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Skrayle ā Introspection
Published: 2014-06-04 20:33:49 +0000 UTC; Views: 506; Favourites: 27; Downloads: 0
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I was cleaning out my desk drawers this week and noticed a really big pile of unused brown kraft paper. I've seen people do really awesome drawings with it, but I haven't ever really used it myself. This was more of a test than anything, but I really like how it came out. I think I need to learn to set up my drawings better though, it's actually not centered and her tail comes a little bit too close to the bottom. I have such a problem with running out of room/stuff running off the page, even if I mark things beforehand ;u;Oh, and that's a bell she's holding! It's been showing up in a lot of my doodles and I'm not sure why haha
Heavily inspired by this wonderful piece:
Hier + art (c) me
tools: Kraft paper, prismacolor colored pencils, sharpie, Prismacolor inking pens
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Comments: 16
I'm not sure what kraft paper is but I'm just gonna assume it's brown paper? XD mmm working on coloured papers is definitely so interesting you tend to have to highlight more and shade a little less compared to working on white paper which is more the opposite! It gives a lovely texture somewhat like cardboard and the brown tones definitely work really well with Hier's design! c: I think the combo of the hatched shading with pen [?] and the more pastel-like look her markings are done in~
As for crits oh gosh I'll try but I do think this is a really lovely piece~
The symmetry is very good and let's face it symmetry is like 32849283502x harder tradish so no one's gonna really be perfect without maybe some work on a lighttable. This isn't so much crit but maybe something fun you can try in the future; have you ever tried working with coloured pens? A brown/red/violet [maybe? violet's a bit far out there] ink might look pretty cool to try instead of black c: You already know it's verrrrry slightly off center though otherwise you know I think you used the negative space very nicely in this pic; there's just the right amount [to me!] and it looks very pleasing!
Oh to add to what WhereMySpiritRests said above: I feel like the use of white is a tad confusing. It's sometimes hard to tell which bits are highlights and which bits are just Hier's markings. I'm not really sure what anyone could really do about it though o~o"
And one last thing about Hier?? maybe?? Her anatomy is already more out there with the ribs and all so obviously it doesn't make total sense but bear with me and my run on sentence ok aaaa.. I feel like from this angle you would still be able to see her ribs sticking out from her sides? In this pic is looks like she actually has a normal errr flank?? stomach area?? what do I call that bit LOL
Also haha maybe if it's possible [which I dunno if it is as applicable tradish] start working on a larger paper and/or outline some faint borders you can erase later when you're planning out a pic and then pretend those borders are the edges of your paper. That way if you run tight on space you have a little bit of room to wiggle still~
I have this problem a lot too especially when I sketch digitally actually XD Like this pic I was sketching yesterday even though I started out on a pretty big canvas compared to my usual I still managed to have to extend the canvas once, and move my sketch layers three times before everyone fit. LAUGHS first someone's hat went off canvas then the other person's legs went off canvas TWICE PFFFFT
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Yeah! I have no idea why it's called kraft paper exactly, but yeah it's basically a nice-textured brown paper. It works wonderfully with prismacolors/white gel pens, so you can really make the colors pop <3 AlviaAlcedo does some of the best work with this stuff I've ever seen, if you don't watch her yet, you should check her stuff out (like seriously look at this superduperadorable lil fox: )
Maybe I shouldn't have said it's off center, I cropped it so it doesn't appear to be so anymore. Though actually Hier isn't centered in the black box anyway so :''D Glad it's not super noticeable though.
You're right! I did use the white for her markings ~and~ the highlights, which does seem to make it weird (for example, if it was light the bit on her lower legs/paws looks out of place and unnatural...like anyone else seeing this probably wouldn't even think they were markings I guess). I need to work on focalising(?) my light more, so it's not just everywhere. I can't seem to make myself do that, for some reason. Maybe if I set out consciously to do that I'll be better about it haha.
You're spot-on about the ribs too. I was really unsure where/if they should be shown so I was a derp and left them out. I should take that more into account next time.
That works wonders for me! Sadly this paper is a bit small so I don't know if I want to limit myself anymore but it's worth a shot! hahaha I've done that before...it's so easy to do! And annoying! XD
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Ahh I see o: I don't have any large pieces though I did buy packs of cardstock from the dollar store here [omg what a steal though they were so cheap!] one in pastel colours and another in various brown tones which I kinda similar to this stuff I guess. It's been forever since I've been to an actual art supply store though so maybe I might find some of this kraft paper there XD I have done much with them recently though I've used a cream-ish one for a pic of Tide and another one about the colour of this paper for an Okamiden fanart.. maybe I ought to break out the pencils and pens and do some tradish again hmmmm..
Ohhh really?? haha I didn't even notice Hier was off center to the rectangle!
Yup yup that's why when I was drawing Hier I asked if you had a flat colour ref actually! Those markings on her legs were throwing me off XD Mmmm yeah try to making yourself think about where the light goes and you might get it more "focused" as you say. This might sound a little backwards but maybe try to force yourself to cell shade as practice? [like no need to make fully finished drawings just like studies I guess??] I found that it really makes you think so much more about lighting and the shape/forms which as a result I found I starting improving with my shading/lighting skills much faster after I got a bit of a grasp on cell shading.
Oh I see yeah that's why I was a bit ??? on suggesting this tactic for tradish since the papers can really be a limitation unlike digital where it just needs a few strokes of the keyboard and a click from your mouse to extend as much as you want. yeaah oh gosh and I sketch in many layers so I can separate things/erase parts I'm unsure of easier but wow is it a pain to move them all X"D [SAI can't move multiple layers unless they're grouped in a folder together unlike PS]
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I don't know what the art stores are like up there, but down here it's really hard to find kraft paper unless you look in the right places. I finally found some in the stationary section, I think. I really wanted a brown-paper sketchbook but I guess those are even harder to find? Maybe Amazon has them, idk. Colored paper in general is really fun, though ovo You should definitely do that! Your Tide pic from way back is still one of my favorites
Really? Wow, I should try that, then! I've always found cell-shading to be really hard for some reason. Maybe it's because I never really understood light so it always came out looking odd. I should do more studies though, maybe I focus too much on using big pieces to improve ahaha it's really a bit of a backwards way of practicing.
I wish PSE had folders ;__; For some reason it doesn't and it makes me sad since I really like to have my billion+ layers organized
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Ohh yeah I remember someone I watched mentioned a brand of sketchbooks with brown paper.. Ok I found it it's called Earthbound! I dunno if they sell those here/where you are though. I haven't been to an art store in like YEARS >w>;; We had other more cream coloured papers when I had art class in high school so .. maybe I should think brown paper wouldn't be impossible to find?? Who knows XD
I used to think cel shading was really difficult too it was like just impossible for me since I couldn't grasp the 3D shapes of stuff XD It'll look a bit bad at first but the more you do it the better you get and it starts looking less ew~
Mmm studies are good as are smaller pieces. I find if you force yourself onto a canvas that's smaller you'll work a bit looser and simpler [or for me I do that??] Usually I use my Minis/Tinys for experiments~ Tinys in particular since I make them all 300px or 350px square so they're pretty quick~
Oh wow Elements doesn't have folders? o: Hmm I believe CS2 was released as free a while back and you just need to register an account w/ Adobe or something to download it? I'm not sure if it's compatible with your comp though I hear it might not work with newer comps which was why it was released... I still use XP soo.... ovo"
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Earthbound, huh? I'll have to check those out. Hopefully they shouldn't be!
Oh yeah, I still think in a very 2-D way sometimes. That sounds really odd but I just have a really hard time giving things depth- it's easier to make "flat" things like tribals. I think it's something every artist has a hard time with in the beginning though, it just means I need to study more cx
Yeah, those are actually fun to do! I used small sizes like that for my Poke' portraits for that one meme I did. They all wound up being really detailed "experiments", though XDĀ Maybe I should offer little minis like that for trade so I can practice on people's characters haha
Nope :c I was pretty sure it did but it somehow doesn't? I remember downloading a file once from someone who was sharing their final PSD for a cool environment piece they did....and everything was in folders, which PSE didn't let me open to see the layers inside...it was a mess D:. Oh really? I should look at that, coolio.
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Yeahh I used to be a lot more 2-D and had a lot of trouble with 3-D. I think between doing a couple ceramics classes in high school and just lots of time practicing getting it right I eventually got better at translating things into more 3-D feeling.
You know LAUGHS I MADE A LIST I'M GONNA DO IT TOO! It was so difficult though omg with 700+ pokemon it is getting really really really impossible trying to pick just one favourite from each type XD I think I'll use them all for more colour studies since it's so fun~ laughs like the tag I did on tumblr pfft 2 of my questions was colour scheme and fav pokemon so people would give me prompts I'm so clever
Oh.. hmm have you ever tried to make folders yourself in your copy of Elements? I know sometimes I see resources for the CS versions of PS and they'll have disclaimers saying they don't work with the Elements versions. You might have folders but just the PSD from was a CS version and might've been not compatable with Elements. I dunno though just maybe a guess I've never really used Elements >w>;;
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Yeah, I've never tried making my own folders. Usually there's a button for it near the layers panel, or at least an option like "put these layers in a folder" in the dropdown menu. Hmmm. I use Krita for most things now anyway, so it's not a huge deal. I just wish I could use it to open up others' sample PSDs that have folders ;-;
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Ahh ok I see o: I usually don't like too many folders either cuz ugh having to open them all ya know XD But sometimes I have too many layers and it's a real pain to hide/show them all while I work so I group everything for one thing into a folder.
Hmm not sure if it'd work but a possible work around I can think of is to select the folder and then click to delete it. When I do that in my PS I get a popup that asks if I want to delete the folder or the folder AND the contents. So if you select just the folder it might ungroup all the layers?
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Oh, I should try that! Thanks for the suggestion. Now I just have to find the file with the folders again...it's buried around here somewhere...XD
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No problem~ I hope it works or at least maybe in the future if you can't find the old files XD
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Wonderful work! I think you need to focalize the lights a bit more. Use the white only forreally bright glows.
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Ah, you're right. I have a lot of trouble with that in a lot of my drawings, it really makes the light source seem absent or just weird...and it flattens everything out. Thanks for pointing that out!
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You are welcome. Hope I was of help. ^^
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