Skarz's Sketches

[Wylder Treejumper]

Hey Skarzs, would you be willing to draw one of my old RP characters? I rather liked him, and I think you'd do a good rendering. I'm collecting sketches as it were, right now.

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Name: Dannilo "Dann" Thann
Species: Wildcat
Gender: Male
Age (in years): 25
Weapon(s) of choice: Daggers, Rapier
General Description: Dann is a ginger tabby wildcat of medium build. He has bright, merry blue eyes and a dazzling smile. He wears a bright red tunic, a green cloak and a green cap set at a jaunty angle with a feather in the back. He wears tall soft boots. In his belt are tucked four perfectly balanced throwing daggers, and a rapier hangs from his side. Alongside the rapier is his most prized possession, a blue crystal lute. He wears a pouch with some coins tucked into it. He also owns a fiddle, which he keeps in the wagons.
Personality: Dann is a merry beast- he's most often found smiling, laughing, and/or singing. He loves life with all his heart and his philosophy could be summed up as, "I'm along for the ride, so I might as well enjoy it!" He is a social beast, and loves to mingle, talk, and perform... And charm all the ladies while he's at it, of course. He doesn't really have a strong moral code, but he is a good person and tries to treat people well. This doesn't stop him from occasionally picking a few pockets for fun, though, when he thinks someone deserves it. He doesn't value wealth, considering it mainly a burden, and loves to travel and sing.
Other information: Dann is a bard by trade, singing and performing tricks, such as juggling, knife throwing, card tricks, etc. for his supper.

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[The Skarzs]

Sure. No guarantees on when it will be done, though.

[Wylder Treejumper]

No problem. I'm happy to have it whenever you are done. Thank you!

[The Skarzs]

Might be able to start it today now that I'm feeling somewhat better.

[The Skarzs]

Been a long time.
These are the two main characters of a fan fiction/ roleplay that Faiyloe and I are writing.

[Aimless Gallivanter]

nice!! looks good Scars : )

[KoudoawaiaVortex]

That looks really nice.

[Faiyloe]

*Squeals* that is awesome. XD those brows. I also really like the way you did the fabric. I might start using that stitching pattern you used on Burian's cloths in some of my own stuff... with your permission of course. XP

The only thing I would point out is that Ravax looks a bit stiff and masculine. (Just a bit, It is still really awesome XD) I know you have said you struggle with drawing girls, and in the animal form, it is even harder... XP trying to make it look like an animal yet still feminine. I would make her shoulders narrower or pull the small of the back in a bit to emphasise the bone structure (rib cage and hips). I know you hate making people uber skinny (I personally have been going on a trend of drawing fuller women, if you want I can give you some tips later)

[Rosie Willowwater]

Great job, Skarzs! 

[The Skarzs]

Thanks guys!

*Squeals* that is awesome. XD those brows. I also really like the way you did the fabric. I might start using that stitching pattern you used on Burian's cloths in some of my own stuff... with your permission of course. XP

The only thing I would point out is that Ravax looks a bit stiff and masculine. (Just a bit, It is still really awesome XD) I know you have said you struggle with drawing girls, and in the animal form, it is even harder... XP trying to make it look like an animal yet still feminine. I would make her shoulders narrower or pull the small of the back in a bit to emphasise the bone structure (rib cage and hips). I know you hate making people uber skinny (I personally have been going on a trend of drawing fuller women, if you want I can give you some tips later)

Thanks! And yeah, you can use it. It is used on the old ages clothes, so that's where I got it from.

Looking at Ravax now, you're right. My bad. The stance I drew her in was awkward to draw, which is why she looks stiff.
As for her femininity, part of why I have a hard time drawing female characters is because I am worried if I make them too. . . curvy? I may fall down a dark path of my art that I swore never to do.
Of course, I want to improve my art, and this is a shortcoming of mine, so I want to practice it but am hesitant to.

[Cornflower MM]

THAT LOOKS AWESOME SKAR!!

[The Skarzs]

Thanks!

[Ashleg]

Noice!

@ female characters thing - rounder edges, smaller paws, EYELASHES.

[The Skarzs]

Thanks. But in this case, Ravax isn't supposed to be pretty. . . Not ugly, but not necessarily attractive.

[The Skarzs]

I have noticed that my art came to what is known as an "okay plane." I have come to a point where I am okay with my art, and have made no effort to improve and evolve my art.
It's the same reason that bad drivers tend to stay bad drivers- They were good enough to pass the driver's test, but have not gotten much better afterwards save for learning from mistakes. If they wanted to, they could become the best racers or stunt drivers in the world.

So that is why I am posting this. I am looking to improve my art by exploring areas I don't usually go into, which will hopefully make my art the best it can be without taking classes- Have to stay out of my comfort zone.
In an effort to accomplish this, I have begun by looking at form, and the differences that. . . make all the difference. And if you read the last few posts before this, that is what spurred me to this: The differenes of male and female form in the Redwall animals as I see them.

I based the body forms of my exercise on what I learned in a previous drawing class of the proportional human body.
-The overall height is seven to eight heads tall.
-Fingers reach the mid-thigh.
-Arms are ALWAYS shorter than the legs.

You will see lines that I used as central points, as well as a way of creating good posture. On humans, the ears, the shoulders, the inner curve of the spine, and the ankles are all aligned. I had to do some guestimations, especially on the legs, to make them stand in a way that makes the most sense to me for good posture.

First off, I started with the male form of a generic mouse.

Spoiler

(Usually) For males:
-Shoulders are somewhere between two and a quarter to three heads wide.
-Thicker neck that continues almost straight down from the sides of the head.
-There is little to no hip.
-Trapezoidal muscles make a rounder transition from the neck to shoulders.
-Thighs almost touching at the crotch.
-Knees a little more knobbly, and further apart.

Just to add a little more noticable masculinity, I made the male a little thicker overall.

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Next, I went on to the average female form- A place I feel I have fallen short on.

Spoiler

(Usually) For females:
-Shoulders are somewhere between two to two and a half heads wide.
-Thinner neck from males that comes in from the sides of the head before going down.
-Smaller trapezoidal muscles that make more of a right angle between the shoulder and the neck.
-Thinner waist this is higher above the hips than males.
-Wider hips than males.
-Thighs have a gap at the crotch.
-Knees thinner and closer together than males.

To make this form a little more feminine, I made them a little slimmer overall than the male, with more slender limbs.

If this is just as awkward for you to see as it was for me to draw, I'm sorry. Oof.

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I am still experimenting with drawing the legs to be more realistic. Since I make the legs have the two middle joints, this makes it a little more challenging to create rules I can refer to. I may change the lower segment of the legs to be shorter, but I think this current form is an improvement to my previous one until I do.



Next I decided to try my hand at drawing heads. Once again, these were just experiments.
For the heads I used some of the measuring rules from my drawing class for drawing heads. . . At least, human heads. Most of them could not be applied to mouse heads (the heads I used for this exercise). The guidlines I used were:
-Eyes are centered in the head.
-Heads are about five eyes wide.
-Heads are never completely round.

Once again, lines were used to help maintan proportion and relative symmetry.

In addition to seeing what I could do with male and female heads, it proved interesting to experiment with average, thin, and fat heads.

Here are both the male and female heads.

Spoiler

On males, there are some differences in humans that can still apply to this.
-Male heads are usually larger overall than females'.
-Males usually have a squarer jaw with a larger mouth.
-Larger nose.
I also made the bridge of the nose/muzzle convex, and the eyes a little squarer.


Females usually:
-Have smaller, rounder heads than males.
-Smaller noses.
-Narrower chins, and smaller mouths.
-The jaw is not as defined.
I made the bridge of the nose/muzzle concave, and the eyes more almond-shaped.

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It was fun trying to make the differences with the heads, especially with the various. . . weights, so to say.


Overall this has been a good experience for me. I think I can more confidently make characters of different gender stick out from one another now, and create even more realistic drawings.


If there's anything you guys see that you think I should change or improve on, let me know. Keep in mind these were pretty quick sketches, so not everything is a final form, so to speak.
Hopefully it wasn't too awkward to look at the body forms. I tried not to go over the top; just enough to show the physical differences.