Critique Central!

Heyhey guys,

In the past, we used to have a thread where people showcased their best new pieces into one general thread, got a wee bit of critique and such and everyone else got a "gallery" with a lot of varied work to walk by and look at.
I liked the idea for that thread because it made it so that if someone doesn't think they have enough art to show to warrant a thread, or if they feel too shy to start and maintain a thread, it can go in here and they'll still get their critique and such.

THIS IS A ZUNIVERSAL THREAD FOR SHOWING OFF NEW PIECES AND GETTING CRITIQUE ON THEM FROM OTHERS.
/purpose of thread.

however,

This time, there'll be a few rules quite like those in the signature showcase thread. In fact (LemLem- I hope you don't mind this pal, but I'm going to use your rules)

THE RULES

- Each work should be commented on twice before a new work is posted, this way each work can get it's fair share of criticism.

- Criticism more then praise is encouraged here. Just saying "Looks great!" does not do it. At least say "Looks great, but..."

- Please wait two people before posting a work again. As in: You --> Them --> Them --> You

- Post only NEW pieces for which you want feedback that you haven't yet received from ZU'ers from another thread in the section.


So.. do we all get it? are we fine?
Cool

Someone get us a pair of scissors to cut the ribbon-
Ah there we go.

Let me begin then
I was asked to draw a self portrait thingy as a cover design for a magazine that will have a feature on my work next month. However, I thought that would be boring so I tried to use the front-and-back-cover advertisement possibility to it's maximum pimpage potential and got this:




Does it work? does it not? (empty spaces are where title and text will go)

It works really well, and I do enjoy that the bubbles aren't perfectly round. >.> You promise me to send a copy of this magazine, please? Also, the yellow-haired boy's bubble looks... more violent than the other bubbles. >.< I don't know how to explain it, but his bubble stands out more. Possibly due to his colour, but... I dunno.

I personally like the entire concept except for right upper corner, which isn't filled with nothing, it's merely blanco. You could fill it more with alternate stuff, like, try to experiment with all kinds of colours insteadt of specifically only using blue. I don't have any other negative comments.

I initially must comment the bubbles' shape, they not perfectly round, that's why I like them, too. Now a question: Why did you colour the woman in the lower left corner grey? It doesn't suit the image nicely, you should give her a colour as well, Imo.

Alucard, if you notice, she says that the upper right corner will be filled with the magazine's title and text will go.

Anna - ok, I'll save and send you a copy of the magazine ^____^
Hmm.. and I see what you meant about blondie's bubble standing out- I tried playing about with it a wee bit - is it ok this way? or do I have to keep lowering eh opacity? =)
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...thinger1-1.jpg

Alucard - what you see are the front and back pages. The one with the self portrait thing on the left is the back page. The magazine title and titles of some of the topics inside (and pages) will go at the top. The text for my feature will go next to the lassie blowing the bubbles.
Also, I meant for the self-portrait to be in black and white because I wanted it to be seperate from her "creations", and since they're all drawn, I thought it was a good way of differentiating.. kinda. Uhm.
Thanks for the comments! ^___^

Originally Posted by Lioness

Alucard, if you notice, she says that the upper right corner will be filled with the magazine's title and text will go.

I'm very sorry, I kind of wanted to reply very fast so I quickly skipped A_Q's comment... Once again, my apologies.

Originally Posted by Anime_Queen

Alucard - what you see are the front and back pages. The one with the self portrait thing on the left is the back page. The magazine title and titles of some of the topics inside (and pages) will go at the top. The text for my feature will go next to the lassie blowing the bubbles.
Also, I meant for the self-portrait to be in black and white because I wanted it to be seperate from her "creations", and since they're all drawn, I thought it was a good way of differentiating.. kinda. Uhm.
Thanks for the comments! ^___^

Hmm, thanks for explaining that. In my opinion, It's a very exceptional magazine's cover, Rarely seen such, so I gave those (unnecassary) comments.

*stickies*

Asia, any chance you're going to reveal what magazine this is for?

Ah, wonderful idea A_Q. ^-^

And, egad! O__O Your art is always so professionally done. It simply blows me away! I love the sheen on the bubbles that really makes me just want to pop them. X3

It really looks quite natural and the lines are so sleek and awesome. Eeek! Your art makes me so happy... :3

My gosh AQ....that looks great! I just love the bubbles, maybe it's just because I love bubbles...anyway I think you did a nice job on that, AQ

Anyhoo...

I started drawing a few months ago...I'll put my best one in here...


Don't ask about the smudge on the bottom right....it involves Microsoft Paint and Photo Editor....

Thankies, Tiroth ^_____^
And I'll probably scan in the magazine front and back cover later if you want, or take a photo =D

No problem Alucard, all your comments were valid, so, thanks for writing them =D

Cio - you are always so kind and have an I-make-people's-days quality - thanks for the comment!

Chari - now, about the smudge.. *laughs*
ok, seriously now- that's quite a clean and clear piece. Did you copy from an existing image or a character? or is this your own character?

I suggest you concentrate a wee bit on the line quality- don't be afraid to make firm smooth sweeping lines. Also, you can also vary the line widths. The outlines are usually thicker than lines inside indicating creases and such.

Hmm.. I was going to say something else but it's difficult for me to convey it without *showing*..
I need to run at the moment, but later in the day, I'll show you on the image what I mean *checks her watch*
Will be back to hopefully give you better advice =)

Keep drawing!

Chari: Not bad. I like it. It's clean, like Asia said, and it just looks nice. Although your lines could be less crooked in some places, but that's not a big problem. And the way you draw hair seems similar to the way I sometimes do it.

Just, I did hair differently in this one I did of a character whom I named Kelli.



I know my coloring needs work. >.< And I left out Kelli's feet because I couldn't get them right...feet are hard. >.> This is just her in a swimsuit, though. I just think this is my best drawing.

Originally Posted by Kynnella

Chari: Not bad. I like it. It's clean, like Asia said, and it just looks nice. Although your lines could be less crooked in some places, but that's not a big problem. And the way you draw hair seems similar to the way I sometimes do it.

Just, I did hair differently in this one I did of a character whom I named Kelli.



I know my coloring needs work. >.< And I left out Kelli's feet because I couldn't get them right...feet are hard. >.> This is just her in a swimsuit, though. I just think this is my best drawing.

Well, personally I find her hawt. :3
You've got talent, Kynnella, really. Only the hairs could have been drawn better.

Well, you're the first person to say that, Alucard. :3

Kelli is supposed to be quite pretty, hehe. Thanks for the comment! ^^

SG, her hands are a tad bit small and the wink looks awkward. Like she's trying reeaaaallly hard to wink. Like, "ArRRGH!! I'M WINKING!!!" cept not really, you see?

Anyway, I have an art piece for critic!


It's evilly adorable. ^-^ This was drawn for my friend Ixchell and her teddy bear, Beary. : D

Hokay!

Chari - I did the correction suggestions I thought you might want to consider next time =)
Tell me what you think and try to work a wee bit on them ^___^




Kelkel - similarly for your piece, I provide a few suggestions that you might find helpful.



Cio - that is beautiful!
I don't know what it is also, the paper, maybe the pencil sheen on the paper or something - but it has a gorgeous *atmosphere* - fuzzy and warm.
My only suggestion is that you use your lines to their maximum potential to convey the *TEXTURE* of the material/object you are drawing.
The bear, for example, I would recommend would benefit from having a "furry" outline, while the straps across his torso retain a hard-edged quality to indicate their material. That way you differentiate between their differences and, believe it or not, adds a depth to the whole image rather than it just being lines on a page ^___^

Hope that was helpful =D

Next?

Umm.. well, how bad could it be? x: Not exactly akin to the other pieces in the thread.

Asia: Very nice suggestions, but that really isn't how I wanted the feet to look, to be honest with you. I still like your suggestions, though.

Pani: Cute chibis! ^^ Although I prefer anime/manga style drawings, to be honest.

EDIT: Oh yeah, and also Asia, I looked at your hair suggestion again and I noticed if I did the ends like you suggested, Kelli's hair would look too much like Malon's apart from color. And I want Kelli to be as original looking as possible, despite having a similar appearance to Link when she's wearing her everyday clothing.

Originally Posted by Kynnella

Pani: Cute chibis! ^^ Although I prefer anime/manga style drawings, to be honest.

Wah, I prefer them too. Unfortunately, I can't draw that style well at all. >__>

I can help you out, then. I took a drawing class in ninth grade and we practiced much at drawing people and working on anatomy, proportions, and perspective. It really came in handy for drawing anime/manga styled stuff, so if you need any tips on human anatomy and proportions (for anime/manga styled people in this case), then I can give some to you.

First, look at real humans for a good idea of how to draw human body parts. Start with simple shapes such as circles and squares and add detail to make them look like the real thing. I always start with a circle for Kelli's head when I draw her, for example. I add guidelines and continue adding other lines to make detail. Then when I'm finished, I erase the lines I don't need and I have a finished drawing.

A problem that even I have a lot is making your lines too dark and hard to erase. Be careful of that. Even I sometimes make them too dark by accident and I leave smudges when I erase. I'm working on that, though. You only want to darken the lines you want to keep.

As for proportions, look at other anime/manga style drawings of humans. OoT Adult Link, for example, is about six heads tall (measuring with his own head, of course). I use that information to make Kelli the right proportions in comparision to Link. I also see how big I should make the hands, how long I should make the arms and legs (although in Kelli's case, her legs are longer than normal, so I must make them slightly out of proportion), how big the feet should be, and the like.

But even I'm not perfect with anatomy and proportions and I make mistakes sometimes. Learn from your mistakes. That's what I do. I also use my motto, "watch and learn." I used to watch how a friend of mine back in Germany drew because she was a great artist. I learned from her as a result.

So overall, adapting these tips should help you learn to draw anime/manga style, like me.

If you need anymore help, feel free to PM me. ^^

It's very cute Panique! I envy it.



What do you think of mine?