I would like advice on how to improve my images.

[Humility]

 

I sort of just did this one quickly for a small campaign I joined (which is why the guard Drake is a bit off. I've never drawn a drake (like a raptor in this case)before and as it was just a quickie I didn't feel like making a dozen redraws, so this is basically a rough draft that I colored in as a final draft.) But as I was coloring it I decided to try out gradients. I'm not sure they had any impact.

Edited June 29, 2016 by Humility

[Humility]

I just got off of a 13 hour binge draw in paint.net after having spent five hours sketching this out yesterday. I don't know why but I felt inspired. One of my players says that is far too much time spent for the result, do you think I am going too slow?

 

 

I tried to use gradients here but I drew a blank on where to use them so I ended up only using them on the angel's skin. Other than I realized too late I should have spent the long, long load up times to create a seamless background texture instead of checkering it on as you see there. Also for spme reason I drew a blank on how to do the ceiling without making it look... wrong.

[Humility]

For some reason I think I got more feedback in the pictorium.

[Ego Eram Reputo]

To be honest - that's where this sort of post probably belongs

 

Why don't you repost in the Image Hospital http://forums.getpaint.net/index.php?/topic/8128-image-hospital-help-with-image-problems-here/  or even the advanced critique section http://forums.getpaint.net/index.php?/topic/14494-advanced-critique-read-rules-first/ ?

[Humility]

It originally was in the pictorium then got moved here by a mod. I guess I'll try the Image Hospital, it looks like it gets more responses. Thanks.

[Eli]

Hi Humility, I have one question : Do you see something wrong in your picture?

[Humility]

Two things, where the ceiling meets the wall looks weird and wrong. And the wall itself has this ugly checkered thing going on. But there are probably a lot more things than that wrong with it.

[Eli]

For the wall you need to create a seamless pattern and then tile it using for example Boltbait's Fill From File effect or Red Ochre's Aardvark effect.

 

I thought that the ceiling was the sky. And the only thing that was wrong is the line that separates it from the wall was too perfect, too straight, too horizontal... As far as I can see, you like to line draw with the mouse and usually, your lines come out to be irregular (and that is Ok if that is your style) and on this detail, you abandoned your way of drawing. Another example where you went away from your style is the throne, Those sort of diamonds are just too perfect and distracting, In fact, they become almost the subject. The king, the poor indian as well as the stairs look great. I love the bottom part, people on distress. The angel is Ok as well but once again I do not know what you wanted to show with the orange thing, is it fire? i would have preferred if you had used your mouse to create it.

 

Just be consistent with your style, If you are going to use effects, do not overdo it.

Edited August 4, 2016 by Eli

[Humility]

Well thank you, fixing the errors you pointed out will be very, very hard. I actually sketch out everything with a pencil, I resort to the line tool when fixing stiff because my hand wobbles way, way too much for me to draw anything with the mouse. And yes the top is supposed to resemble the sky its supposed to be Black obsidian flecked with white to resemble stars. The Diamonds and throne were actually the part I liked the most. I like, contrast. I don't know how to explain it. So I'll have to think about what you said about the diamonds. The Orange thing was supposed to resemble like wood but made out of energy wood. And I thought it was brown not orange. Like there is a stream of wooden thorns and stakes beneath it. Like a ghost's wisp trail but if the ghost was made out of somewhat energy like wooden spikes, stakes and thorns. Better idea how I could have achieved that?

Edited August 4, 2016 by Humility

[Humility]

Maybe I should have made the ceiling on a different tab and used perspective on it so the ceiling would look like its going farther way.

[Humility]

I guess an example of what I mean by liking Contrast is the angel's wooden bottom part I like the way its complex but it goes up to the angel's much more simpler armor,  I really like how that just makes a contrast. But without affecting the relative depth of the objects.

Edited August 4, 2016 by Humility

[Woodsy]

Like Eli said I think what you meant to be the sky is too perfect! Castles usually have really high ceilings. Is it possible to do without that part and just make the walls go all the way up. That way it wouldn't distract from the subject of the picture.

I'm not an artist. It's just a suggestion.

[Humility]

Maybe that would work in this picture. I might not always have that option though. So figuring out a way to fix it would help. And I did an experimental check  wigglyfying it and well the problem with long interrupted lines is that the if its not straight the wigglyness stands out pretty badly.  I think its one of the reasons a common suggestion on art sites is to avoid long uninterrupted lines.

[Humility]

Here is a thing I really want help with though. A few weeks ago I was working on a picture and I got this fire effect. But I can't seem to repeat it, even close. And I really like it and would like someone to tell me how to do this again.

 

Edited August 4, 2016 by Humility

[Eli]

Gaussian blur and Dents effect  and also some Glow

 

Edited August 4, 2016 by Eli

[Humility]

Oh thanks.

[Humility]

I took your advice and decided to try drawing it entirely in paint.net using only the straight line tool and shape tools

 

 

When I look at it though I get a sense of wrongness about it. But then again I did judt make it so maybe I'm simply still biased. It often takes a week or more before I can look at what I make with an unbiased vision. But comparing this to my last image I liked my last image better, it was... softer? Is that the word?

Edited August 8, 2016 by Humility

[Eli]

It is a cool scene. I guess he is sending a selfie about his latest exploit  . I like the yellow glow on the angel's armor but not on his face. What is that thing hanging between his legs?

[Humility]

Thats not an angel just a brawny woman in Pearlite armor like the the angel wore so easy mistake,(For some reason I feel its important to note that if nothing else, like its blasphemy to call a human an angel. ) they use the same manufacture though. How would you suggest I did the glow on the face? The glow is emanating from the object she is holding so I feel I need something on her face. As for the red thing, thats supposed to be a pony tail. Drawing hair with the line tool was certainly a mistake, it ended up looking like a tail instead of hair.

Edited August 8, 2016 by Humility

[Eli]

I think that the scene is not dark enough to justify the light of the tablet.

 

[Humility]

I agree I wiah I had that idea myself. I wonder if there is a plug in that can darken it all around for me. I was going to respond a long time ago but the forum was down so I forgot.

[Humility]

Spoiler

This is one I've actually been working on for a couple of months. I just kept making mistake after mistake. Starting with the fire effect, I still can't properly replicate, then I worked the foreground elements before the background which ruined my attempt to do the background permanently. Without redoing everything from scratch.So I don't know if I even have a question on how to improve it since there are so many mistakes I already recognize.

[Humility]

Spoiler

 

This picture I'm on the fence about sometimes I look at it and I really like it. Other times I feel like I forgot something and its incomplete. Anyway I tried more gradient stuff here.

[Humility]

 

Is this better then the original version?

[Humility]

 

 

I spent probably the better part of 4 months on this image. II got most of it done but then was so sick and tired of it I stopped for about two months. Eventually I realized I just didn't want to do more on it, ever. So I vomited up a background and called it done.

 

First off its too large for my computer, I couldn't do anything without it lagging.a lot so that added to the frustration. But Primarily, I intended to add battle damage and corpses and scattered equipment. But I found I really hate drawing the same image or character multiple times. And thats basically what I would be doing. Thats just super boring to me. I could barely bring myself to finish the few repetitions there are already in the image.

 

I also screwed up a lot of the proportions, which I will blame on fatigue due to the large image size.

 

So I am never trying a large image again. Ever.

Edited November 30, 2016 by Humility