my pencil dump

[Lightdragon]

Cain from DC comics.


C&C is always welcome.

[Charles]

If I could draw like you, I would feel like a king.

That said, your characters (in this thread, anyway), tend to lack visual depth, if I may characterize it that way. In the Cain shot, you spent more time detailing the face, compared to many of the smaller faces in some of the other images displayed here.

A giant Cain head is all fine and dandy, but what distinguishes it and sets it apart, visually, from all of the other Cain heads out there? His eyes aren't intense. His bottom lip looks pretty good. But, he lacks the personality that your Supergirl has, or that your Majik has.

Ah, Majik, a character that I know virtually nothing about (because I continue to age and to not keep up), she's worth looking at. Her face, her eyes, especially, speak volumes - and it's a face that's largely devoid of details.

Her horns look nice. Her hair has lots of flow and volume, but her eyes are her visual majesty. Her eyes, small as they are, are more visually interesting than everything else that you have posted in this thread, combined, thus far.

It's her eyes that sell her to me. You're gifted. You're very talented. But, you're so reserved in your output. Don't get me wrong. You're more than competent, as an artist. That's a pretty decent Grim Reaper, for instance. But, what does it do for me, visually speaking? Nothing. How many Grim Reapers have I seen over the course of my life? This one is quite unremarkable.

You play it safe, with your art. Again, I am only remarking about the very limited sub-set that you have chosen to display in this particular thread. I look at your small collection on display here, and the word conventional comes to mind. Your art isn't bad, but it is failing to visually impress itself upon me.

I am willing to go so far as to say that I think that you're a better artist than the majority of artists who post in the Digital Webbing forum. But, you are not giving us anywhere near your most remarkable level of talent.

Aine is a bit devilish. You bothered with a smidgen of background, when rendering her. I like that portions of her hair drape across her chest. I like that there is an erratic aspect to the quasi-glow that you have emanating from her. But, you refused to put her on full display.

I'm not sure if Wonder Woman is angry, or if her jaw is disjointed. Is she turning into an ape, where her face is concerned? Her mouth, as depicted, is visually annihilating her. A huge mass of hair has attacked her head. I hope that she can still claim victory, in spite of her tangled up mass of beast hair that you've saddled her with.

In that other image of Majik, the one with the blue tone to it, why are her lips so big? And, her horns, they don't look so good, here. She sports a humongous blade, but it has the visual impact of a toothpick.

I like that you included some sequentials. That's where the real visual money lies buried. But, your best artwork isn't in the sequentials on display. Why not? With sequentials, consistency is more easily discernible. As far as the paneling goes, your panels have the stench of visual death. They are plain Jane ordinary. I do note your meager effort to break outside of the panel. So, you know how to do it. You just chose not to do it (more often). Why? What do you hope to accomplish with your sequentials, by hemming yourself into such a boxed life? Quit making a square out of your art!

The images are somewhat blurry, but you clearly already possess a degree of capability, perhaps even a bit of mastery, when it comes to the rendering of special effects. Why in the Hell are you drawing giant heads, then?

You need to take Blue Devil, and fire him from that mannequin role that you've got him employed in. He's the Blue Devil, for crying out loud! Yet, he's less devilish than Aine. What a dainty chain that you've shackled him to, though. What's he wearing? Black leather? Spandex? Or just a bunch of wrinkled hand-me downs. You managed to feminize the Blue Devil. Congratulations!

[Lightdragon]

Originally Posted by Charles

If I could draw like you, I would feel like a king.

TY

That said, your characters (in this thread, anyway), tend to lack visual depth, if I may characterize it that way. In the Cain shot, you spent more time detailing the face, compared to many of the smaller faces in some of the other images displayed here.

yep . I was trying to increase the details and didn't bother with the visual depth as well as the other stuff.

A giant Cain head is all fine and dandy, but what distinguishes it and sets it apart, visually, from all of the other Cain heads out there? His eyes aren't intense. His bottom lip looks pretty good. But, he lacks the personality that your Supergirl has, or that your Majik has.

first person to give a good anything on my supergirl.

Ah, Majik, a character that I know virtually nothing about (because I continue to age and to not keep up), she's worth looking at. Her face, her eyes, especially, speak volumes - and it's a face that's largely devoid of details.

ty and good to know.

Her horns look nice. Her hair has lots of flow and volume, but her eyes are her visual majesty. Her eyes, small as they are, are more visually interesting than everything else that you have posted in this thread, combined, thus far.

ok I need to know this as to apply this to my other pieces of work.

It's her eyes that sell her to me. You're gifted. You're very talented. But, you're so reserved in your output. Don't get me wrong. You're more than competent, as an artist. That's a pretty decent Grim Reaper, for instance. But, what does it do for me, visually speaking? Nothing. How many Grim Reapers have I seen over the course of my life? This one is quite unremarkable.

the Grim Reaper was more of a detailed idea/thumbnail. and since no one really gave me critiques I felt like I was put on ignore or considered a troll.

You play it safe, with your art. Again, I am only remarking about the very limited sub-set that you have chosen to display in this particular thread. I look at your small collection on display here, and the word conventional comes to mind. Your art isn't bad, but it is failing to visually impress itself upon me.

good to know.

I am willing to go so far as to say that I think that you're a better artist than the majority of artists who post in the Digital Webbing forum. But, you are not giving us anywhere near your most remarkable level of talent.

Wow! with more critiques like this I will be .

Aine is a bit devilish. You bothered with a smidgen of background, when rendering her. I like that portions of her hair drape across her chest. I like that there is an erratic aspect to the quasi-glow that you have emanating from her. But, you refused to put her on full display.

good to know. also when doing this , for me this was a lot of background. i'll probably be doing more. this will probably be redone.

I'm not sure if Wonder Woman is angry, or if her jaw is disjointed. Is she turning into an ape, where her face is concerned? Her mouth, as depicted, is visually annihilating her. A huge mass of hair has attacked her head. I hope that she can still claim victory, in spite of her tangled up mass of beast hair that you've saddled her with.

well this is a bit of frustration as no one really gave a detailed critique for me. and I was doing stuff to try and and improve only to make it worse. i'll probably redo this one also in the same format(hopefully ) of Majik

In that other image of Majik, the one with the blue tone to it, why are her lips so big? And, her horns, they don't look so good, here. She sports a humongous blade, but it has the visual impact of a toothpick.

again no real feedback until now. so I was experimenting with it. and now I know it is a fail.

You need to take Blue Devil, and fire him from that mannequin role that you've got him employed in. He's the Blue Devil, for crying out loud! Yet, he's less devilish than Aine. What a dainty chain that you've shackled him to, though. What's he wearing? Black leather? Spandex? Or just a bunch of wrinkled hand-me downs. You managed to feminize the Blue Devil. Congratulations!

ty. looks like this will be one of the things I will be redoing. actually I will be doing this one first.

I am very happy with this post. except I am having problems with this forum with getting e-mail notifications and for some reason I have to manually put in the quotes here. as I set it for instant e-mail notifications.

[Ray Dillon]

Great amount of output! That and always challenging yourself is the key to success. I want to see that happen! Keep it up, man!

[Lightdragon]

hopefully a less effeminate Blue Devil

[jasondego]

I like this new Blue Devil pic you added. I only really see two things that stand out.
His upper right arm, the musculature isn't quite right. The deltoid is a group of 3-4 muscles that run vertically there. they should be solid strips (if that makes sense?)
the other thing is his hand. it looks good but its not holding the staff. you have his index finger fully shown, it should be behind the staff not in front of it. hes making a fist and the staff is floating behind it...
other than that it looks good!

[Lightdragon]

Originally Posted by jasondego

I like this new Blue Devil pic you added. I only really see two things that stand out.
His upper right arm, the musculature isn't quite right. The deltoid is a group of 3-4 muscles that run vertically there. they should be solid strips (if that makes sense?)

it makes sense. and I missed it.

the other thing is his hand. it looks good but its not holding the staff. you have his index finger fully shown, it should be behind the staff not in front of it. hes making a fist and the staff is floating behind it...
other than that it looks good!

Doh! I missed that.

would you believe I was so worried about the face I didn't concentrate enough on those two things.

and TY for the input.

[Charles]

Originally Posted by Lightdragon

hopefully a less effeminate Blue Devil

Of the three Blue Devil pieces on display in this thread, thus far, the second one is the best of the three, all things considered.

The third one certainly achieves the goal of crafting a more masculine, and hence, manly Blue Devil. However, just because you beefed him up with big muscles hardly make shim more memorable. In a nutshell, you're taking a shortcut.

The first of the three Blue Devils is the feminine looking one. The second one looks less feminine, simply because of the facial expression and the pose. You chose to decorate the first two Blue Devils with a horrid choice in clothing, whereas you chose to decorate the third one with muscles and mass.

The second one is more artistically imaginative than the first, and consequently, it is more memorable.

The second one looks tall and lanky. The horns are visually tepid, long but not imaginative. But, look at the second one's feet....er....hooves. That's visually delightful.

But, now you go and play it safe. You bulk him up, and resort to size in an attempt to convey a visual element of intimidation. Why? Is that all that you have in your artistic arsenal? Is the cupboard of your imagination bone dry?

Your crafting a devil, albeit a blue one, and what do you give us? A standard, basic take on a devil, in the third one. That's going the wrong way.

And look at the horns on that third devil - So alike one another. So uniform in size and shape. Your take on horns is architecturally bland, wholly unimaginative.

How you craft your character largely imbues him with personality. Other things contribute to it, of course, but his looks are primary, where such is concerned.

Rather than take the concept of the character of the Blue Devil and make it your own, to take ownership of it in an artistic sense, you haven't bothered to chart new artistic ground in your rendering of this character.

Take his staff, for instance. You have done a good enough job of cloning it, I suppose, but why squander the opportunity that such a visual prop provides to you to act as a lure to your viewer/reader?

Blue Devil needs to take a cue from the second Majick in this thread. Her eyes. They are more visually intimidating that the third Blue Devil's bulk and mass and muscles. Her horns appear to have been the inspiration for the third Blue Devil.

Everything about this character is yours to lay claim to. Yet, you play it safe. How very conventional of you.

To make matters worse, the third Blue Devil is a mannequin. What a poser! In the process, you deny your reader/viewer a visual representation of presence and manifestation. Think environment. Think surroundings. Give me a reason for his purpose. Not an explanation, but rather, a visual connection. He's here for a reason. He's shown up, for a REASON. Was it to allow others to take Polaroids of him?

The things that you left out, and I don't just mean details - but, opportunities for details.

Your third Blue Devil, his facial expression is a cross between an attempt to look grim and a pout. But, that's not what's troubling about him. Rather, his face is unimaginative. He has those scraggly attempts at whiskers, but he looms more human than devil, to me. He lacks character, even though he's a character.

You're an artist, and a fairly gifted one, at that. Yet, you aren't treating yourself to a luxurious bath in the fountain of embellishment.

How on Earth can you draw like that, yet draw like that?

Your art isn't perfect, but you shouldn't want it to be. But, you should want to flood your creations with visual impact.

You can instill visual impact into your work with something as small as a set of eyes (second Majick in this thread). Yet, this big bulky, muscular Blue Devil provides your a substantially larger canvas to worth with, yet can't achieve even a mere fraction of that same visual impact. My question to you is: Why??

I grant you that Majick has one hellaciously thick tail coming out of her, but your detailing of her eyes draws the viewer's gaze away from the tail. The eyes, the eyes, it's always the eyes that draw me back to them, no matter how many times that I look at that piece.

The third Blue Devil has big, bushy eyebrows. That's all fine and dandy, but tell me this, what about him actually looks devilish or wicked? He sneers, but is that the feel that you're going for? A sneering devil? I suppose that devils can sneer, but what else has he got going on for himself?

He's got a super-tick neck and throat. Maybe he's on steroids. Is he gonna turn all Hulk on us?

Think about the characters that you are undertaking. Who are they? What sets them apart? You're not just drawing a character that is recognizable, you're simultaneously putting yourself on display, your artistic talents, the sum culmination of the multitude of skill sets that you possess.

You draw an ugly Supergirl, but man, what a view, as they say! That imbues her with character. It gives her personality. It helps to make her unique, and to stand out in the mind's eye.

Your third Blue Devil, by comparison, looks good, all things considered. But, he's not memorable. Supergirl's butt cheeks are more memorable than your entire Blue devil is, in his third incarnation in this thread.

[Lightdragon]

ok one more time

[Lightdragon]

[jeffchris50]

Originally Posted by Lightdragon

Been looking at the various stuff you've posted and persistence definitely has paid off for you; you've improved a lot throughout the last year or so. From your original batch of renderings, I have to say I probably like the original, random horror stuff the best; it seems to be a field where you excel and a lot of those, if simplified, would make great base art for tattoos, as well.

The last piece you posted, of The Huntress, really is what made me reply because it's light years beyond pretty much anything else you've posted! Did you use reference on it (not a crime, I wish more artists would to get basic anatomy right) or were you just "feeling the groove" when you drew it? Either way, kudos! It's a great piece!!

[Lightdragon]

Originally Posted by jeffchris50

Been looking at the various stuff you've posted and persistence definitely has paid off for you; you've improved a lot throughout the last year or so. From your original batch of renderings, I have to say I probably like the original, random horror stuff the best; it seems to be a field where you excel and a lot of those, if simplified, would make great base art for tattoos, as well.

for the horror stuff I was influenced a lot by Bernie Wrightson.

The last piece you posted, of The Huntress, really is what made me reply because it's light years beyond pretty much anything else you've posted! Did you use reference on it (not a crime, I wish more artists would to get basic anatomy right) or were you just "feeling the groove" when you drew it? Either way, kudos! It's a great piece!!

thanks. going to take a break from the one pieces. to do some sequentials. so I should be posting new pin-ups in two weeks to a month.

[Charles]

Originally Posted by Lightdragon

ok one more time

Hither came Blue Devil # 4...

His eyes are an improvement, but his snarl is better. The staff is more original, but not particularly striking. You are depicting the Blue Devil, and we clearly have a devil, of some kind. But, what makes him memorable, distinct, as the Blue Devil? If the image were colored, you could make him or his costume blue, but in present uncolored form, what screams Blue Devil to the reader/viewer?

This one looks more skinny than tall. The bones protruding from the back of his hooves help to make him more visually memorable, but are the hooves, overall, better depicted than they were with Blue Devil # 2? I don't think so.

I like the fact that his horns are not mirror image copies of one another. But, do I think that they compliment the character, overall? My gut instinct says no.Maybe it's the way that they exit his skull. That point of connection, where the horns become visible to the world, how is it unique?

With Blue Devil # 4, you have depicted a background in minimal form. So, clearly, the background isn't being used to visually wow the viewer. Thus, Blue Devil # 4 is dependent upon something else to make him connect, visually, with the viewer. What do you think accomplishes that, in this image?

His costume is rather unimaginative. I'll grant you that it's fairly typical for the Blue Devil. The gloves are one of the more visually immediate focal points for my eyes, when I look at this image. But, by and large, they are relatively plain and straightforward. The gloves don't look bad, but they don't create a wow factor.

His eyes are better than his previous incarnations, but they still do not compete with Majick's. The slight darkness around them render him a tad more foreboding, but taken as a sum total, all of the various aspects of him do not yield a figure that is either imposing nor visually eye-grabbing.

His staff doesn't emanate power. It isn't intricately crafted. The figure on the staff, in fact, is visually ordinary. The bat wings are a nice touch on the staff, but my eyes are drawn back to the small figure on the staff after a bit.

What is that figure? Is it a carving? An idol? A captured soul? Ultimately, your Blue Devil is going to be the culmination of many different individual focal points.

The staff is long and thin, as staffs usually are. But, it is also a visual focal point. What can you do with that? What's it made of? Wood? Metal? There's no stone nor gem of power on it. There's nary so much as a trace of energy or magic emanating from it. I see no eyeballs nor other accoutrements of the human species to associate it with a form of torment. Is it merely a visual prop? Why does he need it? What doe she do with it? Is it merely along for the ride? In this image, it isn't really doing much of anything. Sure, it's on visual display, but you can put any mannequin or other type of prop on visual display. What's it doing to wow your viewer/reader, visually speaking, though?

As I look at Blue Devil # 4, the word gnarled keeps coming to mind. It's probably a combination of the lower section of his pitchfork and his legs and hooves that collectively contribute to bring that word to mind for me.

I keep looking at Blue Devil # 4. Hmmm......His ptchtfork isn't an actual part of him, so it's not as though his tail doubles as a pitchfork. Not that it should, I suppose. I'm just jotting down what comes to me off the top of my head, as I just sit and look at it.

He has two arms, two legs, two ears, two horns. How very.....normal. He does have one earring, though. That little visual flourish stands out.

His ears are disproportionately large, but I'm liking them. I like them far more than I like his horns. What are his horns, anyway? What does he use them for? Are they a source of power? Or, does he have them, simply because he is a devil? Do they ever grow bigger? If so, what makes them grow? I can look up the Blue Devil, as others envisioned him and created him to be. I've read some Blue Devil comic books, before. But, that was well before you came along to re-present him to the world. What are you doing different with him?

Is he a hero? A villain? An anti-hero? What moves him and motivates him and gives him his mooring as a living, breathing entity? Is he flesh and blood? Is he a spiritual entity? Is he the embodiment of demonic energy? Perhaps he is porcelain? What is his skin made of? Blue Devil # 4 appears to have fairly normal skin. Is that actually the case, though?

His entire form is a canvas. You've sculpted him largely from the fabric of normalcy. The end result is that he does not visually grab and overwhelm the senses. He is, in a word, underwhelming.

But, he has much potential. He's not bad looking, as characters go, but is that what you are aiming for?

There's not a lot of artists on here treating us to the Blue Devil, it seems. Maybe that's why I'm so interested in yours.

[Lightdragon]

Originally Posted by Charles

Hither came Blue Devil # 4...

His eyes are an improvement, but his snarl is better. The staff is more original, but not particularly striking. You are depicting the Blue Devil, and we clearly have a devil, of some kind. But, what makes him memorable, distinct, as the Blue Devil? If the image were colored, you could make him or his costume blue, but in present uncolored form, what screams Blue Devil to the reader/viewer?

I considered this more of a detailed thumbnail as I was testing the direction I was going in this as I went in the wrong direction with BD#3.the same goes for the background. but overall there are some characters which do not look like the original. coloring I can not do now as i am still sharpening my pencil skills. i can do oils and a lesser extent gouche but that takes too long. so pretty much efford here was minimal.

also you have various complete do overs like Green Goblin and hobgoblin in Spiderman Unlimited. here they look nothing like goblins but more like demons or wingless gargoyles.

This one looks more skinny than tall. The bones protruding from the back of his hooves help to make him more visually memorable, but are the hooves, overall, better depicted than they were with Blue Devil # 2? I don't think so.

ok that helps.

I like the fact that his horns are not mirror image copies of one another. But, do I think that they compliment the character, overall? My gut instinct says no.Maybe it's the way that they exit his skull. That point of connection, where the horns become visible to the world, how is it unique?

actually I used as a mannequin some half staged deer antlers I have lying around the house. as that is what deer antlers look like before they mature. I didn't want to do mature antlers as it would make him look more like Cernunnos (a pagan Celtic stag god) or Cernarius (a World of Warcraft character which might have been influenced by Cernunnos) because those are not devils.

His costume is rather unimaginative. I'll grant you that it's fairly typical for the Blue Devil. The gloves are one of the more visually immediate focal points for my eyes, when I look at this image. But, by and large, they are relatively plain and straightforward. The gloves don't look bad, but they don't create a wow factor.

there are limits in what I am going to do with the costume.

His eyes are better than his previous incarnations, but they still do not compete with Majick's. The slight darkness around them render him a tad more foreboding, but taken as a sum total, all of the various aspects of him do not yield a figure that is either imposing nor visually eye-grabbing.

main thing for this one was it was a step in the right direction.

His staff doesn't emanate power. It isn't intricately crafted. The figure on the staff, in fact, is visually ordinary. The bat wings are a nice touch on the staff, but my eyes are drawn back to the small figure on the staff after a bit.

no problem that can be fixed.

The staff is long and thin, as staffs usually are. But, it is also a visual focal point. What can you do with that? What's it made of? Wood? Metal? There's no stone nor gem of power on it. There's nary so much as a trace of energy or magic emanating from it. I see no eyeballs nor other accoutrements of the human species to associate it with a form of torment. Is it merely a visual prop? Why does he need it? What doe she do with it? Is it merely along for the ride? In this image, it isn't really doing much of anything. Sure, it's on visual display, but you can put any mannequin or other type of prop on visual display. What's it doing to wow your viewer/reader, visually speaking, though?

good this is what I needed.

As I look at Blue Devil # 4, the word gnarled keeps coming to mind. It's probably a combination of the lower section of his pitchfork and his legs and hooves that collectively contribute to bring that word to mind for me.

I keep looking at Blue Devil # 4. Hmmm......His ptchtfork isn't an actual part of him, so it's not as though his tail doubles as a pitchfork. Not that it should, I suppose. I'm just jotting down what comes to me off the top of my head, as I just sit and look at it.

not making the pitchfork as his tail.

He has two arms, two legs, two ears, two horns. How very.....normal. He does have one earring, though. That little visual flourish stands out.

I am leaving it like that. he has one earing in some books while others he has two.

[Lightdragon]

ok here is the new one. it is changed only slightly with feet similar to BD#2. and a slightly changed trident. and i put in some details in the background. this will be the last Blue Devil i will be doing for awhile.