C_C's Line & Colors

[orochii]

Just lovely...! And a lot of possible positive adjectives that I can't think of right now.


Directly to my sack of inspiration! <3.

 

[Clareain_Christopher]

 

[Clareain_Christopher]

Hey guys. I've been having a difficult time with drawing lately. While I've would scribble for hours on end, I haven't really managed to finish anything worth note. I'm also struggling to finish my weekly art challenge, even though the assignment is right up my alley. I guess this goes back to art block, and the youtube videos I linked on the last page. *sigh*

Anyway, here are some orc drawings. The last one's pretty cute, but the first can go to hell. They both took way to long, compared to how fast I can draw on a good day.

Spoiler

I guess one problem I got is that I don't know how to shut off my inner critic, and focus only on drawing. One thing I'm going to try is this:

Using this:

http://stopwatch.onlineclock.net/

Every 25 minutes, I'll take a break, and check out RM -- or some crap like that. I hope to finish my WAC before work. Wish me luck!

 

[Makio-Kuta]

Ugh, art block is the absolute worse, especially when it comes hand in hand with all that critical negativity that artists seem to have an unwanted easy time sinking into. It makes me really sad to hear it's rearing its ugly head your way. I don't know if you've tried this yet, but whenever I get into one of those slumps, I just draw things that are completely removed from my usual art. (typically trees. sometimes cats.) It's hard to be critical on yourself when you are drawing something different, because you don't have that discerning eye for it that you've built over the years for your typical work. I usually pick trees because, while structured, they are also loose and that really helps to get my hand flowing and then my brain flows with it.


It doesn't ALWAYS work, but it's pretty good at breaking my ruts.


The taking structured breaks thing is a good idea too. Because that can pull you away from the artwork before you start giving it the stink eye. Sometimes, things just start to look strange because you've been staring at it for 5 hours straight. I'm sorry, you stare at anything for 5 hours with no breaks and yeah, you're probably going to start to hate on it. All the tiniest errors will surface and be all you can think about.


Talking yourself up, whether you believe it or not, is also really helpful. Everyone's got that one something that they -know- they draw pretty darn well. Maybe it's hair, maybe shoes, noses, hands, arms--something like that. Draw that. Look at that and think, "Man, I draw one mean looking -insert object of skill here-!" When you're in a rut and can't seem to draw something complete, there's nothing wrong with bolstering your confidence by drawing things you know you unobjectively rock at.


ALL THAT ASIDE, that second orc drawing really is a cutie. Best of luck, CC! I know you'll pull yourself out of it.

 

[Chaos Avian]

I think it might also be a case of drawing burn out rather than a block. This happened to me awhile back so i took a break for a few days and just tried another style for the heck of it and it actually worked! (It also helped that it was MUCH faster to finish than my usual style). Makio-Kuta's suggestion I think definitely helps, so try something COMPLETELY different from your style!~ You never know, you could find a new edge to add to you current style after wards.

 

[Clareain_Christopher]

Portraits. While my art block is slowly going away (thanks to you guys,) I still need to find my ambition.

Also, it's too cold in my house to draw for too long, lol.

Now I got a question for y'all. What lineart do you fancy? The pseudo-pencils I use for the pics above, or my normal ink-job? Love to hear your  criticism. 

--

Most of my free time at home will be devoted to improving my artwork; so feel free to request things from me. I won't accept everything, but I'll keep it in mind.

I have this art project called Gracecraft the Champion in the works. Though I'm not sure if it'll be a video game or a webcomic. I'm also thinking about hunting for a small, yet promising RM game that needs some custom art. But that's here nor there... I could be very picky about that kind of thing.

 

[Kes]

Now I got a question for y'all. What lineart do you fancy? The pseudo-pencils I use for the pics above, or my normal ink-job? Love to hear your  criticism

Personally I find it very hard to choose between them.  I think that it would boil down to context (yeah, I know, not the most original point to make) so that, for example, the crisper examples in your post above would suit a more 'realistic' game, whereas the one in the link has a more dream-like/other-worldly feel.

 

[Makio-Kuta]

Like ksjp17 said, that's a really hard question! I think that perhaps the line art in the most recent post's crispness would lend itself well to game assets for a pixel game, since the solid lines would match nicely together, but your usual line art I love and works so nicely for your fully illustrated stuff! I think I prefer it overall, though I do agree that it depends on where and when you are using it.


As for requests! I request 'anyone you want to draw from Artoris.' :>


Also also! I really like that first picture you posted in the new batch. The shading along the neck and collar/shoulders is really nice and the texture and shading look really good together along the right side of his face. His right.


Best of luck with Gracework - be it a game or webcomic - I look forward to checking it out in the future.

 

[Clareain_Christopher]

Trent is probably my favorite binder. I tend to enjoy characters that use music to empower their abilities.

I need to find ways to speed up illustrations~

 

[Makio-Kuta]

Ahh! They look so awesome. Love the poses and how they flow together with the overall comp. *^* Roman's hair is so awesome in your style as well and the expression on Trent's face!! Thanks for filling my request~ah- We started making a section on the website for art from fans, would you mind if we put this piece on there?

 

[Clareain_Christopher]

@ Makio-Kuta

I would be honored. Thanks~ 

 

[Kes]

That is a truly lovely piece of art.

 

[Another Ned]

Now that looks just plain awesome. Just saw your status, glad to hear you managed to defeat art block.
Still have an issue with the hands, though, the fingers have a part missing. Looks really great on the claw hand, but the stretched out one gives a bit of a uncanny valley vibe since I expected the fingers to be longer. ^^" Don't know. It looks so great it feels weird that the hands kinda don't. ._."

And something else... When I was looking at some concept vehicles (mostly motorcycles) for inspiration some time ago, I thought how interesting it would be to see some kind of vehicle in your style. Don't know if you'd attempt something like that (as you seem to draw mostly characters; sorry if I'm mistaken), just thinking out loud.

 

[Clareain_Christopher]

@Chiara

Funnily enough, I have this orc-mage-dude who rides a motorcycle. Once I get to drawing concept art of him, you'll definitely see some vehicles every once and awhile.

I'll keep working on my hands OTL. Thanks!


@ksjp17
 

 

[Clareain_Christopher]

Concept art:

This is going to slowly turn into a blog about my video game, since 50% of my art will be centered around it. I'm still debating on what to call the project, but for now -- we'll name it

Gracecraft the Champion: Black Flowers

Gracecraft is the name of our main character, and her father is the elf shown above. The title "Black Flowers" references the otherworldly tale of a powerful woman who more or less kickstarts the plot. It's also a homage to this AMAZING song; with lyrics referenced in game. 

(Here are the lyrics, BTW.)

I'm going to be very blunt with the story summery.

It's a SFW Bara Rpg about futuristic — orcs living inside of a Sun, as told by a male Feminist. Elves exist (obviously,) but they're rare.

I use the term Female Gaze a lot, and this project is basically the epitome of the trope. So yeah... this is homestuck levels of what the f**k. If I can keep a consistent quality to this game I'm planning, it'll easily be one of the more original rpgs to exist. But that's the hard part... the part that gives me nightmares, lol.

Almost 40% of this community is made up of women, so I hope that alone will give me a reason to work on this project. I should also note that  fanservice will exist, but it'll be very tame. And, of course, this trope is used for all male and female characters. It'll be a minor plot point because... C_C, -- but WON'T take over the plot. In fact, it might enhance the whole otherworldly/surreal vibe that my art is seemly plague with. (people always call my art unique. uniqueuniqueuniqueuniqueuniqueunique, I don't even know why- honestly.)

So, yeah, this entire post is a complete gamble, and I'm still a tad unsure if a plot like that would be accepted in a community like this. But we'll see, I guess. 

I'm still taking art requests. The quality can vary though, since it's used for me to experiment and what not. Chiara requested me to draw a motorcycle, so I'll start doing that after dinner. You can request anything you like -- no exceptions.

I would like to know your thoughts about my RM project above. Feel free to call me out, and be harsh. constructive criticism is a complement X10! That includes people reminding me how awful my hands are.      I just want to know that there are people interested in this. I don't want to waste my time researching all this useless crap to creating a free game that no one will play.

Cheers~

 

[Chaos Avian]

Ahh C_C, I read it through that once, then again looking at the TV Tropes links, (I almost died of laughter from the Tropes xD), and I'm sure that researching ate some sooo many hours of your life. (Simple browsing will take away your entire day...) and I quite like the ideas you have. Whether or it will be acceptable is what makes a "gamble" fun. It's when you break down the norms and challenge the masses and take on controversial issues is when you really have something unique. I'd say go for it and I'd be happy to tear apart your plot and ideas for you, give you potential suggestions or push you to make your ideas stand out and more prominent~ Give us something to remember.

 

[Another Ned]

Chiara requested me to draw a motorcycle, so I'll start doing that after dinner.

Yay!

Thoughts about your project: Make it fun to play and interesting and people'll play. I don't get why such a plot wouldn't be accepted, don't see anything wrong with it. But I also resisted the temptation of all the tvtropes links and my memory of most tropes is a bit blurred. D: I also used tvtropes to research for a project once. I lost several hours there. If anyone finds them, please send them home.

'Living inside a sun'. I'd play the game for the setting alone since I would want to find out how they ended up there.

 

[Clareain_Christopher]

Small bike sketches.

I didn't have enough time to do anymore because I spent this entire week writing the narrative for Gracecraft the Champion: Black Flowers. This project is really turning into something awesome story wise. 
 
The major element to the plot (other than the lgbt/feminist ark(s)) is pretty much a retelling of the Passion of Christ. With that, I've created 14 main characters. 12 of them are deemed The Council of Twelve, while the other two are messianic archetypes. Unlike The New Testament, ALL characters are morally gray, and there will be betrayals among the party members. The general mood of my plot will be rather comedic, until mid-game. At that point, the project starts showing its true colors as a borderline cosmic horror story. 
 
The Setting is still science fantasy, with the timeline taking place around 3000 A.D. And the hollowed out sun the game takes place on exists in our universe, which makes for some interesting concepts. When I said "bara game," I lied. There will be an equal amount of women in GoC: Black Flowers, compared to the men. The guys will still be rather manly, of course.
 
There's also going to be a underlining plot about racism. My orcs will take a lot of influence from modern african american thug life. This is to the point where a lot of the music will have 
a R&B/hip-hop/jazz thing going on. So I guess you could say that the plot will focus on the conflicts between Orcs and Elves...somewhat.
 
I plan on creating 3 Acts for the game. All of them have been written out in drafts, and now all I need to do is come up with the character designs. The RPG gameplay centers around boss rushes. There are no trash mobs in the game. The difficulty will be rather easy, BUT you will need to know how to use strategy for fights. For most of the game, you'll be able to play *very* defensively, which will allow you to win everything up until endgame. The only problem is that it'll take 5 times longer than being a good player, and not spamming normal attack. 
 
I'll be very careful with padding. I don't want the game to be longer than 15 hours to complete the central narrative.
 
For now, I'm going to close requests. I wasn't joking when I said that one of my toons rides a motorcycle, so hopefully I'll do that some justice in the next post. Said post is probably going to take awhile to finish though, but it'll be pretty epic; what with concept art of all 14 characters at once. 
 
Sorry if I'm rambling. It's rather difficult to share my ideas on paper that's not meant for my eyes only. I hope to improve on that, lol. If anything, this project will *really* improve my art and storytelling. Not to mention how happy its made me this past week. Feel free to ask questions   
 
Cheers.

 

[Kes]

This sounds very interesting indeed.  I'm looking forward to seeing how it pans out.