Skeleton Warrior

[Skizzaltix]

I decided it was time for me to properly learn to draw the human skeleton (Read: Finals are next week), and what better way to do this than try my hand at doing a Wesnoth portrait?

Aside from the obvious C&C on the anatomy, I'd love to hear what you think about the current costuming--I'm really not sure about that belt-with-bizarre-hanging-codpiece affair. At all.

Thanks!

[kitty]

if your goal is trying to learn the skeleton, this is the wrong way. do a plain frontal, side and back view - maybe more boring but will teach you more.

i can't say much about the costuming since it looks pretty plain to me, wesnoth style requires a lot more detail. and iirc, the skeleton's weapon is an axe, not a glaive.


but generally learning the skeleton and proportions is a great starting place for learning to draw - keep at it!

[faring]

I'm really not sure about that belt-with-bizarre-hanging-codpiece affair. At all.

could just be me but i was thinking sporran when I looked at it

[thespaceinvader]

Reference, reference, reference. As a starter, the skull is WAY too big... The rest of it's not bad, but if you want to get a good skeleton in wesnoth style, it will need to be very realistic. There's less latitude with a skeleton, IMO, than with flesh. But, as kitty says, it's an excellent way to learn to draw - knowing how the skeleton works and where it is is essential. That being said, this is a nice start =) keep up the good work.

[Skizzaltix]

Duly noted, kitty. Studies shall soon be done.

You're right about the weapon--It was meant to be an axe, but somewhere along the way, it morphed into a glaive. Fixed now, I think.
Same goes for the skull.

For the costume... I don't want to give this guy loads of bling and whatnot, but should I give him a breastplate to match with the sprites?
If possible, I'd like to stick with just hack marks on the armor and such. Will that work?
By "realistic", I assume you guys mean "learn how to draw a skeleton and then come back"? Or should I do away with certain deliberate unrealisms, like the eyes? I'd like to keep them, but if that's a no-go, I'll go with a normal eye-socket shape.
I think I'd like to keep working on this guy, but if all I'm doing is wasting everyone else's time, please say so, and I'll stop

Anyway, here we have several changes. Fixed the axe, shrunk the head (Not sure what I was thinking there--But I believe it is correct now), added straps to the pauldrons, did away with the codpiece, redrew the ribcage, etc, etc. Any better? Or am I barking up the wrong tree entirely and wasting everyone's time?

Thanks!

(Edit: The heck? How did I manage to attach the file twice?)

[thespaceinvader]

The lich is probably the best bet to look at for an idea of the realism level we need. It's the only skellie done in current style as yet.

[Skizzaltix]

So, more definition on the shaping of the skull and whatnot--Something I should have done from the start anyway.

Thanks, thespaceinvader--I'll get back to this tonight!

Edit: As promised, I've done some more stuff to it. Basically completely redrew the head, and also the ribcage, because it was still messed up. In fact, I think I might do it a third time, because it still bugs me.

Anyway... Better? I think we may be nearing something that could be mistaken for realism now, but...

Thanks!

(Woops--Edited the wrong post).

[Skizzaltix]

*bump*

Starting to clean up the lines... Also, revisited the left hand and ribcage.

Edit:
Skull was still too big--Fixed now. Started too clean up the lines... Due to water coming out of my ceiling, I have to stop here for now, but I should be able to get back to it pretty soon.

Thanks!

Double edit:
Cleaned up the lineword--Weight variation will be next. I need to get reference for the cloth, and I'm thinking the axe handle is a little bit boring as-is...

On a semi-related note, is anyone else on here running GIMP on Mac OS 10.5 via X11? And if so, do you find that it crashes every 5~10 minutes? It's not a major issue as long as I save frequently, but if there's a bugfix, I'd love to know (I've Googled around a lot and not found anything, but...).

Thanks!

[Turuk]

This may seem as a bit nitpicky, but since you are trying to practice drawing the human skeleton, I would say some of your proportions are a bit off. The sternum is terribly tiny, and the vertebrae in the neck seem a tab bit too rounded. Though I am also aware it does not have to be perfect.

Skeleton

[Skizzaltix]

Thanks, Turuk--Even if it doesn't <i>have</i> to be perfect, that's no reason not to try anyway, right?

[kaoron]

Own experience : practice drawing each member separately (with medical artistic stuff as reference for example), and be sure to understand articulations possibilities and limitations (the arm is an amazing ingenious machinery), bone proportions and so on. Anatomy studies helps a lot !

[Rex Umbrarum]

On a semi-related note, is anyone else on here running GIMP on Mac OS 10.5 via X11? And if so, do you find that it crashes every 5~10 minutes? It's not a major issue as long as I save frequently, but if there's a bugfix, I'd love to know (I've Googled around a lot and not found anything, but...).

Nope, 10.5.6 and I haven't had any recurring problems with GIMP. And I got GIMP half a year ago so it can't be that I have a bugfix, but it might of cropped up after I downloaded it.

[Corvvs]

On a semi-related note, is anyone else on here running GIMP on Mac OS 10.5 via X11? And if so, do you find that it crashes every 5~10 minutes? It's not a major issue as long as I save frequently, but if there's a bugfix, I'd love to know (I've Googled around a lot and not found anything, but...).

I am, and I used to have problems. Make sure you have the latest version of X11, that fixed it for me. About the skeleton: you might want to try doing a "naked" skeleton, then adding clothes later

[Skizzaltix]

Should have said this at first--It's definitely X11 that's the problem, not the GIMP (The crashes happen when I'm using Inkscape, as well), so your explanation sounds likely, Corvvs--Thanks!

I'm thinking I'm going to redo this one from scratch, or at least completely redraw much of it. The shoulders are... Messed up.
Thanks, again.

[Skizzaltix]

*rebump*

Didn't end up redoing it completely, though I may well after this. I'm still not completely satisfied with the cloth hanging from the pauldrons...
Thanks for the reminder on the hands, Kaoron!