[opsis_kalopsis]

No, it's not Conan The barbarian, it's just good old David and his best buddy Goliath.

I'm very interested in hearing what you have to say about this pic. I've been spending the last three days with it, which is a very long time for me. It's all painted straight in photoshop with a wacom tablet, without references or sketches.

I can take any, and i mean ANY, critique - so feel free to slash it!

Cheers!

[weaselball2]

angelfire doesn't allow remote linking
you can probably see it becuase it's cached
provide a link or use a free picture server like http://www.imageshack.us/

[opsis_kalopsis]

Thanks, weaselball... I've fixed the link now. I'm eager for feedback, so start slashing!

[weaselball2]

very nice job on the guy without a ref!!!
really good over all, couple things I notice though.

the clouds don't look right
the faces are very detailed but the hair is mostly a solid color (I would add detail to hair)
something doesn't look right about lower part of arm and hand(im bad at anatomy, sorry I can't be more specific) Maybe someone with l33ter skill could be more specific for ya

[AndyT]

Great attention to details. Amazing expressions.
I like David ... there are too many illustrations where he looks like a skinny boy from highschool.
Did you use reference?
Edit: Damn ... I should read more ...

There could be some subtle color in the shadows.
And the reflected light in the shadows is too bright. Looks like direct light somehow.
Maybe that would be ok it it didn't get quite as that dark there.
I'd decide to either make the difference between light and shadow smaller or separating them better.

I'm not good at anatomy ... but maybe the arm looks a bit strange in the ellbow area!?
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[Feral]

Opsis,
Hope you don't mind, I did a quick repaint on your image (just quickly)
It's easier to show than to tell.
I've exaggerated some of the muscle shapes so you can see it clearly
The large forearm muscle starts on the outside of the arm.
I've made the hand smaller - it was a little blocky
Watch the size of the ear your's was a little small

Hope this helps

Feral

[opsis_kalopsis]

Thanks, feral, andy and weaselball for pointing me in the right direction. I have now realized the stupidityy of working without ref. Since i have a few days left of this homebound period of my vacation I think its best to put in another 5-10 hours or so on this. Prob should have posted this in the WIP forum instead.

I'll be back with update in a day or two.

Btw, I really appreciate the accuracy of your criticism, and i'll prob post more stuff here. IRL its much harder to get feedback this relevant, but i guess you're all here for that same reason...

Cheers!

[Feral]

There's nothing wrong with not using ref.That overpaint was done with no ref!
(which is why it's not perfect)
Reference serves a purpose - it helps you understand where you might be going wrong.
(it's always hard, nigh on impossible to find reference that will exactly match your piece of art, unless your going to copy a photo, or overpaint one - which I don't suggest)

Feral

[weaselball2]

yeah man, most of the point of doing stuff with a ref is to get better at doing stuff without one!
I think that anatomy is at least decent even though you didn't use a ref. It's good enough that I couldn't tell what was wrong by looking at it.

[opsis_kalopsis]

Of course youre right about using refs. I would never copy a photo unless I had to, but I have a huge anatomy book which i'm regretfully not using. A quick peek would have helped me realize that the muscles on the arms are Not 5 big round bumps.

/opsis

[weaselball2]