Character Portrait

noice! I like it... very smooth.
-Parka

man, that was a fast response!

thanks Parka, I actually came back to make a note that I have commenced making @#%%^^&**$# damn alterations on it already!!! I think the eyes are tooooo wide - I wanted them to be a focus but they are looking too freakish now... now i'm not sure about the width of the overall face either... any feedback on these details would be appreciated as I think I have been looking at it toooooo long to see the wood for the trees!

Cool John [:)]
I'd agree on the eyes but I think the face width is fine - a bit of a square jaw but nothing wrong with that. The chest area, particularly how the clothes hang on the breasts doesn't work too well though. To have a cut like that, it would have to be wired to poke back under the breast again, and they've got a mystery cleavage line going when they're not pulled togethor. I'll see if I can find some ref of what I mean.

Tried to find a few relevant ref's -- main point is that the cut type doesn't press the breasts togethor so there's no seperation in the cleavage line since there's no 'pushed' support. Cheers!

http://www.fashionz.co.nz/attachment/00000000669fec0a1eef8d3bcf8ed3e0/0…
http://us.st11.yimg.com/store1.yimg.com/I/edressme_1874_941118
http://www.divasplendorium.com/images/prod/CWD2-MicrolinkHalterDress.gif

thanks for that bit of feed back JI. I had decided after a 24hr break that the face was toooo wide too, especially after the eyes were brought back to a more reasonable size, so I did alts to both - before and after shot below really highlights how small changes can make a big difference.

[img]icon_paperclip.gif[/img] Download Attachment: [url="http://www.sumea.com.au/forum/attached/johnn/20065298130_before-and-aft…"]before-and-after.jpg[/url]
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I was a little undecided how to represent the cleavage/dress and obviously had not done enough research into that area ;) so I shall endeavour to do that, and will post an updated version soon too.

further alts have been added with some 'out of frame' cast shadow to up the dymanics a little too. But the update post can wait till the cleavage has been addressed.

and here is the updated version with new and improved errr, you-knows [8)]

[img]icon_paperclip.gif[/img] Download Attachment: [url="http://www.sumea.com.au/forum/attached/johnn/200652995447_Strength-Thro…"]Strength-Through-Unity_2.jpg[/url]
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since I started posting WIPs, I feel compelled to complete the task and document it here (sorry to those that are getting fed up with the daily flow of 'relatively minor' changes)The changes that I have made, I feel at least, have been really important to lifting the piccy to the best it can be. I can't believe that a few days ago I was calling it finished!

main updates here are the dress (was looking flat and lifeless ...just like my hair, HA!)and the cast shadow from out-of-frame (more accurate across the door/shield and darker). There are some smaller updates/alterations that only the train spotters will notice and I won't bore you all with outlining them.

[img]icon_paperclip.gif[/img] Download Attachment: [url="http://www.sumea.com.au/forum/attached/johnn/200653084324_Strength-Thro…"]Strength-Through-Unity_3.jpg[/url]
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constant updating is far from being a bad thing - it's good to see work develop! I'm sure others appreciate seeing the thought and process that goes into a piece too.

Hey,

Really impressed with your progress so far. You have a real eye for colours. I like the fact you are posting updates aswell, really shows how you work. I think it you tweak the proportions of the features of the face a little she will look a bit more feminine.

Just did a quick tweak to show you what i mean, hope you don't mind.

[img]http://www.sumea.com.au/forum/attached/jd/2006690449_STU_Original.jpg[/…] Download Attachment: [url="http://www.sumea.com.au/forum/attached/jd/2006690449_STU_Original.jpg"]STU_Original.jpg[/url]
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[img]http://www.sumea.com.au/forum/attached/jd/200669057_STU_Tweak.jpg[/img] Download Attachment: [url="http://www.sumea.com.au/forum/attached/jd/200669057_STU_Tweak.jpg"]STU_Tweak.jpg[/url]
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Really looking forward to the end product, keep up the good work.

JD

I'm no artist, but I like the original better :)

thanks for the comments JD. Always appreciated, especially from people in the industry.

In theory, at least, bigger eyes should make her look more feminine/helpless/sexy. That said the eyes were the first feature I worked on and about last that I tweeked - and I must admit at no point did I think they were quite right, currently they are not curving around the eyeball or the head comfortably. I also am not 100% happy with the cheek bones and bridge of nose area- neither visually protrude enough and the cheek bones could be a little higher and sharper... this detail would make her much more feminine. I agree smaller noses are a common female feature, I guess I like how her nose sits - personal preference maybe- and with the exaggerated eyes, if I shrink the nose a fear the face might start heading too far into the relms of manga stylisation!

as for the next update, I have been distracted with the current modeller challenge so I dont know when they will be happening... although now you have got me thinking about this piece again, so it might be soon!

**warning - shamless brown-nosing ahead - warning** JD, love you to mention me to you Art Director at Krome too ;) I'm still looking to break out of graphics and into the games industry!

Id have to agree with Triton as well, I like the original better. Her eyes are too small in your adjustments - her disposition is also alot more "Im a rich snob"

So I dont think its an improovement over the original - but then again everyone has a different oppinion [:)]

I think you should keep going with your gut feelings John your last post has pretty much signalled you realise what the problem areas are - just need to address them !

decided to get the next, and probably last, revisit of this piece out of the way so all my attention can go to the modeller challenge. I have redone a fair proportion of her face. image below is a before and after
for comparison. Alterations were subtle but I think helped overall.

sorry for the crappy jpg compression! guess I just overlooked the settings when exporting from photoshop [8)]

[img]icon_paperclip.gif[/img] Download Attachment: [url="http://www.sumea.com.au/forum/attached/johnn/200661144515_Strength-Thro…"]Strength-Through-Unity_4.jpg[/url]
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Hey John, I know your probably sick of looking at the pic but your almost there. Just bring down the ends of of her eyes abit as they slope upwards too much. And bring down the ears so the lobes are at the bottom of the nose.
I did a quick paintjob to show you. It was just a quick job but you should get the idea.
Also tweaked the hair and jawline, though there really isnt nothing wrong with it at all

[img]icon_paperclip.gif[/img] Download Attachment: [url="http://www.sumea.com.au/forum/attached/makk/20066119542_face.jpg"]face.jpg[/url]
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mooooooore updating[xx(] not sure if I agree with some of your suggested alts Makk. But taken on-board and used as motivation for another re-paint - thanks. After a reassesment I did agree with you that the eyes were definitely wrong but the problems were deeper than just the outside corners, So I redid them entirely! The jaw line got some minor evening out. Its a strong jaw but not too masculine I think for the character. Hair styling has remained the same but some attention to the hair line that was way too high. Ears got a minor stretching and redetailing - they might be a bit small for some but I they were looking wrong any larger- you just got big ears Makk ;P

is it finished now? I don't know [:D]

[img]icon_paperclip.gif[/img] Download Attachment: [url="http://www.sumea.com.au/forum/attached/johnn/20066157610_Strength-Throu…"]Strength-Through-Unity_5.jpg[/url]
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it looks good to me, it's better than the very first one, that's for sure .

http://www.deviantart.com/deviation/22778396/
http://www.cgtalk.com/showthread.php?t=227727

Some eye painting tuts

Ears look right, between tip of nose and eyebrow.

1. The eyes look wrong to me because of the placement of the iris (maybe the shape of the eye is not matching the angle of the face). the way the eyelid folds (not right shape for size of the eyes) and the way the lashes look.
2. eye socket area under the eyebrows looks a bit flat (lacking form).
3. Perhaps reshape her eyebrows (make it more natural) and add more shadow to the eyelid crease and bring back more flesh colour to make her look like she has brow bones.

here is my quick crappy mouse paintover on the right side of her face.
http://img153.imageshack.us/img153/4656/po2re.jpg

thanks for the post Aloriael - your 'crappy mouse paintover' really highlighted the crappyness of the paint that you painted over!

Gave the Tutes a browse and redid the eyes again. After that, the eyes looked much better, but the rest of the face looked crappy... so I redid quite a large proportion of it too.

update below including a larger detail of the face...

[img]icon_paperclip.gif[/img] Download Attachment: [url="http://www.sumea.com.au/forum/attached/johnn/200661841831_Strength-Thro…"]Strength-Through-Unity_6.jpg[/url]
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lol! you keep on fighting with this dont you! :)
Maybe her lack of expression isnt helping as it isnt injecting the image with much life. There is a powerfull messege writtin there behind the character, yet she really isnt connecting with that messege.
But if I were you I'd move on. You probably sick to death of looking at it!! :)

I hear ya Makk, I hear ya...

you guys must be almost as sick of watching this thread as I am posting to it - I'm trying to move the finish of my work up to a more professional standard as what I got at the moment is not working re:breaking into the industry [:(]

Well you have made some big improvements and maybe starting on a new image with the new knowledge is a good thing.