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kmkibble75 — Black Canary
#blackcanary #drawing #superhero #dccomics #superheroine #dcsuperhero #dccomicsfanart #dinah_lance
Published: 2017-08-06 16:24:10 +0000 UTC; Views: 909; Favourites: 63; Downloads: 2
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Description
This one is pretty straight forward -- Dinah Lance in her Rebirth outfit. I used a greyscale base for the shading, and then applied the layers of colors (where they weren't just renditions of black) over top. This is the first time I've used that method for anything more than a headshot, so please let me know if/where my technique could be improved. I tried to emphasize the highlights in her hair, but the already light tone of its base worked against me in that, so it is what it is.The background isn't anything in particular -- I just felt like playing with circles rather than my usual squares and rectangles.
Any input/advice/comments are welcome and appreciated!
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Disclaimer: I’m red-green colorblind. Because of this, it’s difficult for me to tell similar shades/hues of different colors apart, and, therefore, I need to work with very limited palettes when I color pieces. I’ve often been told to be bolder in my highlighting and shading, and I’m trying to be so, but… sometimes it still seems pretty tame. I’m just saying this in case you mentioned I need to do that on a previous piece – I’m not ignoring you, and I appreciate the input. It’s just not very easy for me to implement confidently.
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Black Canary is property of DC Comics, of course.
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Comments: 24
Hi there from ProjectComment
I've decided to write a comment on this piece because of its simplicity. There's a song by Depeche Mode, "Judas" from the 1993 album Songs Of Faith And Devotion, that starts with the lines "Is simplicity best/Or simply the easiest?". Well, the answer to that question is up to you. What I like about this picture, is the simple design of it. The anatomy of the character is correct, given that you use a certain comic-like style. I like her resolute look, supported by her cross-armed pose. The clothing looks good, the foldings of her leather jacker are quite belieavable. What you could improve is her hair. Now it looks like a solid bulky object, but real hair is not! I think you should go and emphasize the hair strands. Not every one of them, of course, but to produce that certain, hair-like appearance. Then you should put some distinctive highlights on the hair, in order to give it a certain silky look. Then there's something about the background I'd disagree. You have three absoulte perfect circles. The perfectness adds some sterile look to the picture. I think you should add some imperfectnesses to the circles, to make the BG a bit more organic looking. Also some color variation would do good here, to support the foreground character.
I hope you found this comment useful.
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Thank you very much for taking the time to comment.
Hair is definitely something I need to work on -- I've always admired the look certain artists achieve by using lots of linework on their hair, but I've never been able to duplicate it. But it's something I'll keep working on and looking to improve.
And also on the background... it just kind of happened as it did, but your point is valid. I'll keep that in mind for the future, too.
Thanks, again!
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Good stuff! Yes, working in grey shades first is a great way to go, and keep the colors on their own layers. That way you can shift opacity and use the color sliders to edit. Where things get complicated with overlaps, such as the yellow circle borders, consider using masks to cut out or enhance those areas. I use GIMP, and some of my works have many color layers to tweak as needed. Don't worry too much about color blindness -- some of the best stuff I've seen were people with RG or BY issues, and their forced palettes enhanced their works. Take a look at the work of garbages.deviantart.com/galler… who, last I heard, had color vision issues.
If it makes sense when you pick from the color picker square, then it makes sense. You don't need to live and die by the color wheel.
Good luck and keep going!
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Thank you very much! Layers are definitely a lifesaver, though it's amazing how quickly juggling a few dozen of them around can get complicated.
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I found you from Project Comment and man, I really love this one. I like her pose--I can see sassy, confident, but it also looks like she's thinking about something, making a decision.
The folds on the clothing are well done--that sleeve is great. I think the edges of the jacket along her front and collar--also the string hanging down from the collar with a snap on it?--get lost a little. The top edge of the collar has some decent shading, but the choker throws it off a bit. Maybe a bit of the white shading up and down on the choker to separate it more? And I might experiment with some lighter shading under the collar to bring it out a bit, and under that snap hanging down. Then add some lighter shading (only a little) along the front edge of the jacket and you are gold.
The hair shape I really like. You've got body, and movement in the outline. I think it could use more shading, but that is something you mentioned you are working on. So great job! Hair is so hard! There aren't any areas that stand out as being blank and needing to be filled--I think the background helps with that. I like the circles! It was a good experiment to try!
All in all, great work! I really like it!
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Thank you so much for the kind words -- I really appreciate it.
And thank you for the thoughts on her jacket -- the front of it is supposed to be mostly in shadow, which is really, really hard to convey in black, but clearly I didn't convey that idea very well. I was struggling with ways to differentiate the various components, and I like your ideas. I'll have to keep them in mind for future work.
I'm glad you like her hair -- I always feel like I'm kind of shaky on it (I sit in awe of artists who can draw a billion separate strands), but I did like how it turned out. The shading/highlighting is something I'm always trying to get right, and I'll keep working on that.
Thank you again -- I really appreciate the input!
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you are welcome!
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here from :iconprojectcomment:
I really like the personality you managed to give the painting, both the pose and her expression look really good! Also, I love the simple-yet-effective coloring of her clothes... I'm not sure if jackets actually have that many folds, but hey, it looks good ~
Something that I think could be better is the background, the pink circles don't really seem to match the mood of the painting... maybe something darker would be better? a square? Also, I feel like the lineart is a little too heavy around the hair, that mostly comes to personal opinion, but I would lower the opacity or paint it with a color similar to the hair. Also, a little more contrast on the hair might look good, but I'm just speculating.
Now for the colors... the skin is looking a bit too grayish, I think that using warmer some warmer would make it better... and, in general, a little more color variation would make the drawing pop-out more. Also, I'm missing some small light in the eyes.
Anyway, Great work!
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Thank you for taking the time to comment!
I'm glad the pose and personality worked for you, but I get what you're saying about the lineart around her hair and the like. I did try using similar colors for this one, but it just really did not work well. Maybe I'll try lower opacity at some point just to try it out.
As far as the background goes... is it really pink? It started out as blue or lavender, I think, and then I lowered the opacity on it. Heaven knows what it wound up being in the end (at least to my eyes).
Thanks again for taking the time -- I really appreciate it!
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You're welcome!
Oh, my bad, it is actually closer to lavender, but I saw your drawing at night and I have a filter in my pc to change the colors slightly at night to avoid hurting my eyes... xD
Still, I think most of what I said atill aplies
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That's one very young Dinah, nice detail in the face.
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I like it! Your decision to take on a new method was fruitful! The shading is perfect, I think the anatomy is about right and I can see the effect of real leather, which is pretty hard to capture! Great job! I think a little more highlighting around the face might've brought in a certain "effect" that has no name. Either way, a little refinement and I think this piece is amazing!
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Thank you! Some day I'll get shading on faces right
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The angle in this one really gives her an attitude. It's super uncanny, other than the brilliantly sassy body-language it's possibly the addition of how you've done the shading near the lips and around where her hair hangs over her face as well. Tonnes of personality in that half smirk, this is probably one of my favorite pieces I've seen of yours. Fantastic work.
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Thank you! To be honest, I started to lose confidence in this one since I posted it, but this helps get rid of that feeling (I was afraid maybe I rushed it a bit...)
Some day I'll nail a true blonde color, but... I don't think this was that day.
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You're always critical of your all best stuff, I've noticed. But from what I've seen it really strives you to improve with every drawing you make so maybe it's not entirely bad to not be completely satisfied with yourself. I'm really loving this piece though.
And true-blonde is the absolute worst to pull off, even for those of us who aren't color blind. It always ends up piss-yellow for me and it frustrates me to no ends. All the cool chicks are blonde too. It's a conspiracy.
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Thank you for the confidence boost! I really do appreciate it, and maybe it'll let me go easier on myself in the future. We'll just have to wait and see.
And you just hit the nail on the head in regard to my fear about getting the blonde to be too golden.
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This is great! I like the folds in the fabric a lot.
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Thanks! I'm starting to hate the number of character out there who wear all black, though.
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Oh, you have an attitude? Better wear black!
Tragic past? Black.
Badass? Black.
Misunderstood? Black.
I almost never wear black, haha. It helps that my hair is black, though; my color palette is opened up more! C:
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