28 replies to this topic

[Boleslaw I]

Your drawing are very nice! Just one question, is the archer wearing a cap or is that his hair?
I am asking this because it looks like a ming dynasty offical cap.

Oh an good luck if you are going to draw the mountian pattern armour next. Keep up the good work.

Terence, it is a cap indeed. It should be black as far as I know. There are several variations of course, with two small wings.

[kaiselin]

My art teacher said i was devoid of even basic artistic talent! Nice archer Boleslaw. As an aside, have you done any drawing from the modern era of chinese history?

She should not be called an art teacher. Plain and simple she should be fired.

[kaiselin]

I have just finished a Tang archer, in light cloth though.

Excellant!!!!

[kaiselin]

I was going through my collection of pictures looking for something completely different when I came across this ancient Chinese figures.



Note that the torso is long.
Unfortunately the arms are missing, but the groin( or just above the groin) and not the waist is the mid-line center. I highly doubt if these figures were influenced by Barbie doll proportions but were true to the models they were meant to represent.

I also had the chance yesterday to look at a random family of Chinese that were dressed in skintight jogging suits. This allowed me to see the proportions quite well. They all had slightly longer then average torsos, but their arms and legs were in proportion. Their arms were not overly long in comparison of the proportion of their legs.
Of the 4 people in the family the father seemed to have shorter femurs then the rest of them. Otherwise if William had not pointed out that particular aspect of the average Chinese, I probably would not have noticed this trait.

When I say average I am referring to what I have been taught by western standards, I have no way of knowing what is taught in art class in China.

and to an earlier comment,
Yes I am sure that better nutrition has changed the height and weight of modern Chinese/ Asians... just like it will probably show that now that they are eating more westernized foods, certain health problems will be seen to be on the rise in the next few generations.

[MattW]

She should not be called an art teacher. Plain and simple she should be fired.

'She' was actually a 'he' Kaiselin, and he was basically right. I do like the detail of the bowcase...

[mrstroung]

Well done. I'm impressed that you focused on the small details of the different armors. :]

[Boleslaw I]

Here is a remake of the first picture, which after spending a longer period of researching, I have found that in several pottery items, the cuirass of this Tang soldier shows lamellar traces. I have also adjusted the neck and increased the size as well.

[Boleslaw I]

I have also done two cavalrymen here, one is heavy, another is light archer



This is perhaps my most favourite cavalryman, for according to Dr Albert Dien, he wore a sort of rectangle lamellar influenced from Iran. I have made some observations on the Parthian, Byzantinian and Sassanid cavalry, found that they look very similar. I would like to ask if you see are there any disproportion in this figure, so I can make an adjustment.



This is a light horse archer that I have come across from a figurine. He does not look like a native Chinese at all. Rather his cloth represents a steppe auxillary soldier. His cape is also of my favour.

Edited by Boleslaw I, 07 February 2009 - 10:59 PM.

[Lu Su]

Very nice!! I see a significant evolution. Your lighting perspective has increased, and your strokes are far smoother with a pencil. =)

As you move into more shading, try utilizing 'smearing' more with fingers or blending stumps. I think it would look wonderful with the style your developing if you feel its something you like using. =)

[Boleslaw I]

Very nice!! I see a significant evolution. Your lighting perspective has increased, and your strokes are far smoother with a pencil. =)

As you move into more shading, try utilizing 'smearing' more with fingers or blending stumps. I think it would look wonderful with the style your developing if you feel its something you like using. =)

Yes, thank you for your suggestion, smearing is a technique, methinks, applying for smooth surface such as plate armour. For lamellar armour, which is rough surface, another technique that I am trying to acquire is "mirror". This is achieved by make gradual change in pencil colour within each lamellar piece so to make a virtual effect of metallic shine. I am still observing samples.

[kaiselin]

Very nice work, you are improving a great deal.
The neck looks a lot better.

I took the liberty to alter a couple of your works slightly just to try and help you see some of your mistakes.

It may be more the way you are not drawing the proper wrinkles in the clothing and it makes the arms and legs out of porportion, but even ignoring that, you are still having problems with the ratio between the arms and the legs. Even with Asian short thighs aside you are still drawing the legs way too short.





I love the man on the horse, You do not see that angle drawn that often... the horse is very nice and the upper body is in perpotion to the horse, but the without the showing where the knees are and the angle the feet are at makes the legs look shorter then the arms.

The arm holding the bow is just wrong, I can not figure out where it is supposed to be bending,
I suggest that you look at manga and comic book forshortening and try to use some of their exagerated tricks. Draw the body before putting on the cloths so that you have the anatamy correct.

Also when all else fails and you do not have a model, look at yourself in the mirror.

Sorry my lines are not better, I am not good at drawing with a mouse.

Edited by kaiselin, 09 February 2009 - 07:11 PM.

[Boleslaw I]

Very nice work, you are improving a great deal.
The neck looks a lot better.

I took the liberty to alter a couple of your works slightly just to try and help you see some of your mistakes.

It may be more the way you are not drawing the proper wrinkles in the clothing and it makes the arms and legs out of porportion, but even ignoring that, you are still having problems with the ratio between the arms and the legs. Even with Asian short thighs aside you are still drawing the legs way too short.





I love the man on the horse, You do not see that angle drawn that often... the horse is very nice and the upper body is in perpotion to the horse, but the without the showing where the knees are and the angle the feet are at makes the legs look shorter then the arms.

The arm holding the bow is just wrong, I can not figure out where it is supposed to be bending,
I suggest that you look at manga and comic book forshortening and try to use some of their exagerated tricks. Draw the body before putting on the cloths so that you have the anatamy correct.

Also when all else fails and you do not have a model, look at yourself in the mirror.

Sorry my lines are not better, I am not good at drawing with a mouse.

Wow! Those are great analysation. Wonderful! I will research more on this. I have only 1 figure left for Tang army. The next will be Song. I will look at these before planning to draw more. Your lines are just extraordinary!

the horse is very nice and the upper body is in perpotion to the horse, but the without the showing where the knees are and the angle the feet are at makes the legs look shorter then the arms.

This is where shading comes, as Lu Su suggests, I should practise more...

Edited by Boleslaw I, 10 February 2009 - 08:13 AM.

[kaiselin]

You need to look at how folds in clothing and how it hangs off of protruding points on the body. I think that most of the problems with your pictures are because the clothing is not depicted properly....
This is not putting down the authenticity of the clothing but just the way you are depicting it.
By placing the folds and drapes in the proper places you can show where the elbow is bent or where the knee is.

Don't get frustrated, just remember : Practice makes perfect

Edited by kaiselin, 10 February 2009 - 04:33 PM.

[Aaron]

Don't get frustrated, just remember : Practice makes perfect

Just want make a slight correction. Perfect practice makes perfect, but that's just getting too technical.

Very nice work though Boleslaw, I particularly like your Tang Armoured Cavalry. The horse is especially brilliant in that one, I love the pose that you did with that.

Keep up the good work.