So, how much exactly does this suck?

[MrEdwardNigma]

I've tried to make my avatar myself once, with inkscape. As expected, it completely blows. Anyways, without further ado:
http://i207.photobucket.com/albums/bb65/MrEdwardNigma/MrEdwardNigmaFull.png
So, what do you think? Keep in mind, this is my first time ever making something with Inkscape, so I do have some kind of excuse...

[banjo1985]

For a first attempt on inkscape? Not bad, not bad at all...
It definitely doesn't completely blow, but there are a few things that woulkd immediately improve it:

- The bodies quite a bit too long, needs to be maybe just over half the current length. I used to have problems with this, it doesn't feel netural doing it that way but it does look much better.

- The arms and legs don't meet the body, and the neckline flows over onto the face. For this, the Page up, Page Down, Home and End buttons are your friends. You can select a piece and lower it below or put it above other things, so you could place the limbs so that they overlap the body. You can then slect them, and press page down until they drop underneath the body, that way it looks like they're joined. You can do that with the neckline too.

All in all it's a decent first attempt. I think I speak for every avatarist when I admit that my first few attempts l;eft something to be desired. But they get better quite quickly, and this is good enough to show promise.

[MrEdwardNigma]

Thx for the help:smallsmile:

Just one question: Should the body be shorter even though part of his legs are under the robe as well?

[Brickwall]

*knucklecrack*

1. Make avatars at the size they are intended to be used at! Magnification exists for detail work. The canvas should be 117x117

2. Most lines at that size should be thickness 2. Some detail lines are thickness 1. Your lines will look thicker than they are in this.

3. Robes curve away from the body and have sleeves.

4. The middle finger is an extension of the path used to draw the arm. The other two are a single path bent so that the middle is on the arm.

5. The body should be way shorter. And in answer to your question, yes. Look at the comic for how to draw robes. Always...no, never, forget to check your references.

6. The collar should be on the clothing layer, which should be below the head layer. Use your layers!

7. The crook can also be made quite easily with bent paths instead of those slightly messy pencil lines.

[banjo1985]

That's a good point. hadn't thought of that :smallredface:

In that case scratch that first point, it may actually look better slightly longer if it's a robe. Giving it some curves to make it look like a flowing robe would probably help.

When you're not doing a robe though, the usual proportions tend to be that the head should take up a third of the avatar height, and the body should be a little shorter than the legs.

I don't know if you've read the Inkscape tutorial that's stickied on this bit of the forum, if not that should help a lot. The basic tutorial in the help menu on the actual Inkscape program is also surprisingly good.

It realy doesn't suck at all for a first attempt, better than mine if I remember it rightly!

[Dallas-Dakota]

Yes, what brickwall and Banjo said.

and also a few other things

- At the lowest point of the head, you see a bit of black sticking out from the opening in the robe, that makes the skin part on the main body look like its a piece of skin glued upon the head, use the edit button to make the pathway some lower.

- The mouth should be a bit lower so that the brows dont have to go through the eyes to come out good.

- the eyes look good though they should be a bit smaller

- you should resize, becouse you can see the effects of how you will actually get it in your avatar well, for the rest about this, check brickwalls post #1

- The body is to long, if you want it to be a robe you should try to make a small outwards flow, or a flow to the right or the left if you want some wind, indicating there isnt any body.

- you should start the arms a bit in the body, so that you have them securely tied to the torso, which you havent at its right arm, if you see the black in the robe just go over it with some more color of the robe.

- the robes should have sleeves that have the same path as the arm only flowing around it.


Here's some friendly advice from an new avatarist:smalltongue: :smallbiggrin: :smalltongue:

PS, dont feel discouraged, this is quite well for a first attempt, you should see koriths first attempt:smalltongue:

Never give up, if you do, you'l be slaughtered and dead befor-
*gets tortured and slayn for giving that kind of information*

[Ichneumon]

As most things have already been said, I just feel like telling you thats my first attempt sucked too.
http://www.freewebs.com/jleuven/gp2.png

I like to think I have improved a bit on that...

[Dallas-Dakota]

Yes, here is koriths first piece of art.
http://hg.missingworlds.com/korith.jpg

I think yours is very good for a first try!

[Mr_Saturn]

Take my first avatar.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v290/Yitsock/avie.gif.gif

The arms start where the head meets the body.

The legs are about the same length as the body.

OotS Eyes are ovals of differing shape, one being bigger than the other.

All the lines are of the same thickness.

The total height of the guy is about 3-4 heads tall.

And the head is a perfect circle. Yours is a bit flattened from the top.

The lines are rounded out. Theres an option to round out the lines.

The hands should be more like half circles.

.
.
.
etc.

Yes, that was my very first avatar. *runs away*

[kpenguin]

As most things have already been said, I just feel like telling you thats my first attempt sucked too.
http://www.freewebs.com/jleuven/gp2.png

I like to think I have improved a bit on that...

Hold on... you singled me out for your first attempt?

:smallannoyed:

[Dallas-Dakota]

Yes ofcourse he did, why shouldn't he......*runs away for health reasons*

[kpenguin]

Yes ofcourse he did, why shouldn't he......*runs away for health reasons*

Come over to the ABR thread and say that... :smalltongue:

[why123]

That's a good point. hadn't thought of that

In that case scratch that first point, it may actually look better slightly longer if it's a robe. Giving it some curves to make it look like a flowing robe would probably help.

When you're not doing a robe though, the usual proportions tend to be that the head should take up a third of the avatar height, and the body should be a little shorter than the legs.

I don't know if you've read the Inkscape tutorial that's stickied on this bit of the forum, if not that should help a lot. The basic tutorial in the help menu on the actual Inkscape program is also surprisingly good.

It realy doesn't suck at all for a first attempt, better than mine if I remember it rightly!

[Szilard]

I didn't use inkscape but how good is this?
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/7/74/Stickszilard.jpg