Some portraits

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ZygoUgo
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Re: Some portraits

Post by ZygoUgo »

giant_ratsmaller.png
Taking a break from the wolf I drew a bit of a rough and ready Giant Rat, shall I cut him out and work on him some more? His hands are a bit funny and he's a bit cartoony, but I'll work on him if wanted..
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Eagle_11
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Re: Some portraits

Post by Eagle_11 »

That'd be an 'were-rat', if such an thing even exists within the world of Irdya.
ZygoUgo
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Re: Some portraits

Post by ZygoUgo »

giant_rat_cutout.png
He is a bit isn't he, I think mainly due to the monkey legs and hands, so chopped them and gave him whiskers, then shrunk him a bit so he'd appear smaller on screen, any better? Well I'll just leave it here, if it's useable I'm sure some opinions will let me know
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doofus-01
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Re: Some portraits

Post by doofus-01 »

I think that it would look better if you got rid of the yellow, fully exposed irises. "Beady little eyes" is a phrase sometimes applied to rats, so small, dark and shiny seems like it could be better. There's also some asymmetry with the mouth/cheeks.
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ZygoUgo
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Re: Some portraits

Post by ZygoUgo »

giant_ratB.png
Done a bit more to the rat, best get on with that wolf really :)
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LordBob
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Re: Some portraits

Post by LordBob »

The rat is on a good path, but: (in order of decreasing importance)

- even with the crop its limbs still look more ape than rodent. This is caused by their overall anatomy, relative thickness compared to the body and also the way they connect : a rat's limbs are inserted in a mesh of skin folds. Google has quite a collection of hairless rat pictures, they're disgusting but really helpful. ;)
- the latest shading of the body makes it look gaunt and flat like a tiger's, whereas the previous one was rounder and fuller. Rounder is easier to recognize as a rat.
- the tail could afford to be a little thinner
- the front teeth would look even better if they caught some of that rim lighting.
- slightly larger ears could make it look rattier. I don't guarantee the result, but it's worth trying out.

Once you properly address these concerns, then I say we can adopt it as our new Giant Rat portrait.
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ZygoUgo
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Re: Some portraits

Post by ZygoUgo »

Cool, I'll sort those out :)
ZygoUgo
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Re: Some portraits

Post by ZygoUgo »

wolfsmaller.png
wolfsmaller.png (247.86 KiB) Viewed 7966 times
Here's my progress on the wolf and rat, let me know if I need to do anything else with them :)
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giant_ratC2.png
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Aldarisvet
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Re: Some portraits

Post by Aldarisvet »

Great!
I really like the rat! Great progress! And now it really looks like a rat, before it looked like a half-wolf creature.
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LordBob
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Re: Some portraits

Post by LordBob »

Yes, the rat has improved tremendously and can be committed as our new Giant Rat portrait.

The wolf is in good way (and much, much better than your first wolf), but can still improve:
- one thing is the tail, which looks too passive compared to his aggressive attitude. I'm not sure how a real wolf - or dog - in an attack pose would handle its tail, but regardless it will look more lively if it has a slight curl to it, or some suggestion of movement that shows it's not just hanging like a dead weight.
- the belly fur has too much value contrast compared to the rest and looks lit from below as a result. I see what you are trying to do, though. Lower contrast and/or showing hair of the same local color (usually the top of the paws) that receives more light may improve readability
- its fur is following the length of the limbs too closely. If you watch closely some reference (here and here for example), you will notice that depending on density, length, thickness and waht-I-know, the implant of hair sometimes looks perpendicular to the length of the limbs (hind quarters for example), or radiating, then some longer hairs stand out in the neck region...It's such diversity that will make your image really feel like a living creature instead of a big plush. I attached a quick sketch to try and get the point across better than my clumsy words do.
- also, the way you drew all those individual darker hairs makes the fur look a bit artificial because they're almost in a pattern. Similar to the implant of hair, you can improve it with some variations such as different thickness, using different brushes and not making them visible everywhere.
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beetlenaut
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Re: Some portraits

Post by beetlenaut »

Wow! The wolf is very cool. I think he got a little too passive though--more like he is being punished than getting ready to attack. After looking at several pictures, I think it's mostly his ears, which should be held back or out flat. His eyebrows are also making him look a little apologetic. Playing with the curve a little can probably go a long way to making him more aggressive.
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ZygoUgo
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Re: Some portraits

Post by ZygoUgo »

Great :) Okay, thanks for the compliments and crits, I'll take a look at that this week.
ZygoUgo
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Re: Some portraits

Post by ZygoUgo »

Sorry for the no-news this week, struggling to learn how to paint the fur, I'm used to making up robots and aliens, but I'll get there ;)
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zookeeper
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Re: Some portraits

Post by zookeeper »

Thanks to Shiki the rat wasn't entirely forgotten, so it's now in. :eng: Do tell if you want your real name included in the credits, instead.

Any further plans for the wolf?
ZygoUgo
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Re: Some portraits

Post by ZygoUgo »

Heya, dont' mind if you use my real name, thanks for committing. I've begun programming in Unity so have been distracted from this, but I intend to come back to this when my painting skills have improved ;)
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