Dragon's Revisited [Come on in folks]

[Liquide]

From a honest doodler to another (in the sense of critisicm that is a good thing).

The things I have a hard time to picture are:

• Depth: All the shadow kind of blend togather so even though I know how the orignial picture looks like (which was a good step forward in progession I might add) I cannot see the depth of the picture. Try use shadows a bit less and only where it is most needed. Such as below the wings to give the illusion of depth and 3d
  
• Detail: Dont' hide all that wonderful detail you had in this B/W doodle, try use less chunks of colors/shades so it blends togather the originals details and shadows instead of covering them in this fashion. The brightred you have chosen works well though, try combineit with a fiery orange for more detail o come out (and try replace a lot of the dark shadows with a dark crimson color instead)

Apart from these two above I like it, and I also see that you have the same problem as myself when it comes to backgrounds (e.g. we try to cover them up in themselves so we don't have to work on them to much).

Oh and paint on my fair lady, you're a truly getting closer to your dragon you want to be able to draw for each picture you make (and I want the same honest reply from you when I post my lady red dragon a bit later [still meddling with some shadows and detail] )

 

[Liquide]

Well she isn't quite finished yet but I felt like doing a progression report and here we go again, still need to renew my scanner hardware though

So fire away with the comments / critisicm.

 

[Malessa]

WHOLLY $%@*! Looks great to me, matter of fact, I can't find anything to criticise, cept maybe it took you long enough! Just kidding. She is a beaut! Are you going to try to color her? An exceptional dragon like her needs exceptional color and background! Then again, she's pretty perfect just like that..
hmm...
btw, you know I've done 2 since your old thread...*cough*

 

[Liquide]

WHOLLY $%@*! Looks great to me, matter of fact, I can't find anything to criticise, cept maybe it took you long enough! Just kidding. She is a beaut! Are you going to try to color her? An exceptional dragon like her needs exceptional color and background! Then again, she's pretty perfect just like that..
hmm...
btw, you know I've done 2 since your old thread...*cough*

Thanks, I'll try and color her in pshop later on still I need to know why she is good lady

And gimme more dragons Malessa

 

[Malessa]

Thanks, I'll try and color her in pshop later on still I need to know why she is good lady

And gimme more dragons Malessa

Everything is portioned right, right down to the feet and toes, I know thats the hardest to accomplish and you pulled it off without a hitch. The detail is just enough to show the muscle, scales and shading without to much or not enough. The only thing that I can see that is missing, but not missed, is the tiny scales that cover the whole body. Like I said though, they are not missed or necessarily needed in my opinion. My problem with my own work is I love detail, but end up with too much or it looks cluttered, you don't have this problem.

Doh! Grumble, grumble, I was refering to YOU doing another!lol, but I will see what I can muster. After your next, that is.....Muhaahaaha

 

[Liquide]

Well I must post something in order to get Malessa to do another dragon. I know it is not a full dragon but it is all I have managed to scrabble togather today.

Fire away your comments!

 

[Wolv0rine]

Okay, okay, Malessa's just too gung-ho. I know Liquide can take him some creative crits, so just to balance things out, I'll shoot it down (because he already knows I dig the pic, hehe)

1. This is a personal preference thing, but I think the horns atop his head are too short. They look more like bony ridges than horns.
2. The cheek frill bothers me a bit, I think it's because it's underdeveloped. Give just a hint more impression of the individual spires that end in spurs.
3. The foreground wing's humorous bone doesn't meet up with the shoulder, it looks dislocated.
4. Foreground foreleg, from the 'elbow' down this looks great, but I get the impression that this humorous is too short by just a wee bit, because I have to look to see that the anatomy here isn't shoulder-elbow-forearm-claw.
5. Fromthe point where the tail bends, it begins to become distorted, at one point the line just wavers and creates a bulge in the lower-tail.
6. The wings, I think, are too structured in their texture. There's this impression of taut leather (as there should be), from the lines, but they are too symetrical.

Now, I do like this pic. Here is what I DO like
1. On the whole, it stands up well. Forms and structure are mostly in proportion to each other, and it fills the negative space very well.
2. The head itself has a good shape, not over-done, not under-done. More draconic to my eye than any other dragon I've seen Liquide do.
3. The neck, in thickness, length, and scale-pattern -- this is a grand dragon neck. It connects to the head, and the shoulders (and before anyone calls that a backhanded compliment, look at some dragon pics. So many don't do that).
4. The outline of the wings is superb. This is their size, mass, and overall shape. These wings could lift this dragon (even if it does have 2 sets of biceps, hehe)
5. The claws are very nice. In specific, the claws that are bearing the dragon's weight are very nice. It would be easy to stop and point and say "Hey, here are three dozen tips for making those claws look like they are really bearin that weight!", but darnit I like 'em.
6. The subtle shading of the musculature. I like this technique, although I think it's just a hair too light. We need a slightly darker line, with a bit of shading gradiation blending it into the hide, but I like how muted it is now too.

Overall... we know that Liquide's got a solid handle on the theoretical anatomy, the man's practically written a treatise on it for us. And, while I disagree on a few points, he sticks to his own rules, and that provides a level of internal consistency that is supporting of each piece.

Okay, that's enough, I just don't want your head to swell up with praise so much that you don't improve, mate.

((BTW, this is the full-body dragon, not the head-only))

 

[Wolv0rine]

Not to hijack the thread, but I figured I'd throw in a dragon sketch I did not long ago while I had oriental dragons in mind heavilly. No forethought, just let the pencil move as it would.

 

[Malessa]

I guess it's my turn to draw. I've changed my methods of drawing a bit. Y'all haven't seen much current stuff since most of it is either in our pdf book of swords, or hasn't been published yet. I'm not going to mention anything else, but I think you see a noticeable difference on my sketches. Keep in mind though, its going to be awhile.

Btw, really dig the dragon head Liquide! Did a good job on the detail of the open mouth.

 

[Malessa]

Not to hijack the thread, but I figured I'd throw in a dragon sketch

Who am I to say, but hijack all you want, it is afterall, a dragon thread!

Btw, looks good, has a cat like influence to it.