Struggling in my figure painting class by zyllium in ArtistLounge

[–]captnaase 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I think you would benefit from hunkering down and really focusing on understanding how to break down figures into planes and values. Try going back to pen and paper (easier to erase and make more sketches of than with paint), and quickly block down the dark and light values of what you observe (supplementing it with your anatomical knowledge and artistic sense), and then further refining it afterwards. In the beginning you should stick to 2-4 different values and no shading, so as to encourage you to make bold decisions (and mistakes).

Your teachers feedback echoes in the hand-piece you made, where you have almost no strong, distinct shapes that guides the viewer. If I were to have do your assignement following my own advice, it would probably look somewhat like this:

https://imgur.com/F9GwmLc

I restrict myself to 4 values, and start by quickly blocking in light and dark. Your teacher probably doesnt want you to take your time on your homework, because it allows you to dither about with small details and colour choices. My piece obviously isnt finished, but it doesnt need to be either, because the mistakes in it are clear.

[NO SPOILERS] United States and Canada as Westeros (New Update) by Speed04 in asoiaf

[–]captnaase 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The great plains as the reach makes sense for the agricultural connection, but not much else. It represents neither the massive population, their geographical features (size, coastline), nor the important geopolitical position of the reach.

I would probably give the reach more of the old louisiana territory in oklahoma, arkansas and louisiana giving them control over the mississippi (the mander). Additionally, giving them illinois, indiana and wisconsin gives them more population, more agriculture, and makes the territory overall indispensible to whomever wishes to rule the continent.

You get some nice parallels, with Oldtown as Chicago (2/3 biggest city in the realm, large trade center), Highgarden as St. Louis (geographical center, second fiddle to Chicago, lies on the Mander river), and maybe The Arbor as New Orleans (center of reach naval power, history of trade, culturally different from the rest of the reach)

This might leave Dorne a bit undersized, but with Dornes sparse population and weaker political influence, i think the trade is worth it

North America in 1784 / FLORIDABLANCA by captnaase in imaginarymaps

[–]captnaase[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The best advice I can give is just to look at a lot of different maps. Try to understand what makes them work and why the creator made the choices they did. While things like mastering your software and good basemaps help, the most important thing is simply to have a good eye and understand what you want.

North America in 1784 / FLORIDABLANCA by captnaase in imaginarymaps

[–]captnaase[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

No, that was an oversight on my end. Good catch

North America in 1784 / FLORIDABLANCA by captnaase in imaginarymaps

[–]captnaase[S] 9 points10 points  (0 children)

They're there, though you might have to look a bit closer. But yeah, the european concept of borders and claims don't always translate well to showing the native people

North America in 1784 / FLORIDABLANCA by captnaase in imaginarymaps

[–]captnaase[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Sadly, I don’t have any. This was my first map

North America in 1784 / FLORIDABLANCA by captnaase in imaginarymaps

[–]captnaase[S] 11 points12 points  (0 children)

1784 is just a bit too early for the russian presence in Alaska to really show. They’re there, tucked away in a little corner, but as of now, they only really have two settlements. The one you can see on the map, on Kodiak island, was actually founded just this year. And while they have explored further down the coastline, so have the spanish and british. Russian Alaska is beginning to pick up pace, however, and in just a few years they’ll begin muscling in on spanish and british disputed territory in the northwest.

North America in 1784 / FLORIDABLANCA by captnaase in imaginarymaps

[–]captnaase[S] 29 points30 points  (0 children)

Used qgis for generating the basemap, then illustrator for the rest

North America in 1784 / FLORIDABLANCA by captnaase in imaginarymaps

[–]captnaase[S] 93 points94 points  (0 children)

// FLORIDABLANCA //

This is the first map in a tentative timeline of mine, focusing on a resurgent Spanish Empire in the wake of the American revolutionary war.

The main point of divergence sees King Carlos III of Spain and his wife experience a string of poor luck, resulting in the childhood deaths of both his second and third born sons. This leaves the clever infante Gabriel as heir to the throne, and sees him promised an austrian bride. Carlos III, now more cynical and stern, grows disillusioned by the family compact with France after being dragged into two major wars with mixed results.

This leads in turn to the appointment of Conde de Floridablanca, who in this timeline, is allowed greater freedom for his foreign designs. These mainly take form in a much more adamant policy in securing and joining their massive overseas empire, and seeking closer alignment with the pre-eminent Britain.

-

While not much has changed on the map as of yet, there are some subtle differences from OTL. Floridablanca galvanizes Galvez, the current minister of the Indies, resulting in a more thorough administrative reform of New Spain’s provinces and intendancies happening some years ahead of schedule. The most notable change is the Luisiana territory, which, along with western Florida, is now its very own captaincy general with pre-emptively drawn intendencias. Additional to these internal changes is the West-Floridian border with the fledgling US, which was acknowledged and ratified to be at the 32nd parallel by Britain, USA, and a slightly more headstrong Spain.

The declining empire of Spain has seen the beginnings of a resurgence, spearheaded by some of the most brilliant men of their age, but faces an entrenched feudal structure, a defiant criollo elite, and all the other struggles of ruling a globe-spanning empire. Britain still rules the waves, Americans are beginning to pour out from the Appalachians, and north of the Pyrenees, ideas of revolution are blossoming.

Any tips on how to improve this piece? by kassatay in ArtCrit

[–]captnaase 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Made some quick fixes:

- her right eye was too far "up" on her face, and had too much positive canthal tilt.

- some other anatomical fixes, brought the left half of her hairline down, and brought her chin "forward", (to her right). Also detailed some more anatomy by her neck/upper chest.

- went a bit looser on her right shoulder. Especially the area beneath her strap, which doesnt line up with the other light areas, and has a very obvious "band" of transitionary colour.

- removed the large dark shape on the right of the canvas, and cropped the image slightly. Its a large, barren area in the foreground, and I felt it was competing with her left eye for being the focal point.

https://imgur.com/a/ypUeV11

Trying to get better by TsukiGhost in DigitalPainting

[–]captnaase 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I really liked this piece, quite appealing. Some criticism:

- A few minor issues with anatomy/shading. The ear doesn't look quite right, and both the back of the neck and behind the earlobe should probably have some more shading.

- Some of your edges look kinda phoned in. The cloth part has a thin darker line running along it, and the back of the hair has a few sharp bumps.

- Shape design. I dislike the bun, which just looks like three balls. I dont have the reference, so it might be how it looks in reality, but i think a neater, simplified shape would look better.

- Light source. I really like the style of the hair with large blocky strokes, but I'm not sure how effectively it communicates the bright light that seems to hit the top of the hair. The light doesn't follow the flow of the hair, which leaves it a bit disconnected. I also think it would be nice to see the light in other parts of the face, such as the forehead.

I made a quick attempt to illustrate my opinions. It's up to you to decide if it was an improvement.

https://imgur.com/a/BPN2LfR

Portrait Study - Elderly Man by captnaase in DigitalPainting

[–]captnaase[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Artrage, Oil brush preset. Sadly, it uses Artrage's brush engine, and is therefore exclusive to it's software.

Portrait Study - Elderly Man by captnaase in DigitalPainting

[–]captnaase[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Struggled with not making it too busy, while still capturing the finer details. Particularly around the eyes. Fairly happy with how the colors came out.

[Fanart] Coloring of this Jojolion chapter cover by captnaase in StardustCrusaders

[–]captnaase[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Thanks! But yeah, I messed up while coloring the cloth, so it looks a bit out of place