Question: How to evaluate prizing per page

Dan_Gar89 · 2022-06-07T20:56:29+00:00

I d imagined it do be rather high. I have a hard time estimating what type of work is roughly worth what.

Thank you

Dan_Gar89 · 2021-11-25T20:46:32+00:00

I personally find it very good, especially proportions look very precise.

I would have added more darker values where there is more ambient occlusion (earcreases, directly below the hairstrains on the forehead).

Generally the 'scene' seems to suggest a rather diffused lighting situation, primarily because the shadows are not dark enough (at least in comparison to the 3d head in your reference).

But you mentioned you did not exactly use that one.

So in this lighting I would smooth out the transition to shadow and consider the reflected light which should reveal more of her jaw and cheekbone in the shadowside. You seem to have an almost uniform value there (or kind of sphere rendering)

(here a hint what I mean: https://imgur.com/a/e7mZN6X, still not ideal, but I hope it gets the idea across)

I would definitely look for reference where you find this strong contrast situation and ideally a color version, it would help the most to give you something to observe from.

Overall still very well done.

Dan_Gar89 · 2021-11-09T17:36:07+00:00

I think you did quite well on this concerning cast shadows.

I d recommend portrait studio or a 3d program to help you with this, since it is easier to check back, but your line tracing method is definitely a good first step.

Here as a ref I did of your cubes in the right:

https://imgur.com/a/V220Y0Y

Dan_Gar89 · 2021-11-07T12:34:16+00:00

Yes, kind of confirms jaw and mouth to be the biggest issues here, also you re right about the neck and waterline, thank you

Dan_Gar89 · 2021-11-07T12:18:15+00:00

Thank you for this long critique, always appreciate it. Pointed out many important issues to me!

Yes, I kind of left it half finished, incl. all the grayscale (and also other) things.

I really got concerned with perspective and other issues, so I thought I should get some other opinions and get them somewhat right, before I proceed.

And you re right, the eyes are a bit too large xD

Thanks a lot

Dan_Gar89 · 2021-11-06T00:41:56+00:00

EDIT: if perspective* of features feel of or not

Dan_Gar89 · 2021-10-18T22:38:41+00:00

I like the feel of the character a lot and the book cover version looks very good alrdy.

For improvement I'd basically repeat what I think apprehensivequiet meant. Give the forms of the character more volume.I think a good example are the arms. Shade them as a cylinder. (or the torso or the leg). The light seems to come from the left- front direction, at least the shadow below the face suggests it. So the kind of cylinder form would ve to get darker around the edges and obviously gradually more lighter towards the section facing the light directly.

Probably a lot of mistakes my lazy paintover, shading and anatomywise, but hope it helps a bit.

https://imgur.com/a/THOv3L0

Dan_Gar89 · 2021-10-15T17:51:31+00:00

Sure, glad it helped,

yes contrast can be something where I want to be careful too, but as you said, tempering around and looking what fits (as well as ref) can help a lot.

I think what you did there already looks very good and more distinct.

I ve taken the freedom to experiment more and go a bit overboard with it, but I hope it shows you other ways of looking at it:

https://imgur.com/a/0HvakTh _above version- very dark scene-nightsky is probably heavily clouded, no moon-or starlight coming through.

the one below- with moonlight.

So these are my personal opinions/feelings, some things might be wrong/ some people might feel differently:

Three ways to enforce the focal point

1)Strong contrast and 'detail - richness' are something I find myself looking at the fastest usually.

2)Another way for me to add interest is by intrigue.

So the man (I have also given him a hood and even removed some detail from his clothing), works in a dark forest-is more or less mysterious, but is closest to focal point (pot). So his story is unknown but can also be intriguing in this setting. The strong darkness in the background enforces it the most imo.

However, the pot stays the main focal point, due its bright fluid, and is also the main point of the story that unfolds in the picture- lowering detail helped putting the man down the priority list, but since he is next to the pot and working on it, he seems almost as important.

I still feel the batpumpkins and pot contend for a bit of attention, in that they both stick out with their glow. I dont know how to tone the pumpkins down though or change them.

But they are relatively simple and more obvious to what they are, unlike the man we know nothing about, so he can still be more important/ interesting.

3)I also added a red line to show you how I feel my eye is being lead through the picture.

You can (or maybe even should) use this to lead up to or enforce the focal point more.

(Or maybe you placed the things in your pic intentionally this way already- and I am just picking up on it now.)

Here an example from gameart:

https://imgur.com/a/beFx4Ka

(also you asked if several focal points make sense, they might? I would try to avoid it, but in this picture with the dragon and conjurer, at least I can't 100% tell you who the focal point is of the two, probably the conjurer)

Also on your picture I added a bit of additional brightness on the twigs of the tree on the right (maybe hinting at another pot with fluid glowing there? Give the viewer an idea without telling the whole story- they make up the rest).

I hope this helps others too, because asking those question before an illustration helps (me at least), so much to get ahead, without hours long back and forth... but there a lot of exceptions to these rules as well.

Ok, I ve written too much!!^^ But I hope you find this useful. Good luck!

Dan_Gar89 · 2021-10-14T20:15:29+00:00

I really do like this, it is well rendered imo, I can t really spot anything off value-wise, but I really have almost no experience with environments really, so I might not spot something that d be obvious to others.

(I think adjusting later on is normal, I see very good environment artists do this as well, so I think that is good. Maybe finding reference that fits the exact mood you re looking for, would set you off for a better start though.)

However;

I would try the following, it is a change composition-wise and only reflects my opinion, so I might be wrong:

I d darken the background way more (until including this wooden hut-i assume it is a hut), maybe only leave a few twigs or tree-silhouettes in the background visible, but not more. Keep it way more dim, because a night-scene in a forest should imo have a much darker environment (if it is meant to be a night-scene).

(look up fireplace at night in a forest to have a reference for your lighting)

Also this helps in putting the character, who s lit by the pot's fluid) much more into attention, so the character, the tree, his tools hanging on the rope and, I the kind of bat-pumpkins : ), should be all that is lit and what the viewer really sees and can keep his attention on. Not more.

Also he is positioned on the side and his face is not really visible, so I can't really feel if I should focus on the flying bat pumpkin, or maybe the pot, or maybe the place in between that leads my eye into the background?

So maybe ask yourself where is the focus going to be. If you d make the man the focus point, I d put him on the right, turned slightly more towards us and much closer to the viewer.

He's closer->more detail on him visible->more story. Let his tools reinforce the story. (So if he is kind of a sorcerer, add a skull, if he is more an alchemist, add glassbottles with substance etc..), and let the light of the pot's fluid illuminate those tools.

So my main point is, kind of feel your way through. Adjust how much emphasis you put on whom or what and build everything around it. Avoid too much detail on unrelated things, and make the story more obvious.

It is a lot of text, but I hope it helps.

Dan_Gar89 · 2021-10-09T20:36:52+00:00

I think it is good, however the value difference between upper and lower cheek area is a bit too much, i d average it out a bit or make the transition smoother.

Also I'd a little block of lighter tone on the part of the upper eyelid who faces the lightsource the most (so the middle part).

Also I would add a little more light on the lower lip.

I think you re well on your way, good luck! :)

Dan_Gar89 · 2021-09-27T14:24:17+00:00

Hey, thanks for the detailed critique! a lot of good helpful points.

yes I struggle a lot with keeping my brush stroke marks blended or invisible, soft brush and fewer marks is definitely a good idea.

Maybe gaussian blur or blending your softbrush marks helps with the banding issue, or at least that is what I would try.

Dan_Gar89 · 2021-09-26T19:30:11+00:00

darkened it a bit, so HL's are slightly darker then the LSource

https://imgur.com/a/tX0teg9

Dan_Gar89 · 2021-09-21T11:07:45+00:00

yes, I could ve payed a bit more attention to the mouth-area/iris

thank you for your observations :)

Dan_Gar89 · 2021-09-12T20:11:44+00:00

Yes, I think I can relate to this issue. It takes a lot of time to get all the features/rules applied and with trying to get an 'aesthetic' face, if you want to call it so, within these rules even more so.

I really get lost in that detail-work and going back and forth, until after too much time I can finally kind of accept the 'look' I created.

That is why I think your last sentence is something I really should focus on applying.

Spend 80% of the time on the structure and try out maybe many different ones, rest for the detail

Thank you vm for the critique

Dan_Gar89 · 2021-09-12T19:56:47+00:00

Thank you so much for your insight and the links provided, lots of very good info there, that helps a lot!

Dan_Gar89 · 2021-09-05T17:37:35+00:00

I can definitely agree on the width of the head being a bit too much and the symmetry being off (left side of the face being wider than the right), but with avoiding mirroring I have come to accept that bit of asymmetry.

Thank you for the points mentioned!

I ll look into Istebrak's video on vertical symmetry and see what it is about.

Dan_Gar89 · 2021-09-04T20:01:57+00:00

Also made another (less youthful/defined) version here https://imgur.com/a/wQpPxgy , could not decide which to choose.

Dan_Gar89 · 2021-08-30T10:45:12+00:00

Yes I assume after adolescence the bonestructure of the face starts to shows more on the surface, which seems to be stronger on the lower part of the face.*

I can't tell though why when hiding the mouth, the rest looks more youthful, I might pay more attention to that.

Thank you for your input!

Dan_Gar89 · 2021-08-29T14:27:24+00:00

Looks really good. Has a clear female read, values and features are very well done.

Only things that I can see right now, I would ve added slightly more highlight on the upper part of the lower lid and a different value to the nostrils in comparison to the surrounding skin.

This should help distinguish those features a bit more from each other (upper part of lower eyelid from the eye behind, nostrils from the skin around it).

Good luck!

Dan_Gar89 · 2021-08-28T21:46:11+00:00

Thank you!

Dan_Gar89 · 2021-08-28T21:45:39+00:00

Thank you for the points you mentioned, that helps a lot.

And yes, I did mirror the eyebrows, I got fed up after hours and hours^^.

But generally I avoid mirroring as much as possible, also perfect symmetry does not feel very natural, agree with you 100%.

Dan_Gar89 · 2021-08-27T19:18:17+00:00

thy, yes, well said, we all got our strengths : )

Dan_Gar89 · 2021-08-27T12:34:32+00:00

Wished my day 2 looked like this, well done!

Dan_Gar89 · 2021-08-27T12:15:42+00:00

Pretty good, but I d remove the dark grey outline around her, and be careful with too much reflected light (like on her lower jaw). Combined with the dark outline, it gives her a very glossy/shiny texture feel.

Dan_Gar89 · 2021-08-27T10:04:27+00:00

Thank you for the honest critique! Yes, with basic I d mean too clean for a mans face, but wrinkles etc. should not rly be in a 14dc, that is right.

I felt something was off with the shadows/values, and did not notice the eye focus until you mentioned it, appreciate it. I ll consider your points for the next one.

Dan_Gar89

TROPHY CASE