A GENERAL art thread.

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Hmm... a bit more detail wouldn't go amiss. You know, like adding scales, and maybe adding a slit for that dragonish-eye effect. Some shading would
help flesh it out as well. Remember, the more detail you add to your work, the more professional it will appear.

Hope that little bit of info helped.

Yea, I was gonna add them, but I was hoping someone could help me figure out if my dragon's body looks okay. Any deformities, anything wrong with the basic form...

I didn't want to waste detail when the anatomy of the dragon was wrong, ya know?

Thank you so much for postin'! ^.^

The thing is, Karina, you can draw just about anything if you simplify it into basic shapes. For example, the dragon's head and body would probably take the shape of a trapezoid, and the front and hind legs would be elongated rectangles or cylinders. You should never let the overall look of a drawing intimidate you. And that goes for drawing anything.

And yeah, I think dragons are quite hard to do, especially when doing it on a tablet.

If the eyes or nose, for example, are wrong or uneven, what would I do then with all the detail on?

Okay, I'll work on the detail for it. Though I can't seem to do scales right (can't find a good tutorial >.>)

I probably draw them much better on pencil, but this was my first try sketching something on my tablet and I really wanted to use my tablet xD

On paper you can't do ctrl-z. Tablet is 10 times easier.

How you want to improve if you don't practice? Just do the whole thing and we can tell you what and how can be improved.


Good luck, friend.

Preparing to add detail. Did a lineart...first time actually doing that. I'm use to hand drawing the sketch, getting a new piece of paper and tracing it so it looks cleaner and than scanner it. This PC software seems a bit easier xD

I haven't seen very many examples of line-art where the image was inverted. 0.o

I think your overall drawing is probably close to what you're going for, but it looks very much like a horse's head versus a dragon's.
(Just move the mouth to the front and you have a horse line-art.)

It needs to appear more like a reptile and less equinely. =]

What do you mean its inverted? Oh, I drew cleaner lines on a new layer...is there another way of doing line art? (:

Well, horses' shapes are pretty great for dragons 'cause they are almost basically the same in overall shape, or at least that's how all the artists on DA do it and in my dragon books >.>

How could I go about making it look more reptile then?

I can't say horses and dragon's shapes are similar.

In modeling, they are basically the same; neck, back, legs, head. You draw that basic model and then work off of it and change it. But it really depends on what type of dragon you are making, so my bad xD

@X-M-O:
Oh! Do you mean the black and green/gray colors? If so, the black is used as a background so I could see my lines

Yeah, most people use a white background and draw black lines on top, so it kind of confused me.


You're correct, there are a great deal of artists who draw dragons with horse features, however I was just mentioning it in case you were unaware of how to make it appear more like a dragon and less like a horse. Because even if the basic structures are based on a horse's anatomy, you want the end result to appear as a dragon rather than a horse, to be sure.

You can start by looking at the anatomy of a Komodo Dragon or Monitor Lizard; the facial structure and the way the feet appear.
This, of course, depends on the style of dragon you are working on.

Anyway, I'm not an expert artist, I'm just pointing things out as I see them in hopes of helping you out, so long as you don't mind.

Pick up that pencil and keep on drawing!!! lol sorry, I'm just the forums local art fanatic and like to get up in people grill to draw, especially if they have the gift and talent to do so

I couldn't help but notice your comment on how you draw on paper. Instead of drawing with pencil, then getting a new sheet of paper to trace over it, draw over it with a pen then erase the pencil underneath it after a couple minutes of letting the ink dry.

And I am so staying out of this whole dragon business as dragons are far from my abilities lol. But something was said about basic shapes, which I can vouch for. If you start with simple shapes, like maybe a circle for the head, smaller circle for the nose and connect them together and then add details and curves to the shape, it just really helps build a foundation and guideline. I never recommend just drawing a picture as a whole, always start with just circles and lines, and then build on them from there. Afterall, if you go over the good lines with a pen later who cares how messy the pencil sketch looks lol I always say if the pencil sketch doesn't look like an incoherent jumble of lines that only the artist can understand and interpret, then the sketch could use a little more work haha. Like this is just me, but personally, my pencil sketch has at least... 3-4 layers minimum. Basic shapes, then the outline/naked body, then add the clothes, and then add the details on the clothes. Looks like a eyesore of a mess, but once the ink is thrown on top and the pencil's erased it looks clean and sensible and I'm rambling holy crap

@X-M-0:
Yea, usually drawing in all black seems a bit wrong for me. I usually use dark grays or darkish browns for outlines. Because to me, black sticks out way too much and makes it look weird, but that's just me xD

Good thing I saved this as PSD, easy to edit! lol

Thank you much for the picture reference!

@Homunculus:

I definitely want to keep drawing, I forgot how much I love it

That's a good idea!

Honestly? I prefer pen and paper over computer too. I find you have a lot more control. When it comes to the lineart with the pen, then you gotta be extra careful not to mess up, but it's so much easier I find and pencil DOES make a HUGE mess lol. Especially when you drag your hand over it and it smuges all over the hand and page, oh man.

And kudos to you for the dark brown lines instead of black, they look a lot classier when people use a gray or dark brown

My hand always rubs over it, it gets annoying! lol but I find it better 'cause my tablet pen sucks (meant for colouring, not sketching/drawing)...

So you use those colors to draw as well?

Oh, just wanted to mention that the Horned Lizards and Horned Toads do have a great dragon-esque structure; I'd go for it. =]

With what I have now, I decided on just trying out different details. I will start this over again, but I'd like to get a little practice on my detail while I have a dummy to test it on xD

This is what I have so far. Following a basic design of a Desert Horned Lizard.

A suggestion:

This forum skin is all white, you know. Is a matter of contrast... if you post pictures in dark colors we can't see anything without forcing our vision.

I figured it was a bit too light. I just edited my post with a darker lined version. If that's too dark or still wrong, what color should I use? White?

EDIT:
Added a white version

Update! :3

Older images updated.

Hey, the arts looking good

Personally I would go with the first "Spine" technically the vertibrae should run centre to the neck so... yeah!

Keep up the good work!

Jay

Thank you, Tyladas! That's what I thought as well since it helps the angle I'm trying to capture! :33

I was actually thinking the opposite ><, Well...Is the dragon's tail flat, or were you trying to make it more of a circular shape?...if that makes any sense. The spine the first way makes it look like it's a flat tail, while the other spine makes the tail look round...I hope that helps a little xD Hopefully it's not too confusing !! @_@;;

Edit**Oh never mind, I see now that is the dragon's head and back? I read the post more clearly hahah Still though, I think the first way makes the dragon look a little flat.

What do you mean "is the tail flat?" :3 The way I had planned the angle was to show the dragon flying in a tip, not a full tip, but a small one. Just slightly turning...? Not a full turn, just...hmm, its a bit hard to explain. Let me see if I can draw something up or find a similar picture to express what I mean. *goes to search*

I thiiiink I know what you mean. Is it like, the dragon is tipping one way ( the wing closer to us being slightly "up", with the further wing is pointing down?) If that is how it is supposed to be I would still suggest going with the second one >< It just makes the dragon's body look rounder than the first choice...I mean the first choice is okay too, its not bad either way! I think that the dragon is turning out quite well 8D

This is the closest I could find images that "sorta" looked like what I was going for....

EDIT:
Oh, someone posted xD

*reads*

Ah! If you want it to look like the komodo dragon than the first one would be better because they seem to have a "flatter" spine anyways! So the first one is good!!!! 8D

Hmm...maybe I should do both then? To compare?

Okay...now I just need to decide the the crest for the dragon. I have come up with a few options, 2 and 3 being my favorite. I'm trying to keep in mind that this dragon is Ridable so some crests just...cannot be xD (If you have crest suggestions, I'd love to hear them! :3)

I personally like the third one the most 8D I think it looks the neatest! The second one is quite nice too, but looks like it would hurt to sit on o.o!! The third one's crest looks...softer? (Going by your reference pictures xD)

What do you guys think? Scales and talons of the dragons have to be the hardest part for me....if you have any help/suggestions or tutorials, I would really love to read them! :3

Updated the first post with some things!

I'll be adding more now that I have a better graphics card and can GIMP and draw freely! Now I just need to get a better Tablet and I'm gold xD

I will love to see advice and so on! :3

That's really neat! It's nice to see someone working on scales. ^^

Just for reference, and so you have some resources, check out these different sites for some useful tips on scales:
dA Scale Tutorial 1
dA Scale Tutorial 2
dA Scale Tutorial 3
Non-dA Scale Tutorial

You're doing nicely, but I think these will help you see different methods for drawing so you can decide what your style may lack and work with it some more. ^^

X-M-O, those are amazing tutorials! Thank you so much! Do you have a link to the pages for the Da ones though? I would like to add them to my tutorial folders and follow the users

The Dinosaur one really helps, especially on where there shouldn't be strong detail. The third Da one, this one, is great, especially the withe bending neck one. I don't particularly like the scales, but its amazing! Thanks X-M-O, I spent hours looking on Da and was limited on searches

You're welcome. Glad I could help you hone your skills! =D

I don't actually have the links to the profiles, I found these tutorials when searching dA for tutorials - but you're right, it's difficult to locate them again. ><

Ah! I went to google, images and pasted the URL to search by image and it came up xD I'll be adding them and practicing with the tutorials next time I sit down to draw!

Thanks again, X-M-O! I'll try and have a newer piece up soon! :3

So, working on a new found love of mine! I stupidly followed the tutorial TOO much and did the same size as the creator and ended up loving what I have so far. But now its soo tiny...

image broken

It looks pretty cool. =]
Just don't forget the zones (equator, hot; poles, cold) whenever you add in the vegetation, etc. =D

If you're doing this for a more modern world, I'd love to see a "night view" where you can see city lights from the distance/perspective presented in the map.
Fantastic job overall. ^^

Wow, that's a really impressive looking map! I especially love the look of the mountains, I always find them really hard to make :/. What tutorial are you learning from, if you don't mind me asking?

@X-M-O:
Thanks!

There are tutorials and sites about those things which I intend to learn more about. This is more for practice, but when I get better I'll keep that in mind! :3

@Knot:
Thanks, Knot!

It looks beautiful!
The oceans look just right, and the deserts/vegetation match exactly as they should to the textures. =D

Thanks, X-M-O! :3

Wow, that's really quite amazing, thanks! I hope I manage to make one half as good. Even plain it's pretty impressive!

I'm practicing making rivers now, but no matter what I try it looks like they are too thick...especially when my brother screams it in my ear xD

I don't know, I think it's just right.
Consider looking at an actual world map where some of the rivers are; you'll notice that many major rivers are pretty thick even from that distance. =]

I looked at Googlemaps and we couldn't see the rivers unless we zoomed in 200% xD But I always thought it would be different on this type of map because its more along the lines of showing where things are and stuff.

I just realized the western part of my world doesn't have room for a lot of rivers...oh well I suppose! xD

That's a great example to work towards. =D

You aren't far behind, you know.

I would recommend that the river on the bottom-right be moved a bit more to the right. It looks as though it is touching the ocean a second time on that one part... hard to describe what I'm looking at, lol. Sorry. XD

Ah, I see what you mean! I can't believe I did that!

Okay, is this better? :3

image broken

Looks good!
I don't think you need any more rivers now. You'll run out of land soon.
It's perfect the way it is. =D