Yet Another Art Thread

[Sporb]

20 hours ago, Mobbstar said:

I urge to throw money. Ugh.

Well. If throwing money is your idea of a good time I'm not gonna stand in your way.

 

Anyway, here's something I didn't have time to finish. I'm not sure I want to post it like this because it won't actually start looking good until it's colored. It still needs legs, actual wings instead of sketch lines, and I think I'm gonna change the tail to be long and thin like an actual dragonfly's. I'm not sure though, because I like the rocket fins.

I hope I have time to work on this again soon, but finals are here, so we'll see.

[minespatch]

IT looks like a interesting layout for a new piece but looking forward to the actual piece when your post it.

 

Really impressed with that mechanical firefly piece. Feels like something one of the animators at Disney studios would show for production art.

[Sporb]

Next phase. I can't help but feel this is taking me too long.

This should pretty much be the final design; I just need to add a buncha details. And erase stuff where different layers overlap and add color of course.

The far wings are still bothering me but they're probably not worth messing with any further.

[minespatch]

Nice work on the flame throwing engine. There's some detail on it that I like the effort you put into.

[DragonMage156]

19 hours ago, Sporb said:

The far wings are still bothering me but they're probably not worth messing with any further.

Maybe if you make them thinner since they'd be that from this angle.

[Sporb]

4 hours ago, DragonMage156 said:

Maybe if you make them thinner since they'd be that from this angle.

I think you're right. Maybe something more like this? Hmm, I think the one in front needs to be a bit farther forward. Actually, I'm not sure if the rear one should be visible at all.

I wasn't gonna post this one because it's not much different from the previous one (I haven't had much free time), but since it's relevant to the discussion...

This is pretty much complete, aside from color. I think I still need to mess with the far wings a bit, and I actually need to trace all the wings. They were too small, so I had to scale them up, but the only way to prevent them from being blurry and having too thick lines is by redrawing them.

[Mobbstar]

46 minutes ago, Sporb said:

Actually, I'm not sure if the rear one should be visible at all.

Their anchor point seems a bit too far behind, frankly...

45 minutes ago, Sporb said:

They were too small, so I had to scale them up, but the only way to prevent them from being blurry and having too thick lines is by redrawing them.

Yeah, but using bicubic instead of bilinear helps a lot.

[MenaAthena]

11 hours ago, Sporb said:

I think you're right. Maybe something more like this? Hmm, I think the one in front needs to be a bit farther forward. Actually, I'm not sure if the rear one should be visible at all.

If you want to have the back wings to match the angle of the front wings, I think they should either be straightened out more to the right of the picture, or the ends of the wings should be visible between the legs and that's it. That's what it seems like to me at least. If you're using SAI you might want to use the Free Deform mode of the selection tool to mess around with it; I find it helps me with tricky perspective and angles. 

[DragonMage156]

Looks good. I think something else you could try on the wings is move the tips closer together.

[Sporb]

22 hours ago, Mobbstar said:

Yeah, but using bicubic instead of bilinear helps a lot.

That's an option? ...Oh, yeah, it is.

 

10 hours ago, MenaAthena said:

If you want to have the back wings to match the angle of the front wings, I think they should either be straightened out more to the right of the picture, or the ends of the wings should be visible between the legs and that's it. That's what it seems like to me at least. If you're using SAI you might want to use the Free Deform mode of the selection tool to mess around with it; I find it helps me with tricky perspective and angles. 

I'm actually using Fire Alpaca, which, unfortunately, doesn't seem to have much in the way of deform tools. The most I can do is scale and rotate things. :/ 

 

Anyway, here's the possibly finished version. I did... something... with the far wings.

Do you think I have enough lighting effects???

Link, in case that's distorted:

http://i.imgur.com/93drZbj.png

[Mobbstar]

Just now, Sporb said:

I'm actually using Fire Alpaca, which, unfortunately, doesn't seem to have much in the way of deform tools. The most I can do is scale and rotate things. :/ 

You can just hold CTRL to deform, I think It should say at the bottom.

Just now, Sporb said:

Anyway, here's the possibly finished version. I did... something... with the far wings.

Nice work with the wings. You should consider adding blue glow to the eyes to contrast the orange wings. Maybe reinforce the flame light?

[Sporb]

On 12/16/2016 at 9:22 AM, Mobbstar said:

You can just hold CTRL to deform, I think It should say at the bottom.

Hold CTRL? No wonder I didn't figure that out. While we're at it, is there a way to mirror a layer or selection without mirroring the whole image? Cutting and pasting into a new image just to mirror it is so awkward.
 

Quote

 

Nice work with the wings. You should consider adding blue glow to the eyes to contrast the orange wings. Maybe reinforce the flame light?

 

There IS a blue glow to the eyes. I guess if you can't see it it's not prominent enough. Okay, here's a bit more glow to the eyes and also wings because that was supposed to be more visible.

 

I'm not sure if I like it more.

[minespatch]

Only thing that seems off is the background but since the real focus is the machine, it doesn't matter. Looks pretty good to me.

[Mobbstar]

21 hours ago, Sporb said:

is there a way to mirror a layer or selection without mirroring the whole image

Of course, in the "layer" submenu at the top. It is under "rotate", I think, which is probably why you couldn't find it.

[Sporb]

On 12/18/2016 at 9:05 PM, minespatch said:

Only thing that seems off is the background but since the real focus is the machine, it doesn't matter. Looks pretty good to me.

Yeah, drawing a background would be an entirely different can of worms, and I don't really have a good idea for what that would look like.

Anyway, I meant to post some of the inspiration for the dragonfly with one of the drawings/sketches, but I kept forgetting. When I started imagining these robotic bugs, I thought it would be hilarious/awesome if the predators had some sort of energy guns and flew around shooting down their prey. Like some sort of Star Wars ship battle or biplane dogfight, but on a miniature scale.

[Sporb]

New sketch.

I keep forgetting which way is up when working on this.

[minespatch]

Looks a bit complex but I'm guessing this is a probable world design?

[Sporb]

23 hours ago, minespatch said:

Looks a bit complex but I'm guessing this is a probable world design?

World design? Nah, it's actually based on a random physical sketch I did years ago but I liked it well enough that i wanted to revisit it. Although, I guess you could consider it world design; it's just a really small world.

So it turns out that large drawings with a bunch of details are a lot of work! Here's the next iteration, but I don't think it's quite done yet. I think I need to add some shading/lighting to some of the smaller stuff, like the rocks and the tiles, but I haven't decided what needs it most yet. I'm not sure I'm happy with the colors of the grass and the tree foliage, either.

[Sporb]

I'm late with these, but I wasn't sure if I was gonna post them or not.

Anyway, here's the finalized version of the above drawing. Not a whole lot changed, but here's the full size.

 

And here's an entirely new one, pretty much complete. I may have gone a little ham with the watercolor brush. It's supposed to look like something you might find in a children's storybook.

The reason I wasn't sure if I was gonna post these is because they're actually gonna be my Christmas gifts to some family members. But you guys can keep a secret, right?  

[Sporb]

Hey, would anyone be interested if I posted like written stuff instead of just drawings here? Like, short story kinda things or, ahem, Lore. Because I probably have some things I could share.

[minespatch]

Go right ahead.

[Sporb]

Well, that's one. I guess I've been taking a break from drawing so I might as well post this just in case anyone wants to read it.

An Experiment:

Spoiler

            An air of solemnity filled the experiment chamber at the top of the Science Tower. The dark cut stones and metal trim of the room seemed especially grim as the assistant trolls worked in complete silence. They assembled the convoluted magical device cautiously, despite their familiarity with the task. This was not the first time they had sent objects to The VOID and it would not be the last, but to them it held a special significance.
            In the flickering orange light of the bracketed torches, they attached piece after piece to the slowly growing monstrous device of glistening metal. Set at one end of the low-ceilinged oblong room, surrounded by an expanse of empty floor, it was as if this device had frightened all the lesser scientific equipment away, a true monster. The other equipment seemed to cower behind the heavy stone barricades which partitioned the room, a cramped assortment of glass tubes and miscellaneous metal.
            A few mancers wrote protective and strengthening runes into the thick barricade stones, though magic could provide little reinforcement in the presence of The VOID. A few other members of the Department of VOID Exploration, too important to dirty their hands with manual labor, stood nervously behind the barricade, clutching notebooks and fidgeting with pencils as they awaited the start of the experiment.
            The head of the department, a self-assured and highly intelligent goblin, however, kept herself busy. She oversaw the construction of the device, observing every detail and making minute adjustments. She seemed the only one who truly belonged in the room as she stood confidently next to the device. But, the monstrous machine dwarfed her as it grew, and soon even her heavy metal armor did not seem enough to protect her.
            This armor had been specially designed for the experiment. It was brought to life through animancy, so that her puny body could control it, and it was carefully insulated from magical interference, so that its delicate magical components would not be damaged. A large backpack was connected to the rest of the armor by flexible tubes, and the suit was covered in gauges and adjustment knobs. Various tools and measurement devices were suspended in accessible locations around the suit. The domed helmet, spacious enough to accommodate her horns, had only a small viewport of thick glass, but it was studded with magical hawkeye stones to provide greater visibility. Now, the armor glistened faintly as she moved bareheaded in the orange torchlight.
            Finally, the dreadful teleportation machine was complete. As she donned the helmet and stood on the platform at the center of the device, she began to feel uneasy. She tried to silence her fears; after all, she had put test subjects for the super soldier projects through worse. What kind of scientist would she be if she was not willing to herself endure an experiment which held such greater import for scientific discovery? But, she remained nervous as the assistant trolls retreated from the room and the few remaining observers and mancers cowered behind the barricade.
            Then they switched on the device. There was a brief moment where the world seemed to hold its breath. A small sphere of darkness appeared in its center. In an instant, that ball expanded and filled the room. A pressure wave emanated from the sphere and knocked the observing scientists off their feet. The mancers clutched their heads as the magic field was warped into the sphere. The solid stone floor seemed to ripple under them, as the fabric of space itself undulated around the device.
            The ball of void eclipsed not only that dreadful machine but also the walls, floor, and ceiling. Suddenly, instead of being concealed in the cramped room of a tower, the observers were exposed to a vast emptiness. There was a sense of an immense open space and air rushed forward in a futile attempt to fill it. What was left of the room darkened, as if even the light of the torches was being consumed. When the scientists crawled to their feet and peered over the barricade, they saw faint multicolored lights twinkling and dancing in the far distance of The VOID. As the air current pulled them inward, they felt an irrational fear of falling forward and being absorbed into that limitless nothingness.
            Abruptly, the sphere of void shrank and disappeared. The stones of the tower seemed to vibrate as space snapped back into position. But the machine, the stone floor surrounding it, and the now limp body of the head of the department were transformed, appearing almost pure black even under the torchlight. The assistant trolls returned to the room, and, under the direction of the scientists, began carefully removing these now corrosive objects.
            The scientists knew that what now comprised these objects was less a substance and more an absence. It was the absence of space itself which merely held the shapes of the objects that had been pulled to The VOID. It was the holes where those objects should have been.
            The assistant trolls seemed especially solemn as they carried the remains of the head of the department from the room. They knew that she was now near The VOID, hopefully protected by her suit and gathering important scientific data, but they could not shake the feeling that the hole she had left behind was a corpse and that this was her funeral march.
            If they had known the results of sending a lit candle to The VOID, they would have been still more uneasy. For the hole in space left behind by that experiment had a dark flame which continued to burn, as if it was a real candle.
            Nonetheless, they deposited her unmoving remains in one of the underground void storage chambers, according to orders. Against orders, they lay her remains on the hole of a table which had been sent to The VOID, positioning her folded hands on her chest. They removed her helmet and placed it on her chest. If she never returned from The VOID, at least her remains were given a proper warrior’s burial, though she had never fought a battle. In the near complete darkness of the storage room, her remains seemed to emit a faint glow, as if the lights of The VOID were visible through them. Awed by the spectacle, the assistant trolls departed and sealed the room.
            They would have been further frightened if they had seen what happened afterward. For, in the blackness of the storage room, the hole she left behind, the hole in space where she should have been, opened its eyes.

 

[Mobbstar]

Is it even science fantasy if it literally talks about magic?

[Sporb]

1 hour ago, Mobbstar said:

Is it even science fantasy if it literally talks about magic?

I don't know? But having magic doesn't mean that the rest of the world doesn't follow its own laws of physics, and magic must follow its own laws as well.

 

Here's a half-baked sorta prequel thingy. The context is some sort of journal entry.

Spoiler

            The bio-manipulating magic, dubbed "biomancy" by our linguists who rediscovered it, has proven useful after all. Although I was instructed to test only the abilities of the magic, I managed to glean new scientific knowledge from it by experimenting on two goblin test subjects.
            This biomancy allowed us to switch the eyes of each test subject into the other, and the results were intriguing. Each subject was rendered totally blind! This did not appear to be caused by any error in the switch, because, when the eyes were returned to their proper bodies, the subjects were able to see as well as ever. My hypothesis is that each body may have a different "language" which the eye uses to communicate with the brain. Indeed, perhaps one of the brain's first functions is to learn the language of the eye. If possible, I will test this by switching the eyes of the test subjects for longer periods of time to see if they can adjust to the change and learn to see again.
            I long to try this on myself; I could learn so much more! It's so hard to get meaningful data from an uneducated test subject. They really show no enthusiasm for science at all. Alas, Her Eternal Darkness has assigned me instead to working with the linguists on some other dusty old tome. HED apparently wants to find out what truth there is to this void nonsense. Pardon me, I mean "The VOID;" I suppose I wasn't being suitably pretentious about it. What does it matter? The ancient peoples had this knowledge millions of years before our time, so rediscovering it is hardly advancing the cause of science.
            Nonetheless, I must attempt to keep an open mind about this. Maybe there is something to be learned from The VOID, just as biomancy has opened new channels for scientific investigation.
            At least it will be a welcome break from the animated armor project.

 

[Sporb]

Alright, back to our regularly scheduled weirdness.

Here's some sketchy weeds.

 

For this next unfinished sketch, let's play a silly guessing game. Here's the name of the names of the layers: "legs," "shell," "eyes," "tendrils," and "innards." What's this gonna be a sketch of?

Spoiler

Was your guess close?

Easy, right?