Eizoryu; Animal specialist - {Full}

[Eizoryu]

'Ello, everyone. I'm Eizoryu, but you can call me Eizo, and I'm hoping to be able to help get some of you developing artists on your way to improvement. And since I didn't see anyone else offering help on animals specifically, I'll take that niche and help you folks who want to improve on your animals.

Background:
~I am 19 years of age, and have been drawing seriously for the past five years.
~My skillset is mostly digital; Photoshop is my program of choice and I can navigate it best.
~I am an animal/anthro artist. I have been for my entire life, and it's not going to change anytime soon.
~I have no formal training outside of high school and below. Everything I know, I taught myself/observed from other artists.

Things to keep in mind about Eizo:
~I am on every day during the late afternoon, CST. That's Central time for the States.
~I tend to not sugarcoat things; I am a flaw-finder and a bit nitpicky. But I will help in any way I possibly can.
~If something passes outside of my knowledge, I will point in the direction of something that will help.
~Please refrain from using weeaboo/wapanese-speak around me; I am half-Japanese and I find it insulting. As such, I will not say that anything is "kawaii". Ever.
~I'll try not to be, but sometimes I can be an a**. Please bear with me if/when I am; chances are it's something in real life and therefore not anyone here's fault.
~I prefer plausibility/realistic functionality on a subject; ergo, I will always crit towards what will make something plausible. I.e., advise to move something's wings closer to the shoulder blade.

Strengths:
~Dragons
< ~Birds
< ~Wings (all kinds)
< ~All other animals, mythological or real
< ~Photoshop navigation/Digital art
< ~Anthropomorphization (Furries to the undiscerning)
~Expression/Exaggerated expression

Not my Best, Not my Worst:
~Character Creation/Design
~Humanoid Anatomy/Proportions from the neck down
< ~Lighting/Shading

Weaknesses:
~Anime/Manga; I am not the person to come to for that
~Humans
~Clothing/Folds
~Backgrounds
~Drawing realistically
~Mechanical objects (Mecha, guns, etc.)

Level and Number I'll accept:
~I will only take 2 mentees at this time. This may increase or decrease in the future, but by no more or less than one.
~I will accept anyone who fits one more more of the following: can draw more than a stick figure, understands the basics of animal anatomy, willing to learn (a must), needs advice on anything covered in my Strengths list.
~TL;DR to above: Novice to Intermediate  

[Eizoryu]

My Links/Work Examples
~DeviantART
~GaiaOnline Art Shop
All the artwork in my posts is my own work, for those of you too lazy to click links. x3

Favorite Tutorials, Books and Refs
Guides:
Cedarseed: Basics of Animal Anatomy
Cedarseed: The Horse - Guide
Cedarseed: The Bird I - Guide
Cedarseed: The Bird II - Guide
Cedarseed: The Bird III - Guide
Cedarseed: The Cat - Guide
Cedarseed: Colors of the Cat - Guide
Cedarseed: Asian Dragon Basics
Foxes of the World by Culpeo-Fox

Tutorials:
General Photoshop Coloring by Abuze
Mammal Legs by Elruu
Canine Forelegs by Kinky-Slingy
Poses of the Wolf by lucky978
The Fox by Culpeo-Fox
The Wolf by Elruu
The Raven by Elruu
Wings by thepariah-kitty
Wings - Folded by thepariah-kitty
Wing - Poses by lizkay
Wings - Poses by Eizoryu
The Tiger by Elruu
The Housecat by zaphy1415926
The Cat by 1skylight1
The Raptor by Droemar
The Theropod by Droemar (That's T-Rex and his kin, by the way)
The Dragon by raerae
The Dragon by sheil
The Dragon - D&D-esque Style by alecan
Dragon Wings by Tyrranax-hawk

Books:
DrawFurry - Recommended Books
Freaks! How to Draw Fantastic Fantasy Creatures
Andrew Loomis Downloadable Books
How to Draw Animals - Jack Hamm
The Art of Animal Drawing - Ken Hultgren
The Artist's Guide to Animal Anatomy - Gottfried Bammes
How to Draw What You See - Rudy De Reyna

Anthropomorphization:
TL;DR - Comprehensive Anthro Guide
DrawFurry - Drawing Tuts
DrawFurry - Digital Tuts
Digitigrade Legs by kyrio

I have way too many of these things, feels like. xD  

[Eizoryu]

Mentee Info

To Apply:
Simply post this form here in this thread.

[b]Username:[/b]
[b]Gallery link:[/b]
[b]What you need help on:[/b]
[b]Your goal:[b]

Username:
Gallery link: (Post a link to a gallery of yours)
What you need help on: (Tell me what you need me to help you with.)
Your goal: (What are you aiming to do? Sell commissions? Just improve? Tell me where you're going with your work.)

Mentee Slots:
1. Raeyu Itami
2. apiyo

Process:
The way I will work with you is primarily through posting in this thread. I run an art shop in my down time and try to keep my PMs strictly for that.
Even if you aren't a designated mentee, I'll still help you on a flyby basis. Meaning, you post something you want a little help with on a couple of things, and I'll do my best to help you.
Here's how it works: Mentees, post whatever you need help on at the time. Sketches, WIPs, finished pictures, what-have-you, I'll look at them. I'll redline what I can't verbally explain.
Every now and again I'll post a challenge. They'll be a little random, so keep an eye out for 'em! Sometimes it'll just be for fun and to get you out of a block; others, the results will be up for crit on whatever it was focusing on.

I look forward to working with y'all! =D

Art Challenge
Nothing yet. Keep watching this post!

 

[Taelune]

Username: Raeyu Itami
Gallery link: [Deviant Art] [FurAffinity]
What you need help on: Anythign you are willing to point out for me to work on :3
Your goal: To draw awesomness without sadness XD yeah it is late, I may edit this part later sweatdrop Basicly I just want to improve my skills and draw whatever I feel like drawing instead of being stuck with limitation.  

[Eizoryu]

lol Welcome aboard, Raeyu! Yay my first mentee! >w<

Make sure you read the Mentee Info post again; I edited it recently.
So, we'll focus on a couple of things at a time, usually whatever you tell me is bothering you the most at that moment. I can only help ya when I know what's bugging ya. 3nodding

I'll do my best to keep your style in mind when I crit; do pardon me if I go plausible on you. x3 Also, there's no time schedule or anything; it's whenever you feel like it, because I know that art blocks strike at the most inopportune times. xP

Start when you like. :3  

[Taelune]

Well I wanna start with any notable flaws you may see that repeat, I added you on FA, My name is EclipsedSoul, but besides that I wanna learn to draw digitigrade legs with long toes, like on Asian dragons please.  

[Eizoryu]

Okay. I reciprocated the watch. :3

Long-toed digitigrade, eh? Like on these: Asian Lung | Nomadic Western?

Actually, you've already taken a step towards longer toes by drawing Raeyu as a dragon-like critter, on her forepaws, specifically. Similar rules apply to both toes and fingers. To make toes longer, show more of the joints.

So we can figure out where exactly you stand on drawing anthros, here's your first challenge: Turn this Imperial Chinese Lung into an anthro with digitigrade legs. How closely you stick to source is completely up to you. I'm just trying to get an idea of your overall style. 3nodding

I say Imperial because Imperial Chinese Dragons have five toes on each foot, whereas the middle-class has four toes and the commoner has three. Factoid of the day. x3

Take your time; I look forward to seeing the result! ^^  

[Taelune]

alright, I'll try to do that when I have time, just got married ion Saturday 'n such so have to do some legalities such as getting military ID and stuff  

[Eizoryu]

Congratulations to you! <3 I wish you two the best, then! ^^
As always, take your time. Your life comes first. :3  

[Taelune]

Thanks ^_^ Monday my husband goes back to base, so after that I'll start art once more ^w^  

[apiyo]

Username: apiyo
Gallery link: http://mangachan.deviantart.com/
What you need help on: Alot of things, but in this context dragons
Your goal: To be able to draw animals decently and consistantly. Sometimes it would be a great for my art to be able to draw species besides humans. And I want to draw dragons because they are awsome.  

[Eizoryu]

Welcome, apiyo. :3 Glad to have you aboard.

Dragons, huh? Came to the right gal for that! ^^
In order to gauge where you stand currently, what I need you to do is draw any of these three dragon species here: D&D Silver Dragon, Chinese Imperial Lung, or a Wyvern (the brown one). And post your drawing here.

Don't eyeball or copy the poses. Those three are only examples of a Western, an Eastern, and an African species to show you what makes each species what it is.

Or, you can think up one at random and draw it.

Take your time, and I look forward to seeing what you post! =D  

[apiyo]

Lol, my brother actually has a guide book of the D&D dragons in it. Unfortunately he's 3 hours away.  

[apiyo]

I can never think of details for dragons so they never look as good as they could. And I'm pretty sure there's anatomical mistakes galore. Anyway, critique to your heart's content.  

[Eizoryu]

Actually, that's pretty good. Looks to me that the biggest weaknesses are in the wings and feet.

When going for a muscular flight-capable dragon like the D&D guys, it's best to remember that a creature of that size needs big wings and big wing muscles in order to take flight. On a similar note, they need some big muscles to carry their weight, too.
On the claws, they're a bit tricky no matter what. I personally look to bird feet and cat/dog paws. Others look to lizard feet. There's not really an end-all right way to draw them; it's a matter of personal preference or whatever fits that particular dragon.

Here's a redline I whipped up. Definitely have the right ideas and a good understanding of placement; there are just some places that need practice.


By the way, what happened to your name and avatar? D: When I posted this, it's like... gone. O.o