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lizleeillustration — Ex Oblivione Group Shot
Published: 2009-01-05 05:12:31 +0000 UTC; Views: 5125; Favourites: 132; Downloads: 50
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Description
Ahhhh finally done!This is a group of five of the characters from a text-based rpg my friends and I indulge in in our spare time, called Ex Oblivione Ab Aeterno (From Oblivion To Eternity).
Despite the simplistic background, I have to say I worked really hard on this piece, and I'm quite happy with the look of the characters. It's not much of a story-teller shot, more of a character profile sheet... but I like to think their personalities sort of show through. Some of my oldschool watchers (highfives you) might recognize a few of my old characters revisited, lolz.
Anyway... the base for this as usual, was markers... and I edited in photoshop afterwards.
I would love some feedback on this, as it's original work... please feel free to comment. I hope you like!
(Nimbus, Calisto, Kwon, Ame, Hana = Mine
Crystal and nameless robo-doggie = My best friend's)
ps: Please ignore Crystal's gimpy leg... I gave up on it after 4 tries of a "ditzy popstar" pose, aheh....
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Comments: 61
Ehh kinda. He sees in different dimensions, let's say.
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ah ok
makes sense cuz I know examples from other stories
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You're colors are always amazing and this is no exception! ^_^ I love their eyes *stares* Very lovely~
Also.. I had gone through your gallery again because of your "oldschool watchers" comment, and boy did that bring back memories! Also... you have +fav spam in your messages now. I honestly would have faved them all if I had not stopped myself!..
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Awww... you're so sweet. You ARE one of the oldschool ones, I remember! ^_^ Thanks so much.
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Awww, I like Hana. A lot. Her clothing is nice, and it seems to suit her very well.
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Thanks muchly, lady. I'm glad you like her, she's one of my faves.
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I was just about to comment on that leg... 
By the way, it should be "ad Aeterno", not "ab". "Ab" means from, "ad" means towards. (Five years of Latin kicking in, lulz) Too lazy to check the actual cases and stuff, but that just jumped out at me...
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Yes... the leg sucks, hahaha. But oops!! I shall change that. Thanks!
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No problem. 
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Massive amounts of love (as always) for your work! I have to ask though, is Ame in his socks?
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Yayz! Thanks. And yes, he definitely is. Casual guy, that Ame.
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INdeedz. They will someday rule the world.
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The lines are really impressive! And the colors are amazing too , especially since I cant draw with markers at all. There are a lot of details, like the patern on the kimono or the shiny boots on the blond girl.
Good job!
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Such high praise coming from you is flattering. Thanks a bunch, and man, we gotta do something this week before you head back to J-land!
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Unfortunately that might be impossible because I'm already getting ready to leave on Friday morning... I was hoping to run into more people I knew, but I guess thatll be for next time...
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I hate to say this, but Hana's kimono top is really bugging me. The top have the left is on top, but the bottom half the right is on top of the overlap. It's rather.. odd to say.
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Fair enough, but I can't really fix it now, lol.
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Still, gotta say I really like the whole outfit, and the picture. But I'm crazy and that's what kept catching my eye
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Its hard to get emotion out of someone looking straight ahead with a closed mouth. You can get a lot out of stance, but facial expression helps too.
Both of the males here seem dull and robotic, looking at nothing. Even if they are reserved or robotic doesn't mean they have to be so rigid. :/ Kwon is looking a couple feet behind us, and Ame is looking stratight through us, not giving us much to work with for personality. They are square with the picture frame, with their hips and shoulders all parallel.
Both their postures similar, erect with "closed" body language (clenched fist, crossed arms), but very undrescriptive. (I wouldn't be able to say that Ade is cold, or defensive, or if he was actually just some guy holding a broken arm or hiding a fake hand from the camera.)
Just the little change in posture helps the grown female characters. They are both giving off one-word personalities (Sweet and Sour respectively). Being a child, Hana has the advantage of showing some traits that set her apart from the "child" architype: Quiet and Not-energetic... actually using the same body language that would make a grown-up look robotic! (just noticing that, just now)
What can help is thinking of one to three characteristics you want to show per character, and thumbnailing until you find a pose that will help you bring that out right away. (Pith:"up the intensity")
Another thing that helps is imagining what they are looking at and using that as a guide to behaviour. (Pith: "add context")
Another idea is to put contrasting people closer together. Calisto and Krystal side by side will show off more about how they differ. (Pith: "amplify the contrast")
It's good seeing more stuff from your head. Roleplay portraits are tough, I usually photo manip pictures because I never know how long a game might last before it (and the character) dies.
I like the texture the markers make on Ame's hoodie and Calisto's skirt (that stuffs hard to fake!), and I really like Hana's costume design, good colour choices there!
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haha, you've always been a tough cookie to please. In all, I have to say I agree with everything you've pointed out. I've had trouble in the past, moving away from boring portraiture, and I guess old habits die hard. There are a few things I have to say about it though... Kwon is a soldier type. He is supposed to be absolutely obedient and pretty much the most boring person in the universe, and in my defense, I think I succeeded there, heh.
Ame, on the other hand, should have demonstrated more, you're quite right. He's a sort of ghost of sorts who is always tired... but here he looks well... robotic. It could work if I were stretching the idea to defend myself, but I'm really not going to try.
Hana on the other hand, is supposed to be uncharacteristically serious. She's a priestess of sorts, and only reveals her childlike attributes to those she trusts. She's wearing what my buddies and I have established as sort of ritualistic outfit and makeup, which is supposed to make her look like a doll... but again, I think I could have pushed it further.
Anyway. This is a good reminder for me to keep trying to push ideas more, and try to illustrate better the essence and/or stories behind characters, which is a critique that's been mentioned to me before. It remains a weakness of mine, but this will encourage me to be more aware of it. Thanks.
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I'm only tough with you cause I know you can take it, girl. 
For a soldier, the posture is good, but only if contrasting with other people. If everyone is standing to attention, "which one is the soldier?" gets hard to answer. It may be enough to change around where some characters are standing and changing giving Ame a slouch to bring out the group dynamic.
Crystal in her contreposto on one side of Kwon and a slouching tired Ame on the other will show him as the contrast of the other two. But there's a limit to how much you can show by NOT showing it... If Kwon is not slouching, not energetic, not smiling, not moving, not this, not that, etc. it gets hard to know what he IS.
But this sent me on a half-hour (scratch that) an hour and a half search for a good example of this stuff on DA... A find:
[link]
Exagerated:
[link]
I've had problems with this too:
[link]
Some characters work better than others here, the girl on the end joined as I was drawing this. They all didn't need to be straight on, etc.
There are not very many sucessful group pics in the "Popular in the last 8 hours", because its damn hard to keep all the dynamics in mind when making more than three characters interact...
I wish I could find better examples.
Srsly!
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The only thing I'll mention is the dress on Calisto! I never took her to be the type to be a maid, hehehe. All the characters look great btw!
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Haha, she's only a maid because she has to be, lol.... she actually works, at least temporarily, for Crystal... that's why she looks pretty pissed at being dressed as such. ^_^ lol Nice spotting on that one, lady!
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Hana just sticks out to me; despite her size *lol* I love her the best. 
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Haha, thanks. She's one of my faves, too. She's fun to draw... I had a good time with the patterns. ^_^ Thanks kindly.
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AWSOME, they all look great, i love it and the robo-dog is a cute touch, flying around and such! LOL Love love love it!
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Glad you like it! I wanted your permisison to continue with the other characters ( which arent' mine) to do more pics! In the end, I want to do a crazy mad huge group shot, lol....
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have fun, you don't need my permission nounoune, any fanart from you is awsome!
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The colours, as usual are amazing.
It's weird seeing Calisto in a getup like that, especially since my last vision of here was less than ideal (and gory... and oozing... and etc etc etc.).
Kwon looks awesome (where's the suit? lol...), and Ame reminds me of a certain little glassy-eyed energy sucker in need of a little R&R.
Seeing the similarities here, I can't help be feel a bit nostalgic.
Great work.
~E~
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Aw man, it's awesome to hear from you. Seriously. I hope everything's cool on your end of things... And yeah, Calisto looks pissed for a reason, she's not really supposed to be in that getup at all, but a job's a job, right? I missed these characters, so I re-introduced them into a *cough* Sailor Moon based *cough* rpg a couple of my friends are occasionally posting in. Thanks muchly for the comment. Coming from you it means a lot.
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I wish I'd been able to get involved, but when I made a post nothing happened.
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Well.... the thing is, we did post a follow up, and since your character hadn't interacted with anyone, we thought you were going to post again in terms of where else your chara was going... because seriously, we'd welcome him! I just wasn't sure how to relate with him since he was in a context without any of the others around... so please feel free to jump back in, seriously!
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I love that I'm seeing more and more work from you! Yay!
I -defiantly- recognize Nimbus! and Ame and Kwon look suspiciously familiar too...hrmm ::strokes chin with a raised eyebrow:: And Calislo looks like sooooommmeeooone ::coughLizcough::
I love how every one is like =_= except the (adorable!) puppy, nimbus and Crystal. Though Calislo does look kinda pissed off...maybe its because she is the maid and therefore does all the bitch work of the gang? Well that's why -I'd- be pissed off if I were her.
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Yeah, I'd be lying if Calisto wasn't a hotter, more badass version of me. But I mean hey. Might as well, right? lol... And wow, without even knowing the story, you've nailed her role down quite nicely. The thing is, she works for Crystal, hahaha... and she does maid-ing for money to get her through school, lol.
Anyway, thanks for the comment!
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Who doesn't have a hotter more badass version of themselves? Really...its like...human nature. XD And -man- I'm a good story guesser...person...yeaaah.
^^ Welcome as always!
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Lolz.. the strange thing is... she's based off my looks, in terms of hair and eyecolor, and a bit of the sarcasm... but when I rp with her, I don't really relate to her as a person. Like it looks like me, somewhat, but it's not, sorta deal. Bizarre. = ) And yes, you are lol.
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*huggles Nimbus*
And yes, Ame looks delicious and the little puppy ala jet pack is utterly adorable but I've SO missed teh dragon! *tackle glomp*
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T3h DRAGON! ^________^
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I love it! They all seem very diverse and distinguished. 
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