It will eventually be part of the front cover for my alternative book.
You can just make out the crack in the ground between the two characters. This will be a lava stream (hopefully) uplit like on the WD presents cover.
I need some advice on how best to do the fireball in the sorcerer’s hand? I don’t plan to mess around with the painting on the swordmaster, that was very hard to do. So it can’t be too bright.
Should I have the fireball actually leaving his hand? Or just have his hand on fire?
The attachment here came out about 25% bigger than I painted it, but it would be about half that size on A4.
First of all, very nice so far. The colours and blendings look very smooth and clear! Really love the colours of the Chaos Dwarf!!!
Now, while the swordmaster has a very dynamic pose, the Chaos Dwarf stands there as if he is waiting for a bus. A more defensive or attacking pose would bring this duel to life much more. I kinda miss the interaction between the two if you get what I mean.
I would make his outstretched hand pointed towards him like an open claw and make it on fire, as if building up the flame/starting fireball.
Okay, so maybe not exactly what you asked but I hope it helps a bit. :cheers:
Everyone knows swordmasters are fast, and I wanted him to be nonchalantly blasting away without looking too bothered. I wanted project how powerful he was more by his action than his lack of reaction (if you know what I mean ;))
Perhaps it looks a little too much like sighanother pesky elf in my way…?
My original plan was to have the HE actually being incinerated! But I couldn’t work out how to do that well.
The placement and size of the fireball is important I think.
Well I think it is great but as all thing there are some critasium first the swordmasters blade should be much bigger second like Obsidian said the CD sould look like he at least cares and should you have more going on such as maybe fighting in the backround or some CD attendants
But it is a WIP and it look very nice the cuolar is simply amazing Good work
I would have his hand held outward, palm up, with the fingers splayed and the flames kind of interlaced with his fingers. Then have a very bright central point just above his palm so it looks like he is still in the process of conjuring the fireball.
The colours are nicely done, a little twee for my taste but thats a personal thing
I would say the CD isn’t chunky enough, but I do tend to draw them pretty (very) stocky. The light source from the fireball is cool.
Some of what I say will be unhelpful at this point, (always the way with criticism :)) but hopefully it will help for future drawings.
I would suggest learning more about viewpoints, reason being the two figures have been drawn from different heights and angles. If you look at the dwarf’s feet, they are almost horizontal, meaning your eye level is near his feet. The angle of the elf makes him look as though he drawn from a higher viewpoint (you are looking down at his head and shoulders), thus making him look disjointed from the dwarf. Drawn at this angle, the dwarf would need to be nearer the top of the picture in the background for the viewpoint to fit.
The flat, side-on composition does as much to make the dwarf look like he’s at the bus stop as his pose. Perhaps a more dramatic angle, the two of them closer together, with the elf’s sword raised high and the dwarf in the foreground (but not with his back to the viewer) so his lack of height doesn’t undermine him? Portrait rather than landscape maybe? And less space around them will make it focus on the 2 combatants, the background is essentially surplus to requirements (I cheat and don’t bother with backgrounds half the time). Basically, if its centred on the duel, it needs to be all about the 2 combatants and nothing else matters. If its a massed battle scene, then the current open landscape setup is ok, assuming there is plenty to fill the background.
I must admit I hate doing middlegrounds. Foreground and backgrounds I can do reasonably well, but the space inbetween is always what kills it for me…
I think I can see what you mean about the angle of the two. Basically that the upper body of the elf is leaning towards the viewer if they’re on the same height?
At this point I could correct the sword so the HE is holding it above his head? I’ve been thinking that the two are actually too close together, so if I were to change the pose I could make the sword longer.
I will straighten the arm a bit, with a fireball in his hand… somehow.
Would the composition be helped a little if there was somebody half obscured immediately to the right of the sorcerer?
In terms of the painting as a whole these two will be in roughly the middle of the page, with at least 5 other CD and a ‘big thing’ Possibly mechanical mount looming in the background towards the elf. I will hopefully get over the middleground issue with some conviniently placed smoke (partly painted, partly computer done).
The biggest problem is the High Elf’s feet, as the angle doesn’t match the Dwarf’s feet, throwing the picture off balance. You haven’t painted his feet yet, so this is fixable. The background can work as you have it, but you would need to make it recede away from them for a bit before it climbs toward the extreme background, because of the low eye level, if you see what I mean. Hard to say until its done really.
A little more space inbetween them could allow for a longer sword and a non-point blank range fireball
Really good and splendid, though it´s a little too 2 dimensional, like as if it was from a fighting videogame. And if it´s going to be a swordmaster, the sword should maybe be a little bigger.
I’m a drawer (even if just for hobby, my avatar is a drawing of mine) and attended a school of art for a while. So I’d like to give you my two cents.
I do understand your fear in starting again, your blending is very cool and very well executed, but as my old teacher uses to say “do never fear to re-do something already done. You’ve done it once, so you have the skill to redo it many and many times…”.
I strongly suggest you to keep your amazing blending skills and restart again.
My idea is that you concentrate too much on color and not enough in “building” the figures and merge them in the background. That’s why many of us noticed defects in point of view (excellent suggestions Baggronor). You did not build up the drawing.
Imagine figures like geometrical sculptures (cubes, spheres and so on) and place them in a perspective.
Imagine the figures as dress mannequins, it will be easy to understand where place them and how they interact. Once you’ve done this primary job you could dress them up and build up details.
If you learn this you’lle be able to draw beautiful drawings.
I think what Baggronor says holds up the biggest issue is stance. I also agree for the next one the Chaos Dwarf needs to be more squat. His proportions are that of a scaled down human , rather then a burly dwarf.
I agree with the thing about the chaos dwarf his stance, and as a reply to what you asked about the fireball, why dont just put the entire elf on fire ^^
