Rezzy's Art Gallery

[carefreejules]

Thanks, I agree the hand looks a bit wrinkly, I just wanted to put something there, since it wasn't looking right with a big blank hand, but I guess I made it look worse.

I guess I've got a case of anime hair there. My original ponytail was just a smooth tube of hair, but I'll try to fix it to look better.

Oh, poor Lyn with her fat thighs. I seem to tend to draw limbs too long in general, maybe it's because I'm pretty lanky myself.

With Lyn's right hand, that's meant to be her thumb facing us. I don't object to changing the orientation of her hand, I'm just sure if it was clear.

I'm not sure what you mean by diversify style of bikini. Just do different styles of swimwear? I actually didn't really put much thought into that part, and it's more of a way to draw anatomical accuracy without being naked. I thought about maybe doing a skirt or something, but then I'd be covering up the pelvis, which I don't have much practice with.

Thanks for all the advice. I'll try to make some changes.

Oh I know how the hand was supposed to look but I mostly just drew the hand I drew to see if it made the pose look any different.

Yeah, I meant the style of the bikini since if you are going to make these drawings a series, some varying styles of swim wear would make your drawings a bit more interesting :>

And you're welcome!

[Res]

I love the improvement you can see in this thread! I tried posting earlier but my internet connection is acting up.

I also sketch a lot on paper; I have a glass-top desk (that I can light up from beneath) and a tracing pad, so I can sketch roughly, then trace over my sketch (once I'm reasonably happy with it) to get a smoother outline. I also like to flip the paper over, because sometimes a drawing will look good from one angle, but looks odd when you view it from another.

I had some suggestions to build off carefreejules' comments:

1. I made her head just a little larger

2. I tried standing in this pose with my arm outstretched, and it felt a lot more natural with my palm facing to my left. (Also the shoulder ought to be up a little higher, so my sketch is wrong, there - if I lift my arm up, my shoulder gets closer to my ear).

3. I evened up the breasts; her right one ought to be sliightly lower than her left, as she's lifting up her left arm.

4. Unless she has really slim legs, you're not going to see a crotch/thigh gap at this angle (of course I'm also slightly biased towards bigger thighs anyway).

5. Again, from standing in this pose, it is really awkward and uncomfortable to angle out both feet! I brought her right foot forward so it's pointing straight ahead of her. Also, your drawing has the bigger toes on the outside of her feet. :)

[Rezzy]

Here's take 37 2. Sorry, Res, I made the changes before I had a chance to see your suggestions. This particular sketch has reached critical mass with erasures and redrawing, but I might try tracing it later, to do a redo.

I kept the limb length, the same, just since it's a bit tough to shorten them without redrawing the whole part, and now I see what you mean about the feat, they do look a bit awkward. For the pose, I use a combination of looking in the mirror and sketch frame poses. It seems using my own body as a base is a bit of a mistake. I'm far off the typical build. I'm 5'11" and 135 lbs (or I used to be, I've got this bulging abdomen now, but that should be gone in a few months.) And it seems I've got too-long legs. I've got a bit of a gap between the thigh, but the thigh gap here is a bit exaggerated. I think with a bit more practice, I'll get used to drawing more normal bodies.

I added a bit of hair to the top, just to make the head a bit bigger. If I retrace it, I'll probably work on the bang line a bit, since her lack of visible forehead, made me make the top of her head way too low originally.

Thanks for all the feedback, everyone!

EDIT: Gah, I just realized, I drew her feet backwards. No wonder they looked wrong.

Edited July 4, 2016 by Rezzy

[Rezzy]

Here's the colored version of Lyn...

In a related note, I bought myself a drawing tablet as an early birthday present. I used it to try to redo the legs here. Does anyone have any tips on using the stylus to draw? I had a very hard time drawing smooth lines and even now, they look pixely to me. I don't know if it's something that will get better with time, but I want to move on technologically, so I can more easily alter things than I can with just pencil and paper.

If anybody's got any advice, it would be greatly appreciated.

[carefreejules]

Here's the colored version of Lyn...

In a related note, I bought myself a drawing tablet as an early birthday present. I used it to try to redo the legs here. Does anyone have any tips on using the stylus to draw? I had a very hard time drawing smooth lines and even now, they look pixely to me. I don't know if it's something that will get better with time, but I want to move on technologically, so I can more easily alter things than I can with just pencil and paper.

If anybody's got any advice, it would be greatly appreciated.

Using a tablet for the first time isn't easy let me just say. There are two things to take into account when using a tablet:

1) Pen pressure. This is the holy grail of getting diverse lines of different thicknesses. Depending on what art program you're using, you might have to turn it on manually.

2) How are you drawing? Are you dragging the stylus across the tablet or are you flicking your wrist? If you're dragging your tablet pen, the lines are going to come out shaky and not smooth. But if you flick your wrist to make the strokes, you'll achieve much smooth lines but this is a technique that takes a bit of practice to master.

If your lines are coming out pixely, it could also be because of the type of brush you're using OR you're working on a small canvas size.

Edited July 4, 2016 by carefreejules

[Rezzy]

Using a tablet for the first time isn't easy let me just say. There are two things to take into account when using a tablet:

1) Pen pressure. This is the holy grail of getting diverse lines of different thicknesses. Depending on what art program you're using, you might have to turn it on manually.

2) How are you drawing? Are you dragging the stylus across the tablet or are you flicking your wrist? If you're dragging your tablet pen, the lines are going to come out shaky and not smooth. But if you flick your wrist to make the strokes, you'll achieve much smooth lines but this is a technique that takes a bit of practice to master.

If your lines are coming out pixely, it could also be because of the type of brush you're using OR you're working on a small canvas size.

1. I got a Wacom Intuos tablet. The pressure sensor seems to work okay.

2. I was trying to drag, since that's the way I normally draw; I could try flicking, but it seems like it would be hard to keep decent pressure that way.

I've got a small tablet 8.3x6.7 inches with an "active area" of 6.0x3.7 inches.

[carefreejules]

1. I got a Wacom Intuos tablet. The pressure sensor seems to work okay.

2. I was trying to drag, since that's the way I normally draw; I could try flicking, but it seems like it would be hard to keep decent pressure that way.

I've got a small tablet 8.3x6.7 inches with an "active area" of 6.0x3.7 inches.

Whatever works best for you! I flick my wrist for all the drawings I do personally :>

As for your tablet, the size/active area isn't the issue with pixelated lines, it's most likely the image size you're working with. Based on when I made corrections to your drawings, I can tell that you're working on a pretty small canvas size for your drawings which can be limiting in terms of the quality of the image resolution.

The bigger the canvas/image size, the more clean and crisp your lines will look.

[Rezzy]

Whatever works best for you! I flick my wrist for all the drawings I do personally :>

As for your tablet, the size/active area isn't the issue with pixelated lines, it's most likely the image size you're working with. Based on when I made corrections to your drawings, I can tell that you're working on a pretty small canvas size for your drawings which can be limiting in terms of the quality of the image resolution.

The bigger the canvas/image size, the more clean and crisp your lines will look.

I'll try flicking it, but I might have to adjust the pressure sensor, it barely shows unless I press down a bit.

I shrink my drawings down a bit before posting them, so they can be seen on the screen easily and not blow up the thread. The actual size usually is about 8.5" x 11" inches or whatever size my notebook is.

Thanks for the advice, it really helps. I might try drawing a bit more tonight, if I have time.

[Rezzy]

Luminary Uppercut![spoiler=Big]

I left it full size this time, so you can see it in glorious detail, if you like.

And a smaller version...

Feedback is always appreciated!

Edited July 5, 2016 by Rezzy

[Rezzy]

Here comes Ophelia in color...


This one was pretty fun to draw, but I'm still willing to go back and make alterations based on feedback. I might have made her left arm a little too short this time, but it's supposed to be a little farther away from view. I'm also not a huge fan of the way the legs turned out, but hopefully they're a decent length this time. Feedback is always appreciated!

Edited July 5, 2016 by Rezzy

[carefreejules]

I'll make edits to the drawing when I can but something I noticed with your colouring - are you colouring on the same layer as your line art? You should always separate everything into layers - it'll make shading and adding details easier without messing up or disrupting the other layers.

Here's what you should try: select the areas you want to colour, make a layer undetneath the lineart layer and colour on that layer. Doing that will get rid of the white pixelated lines you see besides the lineart that occur when you colour.

[Rezzy]

I'll make edits to the drawing when I can but something I noticed with your colouring - are you colouring on the same layer as your line art? You should always separate everything into layers - it'll make shading and adding details easier without messing up or disrupting the other layers.

Here's what you should try: select the areas you want to colour, make a layer undetneath the lineart layer and colour on that layer. Doing that will get rid of the white pixelated lines you see besides the lineart that occur when you colour.

I tried doing layers, but I'm so old that this new technology upsets and confuses me. (Just kidding, but I couldn't figure out how to do layers in GIMP.) Part of the reason I shrank my images, apart from making them more easily visible on the screen, was they look better scaled down due to the line coloring not lining up perfectly, but if you have advice on how to fix that, it would be appreciated.

Tips on how to layer would greatly help. I tried messing with it, but failed miserably.

I originally tried coloring in with colored pencil, but my scanner doesn't pick it up, and it looks awful. I'd like to eventually try shading and shadows, but that's another thing that I can't seem to figure out. Nothing like computer programs to make me feel dumb. I swear my IQ dips about 80 points when I'm dealing with computers.

Edited July 5, 2016 by Rezzy

[Res]

So with GIMP:

- Take your original, scanned image. Add a new layer, color it in white (or whatever you want your background color to be) and add it below your sketch.
- Set your sketch layer to 'multiply'.
- Add in a new layer; this is the layer you'll color on. Insert this layer below your sketch layer.

Now, when you color on your color layer, it'll appear underneath the lines of your sketch. :)

[Rezzy]

So with GIMP:

- Take your original, scanned image. Add a new layer, color it in white (or whatever you want your background color to be) and add it below your sketch.

- Set your sketch layer to 'multiply'.

- Add in a new layer; this is the layer you'll color on. Insert this layer below your sketch layer.

Now, when you color on your color layer, it'll appear underneath the lines of your sketch. :)

I'm in full dumb blonde mode right now.

I open the image on GIMP, but when I try to add layers, they automatically go "on top" on my base image. In the side bar, the original image is below the new white layer, and the canvas or whatever you call it is pure white. Is there a way to add layers underneath? And is there a way to keep track of what the actual final image is going to look like as I color it in?

Thanks for bearing with me. I'm not very good at this.

[carefreejules]

I'm in full dumb blonde mode right now.

I open the image on GIMP, but when I try to add layers, they automatically go "on top" on my base image. In the side bar, the original image is below the new white layer, and the canvas or whatever you call it is pure white. Is there a way to add layers underneath? And is there a way to keep track of what the actual final image is going to look like as I color it in?

Thanks for bearing with me. I'm not very good at this.

Can't you drag the layer you want to move to underneath? There should be a way to manually move a layer. If not, try right clicking the layer you want to move and there should be a option to move it up or down.

[Res]

I'm in full dumb blonde mode right now.

I open the image on GIMP, but when I try to add layers, they automatically go "on top" on my base image. In the side bar, the original image is below the new white layer, and the canvas or whatever you call it is pure white. Is there a way to add layers underneath? And is there a way to keep track of what the actual final image is going to look like as I color it in?

Thanks for bearing with me. I'm not very good at this.

You're welcome!

Like carefreejules said - you can just click + drag the layer below the layer you want it to go. I installed and opened up GIMP to confirm this.

Set it to 'multiply' by selecting from the drop-down menu for 'Mode' above the layer box.

Edited July 5, 2016 by Res

[Rezzy]

Can't you drag the layer you want to move to underneath? There should be a way to manually move a layer. If not, try right clicking the layer you want to move and there should be a option to move it up or down.

You're welcome!

Like carefreejules said - you can just click + drag the layer below the layer you want it to go. I installed and opened up GIMP to confirm this.

Set it to 'multiply' by selecting from the drop-down menu for 'Mode' above the layer box.

Okay, I managed to make 3 layers. Looking like

Sketch

Sketch

Blank White layer

If I understand correctly, I'm supposed to color in the middle layer, but no matter what color I try to add in, it stays white. Only if I try to color in the top layer does it show up. Did I do something wrong?

[carefreejules]

Okay, I managed to make 3 layers. Looking like

Sketch

Sketch

Blank White layer

If I understand correctly, I'm supposed to color in the middle layer, but no matter what color I try to add in, it stays white. Only if I try to color in the top layer does it show up. Did I do something wrong?

I have a strong hunch that it's probably because the white areas on the top layer aren't transparent. Think of layers in stacks - if the top layer is covered and not transparent, if you try to draw or colour anything underneath, it won't show up because there's a layer on top of it that has things covering it. However, if it is transparent, that will allow any colour and drawing to be done and seen to the layers underneath because the top layer is clear - got it? So the solution would be to select all the white areas and hit ctrl + x or use the erase tool. Edited July 6, 2016 by carefreejules

[Rezzy]

I have a strong hunch that it's probably because the white areas on the top layer aren't transparent. Think of layers in stacks - if the top layer is covered and not transparent, if you try to draw or colour anything underneath, it won't show up because there's a layer on top of it that has things covering it. However, if it is transparent, that will allow any colour and drawing to be done and seen to the layers underneath because the top layer is clear - got it? So the solution would be to select all the white areas and hit ctrl + x or use the erase tool.

I think I get the concept, but I can't figure out how to make certain parts transparent, without making the whole layer transparent. When I tried to hit ctrl + x, it erased the whole picture. I'm trying to figure out a way to select different sections of the picture for different layers, or even just leave the black lines.

I don't know why this is so hard for me. Surgery is easier than this.

[Res]

Multiply should negate the need to erase any white areas! I can do a step-by-step this evening but right now it's dinner/bathtime ;)

[carefreejules]

I think I get the concept, but I can't figure out how to make certain parts transparent, without making the whole layer transparent. When I tried to hit ctrl + x, it erased the whole picture. I'm trying to figure out a way to select different sections of the picture for different layers, or even just leave the black lines.

I don't know why this is so hard for me. Surgery is easier than this.

Are you using the magic wand tool to select parts of the image? There are specific tools like the magic wand tool that allow you to select parts of the image (you'll know things are selected if you see a dotted line around the area that is selected) and then you hit ctrl + x. If you didn't select anything specific, the programs are going to automatically assume you just want the whole image change because you didn't select anywhere specific to change.

Edited July 6, 2016 by carefreejules

[Rezzy]

Multiply should negate the need to erase any white areas! I can do a step-by-step this evening but right now it's dinner/bathtime ;)

That would be nice. It's about time to put my little guy to bed. I've had a wonderful evening alternating between working on paperwork and trying to figure out GIMP.

Are you using the magic wand tool to select parts of the image? There are specific tools like the magic wand tool that allow you to select parts of the image (you'll know things are selected if you see a dotted line around the area that is selected) and then you hit ctrl + x. If you didn't select anything specific, the programs are going to automatically assume you just want the whole image change because you didn't select anywhere specific to change.

I think I might have gotten part of that, but does it need to be exactly lined up wit my sketch lines or just have them inside, and it will "know" that I just want the sketch lines.

How will layers fix the issue of the white pixely fuzz around the lines? If the layer I'm coloring still has the same lines as the top layer?

Edited July 6, 2016 by Rezzy

[Res]

Right, here's a step by step:

Open your image. I don't have a scanner so this is a photo of a quick sketch. It doesn't matter if it's pencil or pen.

Next, set this layer to multiply:

Now, create a new layer with a white fill. Drag it to the bottom.

Create a third, transparent layer. Set this one to multiply also.

This is what your layers look like, to recap:

Top - sketch - set to multiply

middle - transparent - set to multiply

bottom - white - set to normal

Now, make sure your middle layer is selected:

Color on this middle layer. See how the color is going underneath the line art? :)

Edited July 6, 2016 by Res

[Rezzy]

Thanks, that helped a lot. I can finally color in the middle layer, now.

My next question, is how can I get the colors to stay inside the lines, but also get rid of those white pixely fuzz around my sketch lines? When I do the wand select, it still keeps those white. I guess what I really need is a way to keep certain parts of the picture transparent. Is there a way to do that? It seems whenever I try to delete certain parts of the picture, it deletes the whole thing.

Is there a reason to add additional layers to the picture?

[Res]

Can you take screenshots of what you mean?

With scanning in pencil or pen, you're never going to get lines crisp enough to be able to use the wand tool and delete all the white pixels without doing touch-ups by hand.

I usually use different layers for different parts of the drawing when coloring. That way if I make a big mistake, or I don't like how something is looking, I can delete the layer without having to erase/undo whole parts of the picture. :)