Here’s my “wanted-it-to-be-quick-but-it-wasn’t” painting of Fu Xuan, the Master Diviner of the Xianzhou Luofu’s Divination Commission. She kinda looks like a little brat, but obviously is someone important having a title like that!
As usual, sharing some random insights for anyone interested:
Initially this was supposed to be a speedpaint, but somehow I started it shading a bit too carefully. As a result, lineart is not as refined and the resolution is a bit too low (I had trouble detailing eyes due to this).
If the painting starts to “look too good”, it stifles the desire to experiment and innovate… I’m afraid to not “ruin it” and fall back to old and trusty methods. That’s why I want to get more quick and dirty sketches to experiment and iterate more quickly.
As mentioned in WIP thread, some aspects of this painting aren’t too great, but I just decided to call it done and move on in the interest of time.
hair needs much more nuance, especially around the face, and overall flow of the form could be better
skin shading… ugh, at some point it starts encroaching into anatomy territory and it gets overwhelming without good reference with similar lighting
the dress is totally phoned in… I need to study a lot more to try to draw something like this in a convincing way.
lastly, the character design is much simplified compared to the original (again, was supposed to be a quick painting, heh).
Ah, and regarding the time spent. I don’t even feel that 20 hours is a lot at this point, lol. So yeah, getting that mileage in definitely helps.
Cheers, I hope you guys liked it! Onto the next one…
To have quick and dirty sketches, I usually do this (be ready for some tips omg, hope they help somehow!):
Quick thing, if you want to practice only stuff like anatomy or panneling (so not only digital, like brushes), I would really advice you to try doing it in real life too!
Somehow, it is so much smoother for some (me included) to do it this way, so it might help you too - I learnt about this from this video! , he goes more indepth in it (and he’s hella funny I like him)
I draw the first one really small or/and in the corner of the pannel, to make my mind think that “Hm… I thing this needs some more… stuff in it…Yes…”
Put strict timer, literally close the app after the time is up! Okey that’s a bit drastic, but you got the idea; Just know, drawing is not needed to be seen by anyone to be enjoyed and to be a fuffiling thing - and also if you want to continue a sketch you can always re-open it a bit later
I never done this, but some people like to do sketches by editing the anteriour one, I don’t know to explain it, they like make a sketch - make it unrecognisable with the blend tool - and then draw over the silhouette- repeat this whole process- profit
I’ll try to maybe find a video that shows what I mean! It’s a bit early in the morning here so my mind is in “please nap” mode.
Personally, I’m really a digital guy. I just love the feeling on drawing on a tablet. I do carry around a pencil with me, but sketching traditionally is only the last resort for me
Wow, I love this style! Also, the exaggerations that belong in anime and manga, like here the very slender neck on which hangs this, for this neck, huge jewelry, which you have captured super well. I also like the light and shadow very much! A beautiful picture.
Oh what tablet do you have btw? I have an… wait lemme check… A huion kamwas 16 if I am correct? yea, it is pretty nice and it has this feeling of paper to the screen, though it is a bit clunky to use it on the move
I used to have a Huion Kamvas 16 Pro tablet, but I never really managed to get comfortable with it. I invested in a monitor arm, a stand, various cables to have more freedom in moving it around, but the ergonomics just weren’t there for me. In the end, I sold it off.
Now I’m using a Huion Giano. It’s a large tablet with a nice matte finish. It supports the latest pens with felt nibs. The best thing is that I can use it flat on the desk, which doesn’t block the path to the keyboard. I absolutely love painting on a large 4K screen at 144Hz, it’s a great immersive experience.
I know that the display tablets are marketed much more aggressively and many professionals prefer to use them too, but now I have overcome all doubts and use the plain old pen tablet without any regrets I highly recommend this type of tablets to anyone who can use them (I recognize it may not be to everyone’s taste).
I highly recommend this type of tablets to anyone who can use them (I recognize it may not be to everyone’s taste).