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Need help on proportions

 
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Smoky Joe
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Joined: 13 Nov 2003
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Location: Texas

PostPosted: Sun Nov 16, 2003 10:37 pm    Post subject: Need help on proportions Reply with quote

I'm currently trying to get a comic strip going. I've got a couple of strips so far, and I think I need to add a new character. I want to add an armadillo into the comic, but I'm having trouble scaling up the shell to a more humanoid body and making it look right. I don't have a scanner, so I can't really show you what I've got so far. Any ideas or suggestions?

You may ask why an armadillo? The comic is about a West Texas ranch owned and run by a coyote named Smoky Joe. I want to stick to animals that are native to Texas, and the armadillo is the Texas state mammal.

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hikaru
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PostPosted: Sun Nov 16, 2003 11:36 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Can you post a sample of what you've drawn so far so we can look at it and make suggestions?
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Smoky Joe
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Location: Texas

PostPosted: Mon Nov 17, 2003 12:29 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Well, that's the thing, I don't have a scanner, and all of the stuff I've got is on paper. I'll see if I can whip out a computer one.
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Smoky Joe
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PostPosted: Tue Nov 18, 2003 2:31 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

All right, I finally have some pictures. Man, I hate drawing with a mouse. As soon as I get the money, I'm buying a scanner and Photoshop. All of my work was done with Appleworks.

The first pic is a real nine-banded armadillo for comparison, courtesy of Armadillos Online! (They also have some funny video clips of Jeff Corwin trying to catch one.)

The next one is of an armadillo dude standing and facing forward. Here's where you see my first hangup. An armadillo's shell doesn't come all the way around like a turtle's shell does. (I've been drawing ninja turtles since I was eight.) As a result, there is a gap (filled with very dark brown) around the sides between the shell and the body. On a real armadillo, this gap is filled in with long, coarse hair and is much smaller because they don't need the room for long arms and legs. On a guy 'dillo, the gap isn't such a big deal, but the gap is huge on a female armadillo morph, especially around the waist, due to the "hourglass figure".

The last pic is of an armadillo guy facing sideways, leaning on a tree stump drinking coffee. Here you can see my other problem. when facing sideways, everything looks alright, but the shell just looks, I dunno, weird in comparison with the rest of the body. Too small or something.

So that's it. Anyone have any comments, helpful tips, or advice?

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hikaru
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PostPosted: Tue Nov 18, 2003 2:50 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

OK. I can work with that.

Let's break down the basics of the natural armadillo.

It has a shell that covers the entire back (treat it like odd skin) and is articulated so he can bend.

On your anthro version, you've drawn it as if it were a person wearing a camper shell on the back. That's your problem. The back of the shell shouldn't stick out very much farther than where the back of the shoulder blades already reside. It needs to be articulated in the middle from the shoulders down to the hips to allow him to bend. It needs to wrap all the way around so it's even with the front of the chest and stop. At that point, I'd probably gouge out semi-circles for the arms to stick out on each side and not have the bottom curve in under the legs. Extend the width of the shoulders a little beyond human norm so that he's nost fighting with the shell to move his arms.

If all that makes sense, then give it a try.

Hope it helps.

Cheers

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Cirrel
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Joined: 29 Mar 2003
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PostPosted: Tue Nov 18, 2003 2:58 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I was thinking along the same lines as Hikaru. The shell should not look like an 'add-on' like a back-pack, but rathrer as a form fitting shell. The challenge is the arms and legs. What makes a 'dillo' look like a 'dillo' is the 'shell' with only a portion of the feet, head, and tail sticking out. An anthro version would need more 'room to maneuver' as Hikaru suggests. You know? I'm almost thinking something that looks like partial body armor. Something ovar the shoulders, like football pads, a tighter fit arount the upper torso and waist, and then maybe a half waist 'girdle, like medeival armor, but only the back side.

Cirrel.

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hikaru
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PostPosted: Tue Nov 18, 2003 9:55 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I agree with the shell over the shoulders, but I think it should wrap around and down to the bottom of his ribs as well... Articulation below the rib to allow him to bend. If you cut it off to high, he'll lose the shell-back trademark that makes an armadillo. Smile

The guy will have trouble twisitng his torso, but then again Armadillo's aren't designed to twist that much.

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Smoky Joe
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Joined: 13 Nov 2003
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Location: Texas

PostPosted: Tue Nov 18, 2003 3:00 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Smoky Joe wrote:
(I've been drawing ninja turtles since I was eight.)

From your comments, I can see that this is my problem right here. On a turtle, the shell is quite a bit like a camper shell, because a turtle actually pulls his arms and legs up and in for protection. An armadillo curls into a ball, pulling the plates themselves around the rest of his body.

Okay, less like camper, more like body armor, got it. Now let's see if I can do it.

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RefaelBA
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Joined: 24 Oct 2003
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Location: Israel

PostPosted: Sun Nov 23, 2003 6:16 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Well to my opinion you should enlarge the shell to cover the entire back and rear side of the legs, to end around the neck. And remember to have a pointy tail Very Happy Poor creature... Smile
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