CGMythology's Sketchbook (nudity)

Charlotte:  Indeed!   Thanks again for your input, you're always a great help so I appreciate it!

...........I began work on a new sketch, this time featuring both a pirate and a mermaid which I thought would make for an interesting combo.  The figures poses were referenced from Grafit Studio as well, here is the sketch.  Any input on the sketch before proceeding with colors would be greatly appreciated as always!

   

Love the seagulls! They look like they're hoping she'll become dinner

I'm not convinced by her scales though - they don't usually overlap in straight "columns" and while I guess we're allowed new designs, I think in a case like this it's important that it looks natural. And I don't think there's any fish (or reptile) where the scales look like that.

Normally it'd be like this:


I think I'd personally would giver her just a wee bit more butt as well, to overlap his thigh to the left. I know it's because of the overlap of his other knee but the current shape of her bum looks a bit odd. I think adding some more to the left would "soften" the shape a bit.

I like the guy's face. That downward gaze and the angle of the brow is very expressive.
The visible side of the treasure chest could use some more work. The curve at the top doesn't currently match the opposite side.

Charlotte:  Great input, I'll try to rework the scales by the next update!

Valence:  Thanks!  Great point about the treasure chest, will rework it by the next update!

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Here is the current update, made lots of progress on this one and I'll implement the feedback I received here by the next update as well!

 
 

I finalized the image, any final input is always appreciated!

 

Hmm. To be honest there are quite a few things that I notice now. Some of which I should have noticed earlier I guess. But anyway - they might be worth remembering for your next piece:

Her scales still don't look convincing as scales, they look more like bulges, to me...
Her hair implies movement, but their poses do not. It feels like her hair ought to fall straight down.
While their skin and muscle definition is really well done, I think they might have benefitted from being a bit more different from each other.
I liked her diadem better before the glow was added. The golden piece was visible, while the bluish glow makes it disappear into the sky.
The (treasure) chest feels off - both because it doesn't seem to affect/shade the ground under it and because it seems to be shaded on the right side whereas everything else is shaded on the left.
Now that I look closely I also think her left hand (resting on her thigh/tail) looks a bit odd? I can't quite understand what's going on with her fingers. Other than that the hands are really well done.

And I agree with Val that the man's expression is very well done too.

Charlotte:  Great input, I need to keep that in mind for the scales as I tried to give each of them a 3D look, which was just more time consuming and wouldn't have looked as natural if I took the approach you mentioned.  Made some minor changes based on your input as well, thanks for your feedback as always!

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 I finalized the illustration based on the input I received, I'm calling it done for now!  Here it is:  Next up I started a new sketch based on 'The Flash' character from DC.  I had a strong reference for the pose on this one which you can view  here , although I tried to make it a bit more dynamic with my rendition.  Here is the sketch.  Any input before I begin the painting process is hugely appreciated!

    

I like the purple hue you added to the shadows

For the Flash, he looks dynamic from the waist up, but like he's planted his feet firmly apart on the ground... In the ref the guy's thighs are closer because of the running pose - I think that you should try to mimic that here as well. I think maybe try to make both his abdomen and right (our left) thigh overlap the left leg slightly, to increase the sense that he's moving in our direction.

Charlotte:  Great input as always!  I reworked the legs a bit, hopefully it works better now!

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I finished up the 'Flash' image, pretty pleased with how it turned out.  Attached the final image plus some step by step animation for those interested.  Of course there is still time to make any final changes, so any final input would be more than welcome!