WIP Me into Finishing This Art

[catbirds]

Wow, tzelly, that knight and the big man look super detailed so far! I guess the perspective is a little bit hard to deal with for backgrounds

Spoiler: some ideas for advice from someone who also barely knows what she's doing • show

The only part that's a little bit weird right now is that the stairs look a bit more like they're a slope rather than steps, unless that's what it looks like in-game? Even if it was unintentional, I think it suits the rest of your more fun-looking style (relative to the actual atmosphere of, y'know, dark souls) and it'll probably look good once fully rendered in colour. As for the other parts of the background... did you know that a lot of digital artists just use 3d models to help them paint? I didn't, so don't worry if you're having a hard time drawing from scratch. For me, it helps to just slap on some paint to show where the highlights and shadows are and make up the details and lineart as I go.

[JoB]

Spoilers with an apostrophe in their description cannot be opened. Let me shamelessly repost that ...

Spoiler: some ideas for advice from someone who also barely knows what she is doing • show

The only part that's a little bit weird right now is that the stairs look a bit more like they're a slope rather than steps, unless that's what it looks like in-game? Even if it was unintentional, I think it suits the rest of your more fun-looking style (relative to the actual atmosphere of, y'know, dark souls) and it'll probably look good once fully rendered in colour. As for the other parts of the background... did you know that a lot of digital artists just use 3d models to help them paint? I didn't, so don't worry if you're having a hard time drawing from scratch. For me, it helps to just slap on some paint to show where the highlights and shadows are and make up the details and lineart as I go.

[catbirds]

Spoilers with an apostrophe in their description cannot be opened.

Huh, what a weird condition Well, thanks!

[wavewright62]

Huh, what a weird condition Well, thanks!

Apostrophes, commas, punctuation in general.   

[JoB]

Apostrophes, commas, punctuation in general.   

Spoiler: so, about that ... • show

... I have some doubts.

[Sevseres]

I'd say these few comic pages are pretty abandoned at this point. I was inspired from the fic The Cleanser and the Näkki
(https://archiveofourown.org/works/4917124) which I really loved but the hype died out soon enough and I realized I cannot do backgrounds. These look pretty angsty but it had an happy ending, I swear!

cw: very mild trollification just be sure.

Spoiler: show

[Sc0ut]

@sevseres  those are really not bad backgrounds! That would have been immediately obvious if you coloured in the panels on all of the pages. You got the atmosphere down, I can tell where and what time of day the action is happening and that's the main purpose of a comic background. The rest is sprinkles on top - and best not overdone many times. For foliage especially, a good brush goes a long way with little effort.

I really like your use of the comic medium overall, there are interesting and expressive things going on with the panels there, and the characters' gestures are good too. Have you made more comics? I think you should!

@tzelly - that's some incredibly cool linework, I'm so excited to see this finished even though I've never played any Dark Souls. The background looks really complex, anyone would find it daunting to draw from scratch. Lots of artists that draw this kind of thing and don't specialise just in architecture use helping tools that are maybe on a "cheating" spectrum: I've seen everything from building one's own 3D environment in a 3D program to downright tracing screenshots or photos of architecture (the latter even with professional artists, which... I didn't believe would be the case until I personally saw it happen lmao).

If you're not comfortable with either of those, I'd suggest referencing from screenshots but going for a simplified version of the architecture, and relying on some dramatic lighting (if it works with your plans for the scene) to make the best of it and conceal some of the plainer areas.

Jitter, kitty, catbirds, Yuu, wavewright: thank you all for the kind words! They really have motivated me to draw a bit more today, though for a different fandom this time.

[Sevseres]

Aww, thank you Sc0ut! I really loved your forest piece from before. It feels somewhat distressing but in a good way. That red light far away, creepy trees and Lalli’s pose all create such an mysterious, appealing atmosphere.

For the question, I actually never done anything comic-like before these. But I really had fun with these so I may do more, probably not for ssss but maybe for some personal stuff. Thank you again for the nice words and encouragement!

[wavewright62]

GAH, good horror and build-up.  I agree with Sc0ut (who is very knowledgable so ALL the respct), that the colour set the tone well.  With the way the figures fill their frames, the only reason to go for detail in the background is to provide a clue.  It looks like the first panel may need that, not so much the rest.

[Sc0ut]

I agree with Sc0ut (who is very knowledgable so ALL the respct)

I appreciate this even as I deeply question it :'D

[tzelly]

@tzelly - that's some incredibly cool linework, I'm so excited to see this finished even though I've never played any Dark Souls. The background looks really complex, anyone would find it daunting to draw from scratch. Lots of artists that draw this kind of thing and don't specialise just in architecture use helping tools that are maybe on a "cheating" spectrum: I've seen everything from building one's own 3D environment in a 3D program to downright tracing screenshots or photos of architecture (the latter even with professional artists, which... I didn't believe would be the case until I personally saw it happen lmao).

If you're not comfortable with either of those, I'd suggest referencing from screenshots but going for a simplified version of the architecture, and relying on some dramatic lighting (if it works with your plans for the scene) to make the best of it and conceal some of the plainer areas.

Thank you for the kind words and advice, this is a bit different from my normal digital work (the line art is using a shading method I use in traditional inking I learned from two years of Inktober)
I am trying to learn Blender to be able to one day build the backgrounds for future projects I have but damn is it a harsh learning curve that I will tackle one day. I usually freehand and usually get stuck on details of how lines connect or the perspective looking wanky. tracing might be the way I will have to go to at lest get this piece done, I am usually hesitant to trace as a reflex of years of being told I should be able to free hand like the great artists of old. However the artist of old used to use makeshift tools to be able to trace. So when I have the time to delve into this again, I will do just that. I really like the idea of using dramatic lighting to hide the details! really would fit with the atmosphere of the game XD  Thanks again! 

[Songbird]

Oooh look, art thread! With the number of creators in this forum we could fill up a entire new board with other IPs' and original content.

Kitty Lovely color choices, I like where this is going. Is there anything you're getting hung up on we can help?

wavewright62 Welcome to the dark side of digital art, where you can undo and duplicate to your heart's content! Your illustration warmed me in the same way Alphonse Mucha's work does, what put a smile on my face as my first brush with his work as a kid was one of the first instances I ever experienced that "wow I love it! I want to do something like that!" art feelings.

Sc0ut This bright orange is sooo satisfying! You got a fantastic atmosphere going on and being a big fan of effortless-looking art I wouldn't be able to tell it's unfinished. If the outfit is what's holding you back and you still feel invested in this piece what about making it your preferred version or even something new?

tzelly I get this feeling. Putting old masters in a genius pedestal is one of those misconceptions about the past that just gets around and is invariably hammered into modern artists' minds. Like, not only they were invested in finding new creative ways of becoming more efficient with tracing and perspective shortcuts but they really took their time. It's unfair to expect modern artists to spit out fantastic works at breakneck speed and without the benefit of the references and tricks the old masters resorted to.

Blender is progressively intuitive once you get used to the interface and 3D in general. Blender Stack Exchange and BlenderArtists likely have all info you'll need, and if they don't feel free to ask; I know a thing or two about it too though I may be a bit slow to reply.

[Vulpes]

Putting old masters in a genius pedestal is one of those misconceptions about the past that just gets around and is invariably hammered into modern artists' minds. Like, not only they were invested in finding new creative ways of becoming more efficient with tracing and perspective shortcuts but they really took their time. It's unfair to expect modern artists to spit out fantastic works at breakneck speed and without the benefit of the references and tricks the old masters resorted to.

Re references and tricks, two words: camera lucida.

[tzelly]

Blender is progressively intuitive once you get used to the interface and 3D in general. Blender Stack Exchange and BlenderArtists likely have all info you'll need, and if they don't feel free to ask; I know a thing or two about it too though I may be a bit slow to reply.

Thank you for the leads! I will definitely check them out 

[Jitter]

Also several of the old masters had students working on the backgrounds and in large parts of the entire work!