ZeroOBK's Art

I'm tired, and I'm busy, so what better thing to do than start an art thread?



Anyway, this little piece will pop up quite often. It is my "digital signature" so to speak and will be stamped onto all the art I put up.
(Design is subject to change without further notice.)

For this I used GIMP, the Photoshop for cheap bastards. The font used was downloaded from the good people who have maintained the Phantasy Star Online Blue Burst website for so long. Why did I use this font? Simple. I can't create create a cursive signature like you see in other art works, and because it's unique. (Not to mention the large amount of time I've spent playing PSO Episodes 1-4.)

Initially, I wanted to have a "0" be the centerpiece, and have the "OBK" parts around, inside, or contrasting against the "0". I also thought about exchanging "Zero" for "0" in the thing you see up above, but, before I chose the PSO font, I could not find a font that had a slash through the "0". So both of those ideas were scrapped.

You can expect me to post another piece of art over the weekend.

great another poster

... Oh, that wasn't sarcasm ...

... Anyway, here's another piece, that, due to lack of scanner and digital camera, is about eight years old.


They are two original characters of mine, Valeira and Shadow (who will probably be renamed sometime in the future). Maybe I will delve into their backstories when I can get access to a scanner for a more recent picture. It was originally a picture that was drawn, but due to the horrible quality of using an all-in-one printer, fax machine, scanner, etc., I had to pretty much re-draw it ... in MSPaint. A very painful experience (even though I did it at least once more).

Next time, I'll post something that's a bit "unusual" and wasn't made so long ago you would think it was a fossil.

Yep, it's looks like my art, 3 years ago...

Keep going on art, i'm watching you...

This will be the last one for a while.



Chibi AC Cloud Strife (1.5 feet tall)

Materials:
1/4 inch thick foamcore, X-acto knife, pencil, paper, acrylic paint, black permanent marker, Elmer's Glue, hot glue gun, glue sticks, black construction paper, and pictures for reference

History:
Three years ago, I was given an art project. The only requirements were that the foamcore was used, that it was painted, and that it had layers. The first thing that came to mind when "layers" was mentioned was manga-styled hair. Advent Children had already been released in Japan, so I figured, out of love for FF7, that I would make it with Cloud's new outfit.

References were gathered from the net, and I tried a couple sketches of a normal-sized Cloud. I felt that wasn't going to work well when I started, so I figured I would simultaneously practice my chibi art as well. I sketched a chibi AC Tifa as practice, and then sketched out Cloud's new sword twice. Then I drew a chibi AC Cloud in his FF7 basic pose to use as my major reference.

The rest of the process was pretty mundane, and consisted of me lightly penciling in the outline of each structure. For that, I used the size of the head as the main proportion reference. Even though attempting to get the proportions right was a major pain, cutting the foamcore with the X-acto knife was the real challenge. Wikipedia states that foamcore is "a strong lightweight, easily cut material", and that is a complete lie (at least for the X-acto knife). It was a fairly painful process, and I already disliked using the X-acto knife from previous projects.

Once all the pieces were cut, I used permanent marker to highlight certain features. Then I painted each part. I'm horrible at painting, and this is apparent if you compare the color of the face with the other bare skin colors. Also, I couldn't draw nor paint the wolf's head, so that was left out completely. Aside from those, it went pretty well.

Now that I had cut everything out of the foamcore, I decided to use the more flexible construction paper to use as Cloud's straps. So I started to glue Cloud together, making sure to glue one of his straps to his shoulder before gluing on the shoulder armor. To even out the inconsistent number of layers on his body parts, I glued small pieces of foamcore on the back so that he would lay flat. After completion, he was set on a high shelf to be displayed with the other foamcore projects.

Despite the glaring errors, I'm rather fond of this non-traditional piece of art.

hmm.. foamcore is surely easily cut material, but also easilly break material...

I wonder why the face colour darker than the body...

Yeah, foamcore breaks fairly easily. A lot broke off near the points of the bangs. As for the face color ... that's what I meant when I said, "I'm horrible at painting". I had tried to even the colors of his face, because I can't mix the colors consistently. I didn't notice the face had been so saturated with color compared with the neck and arm, until I had already glued most of Cloud together.

Hmm ... it's been awhile since I posted something that was finished ...


Here's Valeira again. Don't bother telling me what is wrong with this image, I already know.



Here's Shadow again. As expected, the hands aren't too great. The sword seems very flat and the pant legs are too wide. The creases in the cloak are exceptionally nonsensical.

Good that you know your own mistake but at least you're trying. Better something than nothing. The more you draw the more you improve. Your drawings kinda reminded me when I was starting to draw human figure. I still keep it until now and always have a big smile looking at how far I am now.

My advise is to look for books on anatomy and if you're going for manga style try search for one that focuses on making a character. Mangaka tends to exaggerate body of their characters so they look good but still sticks to the proper bone and muscle connection.

I don't think I could consider myself an artist if I didn't know that much.


Here is a complete design for a currently WIP character currently given the highly original name "Sorceress". Next time, I'll post her second design.

a little hatching layout to try and study from

http://bp2.blogger.com/_6wmaiGMb0Vs/SEYQhXl9pcI/AAAAAAAAAO4/q6gFsNoWQKQ/s1600-h/hatching001.jpg

I guess I'm just making a fool of myself since you already knew it... Looking forward in seeing the second design of the sorceress.

I tend to get a little ... excitable and a tad defensive when it comes to my art, even though it is no where near the level I want it to be. So don't worry about it.

You keep working at it you'll get good. Its only as much as you put in, you practice and it gets better and faster.

Sorceress, "2nd Form":



Same basic design. The clothes have gotten a bit more detailed and a bit more nonsensical. She still has the ponytail, it's just hidden from view. I think the feet are shaped well ... they're just at the wrong angle. Of course, I should have drawn footwear for her, but apparently I wanted to practice feet.

Everything looks in it's place, you may need to adjust some shapes, like her legs and knees. Keep it up, your on the right path

I implore you to be more specific. This is one of those moments where I don't actually find much wrong with the part(s) in question. So, naturally, I need to know the details.

Yeah I sometimes tend to be like that too so I don't mind much about it. Also you seems to be improving with the sorceress on the design and figure.

Heh. If I remember correctly, each version of the Sorceress is about three years apart. Once I get my WIPs done, I probably should draw a fourth one because it's long overdue. The Sorceress happens to be my longest character-creation process yet. I'll probably give her a name after the fourth draft is done, then I'll start creating her personality and backstory. Lastly, I'll decide whether she should exist in a universe with some of my other characters, or create a new universe for her to exist in.

Well, i think that the way in wich each part of her legs join at the knees needs some checking, maybe you should see how other artists manage that part, as i've done with many issues i had (and as i'll be doing with the rest of my issues :?)