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Chromamancer β Commanding from Above
Published: 2009-12-29 18:12:06 +0000 UTC; Views: 9990; Favourites: 462; Downloads: 309
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Description
Art time! Yay!The general idea is that he is a general or commander. The flag and sword are there to give direction, not for combat. Although, the dragon could probably handle that side of things without any difficulty.
This was a vector trace and Photoshop retouch I made off of an oekaki I drew recently. Here is the process behind that, in case anyone is wondering how it was drawn. After the end of this animation is where I switched to Photoshop.
Drawing Process: [link]
I'll have to do a few pictures with some more greens and earth tones. I've been using a lot of warm colors recently.
Comments and criticism are always welcome.
Color retouch done on 12/30/10
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Comments: 101
Thank you.
The coloring was my favorite part to work on when making this one.
I'm glad you enjoy it.
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GAlbatorix! Thats what I thought of. didn't really like ERagon, but I love dragons!
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Thanks.
And, same here. The Temeraire novels have been rather satisfying so far, though.
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Just wonderful. I love the dragon, as well as the contrast of lights and shadows.
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Thank you.
I actually did the light and shadows all first, in black and white. I added color on afterward. I think that makes it easier to focus on the lighting.
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Amazing
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Dragon riders... or dragon knights...
nice one
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Thank you.
I always like dragon riders, in books and art.
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Thanks.
I'm glad you enjoy the art.
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THIS
IS
Sparta!!
Me: No...
THIS
IS
EPIC
Good work, I love the mood
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OK, so we have 2 versions of this picture. I think the first one is more lively because the fire below lights up the clouds of smoke
This is a very good one. Very dynamic and great composition. I like the dragon design. I think I can even recognize him. He is the one from βWreathed in Flameβ, isnβt he?
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Thank you.
I wasn't intending to make him the same dragon from "Wreathed in Flame", but I can see the resemblance. The horns and belly scales are a little different, but they do look quite similar, with the color scheme and all.
Maybe I should intentionally draw the same dragon again some time... That is an interesting idea.
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Maybe it's just another dragon from the same species?
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WOW those are some long comments.
^__^ dang that's a really cool picture you shouldsend it in dor a calander page or something I'm thinking October or November, I have an Art request.
Could you draw a May dragon my birhtday is in May.
In return I'll draw somthing for you but I warn you I draw a lot of cartoons I have drawn dragons if that itwhat you want.
^__^ Ok talk later.
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Thank you.
I try to give good replies and leave helpful comments around, so I try to get people in the habit of leaving longer comments.
I've been thinking of making a calendar eventually. It might be a rather fun project.
I'm working on an art trade at the moment, and I've already learned a lesson about committing to too much all at once... I'll put up a journal if I start work on a calendar, though. It's good to hear that it is something that some people may be interested in.
You do have a rather fun cartoon style.
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ThanKs I do wish I could draw realistc like you but cartooning is what I want to do
It's cool that you're planning on making a calander I will look forward to seeing it, maybe people will start to buy it ^__^
Yeah I try to leave long comments but I get lost and don't know what to write.
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WHOA. Ok, I take back what I said a few deviations earlier, THIS is definitely my current favorite deviation from you. I like how the light reflects off the commander, as if the only reason you can see him at the moment was because of the explosions. I would definitely like to see more epic, in-action pictures like this in the future! Keep it up!
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Thank you.
I'll have to do some more action ones. This was a fun one to make.
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Your work never ceases to amaze me.
I have a quote for this, "Onward and downward to victory!"
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Thank you.
Indeed.
We ride. To VICTORY!
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Love the motion feeling in the background, it looks like those comets are really moving! The dragon's structure also looks very majestic, and it's pose gives a nice feel of it's motion.
I also like your use of strong colors in the picture (bright yellows in the eyes and mouth of the dragon and the tails of the comets) it really brings out the image nicely.
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Thank you.
I had to re-draw the dragon once or twice, because I kept drawing the rider too large, so it looked awkward, instead of majestic. I had a lot of fun with this, though.
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wonderful. you did a great job. the highlights and shades are dead on and the background is beautiful. It reminds me of something from Dragonlance
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Thank you.
I've read plenty of Dragonlance books over the years.
I think it would be awesome to do a cover for one someday.
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ya that would be nice. I love the books. I own over 30 of them
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Thank you.
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YaΒ΄re welcome.
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This is beautiful. I like the blurry effect, it reminds me of a movie screen, when you pause the screen right as the motion begins. I really like the textures you used here.
Two tail tips?
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Thank you.
I was drawing the tail, and misplaced a line. It actually fit rather well, so it ended up evolving into a second tail tip.
It's an unplanned detail, but I like how it turned out.
Sometimes it's best just to go along with your mistakes I think.
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Well, I have to say, the end result here looks very good. 
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Thanks.
I'm trying to learn how to use a tablet. I've heard that they're good, but I'm not used to them so they can make things difficult.
Most of my art is done with a mouse, though.
This picture is %100 mouse, for instance: [link]
That was done with a cheap little Logitech optical mouse. It's nothing fancy. Two buttons and a scroll wheel.
Using tools you aren't familiar with is what makes things difficult. I draw with my mouse fairly often, so I'm used to it, but if you draw mostly with a pen and paper, you might have a bit more trouble getting the kind of lines you want with your mouse. Tablets have their own learning curve.
I change colors rather often when I draw. On this picture, I tried to rough things out with shades of gray, then add color later. It's basically an alternative way to sketch. This method has it's advantages and disadvantages, but so far, I think it's a lot of fun.
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So, wait, does that mean this was done mostly with a mouse? Or did you use a tablet on this one?
I didn't know you used a mouse so much, then. XD It's so hard to find good mouse artists (or, rather, good artists who use a mouse), and I just assume that everyone except for me uses a tablet anyways (since this is mostly the case 
Well, I think I'm most familiar with just a normal pencil (though I don't know any kind of technique whatsoever), since I really haven't done enough art to get truly comfortable with a mouse (not to mention the facts that I a) probably don't use the mouse right for art and b) don't draw in a very natural manner when using the computer). I have not used a tablet very often at all, and when I have it hasn't exactly been what I expected, but since I am most comfortable with a pencil I've always naively hoped that a tablet would somehow be easier than using a mouse. XD
I don't have an eye for minute color variations. I have absolutely no idea how people can jump so often from one color to the next and still maintain a fairly constant color set across their whole image without using the eyedropper tool - and even then, they still need to know where the color that they want is.
This method does look like a lot of fun, and it yields some neat results, but I couldn't help but wonder how frustrating it might have been when I was watching. XD Especially if you drew this on one layer like it looked like you did.
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This one was probably around %80 done with my tablet, but the picture I linked to in my last post was made entirely with my mouse.
A tablet is more like using a pencil, so it might feel more natural to you. I've heard that there is around a 20 hour learning curve to getting used to using a tablet, though.
I don't think drawing with a mouse isn't that bad. My mouse lines are about as good as the ones I can make with a pencil, so using a mouse doesn't feel limiting anymore. Tablets still frustrate me, but that feeling of limitation will probably disappear once I fully get used to using them.
I used the eye dropper tool plenty of times when drawing this. That's how I got some of those variations. I'd use a light shade, then a dark one, then use the eyedropper to grab a few between those. 
I used 4 layers when drawing this one, so I did have the dragon and rider on a separate layer from my background.
Being able to show the process behind pictures is one of the advantages of drawing on an oekaki board.
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Okay, so at least I was right about this picture being done with a tablet. That's sure what it looked like, so I would have been rather surprised if you had done this with just a mouse. XD
It's certainly a lot closer to a pencil than a mouse is. Not quite the same thing, unfortunately, but still...
Drawing with a mouse isn't bad, of course. It's not like art done with a tablet is automatically better than art done by mouse. But it seems less intuitive to use a mouse properly. I know that there must be some better way to do things than how I use my mouse (which isn't a whole lot different from how I use it when I'm not drawing XD), but I have no idea what a more correct way is or how to go about learning it.
Hmm. Even with the eyedropper tool, using such a wide variety of subtle color changes just blows my mind. XD It probably isn't hard for you, but to me it seems horribly meticulous and I still have no idea how people manage to do it.
Yeah, I liked that about the black-and-white approach. Still, as convenient as this is, I've never really wanted to try it because I'm worried that I would lose my sense of where one part of the drawing ends and the next begins when all I have is a bunch of different shades of gray. You changed colors enough that it was plenty easy to tell for this drawing...
It sure seemed that the dragon was on the background layer a few times. Whenever you would erase parts of it, it seemed like you redrew the background instead of just using an eraser tool. There were a few things you did that would have been impossible on just one layer, though, so I wasn't sure.
Ah, so the recording of you drawing is completely due to the tablet you drew with, then? Or is that the program you used?
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I'll explain with a bunch of links.
I drew it on an oekaki board. Those are basically like message boards where people draw pictures. The oekaki board itself is what makes the recording.
The board is here: [link] Below some of the pictures on there you'll see a little "View Animation" link. You can click on that to see how the picture was drawn.
The black and white approach makes it easier to draw some details that would be difficult with line art. The first few times I tried this method I made the pictures way too dark, but I think I'm getting better with it as I go. I re-drew parts of the background in this picture sometimes because I wanted to erase, and sometimes because I wanted to change the background slightly. When using an approach like this, erasing can lead to awkward edges, so I've found re-drawing is often easier.
I did use a tablet for some of the work on this picture, but I didn't on these: [link] [link] or [link]
I've been told that I really should learn how to use a tablet, so I'm giving it a shot.
Small details are easier for me to do with a mouse still, though.
As for the color changes, that might be one of those things that comes with practice. I don't tend to think about those all that much... I just select what I need for the next stroke. I suppose you'll use a few shades at first, then use a few more without realizing it... then eventually you'll just be able to pick whatever shade you need.
Just ask any time if you have questions, and I'll be glad to help you out.
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Ah, okay, I see what that is now. That's pretty convenient, I bet. XD How does a system like that compare to a program like, say, photoshop?
Hee, I know about the 'awkward edges' that can crop up when using this kind of style... I'm doing something with some similarities in a drawing I'm working on right now, and I quickly learned that erasing the parts I mess up on is a very bad idea.
I'm still surprised that you're able to do all that with a mouse. XD How long did it take you to be able to draw properly with a mouse like that?
Ah, yes, and once again the answer comes back to practicing.
Oh, I have plenty of questions, believe me. 
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The best way to compare them is to try out an oekaki board.
Photoshop has more advanced features, including the ability to do things like scan in line art, then edit it. On an oekaki board, you would basically make the picture online, from start to finish. Also, you can't use custom brushes on oekaki, so you have to use the ones on there. You can change the opacity and size, though. Color corrections are much easier in Photoshop, too.
Basically, oekaki boards are definitely less powerful than Photoshop, but you can work on your picture from any computer, since it's stored online. Also, they can record the drawing process. I like some of the tools on Shii Painter Pro more than Photoshop, too. When you start a picture on one of those boards, you have a choice of applets to use, and Shii Painter Pro is my favorite.
I try to draw most of my pictures on oekaki boards then import them into Photoshop, for color correction and to fix things that would be difficult on the boards. That way, I can leverage my best skills with both programs.
Practice is usually where the answers come back to... There aren't really any shortcuts around that, but there are better ways to practice and learn, I think. I have seen several people on here improve much faster than I previously thought possible. I think that mainly comes from seeing interesting art, and making decisions on what to practice. If you make the decision to make some art specifically to practice shading, your shading will improve more than if you just make a some art without that goal. Your art will probably improve either way, but focusing on aspects to improve will probably make the process quicker. That's my experience, at least.
Backgrounds used to be my weakest area, but I read through some digital painting tutorials then made a few practice pictures to try out the techniques, and now I think backgrounds are one of my strengths, for instance.
Anyway, I practically learned to draw from tutorials and oekaki boards... Your current art is several levels above what my first art online was like. It's difficult to say how long it took me to get used to drawing with a mouse, because I couldn't draw well at all by hand when I first tried drawing with a mouse.
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