[feebsaint]

An assignment for Dragon. The issue this will be in, is #287. The rest of the illustrations will be more 'steampunk.' I'd love to hear what you have to say about this guy. I will be adding final touches on him, so if you have an idea of something that would be terribly cool, or something that bothers you... I'd love to get that advice.

As always, I'd love to hear the ego-stroking talk... as I need some mental sustinence for my existence (to make up for not being able to land a decent girlfriend, to save my life). Thanks for taking the time...

[feebsaint]

Lukias... I haven't seen you in a while.

Ah... thank you for the comment, especially on the darkness. If it seems too dark to anyone else, I'd appreciate the mention, too... like Lukias said, monitors differ, but mine may just be to damned light. I may goof with the bright/contrast... and post again... or someone with a decent monitor could do the same.

Still, when it comes down to it, the Art Director will be adjusting it to his liking, for printing. I noticed my last run were a bit lighter than I remember sending. He also selected and knocked down some saturation in parts... which helped.

[Akolyte]

Cool, Mike. He's pretty gangly, but his face is so corky and evil Cool pic. His left arm seems funny to me, but I can't tell what he is doing with it anyways, I'm probably wrong

How's the new gig?

[feebsaint]

No... you're not wrong... that arm has bothered me. I need to change it. Thanks so much for the comment.

The new gig? Do you mean the new game company I joined up with, or this job for Dragon? Both are awesome. Hope I answered

I agree that he's gangly. I sorta went that way, because he's supposed to epitomize someone who thrills at chaos. Think I should beef up his middle? Thanks, again, for the comment. I need to come back here more often, so I can stay sharp... awesome comments here.

[Akolyte]

IMO, no more middle beef

[burn0ut]

best peice ive seen you crank out feeb!!
but whatever, i love the detail in this peice.

[ June 14, 2001: Message edited by: burn0ut ]

[feebsaint]

burnOut, thanks, man. Glad to have fetched such a great comment from you. Not that you're slow to offer them! I think you rock, so there.

As a side note, the dude with the backpack on your site reminds me of my buddy, Alan Tew's style. Heard of him?

[burn0ut]

of course, thats how i heard of you !

[ June 14, 2001: Message edited by: burn0ut ]

[feebsaint]

Doh! Hell... of course. Sorry, man. I have trouble remembering things, and it's apparent I haven't kick-started my brain yet.

BTW: Alan and I are going to the San Diego Comic-Con this year. If you're going, we should hook up.

[ShinShot]

Feeb! Missed you. Glad you're back. Haven't been to PaintChat in awhile either so hope that is still pumping along.
Other than the noted arm issue, I like this a lot. No offense, but more so than your sepia paladins work. How did all of that turn out? I'll be at Comic-Con, too so hopefully much of us that troll this arena can hook up and arm wrestle...

Glad to hear from you again!

Kris

[feebsaint]

ShinShot,

Thanks, bruddah. I'm very much for meeting up with some fellow 'sijun-ers' at the Comic-Con. In fact... I'm gonna start a thread that addresses the issue of going there and meeting. We should designate a place and time to meet, shake hands, and probably never post here again since we'll all hate each other! Haha.. kidding

Ok.. that's an affirmative on the arm. It's definitely goin' down.

[leakey]

Yeah, really cool mate.

I would only suggest that his index finger on his left hand (right hand from the viewer's perspective) is bent back a little too much.

It may be alot more dramatic if you added a bright reflection on his body from the strongest light source. That should light the whole picture and give the eye something to really focus on.

Still, it's very good.

[RoadMaster]

if that's a self portrait I might know why you're having trouble getting a girlfriend

other than my annoying jokes, I would say it's a very good piece indeed, with only a slight few drawbacks (this is of course, in my unprofessional opinion). I don't think his whip should radiate light, it draws away from the main body, pulling the eye not only towards the head, but right over it, in other words, I think the whip should blend in a bit more with the background. I'm terrible at anatomy so I have no advice for you there, but the knee area seems to bother me a bit, and the fact that you can see the sketch marks on the fur. You also may think of adjusting the confrast of his knife, since it seems to be in a low light area in comparison to his legs. But again, I'm not the brightests on this subject, just trying to help. It really is a magnificient piece though.

[feebsaint]

Leaky and RoadMaster... awesome comments... my guess is, that I'll be attending to all of these things. Damn you guys rock. Keep 'em comin... I can take it. This is helping temendously.

[Jezebel]

Hey Mike!

Excellent picture... I really like the color choices here. And the expression is priceless. Awesome as usual

Beth

[Blitz]

Mike!
Great stuff there, Cynthia. May I call you Cynthia? It's either that, or Holmes... take yer pick.

Couldnt resist hehe..=P

WOW...I for some reason or another had no Idea you posted here. This is great. Im so glad you are here. See...Now Im all pumped up to go draw.
ANYWAY..
This is a great pic. I hope I get it in Dragon mag. I just got a subscription...or at least hope I did it right online. Well see.

Im diggin this guy alot. Nice pose...he is just ready to go Buck Nutty on someone.
Now you asked for crits....Hmm...Now...I dont want to hurt your feelings, but at the same time I want to help you...How can I put this Gently....
He Resembles Britny Spears a little to much. Did you take a pic of her and put a photoshop filter over it?
Now Mike.
=P

Hey what can I say I love it.

Well

Cheerio Good man.
Have fun drawing.
Id beat you at Caber Toss.
Sweet Dreams.
Many Happy Returns.

Yer pal
Blitz.

[Rinaldo]

Looks fantastic Mike=)

U R A God^_^

Me goes draw now

[Merekat]

Wow.

I'm afraid everyone's commented on all the important bits! I do agree with the comments, but I would just like to add to that ego boosting you mentioned earlier.

My absolute favorite part about this piece is the lighting and focus direction to the more finished areas. Generally, I would ask why you didn't flesh out the lower portions as much as the upper, but really, the attention the torso and face draws is wonderful enough. ;} I love your sense of highlighting and tone, and the movement is really excellent.

The one thing I would have to ask it perhaps why not increase the darkness on the fade at the bottom? More depth? Then again, I am unfortunate enough to view this at work, and on a mac, it's a lot lighter. So, take this with a grin of salt. ;}

Otherwise, beautiful! I look forward to seeing more of your works.;}

[Vgta]

Hey, kick ass work. I do agree with merekat about the lower half except mine is backwards. On my monitor I can see that they are pretty well rendered but rather dark. The whole thing with the left arm has been addressed so I won't mention that again...D'oh I just did.
Also what's that thing hanging from his left thigh? Looks like a quiver with arrows?
and I don't know about the knife hanging inside his left thigh, from a sheathing point of view you have more chances of cutting your leg that way, but that's just me.
It rocks man, I am truly jealous. Can't wait to see the rest. Back to drawing for me

[ June 15, 2001: Message edited by: Vgta ]

[Gimbal8]

Personally I think if your looking for some constructive criticism you should post something with more flaws in it. Because I'm having a hard time helping you when you are so much better then me.

Well, if I had to nitpick: I notice you kinda outlined his body (and whip)with a certain tone of red (or darkened the red around the body leaving a lighter border). Maybe it might look better the blend those border areas with the background, if that makes any sense.

Still, damn fine work. Keep posting. And tell Alan to update his page. The lazy bum.

[Darkmoon]

nice! beautiful! *strokes ego gently*

since i dont have any critiques, i have... ideas

i think it would look cool if his tongue *how the hell do i spell that again??*
would look cooler if it was forked... add to the evil i guess... and on the right side of his head, see a little bit of his other ear... to show he has one...

this is an awsome peice, you should be very proud!

[schabe]

hmmm very nice picture!
it looks a little like the front singer from HIM, right ?!

[feebsaint]

[edit] Horrible type-o
Doh! What a landslide-o-comments! I don't think I've ever had so much attention. Is my tie straight? My hair combed ok? Good, then let's move on.

Jezebel: As always, thank you so much. Good to hear from you again.

Blitz: You whacky fella. Yes: Buck Nutty. Thanks a score.

Rinaldo: Mucho thanks... I'm blushing inside (and it looks pretty gross)

MereKat: Thank you too. As to why I haven't fleshed out the lower portions... well, I'm going to, actually. Although this guy is 'finished,' he's not really 'finished,' since he obviously needs touch-ups... especially on the lower parts. The fact that you noticed this makes it that much clearer that I need to address this. Thanks again.

Vgta: Nope, that's not a quiver of arrows hanging from his leg... it's a sort of quiver of stakes, tied to the lower part of his leg... which makes it clear to me that either your monitor is too dark (which I doubt), or mine is too light... when it all comes out in print, everything will be ok.

Gimbal8: Hahah! Thank you! As to your comment about blending the border... it's something I've done. Either you think the blending should be smoother, or my version is too contrasted on your monitor... which means I really need to get my monitor in shape... what with all of these brightness/contrast comments. I'll see if I can blend it further, and keep the intensity. Thanks again.

Darkmoon: It's funny that I never thought of the forked tongue idea... if I have enough time (which I don't... so if I make the time....), I'll give him the forked tongue. I appreciate the idea.

schabe: Front singer from HIM ? Sorry, bruddah... don't know that band. I'd be interested to see the singer, though, if he looks like this fella.

Darkglade: You rock... that's all I have to say to YOU! ... other than thanks, man.

Well, I'm honoured to have so many comments. If any of you are checking back... check back again later tonight, or in the morning... I'll have a new & improved version of him for you to post in this thread... thanks to your comments, he should look tons better.

[ June 15, 2001: Message edited by: feebsaint ]

[Darkglade]

Wonderful technique,

...it was the need to reply for this reason only.

[DarkStalker1]

I feel it was too soon for this to fall off the first page ! Great work and great CG skills !

[feebsaint]

YAY Dark Stalker!!! Woo Hoo!!

I was secretly praying for another comment, to boost this up in the most recent comments! Thank you! I also appreciate your comment!

Congratulations, you win a free digital painting! Take yer pic and download it. Heheh.. j/k. But really, thanks a ton, man.

[Cicinimo]

Woah. Thats extremely awesome. Could you tell a little bit about your process in making that? Is that all paintbrush tool? Very, very cool.

[Frost]

"(to make up for not being able to land a decent girlfriend, to save my life)."

=) you and me both.

But yeah, this is definitely nice! I love the face details... the eyes, the missing tooth/teeth,... very very nice and eerie. =)

[Farwalker]

Hey, he freaks me out... nice work feebsaint!
A very creative creature to say the least.

Keep up the cool work.

[feebsaint]

Yay! More comments!!

Cicinimo: The process? Let's see how quickly I can do this... I do a rough sketch in painter, at 800 x 800. Next I blow it up to 3000 x 3000 at 300 dpi, and trace over the rough sketch, using the 'new layer' option in painter (or just make a white layer, and make it a "Gel" layer). Then I fill the background with an unassuming gradient... and start painting on the canvas (not layer), with the layer remaining a Gel. On this piece, I was surprised that I could do most of it using the airbrush tool. I messed with the brush settings... bumping up the 'feature,' found under size, in brush controls. The smoother stuff (background glow & hair on legs) was done with the oil brush > 'smeary round.' I also tweaked the opacity and feature of that brush, as I did with the airbrush... once I scale it back down, it all looks quite smooth... but the airbrush left a texture that looks like a pastel painting.

That's pretty much it!

Frost: We should have a 'loser' night... where we don't bother looking for girls, but entertain the hell out of ourselves with playing video games, renting 'guy' movies, and while you steer the car, I'll hang out the window with a garden rake, and scratch the hell out of old women. Whaddya think? Thanks for the awesome comment, btw.

Farwalker: Man... thank you so much for the comment, chief. May I call you chief? It's either that, or Susan... take your pick (joke I used on Levi... the situation's the same, but the names have been changed, to protect the innocent).