Character critique

[synthsin75]

Hey, I just wanted to get some input on my AS character design. I may have gone a bit over board with the 'splotchy' effect in the hair, but I think the shirt kind of works.

Let me know if this is a distinctive style, or if it looks like a bunch of other stuff.

Thanks.

[Genete]

I don't like the mix of different outlines (thickness and color) styles between the the skin and the jacket. Maybe if you turn the skin outlines to another color that matches the skin but a darker it would work better. Look at sang820 models.

Also a blurred hays doesn't match the style IMHO. A pair of ears would be good to complete the head profile.

I love the overall drawing designs and the color of her eyes and hair.

Regarding to the use of splotchy the only problem I see is the known bug when zoom with the camera

7/10

[Springymajig]

First of all... I know that AS has it's limitations... and certain styles can be difficult to pull off well... personally I like the idea of using less anatomically detailed characters because it can cause more trouble than it's worth... but I'm not really the most experienced user so I dunno.. maybe it can work really well.

But anyway.. it kinda looks like you're doing something half-way between detailed realism and 2D cut out animation, and I don't think it quite works.

Anatomy is not really my strong point so I feel a bit silly doing this but I tried doing a little paint over just doing things that I think would make it look a bit better. It's mostly little things but I pointed out the main things that were bugging me in red.



Overall the design looks a little lacking in flow... like the pieces aren't really joined together. It doesn't help that the line styles are inconsistent, I think you should just stick to solid black.

Also, it looks like you've been looking at how to draw anime books. Now, if you haven't, GOOD, never open any of those books except to laugh at how bad they are! If you HAVE... try to un-learn everything you've learnt from there... they will hinder you more than help you.

The best way to learn how to draw is life drawing and lots of it... don't be like me, get interested in it and do it lots. There's a book by... I think it's Andrew Loomis which is quite old but pretty good. Also Ben Caldwell (I think that's his name) does good cartoon-styled how to draw books.

Also... I tried just sorta redrawing it like really really quickly... cos after doing that paint over it kinda looks a bit... boring, lacking in style and general coolness... so I kinda took some of the ideas you had and tried to push it a bit further...



Dunno... doesn't really look very good tho : P but hopefully you get the idea.

It's not far from being a decent design... there's just lots of little things that are a bit "off"

[slowtiger]

A character like this must be based in solid anatomy, or it will not work. I struggle with this myself, so trust me: no style, no delicate line, no shiny rendering will disguise bad construction.

Springy is right: do more drawings, and do them in different poses, on paper. Only when you've got your construction and proportions right you can think of style.

[synthsin75]

Thanks Genete, I think you really nailed the major issues I need to address. Very good pointers.


Thanks for the detailed response Springy. To answer your question, I am a life artist first. That's how I learned, but I do have some trouble stylizing my work. Probably my biggest mistake here was that I drew this entirely in AS. So I drew it as separate parts with the aim of rigging.

Probably not a good idea.

Your right Tiger, I should have done the sketches first.

[tonym]

Looks pretty nifty. Nice face.

If there was one thing I would change, it would be the belt. The belt looks too 3D; plus her pants lack belt loops.

If there was a second thing I would change, it would be her eyebrows.

[synthsin75]

Okay, here's a new starting point with sketches, like I should have done in the beginning.

[Springymajig]

Yeah.. that's definitely looking a lot better now that you've just drawn it on paper. There's still a few small things that could be better but it's mostly things that'll just get better with time I guess.

One thing I would make a point of improving would be the hands though... they look a lot less solid and structured than the rest. But of course everyone knows hands and heads are the hardest bits

[synthsin75]

Well I guess I should show some of my real artwork. That way we can save on some mistaken assumptions.

The hands are specifically stylized for easier animation in AS.

But keep the feedback coming.

[synthsin75]

Some quick fixes before I start from scratch.

Outlines, ears, removed the blur from the hair, fixed the eyebrows, and narrowed the shoulders a bit.

:: Oh yeah. Genete, the splotchy effect hardly shows the zoom bug that the spots effect does.

[human]

I privately developed this notion of "depth of character;" it's like "depth of field" in a camera, in a screwy abstract way. Using depth of field, the cinematographer draws attention to some actor or prop in a big scene. Likewise, I suspect that an artist has to *progressively* focus attention on head, face, and eyes--in that order. This means subordinating the body and clothing in some hard-to-explain way. One doesn't crank up the depth of character again until you get to the region of hands and fingers.

You're getting there. My feeling is that the best part of this is her face, which I feel has more character and appeal than any japanime, but in regard to her grass-green irises, she would be prettier if you chose the *real* color of green eyes. I think of this as exerting "discipline over one's palette."

And just look at how much prettier this is with color-coordinated inklines!

The hair is not only un-animatable, but distracting-it's just too busy. On the principle of depth of character, when you simplify the hair, it will be a win-win situation. (I would also limit the amount of hair which is scarlet. It will be prettier if the scarlet contrasts with duller colors.)

The extreme clothing causes the character to be a hybrid of two styles. Her head and belly tend to the kind of brilliant realistic character design of Don Bluth, but her space-tart wardrobe belongs to slapstick kiddietoons. Specifically, the giant belt is just too far-fetched -- suspension of disbelief breaks down.

EDIT: frankly, for what it's worth (perhaps not much), my own feeling is that Don Bluth solved all the problems of realistic character design. Recently I've come around to the mantra WWDD -- what would Don do? If I can come up with a character-design technique that meets that question, I just do it.

[synthsin75]

The hair is not only un-animatable, but distracting-it's just too busy.

Thanks for the input! I don't agree that it is un-animatable, but I just checked and removing the splochy effect did indeed improve the look. In the final charcter the face, etc will get some detailed shading, so I think that will offset the 'busy' hair.

Her head and belly tend to the kind of brilliant realistic character design of Don Bluth, but her space-tart wardrobe belongs to slapstick kiddietoons.

Thanks. Yeah the more I look at it the more I dislike the clothing. ( Or I'm offended )

I simplified it a bit, and shrank the belt.

[tonym]

Much better!

I preferred the first shoulders, BTW.

Also, because she is turned a little to the side, it seems odd to me that her hands are mirror images of each other. They should be a little different, I think.

It sure is fun seeing an artist tinker with his work.

[synthsin75]

Thanks Tony! I usually do the shoulder more stuctured like the first draft, but I'm trying to get use to having an audience for my work again. The hands of course would be quickly addressed in animation.

I'm glad someone other than me is enjoying this process.

[Genete]

Give her a back!

I totally agree. You should rework her torso. Give her more smooth curves.

Good improvements.


-G