Photoshop "centaur" painting (updated)

[MashPotato]

Hello ^_^.Ã,  I would appreciate some suggestions on how to improve this picture... at this point, I'm looking more at the colouring, but if you see anatomical problems please say so.Ã,  I've been using Photoshop for a while, but only recently started trying to paint with it (it was mostly cel-shading before), so any general tips on technique would also be appreciated.


EDIT:
The original: http://crabshack.bythegoddess.com/ags/CaribouCentaur.jpg

The latest version:

[Nikolas]

1. she's HOT!
2. the colours are fine as they are. Gentle and subtle colours work for this lady!
3. Maybe have some kind of shadow on the flower thingy. It goes i nher back in her front in her ass... That should create some lightning issues...
4. Don't use realistic background. It strikes (me) as ugly.
5. Wait for another, more experienced member, to post before you try anything 

[fred]

I have practically no experience with photoshop - so Nikolas's point 5 still goes :-)

I think her antlers are a bit over-sized, and maybe her ears too. Colors could be more daring.

But nice job, you obviously know what you're doing.

[nihilyst]

I don't like this whirl at the end of her hair. But the rest is  :o :o :o just amazing. the colors are very natural. I prefer the version without the photobackground, too.

cheers
nihilyst

[Evil]

Yes. The antlers seem a bit big. Look more moose then centaur. Though, I'm not entirely sure they have antlers. Heh, but if they do (or you just want her to), they're probably more like deer antlers then moose or elk. (edit: Just read the caribou thing. Even still, they seem a bit big at the base.)

The swirl in the hair works for this style, but the coloring is a little much. It should be more realistic, IE: Less highlight and smaller thickness as it gets to the center of the swirl.

Some of the skin coloration looks different. Mainly her arms. They have a hard shadow, where her face and tummy don't. I think the shoulders are fine, but the elbows are a little sharp.

Also, when I first loaded the page, I thought the flower thing was blood. Some more orange tint to it would prevent any further confusion.

No preportional things I notice, though anime/manga style is hard to critic preportionally.

[Dr. Scary]

I'm a bit confused by the antlers. One of them sprouts from in front of the ear, the other behind the ear?
Also they just appear on top of her hair, no strands of hair overlapping.
The line on the stomach is so dark it looks like a really long navel.
One might argue that the swirl in the hair is a bit ott, but it's a question of taste more than technique since it's very well drawn.
The bracers(?) on her arms have little depth, they look tattooed on.
Other than that I can't really put my finger on anything. Very nice work!

[Stefano]

I'm not into anime myself, but I must say this is one of the best works I've ever seen here, in the critics lounge, in a long time. I like the autumnish colors, the composition, the motion.

I don't see anything wrong that is worth mentioning.
If I really was felling extra-pesky: 
1. I know you have been through hell to draw these antlers, but: If her head is bended to the right a little bit, why both antlers are pointing up? It brakes the motion curve you have succsesfuly achieved for the pose.
2. The line on her belly is a bit too deep for my taste...

That's it! Great job.

Regards,
Stefano

[MashPotato]

Thanks for the input ^_^... changes to be made:

The hair: looking at it again, I agree the swirl looks somewhat strange as it is too controlled... I think I'll be making a more free end to the hair

The antlers: well caribou DO have big antlers (I used male antlers because they were more interesting than the female ones), but maybe I made them too solid (like moose) and not "branchy" enough... that should be fairly easy to change. Ã, As for where they sprout, they would be branching off of a central stalk in front of her ear. Ã, The overlap is not clear because her hair is in the way (at least, I think that's the problem Ã, ).  I'll see if I can fiddle around with the angle...

Flowers: I will add the shadow the garland should be casting. Ã, The leaves are red because they're supposed to be maple leaves, but I can add some more orange-y/brownish tones

Body: will smooth out the shading in the arms, add depth to the thingies on her arms (I have no idea what those are supposed to be Ã, ), tone down the stomach line

Thanks again for the suggestions ^_^

[Scummbuddy]

Id suggest perhaps changing the opacity of the background trees to a lighter opacity. I think the bold colors of her, and the background clash a little too much, in my opinion. There may be other ways to deal with it, but my first idea is to bring down the background.

Your image is a fabulous one. Keep up the great work and please feel free to post more!!

[Shane 'ProgZmax' Stevens]

I would say that her torso seems a bit long, and that the antlers (especially the foreground one) look stuck on rather than a part of her head (hair actually appears beneath it).  Aside from that I think it's fantastic.

[loominous]

Nice!

I agree with Stefano, this is one of the best things I've seen in here.

Kind of hard to give advice on these more illustrative designs, since the aim is more vague, but here's some edits:

(animated)


I tried giving the top a more greenish hue to add more color variation and contrast the red flowerthing. I'm very ambivalent as to whether I prefer it, but I included it as a suggestion.

I edited the stomach, mostly by removing the line, which rarely works for these non-contour details in my experience, when coupled with more elaborate shading.

I gave the fur a more lustrious look, which I've seen on horses, though I never do these things so it's probably very off. It also sort of clashes with the shading on the rest, even though I simplified it quite a bit.

As for the lighting, I added castshadows, and darkened some parts, to which I also added some subtle blue, which comes out as a hint of purple. I added a darker shade to areas which would be in shadow from both the main light, and the ambient one, a sky for instance, areas such as beneath her top, and worked a bit on the arm shadow line.

The shading on the horselike bodypart was a bit odd, in that mostly the edges were highlighted. Edges only really get lit like that if the light is coming from behind, and bounces directly into the camera/eyes (rimlight).

But anyway, really nice work, hope you'll post more.

Edit: Forgot to mention, I increased the saturation of highlighted parts of the fur, which felt a bit too washed out in comparison to the rest.

[MashPotato]

My goodness, thank you for that incredibly helpful paintover!Ã,  :oÃ,  It's different in style, but there is a lot I can take from it, and it shows me how much more I have to learn... I will definitely be making use of it while I'm revising this picture ^_^

And thanks again to everyone for all your critiques... I will definitely be posting again to take advantage of your help!

[Kinoko]

Oh my god, MP (your name has made me REALLY hungry for decent mashed potato)... that pic is gorgeous!

[MashPotato]

Thank you for all the encouragement you guys have given me, I really appreciate it ^_^

Okay, I think I made pretty much all the changes suggested, and I think the picture has improved.
Main changes:
-hair swirl gone
-smaller antlers (smaller ears too, ever so slightly)
-added green tinge to shirt
-garland shadow added
-glossier coat, and shinier hair
-higher colour saturation for the caribou body
-stomach line reduced
-smoothed out arm shading, rounded out elbow slightly
-added a bit more orange to the leaves

I also changed the angle of the antler facing away from the viewer ever so slightly, hopefully it looks better now.Ã,  I can't really help the stuck-on look of the antlers--I think it's the angle of the antlers that makes it look that way, and I'm not going to completely redraw the darn things (took me long enough in the first place ^_^)

[DonB]

Respect