Rainbow Dash as Scout

[TOMahwk 351]

Last drawing I made (shameless plug)

http://mlpforums.com...2986-daring-do/

 

 

 

 

Today I made RD as a scout...

 

This time I used Inkscape for the outlines of the body/mane/hat/etc, but I filled everything in using Paint.Net.

 

I tried mimicking the Scout RD I saw in this picture:

 

 

 

 

 

Basically I used the colors from the picture and used that style for all the gear for the Scout part.

 

 

Let me know what you guys think, what I need to improve on, etc.

 

Don't hold back, I can take any and all criticisms.

 

 

EDIT:

 

Is it me or do her hind-legs look too short...

Edited April 13, 2012 by TOMahwk

[Chigens and Kay 3,831]

It looks just like my Scout model in TF2...

[butter scotch 79]

Nice, one thing: All common scouts use The-force-a-nature so you could stick that in and you could put bonk or something else in!

[Key Gear 6,662]

I don't play TF2. I do watch the vids enough to know what a scout is though, and I think that this is a great drawing!

 

I think that you nailed the colors perfectly using Paint.net. I am beginning to increase in the amount of respect that I have for MS Paint. So many people are able to do such good work in it.

 

Since you asked for constructive criticism, I will say that the only area where you could improve on is your lines. In the mane and tail, they are just a bit rough around the edges.

 

I use Inkscape for my vectors as well, and I think that you used the pen tool to make your lines (bezier curves)? I use the bezier curve tool as well, and I have found that it can be really nasty to get the lines perfectly smooth with Inkscape.

 

Here are a couple of quick tips that I learned through trial, error, and suffering:

• Make use of the "simplify" command from the path menu. That can remove unneeded nodes and make it easier for you to tweak the paths.
• You may also want to use to "stroke to path" command from the path menu. That will convert one of your lines to a detailed object. This can be helpful for when you just can't seem to get the line just right using conventional methods.
• Try to play around with the "edit path by nodes" command (I think the shortcut for it is F2). Sometimes, you may just need to convert some nodes into "auto-smooth" nodes to help with consistency.

Finally, A fun way to get really neat looking lines is to draw something like an ellipse or triangle, then use the path effect editor to apply it as a "pattern along path". You may already know about this, but I'll just put a quick-start guide here anyway.

• Copy your "shape" into the clipboard
• Go to the path effect editor (in the path menu)
• Choose "pattern along path" and click add
• Now paste your "shape" in to the effect as the "pattern source"
• Now, you will want to play with the "width" and the "pattern copies" settings to achieve the desired effect
• Don't forget to toy around with the width of the stroke in addition to the actual pattern width
• You can usually play with the two widths and get almost any effect

I actually have a set of different shapes that I like to use as pattern effects. The one that I choose depends on the effect that I am aiming for.

 

Well, I hope that at least some of this information is useful to you, though you may already know about all of this stuff.

Edited April 13, 2012 by Scootacool

[EWAN 31]

Thats pretty awsome, I like it.

My advice is to keep up the good work. /)

[TOMahwk 351]

Well, I hope that at least some of this information is useful to you, though you may already know about all of this stuff.

 

 

I actually don't know anything at all about Inkscape and all this stuff, I just recently (like in the past 2 weeks) started taking arts more seriously as I'm hoping to major in it, so I'm a beginner at all this digital stuff. I've spent my whole life only using traditional means

 

Thats pretty awsome, I like it.

My advice is to keep up the good work. /)

 

(

[Key Gear 6,662]

I actually don't know anything at all about Inkscape and all this stuff, I just recently (like in the past 2 weeks) started taking arts more seriously as I'm hoping to major in it, so I'm a beginner at all this digital stuff. I've spent my whole life only using traditional means

 

Oh Wow! Considering that you have just starting using Inkscape, you did ridiculously well!

 

I would even go so far as to say that you seem to have a natural gifting in this area. My first time using Inkscape was an absolute disaster, and I still make a few disasters every once in a while.

 

I have a few more useful tips then. You can push Ctrl+Shift+L to bring up the layers dialogue (or you can click "Layers" at the bottom of the layer menu). You can use layers to make keep your vector organized and to make sure that things that are supposed to stay "below" or "above" within the current model.

 

Just remember to lock a previous layer when you want to move onto the next one. Layers in Inkscape can be tricky to keep track of. By locking all of the layers except for the one that you are using, you will be able to avoid the annoyance of mistakenly placing shapes in the wrong layer.

 

While "stroke to path" can be very useful to help make minor adjustments to paths, "object to path" can be even more useful. You can use object to path to turn circles and squares into ordinary paths that you can adjust as needed to get the desired effect.

 

If you ever need to "unlink" two nodes on a path (like, say, to turn a circle into something else), then you can click "delete segment between two non-endpoint nodes" from the icon bar. It is the 4th button from the left, and, when you need it, you will be very thankful that it is there.

 

Really, the most important tip is just to keep on making vectors. The more you experiment, the more that you will discover all of the little tips and tricks. (Though this clipping tutorial may come in handy eventually, but you can worry about that when you need it.)

[Laydee Kaze 399]

That is awesome x3

 

 

...needs moar spy tho. C: But scout is good.

[TOMahwk 351]

That is awesome x3

 

 

...needs moar spy tho. C: But scout is good.

 

Maybe Spy will be next...

 

Maybe scout is a spy!

[Mephala 2,633]

Oh....my..........GOSH.

<3 <3 <3 :wub:

[TOMahwk 351]

I think I might draw all the classes from TF2 with their counterparts... should be an interesting challenge.

 

Next is Spy as Rarity

[Jay-d Kent 3]

i thought rainbow dash couldn't get any more awesome