[Art / Shading Test ] Chibi Neru Akita

[PJAMA]

Hey Guys. Long Time No See.

I drew Neru Akita. Please excuse the lack of anti-aliasing.
Does the shading look okay?





C+C Please.

- Paul

[StarSock64]

I get to meet the infamous PJAMA

You ought to read up on the basics, sir.

Oh I get to use that line again. "You're shading just to shade, you need to shade to show depth." There's quite a few things in the art resources thread that you should take a look at. I don't know if this goes against what most people would say but I think it's actually more useful to learn how to draw more realistic people before trying to draw little cartoony/chibi/whatever ones. There's still a certain structure that should be there, even in small things, but you really learn it if you go all the way.

[Maxpphire]

Your lines are very wobbley, learn to make them less wobbly, also you should add more shades then just 2 colors, your anatomy needs a lot work, feet don't bend that way, heads are not that big, arms and legs are not that short, torsos are not that long, and the tie is off center.

[PJAMA]

I get to meet the infamous PJAMA

You ought to read up on the basics, sir.

Oh I get to use that line again. "You're shading just to shade, you need to shade to show depth." There's quite a few things in the art resources thread that you should take a look at. I don't know if this goes against what most people would say but I think it's actually more useful to learn how to draw more realistic people before trying to draw little cartoony/chibi/whatever ones. There's still a certain structure that should be there, even in small things, but you really learn it if you go all the way.

The reason why I shade is because whenever I try to draw something with just 4 colors or such, people ask me to shade no matter what.

Thanks, Sir. Sometimes I might get confused on what "depth" really means. Being an Encyclopediac, the word "depth" can have multiple meanings (e.g. 1 - to show how deep a object is, 2 - the level of specificness) Does "depth" mean to make deep or make realistic?

I feel proud of my works.

[StarSock64]

Thanks, Sir. Sometimes I might get confused on what "depth" really means. Being an Encyclopediac, the word "depth" can have multiple meanings (e.g. 1 - to show how deep a object is, 2 - the level of specificness) Does "depth" mean to make deep or make realistic?

*maaa'ammm

...(Somebody else explain it for me

I'm a loser at shading and I don't want to say something wrong )

Edit: ...Um. well I don't even wanna make you wait so I'll just give it my best shot.

The way I think of it is, you're drawing things on a 2D plane but you kind of want to show that they're not just flat beings. You want to...simulate 3D, I guess. So by showing depth, you're showing that things go deeper, and around, and such. You have to keep real-world light and shadow in mind, too.

[PJAMA]

Thanks, Sir. Sometimes I might get confused on what "depth" really means. Being an Encyclopediac, the word "depth" can have multiple meanings (e.g. 1 - to show how deep a object is, 2 - the level of specificness) Does "depth" mean to make deep or make realistic?

*maaa'ammm

...(Somebody else explain it for me

I'm a loser at shading and I don't want to say something wrong )

Edit: ...Um. well I don't even wanna make you wait so I'll just give it my best shot.

The way I think of it is, you're drawing things on a 2D plane but you kind of want to show that they're not just flat beings. You want to...simulate 3D, I guess. So by showing depth, you're showing that things go deeper, and around, and such. You have to keep real-world light and shadow in mind, too.

Oh, so what you're saying that if my drawn 2D Neru existed in a 3D environment standing on a coordinate plane, there would be stuff in the background just behind her and some parts of her would be 3D-ish, including a shadow.

Like this picture here:


Imagine Miku is 2D and standing in a 3D enviornment, and there's a shadow.

Amirite?

[StarSock64]

(This is pretty ironic coming right after that DA thread post)

...um, I guess so. Basically when you're shading you need to put though behind it, rather than being "oh, this is a section, I'll shade in the corner farthest from the lightsource"

For example, the hair casts a shadow, clothes go over the body and the face has planes

But I just learned about face planes recently and I dunno if you even should incorporate that into chibi things. Where's all the experts?

Oh I remembered something important though! You shouldn't be so worried about shading right now; you should learn how to make good lineart first. Shading's kind of an extra sort of aesthetic thing, lineart's a more basic thing that should come first, because no amount of shading's gonna make a not-so-great lineart suddenly really good.

Basically I'd suggest studying up on the body and trying to draw a bigger, more realistic picture. Not necessarily realism (though there's all sorts of benefits to that, I rarely do it because I think it's so boring myself...) but just, y'know, real-ish proportions. Of course we can help you along the way, but it's a place to start.

[TouchDownHero]

Yeah, the lines are wobbly and the arms really are too stubby...but the Pikachu outfit means it is win. WIN, I SAY!

[Gors]

ugh @ the way you post. Don't use 'WIN' or 'FAIL' or similar here, because they make you look like an idiot.

---

About the drawing, you aren't going anywhere if you don't even know a little bit of anatomy. Again, I don't mean to read every anatomy book and memorize all the muscles, but at least to have a decent idea about them.

Also you aren't shading; only making a darker line in the right part of the drawing. Shading is meant to give volume to the drawing, and that isn't happening.

[Cobalt Blue]

did you just draw sonichu-

[PJAMA]

@Francisco Cifuentes, yes. I drew Neru Akita styled as Sonichu.

@Gorsal, thanks man. I'll keep practicing in Paint.NET. I won't use phrases like that.

[Vipershark]

okay

i
don't want this to come across the wrong way
i really don't

i can see you're legitimately trying to change, so i don't mean this in a hostile way, but

did you really post those thinking that they were actually GOOD?

[PJAMA]

okay

i
don't want this to come across the wrong way
i really don't

i can see you're legitimately trying to change, so i don't mean this in a hostile way, but

did you really post those thinking that they were actually GOOD?

Yes.

But I just noticed something though, her ponytail isn't finished...

[GrooveMan.exe]

The unfinished ponytail is honestly the least of your worries for this. Even going by a 'chibi' style, Everything is lumpy and disproportionate. Her torso is /huge/ compared to her stubby legs which only face in one direction. It looks undeniably wrong and awkward.

I know it's a bit cliche when people tell you to use references when doing artwork, but it's really really important for this reason. I dare you to find /any/ existing high-quality artwork that uses the same flat drawing style with bloated torso and 1-direction feet. I double dare you.

In the meantime, take a look at these - see how even though they're also 'chibi', they take prportions and anatomical depth into account:
http://www.creativeuncut.com/gallery-04/...ancer.html
http://www.creativeuncut.com/gallery-04/...-man1.html
http://www.creativeuncut.com/gallery-02/zww-link1.html