Weekly Drawing Prompt Thread

Okay, here's the redrawn thumbnail for Page 3. I will not be this productive when I go back to work next week, so enjoy it while it lasts.

IMAGE(https://i.imgur.com/mZd95Pf.jpg)

You know? I'm thinking it makes no sense for Dae to come down from the sky in that first panel when she actually swam to the floating piece of debris where Nordesson was. I'm going to have to rethink that.

Her clothes could be wet/soggy with some splashing for continuity?
You could also play with the physics a bit. If she used the board to launch from, it should be partially sunk from the force of the launch...

Yeah, everyone's supposed to be soaked top to bottom the whole time, but I don't know that I'm going to be able to really show it. Maybe I can do something when I'm coloring... or I can look at what J. Scott Campbell does on the prologue of Danger Girl. Isn't Abbey wet in that scene too? I remember lots of JSC's trademark lines everywhere on her clothes to indicate wetness. I'll have to go grab that (amazing) book from my shelf.

The board is a great detail. I'll have to include that in the second panel. The way I'm thinking to redo the first one we would see Dae pulling herself out of the water on the same board Nordesson is. Then I could make that board sink from the pressure on her side. Hmmm... HMMM...

Good observations, Fang!

The good news is, my porridge went could this morning as I continued to work on a revised character painting. I have a long way to go in terms of colour, shading, etc (as you’ll see when I eventually post it) but I’m very into the process, so much so it’s hard to get myself to stop, which is both surprising and encouraging.

I’ve decided not to do a comic strip. I have a novel I should be working on and my ideas for the strip weren’t particularly inspiring. I might hit on a new idea as I go. Instead I’m going to work up random character designs, a process I enjoy, and that should be a good way to learn and practice the basics.

The procreate book is paying off already. I’m a few pages in and I’m making my own brush sets and colour collections which really help. No doubt I could have learnt all this from a manual but I usually find those too dry. Hearing from folks who are actually using the programme creatively every day has a different feel.

Edit: Here it is. Ryth my elven monk from our latest D&D campaign. I need to find my style. I don’t think I’ll ever do clean lines. I probably need to be more sketchy/painterly.

IMAGE(https://scontent.fman4-2.fna.fbcdn.net/v/t39.30808-6/271932657_5257833404230116_2384097825926394943_n.jpg?_nc_cat=103&ccb=1-5&_nc_sid=8bfeb9&_nc_ohc=U8sTK0LJfb8AX_QNUzK&_nc_ht=scontent.fman4-2.fna&oh=00_AT-yVs5HJUspX-ij-I-PJSMyknAjwxoRxNkWaljEc42ucA&oe=61E7C51A)

Good to see and hear about your progress, Higgledy! Also, I'm glad you're happy with the book already --that's such a great feeling, right?

I'm not happy with my progress because I was pulled in a dozen different directions today and didn't do anything artistic. I blame the puppy we are fostering and how I had to watch her for a while and ended up being completely engrossed in the sixth volume of 20th Century Boys while I was doing so. I should have brought my sketchpad to the couch instead of that manga! It is so good, though...

Reworked the layout a little as I was going along. Page 3 shaping up nicely!

IMAGE(https://i.imgur.com/TDq6uJe.jpg)

Page 3 ready to be colored!

IMAGE(https://i.imgur.com/ADEvy8N.jpg)

Very nice. I particularly like the two characters leaping into the fight. You’re probably going to colour in the irises. I think that’ll help pick out the eyes and make them focal points.

Eeey. Just to prove i AM actually working on THINGS, here's a couple of upcoming maps from a new Queer-focused Pathfinder supplement.

one is a kobold-run Drag club, and the other is a femme lesbian only party barge!

IMAGE(https://smackfolio.files.wordpress.com/2021/05/dragbar-web.jpg)

IMAGE(https://smackfolio.files.wordpress.com/2021/05/partybarge-web.jpg)

Higgledy wrote:

Very nice. I particularly like the two characters leaping into the fight. You’re probably going to colour in the irises. I think that’ll help pick out the eyes and make them focal points.

Thank you! The two characters leaping were a lot of fun to draw! As for the coloring... we'll see what happens.

And pyxistyx, those look great! I especially like the colors in the first one.

My kid (13) showed me one of their latest drawings they did. They have come SO far in just a few years. Immensely proud of them.

IMAGE(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FJVdqfiWUAcMjYO?format=jpg&name=large)

That's some really good work by your kid, Fredrik_S. Good clean linework and effective stylisation.

Good to see more maps from pyxistyx. I liked the detail in the party barge of being able to 'walk the plank' into a private tub...

Higgledy's monk is good too! Regarding the linework, you might want to experiment with the stabilisation features (e.g. streamline) in the brush dynamics of Procreate to 'force' cleaner lines. You might also want to experiment with drawing lines in a colour other than pure black to get a less stark effect—I often use a very dark red instead around areas of skin. In fact, I notice Fredrik_S's kid is already doing something like this...

Mario is reliably being Mario (which is a good thing).

Incredible maps Pyxi.

Fantastic advice. Thanks Ravanon.

Very expressive Fredrik_S. Phenomenal work for that age (or any age.)

I agree with everyone, Fredrik_S: super cool drawing by your kid!

Ravanon wrote:

Mario is reliably being Mario (which is a good thing).

Best compliment ever.

Here's the thumbnail for Page 4. You can see classic signs of thumbnail exhaustion such as big faces (panels 2 and 3) and text describing what the sketch should be (panel 4), hahaha.

IMAGE(https://i.imgur.com/EeBKARJ.jpg)

I've drawn Page 4 while on puppywatch on the couch. I hope that excuses any wonkiness in my figurework...

IMAGE(https://i.imgur.com/vj5JOND.jpg)

She bites my sketchbook every now and then. And my pants. And my neck.

IMAGE(https://i.imgur.com/pgaQvvY.jpg)

I have recently experienced multiple puppies and can verify that biting makes up a significant portion of puppy watching time!

Hahaha! It's so true.

Anyway, here's Page 4. I go back to work today, so expect productivity to slow down considerably.

IMAGE(https://i.imgur.com/ZJmAtDB.jpg)

not for a comic or anything, but i felt like drawing this evening so i started on little faux comic panels for some of my player characters from the various D&D campaigns i'm running...

Starting with Revelry Haruspex, the enigmatic Thylean Nymph Auspex Cleric / Sorcerer from my Odyssey of the Dragonlords campaign...

IMAGE(https://smackfolio.files.wordpress.com/2020/09/revelry-comic-panel.jpg)

I am NOT great with regular animals, let alone Anthropomorphic ones, but here's the second of my Odyssey group's character images...

IMAGE(https://smackfolio.files.wordpress.com/2020/09/rhoda-comic-art.jpg)

You should give yourself a lot more credit. The fur across the board is really good. The legs and arms are exceptional.
It is easy to lose the form underneath the fur and it can tend to look flat. But you nailed the arms and legs.
I'd say they both have form to them and a sense of weight and connectedness rather than flat cut outs.

Very cool characters, pyxistyx! Love the cat

Here's the thumbnail for Page 5:

IMAGE(https://i.imgur.com/2XCWs1t.jpg)

I'll try to draw the page this weekend so that I can start coloring next week, but we'll see what happens. Stupid work getting in the way of having fun...

Progress at last!

IMAGE(https://i.imgur.com/r1x6zSS.jpg)

The (current) final version of my Odyssey of the Dragonlords PC group image. There WILL be further updates, particularly as each of them get their dragon companions, starting with Chares in the next session or two... :O

IMAGE(https://smackfolio.files.wordpress.com/2022/01/party-image.jpg)

And the last page in done!

IMAGE(https://i.imgur.com/3oVu9ZZ.jpg)

Now I need to color all five, but here comes the excuse... I just sold my old Cintiq, so I can't! As soon as I get the money I want to invest it in buying something newer (my Cintiq was 10 years old) and smaller, such an iPad or Surface Pro. If anyone here has any recommendations, I'm all ears!

So, while I wait for all that, I guess I'll start with the next story in the anthology. As I said before, I have a long list of ideas, but right now there are two I am the most excited about, so I'll probably go with one of those. My goal therefore is to write the script for one of them in the next couple of days, and post the thumbnail for the first page by next Sunday. Sounds doable!

You might want to open up the palm of the dark haired character more. It could be misconstrued for NSFW and I don't think that is the story you are trying to tell

I can't wait to see them colored!

As far as ipad and the like, it seems like the Air is a more affordable Pro that everyone raves about. The stock ipad does have the best drawing experience but the galaxies are neck n neck and cheaper. (and includes the pen) And you are not a Procreate zealot so the whole "ecosystem" argument in favor of ipad is moot.

From what I've seen, the surface pros have dramatically improved drawing experience but on the high end only. (something about the new pens are not fully realized on the low end) However, the surface pros are quite pricy.

I have waffled quite a bit on which way to go. Thankfully I bought them on amazon so I could return them (galaxy s6 lite, ipad) pretty painlessly. I settled on a regular drawing tablet which has the best feel of them all. It was only $80 and sadly is gathering dust on the shelf. It was so much better than drawing on glass screens but I get the feeling that doesn't bother you much since you have used a cintiq. The palm rejection is second to none of course on a drawing tablet.

If I had my drothers, I think I'd be using some AR glasses with that drawing pad. Hopefully the AR glasses would help with hotkeys and I'd be able to see the pad while drawing and move the screen in 3d space to where I want it. Maybe I could place it on top of the drawing pad to make my own "cintiq"

BTW if you are looking for something cheaper than a cintiq, there are lots of really nice cintiq competitors that are 40-50% less, larger screen sizes, packed with features and really close to that wacom feel/experience.

Haha. Nice call on the hand!
And yes, I want to see them colored and lettered too. Hopefully that will happen soon!

Also, thanks for your thoughts on what to get. I know I am going to be overwhelmed, so I am both looking forward to getting something and also dreading it.

I am definitely not a Procreate zealot... but I do have an iphone and a MacBook Air, so the ipad is tempting.

I would like something much smaller than the Cintiq I had (22HD) because I don't have a lot of space and would also like to be able to take it to the couch or the kitchen instead of being anchored to the desk like I was with that huge screen.

My wife has had a Surface Pro for a couple of years, but she's only used it for drawing a couple of times (she does photography, not illustration), and shockingly, I have never used it. I think it was expensive, but wasn't Microsoft going to release a much cheaper version early this year? (I should look this up.)

Finally, I don't want to spend a lot of money --ideally, no more than $300, so that might limit my options considerably, so we'll see. I just hate doing research of any kind, even if it is for something cool. I am the worst, I know!

If $300 is your budget then get the galaxy s6 lite. It regularly goes on sale for $250 (includes a pen) and it is quite comparable to the basic ipad that goes for $350 + $100 for the pen.

The budget surface (the Go I believe) is apparently not worth it at all. The new pen with the much better drawing experience (good feel and minimal line wiggle) does work on it, but for some reason still has the worse feel and line wiggle. You need to get the higher end surfaces to get the new pen to get the enhanced features to work. Now mind you, this was the latest from 2-3 months ago so maybe some new drivers or something have fixed the issues. I'll have to look it up.

I would suggest doing what I did. Order it from Amazon, and if you don't absolutely love it, it is so brain dead simple to return it.

I really wish Samsung would upgrade the s6 lite. There is the tab s7 FE but it never goes on sale and is too close in price to the tab s7 that regularly does go on sale...

I like this guy's channel for all things digital drawing:
https://www.youtube.com/c/thebradcol...

Also of note if you have a decent phone, some of the cintiq competitors work off USB-C and will work on phones. So you might be able to get a 13-16in screen that has the drawing feel of a cintiq or ipad pro but only costs $300-400. (and I think needing it attached to your phone doesn't make it any less portable...)

Thank you for all that! I'm going to check all those out.