(click for DA version)

No sophisticated story here, just an experiment of dark outlines, muted colours as well as toying with the shape and pose of a person lying down. Working on finding a suitable set of brushes in Krita.

UPDATE: Made some changes after feedback.
[Krita , with some GIMP]
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Griatch

Gosh, that is so good Griatch. I love the way you can get your skin so shiny and well blended.

Defiantly shapely isn't she Griatch?

I like the face but for some reason it doesn't seem to fit with the rest of the drawing to me, it's weird I think my eyes are messing with me. XD

Very Nice Drawing!

@molly
Thanks, I did this as a black&white painting at first, didn't intend to colour it. But then one thing led to another.

@Moko
Did not indend to but she sort of developed into that shapely form as the image progressed. It was however anatomically interesting to see just how her more female-y forms would compress with this pose.
As for the face, it was probably that her face had a strong black outline. I have lessened it considerably now and so it should hopefully blend better. Thanks for the feedback!
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Griatch

Her left breast is defying gravity The face is real nice, even if the left corner of the lips is a bit weird.

Griatch you create them just as well lying down as you do standing and sitting.
Another wonderful artwork.

Congrats!

I'm no artist so shouldn't even be critiquing, but the skin on her body looks just a little too shiny to me unless she's supposed to be wet. If she's wet, there should be some water droplets or rivulets running down.

If she's sweating, her face should have equally shiny areas on it.

The jewels in her navel look like a slot was cut for them instead of sitting there in a shadowy depression. Perhaps a little less black and a little diffusing there like the jewels are in a shadowy place.

All in all, a truly elegant piece of art. Again, you are a master of art.

Yes! Face looks perfect to me now!

Looks pretty good ~ but I have the same questions as Oregonian. Her hair also seems really poofy on our right, unless her hand is propping it up. I do like the colors quite a bit, though!

My, thats really beautiful! Your style is developing warp-speed!

I'm stunned by your talent yet again Griatch. I particularly like the way you paint water - it's not an easy subject but yours definitely looks transparent.

A kinda random question..I remember watching a video a long time ago of yours (I think it was of those cute little gnome guys using the tree as a bridge) and I don't remember seeing a sketch in the process..You do all this without a sketch??? O.O

Thanks for the comments and feedback! I've updated the image with some of your comments.


The breast is supposed to be resting on the ground below her, thus being pushed up. The water is very shallow, but it seems the previous impression was rather that she was lying on top of the water rather than partly in it. I've reworked the image and the water to make this more apparent. Hopefully better now. As for the mouth, it's just a somewhat abstract way to draw the nasilavial fold at the edge of the mouth without making a full fold all the way up to the corner of the mouth. I know girls who naturally have mouths like this, including the little indentation at the edge, I guess it's a matter of preference if it's weird or not.


Artist or not, doesn't change having a good eye, most professional art critics in the real world couldn't paint a thing. Anyway, the navel was an outline since I originally made this image with heavy outlines. The heavy outlines seems to more confuse people than aid the eye though, so I've gradually had to remove them to bring the image to a better composition. I thus also changed the navel to be more subtle now. As for the shinyness, I didn't want to go into too much detail on her skin. She's lying in water and I've reworked the water quite a bit to make this clearer now - I'm hoping this is enough cue to the fact that her skin is wet.


See my answer to Oregonian above. As for the hair, it was supposed to be propped up by her arm/hand but you were right that it indeed came out a bit too much. I reduced it now.


If you with a "sketch" mean a line drawing, then no, I don't do that anymore, at least not for landscapes. But that doesn't mean I just sit down and draw everything "finished" out of the box of course! As you see in that video, I rough things in place (removing and adjusting all the while) then gradually refine and add detail until I have a finished result. Call it a "color volume sketch" if you will (see also here for another example of this technique).
For an anatomical study like this (which is much harder for me to get right), I do rough out the structure, but in the same way as with landscapes I don't keep a separate sketch these days - The rough outlines just get gradually and gradually refined until I'm done. In this particular image you actually still see some of the "sketch" lines in the final result. Hope that answers your question!
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Griatch

Can't tell my left from my right I was talking about the upper one The bottom one looks right.

Good genes? Strong underwire? Heh, I don't think it looks like anything is defying gravity, but I'll look at it again.
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Griatch

griatch: ridiculously well painted, as usual. i agree with erisian about the water, you really do that well. and i love her doll like face . i definitely agree with ofnuts about her right breast, though - it looks like it's been photoshopped or built up with silicon. and i wonder if her right arm really is right? with the way the upper part of her arm is angled the part below the elbow wouldn't be that straight and look that long, maybe?

This sure is a very tricky pose to draw, but you nailed it!!
Though I do have the feeling that her body is a bit too narrow compared to her head, and I also agree with Oregonian. Everything else looks beautiful.

@AnMal
I've decided not to change the breast, but you have a point about the arm, I should probably go back and angle that a bit differently, thanks!

@BaukjeSpirit
I'll probably not modify the width of her body. She is partially submerged, maybe that is throwing the eye? Also, see my answer to Oregonian above. Thanks for the comment and feedback!
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Griatch

I just went back to this again and to me it is still brilliant. It is just her right arm that is bothering me. too long, not the right angle, I dunno, but the rest is perfecto.