Can it exist?
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TriSAR
Tree-beard Shaver
Feathers details, eyelashes(mainly for style), deeper shading in certain areas, eyes need to be more 'shined' to bring the focus to the eyes, fingers (anatomy problem, best solution=use reference) and one last thing, research about 'line weights' when you do the lineart to bring out a bit more personality from the drawing. Finally, I think the head looks too 'tall' as in if he/she is a waxwing, a sharper skull & facial feature (eg sharper beak with extending crown) would make it look more easily identifiable. As it is he reminds me of psyduck or its evolved form.
Basically details need to be put in. Its fine if its a draft though I guess, which ultimately also means that I have yet to see your true potential and all of what I said above could be complete bull. Lol.
Just suggestions bro, do whatever you want with it and good luck
Basically details need to be put in. Its fine if its a draft though I guess, which ultimately also means that I have yet to see your true potential and all of what I said above could be complete bull. Lol.
Just suggestions bro, do whatever you want with it and good luck
Unsilenced
Mentlegen
One of the most basic and important tips is to think about things in 3 dimensions. Features are volumes, not areas, and their location is given by a plane, not a line. For most animals, depending on your style of drawing, the starting shape is probably something close to a sphere, but maybe flatter in the front (matter of style and character design.) Then you have the jaw or, in the case of furry/feathery/scaly characters, a muzzle/beak. This is usually either a rectangle or a squished, truncated cone sort of shape. In the case of a bird, it could be done as two cones, the first with a shallow taper and a second, shorter one with a much more dramatic one. You don't necessarily have to draw all the shapes every time, but they're a good way to think about things and drawing them can be a good way to check when something looks wrong. This works with hands too, but remember those knuckles. Fingers are a bunch of short, straight tubes, not long floppy ones.
As for specifics on your drawing there, I'd say that the head isn't necessarily too tall, but the eyes are too high. It's weird to think about, but eyes are actually basically in the middle of the head. We tend to underestimate the forehead and scalp because they're often covered by hair and generally uninteresting, but a significant part of the head's volume is up there, regardless of species. Also, judging by the beak, it doesn't look like you're at an angle where you would see much of the far eye. It would likely be obscured by the bridge of the nose, since the view is much closer to a profile view than a 3/4ths.
To make your bird look more... birdy, add some feathery texturing to the lines, especially those around the edges. You don't have to 'fill in' with textures, but using them to mark out boundaries and important points is useful. In your case, the back/top of the head is an area that's mostly feathers, so consider giving that area a much rougher look to show that it isn't a solid mass.
Practicing 3/4ths view and other in-between angles is very important. I know when you start drawing profiles and head-on drawings seem like the easiest things to do, but they're actually quite difficult views to make look right without a lot of detailing and shading. There's often not a lot that makes them look three dimensional, which makes them 'easier' to draw at first, but makes them harder to draw well.
Working on a phone is... less than ideal, obviously. You want a drawing tablet of some sort, or a touch-sensitive device that's bigger than an iphone. Ipads and whatnot *can* be used for drawing, but you need a specialized stylus to do it. "Fingerpainting" is not really viable in the long term, since it removes a lot of tools and abilities you get using a real tablet or stylus, including pressure-sensitivity, which is very important for weighting lines. Plus you can't really see what you're doing through a finger.
For drawing I use Open Canvas 6. I've had... stability issues with it, but frankly it's the only thing I've been able to make work properly with my computer. Drawing programs like to shit themselves and die if you aren't using a wacom, it seems. If it didn't have a habit of crashing and deleting files I'd recommend it, but it does and I won't.
EDIT: This post is a lot longer that I thought it would be, and not half as proof-read. Sorry for rambling.
As for specifics on your drawing there, I'd say that the head isn't necessarily too tall, but the eyes are too high. It's weird to think about, but eyes are actually basically in the middle of the head. We tend to underestimate the forehead and scalp because they're often covered by hair and generally uninteresting, but a significant part of the head's volume is up there, regardless of species. Also, judging by the beak, it doesn't look like you're at an angle where you would see much of the far eye. It would likely be obscured by the bridge of the nose, since the view is much closer to a profile view than a 3/4ths.
To make your bird look more... birdy, add some feathery texturing to the lines, especially those around the edges. You don't have to 'fill in' with textures, but using them to mark out boundaries and important points is useful. In your case, the back/top of the head is an area that's mostly feathers, so consider giving that area a much rougher look to show that it isn't a solid mass.
Practicing 3/4ths view and other in-between angles is very important. I know when you start drawing profiles and head-on drawings seem like the easiest things to do, but they're actually quite difficult views to make look right without a lot of detailing and shading. There's often not a lot that makes them look three dimensional, which makes them 'easier' to draw at first, but makes them harder to draw well.
Working on a phone is... less than ideal, obviously. You want a drawing tablet of some sort, or a touch-sensitive device that's bigger than an iphone. Ipads and whatnot *can* be used for drawing, but you need a specialized stylus to do it. "Fingerpainting" is not really viable in the long term, since it removes a lot of tools and abilities you get using a real tablet or stylus, including pressure-sensitivity, which is very important for weighting lines. Plus you can't really see what you're doing through a finger.
For drawing I use Open Canvas 6. I've had... stability issues with it, but frankly it's the only thing I've been able to make work properly with my computer. Drawing programs like to shit themselves and die if you aren't using a wacom, it seems. If it didn't have a habit of crashing and deleting files I'd recommend it, but it does and I won't.
EDIT: This post is a lot longer that I thought it would be, and not half as proof-read. Sorry for rambling.
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TriSAR
Tree-beard Shaver
I'm using MangaStudio mainly. Quite useful in way of linearts but quite limited IMO in coloring and all that shizz. I used to do my drawings on phone too lol.......it was horrible... =| Anyways, all in all, your own art is your own style. Find out your own way of doing things, that'll make it much more easier to express yourself in subsequent future drawings.
mapdark
Fluffy as a shaggy carpet
Base yourself on real life birds . Referencing is your best friend.
Ok , I'm aware this is shitty as hell , but I made a quick manipulation of your drawing to show you where eyes could be and stuff :
Excuse me for te crappiness but I am at work and only have access to an old mouse.
Ok , I'm aware this is shitty as hell , but I made a quick manipulation of your drawing to show you where eyes could be and stuff :
Excuse me for te crappiness but I am at work and only have access to an old mouse.
Base yourself on real life birds . Referencing is your best friend.
Ok , I'm aware this is shitty as hell , but I made a quick manipulation of your drawing to show you where eyes could be and stuff :
Excuse me for te crappiness but I am at work and only have access to an old mouse.
The farthest eye is too small on the redraw.
TheRedGhost
Member
If it helps with eyes, you could reference the skulls of theropod dinosaurs, since they are the carnivorous pre-evolution of birds with eyes more toward the front of the skull.
remember that in art, it really doesn't have to be absolute translation. Especially in something fantasy such as an anthro. if you are having a really hard time with it still, consider tweaking your style. Find artists that do similar work and take bits and pieces that you have problems with and reference from them.
Your second outline is good, you have the right idea and right positioning. It seems to be the execution of details that has you stumped?
Here's one artist's rendition of a similar bird anthro build:
remember that in art, it really doesn't have to be absolute translation. Especially in something fantasy such as an anthro. if you are having a really hard time with it still, consider tweaking your style. Find artists that do similar work and take bits and pieces that you have problems with and reference from them.
Your second outline is good, you have the right idea and right positioning. It seems to be the execution of details that has you stumped?
Here's one artist's rendition of a similar bird anthro build:
TheRedGhost
Member
Okay, I tried to simplify the shapes so maybe it would help. I tried to keep the second one closer to your style but your style is all your own, please use as a guide to help develop your own and don't see it as trying to change how you do things. I just hope it's helpful
TheRedGhost
Member
Glad that helped! I was worried it'd look a little much like a how-to. another observation to keep in mind is that bird eyes are very bulbous, so when turned tot eh side, you will see that roundness shaped. A good way to set off that difference is by giving them that cheek bone to rest on
Exaggerated example in an ostrich:
http://people.umass.edu/biep640w/images/bird face.jpg
subtle in an eagle:
http://www.nicehdwallpaper.com/wp-c...agle-bird-face-1080p-photo-wallpaper-free.jpg
Exaggerated example in an ostrich:
http://people.umass.edu/biep640w/images/bird face.jpg
subtle in an eagle:
http://www.nicehdwallpaper.com/wp-c...agle-bird-face-1080p-photo-wallpaper-free.jpg
Stop worrying about the lines.Construct the figure first THEN put down your lines Try to break down your character into simple shapes and planes. Here is an quick example. It has some errors but it should give you the idea.
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my comments in bold
Fin
Breaking it into shapes and planes is certainly useful, but the problem is that I have no idea where to place them.
It takes some practice and time. Any artbook worth it's salt will have techniques to do this. I have shared these videos with others:
http://www.ctrlpaint.com/videos/constructive-form-pt-1
http://www.ctrlpaint.com/videos/cons...ve-form-pt-1-5
http://www.ctrlpaint.com/videos/constructive-form-pt-2
http://www.ctrlpaint.com/videos/simplifying-form
http://www.ctrlpaint.com/videos/form-not-shape
The difficulties I'm having are mostly related to design (such as the degree of anthropomorphization, and the shapes of things) and details (like shading and line weights).
While the amount and style of anthro is more or less a preference. When it comes to drawing it must have solid foundation before you should even attempt shading or adding detail. With shading you have to understand how the light will hit the form at that angle. If you cant see the shapes of your character in 3d (Even if it's a line drawing, doesn't matter), you cannot shade it correctly. Also to add line weights also depends on the angle of the lighting.
I definitely agree that I should worry about lines afterwards and focus more on basic shapes, but I think first I need to figure out what it's supposed to look like.
You not going to like this but practice perspective drawing. Also watch those Ctrlpaint tutorials. If you can understand perspective, you can do stuff like this:
Fin