Blue and Gold

[VagabondX]

[Joseph Dredd]

Very slick. No crits from me.

[VagabondX]

Very slick. No crits from me.

Nice of you to say but I see plenty of things after having not looked at it in a while. Tangent with Skeets and Beetle. Anatomy is off on both characters. Overall it just retains a clunky amateurish feel that I can't seem to shake.

[Veritas71]

Nice of you to say but I see plenty of things after having not looked at it in a while. Tangent with Skeets and Beetle. Anatomy is off on both characters. Overall it just retains a clunky amateurish feel that I can't seem to shake.

It's not a bad thing to be hyper critical of your work. Just don't keep it from frustrating you to the point of not drawing. Sometimes I will leave a drawing alone for a day. Come back to it with a fresh mind. You will notice mistakes real quick. You know the steps you took to make the piece. Break it down and figure out where your making those 'ameturish' mistakes. How stylish, compared to realistic do you want to go?

Eyeballing it, I think its the foreshortening that is making you feel the anatomy is off. BB's body feels too long for this up angle. Look at how high his belt is in relation to where the creases in the tights start. In general, we should see less torso. Take a reference photo if needed. Many artists do.

[Joseph Dredd]

Nice of you to say but I see plenty of things after having not looked at it in a while. Tangent with Skeets and Beetle. Anatomy is off on both characters. Overall it just retains a clunky amateurish feel that I can't seem to shake.

I think you're being too hard on yourself. Any crits I could give on this would be nitpicking and things that I see in professional work all the time. BB's torso looks thin, I guess, and a more complicated background would look a bit nicer.

I think the colouring (especially the background) is the only thing in this piece that feels even remotely amateurish to me.

[Joseph Dredd]

It's not a bad thing to be hyper critical of your work. Just don't keep it from frustrating you to the point of not drawing. Sometimes I will leave a drawing alone for a day. Come back to it with a fresh mind. You will notice mistakes real quick. You know the steps you took to make the piece. Break it down and figure out where your making those 'ameturish' mistakes. How stylish, compared to realistic do you want to go?

Eyeballing it, I think its the foreshortening that is making you feel the anatomy is off. BB's body feels too long for this up angle. Look at how high his belt is in relation to where the creases in the tights start. In general, we should see less torso. Take a reference photo if needed. Many artists do.

I don't think he's too long, I think his torso is a tad too skinny. just my opinion, though

[hadesillustrations]

Nice of you to say but I see plenty of things after having not looked at it in a while. Tangent with Skeets and Beetle. Anatomy is off on both characters. Overall it just retains a clunky amateurish feel that I can't seem to shake.

Yes, there are plenty of anatomy issues. I think most of these actually stem from you not drawing through your figures. The long torso on Beetle seems a likely result of this. Take your time with getting that anatomy form down. Until you learn some details, you can always hide them with shadows - my favorite Wally Woodism: "When in doubt, black it out".

Really, you just need to take your time. This piece seems very rushed. Were you in a hurry to finish it? Veritas made anotehr good point in taking time away from a drawing - sometimes you need a breather. I also like to look at a piece from a distance - I'll set it down on a chair and walk across the room from it to take a faraway look. I'll squint my eyes to see if I separated my tones well (white/midtone/black).

One big crit I have for you is to learn when and how to feather. Feathering is always done toward light and never for drop shadows. Stark lighting results in less feathering as well, so the extreme underlighting really doesn't need as much feathering, but you've feathered the snot out of your piece.

So, lots to work on, but it's work worth doing. You're a solid artist, but you could be really good. Just keep working man!

[VagabondX]

How stylish, compared to realistic do you want to go?

I don't even know, anymore. I find it difficult to concentrate when I draw. These days, I just wish I could do art that I'm happy with.

[VagabondX]

This piece seems very rushed. Were you in a hurry to finish it?

I'm always in a hurry. If I don't hurry, I lose interest in the drawing. I had to make myself finish this one.

[Veritas71]

I'm always in a hurry. If I don't hurry, I lose interest in the drawing. I had to make myself finish this one.

That is a hurdle I had to jump myself. The trick is to just do it. Push yourself to finish every picture that doesn't start as a doodle. You took the time to plan and sketch this one out. That means you want to finish it. Finishing the piece will become the norm if you do it every time. Habits take 21 days to take hold. I don't know how many drawings that translates into, but the idea is sound.

It feels like you're sprinting to the finish line, and I can tell. I really like the 'frenzied' energy in your latest pummel pics. That being said, maybe try slowing down. Don't think about the finish line. Worry about the next step only. Remember that you like the ACT of drawing/creating, not just the end result.

[Keith]

Vagabond, I would honestly say go more simple in your linework and shadowing, since it looks like you're trying to do too much. Like all the marks you made on Booster's gold parts feel too heavy, simple / subtle outlines in those areas would've done wonders for him, especially since you're coloring. I think this picture has some promise, don't be so down on yourself, try taking another stab at it.

[VagabondX]

Feathering is always done toward light and never for drop shadows. Stark lighting results in less feathering as well,

Out of curiosity, where did you pick up these tips?

[mikeorion22]

I like the figures. i would be interested in seeing it without color or just flats. the white airbrushing is hurting the image. you might want to try a multiply layer on top of the two characters with the same color this helps make all of your elements feel like they are in the same environment. so if you have a purple background try a shade of purple set to multiply to show the enviorment is influencing your shadows. feathering in inks is normally meant to show form shadows and will become less dense toward your light source. solid blacks help describe cast shadows which are harder, then getting softer the further the object is that is casting the shadow.