[Marvel]

Started a new thread because the previous one was getting heavy (loading time wise as well as getting full of my crap).

Thanks everyone for posting in the previous thread, I think I've learned a lot more on anatomy and poses already (last time I was truly into drawing people was in the army (1995) and guess have forgotten most of the stuff since).

-- Edit: removed redundant pic --

And if anyone is interested to read the previous thread on the same matter, hit here
http://www.sijun.com/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic&f=4&t=002922

And Jarno, yes, there is quite heavy foreshortening going on with the right arm - she's actually taking support of the ground from behind her (I pretty much nailed this down by taking photos of myself in a similar pose - of course I'm no girl, but...).

Torstein, the thing was the eagle already hit her or is trying to force her down in the pic, that's why she has lost the grip of the sword - might be she oughtta have the shield even closer to her body still, what do you think?

C&C anyone?

Edit: updating

[ January 30, 2002: Message edited by: Marvel ]

[SolarC]

I still don't understand the direction where your character is moving. If she is moving backwards her hair should be pointing the opposite way, if she is moving forward/getting up her feet should be in a different positions and if she is quite still then her hair should be pointing down because of gravity. Or is the hair moving like that because of collision?

Proportions of her arms are slightly off, but i think you can correct them easily at later stages.

[dogfood]

I think the pose looks much better and still has the feeling of the original. I think there are still issues with the shoulders, especially her left one. It doesn't look entirely connected and the muscles look cartoony.
My major issue is still with the face, specifically the lips. Lips wrap around a little more the face does due to those pesky cheeks most of us are sporting. Hers look like they project from the face, which might be more efficient at supper time, but just look wrong. I might say the chin line's pretty strong for a girl, too. The rest however, is well done, with far more expression in the eyes than she previously held.
Her right hand seems to have no interaction with the sword hilt, which removes its believabilty and depth (no arch of the hand or thumb). Her left hand is quite relaxed for such a circumstance.
I do, however, admire you quite a bit for standing under such a whithering amount of inspection and soldiering on. Bravo! Keep it up.

[Ecanem]

Yup! I agree, you're being a good sport marvel!

I still think the pose is a bit weak and confusing - It isn't obvious what's going on.. (is she protecting herself against the attack, or what) - but is HAS improved a lot from your first sketch.. I you wan't some advice I'd try to watch her in silhoutte.. It's an old animation "trick" - A good pose will (almost) always be clear in silhoutte - if it isn't the silhoutte will reveal the weak points. Her right leg for instance doesnt work in silhoutte - show more of her foot and that could solve the problem.. Keep up the good work!

[Marvel]

Naah, it's rather the other way around - you guys are being good sports for helping me out and not being totally frustrated - as I said before, I really haven't drawn people for a good while so it's nice to get people to point out what are the weak spots and what not.

And about the situation that we have in the pic. What I feel is that the eagle already flew agaist her shield and she's recovering from the blow (lost her grip on the sword) and is gathering strength to strike back. I don't want the pose to be over dramatic nor that heroic, but rather make her feel somewhat small and like a normal person (a normal female with a body armor, shield and a sword that is ).

Here's the latest iteration I've come up with, this time without the shoulder pads and the upper part of the breast plate (just to show what is supposedly going on under her armor).



I'd so much appreciate if someone had time to make a drawing and show me the weak spots in her face (lips, nose, jaw, cheeks...). Thanks and C&C please!

Edit: made her less muscular and her arms thinner, also included a pic which shows the idea I have behind the upper body structure.

[ January 24, 2002: Message edited by: Marvel ]

[Ecanem]

Hi Marvel - I feel the same (talking to myself)... too much feedback to my first posts spoilt me!

The shading looks good.. but maybe the shield would put her face more in shadows - know what I mean? - but I'm no expert so don't care to much about my advice!

[ January 25, 2002: Message edited by: Ecanem ]

[Marvel]

La-laa, I love talking to myself.

Anyhoo, here's a quick light test for the image - it's still very crappy, but should give you some idea (for some reason I've suffering from an 'artist's block', can't see shapes in 3d in my head right now so shading is a bit erratic).



Overpaints please.

Edit: added the second version (tried out new shading just to see how it would look if her skin was actually closer to skin than lead (or whatever the material is in the first pic ).

Btw. I've now read some 4 threads where Mr. Pro mentions the four edge rule. Some of these threads had example pics to illustrate the matter but I just didn't get it (I guess I can't see the forest from the trees here - the word). So could anyone enlighten me here?

[ January 26, 2002: Message edited by: Marvel ]

[SolarC]

Upper arms and the ribcage are too short. Otherwise it's starting to look like the figure's proportions and the pose are where they should, if you ask me.

[edraket]

The pose looks kind of static to me.
If I were under a shield like that I wouldn't have a straight spine, straight shoulders etc.
I would be hunched under the shield. Or pushing it up to meet the blow.
Have you actually tried to sit like that and pretended you had someone beat the shit out of your shield?
Sorry if I am saying what has been said before. I've been sick for a while and haven't seen your posts before.

[Marvel]

Oh, of course what's missing from the latest versions is the body-armor - it both makes bending of the middle torso quite hard and hides the waist, i.e. the waistline seems to start quite high up just because the armor ends there, sorry for the confusion.

And edraket - we took some photos of me in the same position and a friend of mine was pushing my left hand as hard as he could - if you brace for the 'impact' you tend to be in a more erect position than you'd even guess. But still a good point, have to consider changing stuff a little still.

And if I ever get there, I'm supposed to really draw a sketch of the image, not get stuck on some stupid details - but I'm sorta relearning this stuff, might take longer than what I'd like it to.

Thanks for the feedback everybody!

[edraket]

Ok well. It's cool that you made a picture.
I do that sometimes too.
But at the same time making pictures often makes your poses very stiff. It's pretty odd. But I guess you just have to look at it like an animator. Every motion is exaggerated. Otherwise it looks too stiff.

I think it also about acting when you are takaing the picture. Making real big gestures tends to help I think.
I dunno..Not like I'm the expert here..hehe

eddy

[Marvel]

The latest version:



It's quite different from the previous ones, but still quite static? Any ideas or overpaints - I'm quite content with the pose and now finally will proceed with the pic.

Edit: new version (changed the pic altogether)

[ January 30, 2002: Message edited by: Marvel ]

[Marvel]

I'm sorry, I hate doing this. *Bumps Up*

Once again it would be nice if updating did the trick.

So what do you think of the latest version - getting to a point that I can start working on it a bit more? :

[Ecanem]

Her right arm looks a bit short.. and the right leg is also too small - or the foreshortening doesn't work?

Keep up the good work!

[ January 31, 2002: Message edited by: Ecanem ]

[Tinusch]

I think all the poses you've tried could work, but they're just a little too stiff. Before you worry about proportions and anatomy and details, think about ACTION and MOVEMENT. Think about how she is affected by the weight of a huge bird driving into her shield like that. Think about the form before you worry about anatomy. I whipped up a quick stickman to show what I mean...



The anatomy may not be correct, but you can get the feeling that she is struggling to counter the bird's force. Hope that helps a little bit.