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The title says it all really!

Marneus Calgar

This was my entry in the 15-and-under age category of the Games Day UK 2008 art competition. It didn't win, but judging by the amount of time the artists/judges spent looking at it, I think it was pretty close...

Background is a ruined city, drop-pods coming down, etc. I think it may be the background that lost it for me, but it looked good in my imagination, so I thought I'd try and do it in real life. ^_^ It didn't turn out as I was hoping, but it was good practice.

And either way, I'm now more determined than ever to do well as an artist and to become better at drawing...

It does look better in real life as well, the shadows are a bit washed out in the scan.

gallery_27175_1250_179098.jpg

C&C appreciated! And while I remember, does anyone know of a way I can send work into GW to show the various artists there? I'd like some feedback from them about it...

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Very good! And remember folks, arteest is another word for...homeless! (haha, couldn't resist a Dirk and Guido joke). Na, If I had chosen my second choice, I would've done the same. Anyway.

 

I do have a pair of comments for you, both involving the shoulders. Everything else looks like it's in the right place except for them. It reminds me of the classic "head coming from the chest" design of terminators a while back. You can easily remedy that by dropping them a little bit, or raising the head some. The new Calgar model that you took your inspiration from is slightly off in this manner as well, so it's understandable. A good terminator reference that you can use that is pretty darn good for correct placement of the shoulders is the Grey Knight terminator models. Base off of that, then use the same high back as regular terminators. I'm not sure if the new plastic terminators are also good, but check them out. If you can't use a reference, a good rule of thumb is to have the tops of the shoulders (roughly where you can picture they'd be in the terminator armor, at least) below Calgar's chin. Pretty simple.

 

The other thing I have is the breadth of the shoulder pads and power fists. Terminator armor, man! Big, bulky, BEEFY!!! Just widen them a little, for future drawings.

 

 

Haha, okay a little laugh I had. It almost looks like Calgar is looking in abject horror at something :D . It's close to anger, but next time raise the edges of the upper lip a little more, and shade in the facial lines for that angry yelling look that you were going for.

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Thanks for the replies!

 

I started this, and did quite a lot of it, while I was on holiday, with only the 5th edition ruebook to look at. So I was limited for stuff to look at, but I went for the old style of unnatural shoulders on purpose really, because it makes termies look very bulky and immoveable, and really quite cool.

 

And yeah, the face isn't the best. But the three things I have the biggest problems drawing are faces, skulls and Space Marine helmets. So drawing Space Marines, which I spend a fair bit of time doing, is always a bit of a problem!

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Depending on where you live, you may have a Borders or Barnes & Noble bookstore nearby. I'd suggest hitting them up and checking out the art section. They have lots of books about drawing, some focused entirely on anatomy, and I think that'd be helpful. But be like me, and just read the books in the store instead of buying them =P.
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I don't know about those bookstores, but there are several in town, so I can have a look. But I'm going to concentrate on some Imperial Guard next, maybe with the odd Space Marine thrown in, just so that I can post it on here. That should get me some practice. But for the termie shape, I wasn't to worried about it. The models don't look all that real with the shoulders where they are.

 

But anyway, time for a question. What to draw next?

 

And of course, C&C is still welcome!

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C&C:

 

The leg that's stepping up doesn't look quite right. Make sure that the thigh recedes into the distance by having its lines converge and that other details on th thigh make it clear that the thigh is aimed almost directly at the picture plane, like you did with the upraised arm. Something similar could be said about the shoulder pad with the "U" on it.

 

The face could use more shadows. You can obscure a lot of a face with shadows and have it still read as a face, and it looks a lot more integrated into the scene and more dramatic to boot. This guy was really good at that sort of thing. I think he did the new Dardevil comic or something. B)

 

The overall composition is kind of low-energy. Calgar is centrally placed and had a very vertical orientation. Try a more asymmetrical composition and get a more diagonal line of action. Start with a very simple gestural sketch and add the detail to that as you go; you'll get a much more dynamic drawing that way.

 

I like all the little details of the power armour, though (rivets, sensors, etc.). The fact that Calgar is higher-contrast than the background is good; it makes it clear that he is closer.

 

Keep at it. Draw whenever you can. Take it from me, if you stop drawing, your skills will atrophy!

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Thanks for the replies! All comments and critizism will be kept in mind for future drawings. Seriously, everyone seems to know loads about artwork and how to improve on it. Some of the stuff pointed out I wouldn't have noticed myself, but now that I've seen it it makes perfect sense!

 

But I have decided what to do now. I'm going to make this a permanent log of my artwork, largely Ultramarine based, all SM based. That will force me to make regular updates, and will get a lot of helpful comments etc. So I'll edit the title, and am getting going on a few basic concept drawings. Once I have them done I'll scan them in so that comments can be made before I start shading.

 

The first WIP drawing will be another termie, and will be up on here hopefully tonight.

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I'm going to shamelessly double post to show the first of the promised concept sketches. This is a random termie sergeant, with stylized armour and cool sword. I thought I'd have another go at termie armour and yelling faces. I haven't put many details on yet, just the basic outlines and a few important bits.

Sorry for the bad pic, the scanner didn't work very well with such faint lines.

So, here it is:

gallery_27175_1250_328768.jpg

If you squint you can see it...

And I've just realized how bad the legs are. They make it a lot more static than its meant to be. They were originally meant to be bent, but I kinda forgot. Oh well... And the left leg isn't wide enough. Watch for the next update!

In the meantime, any C&C for either this or Calgar are still welcome! ^_^

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An improvement over Calgar, but still pretty static. Start with just one or two lines of action that express the pose before you start adding such details as, well, body parts and such. It's a preliminary step that takes but a few seconds and will really loosen up your drawing. Here's an example of what I'm talking about. Of course, you would do yours in pencil rather than acrylic, but the principle is the same: capture the pose and the action before attempting to capture the details. The curve of the spine is the most important thing, in my experience.
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Much improved. The figure is more readable if it has a good "silhouette." If you can still tell who the character is (a terminator) and what he's doing (holding a gun and a sword) if his entire outline is filled-in with black, it's a good silhouette. The sword's tip overlaps the crotch, muddying the silhouette. Changing the angle of the sword so that the tip it visible in the empty space between his legs, or over to the left by extending the sword, will clarify the post.
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Ok, I'll change the sword position. I've also started another concept sketch, which will be a cross between the Librarian artwork in the codex (the one with lightning coming out his fingers) and Tigurius. In other words, its the same pose, but its the Tigurius model doing it. That will hopefully be up tomorrow at some point, along with the change for the termie.
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Sorry for threadomancy and doube posting, but I'm going for a last attempt for more replies. I have the most recent updates for the sketchs.

And, once again, sorry for the truly terrible pictures. This time I had to take them with a camera... They will get better once theres some dark shading on them.

First, the Termie sergeant, now completely ready for shading:

gallery_27175_1250_503602.jpg

And the librarian sketch, almost finished:

gallery_27175_1250_638241.jpg

Again, sorry for the bad pictures...

C&C is, of course, welcomed and much appreciated!

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