Yet again Gambit...

[Rulon Cynron]

I have posted the occasional image and disappeared for awhile and come back with some random character or another. This time I have sort of fixated on Gambit...I can't allow myself to move onto another subject until I feel like I've accomplished something...whatever that means...

Please take a look and let me know what you think. Thanks...

[Veritas71]

Well, from a compositional standpoint, there are some issues. Cropping figures at the joints (in this case, the knees) isn't a good idea. Plus you're losing the chance to show the bottom of his coat flapping around, which would create a feeling of movement. Also, his staff should be more present. Staves and swords are a great way to lead the viewer's eye around the picture. The pose is a little stiff. You have his back arched, and his legs in a slight crouch. Try to draw a simple action line with his center of gravity in mind. Stick to that line. Hands are essential to selling what a character is doing. Take photos of your own hands doing the action/pose. It's not cheating.

[Popninja]

Great points by Veritas. I would add that some part of his coated right shoulder should be visible.

[Diesel]

There's a lot of really nice stuff you've got in this picture so please don't take our constructive criticism too harshly. It's a nice pic.

In addition to the above you should add fixing the pec muscles. They should both be the same distance (within perspective) from the rib cage line above the abs. They are not and it makes his whole chest look lopsided.

Keep drawing and post more!!!

[jbcomics]

I would pose yourself even if you don't have the the anatomy for it, and wear a leather jacket if you have one, a bomber would do so you can see how the folds flow over the figure, and this will also determine to your eye where the shoulders should go, and establish a compelling angle as a point of reference for where/if to crop the figure. Im no adonis and I pose myself for a shot at least 50 percent of the time, even on sequential work. There is no substitute for drawing from life. The thing is it looks like you know where the muscles should go, but the stiffness of the form comes from a preconception of how they move under the skin/clothes. Posing yourself may eliminate this to a degree.

[claytonbarton]

Actually not a bad effort at all Rulon. Interesting rendering style you've got going on there, I like the way it's not too heavy, rather swift and subtle. Shadow cast on the face looks great too!

The stiffness and pose have already been mentioned so I'll let you in on a side note that'll help you out with ALL your drawings from now on...

I used to struggle with this so much too. It seems like such a simple thing, but in reality it's incredibly difficult to cultivate flow of action and movement within a character. Anyway, I ended up stumbling across this website called 'Posemaniacs'. Here's the link. http://www.posemaniacs.com/

Not only is there a large variety of poses on there to reference but the site allows you to do 30 second speed gestures. I'd go onto this site and do those 30 second gestures religiously everyday (whenever I find a personal flaw in my work I become obsessed with solving it).

So practicing this stuff for 30 minutes would leave you with 60 poses, spending an hour on there would give you 120.

Give it a go! If you keep a consistent training routine with it, I promise you that you will not only get faster, confident, and more comfortable with drawing the human figure, but the stuff you do draw will look ALIVE!

Some examples...