A Reptiles Scribblings

[Zae]

Updating here with art. Nur.











Not all these characters are mine, some were commissions. If you're interested, here is my journal on my prices: http://zaelisxae.deviantart.com/journal/Commissions-are-Open-335324928


May be a good idea to check it out now, I will likely be raising prices soon.. Not but much, but raising all the same.

[WingedZephyr]

You've done some really nice work on these.

[Zae]

Thank you, Zeph! ^.-.^

[Zae]

Do de do. Arts!

[Kite]

Lovely arts you have, keep it up

[Zae]

Thanks Kite! ^.-.^

[WingedZephyr]

You're still doing quite well with the new arts. Nice job.

If you don't mind me giving a suggestion though, you might want to play around with how you shade/highlight on black. It's a pretty tricky thing because people's monitor settings can greatly change how it looks, but on my screen at least, it's a little difficult to identify the detail in the black areas of some of your drawings. You may want to consider lightening the black just a touch so you can better see the detail. Like, if I look really closely at that most recent one, I can mostly see the lines and details of the facial expression, but it's really hard to quickly identify what expression she's making exactly.

Usually when I'm coloring with black I use dark grey (or sometimes a really dark version of another color, depending on the lighting). Adding shadows to the dark grey is what will make it look black instead of dark grey.

And maybe it is just my monitor and it's clearer for you, I dunno. Hope it helps in some way though. c:

[Daemon]

You've certainly gotten better since you first created this thread.

[Zae]

You're still doing quite well with the new arts. Nice job.

If you don't mind me giving a suggestion though, you might want to play around with how you shade/highlight on black. It's a pretty tricky thing because people's monitor settings can greatly change how it looks, but on my screen at least, it's a little difficult to identify the detail in the black areas of some of your drawings. You may want to consider lightening the black just a touch so you can better see the detail. Like, if I look really closely at that most recent one, I can mostly see the lines and details of the facial expression, but it's really hard to quickly identify what expression she's making exactly.

Usually when I'm coloring with black I use dark grey (or sometimes a really dark version of another color, depending on the lighting). Adding shadows to the dark grey is what will make it look black instead of dark grey.

And maybe it is just my monitor and it's clearer for you, I dunno. Hope it helps in some way though. c:

Thank you Zeph!


And thank you for the suggestion.
I don't usually use black though, that's the thing. I usually use a dark blue, which I believe I did with this. I try not to use pure black, white or the shades in between, looks much nicer to use off whites or dark colors to resemble black, imo, and I find it much easier to shade.
For me, it is indeed quite clear though, her snout isn't very dark on my monitor, it's in fact tinted green, as I intended it to be.
Silly computers. Herp.


This next pic, I wouldn't be surprised if it's hard to see on your monitor, Zeph. As Some spots are hard to see on mine, lol.






By the way Zeph, if anyone can answer this question for me, I think you could.
When I shade darker colored images, it makes the shading really fuzzy and unfocused, kinda pixely. Do you know what causes this, or how I can avoid it? Thanks~

[WingedZephyr]

I don't usually use black though, that's the thing. I usually use a dark blue, which I believe I did with this. I try not to use pure black, white or the shades in between, looks much nicer to use off whites or dark colors to resemble black, imo, and I find it much easier to shade.

It is good to do that, it helps in a lot of ways.

By the way Zeph, if anyone can answer this question for me, I think you could.
When I shade darker colored images, it makes the shading really fuzzy and unfocused, kinda pixely. Do you know what causes this, or how I can avoid it? Thanks~

I'd probably need more information in order to answer that question; it's hard to say without seeing exactly what you're talking about. A specific image example or a more detailed description of your shading process might help me figure it out.

[Zae]

Well, this image did it badly: http://zaelisxae.deviantart.com/art/In-for-the-Kill-337815628
And it REALLY ticked me off since it was a commissioned piece. Herp.


It usually only does this on darker images, when I shade. How I shade is like this: I add a new layer over my color layer of the character, and fill it completely with whatever color I've chosen to shade with, usually a dark blue, purple, etc. That layer is also clipped to the color layer, so it only covers only the character. I then take a white, low opacity brush, and begin to color the areas white where the light would be. After finished, I make a copy of my shading layer, the lower layer set to multiply at 50% and the top set to overlay at 70-100%.


Similar to this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h5CHqmk1eMo


Anyways, moar art.

[WingedZephyr]

I really like the new drawing.

It usually only does this on darker images, when I shade. How I shade is like this: I add a new layer over my color layer of the character, and fill it completely with whatever color I've chosen to shade with, usually a dark blue, purple, etc. That layer is also clipped to the color layer, so it only covers only the character. I then take a white, low opacity brush, and begin to color the areas white where the light would be. After finished, I make a copy of my shading layer, the lower layer set to multiply at 50% and the top set to overlay at 70-100%.

My guess would be that it's your second shading layer (the one set to Overlay) that's causing your problem. Try playing around with the opacity settings on your two shading layers to see if something works better. You have to be really careful with an Overlay blending mode sometimes because it increases the contrast of colors underneath it in a certain way that can sometimes turn out badly. Using too much white/bright color on an Overlay layer will "blast out" white/bright colors underneath it, and using too much black/dark color on an Overlay layer will harshly "burn" the black/dark colors underneath it. So to avoid that, either fade the Overlay layer's opacity more until you don't get so much color burning, or it might also help to lighten the color of the shading layer a bit more.

[Zae]

I really like the new drawing.

It usually only does this on darker images, when I shade. How I shade is like this: I add a new layer over my color layer of the character, and fill it completely with whatever color I've chosen to shade with, usually a dark blue, purple, etc. That layer is also clipped to the color layer, so it only covers only the character. I then take a white, low opacity brush, and begin to color the areas white where the light would be. After finished, I make a copy of my shading layer, the lower layer set to multiply at 50% and the top set to overlay at 70-100%.

My guess would be that it's your second shading layer (the one set to Overlay) that's causing your problem. Try playing around with the opacity settings on your two shading layers to see if something works better. You have to be really careful with an Overlay blending mode sometimes because it increases the contrast of colors underneath it in a certain way that can sometimes turn out badly. Using too much white/bright color on an Overlay layer will "blast out" white/bright colors underneath it, and using too much black/dark color on an Overlay layer will harshly "burn" the black/dark colors underneath it. So to avoid that, either fade the Overlay layer's opacity more until you don't get so much color burning, or it might also help to lighten the color of the shading layer a bit more.

Ok, thanks Zeph! I'll be more careful with my shading layers. x3 Good to know what's likely causing the fuzzies.





I actually did a background for once. *o*


Any tips?

[WingedZephyr]

Pretty. ^^

The edge of the mountains is a little too smooth to look natural; it could use a few more dips and crevices and jagged areas. The character also doesn't entirely feel like it's actually standing in the background; that could probably be fixed by adding a bit more purple into the character's color and/or bringing a hint of red into the background. The character also doesn't seem to have much of a shadow on the ground, if at all. It's also a little unclear where your light source is coming from, because the side of the mountains facing the viewer looks dark, but the back half of the character facing the viewer looks light.

BUT

The purple monochromatic thing is nice, and I like the shading within the mountains. I also think you created depth effectively by fading the mountains in the background. The subtle background details (the dragon, planet, stars, etc.) are well done also, in my opinion.

[Zae]

I haven't posted here in a long while, again... Derp. My bad. Here is a bit of older art, as I've been in an art block and haven't drawn much recently.























A more recent drawing from earlier this week. c: He is my Spectrum Crossplague, been working on him with Syty~





Aaaaand, a drawing from last night. I think I am finally beating my art block after tons of frustration. This is Sytexs Lumino, or Tracer. My 'sonas species. Helped him with coloration and such. c: Her name is Sh'Azaris.





Anywho, I hope you enjoy~

Pretty. ^^

The edge of the mountains is a little too smooth to look natural; it could use a few more dips and crevices and jagged areas. The character also doesn't entirely feel like it's actually standing in the background; that could probably be fixed by adding a bit more purple into the character's color and/or bringing a hint of red into the background. The character also doesn't seem to have much of a shadow on the ground, if at all. It's also a little unclear where your light source is coming from, because the side of the mountains facing the viewer looks dark, but the back half of the character facing the viewer looks light.

BUT

The purple monochromatic thing is nice, and I like the shading within the mountains. I also think you created depth effectively by fading the mountains in the background. The subtle background details (the dragon, planet, stars, etc.) are well done also, in my opinion.

Also, Thank you Zeph! I love hearing feedback like this, it's very helpful. o3o


I also have to say, looking through my art thread.. wow, my skill escalated quickly. Makes me feel much better about my skill, weeee~