Girl on cloud help?

[CybrGfx]

You have to decide how "solid" looking those clouds are going to be, and then you have to decide where the girl is upon them. Just like a featherbed vs. a solid, ultrafirm covered matress, there will be a difference in depth when you lie on them.

You need to show some "sinking into" effect, or some "laying on top of" effect, both of which will be accomplished through the use of highlight and shadow, with some depth effect achieved by having portions of the cloud "base" overlap some edges of the body.
http://images.inmagine.com/img/somos/smp001/smp0000175.jpg
http://www.featherbed.co.uk/jamie.jpg

She also has anatomy problems, but those may be due to the WIP status...

~C

[Sukeile]

Thank you for your help :)
I think I understand what you mean and I'm going to work on it and see if I can use your tips correctly.

I wanted it to be seen from above, as if she is laying slightly on her back, is that how it looks in the picture or can I change something to make it clearer?

And if with 'anatomy problems' you are refering to her legs I have noticed it and I will fix it, but if it is something else then please let me know and I will try to fix that as well :)

Thank you again for your help, I think you are the same person who helped me last time I posted, I appreciate it very much!

[CybrGfx]

Her legs and hips need some adjustment, her waist needs to be widened just a wee bit. She looks like a fashion doll in the middle...

Her left shoulder looks very odd, although part of it is the clothing, but it looks compacted, making that side of the canvas a bit "tight" looking. She looks as if we are viewing her from above and slightly to her right. When you get the "cloud bed" better defined, I think the perspective will work out.

~C

[Sukeile]

Thank you!
I am not so used to drawing this type of body so I need all the critique I can get, haha.

To the left of the picture in this link is the original character of my friend that I am trying to recreate : http://fc52.deviantart.com/fs36/f/2008/267/e/c/DF___Siblings_by_Tonikop.jpg (http://tonikop.deviantart.com/art/DF-Siblings-98772499)

I'll do my best to improve my picture :)

edit: still have a very long way to go, but hopefully I am moving in the right direction now.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v145/Beliska/Haley3.jpg

I'm not sure if the position of the wings are okay though....

[EndoTouch]

She is on an angle to the clouds almost like she is sitting. In this pose her back should bend back to meet the cloud and you should see a little of under her chin. Right now she is half sitting on the cloud so you could run with that too but that would mean bringing the chest forward. Maybe she is in the middle of falling back, which is how it looks, but still then her head should be slack and falling faster than her body. I've personally never liked characters whose faces are perpendicular to the view ie facing straight into the camera. The Image would look great if her head was twisted up or down, I'd like it best if her head was falling down. Then again it seems the face is your focal point so this would probably be a big reworking.

The wings need some work. You could stretch them out some, or wrap them around. They are feather and light bone I wouldn't think putting weight on them is a good idea never mind lying on them.

I think the main issue is that she is so flat to the camera, not even a little bend in her body. Again I realize repainting anything sucks so you may not want to hear any of this.

Don't be afraid of heavy changes making tweaks will not make noticeable change. It sucks when you first start doing it but it makes you a faster painter. If this were oils it my be difficult to accept doing but even then, since your in PS just make a new layer and with a large brush block everything out on that one layer with strong brush strokes. Nail the form down with large brushes and strong strokes the tweak the details.

I'm not at all trying to say its a bad image just that the flatness is glaring. My best advice after working through this critique is to bend the head back, stretching the neck, and twist the hips so one leg can wrap over the other, a very common leg pose for thin women. Have fun too, :)

[Sukeile]

Thank you for the Help!

I am starting to get alittle bit tired of my painting allready, so maybe repainting some things will make it fun again :)

I am not sure if I understood everything in your post completely but I am going to try my best to follow your advice, experiment a bit and see what happends.

Thank you again, I really appreciate all the advice :)

[Sukeile]

Did you mean like this? She looks a bit scary at the moment, I just sketched something to see if I understood right.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v145/Beliska/haleytesta-1.jpg

[CybrGfx]

The girl you are painting does not look very much like the reference image at all, I'm sorry. From the eyes, which are an entirely different shape, to the nose, which is too narrow with the tip misshapen, to the cheeks and jaw, which are too blocky and round on your version. The hairstyle is also quite different, as well as the color...

The body and clothing look quite realistic, but the face is like someone attending a cosplay convention dressed up to resemble a character, but not really looking like them, just someone dressed up like them in costume.

You may want to practice drawing faces from life, asking a friend to give you 5 minutes of their time not moving, or using photo references. Your foundational anatomy needs some work, and you do need to practice drawing faces at an angle.

~C

[Sukeile]

Yes, you are absolutly right, CybrGfx.
I am self taught so I don't really have a good technique on how to do anything, I just experiment my way forward and try to learn from my mistakes, and there are many. XD
But I promise I will study harder, I really want to get better!

It will take a while for me to work on all these things but now atleast I have some advice to go after :)
Thank you both for your comments, I hope I won't disappoint you when it is finnished.

[EndoTouch]

The heads in a much better position now I think.

You don't have to be self taught. There are so many books, some free as well, that really its only a matter of the will to learn. Practice your basics if you want better final pictures. Writers do research so do artists, anatomy sketches are the norm not the exception. Really you should just finish this now, you've gotten crits and know what you want to get out of it. There will always be things to improve, getting things done is important too. Finish this but don't get all caught up in it. It's a good idea but its a difficult thing to get right I would say.

[CybrGfx]

I agree.

Call this one "complete," and move on.
There are too many paintings waiting for you. Fan art of someone else's character is a nice compliment, but you need to work on YOUR characters.

It was a nice start. Your next piece will be even better. They always are.

~C

[wo0lF]

All i would do is fixing clouds. They look like for or smoke.

http://www.reefed.edu.au/__data/assets/image/0011/17021/clouds.jpg


http://healthcare.zdnet.com/images/clouds_320.jpg


http://www.kidsgeo.com/images/comuliform-clouds.jpg


http://images.google.si/imgres?imgurl=http://www.robertcampbellphotography.com/Images/Clouds/Clouds4.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.robertcampbellphotography.com/clouds.html&usg=__t_2i0S4cZcwTDQ3GqJkiwk6c0fg=&h=576&w=576&sz=18&hl=sl&start=20&um=1&tbnid=ux9acaPX_yG8mM:&tbnh=134&tbnw=134&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dclouds%26um%3D1%26hl%3Dsl%26sa%3DN

[Sukeile]

Thought I'd show you how it turned out.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v145/Beliska/Haley8.jpg

I decided not to repaint her face and instead adjust the things I had already done to save time.
And even though I could not fix all the problems this time I think I learned something and will plan my next picture better ( maybe bring it up for critique earlier in the process as well :) )

Thank you everyone for all your advice and comments, it has motivated me to try harder and I am really going to focus on getting a better start for the next picture :D

[CybrGfx]

Very nice. This will make a lovely gift, and I'm sure Toniko will appreciate it very much.

Good job.

~C

[EndoTouch]

absolutely lovely

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