Art Critique + Advice

[Koresh]

Allright, some of these are old, but it doesn't matter, i know there's much to be improved, and i'd love some feedback
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Colors, too
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I really like your colored pieces a lot! They're very vibrant and wonderful to look at and you have a pretty solid grasp on color theory! It's difficult to critique stylized pieces when it's just a character standing and not in motion or interacting with their environment, but I do like your characters design and the style! It reminds me of Klonoa, I guess the standard SEGA design style in general. For your black and white pieces, they're on the path to being good, you just need to push that value even further. Don't be afraid to abuse the shit out of your paper. Make the darks darker than you think they need to be and the lights even lighter. Boost that contrast. A good test going into the longest room available to you, setting up your work on one end, and walking to the other end o the room. If you can still make out what it is from the value and it doesn't devolve into looking like the same grey shades, then you've done it.




Compare these two pieces. The structure in both are pretty solid, but in the above one, it just looks crisper, has more volume and depth, and is overall superior and more professional-quality. This is because of the range of values. The above covers the full value spectrum. The bottom stays strictly in the greys.

I hope this helped!

 

[WoodlumHax]

Allright, some of these are old, but it doesn't matter, i know there's much to be improved, and i'd love some feedback
View attachment 898738

View attachment 898740

Colors, too
View attachment 898748

View attachment 898750

I love your coloring, and you seem to have a good grasp on how to use color to draw attention, and from the looks of it you even have architectural design down!! I do think maybe incorporating a darker medium like ink or charcoal would help to make your top two pictured stand out more, though.

 

[Psyduck]

I really like your colored pieces a lot! They're very vibrant and wonderful to look at and you have a pretty solid grasp on color theory! It's difficult to critique stylized pieces when it's just a character standing and not in motion or interacting with their environment, but I do like your characters design and the style! It reminds me of Klonoa, I guess the standard SEGA design style in general. For your black and white pieces, they're on the path to being good, you just need to push that value even further. Don't be afraid to abuse the shit out of your paper. Make the darks darker than you think they need to be and the lights even lighter. Boost that contrast. A good test going into the longest room available to you, setting up your work on one end, and walking to the other end o the room. If you can still make out what it is from the value and it doesn't devolve into looking like the same grey shades, then you've done it.

View attachment 898940
View attachment 898939

Compare these two pieces. The structure in both are pretty solid, but in the above one, it just looks crisper, has more volume and depth, and is overall superior and more professional-quality. This is because of the range of values. The above covers the full value spectrum. The bottom stays strictly in the greys.

I hope this helped!

I love your coloring, and you seem to have a good grasp on how to use color to draw attention, and from the looks of it you even have architectural design down!! I do think maybe incorporating a darker medium like ink or charcoal would help to make your top two pictured stand out more, though.

Thank you so much!
You guys put it so clear and simple, i felt my mind blow lol "Wait, that's right! That makes a lot of sense!"

Thanks again guys, i'll show you some more pieces later, i'm feeling motivated now!

 

[MerriedxReldnahc]

overall I gotta say I really like your use of color. despite there being mostly muddy colors they all seem to stand out from one another, instead of mixing together into a mess.
because you're going for a bisley feel I'd say you'd need a lot more dark outlining to help distinguish the woman from the background, as now she kind of gets a bit lost in the similarly colored chaotic background.
besides that the gun looks super wonky, almost looks like you drew it by looking at a ref, but didn't lay down any guidelines or a box to help keep all the lines straight with each other.

overall though good piece, and you absolutely nailed the color and shading on the body

looks really cool!! however, i think playing with the saturation levels, defining weapon details, and straightening out a few things like the sword, her spine, and parts of the gun would help. Overall though, it's really expressive and has a strong concept!! getting some doom vibes from this

@WoodlumHax

Spoiler: im wordy gomen

Those are great! There's so much character in them and they're just overall really fun to look at! Rate me autistic, but your style reminds me of those old webcomics, Hanna is not a Boy's name and Sakana. The first one is my favorite, the only thing I'd say is that the perspective seems a bit warped. It doesn't take away from it and does add a nice dash of a "funk" factor, but if you wanted the space to be a bit more grounded, I feel like setting up a basic two point perspective grid would have helped. I do like your linework, the scraggly quality of it makes it look really lively and bootleg, but in a good way, in a kind of punk-ish way, if that makes sense. I really like it!

The second one is a bit hard to read. I can't tell what's going on. I'm assuming that the top chunk is it's own thing and the bottom half is a single scene, but I'm not entirely sure. There's definite motion going on, which is awesome! And the characters are really well drawn! The composition is just a bit too cramped and cropped, which isn't your fault since that looks like a 5.5 by 8.5 paper. If you're in the monetary condition to, I think investing in a larger standard sized sketchbook will help your compositional skills and it'll probably help the above-mentioned perspective issue as well. Great work though! I'd definitely read a comic in that style!

@MerriedxReldnahc

Spoiler: more words

That's really awesome! I love the colors and the personality in her expression and pose! I love Simon Bisley's work as well, I have an art book with his stuff in it. If you want to mimic his stuff more, going for a more realistic take on anatomy would definitely boost the similarities. Right now your lady's structure is very animesque for lack of a better word. Her head is a bit big and it looks flat. Not that flat is bad, it can be really cool in certain styles like a Deco style, but for Bisley, I think taking the time to show the volume of the skull will help a ton.

Her actual body looks really great! There's some oddness with her hip toward the camera, I think you were trying to copy Bisley's usual exaggeration of curves, but you didn't push that exaggeration quite far enough. So right now it's in this limbo of kinda semi-realistic and Bisley's style, which makes it lose structure and look less like bone and more like a gathering of flesh. Her ribcage away from the camera also has the same thing going on, but it also looks a little out of perspective. It's facing forwards instead of at 3/4ths like the rest of her body, so that creates the illusion of it bulging out. Her rifle and sword are also out of perspective.

I think that all of this can be fixed if you do a preliminary sketch. It doesn't have to be on the water color paper, but taking the time to draw out the full image in pen or pencil before hand will help you spot the oddities a lot better before you commit to a permanent medium like watercolor. When you're doing that, I recommend focusing on anatomical structures and volume. Taking the time to define what is soft (fat and flesh) against what is hard (bone and muscle) will really help out in the rendering phase. One thing that I think will help this particular piece a ton is going back in with a pen and adding linework to further define the shapes. It'll add much more solid structure which the lack of is this piece's greatest weakness. It's still awesome though! You have a great aesthetic sense for color and attitude!

Thank you all! Usually I'm good at seeing what isn't working quite right (the weapons, particularly) but extra eyes are always helpful to me.
I created a few perspective issues by combining several referance images and not really harmonizing them.
I'm also very glad to hear positive feedback on the colors becasue watercolor and pastels are like, my worst mediums.

 

[Altera the Hun]

Another question: how long should I focus on one subject? A week, 2 weeks etc. Because when I watch proko I get the feeling that the maximum I should spend on a new subject is about a 2 weeks.

 

[Koresh]

Another question: how long should I focus on one subject? A week, 2 weeks etc. Because when I watch proko I get the feeling that the maximum I should spend on a new subject is about a 2 weeks.

How do you mean?

If you mean time spent on a single piece, people will spend years on a single painting, and sometimes they'll spend an hour. It really depends on what the piece calls for.

If you mean on studies, it's just until you have a solid understanding. You don't need to draw a flawless socket joint everytime, as long as you comprehend the motion, you're good. Personally I feel like forcing yourself to focus on a specific study, or studies in general, is a good way to burn out quick. But it does vary for person to person. I wouldn't say there's a max time or a minimum time for anything. As long as you remember to have fun and take the time to doodle what you want inbetween studies and commissions, you're kosher. Do what feels right.

 

[Cedric_Eff]

How can I improve?

 

[WoodlumHax]

How can I improve?
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I like this!! it's really dramatic and I'd like to see this as a full thing. I do think maybe spending some time studying sonic's anatomy would help, like a figure study but for him, that way it's easier to draw sonichu characters at different angles!! also, I'd advise either making the face in the last panel as detailed as the fingers, or the other way around. I would like to see more of this though! are you posting these anywhere?

 

[Cedric_Eff]

I like this!! it's really dramatic and I'd like to see this as a full thing. I do think maybe spending some time studying sonic's anatomy would help, like a figure study but for him, that way it's easier to draw sonichu characters at different angles!! also, I'd advise either making the face in the last panel as detailed as the fingers, or the other way around. I would like to see more of this though! are you posting these anywhere?

Yes, on the Chris Chan thread.

 

[Koresh]

How can I improve?
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Spoiler: one day i'll learn how to be laconic

I think it's really great!! I tried finding the other panels, but I'm a mongoloid and failed. Your line art is crazy clean and the desaturated cooler coloring also really adds to that simplistic and clean look. I really enjoy it.

The main thing I'd say to work on is mostly on the compositions of the panels. When you're doing comics, it's generally a great idea to have each panel lead into each other directionally. Like in the first panel of Sonichu standing, you've done that because the reader's eyes naturally go to his eyes, and then down the rest of his body which leads to the rest of the panels. But from there, the direction goes a bit askew. The first one of him being surprised is okay in that it reads as him being surprised, but I feel like you can push it a lot further, especially in such a simple style. Maybe making his body language more exaggerated, maybe shifting the camera angle a bit higher and to a 3/4ths so that his snout will point to the right, thus leading the eye to the next panel, or something like that.

Then Daedalus comes in seemingly out of nowhere. I can't determine where he is in this room or what his location in relationship to Sonichu is. I think if you switched the panel after that, with Sonichu behind him, with the middle panel, that'll establish his location in space a lot better. Ideally, the last panel in that three row would have something directionally pointing to the lower left to guide the eye to start again.

Another thing to keep in mind is the 180 rule. You kinda have it in that Sonichu and Daedalus never switch sides in relationship to eachother, but they do move all over the frame. When you have two characters in a single scene and it's meant to be a cohesive calm flow, like a conversation, Sonichu should always remain dominantly on the left side and Daedalus should always remain dominantly on the right side. They can be semi-centered, but not to the degree you have going on since that reads to reader's minds as a restart of the rule, which breaks the flow.

Gendo Chris Chan is fucking amazing tho lmfao

 

[Hoes Mad]

Would like to know how I could make this better, please
If pixel art is not your thing, thats okay,

 

[Altera the Hun]

is this fine as is or do you think needs to be some adjustments. sorry if the lines are a little to scratchy im not used to digital

 

[Gar For Archer]

Would like to know how I could make this better, please
If pixel art is not your thing, thats okay,
View attachment 900493

Just at a glance, you need waaaaaay more color contrast. Maybe a brighter yellow for highlights. Right now, it just looks... murky. Which given the subject matter might be the intent, but using pretty much the same shade of green everywhere makes it look visually flat.

 

[dark_lob1111]

Allright, some of these are old, but it doesn't matter, i know there's much to be improved, and i'd love some feedback
View attachment 898738

View attachment 898740

Colors, too
View attachment 898748

View attachment 898750

These are great, the proportions on the first girl are quite accurate, though her neck is a bit short. The graphite shading in the second piece has a wonderful gradient for light and your color/fill-in technique is solid.
hmm...Your line work is bold too... I wonder if perhaps you simply need encouragement for more difficult level subjects to draw, I think the second (but especially) the third piece show you're capable with detail and technique... You might want to try to get into figure drawing, your skills are up enough, now you just need to up the ante. You might even enjoy sketching buildings that interest you, I find as much as I personally fucking hate drawing objects it's one of the best exercises for assessing and evolving.
If you're not sure what figure drawing is, this video right here is what helped me get started on drawing anatomy before I started high school.
Time stamp: 0:40 if you want to skip the introduction and right to the meat and potatoes of the main concept.

 

[Hoes Mad]

Just at a glance, you need waaaaaay more color contrast. Maybe a brighter yellow for highlights. Right now, it just looks... murky. Which given the subject matter might be the intent, but using pretty much the same shade of green everywhere makes it look visually flat.

Ah, I see. A friend of mine suggested I work with a certain palette but looking back it does seem pretty flat. Thanks!

Spoiler: the color palette in question

Nintendo Gameboy (Black Zero) Palette

Download this palette for free as a PNG, PAl, ASE, TXT, GPL or HEX file.

lospec.com

 

[Gar For Archer]

Ah, I see. A friend of mine suggested I work with a certain palette but looking back it does seem pretty flat. Thanks!

Spoiler: the color palette in question

Nintendo Gameboy (Black Zero) Palette

Download this palette for free as a PNG, PAl, ASE, TXT, GPL or HEX file.

lospec.com

Well, that explains it - you’re literally using a color palette that’s the greeny-yellow version of black&white, haha. But your friend’s suggestion of sticking with a color palette is a very good one, especially with pixel art too many colors can get messy-looking.

I’m pretty ass with colors, but my off-the-cuff recommendation is to add in yellows for highlights and dark teals/turquoise for shadows, with the green being the “primary” color.

 

[Koresh]

@Hoes Mad

I think that's really amazing! It's much harder to judge pixel things, especially in a really retro style like that, but it really does look like those old style pocket games. I don't know the exact word, but like those tamagotchi fellas. You're pretty faithful to that and did a great job. The composition is a little busy though. You did a achieve a lively feel which is great! But my eye is drawn everywhere without any rhythm. Not much flow, so to speak. The main two things throwing me off is the mermaid furthest to audience left. Her hairfin is cut off by the end of the canvas which drags my eye off of it and doesn't guide it anywhere else. The other thing is the dark thing on the audience right of the canvas, the one brushing against the main mermaid's fin. It's forming a tangent with it and because it's darker, it's taking my eye along it, off the mermaid, and off the canvas. I think nudging the back left mermaid a bit to the right so that she's overlapping the middle back mermaid will solve the first issue, and add more depth. Raising the black thing and maybe even adding a bit of a curve pointing back toward the mermaids at the tip will solve the other issue and add some directional guidance. Another thing I feel that could help is adding something in the very near foreground, like the silhouette of an anchor or something. But overall it's really great! I'd play the shit out of that indie game lmao


@Altera the Hun

This is a great start! I was going to do a redraw to help point out some problem areas, but then I realized I wasn't really sure what this pose is. Is it a running pose? Or a cheeky anime girl pose? If you can tell us, then I think we'll all be able to help a lot more. Right off the bat though, the head structure is a bit off. Chins connect to the neck and there's not much of a hardcore dip between them and the neck. Even in anime styles, they'll bridge right to it.




What you have is more of a 3/4ths view, so studying heads from that angle will help too. I just posted the sideviews to illustrate the connection between neck and chin.

I think reworking that head will help what you already have a lot.

 

[dark_lob1111]

is this fine as is or do you think needs to be some adjustments. sorry if the lines are a little to scratchy im not used to digital View attachment 900494

Hi @Altera the Hun! Thank you for contributing to this thread! I have to agree with Koresh about the posture, it could either be cute or running, your line of action is what I think confuses this. The L.O.A (line of action) you have is broken by the legs having their own L.A.O. perpendicular to the body's. I can still see how they kind of fit with the red L.O.A. but they do follow the green more closely.

Spoiler: Line of Action

The motion in this sketch is still impressive!

Your proportions are done well, so do not let me get you down. Adjustments are needed IMO but it's because you're in a tricky place of learning anatomy where you obviously know a lot and that knowing can get in the way of what's actually visible.
Each head measurement came out correct and the resting leg is fine actually, but I noticed the hips swivel. It's a very common phenomenon, it does exist in nature, just be careful not to do the centaur woman twist, even professionals slip on that slope.

*Yours is not this extreme, the butt line just comes up too high, creating this illusion.

Points of interest include:
-Left wrist, lower arm is too long.
-Legs need more thiccness, mostly upper left leg. The hips are perfect.
-Lower right leg and foot: Despite foreshortening the lower leg needs to be longer, and the foot needs to be pointed, not flexed. Even if she was running the foot would be flying behind her elongated, not angled.
-Head: too far turned to the right, maybe tilt up or down a bit? reference
-right arm seems Asymmetrical to the left arm. I suggest repositioning the right arm entirely unless you have a photo reference. Maybe you can figure it out but here is my best shot at a re-draw, I don't think it's in the pose you had in mind. Please don't be hurt ///n\\\

Spoiler: revision

"Let's-u goewe !"

Yes I'm aware my pose is static as fUCK ok O_0 am sorry

1 last thing, if you're concerned about your lines being scratchy, make sure you find the smoothing option in your drawing program. Most should have one, they might just be hidden in controls in a manual or help page. It should be on either the side dock or top dock, next to the color palette or brush tool options like opacity and flow. If you can't find it, Sumo-paint has a smoothing option and it is a safe, free program online you can download off their official website.

 

[Psyduck]

These are great, the proportions on the first girl are quite accurate, though her neck is a bit short. The graphite shading in the second piece has a wonderful gradient for light and your color/fill-in technique is solid.
hmm...Your line work is bold too... I wonder if perhaps you simply need encouragement for more difficult level subjects to draw, I think the second (but especially) the third piece show you're capable with detail and technique... You might want to try to get into figure drawing, your skills are up enough, now you just need to up the ante. You might even enjoy sketching buildings that interest you, I find as much as I personally fucking hate drawing objects it's one of the best exercises for assessing and evolving.
If you're not sure what figure drawing is, this video right here is what helped me get started on drawing anatomy before I started high school.
Time stamp: 0:40 if you want to skip the introduction and right to the meat and potatoes of the main concept.

Watching the video right now, thanks!

I'm surprised, as much effort was put into the third one, i thought it was the weakest, cause i don't really know much about coloring lol, just threw out things cause i thought they looked good.

I've been feeling really motivated lately, this thread and you guys are great!

 

[Puddleduck]

I'm currently making a comic, and I've used blue pencil to draw the characters' heads from all angles. I scanned them, and printed them off a bunch of times. Then for each panel, I ink over the needed copy, and draw in a new expression - my question is, does that count as cheating?

edit: some of the stuff in here makes me wanna lock up my pens and pencils forever, haha. I'm fine with a CalArty/Adventure Time type style, but that's it!