arceus was really awesome!
Thank you, all comments are appreciated ^_^, but remember to avoid one-liners, you don't want to get in trouble =O
The Arceus isn't that bad if you're still not used to PhotoShop. I do agree that the vibe is right, the blur+lighting combo worked really well, but I'd think it would look better if maybe the gray areas were a bit more darker in order to enhance the effects. Overall I say that you did what you intended, nothing maaajor, but something simple and modest, but still great overall.
I'm kind of starting to get the hand of it, but I don't want it to overwhelm the traditional stuff. To emphasize the gray areas, the whites have a bit of a melon color to it, but to make it stand out less and feel more white, since Arceus is a white boy =p, I had to tone it down quite a bit, while trying to keep the gray areas a little platinum-looking(yes platinum looks silver), still I know it could have looked a lot better, but hey, it was a hasty drawing anyway XD
Smeargle, I'd be pleased and honored if you redid any of my posed Pokemon in your pencil shades. You'd be adding a dimension of skill that I can't, and it would be wonderful to see the finished products, wouldn't it? Our combined talents might very well make for spectacular Pokemon. ^_^
That's great to hear, Profesco, you're a very skilled talented artist and it will be a joy to use your originals ^__^. God willing they will be spectacular =D.
Hmhm, many good things to look at, yes... *rubs chin thoughtfully*
That Happier Feeling
I guess the blush around the nose looks a bit too heavy. Honestly, I'm just digging for something to complain about. It's that cute. =x
I couldn't resist, I just had to draw my friend's thing, I know it's nothing special, but it's just too damn cute NOT to attempt =O
Andrew's Totodile
Wow, at first glance, this one seriously looks like it's going to jump right off the page and snap its jaws a you! Smeargle, I just can't get over your shading skills with those maddeningly frustrating mechanical pencils. I'll just mention that Totodile's body looks a bit blobby, as though you were too loose/free with your line. =/
The pencils are a pain, and the lead is very easily broken. While shading repeatedly the lead becomes soft at one side and allows for smooth detail, but even slightly moving it will make for very sharp unerasable lines =O
I'll admit, this was a quick 1 to 2 hour draw, I had to get it done in time so I could upload it along with the other ones. I really should be more careful about my lines =/
Dialga Trophy
Ooh, I love the metallic head-spike thing that sides Dialga's skull. You've really made that part stand out and shine, and it's amazing. Dialga's face/forehead looks just a slight bit too flat and pointy, but the picture does exert a certain pressure and presence~
I've seen some people do that on metallic surfaces, and though it makes absolutely no sense to me, it worked ^^;; Faces are hard =X
The Many Faces of Brawl - Ike
No complaints at all. My hands and eyes ache just thinking about the time you spent on his hair, Smeargle. @_@ Excellent job~
That's the one everyone irl keeps staring at lol. Incidentally I lost it =O, oh well XD.
The Seventh Day
I like Arceus's head, actually. It looks a bit wider at the base (behind the sticking-up things) than it should be, but the mane looks great! And the neck looks a bit smaller, if I can picture it right... but to be honest, we don't have a whole heck of a lot to go on for Arceus. It'll be easier to get a feel for what it looks like in action... um, when we actually get to see it in action. For now, your colored version is simply beautiful. Your shading skills extend past monochrome and into color nicely, and you really did succeed on the misty, cloudy texture. That Arceus looks like it's frolicking around inside a warm, soft cloud... *sighs happily*
I kNEW IT, it was the neck! I son'r know much about proportion, I always sucked at it =O. The Arceus move's tiny little clip they show him in, oh my god he looks epic, I just get this feeling XO. And so the legend states, that on the Seventh Day, Arceus lay calmly on warm clouds made up of the softest Altaria's wings in the universe, trying to get some rest after creating Sinnoh... *uses rest*
BTW, how did you get to be that good at shading with pencils?
It has to be some sort of witchcraft, it just has to!
Haha, It's just some basic know-how, I learned by observing, and learning a bit about light and shadow. Nothing special really. A fellow traditional artist friend of mine has a tutorial on how-to-shade. It's pretty much the way you're SUPPOSED TO. I do it slightly differently, but I want to try it out sometime.
Here's a link to the video. His way is much easier and smoother, since he uses more than one pencil.