First stickfigure effort, feedback?

[ABB]

http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d25/tanhauser/tech1_cr.jpg

This is my first efort at a stickfig character. He's a generic engineer/tech type, I made him very quickly after getting inkscape.

I couldn't get the mouth the way I usually see them done, with smooth, rounded ends, I'm going to need to work on that.

Let me know what you think.

[[Insert Neat Username Here]]

There's an inkscape tutorial somewhere in this forum, but I can never find it when I need to . . .

[Malfunctioned]

If you're trying to emulate the Giants style then I have a few pointers.

Hands only have 3 fingers

Arms start at the corners of the body

The head is wider than the body and covers up the toppermost corners.

Other then than, it very good for a first try, much better than mine :smallsmile:

[Lyinginbedmon]

You say you did that with InkScape? :smallconfused:

[Nameless]

Try re-sizing it maybe to get rid of the pixalls.

I don't know much about Inkscape, but I know that with fireworks you can select it to smoothen the lines.

Good for a first try though :smalltongue:

[DarkCorax]

1)Inkscape shouldn't make it come out pixelated, don't know why that's happened on your avatar...
2) Make it on a 117*117 canvas, that is the standars size for the boards
3) fingers should be the same width as the arms and there are usually only three.
4) legs are too short, close together and angualar.
5) face isn't too bad, mabey use thicker lines though, and generally OotS style doesn't have a nose... but that's your choice. Also the head is a little small, but then I do my heads smaller than normal...
6) detail on the body is good, but you should outline things (whether you use black or darker/lighter shades of the main colour is up to you) and the proportion seems slightly out.
7) other points mentioned previously.

All in all it's not a bad first attempt, the tutorial here (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=185496&postcount=99) is useful, although it is slightly outdated and uses an older version of inkscape it is still useful when you are getting the basics.

Edit: and what do you mean with the mouth?

[Shades of Gray]

The lines on the body need to more definite.

[Trazoi]

I'm planning on writing an Inkscape tutorial for creating Order of the Stick avatars this very weekend, so I'll post you a link when it's done.

For a first drawing after getting Inkscape, that's not too bad. Vector graphics take some time to get used to.

I don't know if you're going for an OotS look or not, but if so I can give you a few pointers:

You'll want a thick black outline (called stroke in Inkscape) around the whole body and head. Use the same thickness on the outside, thinner lines for fine detail
The eyes in an OotS avatar are uneven; one is always taller than the other. Have a look at a few sample pictures in the comic to get these right, as I consider the eyes the main distinguishing feature of OotS art.
OotS characters generally have no nose, and the eyebrows are omitted if they're neutral
The body on a male character is (usually) a rectangle, but the head should be overlapping so you don't see the corners. You've also drawn it a bit wide and too long.
The arms are usually a single line with a curve; you can use the node tool to bend the arms to the shape you want
OotS charactes have only three fingers, one of which is the curve of the arm itself continued on. Usually it looks a bit like a fork with the middle finger as the continuation of the curve, although you can have different fingers be the continuation (see when any character points, for example).
The legs should be drawn like the arms, although you've got a choice for the feet. If the character is wearing boots or the feet are important, you should draw a separate coloured shape for the boot (see Roy, Haley, Belkar for bare feet). If the boots aren't important just draw the feet as a single straight line the same thickness as the legs (see Elan, Durkon, V). The legs should also go underneath the body; you can select the legs and use the Home/End/Page Down/Page Up keys to move the shapes relative to each other.
I think there's a little too much detail on the body; OotS is all about simplicity and abstraction (frankly I think I did too much in my current avatar!). I'd draw the belt and maybe one pocket and pouch.


Sorry about the long laundry list; it really is a good first attempt while you're learning the interface of a brand new program! With a lot of practice Inkscape is a whole pack of fun to use, so I hope you keep at it!

[Ego Slayer]

Trazoi, I was just thinking "we already have an Inkscape tutorial, though!" but, then again... Maybe a updated tutorial with a "laundry list" as above might be a rather good idea... It's here, btw. (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=185496&postcount=99)

[ABB]

Thanks for the FB.

Yes I did this in inkscape very quickly, but then maybe some of my fiddling around with 3d modelers helped me out a tad.

I learned to do outlines after this, with the stroke command, will add them later.

The mouth doesn't look like most stickfigs with rounded ends mostly, but I may leave it like that for the same reason I make the corners on the body sharp: To give the characters a more high tech, artificial look.

I'm not trying to duplicate rich's style. I'm trying to develop my one. Rich showed us that stickfigure comics can work and deserves credit for that, but it doesn't mean everyone wanting to do a stickfig comic has to duplicate him.

I added noses and eyebrows because I think they look good and aren't too hard to do. (Hint: Make one eyebrow, then duplicate and flip it unless doing a "one brow up one brow down" sort of thing....)

I think I'll do eyes as white circles with black outlines and pupils in them for my stuff. Why, you ask? I think it makes expressions like "roll eyes" easier...

I have a lot to learn and really no drawing talent, but I may use the outline command for some things to help out.

BTW, I'm wanting to do a strip called "Ad Astra" that would be about Traveller...

[ABB]

You say you did that with InkScape? :smallconfused:

Yes, but please do NOT blame inkscape for the results, I'm a total newbie at it and this was with no practice or much knowledge. Inkscape does good stuff, like failing saves, and this figure isn't inkscape's fault, it's mine for being such a newbie and having no mouse drawing talent. (HOW THE HELL DO PEOPLE DRAW WITH MICE?!?!?!?!?!?)

BTW, the pixelation is due to me cropping and saving it, it got enlarged and hence the pixies....

[ABB]

P.S. found the toot, thanks for the effort.

[ABB]

If you're trying to emulate the Giants style then I have a few pointers.

Hands only have 3 fingers

Arms start at the corners of the body

The head is wider than the body and covers up the toppermost corners.

Other then than, it very good for a first try, much better than mine :smallsmile:

Well, I've played with some 3d modelers and that may have helped me develop the right mindset to pick this sort of thing up a bit easier, so it might have given me an advantage.

[Nameless]

Yes, but please do NOT blame inkscape for the results, I'm a total newbie at it and this was with no practice or much knowledge. Inkscape does good stuff, like failing saves, and this figure isn't inkscape's fault, it's mine for being such a newbie and having no mouse drawing talent. (HOW THE HELL DO PEOPLE DRAW WITH MICE?!?!?!?!?!?)

BTW, the pixelation is due to me cropping and saving it, it got enlarged and hence the pixies....

I know exactly what you mean, after a while you get the hang of it though, try useing the freehand paint brush/ pencil thingy as less as you can, use the line tool and bend it to make curves.

[ABB]

Here's the revised version I did last night, with new eyes, outlines and a smaller image so the pixies don't show up.

Getting a little better, I think.

http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d25/tanhauser/tech1a.jpg

[Lyinginbedmon]

If you make the torso less wide, keeping the arms where they are, it should look better. Also, the head is still behind the torso, which doesn't happen in Burlewan styling because it obscures vital facial details thay may relay a certain plot point or a character's emotion.

Also, if you hit Cntrl+D and choose "Fit page to selection" while nothing is selected, it'll fit the page to the drawing, so you won't get images 4 times the size...

[osyluth]

Wow, the Giant makes it look so easy... :smalltongue:

Actually, this is great for a first try. :smallbiggrin: