Forums » Fan Creations

Painting my characters

    • 1992 posts
    November 10, 2021 10:23 AM PST

    I don't know if you've read 'The Mists of Avalon' by Marion Zimmer Bradley, but this scene is very reminiscent of the boat journey to enter Avalon.

    It looks otherworldly, like being in a dream or vision, or entering a magical realm. I don't feel danger, just strangeness and wonder.

    • 231 posts
    November 10, 2021 3:21 PM PST

    I did read that, many years ago.

    I found a lot of inspiration in stories that lean toward the mysterious, dreamlike, filled with wonder. Patricia McKillip, Catherynne Valente, collections by Terri Windling, Guy Gavriel Kay, Garth Nix, the magic and elder worlds of Michelle West's Essalieyan series. Fairy tales and portal fantasies and dreams and Irish legends and Icelandic tales. I try to remember to leave realism behind as often as possible and find more liminal spaces.

    I tried to imagine what a summoner's quest to find a water elemental might be like, and I think it needs to have some of that feel.


    This post was edited by Crowsinger at November 10, 2021 4:19 PM PST
    • 1992 posts
    November 10, 2021 7:58 PM PST

    Crowsinger said:

    I tried to imagine what a summoner's quest to find a water elemental might be like, and I think it needs to have some of that feel.

    It has a lot of that feel.

    I like to think of it as my Wizard's quest to find the Water Staff of Tsunami though :D

    • 231 posts
    November 11, 2021 3:42 AM PST

    Jothany said:

    I like to think of it as my Wizard's quest to find the Water Staff of Tsunami though :D

    That works too!

     

    • 231 posts
    November 13, 2021 10:04 AM PST

    I was never happy with my first try at painting Aovyn, so I've been wanting to return to the character at some point. He's a shaman, kind and gentle with those close to him, diplomatic, with a long memory. Also he's got a mind of his own and misses the forests he hasn't seen in a long time.

    Here he is seven years into the story. On a tarot card.

     

    https://imgur.com/B9xFBmb.jpg


    This post was edited by Crowsinger at November 13, 2021 10:05 AM PST
    • 1992 posts
    November 13, 2021 1:59 PM PST

    Wow, that's really excellent.

    I love the way you colorized the Shaman icon. I may just use that as the Shaman's folder icon when I start playing and have an info folder for each of my chars.

    The 'arrowpoint' buckles on the shoulder straps are a nice touch as well.

    • 231 posts
    November 14, 2021 4:46 AM PST

    I'm glad you liked it!

    For the arrowpoint buckles I was just trying to do something like the elf images at https://www.pantheonmmo.com/game/races/elves/ where their belt buckles are like that.

    I mean on one hand, this story is a) centuries before players enter the world, and b) they're adventurers picking up whatever gear they find wherever.

    But on the other hand, I'm thinking even though fashions change even in pre-industrial societies, there must still be some continuity in elven culture, and perhaps they like it when they find a piece that looks like home.

     


    This post was edited by Crowsinger at November 14, 2021 4:48 AM PST
    • 231 posts
    November 14, 2021 5:07 AM PST

    Jothany said:

    I love the way you colorized the Shaman icon. I may just use that as the Shaman's folder icon when I start playing and have an info folder for each of my chars.

     Here's a png:

     

    https://imgur.com/1fRKFOv.jpg


    This post was edited by Crowsinger at November 14, 2021 5:07 AM PST
    • 1992 posts
    November 14, 2021 2:26 PM PST

    Thank you, I appreciate the image :)

     

    I never even noticed those buckles as many times as I've been to that Elf page.

    Perhaps that's part of why you are an artist and I am not LoL.

    • 231 posts
    November 20, 2021 5:46 AM PST

    After a conversation with Desryn, I've redone these two images, focusing on the moons. I like the moons better now.

     

     I also gave Arebon and Sairi some arrows. They might need some arrows.

    https://imgur.com/FvEIiy0.png

     

    https://imgur.com/xemaIbV.png

    • 223 posts
    November 20, 2021 7:08 AM PST

    Oh I love these. So much atmosphere.

    • 231 posts
    November 20, 2021 12:21 PM PST

    Thank you. I'm trying to reach for the wonder of adventuring in a magical world. I like stories that feel that way.


    This post was edited by Crowsinger at November 20, 2021 12:21 PM PST
    • 1992 posts
    November 22, 2021 12:56 PM PST

    Saw this in my FB newsfeed this morning. Just thought I'd leave it here in case you didn't know about it. Free to enter, gaming goodies for prizes!

    (and yes, your stuff certainly has a chance to win)

    https://www.mmogames.com/gamearticles/free-game-artist-contest/

    • 231 posts
    November 23, 2021 4:14 AM PST

    I appreciate the thought, but I still see myself as very much a student.

    • 231 posts
    November 30, 2021 5:04 AM PST

    Safranin Alizar, human wizard and emissary of Ossari.

    She was introduced in Chapter 13 and leans toward the whimsically chaotic evil.

    Edit: This is a new version

     

    https://imgur.com/9qGlHEr.png


    This post was edited by Crowsinger at February 1, 2022 3:55 AM PST
    • 1992 posts
    December 1, 2021 2:03 PM PST

    I definitely got the sense of 'whimsically chaotic' when I saw the look in her eyes, before I read your text.

    She looks pretty good, though I think her left hand should be slimmer and maybe more detail (tendons,veins, etc)

    • 231 posts
    December 1, 2021 3:59 PM PST

    I always have trouble with the size of hands.

    But I'm not really going for too much realism, and I will be happy if I can consistently draw hands that look okay in shape and basic shading. I don't think even think I'm going to bother with fingernails.

    • 1992 posts
    December 1, 2021 7:35 PM PST

    I think if it tapered a bit more as it goes toward the sleeve (starting at the base knuckle of the thumb), it would look more natural. And more balanced to the slimness of the right hand.

    I'll admit that as expressive as you made her face, not many will worry about her hands.

     

    • 231 posts
    December 2, 2021 5:00 AM PST

    Jothany said:

    I think if it tapered a bit more as it goes toward the sleeve (starting at the base knuckle of the thumb), it would look more natural. And more balanced to the slimness of the right hand.
     

     

    Yes, I think tapering near the wrist would help.

    I've spent the last year or so mostly focused on faces. I did a lot of sampling colors in photographs to learn about the color and value variation in faces and different kinds of light, how value can round the bit above the eyes, how to shape noses with fewer lines, etc. It's been a terrific learning experience.

    But I'm close to the point where I want to move on to other things. I want to get back to gesture so I can draw whole bodes that don't look stiff. I want to work on landscapes, which I need a lot of work on. I need to keep working on folds and textures in clothing. Every painting has some elements that I'm getting better at and some that I'm just kind of faking for now, so I maybe need to work on those.

    And clouds, I need to work on clouds. And animals.


    This post was edited by Crowsinger at December 2, 2021 5:07 AM PST
    • 231 posts
    December 7, 2021 2:55 PM PST

    Name: Isonis Rowan

    Species: Elf

    Age by the end of Part Three: 26

    Sword: Drinker of Night's Breath, looted from a ghost mage city

     

    https://imgur.com/Ejn3Jj4.png

    • 1992 posts
    December 8, 2021 2:16 PM PST

    Now that is a really nice one, lots of complexity and colors. I really like the runes on the sword.

     

    Just to keep my 'critic' job, I'll point out that lions have a black tuft on the end of their tails :)

    • 231 posts
    December 9, 2021 11:58 AM PST

    Jothany said:

    Just to keep my 'critic' job, I'll point out that lions have a black tuft on the end of their tails :)

    I was trying to do something similar to the image at https://www.pantheonmmo.com/game/classes/ranger/ which is, I think, a Panthras. I changed the color, but kept the mane and the kind of smooth tail. It's kind of stylized, so more of a dream of a panthras :)

    I could have added spots, but I never remembered to do that.

    Edit: Also I'm still learning how to use the Digital Atelier watercolor brushes in Krita, and I've been having perhaps too much fun with them. But I like what they do with backgrounds and I'm happy with the bird (watercolor + a bit of ink)


    This post was edited by Crowsinger at December 9, 2021 12:01 PM PST
    • 1992 posts
    December 9, 2021 2:58 PM PST

    Lol, there I go again. I realized when posting, that cat might not be a lion, but it looked so similar.... And once again, I had no memory of the Panthras on the Ranger page. As I said in a post above "Perhaps that's part of why you are an artist and I am not"

    Oh, I really did like the bird. I intended to mention it, but then got distracted by the Panthras' tail.

    • Moderator
    • 9115 posts
    December 9, 2021 3:35 PM PST

    I love these Crowsigner! and shared them with the team, keep up the great work :)

    • 231 posts
    December 9, 2021 5:58 PM PST

    Kilsin said:

    I love these Crowsigner! and shared them with the team, keep up the great work :)

    Thanks, I'm glad you liked them :)