drake fighter complete

[BLM]

I'm really not quite sure why I even went this far on this, as it will probably not fit with anything else that is already being made. It also probably shows too much motion compared to others. Someone might possibly find it useful sometime, but that is still a big maybe. I guess that I mostly wanted to kill some time... Feel free to critique, or tell me to do something else ect.

[thespaceinvader]

Not bad - but not mainline level. The most significant issue is the anatomy of the arms and wings, particularly the arm closest to camera - it's in a really uncomfortable position, and is very much 'in the block' - completely parallel with the screen, when it should not be.

Keep up the good work, however, I'm sure there will be UMC authors who will like this when it is done.

And thanks for making me feel bad about not having finished the Drake portraits

[artisticdude]

This, while it may not be mainline quality, is a very nice portrait. The only thing I can say, with my limited portrait-making skills, is perhaps you could make him a bit more muscular. Right now he looks slighter than the mainline drake portraits. But other than that and what TSI pointed out above, this is a very nice work. Please finish it, as there are a number of UMC authors who would love to get their hands on something like this.

[Sgt. Groovy]

At the moment the far side arm looks shorter than the other one. This could be corrected with proper shading if it brings out the foreshortening better. Also, the wrists of both hands are poorly defined.

I hope you have the linework on separate layer, because it desperately needs some cleanup. This would enhance the overall quality of the portrait considerably.

[BLM]

That was fast (I'm used to waiting days for responses in some places).
Thanks for pointing out the arm Spaceinvader. From the start I felt that the original pose was a bit fly-swatted. I'm not sure how much better this is, but at least now it does not have so many competing directions. Something still feels weird about his left arm though. Maybe it is pointing to far away from viewer toward his right side, though I'm not sure how to angle it with the weapon still in full view. This might mean that I'll have to enlarge the canvas even more than it already is or move all the layers up a bit.

Groovy I agree the far arm was too short considering everything else in the picture, and the wrist was wrong. Hopefully both of these have been improved a bit now. (actually now that I look at it again the wrists still look wrong.)

Before I begin on the shading and improving line quality I want to be sure that I have not over looked something important.
Spaceinvader: Sorry to make you feel bad.

Edit: well it seems "image blindness" has really taken a toll here. I really need to remember to flip images while working on them, as it seems his right wing also has many problems.

[Sgt. Groovy]

Also note that the anatomy doesn't need to conform to human standards, only to look physically convincing. It probably would look more interesting if it would deviate more from the "reptile head stuck on a green human body" trope. Real lizards mostly look feeble, but for example komodo dragon (with some modifications, like longer arms) might make a nice model.

[ancestral]

I always thought the Saurians were closer resembling to the komodo dragons. (Though, perhaps the Drakes and Saurians descended from a common ancestor…)

Never mind that, it is the Drakes I was thinking about after all.

[BLM]

Also note that the anatomy doesn't need to conform to human standards, only to look physically convincing. It probably would look more interesting if it would deviate more from the "reptile head stuck on a green human body" trope. Real lizards mostly look feeble, but for example komodo dragon (with some modifications, like longer arms) might make a nice model.

Point taken. I suppose that I assumed from the sprites that they should fit that Cliché. It should probably be hunch over more; however, I still want it to look like it is roaring. Also changed the armor a bit because human like features in the armor imply human like features underneath, and I really did not likes its original design anyways. Texture was removed because I want to edit the face a bit more. Currently I'm really not sure of the best way to make the body look less human-like, with so much of it proportioned already. I guess that will come with shading and texture.

Also just noticed this thing: http://wiki.wesnoth.org/Contrib:BLM
That is actually quite embarrassing. The best thing in there was not really made by me, but by gristan. All I did was add overall shading to his texture. They repeat and they all link from my photobucket account which I lost the password for.

[BLM]

I finally became motivated enough to get this to where it could be considered a reasonable portrait. I don't plan to fix any of the problems anytime soon (unless of course it is needed). I'm going to be busy with other portraits soon.

If anyone needs a drake fighter for a campaign or something I hope you'll consider this one.

[Issyl]

Not bad. The detail on the arms and torso could be improved to the level of the head and neck. He's also rather skinny for a drake.

The biggest thing that stands out to me, however, is that the weapons are like "scoops," when they look more like actual blades in the unit sprite.

[artisticdude]

This is really cool. However, I've always understood drakes have scales covering their entire body, whereas yours only has them on the neck, which gives the body an almost detached look.

[Gambit]

The biggest thing that stands out to me, however, is that the weapons are like "scoops," when they look more like actual blades in the unit sprite.

Yeah but they're really sharp scoops. Imagine those applied to the stomache region of your body with some force.

[thespaceinvader]

However, that is not the intention for what the Drakes are armed with. Noone's saying they'd be ineffective, just that they're not correct.

[catwhowalksbyhimself]

Not to mention what a horribly bad weapon that would be. As you said, it would take a considerable amount of force and hitting just the right spot to do any deadly damage. The ribcage would deflect it a lot of the time and even then, as both of us said you'd need a lot of force. A couple of hits and you'd be tired out. Oh, and I almost forgot the very odd angle you'd have to hit from to actually do any good. You couldn't hit straight out. You'd have to go from the side, with the enemy at just the right angle and doing a very awkward scooping motion.

A blade is much more efficient, more precise, requires much less force and is much more likely to do some real damage. No real warrior would ever use a scoop, however sharp.

[Issyl]

WINR

If the drake fighter sprite had the scoops as the weapon, I think it would be reasonable to make the portrait weapon scoops. I'm just talking about consistency here, not realism.