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Andrew Boucher
•
3yr
added comment incomic character concepts-keeping the life in the lines
Here is an update been along 8months since my last post but massive changes.
First of all Ive switched to a primarily an all digital process. specifically all on the ipad pro with doing sketching/early layout on procreate. followed by final rendering and processing in clip studio paint.
this has done a few things for me, it has made me mobile in production and allowed me to feel more free and less burdened to go down to my basement and work in my office. being able to work on art at work during lunch has also been amazing.
using clip studio as the heavy lifter is amazing and the now that Ive made my perfect brushes (which are based off Pepe Larraz https://www.instagram.com/pepelarraz/ and dave rapoza https://www.instagram.com/daverapoza/). this has made digital work have texture, life and made me work harder and faster than I have ever done before.
below are the images from my latest work and hopefully a more regular update on here if there is anyone interested.
Steve Lenze
3yr
Hey Andrew,
I really like your character, it's a really cool idea.
I wanted to give you some ideas to think about when drawing your characters. These are just my thoughts, but I thought it could help. The thing I noticed is that all the lines are all the same thickness. This will flatten out the forms and gives the drawing a coloring book look. It's good to also look for places to break the line up to give the idea of light. The other thing is the axe, it looks really flat and needs dimension. Always look for opportunities to give things a 3D look, especially with shadows. I did a drawing over yours to show you what I mean, I hope it helps :)
THE SPOT ADOPTER
he is dedicated to his small patch of highway. defending it at all costs.
done with pencil. last min woo dang
Hello Andrew! That's some great work you got there. I am already intrigued by the concept and the story behind this rugged fellow. I'm excited to see more, and hopefully some of my thoughts here can help you to achieve your vision.
It would be great to see your process to gain a better understanding of how you go about building your figures, but for now I will just share what I've gathered from viewing your finished pieces.
It's true that the first page doesn't have quite as much life as the others. I would agree with your assessment that it probably comes down to the fact that you did not do as much underlying work as the others. I think that the others have more life, not just because of the action demanded by the scene, but due to the fact that it forced you to consider the rhythms and forms/perspective.
You have a very cool graphic style. I am a big fan of strong lights and darks. One difficulty when approaching pieces with little or no hatching/crosshatching, is that your shapes/lines have to be very good at defining the form and structure. In the last two pages you do a great job at wrapping the details (especially his belts) shadows around the forms to give us a sense of form. I notice you have a little bit of this with the top belt in the first image, but I would try pushing it a little more plus making sure the lower belts follow suit. With really thin ellipses nailing the edges where they turn away from us is really important. Additionally, his tree limbs offer great opportunities to create lines/texture that helps to define the form. Have some creases that curve along the pecs, or go around the circumference of the arm, instead of just vertically, could really help to define those forms. Or instead of creases, you could add some vines circling the form. As it is, that arm especially seems a little flat. It's also kind of just an oval shape, giving a bit of that snowball effect. I would suggest pushing some of the rhythms you'd find in a regular arm. I've attached a couple examples below (Arm Rhythms from Luis Escobar www.twitter.com/Luis_E_Escobar)
As for the colour piece, you've got him in a pretty static pose. Barring changing that, it's helpful to push the natural rhythms as much as you can, in addition to some of the points I stated about. With the flat colour, the lines are going to have to do a lot of work to communicate the form and perspective. Even with a straight on shot you should be conscious of the horizon line and how things change in perspective. One quick change I'd make is with the feet. Very rarely will the feet appear perfectly flat, unless the image is from a very low angle. Even if these action figure designs by Jason Fabok (www.instagram.com/jfabok) the heel is a little higher up than the toes. Also, curving the top of the boots in the opposite direction will help to communicate the cylinder of the legs
Another way to really help express the form is to represent the lighting with your line weights. Make the lines that are away from the light slightly thicker, and those closer slightly thinner.
If you aren't familiar with them already, I'd recommend looking at some of Sean Gordon Murphy's and Ryan Ottley's work (examples below www.instagram.com/seangordonmurphy & www.instagram.com/ryanottley). They have two different graphic styles and do a great job at defining form largely with strong lines and shadow shapes.
I think you already have a decent grasp on most of the things I mentioned, it's just being conscious to keep applying them in your pieces. Your anatomy and faces are really solid as well. I have no doubt you'll make some great comics! I hope that this was helpful and that I did not drag on for too long. Looking forward to seeing more of your work!
that was superhelpfull and exactly what I was looking for. I think your points are very solid and definitely warrant more of my attention to those details. I greatly appreciate the full detail and references you put into here this is amazing. I definitely need to put more emphasis in the shape language for the arm especially since it's the identifying factor for the character. and this feedback is exactly what I was hoping to find, I know I was glazing over parts of the design that needed more dedication.
Thanks, Jared for taking your time and putting together such solid references and notes ill put it all to good work and bring an update here once I'm able. you got me all jazzersized up to pump out some better stuff.
here's a sample of the current comic world im building and trying to nail down the cast of characters and style treatment.
the lighter-toned image is the most recent page inked and scanned into clip studio. but I feel like it lacks the life that the other page does and the underlying pencil work that influences more of the other full page. I'm not sure how the color treatment will truly be as I Feel the full-color digital drawing is also a bit stiff. and critiques would be great and to just add clarity his non-human arm is that of a tree-like Groot.
