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IchikoWindGryphon β Transformation Tutorial
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Published: 2011-05-30 01:12:20 +0000 UTC; Views: 42960; Favourites: 218; Downloads: 150
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Description
And now a more serious tutorial for all you actually wanting to learn how to do half-way decent TF art XDKeep in mind I am NOT an expert. Use the steps as a guide. I know I'm a far cry from being a master but I hope this helps!
This is specifically for which is a new club dedicated to clean and tasteful transformation art! We are welcome to all new members! So don't be shy!
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Comments: 74
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I got a question, is it generally a bad thing to overuse a 3-Panel Transition when showing a transformation? An example: I am drawing an art trade for someone's human character who is going to Transform into a Fox while Drawing the Comic I used the Transition Effect a total of Four times throughout 2 pages of the comic. On the first page he gains the ears of a Fox which is in the 3 panel transition he then runs mirror to see the ears then a Second 3 Panel transition occurs with his face turning into the Fox. On to the second page 2 more 3 Panel transition happens with his tail growing next followed by his height changing. I had to stop as I noticed it was about to happen a fifth time with his shoes ripping open. Or is this just me overreacting and being distracted reusing the Moment to MomentΒ Panel Effect.
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Oooh! This looks great!
I'll try this at some point
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I did one with the head I thought it would be a good place to start. Meh I guess it turned out okay. I think the ear is a little out of place tinypic.com/r/2hx98oi/9
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Everything can be done like crap or done properly.
This tutorial explains the latter very well!
(Also means keep up the good work)
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I think the same things about transformation art and storirs
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Ichi: lawl wtf is this
Me:Β like hellΒ I wouldΒ knowΒ XD
Very useful, thanks!
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This is very useful indeed. I was going to make a bit of a comic that shows my OC's shape-shifting powers in action, but I just can't do that. Didn't know how.
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This is very nice. I am a huge fan of the concept of transformation as a whole. I think this is very helpful from a visual arts perspective as well as from a writing perspective, which is my area of preference. 
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Very helpful indeed! I might try my own tf comic now. 
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I appreciate that you took time to make this! It is uber helpful.
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Would you take the same steps with turning someone into a snake
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Snakes are tricky. There's a lot of different ways ou can go with it and it's hard to make it look realistic without having it look silly in the process. I'd say yes, try things out, see which looks the best.
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Okay. What I was thinking about doing was making the transformation quicker and have the person do almost like a tumble into the change. To have it move from head to toe evenly
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do you know where I can get a reference picture for an anaconda or a python?
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Okay, thank you
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A yes, a non-ugly transformation... *sigh of relief*
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O.o
So thats is te reason because I do bad TFs`I need to study more the anatomy of the human body and the animal with itΒ΄ll be transform.
Thanks!!! for the lessons
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No prob, that's what I'm here for.
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yeah for homologous structures and evolution thank you Darwin we salute you
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Well, all I can say is you forgot a major don't for tfs. It's what I like to call the Poof Tfs. I have seen so many artist, beginners and popular tfers do nothing but them. Where they don't how a tf. It's pretty much only a picture of the person already changed all the way and has tattered clothing. I don't call that a tf. I just call that an animal piece that tried putting on clothing.
For the knee reversing. I haven't seen that in such a long time. I think the last time was when "AWIF" came out on video. But when TFs first started online. I remember seeing that is exactly how everyone did them. Not now though ^vvv0 But then again. I think there are acceptions when doing it. Rare. I am just thinking of during a horror scene in a way to make the tfer freak out even more mentally. But rare occasions though.
But this is a great piece that all tf artist must look at before they start putting pieces up. I had a book where it actually showed the hand, feet, and other human bones next to an animal bone so that they can see how similar and different they were.
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Awesome! Well thank you for that very long and very nice comment! ^_^
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It's no problem.
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This was said before, but I think it bears repeating--random wolf person looks freakin' AWESOME. TEWTUHLEE THE WAY 2 DRAW TRASFERMEISHUNS SO KUWHAI (it burns, typing the k-word).
And you bring up some good points, too. There is some leeway here and there, but in other aspects, not so much (i.e., your whole bird-leg thing there. o lawdy. Research takes 5 minutes; I can't take people seriously when they refuse to educate themselves). Although many people like mer transformations that involve leg shrinking, I don't find it aesthetically pleasing in my personal art.
I'm okay with both leg merging and tail growing, though I need an explanation for the former instead of "it just happened". I justify leg merging through biological efficiency (i.e., the muscles just reworked themselves and the bones reformed to vertebrae/ribs). It's a smidge less awkward to draw when you have a dorky ex-fisherman to work with. :I I'm not naming names, though.
Taur transformations are a whole 'nother ball of wax, though. A person's human legs turning into the forelegs of a horse? wat? I've always seen it as...well. To be totally frank, I've seen it as your butt stays your butt, horsebutt or humanbutt. :U
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I agree with the whole leg-merging thing. I tried the "legs-shriveling-up-as-the-tail-grows-in" for one of my characters, a naga, and uuuugh *shudders* It's much more visually appealing, even though it's not scientifically accurate, and I'm pretty sure Ageaus said something similar when he was drawing Kejital turning into a snake.
Buuuut then you'll have people call me a hypocrite when I say leg-merging's ok when I'm trying to teach them anatomy and logic and oh boy I'm getting a headache XDDD
I guess there is a very fine line between what is acceptable in terms of logic and what isn't. So Leg-merging is ok because I think it is more convienient for the legs to reshapen into a tail, but what I CANNOT stand is when merfolk have FREAKING KNEES DX That just annoys me to no end.
And don't get me started on centaur tf's O_O I have a centaur character and no matter what I do his transformations are always awkward as hell which means I'm doing it right?! lololol
But yes, I like the legs-exploding out of chest other than legs-growing-out-of-my-ass. TF's are so weird yet so fun XD
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c: Oh, totally. You haveta pick and choose as to what you can flub on and what you can't. But hey, I see the tail growing/leg merging thing as a really grey area. You can do either/or for me, just so long as it's drawn okay. I mean geezes, I'm trying not to be mean here, but there is some gosh awful transformations out there--I'm not talking the disgusting stuff, I'm talking poorly drawn stuff that makes me want to cry.
There's always leeway in transformation stuff simply because there's so many opinions on the subject. Just so long as it's drawn okay, I'm cool with it.
I hate mers with knees. They can't feasibly swim! Though it gets on my nerves, it gives me a hilarious mental image--mers just kicking around in circles because they can't swim.
FFFF, I definitely think you're doing it right if it looks awkward. I love drawing 'taur transformations simply because they look so awkward, silly, and...well, they're fun. Drawing a reaction to a centaur transformation is priceless. "O MAH GAW I HAS MOAR LEGS THAN I KNOW WHAT TO DO WITH D:"
That's why I love drawing tfs, yknow? It's bizarre and they're so much fun to draw. c:
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As for centaurs, my own guess is that they might resemble large insects. Something like a praying mantis wouldn't be awkward in a "taur" pattern, but might not scale very well.
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Hahaha! Hilarious reactions is always a plus XDDDD
"WTF WHY AM I GROWING FUR HOLY SHIT WHAT ARE THOSE THINGS EXPLODING FROM MY CHEST HOH MY GOD THEY'RE LEGS."
Definitely fun XD
You know, I just might do one now just cuz the expressions are so gawrsh-darned hilarious.
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8D You totally should. I love messing with expressions in transformations--I only have a few characters that are totally chill about it because they were born shapeshifters.
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You're pro leg merging? That's really hypocrite 
In the end, when it come to legs merging / tail growing, it end up to the skill to the artist to portray it well.
I've had some commission where the tail growing / legs shrinking were really well done, going along one another seamlessly, while in other commission where the legs looked like they had been 'glued' to a nearly fully transformed person, out of place and out of proportion.
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I haven't seen anything aquatic with lots of legs growing, such as
[link]
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Yeah, so I guess it's execution that's key XD
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Personally, I leave legs merging to pinnipeds
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A lot of what you say in comments or even in the tutorial about transformations seems that you're only using animorphs as your only bases for what the wrong way is. You also say that people should learn the anatomy of both animals and humans yet all it looks like you're changing is the outside form and don't seem to pay much attention to what's actually going on with the bones and muscles inside.
It's a great idea to think about TFs logically, but your reasoning behind the sequencing is pretty subjective rather than logical. The chest is where the bones and muscles would have to alter in order to support the wings so why not start there? And I'm a little confused at the middle TF part with the eagle man: You said the next logical step after the wings is the chest but in the illustration the chest and head are clearly the last things to change.
This tutorial looks like it's based mostly on personal style instead of an unbiased set of rules.
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I'm not just using Animorphs; I'm also basing this off of a lot of other amateur transformation art I see scattered around this site.
I want to thank you for your input; looking back on this I notice how I really am not showing how the bones and muscles change, so thank you for pointing that out. I will most likely do another tutorial that focuses more on the bones and muscles.
Like I said I am no expert, and this was also a challenge for me personally since I don't really do tutorials. And thanks for the critique; I'll work on it in my next tutorial!
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This is a fun tutorial, and I can see how this would be very valuable for beginners. C:
I also approve of tasteful transformation, such as the ones you have given an example of in your tutorial.
I hate that fetish-y garbage, it makes me uncomfortable just thinking about it, let alone looking at it. |:C
And Dragoniade brought up some good points in his comment, and I agree. Backwards-shifting knees (thankyou, K.A. Applegate, for being a prime example of "Did Not Do The Research") and twisty-melty legs that turn into a fish tail are okay for a little kid who doesn't know jack shit about anatomy and doesn't CARE, but for people who like things to follow in a logical progression (like myself and other people of higher intellect that show disdain towards the apathetic attitudes of others)... such things don't make sense, and therefore hurt the credibility of the artist as a knowledge-seeking, creative, and original person.
While its true that some people are not picky about their transformation artwork (most of that group seems to be the fetish-hoarders that favorite every single dragon/wolf/cat/mermaid picture they can find on DeviantART, no matter the quality of the art), many people are, and you're more likely to get recognized in the transformation community (and better yet, outside of the community) if you apply yourself in a logical manner... And stop the apathy by setting a high bar of quality work for yourself. Don't be content with mediocrity.
But yeah, your tutorial is a nice simple one. c:
I should do one on like... coloring in Photoshop or something. When I get home, that is. I don't have Photoshop on this computer. 8'C
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Awww, no photoshop?
Well, thank you for that very long and very nice comment c: Lucern and I set up the group so we could have a safe haven from all the disgusting fetish shiz out there XDDD
This was honestly a lot of fun to do (mostly cuz of Jasper man-chest. Hrnnngh. Oh my god he's like 70, I am physically unable to draw unattractive people, there's something wrong with me)
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I agree with you here on every aspect.
I totally hate improvised, lazy transformations. There's nothing I hate more than people who do reversed knee, merged legs, and other anatomically inaccuracy simply out of ignorance. When you show them a dog, dolphin or snake skeleton, showing them the tails are the extension of the spine, not some merged legs, they all go anal and say it's not real and to shut up. Sorry, but if you want to be taken seriously as a transformation artist, do your home work. Being ignorant isn't an excuse when you can take a few minutes to look at reference before starting working on some transformation.
You want to make it fun and bend the rules? Fine, but make it so it's properly done. Just making it happen because you want it is stupid, lazy or both. Otherwise, make a context? You want to do some anatomy mismatch? Fine, have a story about you totally pissed a sorceress and now she's using you as a total rag doll. Context is part of a good transformation. Otherwise, you're only someone done piss poor Transformation for intellectually challenged transformation fanboy, who will flap at any transformation whatsoever. Which is NOT a good way to appears as an 'Growing' transformation artist.
Reverted knee. Blah, everyone should know about feet, femur and tibia when they do a TF at the very least.
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Wooo, right on dude
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Shit, son. I couldn't agree more. :0
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I have a question would this be a same for dino transformation or have a person with some animal parts like legs and etc.... And this is quite helpful thanks ^.^
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