Ruffblade027

[hawk007]

Very cool character! Keep it up!

[Ruffblade027]

I’m sure you’re all aware of the Legend of King Arthur. One of my favorite parts of the Legend is when King Arthur “dies” he is actually carried to the island of Avalon, where he supposedly awaits a time when Britain will need him once more. This is my interpretation of modern day King Arthur. Keeping with the Idea of him becoming king as a kid, I made his incarnation a teenager. He is once again wielding the magical sword, Excalibur. I spent a lot of time on this and really want to add a background that is on the same level, but I am stumped for ideas on that so if any of you have ideas for a background, or tips on how to improve this, I’m all ears.

[Suleman]

That looks really cool!

The pose is basic but the slight angulation of the torso means it still looks dynamic. Nice job with the highlights and shading, too. Design-wise, no major problems. However, since you wanted our ideas, I’ll give you some.

One thing that bothers me is that his face seems a bit too small for his head. The eyes, the nose and especially the mouth could be a bit bigger and a bit more apart.

The dragon on his t-shirt looks a bit separate from the rest of the design. It doesn’t fold where the t-shirt folds, for instance. Could you try and mask it onto his shirt, so that it looks more like a part of the shirt? You might be able to achieve the same effect by making a shirt with only line colors visible and putting that on a layer above the dragon symbol.

[Ruffblade027]

I totally hear what you’re saying about the face. Unfortunately, faces are probably what I’m worst at. Any tips?

 

[Ruffblade027]

Well I guess I’m doing a series now. I have modern day Merlin, who also went into a deep sleep until he would be needed again. Yes, its very basic I know, I couldn’t really think of a way to distinguish him as Merlin other than “old guy in suit”, so any suggestions there would be appreciated. Any other critiques are welcome too.

 

[Suleman]

Regarding faces: I actually made a little walkthrough of how I construct heads and faces. See if it helps you!

Basically, what I recommend is using the items in Heads->Faces as a starting point. Place one of those on top of the head, adjust it until it looks good, then place Eyes, Eyebrows a Mouth and a Nose on top of the Face. Afterwards, remove the Face. What you will then have is an okay-looking face with proper proportions.

 

Regarding Merlin: As an ancient wizard, he should probably look a bit more mystical, a bit more intimidating. Maybe a hat covering his eyes, a less neutral expression, some magical stuff? It’s your design, those were just a few ideas I got. Again: Great job with the shading.

[Ruffblade027]

A very rough depiction of an idea I had for a vigilante character. I plan do do this again with much more detail. I picture him fighting with batons, don’t know why.

[Ruffblade027]

Detective Update:

I think he looks much better with the goatee. I also lengthened his coat, and changed his shirt color. I added the batons. I think he’s British. I can picture him fighting drunk football hooligans in the East End of London.

Next Step: Shading and full backstory.

 

[Ruffblade027]

Ok here it is, the completed Vigilante.

(Not sure how historically accurate any of this is, just roll with it) Backstory: Post Victorian London is ridden with organized crime and street gangs and hooligans ruling the alleyways, and organized crime ruling the banks. The citizens of the East End know well to pay their tribute to Samuel Loftwood, head of the most extensive organized criminal network east of Westminster, and to avoid the corners patrolled by the Half Pint Boys. Henry Loftwood, son of the crime lord Samuel Loftwood, finds himself fed up with the despicable acts made by his father’s network. Determined to make the citizens of East London safe and free, he dawns a black mask and brown trench coat, wielding twin side handle batons. Hooligans and gangsters beware, the night belongs to The Vigilante!

 

[Nug]

I love watching people as they better themselves. Merlin is very nice! This last one though! Looks like you pretty much got shading figured out. Nice composition with both low and high lights, and the colors used are not so subtle so you cant see them, but just enough to make the picture pop! Excellent pose, and two weapons in one hand??? What?? Impressive. 😉

My only concerns are you have a couple of shadows bleeding “out side of the lines” …. but everyone does this every once in a while.

And your pocket…It looks just stuck up there like it was an after thought. Without some complicated masking and some re positioning of the arm I’m not sure how you would fix it.

All in all though… I LOVE THIS! Truly awesome, especially for just being on page two of your gallery! Keep it up, mate! 😉

 

 

[Ruffblade027]

Thank you very much. Yeah I struggled quite a bit with the pocket and eventually just gave up and said good enough lol.

[Linea24]

I really like the Vigilante! Especially his coat!

[Yautja]

Very nice. Many of the characters seem to have the same face though, you could have more variation there.

[Stulte]

The Vigilante is great! You have certainly gotten the hang of shading, and I like how you posed him slightly turned to the side. It’s a simple thing, but it really helps the character pop. Overall you seem to have a good sense for designing characters, and I’m looking forward to seeing more from you.

I am inclined to agree with Yautja, though. Don’t be afraid to play around with the faces.

[Author]

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