DeadMeat's cleverly named art thread

[DeadMeat]

Hi everyone! How's it going?

I'm new to this place, I should introduce myself, but that will bore you out of your minds. Instead, I'm gonna skip the introductions and cut to the deal!

I've been drawing WORMS for a few years already, it all started out as a silly game on paper with my friend, but it somehow ended up as a whole comic. No, two comics. But that was about 2-3 years ago, and I wasn't a skilled artist back then.

Sadly, those comics are lost. Okay, I still have one, but I'm too embarrassed to show it anyway...

Wait, what I'm I doing here, then? Oh right!

Lately, I've picked up drawing these little guys again. No comics this time, just random sketches. I've developed my own style with these worms, so they're a bit different from the fan art I've seen over here. But that doesn't mean they're bad, I mean, there isn't a "good" or "bad" in art, right? Right!?

Anyway, without further ado, lay your eyes upon my artwork!

I'm not allowed to post more than 5 images at a time, so be sure to check out my DeviantArt and Tumblr!

http://homemadeawesome.deviantart.com/

http://thatwormsguy.tumblr.com/

Enjoy!

~Mark

[Akuryou13]

hey! that's not bad at all. Well done, sir (or madam)!

[SupSuper]

Yeah that's pretty cool, I like the simple-W2-styled worms, gives them a more simplstic cartoonish style we don't see used much anymore.

[DeadMeat]

Thank you for your kind words!

To all those super-duper-artsy guys out there who know how to work with Photoshop, could someone please post a tutorial on how to take these kinds of sketches and make a full colored version a bit like this:



I'm making a comic as a school project, and I wanted to achieve something likt that.

[DeadMeat]

Thought I'd try going digital. Well, you decide of the results, I think it sucks.

[Akuryou13]

there are a lot of different ways to go about coloring a drawing like that.

If I can manage some time here shortly, I'm planning to do a worms-related drawing, and I can post up some progress shots for you. I'll see what I can arrange.

[SupSuper]

Just a tip, while it's handy to keep your pictures in big fat sizes for working on them, please resize them around 50% for posting on the forums, as anything larger than 1000x1000 requires a lot of scrolling and becomes a pain to look at. Most image hosting websites do this for you automatically.

As for your picture, it doesn't suck, the linework is nice and smooth and the colors fit well, which is a good start. It's just... well, plain and flat. You'll want to look up some tutorials on lighting and shading to make it stand out like the picture you posted. I'd suggest looking through the pinned threads or even other fanartists' threads for some advice and references, or just google as general-art advice will probably apply to worms as well as anything else.

[DeadMeat]

That would be lovely!

Also, I added a little shadows to it, maybe it looks better:



~Mark

[MtlAngelus]

Do you even have Photoshop? Just use layers. Make a top layer for the outline, and use it for all the black lines in your drawing. Once you're done with that, make another layer and put it behind the "outline" layer, and use that to colour in. Don't bother with the fill tool, just alternate between different sized brushes to fill in the basic colours.

If you don't know how to make layers, just google for photoshop layer tutorials or something.

As for shading, there's no magical way to achieve perfect shading. You need to decide where the light in your drawing will be coming from, and figure out in your head how light would hit the objects in your drawing. Sort of visualize the whole thing in 3D and go from that. If you have some clay around, you can just crudely recreate your drawing in small scale, and place it under a lamp(put the lamp where the light source would be in your drawing), and use that as a guide to see where the shadows would go.

Those are just quick tips tho, if you actually want to become good at it you need to practice a lot, maybe even take some art lessons or something.

[BethanyTeam17]

I like his hazmat

If you do have photoshop then this website goes over creating a worm and shading.

There's a list of worm drawing guides available on our forums. Though some seem to be dead now which is a shame

[Akuryou13]

Originally Posted by MtlAngelus

Do you even have Photoshop? Just use layers. Make a top layer for the outline, and use it for all the black lines in your drawing. Once you're done with that, make another layer and put it behind the "outline" layer, and use that to colour in. Don't bother with the fill tool, just alternate between different sized brushes to fill in the basic colours.

this is exactly what my tutorial was/is going to be, basically.

[DeadMeat]

Yeah I have PS. I watched a tracing tutorial and created that drawing I just showed you. Currently working on another one.

Thanks for the tips and link, guys! I hope things will go faster once I get my graphics tablet!

[DeadMeat]

Has another go at PS. I think I need to work on my shadows a bit.

Spoiler!

Spoiler!

Spoiler!

[Akuryou13]

Originally Posted by DeadMeat

I think I need to work on my shadows a bit

draw some things you can actually see, and pay close attention to how the shadows look. Your drawings are a great start, you just need practice at this point.

[DeadMeat]

Thanks for the advice.

Here's another one I just did:

Spoiler!

[i<3worms:)]

Very nice!

[DeadMeat]

By the way, guys, be sure to check out my tumblr:

http://thatwormsguy.tumblr.com/

I post up almost all of my Worms artwork there, plus I'd mighty appreciate requests.

Also, I had my first livestream. Details in my blog.

Enjoy!

~Mark

[DeadMeat]

Quick question, guys...

Am I allowed to do commissions of Worms? Like the ones above...

[MtlAngelus]

Dunno, but I really can't imagine anyone wanting to pay for these drawings, if that's what you meant by "commissions".

[Akuryou13]

yeeeeeeeeah. I doubt T17 would be ok with that, and even if they were, who's gunna pay for it? No offense, you're off to a good start, but you don't pay a novice draftsman to build you a house when there are masters around.

[insurg3nt3]

Nice job DeadMeat.

You can try "Adobe Illustrator" or any program for make vector images and have better outlines.

[DeadMeat]

Thanks guys!

And yeah, I know I'm not THAT good of an artist for commissions (heck, I learned to vector this stuff a week ago!), so I'm not rushing or anything.

Just wanted to know in advance. Who knows, anything could happen in time!

Why does everyone keep talking about this Adobe Illustrator? I've never heard of it before...

[SupSuper]

Originally Posted by DeadMeat

Why does everyone keep talking about this Adobe Illustrator? I've never heard of it before...

Illustrator is to vector graphics what Photoshop is to pixel graphics.

[Dix-Neuf]

http://www.mediafire.com/view/?1kppu42zy1uvlb9

[Akuryou13]

Originally Posted by Dix-Neuf

http://www.mediafire.com/view/?1kppu42zy1uvlb9

IS THAT THE WHOLE BOOK?! *faints*

[DeadMeat]

Wow! This looks really helpful! Thanks for the link, man!

[Dix-Neuf]

Originally Posted by Akuryou13

IS THAT THE WHOLE BOOK?! *faints*

I'm not sure, all the online downloads I was able to find end at that page.

Wow! This looks really helpful! Thanks for the link, man!

I linked it because even if you don't do animation or want to become a super serious artist, it's a simple book that contains a lot of stuff that should help you make simple worm designs look interesting. It doesn't take advanced anatomical knowledge to make them look good but it takes understanding of how to make a drawing fun and dynamic (and yes there is technical knowledge in that too and not just "creativity"). A problem with the fan art forum is that most people seem to view 'improvement' as making their stuff more and more detailed and shaded which is kind of missing the point of the aesthetic of this game. These things are limbless worms with floating hands, they're easy and fun to pose in a variety of ways and draw from varying perspectives.

[DeadMeat]

Well, I don't have any words. This is simply amazing!

*shakes hand*

[Akuryou13]

Originally Posted by Dix-Neuf

I'm not sure, all the online downloads I was able to find end at that page.

I had only run across a selection of about 9 pages before this. I studied the CRAP out of those 9 pages, though! SO awesome that you posted the rest

And yes, Deadmeat, he's entirely right. Don't worry about the shading or the details or anything else nearly as much as you worry about the shape and the style. Nail the basic fundamental forms of your worms, and it won't matter how much or how little you add detail. Hell, if you really nail the form of something you can get away with NO detail.

[Dix-Neuf]

The thing is that you need to keep things interesting with fun posing and expressions. I'll admit that I always thought that was an issue with Aku's art (and hell, my old pictures from this very forum), the worms just aren't lively enough. But it's nice that he's interested in books like this cuz he could easily move past that problem with such info. DeadMeat's got the right idea with the faces but the bodies & poses are pretty much the same. http://fc05.deviantart.net/fs71/i/20...me-d4yergk.png I like the idea behind this picture though because it's a slightly different perspective than usual.

On perspective & composition there's these really nice notes that Brad Bird (the guy behind The Incredibles and The Iron Giant) gave out to the staff of King on the Hill http://www.animationmeat.com/pdf/tel...d_on_comps.pdf and even though it's made for professional storyboarders they're very simple, basic concepts that every artist should take note of no matter the skill level.

As an aside, given that the book I linked is about super cartoony stuff I should also note that this isn't a matter of 'cartoony vs realistic' and real life is far looser than boringly 'realistic' cartoon & comic book art. We make all sorts of silly poses and our faces emote in all sorts of crazy ways that can't be emulated in cartoons by following a pre-made model sheet.