Jul 2015
70 / 238
Jan 2016
Jul 2019
gateofselidor
Jan '16
1

The hard shading definitely looks better. If you want to use a softer style of shading, you really need to blend it more. At the moment you're using the softer brush as if you're cel-shading, and the soft edge makes it look untidy rather than giving it depth or realism. Make sure you stay within the lines either way, and try to keep the edge of the shaded area smooth, so people can't see the edge of your pen strokes.

For the inks, the thicker lines look more dynamic, and you've got some variation in line width there. It does make mistakes in your lines more obvious, though. For both styles, it would look better if you drew the lines more quickly, so you get a smooth line with less wobbles. If you do make a mistake, or need to join two lines together, use the eraser to hide it. Also, I don't know what you're using, but your lines are blunt rather than tapering off, so you might want to consider using a tablet with software that supports pressure sensitivity.

For both images, there are some anatomy issues. The most obvious one is where you haven't drawn the hands. For tricky poses like this one, take a photo of yourself or a friend/relative making the pose you want, and copy it. Don't cover up the hands or feet to avoid drawing them. It will look weird and the readers will know, and if you don't start trying, you'll never get any better.

Bluejay
Jan '16

The first one catch my attention first. Though, I'm in no position to give criticism and point out helps like others- A stood out more than B as it's more bolder and cleaner. It's more pleasing to my eyes at least. smiley
B might seem more recessive compared to A. The font seems like it's fading together with the background- maybe if you put an outline around it it'll separate from the background and give more impact.

//Cheers on you from the sideline sunny//

blop
Jan '16
Panda007

Actually for me the problem is not with the character but with the compositions of the panels.
Your drawings are nice and your characters are different enough, but when you draw a comic there is some rules you might want to follow so the readers can understand the action and where the characters are.

Here I tried to do a quick drawing to help understand what causes the problems (I actually spend a while thinking about this haha, composition is tricky) :

TAPAS.jpg449x1052 157 KB

First of all, as you can see, in the second panel, the action lines were in the wrong direction. She turns her head to the right, so the line should guide the movement. I also add her friend behind so we might understand better were we are)

On the third panel, what I add is not necessary but I thought it would be easier to understand that the person who's talking is not on the set with the bubble lines going out of the panel (and as the girl in her costume is somewhere to the right, the bubble should point to the right).

On the fourth panel, the girl in her costume was in the wrong direction (it might be easier for you to draw a rough plan of the top of the set to understand better where are the characters, and where they goes).
Also it's better to keep the sister to the right in the different panels, because it's easier to recognize her right away (you might understand better why by reading this1) . I add her shoulder, it's not necessary but I think it's more readable.

In the last panel I had to change the posing because I changed the direction of the character in the previous panel, so she would have been in the other way, not looking at her sister anymore.

And that's it, I hope this will help you smiley
Composition is really hard, I have myself a lot of hard time with it, I think drawing a comic is 80% about thinking of the composition (which makes me sad cause it's really a pain in the ass).

Luie
Jan '16
MSW

Hm. I like B, if it had the font direction of A. Thinner lines are definitely better, however it would go so much further if there was a bit of line weight (Even just the lines that are against shaded areas, or the back of the hair, etc) It makes things "pop" more, which is what I'm assuming you were trying to accomplish in A. Also, your font direction in B is a little confusing. The top line is angled in one direction that the second line doesn't follow, giving a very confusing sense of the direction of movement (this is also apparent in A but to a lesser degree, however I like the extreme angle a bit more --it gives a more immediate feel of fast movement) .

Panda007
Jan '16
blop

Oh my god! Thank you so much! You took so much time to give me advice. I will pay more attention on composition from now on!(I will probably not get better overnight, but c'est la vie)
Thank you again! smile

blop
Jan '16

Don't worry, it'll take time to be better at it, but it's worth it. smile bon courage !

katwoow
Jan '16

This is my main characters design so far and im not sure if what i should i improve with - thanks

im sorry theyre so big (◡△◡✿)
*also for Takara's age im most likely changing it to 13 instead just in case anyone would reply about that

Noglastiaa
Jan '16

Hi! so i've been playing around with how i color hair and I was hoping to get some opinions. If you think theres anything i could change to make it look more visually appealing if you think it doesn't.

I guess whats really bothering me is that near the middle and towards the end, the hair just seems to feel like its gotten flat. :\

heterodont
Jan '16

This depends on what style you're aiming for coloring wise, but often times its not a good idea to shade/draw every individual strand of hair. Drawing every individual strand can make hair lose its appearance of volume, and as a result make it appear flat in a drawing. It's easily remedied by treating the hair in clumps! If you group the strands into shapes, you can easily show the volume of the hair and avoid making it look flat. I'm not exactly sure how to word it so I hope you don't mind that I drew over your drawing ^^;

however! if you did want to keep drawing the hair as your example, you could try to shade/push the contrast. in your example, i'd push the shading in the hair that goes behind her shoulder, like so!

10 days later
monotone_ink
Jan '16
1

Hello again! I'm experimenting with art styles for my main manga/comic and I'd like your opinions on the change.
It's an action story with a good chunk of slice of life parts between heavily violent arcs.
The first one is my current go-to style

This is the new 'experimental' style (takes more inspiration towards this manga's art)

I'd just like your opinions on whether or not this new art style would suit some of the manga's serious themes (burden of guilt, amnesia, death). I guess it could be done in an ironic sense.
Do you think this is a good move? If so, what can I improve in this new style? If not, what can I improve with the previous style?

illizard
Jan '16

Experimental page give the story, as I see it, some darker edge, like in "dorohedoro" or Nihei's early works. It looks more interesting/challenging visually and the textures bring good "obsessive" feel to it. It's somehow hard to make a real comparison - cause there's almost no backgrounds in the first page shown, - but overall, I think more detailed style works better.

P.S. - I like you frame and page compositions. They are dynamic, with good rhythms and dark/light balance. Great work.

monotone_ink
Jan '16

Thanks for the feedback! I found that the experimental page was usually more fun to draw in comparison to my previous style.
I may stick to that in the future and keep playing around with different techniques I can do.

whovianandwriting
Jan '16

Here's my first issue's style:

page 1.jpg1651x2322 1.28 MB

I drew, inked, scanned, and then colored in Photoshop.
I did more coloring in Photoshop in issue 2:
page 3 smaller.jpg600x842 418 KB

As you can see, I added shadows and highlights to the local colors. I also used less non hand-drawn pictures.
Issue 3 is in progress, and I've done more effort on the coloring.
page 3.jpg1647x2331 1.07 MB

I've also changed the way of making it.
This time I just draw it, then scan it, and then I ink it in Photoshop (digitally) instead of before when I inked it traditionally. This makes the lines more crisp.

What techniques do you recommend for me to try out to make the art better and how?

monotone_ink
Jan '16

I suggest that you have a look at this page for different techniques and methods of improvement.
http://hubpages.com/art/how-to-draw-learn5

In all honesty, from what I see, you don't have the greatest grasp on anatomy, especially on the last page that you posted. The facial structure seems off, which is something I believe you can fix by doing some portrait studies.
I also see that there's an almost complete lack of backgrounds, which doesn't do well when it comes to immersing a reader into the story's world.
With the action scenes in your first few pages, I can see that you have a great eye for composition, but I feel that your lack of 'fundamental' skills may be holding you back.

I think that, especially with the photoshop colouring, that you're trying to tackle too much at once. Colour theory and lighting is something that can be very difficult to learn.

I can't really say a lot since I'm not much of a pro, but I think the link above may do you well. Heck, I've been drawing for a while and even I learned some things from it.
Just know that improvement doesn't come with a click, it takes hundreds, thousands of sessions to get to even a decent level. Work like there's no tomorrow, and the results will be pleasing to you.
Oh, and remember to have fun, that's the most important bit.

PurpleGround
Feb '16
maeaton08

I prefer the color more because it really clear out where the background and the object of focus is. In this case, the character.

TristanJensen
Feb '16

Ok, so I'm in the process of rebooting my current series and I'm trying to develop a new style for it (mostly because I want to make it easier to draw unique characters). But I'm not sure if the change is too drastic (Well, it is, but I'm not sure it's in a good or bad way).
Here's the original (sort of...)

Aaaand here's the new one(s)


What do you guys think? I'm mostly concerned about the eyes being too big...

joannekwan(ง ˙o˙)ว here to help~
Feb '16

Speaking as a subscriber, I do love your original style. I also like the second one and how you're keeping the "top rim of glasses being your eyebrows" thing! Definitely with the second one it would be easier to distinguish characters. But the change is drastic, since you're adding more complex eyes, nose, hair, and ears.

If you do go with the second style, I hope you don't abandon the original style's character structure, I just find it really charming! Maybe it could be a personification of your conscience or something.

Not a huge fan of the last doodle though, it reminds me of Angry Birds for some reason. XD

TristanJensen
Feb '16

Thanks, I still have absolutely no clue how or when that started though...

I really like that idea. I didn't want to drop it all together so I think I could work with that (or maybe do a sort of half and half thing where I do some in the more realistic style and a few in the old one) smile


Yeah, I was going for something like "I Hate Everything" with the eyebrows, but it may be kind of overkill.

UzukiCheverie
Feb '16

Hey Kall! So in-depth analysis here.

I personally like your style because, well, it's unique. While the new style you're trying out looks AWESOME, it really looks like many of the other art styles that there are already an abundance of throughout Tapastic/the Internet. Though that's kind of a vague description, I hope you sorta get what I'm getting at anyway lol What I liked about your style is that it was one-of-a-kind; if anyone who was a regular member of Tapastic saw one of your comics, they'd immediately be like "Yep, that's Kallehmono!" whereas this new style wouldn't be differentiated as well.

However, I do think the new art style is a much better representation of your abilities and skills as an artist. If it's a style you want to try working in, make sure that you're able to stay consistent with it. Practice with it, and maybe do a few test strips with it (so your readers can give an opinion too!)

As for the body shape, how well would the head actually fit in with the body? As you have a very cartoony, "chub" look going for the body, and a more semi-realistic style for the head. Those might clash and might not work well together. But you'd have to try it and see what happens. This is another case as well where the body looks a lot like how everyone else draws their comics; so if you did choose this path, think outside the box, come up with a way for it to be your style, and not just a reflection of others. Whether this was your intention or not, I know you're super creative when it comes to your style and ideas, so I'm sure you'd be able to make a style all your own that still reflects that creativity from former styles smile

ALSO, if you stick with that thick linework (like the "border" style you've got going"), maybe tone it down a little on the body? The head's been fine all along because it's just a circle head lol but when you make the border that thick on the body, it takes away teh flow and movement you could otherwise achieve with thinner lines. Everything just sorta reads as one big clump when you do it that way. You can keep the border, but maybe just make it half as thick? Especially if you decide to stick with your original style.

Overall, make sure to do lots of experimenting before you make any big leaps. It's your decision, it's your comic - do it in the style you want. Don't worry about "what sells" or "what the readers will want"; people already recognize you for your style and characters, and they enjoy it smile (as do I). Whichever one you choose, both are awesome in their own way and demonstrate different but equal values of your style and skills. Good luck ^__^