[geoman2k]

i just got painter 8 and i'm trying to learn it.... allthough it seems the people at corel don't want that to happen because they made possible the most confusing program ever. i wish i could just get all of the burshes and shit from painter in photoshop (adobe actually know how to make a gui that works). anyways enough griping.

my biggest problem with this picture obviously is the knight. i just can't seem to make him look right. i want it to look like he is striking the org with great force. as of now it looks like he his just holding the mace to his stomach. i know when i paint it i can add some motion blur, but i don't think that will do hte job on his own. i need to make it really look like the knight is using all of his strength to inflict a deadly blow on this monster. anyone have any suggestions? what i really need is a referance for the pose of the knight... like a photo of a guy hitting a verticle drum or swinging one of those ball-n-chain things they do at track meets. if anyone can help at all, i'd appretiate it.

PS: sorry about the huge size, i forgot to shrink it. i'll replace it with a smaller version later tonight.

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[amichaels]

Well, I hope you don't mind, I did a quick paint over. WHat I thought was the knight needed to look a little more dynamic in his pose, so I gave him a stance similar to someone swinging a baseball bat. The leading shoulder should drop down and the other shoulder and arm come into alignment. I also spread his legs a bit. Extension is really important when you're swinging, you can't do it with your back all hunched over. Hope this helps.



Also, Painter is not an easy program to learn to use. And if you've never painted with traditional media it's that much more difficult. It took me almost a month to getthe hang of it, although there's still a lot I need to learn. So don't get discouraged. Keep painting!

[Drew]

A good book to look at when learning this stuff is How to Draw the Marvel Way. They talk about action lines and how to make a character look like he's smashing the hell out of something.

What you need to do here is sit down with your sketch book and practice action lines. Widen the stance. Bend the back and shoulders. Make it look like he's pushing from the ground and trying to make every muscle he has help him with the blow. (I'm assuming he's using the mace like a baseball bat.) When you can make a stick figure look like he's doing what you want this guy to do, then come back to the picture and redraw the guy.

Also, to really sell the fact that the mace is smashing into the monster's side, breaking bones and displacing organs, don't just have a dent in the torso. That's a good start, but show where the stomach is being pushed out of place by a foot or so. In fact, unless this guy's not hurting the monster at all, you could have the entire torso bending with the blow. Watch a boxing match and notice how when a guy gets hit really hard, not just a jab, his head or body will turn with the power of a punch. That's what you want to show here.

And last, but very important, watch your lighting. Make sure that the lighting is consistant on all areas of your picture. If the light source is from above, make sure that every object, every muscle and piece of armor shows that. Post this when you're finished so we'll know how it turned out!

[amichaels]

How to Draw Comics the Marvel way was I think the first art book I ever owned. My grandmother got it for me on my 13th birthday, and since, I've worn one copy out and the other is a bit dogeared.