I really need Help

[Majere]

You know... I have tried to do something like Roy... It makes me cry.
Well... Where exactly have I fail? Remember I'm using Paint... After I've tried photoshop and cry on that.
Here my "roy": http://immagini.p2pforum.it/out.php/i247278_OOTS.jpg

[Mad Mask]

Remember young one, never use Paint. It's one of the worse drawing programs.:smallyuk:
If you really want to draw Roy, shorten the body a little, make the shoulder pad grey, draw his boots, shorten the legs and arms, make the sword...
Or simply, use a picture of the comic as a guideline.

[Dallas-Dakota]

Hello, dont give up.

Some advice

- Dont make shoulders, stickfigures dont have those, place the arms at the top of the body.

- make the head round, not oval, you may try later but if you are new, don´t.

- Edit the length and how wide it is, delete all the wite ****:smalltongue: (it stretches the screen, nobody wants that!)

- make one eye an oval and one eye almost an circle, almost...

- the smirk,make it a bit lower, make it smoother by making it with the ´bend line tool´ make a straight line on his face then click slightly right/left below the mouth to make the smirk complete(just a little bit)(left/right depending on which side you avatar is facing/what you want)

- the sword and the hand on it, the hand(and fingers) should only be around the hilt(the thinnest part of the hilt), and not extend beyond the sword, the middle line in the gray should completely reach the end of the sword, the end of the sword shouldnt be so thick.

- use thicker lines, thickness no. 4, only use the same thickness of lines, unless you have very much experience.

- the feet should connect to the legs(they dont currently) and should be angled a bit downwards giving the feel of stability.

- bend the legs a bit outwards, and dont let the legs start in the middle but on the corners of the body.

- layer things up, first make the body with the ´square tool´ and then make the head with the ´oval tool´, then make arms, legs and feet.

- make a line about one fourth down the body, giving him pants:smalltongue:

- If you make the stickfigures OOTS style, let the head cover more of the body, simply place it lower.

- re-read OOTS and pay very much attention to the artwork and not so much to the plot, jokes etc.


And I think this is the longest post I have ever made on this forum, good luck and dont give up!

Ignore Mad Mask ,and listen to me.

And Mad Mask : I use paint, and some of the best artwork has come out of paint! Not all of us use Inkscape or the likes, paint sucks, but it is simple and it works, and it auto-comes with Windows.

[Neftren]

- Dont make shoulders, stickfigures dont have those, place the arms at the top of the body.

They're not shoulders, they're shoulder pads, representing Roy's Armor. Read more OotS strips and see for yourself.


- Edit the length and how wide it is, delete all the wite ****:smalltongue: (it stretches the screen, nobody wants that!)

Learn to spell. Punctuate. Anyway, if you import it into Photoshop, then save it as a .gif image, then it'll automatically wipe the white away, and make it transparent.


- make one eye an oval and one eye almost an circle, almost...
No, I definitely reccomend two ovals, of the same approximate width, although they should be different heights. Also, they ought to go at about the Midline on the face.


- the smirk,make it a bit lower, make it smoother by making it with the ´bend line tool´ make a straight line on his face then click slightly right/left below the mouth to make the smirk complete(just a little bit)(left/right depending on which side you avatar is facing/what you want)


Actually, Photoshop is very useful in the fact that it will smooth out any lines you draw... so if you're using the Pencil, I suggest making it much shorter, and proportionate to the eyes. It needs to be a bit shorter.


- the sword and the hand on it, the hand(and fingers) should only be around the hilt(the thinnest part of the hilt), and not extend beyond the sword, the middle line in the gray should completely reach the end of the sword, the end of the sword shouldnt be so thick.

As for Roy's Greatsword, I suggest using the comic as a direct reference would be better. If it helps, put a version of it under, and trace over a few times. Don't use the trace, but afterwards, draw a freestyle image, so you're not copying the Giant's work.


- use thicker lines, thickness no. 4, only use the same thickness of lines, unless you have very much experience.

If you're in Photoshop, which I suggest you open up if you haven't by now... go with line weight 2 for the major features. Arms and legs are generally about 1-1.5, and weapons are usually around 1.


- layer things up, first make the body with the ´square tool´ and then make the head with the ´oval tool´, then make arms, legs and feet.

My only comment would be to use the actual Layer Tool in photoshop.


- make a line about one fourth down the body, giving him pants:smalltongue:



Roy doesn't have pants...


To Dallas: Sorry, but Paint is just one of the worst programs ever. If you have Photoshop, Adobe Illustrator or Flash (Hey, it's actually pretty good), those are the kingpins of avatar art here. Then Inkscape and Gimp probably follow next. Paint and Paintbrush (Mac) are just... sucky.

Edit: Please spoiler the abnormally huge image.

[Mad Mask]

And Mad Mask : I use paint, and some of the best artwork has come out of paint! Not all of us use Inkscape or the likes, paint sucks, but it is simple and it works, and it auto-comes with Windows.
But Paint is not a Vector program, so it's certainly not the best. I've already used Paint and drawed good avatars, but compairing to Adobe Illustrator CS3 (which I am currently using), it's sort of... pixelated?
If you draw with Illustrator, you can import a picture of Roy (or anything for that matter) and use it as a model until you have mastered the stick figure technique, and can now draw things from scratch.
EDIT: woops, nearly ninja'd !

[B-Man]

Don't thrash Paint. Some of the best avatars come from artists that use Paint.

As for advice, try to make the body a little shorter, it just looks a little too long.

Also, lankybugger made a tutorial on how to make avatars in Paint. [link (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=33471)] I've used it and found it quite good. (I still prefer my style with Inkscape)

[Lissou]

They're not shoulders, they're shoulder pads, representing Roy's Armor. Read more OotS strips and see for yourself.

Actually, even though the shoulder pads are hiding them, there are shoulders on this drawing, and there shouldn't.
In other words, the body shouldn't be wider than the head, and the "shoulders" (higher corners or the square) touch the circle. Or, for a very broad character, are very close to. For a skinny character, they can be less wide than the head.

to op> Roy had a very short body and long legs. I'd actually suggest trying with a perfect square for his body. If it really looks too short, you can make it longer, but try that first.

[[Insert Neat Username Here]]

Paint can be used for avatars, but only if you're really good at it. Almost nobody is, because paint sucks.

Step one: get inkscape.
Step two: follow this (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=185496&postcount=99)tutorial

Then ask for advice.

EDIT: and put a spoiler tag on the drawing. You're stretching our screens.

EDIT: I found the actual inkscape tutorial. That's more helpful.

[Bitzeralisis]

All you really have to do is study Rich's stick-art a lot. That's where I got my basic OotS-styling skills from. And don't forget to practice — if you don't practice, you'll never get it right.

Once you can draw good, basic stick-art, start trying more complex things such as armor, gradients, jewelry, etc. For this, I typically experiment around until I get it right or study other peoples' artwork.

[Szilard]

The only Drawback with paint (If making a 117 x 117 avatar) is you can't resise the image.

[Ego Slayer]

The only Drawback with paint (If making a 117 x 117 avatar) is you can't resise the image.
That's why you START with a 117 or 120 square. :smallamused:

[hyperfreak497]

That's why you START with a 117 or 120 square. :smallamused:

Or you can get Ifranview, Photoshop, or any other resizing program. Hell, Paint has a resizer built in, it just sucks.

[Dallas-Dakota]

Hohoho, now lets not break this out into a Paint Vs. other thread!



Just keep trying, practice makes better.


Neftren : I´m not sorry, becouse I´m only 14 and english IS´nt my native language, I keep trying to improve already.


Just a tip, when drawing OotS style, make one eye a vertical oval, and the other a smaller, shorter oval. So it looks a bit like Oo kind of...

Practically like this........

[Majere]

:smallbiggrin: Thanks all! I'm trying something with inkscape... Well... :smallbiggrin: :smalltongue:

Here you are my crazy... well... drunken master!
[URL=http://imageshack.us]http://img249.imageshack.us/img249/9418/immaginesenzanomewn8.png[/

[[Insert Neat Username Here]]

This is much better. Just a few issues:

The lines should be about twice the thickness you used.
Also, the eyes align at the bottom, not the top.
Other than that, it's pretty good -- certainly better than your first one.

[Majere]

Thanks- err- [INSERT NEAT USERNAME HERE]

[Majere]

Dwarf Warrior in Full Plate:http://img461.imageshack.us/img461/585/nanoincayy5.png (http://imageshack.us)
Monk... Maybe Monk/psion :P http://img461.imageshack.us/img461/3854/path6293aa0.png (http://imageshack.us)

[Lyinginbedmon]

Looking much better, though the skin tone on the Monk/Psion could do with being lighter (Or darker, for a Roy-like effect). The shoes on the full plate should be connected to the body with the traditional black line leg, though that's mostly a style difference.

[Ceska]

It shows a lot of promise. You should increase the size of the head on the monk a bit though. The shoes on the first seem a bit too large to me and the left arm of the monk is a bit too long I'd say. Otherwise, already quite good. Simply keep working on it and try to do requests, or at least do your try on it, it's always a good source for inspiration (it's what I do. :smalltongue: ).

[onasuma]

Indeed, your more recent works look alot better. A few points:

Bend the arm on the monk higher up, to get a more natural pose. Also dont strech them so far.
Eyes should be a bit bigger, but thats not really important.
Hammer should be more aligned, but still it looks ok.

Oh and to all of you who said MS paint sucks watch it and weep:
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=uk2sPl_Z7ZU

[Lyinginbedmon]

Oh and to all of you who said MS paint sucks watch it and weep:
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=uk2sPl_Z7ZU

I never disputed it, but can you imagine the kind of artistic skill required to do that kinda stuff in Paint? It might well have been easier to actually physically paint it

[[Insert Neat Username Here]]

I never disputed it, but can you imagine the kind of artistic skill required to do that kinda stuff in Paint? It might well have been easier to actually physically paint it

That's also what I said.

[Majere]

Take that (even if I'm still not sutisfied of hair):
http://www.postimage.org/aVSVBJA.jpg (http://www.postimage.org/image.php?v=aVSVBJA)

[Ceska]

It already looks quite good. The fire especially so. The hair should go down a bit on the right side (our left) though. All in all my main critique would be that it is pixelated and you should paint it bigger and resize it in Irfanview instead.