more dynamic camera angle

esper · Thu 22/12/2005 09:57:07

Attention: This is NOT how I draw! I use a Wacom tablet and Dogwaffle and normally spend a couple hours on my pics... This is a mockup I did at work (hence I don't have my tablet or my lappy w/ Dogwaffle on it) with MSPaint in a couple minutes after sketching out the pose on a piece of scrap paper. I just had to get that out of the way...

What I'm looking for here isn't critique on the art, but on the pose. I want a much more dynamic pose, but I can't think of how to do it. I wanted maybe to drop the camera angle a bit down and to the right so the face and the steering wheel were closer together in the panel. Does anyone have any ideas, or is this pose okay?

EDIT: The idea, by the way, is that he's driving fast and he has something heavy on his mind... I want the camera angle to help get this idea across...

EDIT 2: BTW, this is just a quick sketch... He won't be naked in the final draft

gameboy · Thu 22/12/2005 10:22:58

Just an idea. He's one leg could be on the dashboard.
about like this: (note: the camera view may not be good, but the point is the pose)

esper · Thu 22/12/2005 10:29:38

Hrmmph. Why the hell not. Here, why don't I just have him like this...

You know, driving with his ass while kicking himself in the back of his own head? I guess that's as dynamic a pose as any...

Bartimaeus · Thu 22/12/2005 10:35:28

Do I detect a hint of sarcasm?.. :

esper · Thu 22/12/2005 10:38:31

I'm sorry, but my humor is a little warped. I don't mean to be ungrateful for the advice (if, indeed, you were serious...) but I don't see how that's even really possible. Even in your pic, it looks like he's stretching unrealistically. I don't think anyone is capable of driving like that, unless they're Reed Richards.

What I kind of meant was, how can I make that pose look more dynamic... By changing camera angles, etc...

Andail · Thu 22/12/2005 10:58:14

I think your last pic there is as dynamic as it gets

Nikolas · Thu 22/12/2005 10:59:32

It's not a bad pose or a camera angle really. I think it's nice.

But if I was rather, angry and had thoughts in my mind while driving, I wouldn't have my left arm like that. This pose seems a little relaxing only because of the arm. The face seems very concetrated and this is good. Maybe grasping the gear box could work better. And his head is big in compsarison to the body, but you will fix that, i know.

esper · Thu 22/12/2005 11:08:32

He's not really angry... He's on his way to a "job" that might be the end of him, so it's more heavy, somber... But with a hint of "Here, let me introduce you to my friend Ahmo... Ahmo Kikyass..."

Maybe a more dynamic camera angle isn't the answer... It might be if this were for a comic version of "The Fast and the Furious..." but maybe not here. As soon as I get home, I'll do a draft sketch and we'll see where I go from there.

EDIT: Maybe you're right about the relaxed pose, Nik... Here's an idea... How about his elbow out the window, but resting his head in his hand... Like this...

And maybe a little less of him in the pic, like I've shown above...

SSH · Thu 22/12/2005 11:27:09

Maybe that looks like he's talking on a mobile, tho ....

by mobile, i mean cellphone, btw

Nikolas · Thu 22/12/2005 11:31:03

that is better.

He does though look like he's talking to his mobile phone. But it is better. He does look extremly troughtfull to me. And I guess that this is what you want to make him look, so well done!

esper · Thu 22/12/2005 11:44:38

I could put his hand in a more forward position... one finger running along the side of his face, then maybe the other three covering his mouth... that's how I sit when extremely thoughtful... Or maybe in the "Sherlock Holmes" position, with his hand shaped like a gun with his finger running up the bridge of his nose (but I'm not sure how to do that at this angle...).

Stay tuned. I get home from work in about 2 1/2 hours, and then I'll sketch this out on my tablet and submit that to see what you think. I'm getting tired of using MSPaint. I wish good ideas wouldn't hit me when I don't have access to my equipment.

BTW, the reason I'm asking help on this is because it's the splash page for the first chapter of a comic I'm working on, and I want it to be memorable and well-done.

Shane 'ProgZmax' Stevens · Thu 22/12/2005 12:07:19

Tilt his head forward and down a bit so he's looking up at the road, that will make him a bit more broody. Also, you could have him with his hand over his chin like he is contemplating if you want him to appear to be thinking about something. Keep at it!

esper · Thu 22/12/2005 12:36:22

Grrr. Here I go back to MSPaint again. I wanna go home!!!

So, Progzy, you mean something like this (this is prolly my worst pic yet...)?

With his head leaning forward, off the headrest... maybe in the final version the tilt downward will be a little more noticeable... Thumb on one side of his jaw with fingers wrapping around to the other side... eyes up on the road...

I changed the camera angle too, to be a bit more forward. Maybe this will be what I go with... Thanks for the idea.

Shane 'ProgZmax' Stevens · Thu 22/12/2005 12:49:29

Like that, only finished of course

.

esper · Thu 22/12/2005 15:26:35

Okay, here goes... This is STILL only a rough sketch, as I'm not going to render until I'm absolutely certain I've got something good going on.

Any comments, critiques, or paintovers welcome.

EDIT: I can already see that the backseats tilt downward

And again, he won't be all nuded up in the finished picture.

Nikolas · Thu 22/12/2005 17:29:48

Hem, I don't know if you intended to correct this in the future while rendering, but the door is wrong, I think. The drivers door that is. To all the cars I've ever been there is no seperation of the window. It is one straight window all the way (maybe in the States, the cars are like this, though, I dont know). But also because of the door window, the roof seems to have an angle. Is it a sports car, that could justify that angle? And of course right next to him, there should be the hand break or the gears.

Haddas · Thu 22/12/2005 17:44:05

Car sickness! Dead cow on the road! He looks like he's gonna be sick.

DonB · Thu 22/12/2005 18:45:14

Nah, I think it's excellent, he's a thinking showoff mofo!

LGM · Thu 22/12/2005 20:38:35

I think if you move the "camera" further down and to the right, still holding on his face, it'd look more dynamic.

If you wanted to have fun, you could stick the "camera" right behind the steering wheel and show his face through the handles.

Ginny · Thu 22/12/2005 20:48:05

It looks really good with the pose and all, but it does look kinda like he's going to be sick, because he's blocking his mouth forcefully. If his grip wasn't so strong, or if we could see some more finger seperation (the index finger at a slight distance from the others). Perhaps only the index finger should cover the mouth, and thus some of the mouth will be visible, while the other fingers are slightly below. Try the pose out, to me it seems more natural that way.

Have to say, I'd love to see the final outcome of this, this should work very well for a comic splash screen.