Dead Water artwork (mainline)

[thespaceinvader]

No worries, no huge rush.

[kitty]

It's been a while since my last update on Kai Kirellis but I finally managed to do some lines for the grown up version of him. The shading is very rough and only preliminary. I'll wether be able to work on him again tomorrow (yay for holidays!) or in about two weeks.

[Zerovirus]

The upper arm that's not holding the sword MACE looks a bit long, maybe? Probably just foreshortening being covered up by the armor.

Also going to take this opportunity to ask if you already uploaded a version with new sprites, Beetlenaut, to the addon servers.

EDIT; Derp I said sword? I meant mace >.<

[beetlenaut]

I finally managed to do some lines for the grown up version of him.

Great! Once again, that's exactly what I was imagining! When it's shaded, I'll stick it in immediately. (I will need both sizes.)

Also going to take this opportunity to ask if you already uploaded a version with new sprites

Yep. I finally got some free time yesterday, and it's on the 1.8 server now. (I had a question about credit. Check your pm's.)

[kitty]

Update, pretty much finished, I think.
Zerovius, I hope the upper arms foreshortening issues are cleared up by the shading.

[Gambit]

Compare the length from pit to elbow on each arm, and you'll see what he was talking about.
Though I didn't really notice it until it was pointed out.

[Sangel]

Whoa. I love the shading on that breastplate.

[francophone]

perfect

[Jetrel]

Compare the length from pit to elbow on each arm, and you'll see what he was talking about.
Though I didn't really notice it until it was pointed out.

Might be justified by how the arm is angled backwards.

But, it's up to her if she wants to fix it. I don't find it very noticeable, and I don't think it detracts from the piece.


Still, these sorts of technical critiques are VERY useful. Keep 'em coming!

[Valkier]

Problem is, it's not angled backwards, or at least shouldn't be. The chest is rotated so it's pretty much a head on view with us. Now, while the arm CAN bend further back, it is extremely uncomfortable to do. Even more so with the added weight of an object in hand. That said, the shoulder pads are actually in the wrong perspective then. But actually, that's not even the problem.

While I can see a small amount of anatomy behind the armor that is giving me the above visual queues, whether they are on purpose or not, it's the armor itself that is throwing everything off. The brassish parts aren't working with each other. The shoulders are angled seemingly to be rolling away from us, meanwhile the green clothing (armor?) underneath the breast plate looks flat against the chest (that's actually a large part as to why I don't think the actual anatomy looks rotated). Along with this, the breast plate is a cylinder, so it doesn't necessarily need to follow any real visual queue with the rest of the figure, but that seem is very unfortunately placed and it almost suggest a third perspective in the same area.

So to break it down, the green material along with the anatomy look to be facing us, while the shoulders and breastplate are facing away from it. This would also, in turn, make the arm holding the mace be much too short since. If it followed the anatomy it wouldn't be bent back that far, and if it followed the shoulder pads the elbow would actually be closer towards us.

My two cents. Disregard as you see fit.

[Issyl]

The right (his left) upper arm does seem a tad too long, but you have to consider that a lot of the shoulder that's visible on the right (his left) arm is covered by the pauldron on the left (his right) arm.

[DUHH]

My two cents:

If you stop and notice all the faults that Valkier and others have rightfully pointed out, you get a bit dizzy. There's something very off about it all. Makes my head spin a little.

If you don't stop and notice... It's just a pretty damned cool portrait.

I would be seriously pissed off to have to change anything so fundamental at such a late stage. And I honestly don't think it's necessary, because at the end of the day no one but art-nerds will notice, and it is still a very cool portrait.

[Valkier]

Artists survive off critique in order to improve. It's as simple as that. Whether she chooses to change it or not, or even if she's required to change it or not, doesn't have any bearing. It's about pointing out areas that are problem spots so that in the next project the problems don't reappear. She likes it, and Jetrel has given it the go ahead. I'd say we're all about at the end of this one.

Cheers and on to the next.

[beetlenaut]

Also, I put it in the campaign about a week ago.

[DUHH]

Good point!

Anyhow... The art for this campaign looks breath-taking. And it's come so quickly. Great work!