Mrs. Muffette

[Relent<]

it took me a while to decide what she looked like, but this is what I came up with. I plan to include her in future pictures as Aye's antagonistic land-lady X3
Critiques are appreciated (yes, even yours, Vlad ^__^)

 

[Low_Roads]

So, the Spider Lady herself! Mrs. Muffette wears a rather glum demeanor (that's what being a landlady will do for you!), sort of a Morticia Addams in casual wear. The very sort you'd expect to breed arachnids! Dictatorial manner aside, her flower tattoo seems to hint at free spirit, a hippie girl gone wrong, perhaps. Dare I ask what's become of Mr. Muffette? (I guess she had to feed those spiders somehow!)

 

[Relent<]

All stories for another time, LBH... 😉

 

[Jawa]

While I'm thinking about it...
Did you Know 'Little Miss Muffet' is based on a REAL PERSON...?
An English Physician, Dr. Thomas Moffet believed that Spiders had 'Healing properties.' As a result, he made his daughter EAT Spiders.

 

[Relent<]

o...kay?

 

[Jawa]

... I read it on the Internet? :tired:

 

[Relent<]

that's nice X]

 

[Journia]

correction, mashed spiders.

 

[Relent<]

Won't anyone comment on the drawing...?
T^T

 

[Celtic_Emperor]

Until you make several basic, necessary improvements, it will be some time before I can give additional helpful criticism and advice. The same errors are recurring and are present in this picture as they are/were in the others, so theres really nothing for me to expand upon at this time that will be of any benefit to you. It's really just a matter of you gaining enough experience to move past these various drawing obstacles in your way.

If theres something you have questions about (either about this picture specifically or something else), feel free to ask, though. 🙂

 

[Relent<]

I really am trying. I actually attempted a body style I never have before. But I see I am still making similar errors to my earlier drawings.
You will be pleased to know that I have been practicing, though ^___^

 

[Celtic_Emperor]

The experiences you are having will bare fruit sooner or later, so use that as a motivating factor. So many things we think work against us are actually doing us a favor if we view them from the right perspective.

 

[Relent<]

I'm afraid I don't understand. Apparently my biggest problems are proportions and girth in characters. I do my proportions out of the textbook, but for some reason all my characters are virtually rails. What trick do you use when proportioning proper character width? For proportions, everything is in relation to the head (I may have mentioned this before) but I'm shooting in the dark when it comes to breadth.

 

[FootLovingGuy]

It's weird, though I like it.

 

[Celtic_Emperor]

I'm afraid I don't understand. Apparently my biggest problems are proportions and girth in characters. I do my proportions out of the textbook, but for some reason all my characters are virtually rails. What trick do you use when proportioning proper character width? For proportions, everything is in relation to the head (I may have mentioned this before) but I'm shooting in the dark when it comes to breadth.

Before I answer anything else, what textbook are you referring to and is there any way you can scan an image of a typical instruction page? The problem may very well lie in the teaching methods, or lack thereof.

 

[Iridis_vi1]

I think its common to draw stick thin characters like this when you don't have a correct grasp on proportions. As Draco said it could be the teaching material. One helpful method I found to correct this is when designing the layout of a character, is to use triangles and circles to get a good idea of what the proportions should be like.

Here are somes excellent tutorials I find helpful for this sort of thing:

Female Body:
http://www.polykarbon.com/tutorials/body/stick.htm
Male Body:
http://www.polykarbon.com/tutorials/body/male/stick.htm
Cedarseed's Guide to drawing the body:
http://cedarseed.deviantart.com/art/Z-Big-Guide-to-Body-Drawing-15014442

 

[Relent<]

M.Trev- thank you ^___^

Vlad- just the typical "how to draw manga" anatomical format. It gives me lengths, but not widths. That's more than likely where the discrepancies lie.

Irdis- um...thanks for attempting ^__^ I couldn't understand much of it, and what I could, I already had an idea of. My current inefficiencies weren't addressed in it though.

 

[Abadon XXX1]

She's got some pretty long nails o.o;

 

[Celtic_Emperor]

Vlad- just the typical "how to draw manga" anatomical format. It gives me lengths, but not widths. That's more than likely where the discrepancies lie.

Those how to draw anime books are worthless if you seriously want to learn. They don't teach you anything most of the time and just show you pictures of how it's done, but not how to do it. They expect you to be able to fill in the gaps yourself without having a clear lesson plan, and thats not very helpful to most people. I wouldn't bother with them. Instead, go look for a human anatomy book. Once you have a competent understanding of that you can turn it into manga and anime styled artwork.

Until then, here is a quick sample I drew of how the figure should have looked anatomically, in that pose.

It would help you to remember that the female figure is basically formed around a figure 8. Notice how the width of the shoulders is proportionate to the width of the hips, and how the length of the arm from the shoulder to the elbow is roughly the same, as it also is from the elbow, down the forearm to the wrist. Notice how the length of the leg is the same from the hips to the knee and then to the ankle.

You were drawing each segment of the limbs twice as long as they should have been. That can be avoided by remembering what I just told you.

Also, the alignment of the head and it's features is important, as is reducing the size of the head. If the head is too big, the whole body suffers.

Notice how by using a figure 8, you see where your lines have to go to form her sides and waist. You also see where the neck and head need to go and how large they need to be.

I know this is really half-assed looking, but it's late and this is the best I'm willing to do for now on short notice. Hopefully it will help you visually understand this a bit more or at least hold you over until you can get your hands on a good book or something.

 

[Relent<]

I'd never seen that "X" method before. I'll be sure to keep that in mind. I goes well with a "cylinder" method I tried from a kiddy-drawing-book I saw in the store a while ago. I'll be sure to put up my most recent anatomical experiment soon.
(btw, I love the face on teh spider XD)

Abadon XXX- you're the first one who's noticed! 😀

 

[Journia]

I thought my comment had been posted on herre............apparently not.

My god she has some mean looking nails. But she is soooo lovely Relent. I can't wait to see her in action.

 

[Relent<]

I tried to make her as sensuous as possible (given her age, and all 😛) 😀
Thanks ^__^
Those nails were made for tickling!.. XD

 

[Iridis_vi1]

You know Draco, you should really post your own drawing tutorials sometime, they would be incredibly helpful for people without a clear understanding of the basic principles of proportion.

 

[Celtic_Emperor]

I'd never seen that "X" method before. I'll be sure to keep that in mind. I goes well with a "cylinder" method I tried from a kiddy-drawing-book I saw in the store a while ago. I'll be sure to put up my most recent anatomical experiment soon.
(btw, I love the face on teh spider XD)

This method is also referred to as an hourglass method, given it's shaped like an hourglass. I call it a figure 8, though, because it also looks like an 8.

( Yeah, the spider is having a good time, I guess. XD )

You know Draco, you should really post your own drawing tutorials sometime, they would be incredibly helpful for people without a clear understanding of the basic principles of proportion.

Yeah, I had already had plans for some, but it's a matter of working it into my free time, which is usually already taken up by my art and other hobbies...

 

[Relent<]

This is my latest anatomical experiment: a re-vamp of my character Shanti (who I forgot I had made for a while XD)
I do need to do more with her....
anyways, critiques?