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Okemian — Mudkip
#blueskin #depthoffield #fins #mudkip #mudpuppy #pokemon #sand #mudkippokemon #mudskip #ocean #pokemonfanart #underwater
Published: 2016-09-08 20:00:26 +0000 UTC; Views: 1022; Favourites: 43; Downloads: 1
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Description
Anyone who knows me either knows (or has likely guessed) I'm a fan of the Hoenn region in Pokemon, Gen III was when I really started playing the games so whenever I think 'Pokemon', 'Hoenn' follows close behind. Following on from the 'Pick Your Starter' collaboration that was run by LordOrenamus with his group Darkest Pokemon, which I took part in - producing the Treecko that so far 27 people have favourited, I decided to draw a second Hoenn starter, you already know who it is... (cos of the title) it's Mudkip!
And for anyone wondering, I plan to draw Torchic after I learn how to draw feathers, because that is yet another hurdle I've yet to overcome.
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Comments: 42
Hi, I'm here from ProjectComment 
Your piece drew my attention because of Pokemon & my interest in animal biology; I think that this is a very realistic and well-rendered version of the Mudkip, hence most of my suggestions will be from a more scientific and technical perspective:
I strongly encourage you to add more details to the environment and experiment more with the lighting. Right now, the background and foreground are nice, but a bit bland. Pokemon are fascinating creatures and people would flock to see them if they were real - don't be afraid to try something dramatic and complex, like this or this , and make your Pokemon more in-your-face. It will make your audience more engaged, and elicit a stronger emotional reaction.
Watch out for inconsistencies in Mudkip's fingers - some of the fingers are rounded, while others taper off more sharply. I'd say pick one or the other, but not both, and utilize reference pictures of salamanders (like this photo ).
This ties in with my previous suggestion about the lighting. For an amphibian, Mudkip's skin looks too dry; to convey the wetness of the skin, the lighting should be more concentrated in certain areas of the skin, rather than diffuse throughout (example here ).
Hope this helps, and keep up the great work!
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Hello there! Aha! Another scientific-based mind
- I will definitely try to do more with the background as I draw more, I'm still kind of finding my footing and have only recently started adding backgrounds, I did initially ponder adding some corsola and other underwater pokemon in the background but didn't get around to adding it. In time I do want to do much more dynamic poses such as the ones you presented - this will be something I'll be working on in general in all of my art
- The fingers did give me a bit of trouble, I use Adobe Illustrator for my basic outlines (from which I get a silhouette in the base colour of my creature) and it's hit and miss whether it actually rounds something off xD Still getting the hang of drawing lineart by hand in photoshop so will be trying to get things right with Illustrator for now. You probably noticed that the 'gills' aren't in the same/symmetrical positions on the head, which I only noticed when it was too late x)
- Lighting is yet another thing I'm getting the hang of, never entirely sure where to concentrate the lighting to make it look wet so I go for a general lighting effect and hope the texture gets the message across x)
Thank you so much for you feedback! I've got a lot to work on but I intend to keep on it!
Do let me know if there's any work of yours you want feedback on! It's the least I can do
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Hehe, scientific approach is the best approach 
- Sounds great
- I didn't see the gill asymmetry actually xD. And I remember now, Illustrator does do rounding, which can be frustrating at times! If you want more control over the line art, I suggest Paint Tool SAI, which is free. Personally, I find SAI more suitable for line art, and Photoshop for coloring and shading.
- Indeed, it's quite difficult - I would say have at least one "main streak" of highlights following the curve of the body, since that's how the lighting plays out on many salamander photos (like this and this ). If you find a reference photo with a similar pose as the one you're drawing, that's even better
You are very welcome, looking forward to seeing what you'll make next! Feel free to comment on my more recent pieces, if you like - don't feel obligated to do so 
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Yeah I actually have Paint Tool SAI but never really found it to my liking, I might give it a go again though
I'll definitely try this out next time I come to draw a creature like this (perhaps if I do marshtomp or something 
As for what I'm making next I've currently hit a bit of a slump, been bogged down with work and college but I hope to get back into the swing of things soon. I'm halfway done drawing a 'realistic' Undyne (from Undertale), should be fun once I finish.
I'll definitely have a look at your pieces
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Yeah, give it a try! The vectoring does take a while, but it results in really clean line art
Sounds good! It's a great idea to draw similar creatures, and having illustrations of a complete evolutionary line would probably be satisfying as well xD!
I'm pretty occupied with work myself, so I understand; and that sounds really cool!
Thank you 
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I would've tried it by now but I've been in bed sick since Sunday xD
I definitely want to draw Torchic at some point so I have all three Hoenn starters but I can't figure out how to accurately draw birds xD And then I'd want to draw the evolutions for each
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Oh no! Hope you are feeling better now!
Go for it! Birds are tricky (especially wings and claws), a good feather texture brush + references of a couple species would probably help
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Not that much better but I'm getting there - missed 3 days of college and as of tomorrow 3 days of work, I'm definitely ready to be well again X'D
I do not yet have a feather texture brush (that would be a start) nor would I know how to use it but I shall learn! XP
As for species I'd likely go for a basic chick from an average breed of chicken. Though the feathers would be much fluffier I believe? That's a thing with young birds right? XD
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Eek, that's frustrating 
Here are some free ones to start with
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Ah, thank you! Those should come in handy for sure
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You're welcome 
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Thank you!
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Well that is hard for me to say, since I am not really a high level artist. But lets see what I can come up with. I am not sure if antomy would really be a thing to say with this kind of creature. But several things are not symmetrical from his left and right side. Such as the ear like gills, and the brow above his eye. This is judging by the perspective angle of the nose. The nose is about a 45 to the left, but the brow is a 5 to the left and then the gill ears are a 70 to the left. There may be more to the structure, but I would not know what to call out
The shading. Well at first I would think that there may not be enough hard shadows, but this is under water, and light gets bounced alot more, so it may be fine. However I still get a wee distinction he is pasted on the ground. I don't have any helpful tips for this, since when I do a semaler style I run into the same problem 
Is any of this helpful?
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I did know about the gills - unfortunately the way I draw means that when I noticed the placement was off it was too late to fix it without having to redo almost everything - I think a lot of the anatomy will come with practice, after all it was the first time I've ever drawn a mudskipper xD
Shading for me is definitely improving but I know I have a lot more to work on, like you said with the colour reflection. That's something I keep meaning to do but forget to do in the moment. As for it looking pasted onto the background, it's kinda like that, but more that the background was made after and on a separate layer, rather than it all being one whole image. Again, just a case of practicing. I think I got the shading a bit better on my heracross, though it doesn't have a background (yet) pre15.deviantart.net/cb16/th/p…
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Yeah, all in the practice.
I see the bug, and it does look rather good. Sure with practice you get it perfect one day
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Glad you think so - I'm currently working on my human anatomy XD it's so surprisingly hard.
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Thank you!
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Haha, well, from my perspective, it's absolutely perfect!
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Aww, I'm glad you think so!
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I like how you drew the gills
Oh cool feathers could be very cool in your style, I wonder how you'll do !
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Thank you
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Haha me to I use the grass brush for EVERYTHING xD
Yeah he is very fluffy, it could take a lot of time if you draw every feather !
The idea of a very fluffy bird reminds me this Rowlet:
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Knowing me I would want to do each individual feather xD. That Rowlet does somewhat fit the description - I guess being the 1st evo of the start it would be somewhat young and 'fluffy-feathered'. I'm sure I'll figure something out, but I'm planning to do Bagon before any of that, idk if I'll like it so its not certain I'll be uploading one
I could always find my keys and draw them - call it Klefki xD
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Yes you should do that, it's awesome ! You'll need to make some researches ^^
Bagon is an interesting choice, you will become really good for reptiles ! Which animal do you choose to interpret Bagon ? (I can't wait the day you'll draw Salamance = probably my favorite dragon)
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For bagon I might go for another baby dinosaur, perhaps recently hatched with some she'll still on its head idk...
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Maybe a newborn dinosaur ? It could explain the huge head !
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I'm not sure what I'm gonna do for bagon yet so in the meantime I've been doing Cubone. A young Heteradontosaurus wearing an animal skull that is almost definitely not a Heteradontosaurus' but it worked better for Cubone
Salemence would be a fun one, would definitely need a lot of practice with scales and draconic anatomy
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Yeah Salamence should be a huge project for anyone
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I mean its name it's literally a combination of salamander and immense XD it's a huuugge beast
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Especially its mega version, just iùagine the wings in a realistic style ! !
I decimated entire teams with him on Pokemon showdown (with substitute + Dragon dance)
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I'm considering doing a mega evolution but I'm not sure what I'd do - I think mega salemence may be a bit too big for me XD maybe I can do mega heracross/pinsir but make it look tiny (realistic) and much less threatening than it would be in game.
I need to learn tactics like that! I suck at competitive cos I'm a 'glass-cannon' kind of player, I just hit the enemy as hard as I can and hope for the best xD
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Maybe mega Salamence could be our next collab ? I't'll be a huge challenge, Idk how I'll draw such a lineart o_o And ot'd be difficult for you too, because I imagine Salamence with many small scales !
Yes it's a good idea to draw these beetles ! I like bug drawings so much x)
Ok, now I know, if someday you want to fight me I'll prepare a team with 6 Klefkis x) (btw I destroyed so many noobs with six Arceus thanks to Klefki)
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That'd be interesting XD I agree it'd be one hell of a challenge! I'll take a look at which beetle I wanna do and that might be my next one or the one after bagon if I do him next.
I'd certainly be up to a battle at some point in the future
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We could do it someday, you seems to be very inspired at the moment, I'll let you finish all your beetles & stuff before ! We'll start when you'll be ready ^^
One of them could be an atlas beetle *-* (this bug is so fascinating)
I'm on Pkm showdown, I have 2 "overused" teams, you can challenge me whenever you want
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I can't deny I do seem to be on a roll right now XD perhaps I'll take it a step further and have both Pinsir and Heracross "antler-bashing" each other in the dirt xD
I'll definitely look into it
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