thespaceinvader's portraits - Ancient Wose

[Cernunnos]

Seems like Turuk watch for this one eheh!

For the fighter, since you're only on the lining part, may i suggest it to be quite bigger? This is just my opinion of course.

[thespaceinvader]

Bigger in what way do you mean?

[Cernunnos]

(sorry just crashed)

more robust for sure but also big as when eating, so basically more "square" shoulders but a little more belly too...

Well, that's how i imagine it, but i'm maybe also influenced by existing representations of dwarves.

I now realize about how my previous comment wasn't constructive at all... sorry...

[cretin]

for the dragonguard firearm maybe "dwarvish like" runes or something like that.

[thespaceinvader]

Updated.

I'm trying for scale armour. Should be fun to colour =D I did improve the shoulder size etc as well, made him look bigger - he was a little shrimpy in the top half.

[mnewton1]

Nice! He seems a bit to tall to be a dwarf though, or is it just me?

[JW]

Nice! He seems a bit to tall to be a dwarf though, or is it just me?

I have to agree. In a comparison to the sprite....

[thespaceinvader]

I think i made the legs a touch too long. Easily fixed. I'll pull the crop in a little, too. But comparing to the sprites isn't a terribly useful thing to do, since the proportions are completely compared to 'real' life. 4 to 4.5 heads tall is my working height for a Dwarf. This guy comes out to about 5, so he does need to be a little shorter. But not a lot.

[LordBob]

(Not-so-)Quick review of your three dwarf portraits.

Thunderer: I like the new chainmail pattern, but I've seen you obtain better results with steel. Right now, it seems a little flat because you use only one grey tone for the most intense light.
My suggestion : once again, intensify highlights through contrast. Not higher overall light intensity, but patches of lighter - almost white, reflections, combined with darker gaps between the rings. If you're using Photoshop, I'm thinking of the Color Burn / Color Dodge brush modes. Surely Gimp as similar modes, unfortunately I can't name them.

Dragonguard: before starting the shading, please check arm proportions : his right arm (both upper arm and forearm) seems a lot longer than his left. I don't think this requires a complete redraw of the arm : tweaking the upper limit of the shoulder + folds of the cape ought to suffice.
In addition, considering its sheer volume, his firearm ought to weigh a ton. Since he can hardly hold it at arm's length all day long, how about adding a shoulder strap of sorts to help ? You could also try engravery on the bronze dragon (if that's the metal you choose)

Dwarf Warrior: I'm a lot less satisfied with this one than with the other two. What bothers me is that he, the warrior, seems puny in regard to your other dwarves. What I think can cause this feeling :
- The curve of his chest combined with the position of the shield manage to obliterate all of the robustness my eye expects. I think we should almost feel he's thrusting out his chest. Also, moving the shield backwards would give room for the shoulder blades and increase the thick-chested look.
- The position of his belt gives him a very short upper body: it looks like his waist starts right under his sternum. I suggest either lowering the belt + scale armour, or showing the crotch region instead of the legs alone.
- Something about his right shoulder disturbs me.

On a different note, (though this last one is more about my personal tastes), the junction between the very thick scale and the rather tight-fitting leather glove just doesn't work for me. This is especially true for his left arm.


Impressive productivity altogether, just keep up the good work.

[thespaceinvader]

The chain mail: the highlights are already pure white, it's just that the lines are a little too thin for it to show easily. I'll see what i can do with it.

The D'guard: the arm, duly noted, I'll fix that. As regards the weight etc - the weapon has attachment points for a strap, and the strap itself is around his body at present - the hooks can attach quickly and easily when he's not holding the weapon. But when he is, any strap long enough to be fixed on and still give full range of motion would be too long to hold it up when he's not holding it. So it's one or the other.

The Fighter: Duly noted, looking into it tomorrow. Some of it i had intended to fix anyway, particularly the scale on the right arm, which i'd noticed was way too thick. Partly, the glove's a little thin - it was originally going to be bare skin...

[DoorOpener]

If anybody has any thoughts on further embellishments for the dragonstick, speak up. I'm struggling for inspiration.

What about flames running along the body of the dragon or dragon wings?

[thespaceinvader]

Changes made according to crit. Brightened the chain mail. I call this Thunderer/T'Guard finished.

D'guard: added decoration to the dragon (runes, which unlike previous occasions, don't mean anything, flames, wing, a jewel for the eye), extended the right arm, made some other minor linework fiddles.

Fighter: fiddled the right shoulder, moved the shield, narrowed the left arm etc etc.

[Boucman]

hmm

the dragonstick looks heavy, and the position of the dragon's front legs is... interesting

I would expect the dragon to be holding the equivalent of the stand that is folded on the thunderer's stick, i.e the dragonguard having his gun deployed and ont its stand, the stand being held in the dragon's front legs...

just an idea, but the image would seem more balanced to me if the gun was resting on something

[vonHalenbach]

The chainmail from the dwarf-fighter is in my opinion a bit too bright and his axe too dark.

[thespaceinvader]

Boucman: good idea. I'll see what I can work up. The only slight issue I could see is where the stand would fix to in its closed position.

VHB: Noted. The axe will be getting much brighter on shading, and will be getting some decoration anyway.

EDIT: how's that?