Darkjedi

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After months of painstaking labor and work, I drew this high quality piece of art just for you as part of the art trade that we agreed to and that I didn't totally just make up right this moment and expect you to fulfill without actually asking.

Now get to work drawing me some art, woman!

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Why, oh WHY do you refuse me so! I offer art trade after art trade, and instead you taunt me with your skills!

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I'm not a fan of bumping my own stuff, but I was kind of hoping that Bell would stop by and notice this.

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Then I'll keep it bumped... although that's technically against the board rules to bump threads, so I'll just chime in and say 'great work, Juggertha!'. Because it is.

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Wow, that's amazing. And none of it was CG'd, huh? O_o Maybe I should pick my brush up again.

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It's my understanding the entire piece is CG.

I'm getting veklempt.

Talk amongst yourselves. I'll give you a topic; the Holy Roman Empire was neither Holy, nor Roman, nor an Empire.

Discuss.

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Aww, you changed the whole picture...was gonna use the old link for comparison. As far as I can tell it looks much better. I was kinda with the square butt thing too when I first saw it. I did like the boots though...

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Sorry about replacing the old one. I tend to delete old versions of my works in favor of the new. However, I'd bet Great Briton has both. Maybe he can re-post the previous on for comparison.

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I know this isn't art related but...

Anyone else watching the new BSG? I think it is THE best show on tv. I am mental for the show! Last week's episode was amazing. I think I pee'd a little!

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I've been watching since the beginning of LAST season, when they found the Pegasus. I can't go a week without seeing the new 'Battlestar' and the nw 'Heroes'.

Based on feedback, I've made some improvements to the piece;

- Angled the background a little for more dynamics.

- Stretched the lead arm out some to get rid of the 'flex' look.

- Altered the belt to match the in-game version

- Got rid of the boot line and changed the outfit to a one-piece

- Rounded his gluteous maximus (butt muscles)

New versions;

GREAT BRITON - poster

GREAT BRITON - detail

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"...Also, I think the fact that the shot is pretty much perpendicular to GB makes it lack the usual depth your pieces have. Perhaps if he were tilted 10-20 degrees towards the viewer, there'd be more dynamism. ..."

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OOOooohh.. I see. You mean if the cityscape were tilted a little bit, it would have a more dynamic look. That's a good idea and I might mess with it some (with Great Briton's approval, of course).

After rendering 20 or so heroes, I've found they all have one universal quality; no one agrees which they prefer.

Some people like the majestic cityscapes while others prefer gritty street scenes, some prefer when the location is right out of the game and others prefer when the scene is more generic, some prefer when the character is posing in thought and others prefer action, some prefer when there's special effects and others want to emphasize the costumes... each piece is different in theme and character, and each has it's strengths and own weaknesses.

Of course, I read every post from you all and I take all input into consideration... both good and bad. As I look over the last year's worth of artwork, I see definite improvement in my works and I thank you all for the valuable feedback.

The single, most important question is, does the client like it? Does it fit the commission? Great Briton has requested some minor changes and I'll be making those tonight. As long as he's happy, I consider the piece a success.

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How the heck did you do that!?
Looks awesome

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Can't give away ALL my secrets... although I've been considering making a 'tutorial' section of my website that gives away all my secrets.

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That's freakin' sweet!! I love the helmet...dunno why but that's my favorite part.

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Wierd. Someone in my SG said the exact same thing, and yet it's possibly the least detailed part of the whole costume.

In a useless attempt to get this thread back on track...

Graver, that's look awesome! It gives Battle-Angel a darker side than usual, which is great since she's supposed to be caught between Heaven and Hell.

I can't wait to see this one done!

At long last, I present to you "Great Briton". He was described to me as the British version of Statesman, so I knew from the start I wanted a strong pose that showed a lot of direction and determination. Since he's a flyer, that made the choice fairly simple.

GREAT BRITON - poster

GREAT BRITON - detail shot

I haven't done one yet... but I'd be happy to someday.

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Oops, didn't notice that. I can't ever figure out how to do it. Can't you just copy/paste?

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I'd love to draw you... wait, I gotta copy/paste? Naw... not worth the effort.

I don't get how that 'Angelic' costume is angelic.

/boggle

I'm so completely happy with our trade, I can't wait to get it printed and hung up in my studio. It's already my desktop.

I really like that one, Jugg. Your use of photoshop is really interesting - gives it a strong airbrush feel. My guess is you used to use airbrush extensively.

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Di you discover that you had to hee moving them around on his back when you changed posses? I noticed that when i did griph girl.

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Nope. The wings were aligned straight with his back and parented to his chest, so whenever the core figure, the wings moves with him.

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What did you do the spandex with? Did you paint WP's nude model or or use Superhero Complete?

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I prefer the Ultra Bodysuit because it has wrinkle morphs already built in. IMO, wrinkles help 'sell' the image.

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Is the mask morphing Face mask or something else?

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It's a full face mask. It was originally for Spiderman, but I re-textured it to be White Peregrine.

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and am i mistaken is that Wedge cut hair?

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Yep

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And what are those arm thingies?

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His arm wraps are from a DAZ model. It's called The Scout. Same with the boots.

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Puppies are cute... but kittens are better. *runs*
:P

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Actually, in my experience, they taste about the same.

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"...I know dj has posted this stuff before, but wanted to know how others approached this..."

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D'OH! I can't chime in?

*goes to sit in a corner*

Here's a link to my commissions page for convenience. Some samples are there too, but the gallery has a lot more;

DouglasShuler.com commissions page

The main character is dark and kinda hard to see - possibly due to the white backgrounds. I'd recommend dropping a sky of some sort back there to add interest.

I was hoping to capture the freedom of flight, or at least the individual character's moment of joy in his wings. I've been looking forward to wings for over 2 years when they were intended to be part of a winged-AT... so having them finally coming to the players is something I've long anticipated.

That's why the costume was a little less important; White Peregrine represents every hero who's wanted wings.

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"...Some of it I know is the rough edges on my ink lines (I have no idea how to fix that without HOURS of photoshop time invested just into that)..."

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I'm going to state the obvious, and then justify it with an explanation;

If you don't like scratchy ink lines, then don't make your ink lines scratchy.

What I mean is this; when inking, a line should be a SINGLE STROKE from beginning to end. Some lines are short little cross-hatches, and some are long and curvy arcs. Each and every line in an ink drawing has it's own character and helps build the image. Imagine ink lines like individual words in a story.

So, looking at your image, you have dozens of little scratch lines all lined up to make a single, longer line. Why not draw it as a single line? Instead of spending hours cleaning up the lines, you should draw a couple pictures with long, arcing lines. Once you get used to that, you won't have to spend time cleaning up images anymore. You'll be a much happier squirrel.

Brandon always does such fun stuff! Great job.