[Gobbler]

Time for the next bits - be warned, though, this may not really appear like the epitome of human art...

Added the eyebrows and the nose. I was thinking about making her appear like some kind of android or cyborg or whatever it's called nowadays, but I quickly discovered that I was only trying to find an excuse for not drawing all those little hairs of her eyebrows. Tsk... always the same with me, I guess...

Now I know that this version looks a little strange. It's the very reason for why I usually start with the surrounding lines of the neck, the head and the hairs when I draw faces. But I guess it's a little bit too late for that now and to be honest, I'm actually quite happy that it looks like that. You'd think that she's going to look very serious and cold once the picture is finished. But never ever underestimate the influence of the head's lines and a little smile... huh~huh~huh...

(And if she's still looking so serious after I'm done, then you know that I screwed up.)

[Deepsycher]

Just saw this. Apart from the outline I like the bottle green eyes. Could you draw blood vessels to go in the white bit to make it look real?

This post has been edited by Deepsycher: 16 June 2006 - 01:37 PM

[SimeSublime]

That's a fairly good idea, and one that I wouldn't have thought of. To be honest, I don't think it looks weird, and can easily picture her with a coy smile.

[Gobbler]

Could you draw blood vessels to go in the white bit to make it look real?

In a way, I've already done that. I created the white texture with some shades to indicate the irregularities of the human eye. If you're not banging your head against a computer monitor all day long, then they're not showing that much and you can't really see them from the distance which I used in this picture. I tried to add more though, with the same effect - when I zoom in, I can see their traces, but once you see it in its original size: No effect.

Time to shock you some more. I don't know if I screwed up or not with her lips, they're only showing a very light smile.

I need to fix the upper lines of the lips a little, not much, but maybe enough to make a difference. I guess I'll need to fix quite a lot about the picture before it's really complete. Her right pupil, her eyelashes and especially her left eyebrows need to be redone and enhanced, but I'll do that once I've done the hairs. And to give you an idea of how much facial lines can influence the final picture, I've quickly created this:

This is a snapshot of the current development. The lines of her face may need some more adjusting before I apply the effects to them. I guess this is the reason for why I'm not going to draw bald women in the near future... it just looks plain weird without the lines of her head and her hairs.

Alrighty, that's it for now, I'll go back to work.

[Slade]

That looks pretty keen. Don't forget that little indentation between the upper lip and the nose, though!

Edit: A quest across the Interwebs reveals that that portion of the human anatomy is called the "philtrum."

This post has been edited by Slade: 25 June 2006 - 10:05 PM

[SimeSublime]

Neat so far, awaiting more

[Deepsycher]

It looks good but on the right hand view the middle tip of the top lip looks a bit pointed and crumbly. Maybe some raising to that bit of line or levelling is needed to that.

This post has been edited by Deepsycher: 28 June 2006 - 07:19 AM

[Gobbler]

Edit: A quest across the Interwebs reveals that that portion of the human anatomy is called the "philtrum."

Yeah... I know that word since I drew Zee. An early draft featured those two little lines but it looked awful without the three-dimensional colouring of the skin, so I left it out and hoped that noone would notice or mind. I'll try to include the philtrum this time, although I'm still not quite sure how it can be done best. Give me some time to ponder on that.

It looks good but on the right hand view the middle tip of the top lip looks a bit pointed and crumbly. Maybe some raising to that bit of line or levelling is needed to that.

I haven't got the slightiest bit of an idea about what you are talking there, but I corrected the lips nonetheless, like I said I would. Hope this one's better.

I went over to drawing the hairs and found that the colouring didn't really please me yet, so I removed all the effects and went back to the pure basics for now. I'll think about a different set of colours for the final picture once I've finished drawing the lines.

So, I guess today's snapshot might induce a feeling of nostalgia, when it was all black and white. Here we go.

I've corrected some parts of her face - like I said I would. The most striking things would be her left eyebrow and the new eyelashes. Her hair is not done yet it, in case you didn't notice. And as you can see, I didn't choose a place to start and work my way through to the other end from there. I add some lines here, I add some lines there, then add plenty of lines in between, until it finally looks like something. That's how Zee's hair was created and though it took me a lot of days to finish that, it was actually the real fun part. Let's hope that I don't screw this up, I'd hate to feel responsible for wrecking a lady's hairstyle.

[Gobbler]

Her hairs are finally finished. Whew.

I fixed her eyes once again. I'm not sure whether I'm going to draw some clothes too, so I left some space there. You can also see that there's a gap at her ear. My sketch featured a very simpel earring at that point, but maybe I'll think about that again and include a more complex design or just leave it out.

I guess all the planning paid off to this point, as I didn't have much to correct. Still, she looks very very very different from what my (admittedly awful) sketch suggested. That's what I really like... none of my pictures ever really turn out to look like I planned them and all of them are better off that way. Huzzah.

And to think that this is what I get for experimentally drawing a single eye out of boredom...

The colouring is giving me more and more worries now though. I know how to colour simple comic characters, but this is way too complex for that method... *sighs*... I guess there's some more research needed. Oh well.

[Deepsycher]

The face looks okay but I am still seeing the dent at the middle of the lip. The top lip at the middle. Can you see what I mean?

This post has been edited by Deepsycher: 06 July 2006 - 06:20 AM

[Slade]

Some people's lips are shaped like that, D. Normally that philtrum would go up from the center of the lips to the bottom of the nose, maybe that's throwing you off?

That's some incredible, meticulous work on the hair. Looks great as usual, Gobbler. And though I mentioned philtrums again, it's not looking weird without it anymore.

[Deepsycher]

Yes, that little bit at the middle of the top lip seems to me that she was attacked there by a razor blade. The hair looks to me a little uncombed unless that is a style.

[SimeSublime]

Execellent work. I wouldn't go with clothes, for some reason I see her with the bare shoulder effect. But that's just me.

[Gobbler]

The face looks okay but I am still seeing the dent at the middle of the lip. The top lip at the middle. Can you see what I mean?

Oh, that. Yup, I see it.

And though I mentioned philtrums again, it's not looking weird without it anymore.

I guess that's because her face is rather flat at that point. It wouldn't really stand out. Which also translates to: I've found a good reason for not having to draw it! Woo! Thanks mate!

Yes, that little bit at the middle of the top lip seems to me that she was attacked there by a razor blade.

You Sir, got some strange thoughts in this head of yours, but I won't argue. She wasn't attacked, it's just... well, the way her lips look. I drew them with the picture of a girl I was flirting with in mind and she had those... hmm... rippled lips and looked like a kitten when she smiled... damn, sexy as hell, I wish I could have reproduced that unique smile somehow.

But I guess that's why it's called unique. Duh.

The hair looks to me a little uncombed unless that is a style.

That's her style (and some chaotic outbursts from my side) and I was somewhat hoping that I could regulate that with the final texture and its lighting. Let's see whether I've succeeded...

Execellent work. I wouldn't go with clothes, for some reason I see her with the bare shoulder effect. But that's just me.

Oh well, if it saves me work - deal. Have it your way - no clothes for Mr. Sublime then.

I actually made some drafts and experimented around a bit, but nothing really pleased me. So no clothes and no earring - they somehow destroyed the flow of the picture anyway.

Well, here we are. It's been a long way and all that, yadda yadda, bleh bleh - eat THIS!

Daia no Hana

If you think that I gave her a strange name - granted, I'd have to agree. It means "Diamond Flower", a name which refers to her iris (No emeralds anymore, diamonds this time. Not really the Koh-I-Noor, I'm afraid - that lousy thing wasn't sparkling enough. ) and to the way in which she blossomed step by step. I hope you like the colours.

Sorry for not colouring all of her, but whatever I've tried - it just didn't work out. Seems almost impossible to me and my feeble colouring techniques. So I went back to the old method, which isn't such a bad thing in my opinion.
That, and my mum just loves that contrast between light and darkness.

[Emu]

the contrast with the eyes is really lovely. beautiful work!