Requesting some feedback on my upcoming comic's art style

[aqua03]

So as I've been working on my new comic Tales of Phaeton, I've been trying to shift my style to aim for a style more akin to that of an anime or manga (Thin outlines, more cel shading type art, that sort of thing) in order to push myself as an artist and separate it from my previous works.

Here are some examples below:

I would like some feedback on if I'm on the right track with the thinner outlines and some general tips on how to get a cleaner line with the thinner lines as well. (Along with some general feedback on the character designs and art style as well in that regard.)

Thanks for the help and feedback.

[darthmongoose]

The main issue I'm seeing is that there could be a bit more confidence to the volumes of the characters. Some of the shadow placement feels a bit odd, or the way lines are placed makes it unclear which parts of the character are in front of, inside of, or behind other parts. The fine lines aren't a bad choice, but they don't give you a lot of room to hide when you're not 100% certain where a fold should fall, or exactly how a piece of clothing or a part of the character is structured. I'd recommend reading a book called "Drawn to Life" by Walt Stanchfield. It's full of lecture notes from the classes used to train the young animators behind the Disney Rennaisance in the late 80s from an animation legend. It has great tips on exactly this kind of advanced structural drawing that will help you level up.

As for general tips and tricks for smooth lines:

• Draw at a higher size and resolution than you plan to publish and just view the canvas at 50% size while drawing. It tends to iron out small wobbles.
• Turn up the line smoothing on your pen or brush tool.
• If you need a line to be really smooth, you can always use shape/line/curve/pen tool lines

[aqua03]

Ah, thank you for the feedback. I've always had a bit of trouble with fabric and folds of fabric in general. So I'll definitely look into that book you recommended as well.

Also might possibly see if I can find a "Happy medium" between the thin and thick line art as well and see if I can find something interesting that works for me and looks good. Should probably practice more with the pen tool as well for clean lines, too.

Thanks again!

[Colours_dont_match]

I think the style is cool and unique. I would maybe tone down the colours a little bit, as they are super saturated and bright. I think reading comics like that feels a bit hard for the eyes. Also you can experiment with the thickness of your outlines a bit, it makes characters pop a bit more.

[aqua03]

Thanks! Yeah, colors have always been something I've struggled with, trying to find less saturated colors that don't make things looked washed out in that regard. I'll play around more with that and the line thickness and see what looks best.

[Rhonder]

I think the thinner lines look really good with your style I think especially in a comic context drawings with this line quality will read clearly.

I agree with the previous comments that maybe looking for a middle point between these and the super thick ones might look even nicer though.

Overall it's trending in a good direction, I think

[aqua03]

Thanks. I think it's trending in a good direction as well.

[Kaydreamer]

They look very nice and clean! As others have said, I think having a little more line weight would be helpful in making things really pop. I used to have rather thick lineart; it's been slimming down subtly over the years as I've become more confident with detail, and it's settled at a kind of medium thickness where I can still push variation in line weight without the lines being the main focus of the drawing. I think medium line weight is pretty ideal for toony comics.

A big challenge is that thinner lines don't mask mistakes the way thicker lines can. That means you'll be wanting to focus on drawing fundamentals a lot more; fabric folds is one. (I'm also terrible at those...) Grab some photos of loose-necked turtlenecks and do some tracing, some eyeballing from reference, and finally some stylisation of the folds to simplify them into your style.

The eyes on the fox look really nice, I like how the lower eyelashes are detached. It's a nice style.

[aqua03]

Thanks! Yeah, I think a medium thickness works best for more stylized comics as well. I should focus more on studying fabric folds as well as I work on my comic given that's something in general I've been wanting to do in general as well.

Also thanks! I really like those eyes on Sorrel as well. They're the eyes I usually use for my animal characters, actually. They're simple, and they look nice.

[lostscrolls]

I am a fan of thin line art and cell shading has been something that defeats me constantly.

How do you feel about this direction? Did you enjoy creating these drawings?

[aqua03]

Thanks!

I'm feeling like I'm on the wright track. Just need to tweak it a bit more I feel until I find something I truly like.

[lostscrolls]

That's important. The style must be something you are comfortable with and enjoy otherwise you draw out of a sense of obligation (make it look right) as opposed to enjoyment. The latter of those is sustainable and sustainability is important when drawing comics because of its repetitive nature.

[aqua03]

That makes sense and having a style I like as opposed to a style I'm only doing to chase trends and be popular is something I've been trying to learn in general in recent times.

[aqua03]

So I did some more experimenting with the art style and taking in your guys' feedback and I think I'm definitely starting to get there.

[lostscrolls]

Keep going. But more importantly, keep having fun.