Skeletal dragon portrait

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Lordlewis
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Skeletal dragon portrait

Post by Lordlewis »

I've started making a skeletal dragon portrait, hopefully it will be good enough for the mainline. I've made this to show everyone what I'm doing, this is what I've done so far. It's just the outline currently but I will finish it, probably not soon though but depending on how much time i put into doing this it may be finished soon. If anyone wants to help feel free with advice for portraits (this is my first, I've never made one from scratch).
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-Falcon
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Re: Skeletal dragon portrait

Post by -Falcon »

Nice. :D

To me, it seems that the horn on the other side of its head is too small.

Also, isn't there supposed to be two horns on each side of its head.
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Lordlewis
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Re: Skeletal dragon portrait

Post by Lordlewis »

Yes I would agree that it's too small, and yes I will add two horns on each side.
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The_Gnat
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Re: Skeletal dragon portrait

Post by The_Gnat »

That looks really good! :D
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Lordlewis
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Re: Skeletal dragon portrait

Post by Lordlewis »

Okay here is the updated version, the horn on it's left is bigger and now has a second horn on it's head. I think I should redo the ribs though.
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doofus-01
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Re: Skeletal dragon portrait

Post by doofus-01 »

Hi Lordlewis,

You're right, a portrait for the skeletal dragon would be pretty cool. However, drawing this thing will be challenging. It might not be the best project to pick as a first attempt.

I'd suggest working with some UMC author to see if you can fill some gap, maybe editing an existing portrait (by drawing, not cut-paste-cleanup). You can use the rest of the image to compare with your own shading.

I don't mean to be discouraging, but Kitty and LordBob have raised the bar very high for portraits. If you do want to persist, you should probably rely heavily on a good reference image, such as of a dinosaur skeleton display. Really invest some time on finding that reference image.
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Lordlewis
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Re: Skeletal dragon portrait

Post by Lordlewis »

I agree that it won't be as good, I don't even know how it's going to get color. I Think just the outlines might be the only thing that I do, but who knows? Also here is the updated portrait.
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Lordlewis
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Re: Skeletal dragon portrait

Post by Lordlewis »

I made the rib cage split in half, I personally think it's cool like that. Also does anyone have advise for adding color to this portrait?
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The_Gnat
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Re: Skeletal dragon portrait

Post by The_Gnat »

Yeah i agree that looks better. Also i think that probably you could start by coloring the hole thing similar to the sprite, and then go over and shade it.
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Lordlewis
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Re: Skeletal dragon portrait

Post by Lordlewis »

It's been a while and I've thought of doing more of this photo a little more. There may be lines that are different than the old ones, that is because I've only just thought of using the sketch pad thing for this instead of a mouse :augh:
Also the arrows mean where the light will be lighting from. This is kind of a draft more than anything in a way, I'm thinking of making the (new) bones thicker.
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Vyncyn
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Re: Skeletal dragon portrait

Post by Vyncyn »

I think his ribcage is misplaced. It should cover the chest and stop at shoulder height instead of extending over his throat.
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octalot
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Re: Skeletal dragon portrait

Post by octalot »

This rib cage looks to be on the neck, stopping above the front arms, so it's not protecting most of the vital organs*. On the sprite, it seems to protect a chest area below the front shoulders.

Compare that to a brontosaurus skeleton, where although the neck is protected by ribs from the spine, they don't form a rib cage, the only joins between them are the spinal joints.

* well, where the vital organs would have been while the dragon was alive
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Lordlewis
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Re: Skeletal dragon portrait

Post by Lordlewis »

Thank you for telling me this and yes I thought it was also strange, I'm trying to fix mistakes from the older picture such as the wing and leg bones. Maybe the teeth as well need fixing.
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doofus-01
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Re: Skeletal dragon portrait

Post by doofus-01 »

Hi Lordlewis,

I've moved this to Art Workshop, since you are working on technique. I'd still advise you to look at dinosaur bones, like octalot said, or some other photo reference.
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Lordlewis
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Re: Skeletal dragon portrait

Post by Lordlewis »

Okay that's fine, I would still like to count this as an art contribution as well if I do get the right technique. I'm hoping I'll show how good this can really be. :D
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