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DEATH · May 27, 2015

Great GAF Art Challenge # 13 - "Martial Arts"

Theme - Martial Arts

"Martial arts are codified systems and traditions of combat practices, which are practiced for a variety of reasons: self-defense, competition, physical health and fitness, entertainment, as well as mental, physical, and spiritual development." - Wikipedia

Mission - Practicing the underrated skill of portraying movement in a still picture/iillustration.

Optional Secondary Objective - Use foreshortening to enhance striking/grappling/intimidation effect.

This theme isn't limited to anything, so you can do whatever you want, from showcasing your favorite martial art, famous martial artists, actors, wrestlers, martial arts movies, animes, even fictional fighting game characters! Also, as a firm believer of using references for both accuracy and inspiration, here's some links that might help:

Blackbelt Wiki and Wikipedia List of Known Martial Arts - Here's some quick links on martial arts styles so you can have a rough idea of how to portray the art you want to showcase.

NeoGAF's Martial Arts Thread - NeoGAF's very own Martial Arts Thread, where you can ask about almost anything!

Paste Magazine's Top 100 Best Martial Arts Movies - Here's a good list of martial arts movies that you could reference at. If you are a fan though, you might disagree on some of the rankings or even which one is in or out lol.

Anime Planet's List of Martial Arts Anime - Here's a page of some of the martial arts anime, some of them we love even till now. (Why is there no Hajime Ippo here? Boxing is a martial art!)

Fighter's Generation Online FG Resource - One of the awesome sites that's dedicated to Fighting Games, including every single fighting game and characters people can find in existence.

THE RULES

Submission Deadline:

June 22, 2015 by 11:59 PM Pacific. Can be extended by popular request. AND NO MORE VOTING RULES!!! Don't get intimidating and sketch away!

Submission Guidelines:

1) Submissions can be 2D or 3D, any traditional or digital medium. But, no photos or photo manipulations. No paint-overs/tracing of photos either. Original works should be made specifically for each challenge; no re-using old images that might fit the theme.

2) One entry/submission per person. You can change your submission by editing your post, as long as it's before the deadline! To avoid cluttering up the thread, please avoid quoting images when sensible/post in proximity. Keep pieces to a reasonable size. Link to larger ones if you must.

3) The theme can be interpreted as you see fit, but totes keep in mind your street cred.

4) Have fun! It's not about winning or making your masterpiece every week. All skill levels welcome! Dust off your sketchbooks and let's rock!

Art Links!

Interested in Art? We have ArtGAF communities that will help you out! Don't be shy to ask out, and don't be intimidated as, when partnered with proper knowledge and work ethic, you can do great art yourself!

1) Art Self Study Thread - This thread is meant to help people starting out on Art by giving them a roadmap on how to start, and providing online resources and books to study. Feel free to ask questions!

2) Drawing-A-Day Thread - You can post your daily sketches in this thread and let people show you art progress! A great thread to come by!

3) Arts and Farts Thread - The thread where you can post your longer, more focused art and finished projects.

4) Previous challenges - You can check out the previous art challenges here for inspiration!

BadWolf · May 27, 2015

Excellent thread and theme, thanks for including reference resources

Can't wait to dig into this.

DEATH · May 27, 2015

Thanks. I tried to make it as inviting to everyone

Also, added list of martial arts animes in resources.

PfantzyPantz · May 27, 2015

Aw yeah, was hoping this would be chosen. I love me fighting games and Martial arts movies so I'm going all in.

I also never practice foreshortening enough even though I quite enjoy the effect, so this is great.

LegendX48 · May 28, 2015

Curious, could we draw a character with a weapon as long as the image overall adheres to the main goal?

Salsa · May 28, 2015

I await spaniard SF art

DEATH · May 28, 2015

LegendX48 said:
Curious, could we draw a character with a weapon as long as the image overall adheres to the main goal?

There are ALOT of weapon-based martial arts too. Many multidisciplinary arts involve striking, grappling, tricking, and weapons training. So yes...

OrlanisWorks · May 28, 2015

Alright. This should be interesting. It's simply action, so that'll be fun for me to try and reconfigure it into something a bit more surreal.

Dig it.

BadWolf · May 29, 2015

Are you guys leaning more towards fanart or something original?

Been checking out the various styles in the OP and watching vids on youtube, so much good stuff.

From the styles I've watched (Kung Fu, Hapkido, Tae Kwon Do, Shaolin etc.) the most efficient and practical seems to be the Russian Sambo, the moment I started watching it it looked like something that would be useful IRL.

On the one hand I want to quick sketch and study the various moves I'm seeing but on the other it would feel like I'm cheating if I actually used them in a pic :/

DEATH · May 29, 2015

BadWolf said:
Are you guys leaning more towards fanart or something original?

Been checking out the various styles in the OP and watching vids on youtube, so much good stuff.

From the styles I've watched (Kung Fu, Hapkido, Tae Kwon Do, Shaolin etc.) the most efficient and practical seems to be the Russian Sambo, the moment I started watching it it looked like something that would be useful IRL.

On the one hand I want to quick sketch and study the various moves I'm seeing but on the other it would feel like I'm cheating if I actually used them in a pic :/

1. That's actually what I am torn about right now. I want to make representation of art I learned (Arnis) yet I also want to draw some FG fanart. Too many ideas going on my head that it will also take time to decide lol.

2. No worries about using references. Its recommended. Tracing and Photo-Manipulation is completely different from Using reference man.

Besides, there are small body movements that you might miss that will make the portrayal more believable and authentic that you might miss if you aren't using references or haven't practiced the art at all. Example was using the side of opponent's knife as a leverage to twist their hand on a knife disarm. If you don't know this, you will only draw a knife disarm to look like a typical armbar and that won't do...

PfantzyPantz · May 29, 2015

I wanted to keep it simple with fan art, so my first idea being Sakura and Dan. I don't know if I'll maintain this as my actual entry but here's a messy WIP.
I know that the first one would capture the foreshortening goal better, but the second one captures the motion more. Though I feel there's a problem that Dan's pose only really works with the 2nd one anyway...

And I'll say that references are one of the most important 'tools' of an artist; you should use references with every piece of art you make, even if you're fully confident in the subject matter/ pose. It ain't cheatin, it's improving!

BadWolf · Jun 1, 2015

Finished drawing during the weekend and will probably start coloring today, not looking forward to that :/

DEATH™;165676811 said:
2. No worries about using references. Its recommended. Tracing and Photo-Manipulation is completely different from Using reference man.

Besides, there are small body movements that you might miss that will make the portrayal more believable and authentic that you might miss if you aren't using references or haven't practiced the art at all. Example was using the side of opponent's knife as a leverage to twist their hand on a knife disarm. If you don't know this, you will only draw a knife disarm to look like a typical armbar and that won't do...

PfantzyPantz said:
And I'll say that references are one of the most important 'tools' of an artist; you should use references with every piece of art you make, even if you're fully confident in the subject matter/ pose. It ain't cheatin, it's improving!

Great points, I'll try it out in the future

PfantzyPantz said:
I wanted to keep it simple with fan art, so my first idea being Sakura and Dan. I don't know if I'll maintain this as my actual entry but here's a messy WIP.
I know that the first one would capture the foreshortening goal better, but the second one captures the motion more. Though I feel there's a problem that Dan's pose only really works with the 2nd one anyway...

Awesome character choices!

The first one looks sweet but the second one definitely has more impact and speed. Really digging Dan’s reaction pose as well.

If you would like to go the more foreshortening route of the first one then you can also try going for the "moment of impact", when the foot hits and is still touching Dan.

PfantzyPantz · Jun 3, 2015

BadWolf said:
Awesome character choices!

The first one looks sweet but the second one definitely has more impact and speed. Really digging Dans reaction pose as well.

If you would like to go the more foreshortening route of the first one then you can also try going for the "moment of impact", when the foot hits and is still touching Dan.

Thanks dude, I hadn't even considered it! Still a bit to go, but I'm feelin it.

Looking forward to ya'lls stuff

BadWolf · Jun 5, 2015

How are things coming along guys?

It's coming along fine on my end, kind of taking a while due to a specific reason but I think it will be done by this weekend for sure.

PfantzyPantz said:
Thanks dude, I hadn't even considered it! Still a bit to go, but I'm feelin it.

That looks simply terrific, I can almost feel that kick hitting

LegendX48 · Jun 5, 2015

May not be able to participate in this challenge. Been kind of preoccupied with other things and now packing/cleaning for a small family vacation. Gonna try to do something on Sunday or Monday (depends on jet lag) but if I can get something done it likely won't be anything fancy. Not planning to go the fan art route but that might change.

DEATH · Jun 6, 2015

Don't worry, I stealth extended the deadline lol.

I used my darn privilege personally since I am currently on Art Block right now. I already have a vision on my mind but I realized how much skills I seriously lack to pull it off. It's a good art block though as it forces me to be uncomfortable with my current skill level.

I realized I need to improve massively on the applications of color theory, anatomy, facial expressions and drapepy, which is pretty much everything lol. I better be good or I will have a half-assed attempt on the subject I truly love, which is unacceptable for me lol.

We'll see if I improve and it shows...

BadWolf · Jun 7, 2015

^ Dat abuse of power, dat determination.

Just finished my entry:

Office Fighter

PfantzyPantz · Jun 7, 2015

BadWolf said:
^ Dat abuse of power, dat determination.

Just finished my entry:

Sick; the action, those colors *o*

And yay at the deadline extension, it motivated me to take the challenge at it's real value. I want to make web comics in the future, so I'm gunna do a small fight scene across a couple pages since I'm always too 'afraid' to practice pages.

The game is on.

BadWolf · Jun 8, 2015

PfantzyPantz said:
Sick; the action, those colors *o*

And yay at the deadline extension, it motivated me to take the challenge at it's real value. I want to make web comics in the future, so I'm gunna do a small fight scene across a couple pages since I'm always too 'afraid' to practice pages.

The game is on.

Thanks

Gotta say, it's pretty badass of you guys to challenge yourselves on a personal level like that. Really looking forward to the finished works.

PfantzyPantz · Jun 23, 2015

Somewhat finished in time! Didn't want to just put 6 images here, so made it an album. Imagine cool dialogue in there.

Quite a nice learning experience, and a lot more fun than I expected. Though I had to rush through a lot of it thanks to E3 stealing all my attention and ruining my flow...
Of course I still can't do jack with backgrounds, so maybe one of our future challenge themes will be on that, as intimidating as it is.

DEATH · Jun 23, 2015

^

Nice! Could I ask how much time you spent for each panel? Because that's alot, and I wonder if I can work like that just as quick...

----------------

Also, this is my submission but I am NOT CONTENT with it at all...

Inspired by Wang Jinrei and his awesome Parry

I seriously am on an art block right now, as I am having a hard time transitioning from pencil and paper to straight up digital. I am trying to learn more in depth about painter brushes while also finding the right brush sizes and all those things, while also struggling with linework and painting in general. It's coming to a point where I'm losing my confidence... This piece will be on my re-draw in the future...

Also, Pfantzypantz, If you like, you can do the next Challenge.

PfantzyPantz · Jun 23, 2015

Thanks! The panels question is tough because I worked on all the pages on and off through the weeks. Some panels took many hours with reference, while of course the less finished ones took much less.
One thing I finally overcame was my fear of throwing away and redrawing. Lots of panels were either changed or removed, which certainly did add to the time.
I expect basically a page a week if I were to make a webcomic like that (especially when backgrounds are actually used, and accounting for learning, experimentation, and breaks).

I feel you on the art block and declining confidence, but it does always mean greatness is on the horizon! Switching to digital is tough, stay strong and just keep practicing.
One thing I learned recently is that it helps alot for me to sketch out the drawing first in my sketchbook and then start the digital sketch(no scanning), so it's something to try.

And on the next Challenge, I can do it if no one else wants to.
I'd normally be worried of scaring off participants with a Background challenge, but I think we're past worrying about that at this point...

-I did it, I'm all by myself but I aint stopping.

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