Animation Source Forums

Well I've recently downloaded GIMP and I wanted to try and do a realistic sort of picture with it. So I found a realistic drawing I did of my cat and began to work on it in GIMP. But I don't think I'm going about it right. Here's what I did.

First, I created a new layer and selected 'multiply' so that the white paper was see through, then I filled the bottom layer with one colour (a brown). Then, I roughly went over it with a darker brush over the parts of her face where the fur is darker. Then I neatened it and began to work on the fur.

And I'm pretty sure I should've done it diferently (the fur) but it's not too bad anyhow. I used a fine brush and used "Burn-Midtones" and added the individual fur. Then I smudged it, and have been doing that for a while. Here it is SO FAR:



I've done a couple of "Dodge-Shadows" around the nose and a few select hairs.

So, I would really appreciate any critique and advice on what to do next time. Please.

Thanks for the help Rocki! *hugs* You're probably right about the ears being too rounded, even though her ears are more rounded than a lot of cats, they are not that round. Studying facial muscles seems a very good idea to me. I'll keep working at this, and post updates as I do more.

Again, thanks for the help.

'Kay. Critique.

Those eyes look far too big for the head and the wrong shape. I'd suggest looking at more cat photo's to get the proportions right.
Cat's eyes are circles and go slanted when they shut their eyes. So if she/he is sitting in a relaxed pose with their eyes half open it should be more of a half-circle shape instead of an oval.

The fur is good so far but it lacks depth, shading and highlights.
When doing black fur it's better to choose a colour like blue for the shading so it's not flat black. This tutorial shows what I mean, even though it's in pencil, the technique is the same.

You'll probably want to do base colours before you do fur detail. Base first - detail after.
Use a soft brush and just paint where the colours should go, lighter in the highlighted areas and using the colour for shading technique to add in the shading whilst giving it depth.

Also, do all you can to avoid using the dodge and burn tools. Use colours and a paint brush instead to blend your picture and add shading/highlights. Dodge and burn tend to be a bit too harsh or mess up the colours.

Also again, look at more cat pictures to get a better idea of the anatomy and where the shading should go and where the highlights should go.

Looking good so far though! Keep working on it!

Thanks UK! I think I may start it again using a better technique... thanks for that tutorial and all your critique. I love critique. *hugs*

I'll be a critique as well:

-Well, Vivid. I am suprised your first attempt is quite unique. Like UK said, your eyes are a bit to big. But, you do understand the lighting of your eyes.

-I also suggest you use all sorts of colours. Like this cat right here, for example, could use lighter browns. It doesn't hurt for that.

-Um, the face is a bit to long, but the shape is great. I suggest you put a little black bit at the mouth. Like, picture a cat. Although thier mouths aren't open, you still see the lips. Then add a little white to make it shine.

-Other then that, I think you are on your way to being an amazing relistic artist! Keep it up!

Regards,

Wolf girl

Thanks for your help! And I'm re-doing the picture so it has more shades and more detail, but the original drawing will be the same so the eyes will still be a bit too big. Thank you to everyone who's helping though- I really do appreciate it! I'll probably be working on it non-stop for the next hour, so I should get a lot done by then.

Thanks again all! I'll update this post with a preview of it soon.

Is this your first time doing realistic in any program? If so Wow! I give you stars just for trying. Realistic is i think the difficultest to attempt,takes so much time and patients.

Things you could work on is try to find some fur tutorials that would show you how to properly make fur. Because fur moves in different directions not just one way the whole time. Practise it first dont try to just jump on and tackle the drawing XD Thats what i used to do and my art turned out bad. Not saying yours is.

Here are some i found for you:
http://anuwolf.deviantart.com/art/Crapp ... l-43120559

http://daisy7.deviantart.com/art/OC-Fur ... al-9297198

All it takes is time and practise.

Thanks for those tutorials! Everybody's help is most appreciated, I'll definitely use this advice when I try this again.