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I cannot into hair


-Octavia-

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Edit: Large image is large. My apologies.

 

Salutations. I, like you, happen to have an OC of which I am relatively proud. My problem, however is that her hair seems rather...flat. It seems to me that 99% of characters, cannon or otherwise, have "lines" in their hair that are thinner and of similar colour to the overall outline. It seems to give the hair some sense of volume and easily traceable shape.

 

To show you what I mean:

guitarist_by_wubtavia-d8y7u1c.png

 

Here it is seen to be "too smooth", I suppose. While that is a quality for which I am striving, it still feels a bit lacking. So for those of you who have had to deal with similar hair (or anyone else; it is an open question), how did you manage the "fill"?

 

Also, I am not entirely satisfied with the bun and the tail. Are there, perhaps, examples of buns you have seen that would go well with this style?

 

Thank you in advance,

- Wubtavia 

Edited by Wubtavia
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If I can be perfectly honest, the tail is a good bit generic, but I do rather like the manestyle. I like the bun and slightly wild part nearby wrapping around her face. Gives her a bit of flare while keeping to the cleaner look.

No idea on the different styles of buns. I think it'd be worth looking into just in case though, but sadly I can't contribute.  :)

 

Aaanyways, without roughing up the main part of her hair, you can make it less uniform by altering how you shade it. The very rounded, soft shading on this doesn't work quite as well with detailed pieces, or making things pop, but it could potentially be touched up to do just fine with it. It's important to note that you can easily imply texture (or the lack there of) with how you shade something--even if you don't use the "lines" you spoke of, you can still give hair the look of strands/locks through shading. Though, most I've seen mix shading, highlights, and those 'lines' or layers of hair pretty effectively.  :lol: Honestly I think MLP uses the lines to imply texture while having almost no shadows at all, as it's one of the fewer options open.  :)

 

Not sure if this'll help, but I was looking for some references that showed a bit of texturing. I don't think these are the styles you're going for (they're further away from MLP's simplicity), but I hope it sparks an idea or two.

simple_hair_coloring_tutorial_by_blackki

mlp_oc_petal_shimmer_by_bluekazenate-d7m

hair_flat.png

 

 

Edited by SFyr
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True, I am not happy with the tail. I had intended to "perfect" the manestyle first before attempting to alter the tail in imitation of it.

 

Shading. Hmm. I shall look into it. Your examples make it seem absurdly easy, but my rather concrete mind will most likely struggle a bit to get such a desired result. Nevertheless, I thank you for your in-depth assessment.

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The bun provided in your picture doesn't really look good with the art style. The lines make it look like a dumpling, but it could look better in a different art style. Perhaps try that.

 

PS. Is that a Polandball referencce I see?

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Indeed, I threw it on rather haphazardly, unfortunately; something with which I was never truly satisfied. The original bun and mane were far spikier, and so I attempted to bring the bun in line with whatever changes I made to the mane. It did not work out so well.

 

Shading and art style. Alright. 

 

 

 

PS. Is that a Polandball referencce I see?
 

: ^)

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Hmm... Looks pretty good to me! The bun does look slightly off though... I'd try going for a more... Show-esque style? Try making it a swirled bun, or just not lumpy ish ^^ Otherwise, the general shape looks pretty dang fine.

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