I have another piece done! I’m happy with it. This is an illustration of a character named Aster chambering a punch. I have posted next to it the panel from Black Clover by Yuki Tabata that I used as reference. I’m still figuring out how to put together dynamic poses, so I decided to take some direction from an expert. Looking back on it now, there are some things I could have done better. Compared to the panel, Aster’s chest isn’t flexed as far forward, so I could have gotten more exaggeration there for a bolder angle. I also think there’s something a little off with the left shoulder, and I could have attached the arm differently to look less removed. I kept going over her thighs and couldn’t find anything I could change how I wanted, but I think there should be more curve and bulging out of thigh and calf muscle. I think I have an idea now of how I could do that better in the future. There’s 3D geometry I need to work on for where to attach limbs in general. Overall, I’m happy with how it turned out. I think the pose got to the dynamic place I was hoping for, and I like her look and outfit.
I’m having trouble showing movement and action consistently. I’m still struggling with that mental disconnect between how long and slow drawing is compared to how fast and rapid most movements need to look. I also want martial artists to look like they’re using proper technique, so I don’t want to exaggerate certain aspects of the pose to the point that they look sloppy. I have these competing interests between realistic technique and visually powerful movements. Like, that’s always the thing when you’re translating between media, isn’t it? Martial arts are based on effectiveness in face-to-face confrontations and are focused on feel and motion, with little concern for visual appeal in practical use. It’s totally different than how you have to communicate the world in comics and illustration, where everything is visual and no one can feel how hard a boring-looking punch is; a similar problem can come up in sports with instant replay, if an event that led to injury doesn’t look serious enough on video. So I have to learn how to balance these concerns.
Beyond that, I’m also having trouble conceptualizing how to use motion lines. Like, those don’t exist in reality; they’re a purely artistic invention designed to carry the energy and emotion of movement. When I’m reading a comic, I get it intuitively, and so I know what I want when I’m drawing. When I draw, though, I have trouble figuring out where to start. How many lines are needed (in terms of density on the page)? What are good rules of thumb for when to have motion lines overlap a figure? Curving lines are a whole other issue. Then there’s the tools at my disposal. A line with a pencil or fixed-width pen don’t communicate the same feeling as one made with a variable-width pen or brush, two tools I don’t have much experience with for the same reason as my pencil and pen lines look unfocused and sloppy. Like, this is a dysgraphia thing, at least as far as I can tell right now. Drawing straight motion lines is hard to do slowly because it’ll have a wobbly start and/or end point, and increasing the speed not only won’t help that start point, but there’s no guarantee it’ll follow the angle I want or, in the case of pen, have a solid line. Curves have major issues with consistently following the desired angle, because I’m liable to slowly draw them boxy and unfocused or either too narrow or too wide quickly; it’s a harder thing to do from the elbow or shoulder, too, if I take my hand out of the equation as much as possible. This may very well be a ruler skill. It’s certainly something I’d prefer to mess with in digital, with that undo function at my disposal.
Enough about motion. In this drawing, I used a whole new figure drawing protocol that I put together right beforehand. I did my sketch of the gesture of the Yuki Tabata panel, and then I did a quick search for figure drawing shapes. After reading some advice and looking at different examples, I put together that simple box system I sketched in the corner in red and put it into immediate use. It turned out really well for me. There’s still stuff I’m learning about how to draw with shapes, so I’m happy to have this simple structure I can practice with. I have another pencil sketch done right now that I made with these boxes, and it turned out pretty well, though I took a few tries to get the angles right. On the successful sketch, I used a reference photo of myself, which helped clarify what angles I needed and why they weren’t working before.
Oh, speaking of wanting to show proper martial arts technique, I can’t in good conscience leave without making it clear that you should not be holding your breath like Aster is doing when you fight (or do anything active). That’s character-specific and not based on reality. It’s really important that you breathe, and learn to breathe with proper rhythm, when you fight, both to maximize the effectiveness of your own attacks and to combat exhaustion and other forms of physical strain. Power comes from the ground up, and good health starts with good breath.
Life in the Gutters 