So I’m trying to submit this in the spring show for my school. I need serious critiques on anything that looks off or any style suggestions. Thank you guys in advanced! The fullsized image is here: http://fc09.deviantart.net/fs71/f/2010/099/5/e/Chun_Li_WIP_02_by_Toxic929.jpg
[attach=189207]ChunLiWIP01smallTW.jpg[/attach]
Hey man, pretty good start here. 
The first thing i need to comment is the position. For now, the kick doesn’t seems to be powerfull, actually she could fall head first with a slight push on the striking foot.
If you look at the 3rd position, you have to move her hips to the right, to move it towards the target of the kick. You’ll show that she’s using her weight to strike, wich is very important in fighting.
http://www.maxs.com.au/web_images/images/slowinski/side-kick.jpg
http://ezine.kungfumagazine.com/images/ezine/0518SheperdSideKick.jpg
Those kicks are not really the one you what to do, but you can watch the angle of the standing foot/ hip axis.
Hope my explanation was clear. ^^
I think that you need another figure in the action to clarify her action.
I some of the shots of her, it appears that she is kicking forward, and then in the other shots it apears that she is kicking from the back in a horse kick fashion, which is the one I would go for if she were mine…That horse kick is the most powerful of the karate kicks, and is usually aimed at the groin, or knee joint…making it harder to block by the person it is being inflicked upon.
It has to be quick, and the striking leg retracted very rapidly… like a rattle smake strike, and done at the proper time when the opponent is off ballance.
If you put another figure in the action, you can convey this action …Just a passing thought that may be useful to you.
On the figure itself, you may want to put more stress on /into the leg that is carrying all the weight…ankle,foot,knee,hip ect.
Looking forward to seeing where this takes you to…
CHEERS:)
ok so I found the kick that I’m going for: the back kick http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_IN4bcarV50
](http://javascript<b></b>:zb_insimg(‘189322’,‘Danimation2001__s_Chun_li_Kick_by_pulyx.jpg’,1,0))
The left leg, the extended one during the kick, could do with some exaggerated curvature to the line.
This isn’t realistic, but it is effective in conveying dynamic kinetic motion.
Look at any Spiderman comic where he’s swinging from building to building. Even when his legs are just “dangling there” they’re curved in an unrealistic fashion, especially in the calf/shin. This conveys an expression of motion to the line. There is an appearance of slight curvature to the leg from the knee down to the ankle and curve is typically over-emphasized in dynamic posture via enhancing the curve or exaggerating it.
In plain english, take a look at that ref image you posted. Notice how from her feet to her knee there is a hell of an arc? Even if you measured from the tip of the toe to her knee there is a straight line, describing that line is the arc of shin…which anatomically speaking would indeed be a straight line, in terms of motion expression will be better rendered by beefing up that arc.
Haha, I said it would be “plain English” there in the last part, that was a lie. Anyways I see what you’re going for in the straight leg, the “snap” of the kick, and yes it may be more true to real life, but for the arts we want dynamism because we want to break through from reality into the realm of emotion and to do that you need to harness the power of line, form, energy, motion and convey it even if it means breaking the rules.
Anyone can take a photo of what is real, a child can do it without even knowing more than how to press a button. To make something that is static and lend it an impression of …dynamism…that goes beyond the norm, you can look at distorting reality for a bit, abstracting it from line to curve is a tried and true method used to great effect. Start there. Look at the lines, the main shapes, break them up into angles relative to one another, look at the negative space in between those angles. Imagine them moving, interacting with each other, playing against and off one another to form an interplay of motion and excitement. Get the people that you are intending this to be shown excited. Perspective, foreshortening and exaggeration to convey motion are all ways to get this to happen for you. A simple curve of her calf/shin here would do wonders. Then her arms, look at them, look at your own arm extended, then hyper extend it, then render that.
Yeah that’s the pose! I always liked that pose from good ol’ street fighter.
Thank you guys. I def see that my pose neeeds more clarity and intention. I hope this new pose works better and has more clarity. If not then I’ll revert back and work it out.
Thank you Extra Dimensional. This does make alot of sense to me! I do alot of thinking about it but in the process I tend to just copy the pose haha
Yeah man that’s a part I felt like saying but forgot to about looking at reference and copying it line for line. Some times you’ve got to close your eyes and break from that reference and copying and let style take over. You got what I was saying though, distilled it.
Have you seriously thought of looking at some more real martial arts action for reference?
Just passing thoughts…
You might try getting a floor plane under her, so as to better coney a sense of weight, ballance,energy trust, perspective ect…This will help end the confussion of whether she is flying through the air, or kicking while on the floor, in the crouching monkey pose, which is also a very good pose if done with that pose in mind…an excellent way to fake an opponent out…like playing possum, and then crushing the opponets knee joint or groin as they come within range in their approach…can be achieved with a back,side, or even direct frontal kick…
I only know Karate, so it depends on what martial arts pose you are going for, to coney realism to and in your action.
CHEERS
please think about that she has very very strong legs 
Highlander_72: I loosely looked at martial arts however I’m paying alot more attention to actual martial arts shots/youtube clips and also the original SF sprites. I find those extremely useful. the comparison is also interesting to see just how much of the SF moves are switched up a bit for more of an pleasing aesthetic sense
SpiritDreamer: I’m definitely wondering what to do with a floor plane. for the moment being I’m worried about the form of the pose but I see what you mean about that she could be on the ground. Hopefully I can fix that in the actual pose itself so theres no question.
n-Drew: Def not forgetting her very very strong legs. might even bulk her up a bit so long as it doesn’t take away that uber femininity.
I tightened up the pose a bit more. still doesnt feel 100% clear and I’m not sure why :
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Hi Chun…
If you have time and are interested, check out page #20 in my sketchbook. May be useful to you in some way…I used the same figure, in the same pose for both figures, and created a bunch of karate moves that I learned with them…A back kick being one of them.
Right below is the link to page #20 in my sketchbook
http://www.zbrushcentral.com/showthread.php?t=77305&page=20&pp=15
I think what’s throwing everyone off is that she’s looking at her next target after connecting the kick. The pose works just fine.
So I watched more board breaking videos and tweaked the pose so its hopefully even more clear. I also have some sketches.
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](javascript:zb_insimg(‘191104’,‘ChunLiPoseVega-001.jpg’,1,0))
So I have added Vega. I want to highlight his agility. A lot of the anatomy needs to be tweaked. Vega will also have a sly smile. He will have his claw ready for a counter 
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](javascript:zb_insimg(‘191843’,‘ChunLiWIP07TW.jpg’,1,0))Now your talking…ACTION. …GREAT JOB SO FAR…
CHEERS:)
Does anyone know if we can group subtools and move them together? I don’t mean subtool master. Its kind of a pain working with subtool master. Guess if I have to get used to it I will but anyone know if there is any nifty group like things like the folders in Photoshop?
