Ana's Art Returns!

[Nym]

Well, we have a Water type rabbit and a Normal type one (who can Mega evolve into a Fighting type as well). They don't HAVE to be Ground type.

Wait... which pokémon is the Water type rabbit? Azumarill?

No, of course they don't have too but for Joltalope, I thought it was also Ground type due to his color and that it's based of an antenna.

Edited June 14, 2016 by Nym

[Samias]

It could be electric/grass if you wanted to push some original typing. Would be cute with some leafy ears. Though the colour scheme is reminiscent of a ground type, it's also similar to Raichu and Dedenne who are pure electric and electric/fairy so anything goes really.

[Anacybele]

Well, they are Pikachu clones. xP

And I know I messed up the coloring, Joltalope was meant to be a yellow-orange, not brown. Though brown =/= Ground type, people. Eevee, Raticate, Lillipup, and others are brown and not Ground.

[Nym]

You're right but tbh, their brown is way more lighter that the one that the drawing (but now that I know that was a mistake, I'll shut up about the Ground type).

[Rezzy]

It may or not be the case, but the shade of color may not transfer well. I love coloring with colored pencil, but my scanner doesn't pick it up well, and the shades look all messed up when I try to upload them, so the brown may be darker or lighter on the original.

[Anacybele]

Well, my scanner didn't really mess up the colors. I just made the mistake of picking the wrong pencil. xP

[Anacybele]

I decided to do something I hadn't done since December for Christmas! A song recording. ^^

This time, it's a patriotic one for 4th of July right around the corner. Any American should recognize this song. I also consider it one of my personal best (in fact, this has to be the best I ever managed at the high notes!). :)

http://vocaroo.com/i/s0wQo0hl6Qvx

[Rezzy]

I decided to do something I hadn't done since December for Christmas! A song recording. ^^

This time, it's a patriotic one for 4th of July right around the corner. Any American should recognize this song. I also consider it one of my personal best (in fact, this has to be the best I ever managed at the high notes!). :)

http://vocaroo.com/i/s0wQo0hl6Qvx

Your voice is pretty. I can't sing at all, and I kind of hate my voice. It sounds okay in my head when I'm talking, but when I hear it recorded, it's just awful.

One thing I notice a lot of singers do with the national anthem is stretch out the "Free" way too long. Anything more than 3 seconds is just too darn long, so yours was perfect.

[Anacybele]

I used to have that opinion of my voice too, and I still don't think it sounds particularly amazing when recorded. But I'm okay with it now.

And yeah, I hate when singers do that too. I mean stretching out parts. It feels unnecessary and just plain dumb. Glad you agreed on it, Rezzy. Thanks. :)

Edited June 24, 2016 by Anacybele

[Alex95]

I'll be honest, I expected your voice to be a little higher :D

You sound great! I didn't notice anything wrong, buuuut I'm also slightly deaf, so... Good job!

[Anacybele]

Really? Why do you say that? :P

And again, really? What exactly do you mean by "kinda deaf?" I know what being deaf means, I'm just not sure how deaf you're saying you are. I wonder how you could hear it at all if you mean deaf deaf. Or maybe you wear hearing aids? But thanks, Power Master. :)

Edited June 24, 2016 by Anacybele

[Alex95]

Nah, by "kinda deaf" I mean "kinda deaf". I had ear surgery when I was two(?) and it lowered my hearing a bit. Not a lot, but it's enough to make me tone deaf, which might've been the better phrase to use... I have trouble hearing lyrics overtop music or make out words people say even when there isn't anything in the background.

Your voice was clear and very well done, so good job!

[Rezzy]

I'm curious how people imagine my voice to be.

Surprisingly, most of my family is pretty musically gifted, but I didn't get that gene.

[Anacybele]

Nah, by "kinda deaf" I mean "kinda deaf". I had ear surgery when I was two(?) and it lowered my hearing a bit. Not a lot, but it's enough to make me tone deaf, which might've been the better phrase to use... I have trouble hearing lyrics overtop music or make out words people say even when there isn't anything in the background.

Your voice was clear and very well done, so good job!

Oh, okay, I see now. I just wanted to clear up that bit of confusion. :P I was partly deaf in my right ear for a few weeks once, due to a nasty infection in it that was somehow caused by a collision on a water slide, but that's the closest I've ever been to something like that. Thanks again! ^^

I'm curious how people imagine my voice to be.

Surprisingly, most of my family is pretty musically gifted, but I didn't get that gene.

Ha, I was born into a family of dancers (my grandma, mom, aunt, and cousin all danced at some point and did very well), but I can't dance at all to save my life (I sucked the whole time). I didn't get the gene there either. :P I think because despite being female, I don't have much flexibility. You have to be pretty flexible to do ballet and stuff well.

[Anacybele]

I finally did another concept art for FE: Dawn of Darkness (my main fanfic, if people don't remember)! This is Lartz, a very interesting dracoknight (if I do say so myself). ;P

Read all about him here. :)

EDIT: Buuut, I forgot to change the lineart colors. >_< (I'll fix that when I can, promise)

Edited July 1, 2016 by Anacybele

[Samias]

Hmm... the pose is similar to Cherche's from Awakening but the legs here are a bit too stiff. The left leg in particular, but the right leg you can kinda fudge. The shading looks slightly incomplete since you have a strong highlight on the armor but none at all on the cloth. While it's true that cloth is less reflective, it should have some lighter spots too. You should also drop in an extra shadow under the left side plating to represent a shadow being cast by the arnor, and perhaps have a shadow across the left side of the body cast by the arm as the highlight on the leg is too tight to the arm and looks squeezed in.

His neck should also have some muscle definition if it's turned. I would also give him a cheek highlight to make the face less flat.

The weapon length should be longer. It isn't resting on the ground plane where the feet are.

Sorry if this is coming off too critical when this image is mostly done, just those are some major issues I have with the image. It's a bit dull compared to some of the slice of life images you've been doing lately.

Edited July 1, 2016 by Samias

[Anacybele]

Well, sorry to say I don't agree with you on a lot of things you said. The legs look fine to me and the shading is complete. Remember, clothing is not shiny like metal armor is. So it doesn't get highlighted like metal. Meaning little to no lighter spots. And since I have several darker shades in the shading, the "lighter spot" is the base color.

The weapon could probably be a little longer, but not by that much. It's farther away from the viewer since Lartz has his hand extended out on top of it. As for the neck, I wasn't sure where to put any definition in this case, even though I'm aware you're correct here. Any suggestions?

And...he does have a cheek highlight. :/ (a neck one as well) I'm starting to think some of your issues here are being caused by your computer's lighting or something.

You should also drop in an extra shadow under the left side plating to represent a shadow being cast by the arnor, and perhaps have a shadow across the left side of the body cast by the arm as the highlight on the leg is too tight to the arm and looks squeezed in.

And I don't know what you mean by this...?

But I'm sorry you don't like this art and think it's dull, Samias. I'm (mostly) happy with it. I won't say it's my greatest masterpiece or anything, since this is the first time I've drawn a person from behind, but still. Also, I did not copy Cherche. I never even thought of her. I did feel like the pose might be similar to Takumi's though. But I had it in mind before he even existed, so I didn't care.

Edited July 1, 2016 by Anacybele

[Rezzy]

I like the Tellius feel of your armor. I think it's a tie between Tellius and GBA as to which style I like best, but for different reasons. I think Fates armor's better than Awakening at least, but it's still got some issues.

As for the neck, I wasn't sure where to put any definition in this case, even though I'm aware you're correct here. Any suggestions?

For the neck, you could add a diagonal bulge for the sternocleidomastoid. It's usually the most prominent muscle in the neck.

[Anacybele]

I like the Tellius feel of your armor. I think it's a tie between Tellius and GBA as to which style I like best, but for different reasons. I think Fates armor's better than Awakening at least, but it's still got some issues.

For the neck, you could add a diagonal bulge for the sternocleidomastoid. It's usually the most prominent muscle in the neck.

Yup, Tellius style is my favorite. :)

I agree Fates does better than Awakening, but with some issues, still.

And the...what now? Do you mean the "adam's apple"? I didn't think it could be seen from this angle.

[Samias]

I like the Tellius feel of your armor. I think it's a tie between Tellius and GBA as to which style I like best, but for different reasons. I think Fates armor's better than Awakening at least, but it's still got some issues.

For the neck, you could add a diagonal bulge for the sternocleidomastoid. It's usually the most prominent muscle in the neck.

Yeah, that's what I would add too. And it's not the Adam's Apple. If you feel your neck while it's turned, you can feel the muscle bulge out from beneath the ear and down to the base of the neck.

Anyway, as far as your facial highlights go, I can barely see it on either of the three screens where I test for colours. For light skin your highlights essentially need to be a hard white or else they don't show. A little bit right under the eye by the bridge of the nose would go a long way.

And sorry if you disagree with me about cloth lighting, but everything picks up light. And when I mentioned the Cherche picture I know you didn't copy it. I'm actually saying it's good reference and that you should see what the artist did to keep a static back shot from feeling too stiff. Kozaki's style doesn't emphasize light and shadow too much but he uses it to give volume to the armor and doesn't apply even shading all over edges that he thinks are the shadows. Also you can see how armor pieces are casting shadows on the cloth they sit on top of. I'd also take a look at the back view of Hinoka and the Takumi picture you mentioned. It's not a sin to copy how other artists colour or pose things. Yeah people won't like a 1-to-1 copy but studying from better artists than you and studying some real life reference like studying the folds in clothing is going to go a long way to improving your art.

[Anacybele]

Except that Cherche pose is very feminine and won't really work. There's no way I'm drawing Lartz standing like that. He's supposed to be a little more relaxed here anyway. And yes, I know about armor casting shadows on cloth, etc. etc. I thought I had done that. But I guess I didn't do it well enough this time. And yes, I know about studying artists who are better and all. Why do you think I said awhile back that I study your art a lot, Samias? :P I think you do dynamic posing and all better than anybody I know! But thanks, Samias.

As for the skin highlights, I see. Thanks.

About the neck, which ear are you talking about, exactly?

Edited July 1, 2016 by Anacybele

[Samias]

Yeah don't 1-to-1 copy her pose, it is more feminine but the way she holds her axe is some good ref since you were going for something similar, same with Hinoka (I actually think her pose is really close to what you're going for) so you get a sense of where the weapon should be relative to the feet to look "right". And the muscle being talked about can be felt on both sides. Think of it like a V that attaches the back of the head down the neck to the collarbone.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sternocleidomastoid_muscle

There's a good picture to see how prominent the muscle is when you turn your head.

[Anacybele]

Oh, you meant more for the axe, okay then, that makes sense.

Oh, that muscle! Right, I gotcha now. Pictures and such are a lot easier for me to understand than text. Thanks again!

[Rezzy]

And the muscle being talked about can be felt on both sides. Think of it like a V that attaches the back of the head down the neck to the collarbone.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sternocleidomastoid_muscle

There's a good picture to see how prominent the muscle is when you turn your head.

Yeah, that's the one.

Oh, you meant more for the axe, okay then, that makes sense.

Oh, that muscle! Right, I gotcha now. Pictures and such are a lot easier for me to understand than text. Thanks again!

Sorry, for not including a picture, depending on what I post from, it can be tough to link images.

And from the back, the sternocleidomastoid will be subtle, since when the head is turned, the side closer to the front will bulge out, since it's being stretched, but the side seen from the back will be contracted, not popping out too much. It's kind of the opposite of a lot of muscles in that it's more visible when it's not actively firing, since there's not really anything in the neck to hold it in place.

[Anacybele]

Okay, I think I see...