful. And you will have to let me know when you get your fic done. I will be waiting with anticipation to read it. Much love. ^_^
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  karanakaou
  Nov 17, 2005, 12:59:50 PM UTC
  Goodie! Yay! I warn you though, it's going to be a tear jerker...
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zacula
Nov 17, 2005, 8:33:16 AM UTC
That is a great pose Karana. And really great line work too. Her hip position is excellent. I like the colouring to especialy the shading on the wrinkles in her shirt.
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- karanakaou
  Nov 17, 2005, 8:56:31 AM UTC
  Ah, thank you. I am very proud of the shirt; the line quality, on the other hand, I'm not to keen on. But, this was just a sketch, so... Thanks so much for the lovely comment!
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Humority
Nov 17, 2005, 1:56:02 AM UTC
It's looking great Karana! I love her pose and the coloring. I agree with Jessi.
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- karanakaou
  Nov 17, 2005, 5:20:01 AM UTC
  Thank you thank you!
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  Humority
  Nov 18, 2005, 1:09:56 AM UTC
  You're welcome.
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Inuyashababe69
Nov 16, 2005, 9:21:12 PM UTC
This is great for a first attempt. Some people at a 10th attempt can't do this good!
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- karanakaou
  Nov 17, 2005, 5:19:34 AM UTC
  Thank you! I'm also using a program that doesn't have any tools to blend with...so this is proving pretty tough!
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