CGMythology's Sketchbook (nudity)

I like how you changed the dogs from the initial sketch

Charlotte:  Thank you, I feel it adds to the composition as well then trying to fit them in the background!

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Did some minor updates, mainly refined the skin and experimented with textured brushes a bit for a more natural look.  I had a blast with this image and I'm quite happy with how it turned out, and I'm open to refining it further if something is off, so please let me know!  Below is the current update:

 

 

Went ahead and updated the Hades illustration.  I'm calling it done for now as I'm pleased with it and ready to move on to new material.  Thanks to everyone who gave me their feedback on the image, it's a much better illustration because of it so I'm very grateful.  Here is the final:  




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Next up is a quick movie study I did from a still from 'Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers'.  I'm a huge fan of the art direction in the trilogy so it was a lot of fun to study from:  



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Finally I'm starting on a new personal illustration.  I posed for the figure myself for this one to help me visualize the pose as well as to study light, figured working this way would be more ideal than doing movie still studies although I'll be doing those as well for study purposes.   I'm pretty happy with the sketch overall, but I just wanted to hear any input before I begin painting it in, so if something feels off or perhaps could be improved I'd be more than happy to hear any suggestions!   Here is the sketch:  


 

 

Nice study!

For the new piece, I'm a little bothered by the hands and the sword (I am assuming it's a sword or long knife?).

Hands: considering the perspective/foreshortening I'm thinking maybe they should look a bit larger? But primarily it's the fingers: You don't see the knuckles exactly, which makes it look like they have an extra joint at the base. At the same time, the tips of all fingers are straight and aligned with the middle joints almost making it look like that joint is lacking (though you marked them with some faint lines). So, I think the fingers should be "connected" by the line of the knuckles on both hands as well as have at least a slight bend in some of the finger tips to look less stiff.

Sword: I assume this is a sword or maybe large knife. It looks a little slim and short for a sword, but what I mostly react to is that there seems to be no comfortable grip as that part is full of sharp shapes, while there's also no guard. The result is that it's really only the bit between his hands that makes it look like it might be a sword.

Nice details on the armour though, and the chain mail. I'm still struggling with a way to paint the chain mail on my elder scrolls picture, without having to draw each separate ring (but I have a fair bit more of it exposed...)

Updated the sketch based on the input received.  Made the hands a bit larger and completely refined the sword, please let me know if it looks better now:


 

I still think the grip looks very uncomfortable (how are you supposed to wield the sword if it cuts into your hand?) but it definitely looks like a sword now and the hands look better even if I still think the finger tips are a bit straight.

Charlotte:  Ah yes, excellent point regarding the grip.  I think I focused too much on a 'cool' design and didn't think too much about practicality.  Went ahead and updated the sketch:

Edit:  Wasn't happy with the redesign so I tackled it again:

 

Went ahead and painted the image in.  Everything went pretty smoothly as I had a strong idea of the colors I would be incorporating before I began.  I also experimented more with color variation and texture work than I usually do, as opposed to a smoother approach typically associated with my work as I'm aiming for a bit more of a painterly vibe.  Overall I'm quite pleased with the image.

Of course there's still time for refinement if needed, so if something feels 'off' kindly let me know and I'll do my best to refine it further.  Below is the current progress followed by the steps for those interested:


 


 

 

The colour shifts on those hands are impressive

One thing that I'm only considering because I happened to see a post on instagram earlier, where someone was illustrating the use of accent colours and said they should only be used for the focal point (though I'm not sure I even saw what he meant in some of his illustrations) - you have a red colour that is only used for the petals, which are not focal points. Perhaps they should be paler or more subdued, if you want to take his advice Like I said, I'm not sure I agree.

Charlotte:  Thank you, those color shifts were a lot of fun to paint!  I agree in general regarding the color shifts, but in this particular case I felt the saturated reds help give the image a more colorful feel.  I tried experimenting with various colors as well and this was my favorite overall, so hopefully it isn't too distracting!

.............I did some very minor adjustments on the image, made the thumbs more natural looking and also toned down the shadows a bit overall as they were too dark for my liking.  Hopefully it's an improvement.  I think this call this one done for now:     Next up I began work on a new sketch.  I had this theme in mind for quite some time so I was very happy to sketch it out.  I didn't have a direct reference for this one, rather I studied a bunch of photos with a similar pose to get it right which hopefully I did, so please let me know any input before I begin the painting process!  Here is the current sketch: