Post your sketches here!

[bluestarultor]

That actually looks great as it is. Maybe you don't envision him bald, but he sure looks good that way.

[phil_]

Nexus has a meaty neck is all I'll say. No, wait, I'll add on the the mesh dealie could use some shading to make it something more specific than a "mesh dealie" and that shading hair is as hard as the standards you set for yourself.

[Loyal]

I'll add on the the mesh dealie could use some shading to make it something more specific than a "mesh dealie" and that shading hair is as hard as the standards you set for yourself.

Those are just guidelines I'm using to keep the not-done chainmail rings aligned. Forgot to disable that layer and so it looks like bad Tron effects.

That actually looks great as it is. Maybe you don't envision him bald, but he sure looks good that way.

I have seriously, albeit briefly considered just keeping him bald, but I don't think I could forgive myself if I let that happen permanently. D:

[bluestarultor]

Wait. Wow, that's Nexus? Okay, I didn't even recognize him, but now that phil_ cracked the lid, I see it.

Kind of always imagined him a bit less beefy, to be honest.

Also reminds me of that sprite I did as an example of how your new design could work on a FF6 base. You wouldn't by any chance want what I have for future reference if it's still bumping around, would you, Loyal?

[Loyal]

Yeah, I've been trying to diversify the two for awhile, and one such way was to try and portray Nexus as somewhat heavyset, and Loyal as a bit wiry. Where Loyal should emphasize speed, agility, and economy of effort, Nexus should move very deliberately, and radiate power and dominance with every step.

I suppose the confusion can't be helped, since for the longest time I've been working with JRPG sprites and minimal knowledge of different body builds, though I may scale back the 'meaty' quality a bit (probably back to about this level) if it's that jarring. I admit that the neck at least is a bit much.

As for the sprites, you tell me.

[bluestarultor]

Fair enough. I knew you were doing them with CT bases at the time and thought I'd offer an FF6 base, but if it's not needed, it's not needed.


Edit: Must have slipped my mind to comment on the rest.

I have to say I'd worry less about being "jarring" and more about serving the character. Honestly, the reason it WAS jarring is because of how young he seemed in your previous portrayals. It was always in a kind of anime style before this. If that style doesn't service what you want with the character, it's best to toss it out and do what you really want as the new standard, rather than trying to find a middle ground where one isn't due. From what I remember about Nexus, he's 1) evil (in the sense that he's actually a bad guy, where Loyal is much more the lovable rogue), 2) some sort of fighter class, and 3) pretty much Loyal's other half. Assuming I'm remembering correctly, having him be a big, beefy guy is appropriate, and an apparent age difference really isn't unheard of when considering these kinds of things. Age in itself is often used as an indicator of personality, so where Loyal's younger appearance could be seen as indicating his free spirit, Nexus' older appearance could be seen just as much as his low tolerance for antics.

[Kyanbu The Legend]

A few sketches
Dash Stellar

I swear he not an emo character. Went for a serious expression and ended up making the guy look emo.


Need an opinion on Violet and Viola's design so far.

Both Viola and Violet appeared in Mischief Knights Episode 0 (Scene 5)


Also remember this pic.

It was a WIP I stared back in January that I never finished. Since so much time has passed since I've made it I went back and drew an updated version. Looks hell of a lot better then the previous. And it's the best redesign of Tsunadai (an old character I created back in 2007) I've ever made.

Click to view

[bluestarultor]

You're getting really good with anatomy, Kyanbu!

The only real issue I see is the right sister's knees being out of alignment with each other.

[Loyal]

@Kyanbu: Something I've noticed about your drawings is that they look rather unnatural. In particular:

-Arms and legs are frequently excessively long. It's not uncommon to see characters drawn a good 7-8 heads tall (more natural-looking bodies tend to be between 6-7 depending on age) and the length of the legs contributes to that quite a bit. A standing character's arms (not counting the length of their hands and fingers) shouldn't extend more than an inch or so past the waistline.

-Also, you draw clothing a bit too skintight; I wouldn't be surprised if you were simply overlaying the clothes on top of whatever lines you drew for the body. Even if the clothing is form-fitting (of which I have no doubt here), fabric does have a thickness which needs to be taken into account throughout the length of the article of clothing, not just at the holes.

The characters are designed well enough, especially Tsunadai. Just need to work on execution. I do wonder if Violet's hair is supposed to look so... sculptured as it does, though.

I have to say I'd worry less about being "jarring" and more about serving the character. Honestly, the reason it WAS jarring is because of how young he seemed in your previous portrayals. It was always in a kind of anime style before this. If that style doesn't service what you want with the character, it's best to toss it out and do what you really want as the new standard, rather than trying to find a middle ground where one isn't due.

Like I mentioned before, I can only avoid so much confusion with JRPG sprites and limited artistic talent. Now that I'm getting better I can afford to branch out and draw them as I actually visualize them.

From what I remember about Nexus, he's 1) evil (in the sense that he's actually a bad guy, where Loyal is much more the lovable rogue), 2) some sort of fighter class, and 3) pretty much Loyal's other half.

All correct.

Assuming I'm remembering correctly, having him be a big, beefy guy is appropriate, and an apparent age difference really isn't unheard of when considering these kinds of things. Age in itself is often used as an indicator of personality, so where Loyal's younger appearance could be seen as indicating his free spirit, Nexus' older appearance could be seen just as much as his low tolerance for antics.

FWIW, both characters are supposed to be in their mid twenties, but Nexus is grumpy enough that he could probably be seen as in his mid thirties to even early forties.

[Kyanbu The Legend]

Thanks for the feed back Blues and Loyal.