Kitty's random stuff: The South Guard

[Sgt. Groovy]

The left (gryphon's POV) wing is, like, totally crooked. In the image below the red cone shows the normal of the upper surface of the right wing and the green one is the same normal of the left wing if it would be in symmetrical position to the right one. The blue cone is the normal of the left wing as it is now, and as you can see, it is in a 90 degree angle to what it should be and the leading edge of the wing is pointing the wrong way (the leading edges of both wings should point forward).

ETA: The gryphon actually has two right wings. If you rotate the left one it in your mind to the same position as the right one, you'll see that they are identical, not mirror images.

[kitty]

you were all right - there was something fundamentally wrong with the wings next attempt...

[Turuk]

It definitely looks much more natural now. Great job, this turned out really well kitty.

[Ranger M]

you were all right - there was something fundamentally wrong with the wings next attempt...

I can't help but think that part of the wing visible under the beak shouldn't be, as the wing should reach a joint at about the height of that feathery bit beneath his beak and then veer off towards his back

also he appears to have a hole in his wing that I don't think should be there in the top left corner of the pic

[Sgt. Groovy]

It's much better now, but I would suggest smoothening the edge of the wing as redlined below. The bones and the joint are positioned correctly, but there is a flap of skin filling the gap and providing a smoother leading edge for the wing (better aerodynamically). See here and here.

[kitty]

quick (and rough) fix based on groovy's and ranger m's crits. i'm pretty clueless when it comes to bird anatomy, so additional crits please now before it start shading!
i added a flap (but tried to keep the underlying structure visible) and moved the left wing back (but didn't close the "gap" in the right wing, cause it is just a sticking out feather).

[Mefisto]

This is how I imagined the skeleton of gryphon.
Magenta - head, neck and shoulder rim
Red - spine and pelvis
Blue - wing skeleton (maybe I attached them too narrow)
Green - probably how the wings should be directed

[Sgt. Groovy]

i added a flap (but tried to keep the underlying structure visible)

There is also muscles under the skin (you've eaten chicken wings haven't you, or are you a vegan?) and feathers over it. The wing is relatively smooth and the cross-section profile is pretty much the same as in the wings of aeroplanes. Here's a pretty nice reference (with few underside images).

[thespaceinvader]

Looks great. I far prefer framing to show the hiind legs =)

But i'm not sure about the front legs - they should either be scales or feathers - they currently look like a cat wearing a feather coat. The gryphon's front legs have bird claws...

[kitty]

preliminary finished shading.


mefisto: i'm not sure how to read your sketch, could you try to describe your point with words? do you see a specific problem with my version or did you just want to tell how you imagine gryphon anatomy?
groovy: great ref - thanks! the last version didn't show muscles and feathers because it wasn't shaded.... and no, i don't eat chicken wings.
tsi: i hope the shading clarifies the front leg question. and the drawing shows one hind leg... i don't want to crop it showing more of the creature because the more of the creature is shown the smaller it will be in the final size - and i want the gryphon to be as big as possible

[Girgistian]

Looks a lot more painterly than your other portraits. Very cool.

As a nitpick, the white-brown transition could be less lined on the chest, and the lion-part could use some fur. I'm not sure I can crit it any more than that generally it looks really good.

[thespaceinvader]

Looks good, but i'm not sure about the amount of green in the shading of the feathers, particularly on the breast - it looks like half of it's sculpted out of very corroded copper...

Other than that, it looks awesome.

/me wonders whether the shading, lines and perspective of my dwarf rider would match your gryphon... It wouldn't be too much of a job to frankenstein them together, after all...

[Girgistian]

/me wonders whether the shading, lines and perspective of my dwarf rider would match your gryphon... It wouldn't be too much of a job to frankenstein them together, after all...

Ah, but that would seem unprofressional. Don't give up on it, you have the skill.

[thespaceinvader]

It was kitty who suggested it in the first place

[kitty]

girgistian: i made the fur a bit more detailed on the lion part on your suggestion, but i want to keep the hard transition between the white and brown feathers like eagles have it, i think it helps to differentiate the parts of the body. and yeah, he turned out more painterly than usual - i have to watch out to keep within the wesnoth style

tsi: i just like the green, everything is very monochromatic but the green and gold make it more magical. i think there is no right or wrong in that question, just preference...
and if you want you can have my layered file to try to fit your dwarf in - but drawing one yourself will certainly look more perfectly fitting together...