kaprikas work in progress. see the magic as it happens!

[✡]

hooray i'm a budding artist! *studies kaprika's arts*

[Kaprika]

here i start laying out the idea of my wardrobe..nothing is in solid lines yet as this is just the vauge outline FOR the clothes. and this step is also a good place to start deciding things like fur patters, markings, peircings, ect.
her personality starts to peek through the drawing now at this point..so be sure to put thought into it, its ok to get creative but going over the top in this stage can clutter up a picture real fast. so for now just get your general picture plan down now. say it with me....clothes..pattern...personality. CPP!

Post Merge: July 01, 2011, 02:54:04 AM
here im starting to put in details..such as toes..fur tufts and hardening a few lines. this is where your picture starts to come together..so be sure youve added everything you want the picture to have at this point..accessorize, dress, jewelery..ect.

[Kaprika]

and here is the inked stage before painting

here you have to be SURE your lines are what you want, cause there is no turning back now.
i wanted to take this chance to talk about spots..and how i do them. as you can see its a series of scraping lines..but they are essentialy one long scribble, and the length and closeness of the lines give it the illusion of being either bigger, smaller, darker or lighter. the farther apart the scrapes are the lighter they seem and the closer the darker.
and farther apart lines also give the illusion of softness..such as comparing the large spots on the tail to say...the legs?
and also, thinner lines give a soft look also. or even trancparrancy (look at the spots under the netting on the tail) you can see i used a thinner pen making it stand out less. so remember...thin lines for soft, refining features..thick ones for in front, blatant and thickness.

[Niala Ornitier]

THIS.... is super helpful o.o and the drawing looks darling, it looks DARLING simply MAARvelous *places my head into my hands and stares at it enthusiastically*

[icy wolf]

thanks for posting the how to steps

[Kaprika]

this is a little past the first two stages..but i still felt i could use this as a teaching opportunity for some.

dragons are perhaps the biggest part of my artistic roots as ive been drawing them my whole life.so i can with some confidence say that im fairly experienced at the draconian likes.
firstly, i want to talk about scales. dragons obviously have scales...and no self respecting dragon would be seen without some sort of scaleing..BUT, do you have to show them all. NO
alot of artists try to go about the tedious task of drawing individual scales on a dragon..but im here to tell you there is a easier way to create the ILLUSION of scales..look at the head..you sill see he has underside and top half scales..this shows you that he is CLEARLY a scaly beast...anything inbetween is not completely needed..but you want to be sure? well its easy. scatter random scales..random clusters can also create the illusion of total coverage. remember...to much detail sometimes can take AWAY from your drawing.

horns.
THIS is probably the most fun part of making your dragon. because horns adds character. and they are incredibly versatiles too..you can put them almost ANYWHERE. tail..head...neck..back..shoulders..elbows..knees..face..even the haunches. but remember..if you go over the top with horns you gotta be over the top with your DRAGON..its a sad sight if you just bury a scrawnly little beast under hundreds of pounds worth of horn. so when giving your beasty his voa'la..be sure to make the body SUITABLE for such. even if they appear impractical for battle, horns can be wild and crazy..be zany with it!

facial structure. dragons are reptilian...so bony facial features is ALWASE a win win. pudgy faces are ok for more cartoony dragons but if you wanna go for realism and ferocity, using flat lines rather than round lines is the best. sharp angles is what you want to go for. decide wether you want a boxy face, a triangular face or a wedge face..(round faces are for the nicer or more young looking dragons)
and eyes..eyes are best beady. small eyes give a more sinister appearance to your dragon, so if you want younger or cuter...go big.

anyone have any questions i didnt answer for my dragon tips?

[Kaprika]

heres a lil more progress...now, you will notice i changed the arms..i did this on PURPOSE.
you see, sometimes body parts dont go well together with your other parts..so there is no shame in scrapping an idea for a better one. and if all goes wrong..you can ALWASE go back!

i wanted to talk more about scales..and the idea of IMPLIED scales being better than all scales.
if you look on my limbs, you can see two different kinds of scales..large ones to cover the top, where your eyes see first. and tiny round scalling sparsley laid out to give the illusion of all around scales.
now remember..reccuring themes are important! you can see the scale-hawk on his head..i repeat this frill like appearance on the lower back and the chest scales..repetition makes a dragon seem far more balanced and flows better

[Ares the Ram]

its starting to look amazing

[Kaprika]

i couldnt resist using this as a chance to do a lil bonus tutorial.

here is the prior dragon..but a baby. for some, baby proportions are hard to pull of. and ill be with you on this one, its harder than drawing normal. because baby proportions are tottaly different than adults. the size ratios are different..limbs arent the same..everything is either to big, or too small. so i was hoping this may help a few of you out.

having both adult and baby to compare side by side, this is alot easier. the face is what sells it..make it huge..not COMICALY so, but babies have the big heads. and large eyes too. the features of the face need to be big. because its what the infant grows into, bodies are to be small.. in fact most of your creature should be small (though some parts can come out nice when large. like feet and ears.  features such as horns, extended body parts, hornlets, scales..those all are still forming and need to appear as such. smal may not be feirce and impressive. but at there age they got LOTS of time to work on that. and also, the less maticulous detail the better. simplyfying with a baby is perfectly acceptable. they arent supposed to be decked out..there supposed to be easy on the eyes and draw out the longest "aaaaaaawww" as they possibly can

hope that helped some

[Kaprika]

the first thing is an extendable eraser, i have two. one for bulk erasing and another one but i took a razor blade and cut it to a point..so i can erase TINY fine details you will have to keep it sharp often as it dulls fast.

the second is a normal ordinary lead pencil..(nobody likes to have to sharpen over and over again)

the third is my micron inking pen..0.25mm perfect for line art and all ur inking needs

the last is called a Tortillin stump..its essentialy a TIGHTLY rolled up peice of paper you can buy at michaels also..you use it for sketches, you rub your pencil lines and it smudges your lines and creates a shading effect..I LOVE THIS TOOL HARD and i reccomend it to any budding artist.


I THOUGHT ID POST DEES TO HELP OTHER ARTISTS SO HERE YA GO!!!
8D

[✡]

great...now I'll just have to earn the money to afford all these

[Kaprika]

there really not all that expensive. you could spend less than $20 and get all of the above im fairly sure

[Kaprika]

base sketch.

here im doing somethin a lil different. WIND
when you have an air current its good to make your moving objects wavy, NOT straight...there not in a wind tunnel, its a breeze and should have gentle curves as such.
good things to waive are hair, and clothes. but sometimes leaving some of the hair alone is better than making it "realistic" like on Vosur, only the hair on one side and his ponytail is flowing..thats because i dont wish to obstruct his face any. so whole it still looks convincing, its still remaining its "integrity"

[icy wolf]

thanks kapa for the tips and showing us your art supply i have a .1 mm inking marker i got at stables biusnnes depo, it came in a set of 5 .1 mm .3mm . 5mm and .7 mm. love seeing how your art is done, it is helpful.

[Kaprika]

a lil more detail nao!

behold!!...kaprika is actualy wearing clothes for once..>> hush..my furry is a practicing nudist..(dont hate me cause i think clothes on a fur is redundant)
i changed up my pose a little cause it seemed....iunno..to dull, this one seems more in the moment. its hard to see but she is holding one of those blow away dandilions..the fluffy ones..
ive put a little more definition on Vosur also, you can see his legs much more clearer now too

Post Merge: August 02, 2011, 09:55:13 PM
aaand here is the finished sketch.