Topic: Overall Critism of my Art

Posted under Art Talk

Hi!

Timid here. I've done something similar like this where I asked for feedback on my art. I want to hear what people want me to draw and if there are any areas that I need to develop my skills in.

So please tell me!

Thank you!

Hey I've seen your art my favorite picture of yours is definitely the bokogoblin fellatio with the horse.
You're art is definitely pretty good. I also liked the yoshi on bowser pic.
I just like cute short boys so definitely draw more of them.
If you're ever thinking of what people want to see just look at what pics your uploading are getting lots of favorites. The more favorites or upvotes imo tend to be the higher quality pics. Just some advice.

manyura said:
Hey I've seen your art my favorite picture of yours is definitely the bokogoblin fellatio with the horse.
You're art is definitely pretty good. I also liked the yoshi on bowser pic.
I just like cute short boys so definitely draw more of them.
If you're ever thinking of what people want to see just look at what pics your uploading are getting lots of favorites. The more favorites or upvotes imo tend to be the higher quality pics. Just some advice.

Ok fair enough! Any characters that are like that?

timidwithapen said:
Ok fair enough! Any characters that are like that?

Well goblins, imps, and certain pokemon. I see you also enjoy bowser Jr and yoshi. They are great examples. Also try more on model stuff with em though. I'm seeing you've got a lil habit of off model stuff which is alright. But again that bokogoblin just perfect. Its on model which is super appealing compared to some of your other stuff ngl.

Updated

Overall, I'd say your art looks really good. Bit heavy on dicks for my liking, but that's a separate matter.
Can't really recommend an area to work on, as even images like your Wendy ones are still high quality, but since you're also asking what people want you to draw, I'd just say more of those.

shamelessfox said:
Dont really like the art style.

Criticism involves mentioning at least something specific you feel could do with improving, not just saying you don't like it at all.

furrin_gok said:
Criticism involves mentioning at least something specific you feel could do with improving, not just saying you don't like it at all.

Improve the art style.

shamelessfox said:
Dont really like the art style.

Really constructive, m8, but I agree.
I had to analyze it very hard, but I think it has to do with the colors and lines. Your art is sometimes very bright and has few colors and then also the same line thickness all over the body, and imo your best images are the ones with varied light sources and line variation. I like https://e621.net/posts/2518245 for example, bc the level of detail expressed by varying thickness and shadows.

I think overall it's competent.

Sometimes there seem to be weird anatomy mistakes or choices, but I wouldn't say that's a high priority issue.

I think the biggest issue is the large areas which lack detail and variation. Take this image as an example:

post #2770507

I like the detail on the neck, and I mostly like the hand holding the hat. But his face, especially his jaw and mouth, seem weirdly featureless. His left (on the right of the picture) shoulder, the way the shirt folds, and the contours of his arm there, that all has good detail, when I look at that it seems right. His arm past there also has some good detail with the shadows, though something about it seems a bit off and I'll get to that.

The left hand seems definitely off - the anatomy seems a bit strange (the index finger is too wide, the fingers are all the same length) and it is definitely missing the sort of detail that the other arm had - feels like it belongs in a much worse piece of art, especially because it is completely lacking shadows. The linework also seems a bit unsure.

The penis has a bit of detail on it, but it feels like just a texture slapped on, compared to the sorts of detail you see on the rest of the image. Stylistically, it doesn't mesh, and overall it looks flat.

The shirt has some lines on it, hinting at something going on, but they are too undefined and they look like they were just drawn on after the fact without much consideration. That, combined with a similar thing with most of the rest of his body, ends up making things seem to flat, round, and not-real, especially compared to the standard set by the neck, arm, and hat.

The shadow of his right arm over his body doesn't seem consistent with how his hand looks or how his body should be shaped, and compared to other shadows in the image, it seems muddled and rough.

To get back to why things don't work perfectly on the detailed arm, and sort of overall, I think you need to work on your color choice and matching. That vibrant yellow is very aggressive, and the blue of the sky makes it stick out even more. The desaturated oranges and greens also don't really compliment what else is there, same with the dark blue of the shorts.

---

So, to summarize: The best parts of the picture are quite good. With the right amount of effort, you should be able to make something very good indeed. However, that's brought down by an inconsistent style, lack of effort and detail in certain portions, and a poor choice of colors.

Though I used that picture as an example, that seems to be consistent across other images as well, both within images (as described) and between images (some clearly have more effort put into them, some lack the sort of style and detail that you seem to do well). And in general the color choice, proper use of contrast, etc., need improvement.

You seem to have a good amount of potential though, so hopefully you take this as encouraging.

clawdragons said:
I think overall it's competent.

Sometimes there seem to be weird anatomy mistakes or choices, but I wouldn't say that's a high priority issue.

I think the biggest issue is the large areas which lack detail and variation. Take this image as an example:

post #2770507

I like the detail on the neck, and I mostly like the hand holding the hat. But his face, especially his jaw and mouth, seem weirdly featureless. His left (on the right of the picture) shoulder, the way the shirt folds, and the contours of his arm there, that all has good detail, when I look at that it seems right. His arm past there also has some good detail with the shadows, though something about it seems a bit off and I'll get to that.

The left hand seems definitely off - the anatomy seems a bit strange (the index finger is too wide, the fingers are all the same length) and it is definitely missing the sort of detail that the other arm had - feels like it belongs in a much worse piece of art, especially because it is completely lacking shadows. The linework also seems a bit unsure.

The penis has a bit of detail on it, but it feels like just a texture slapped on, compared to the sorts of detail you see on the rest of the image. Stylistically, it doesn't mesh, and overall it looks flat.

The shirt has some lines on it, hinting at something going on, but they are too undefined and they look like they were just drawn on after the fact without much consideration. That, combined with a similar thing with most of the rest of his body, ends up making things seem to flat, round, and not-real, especially compared to the standard set by the neck, arm, and hat.

The shadow of his right arm over his body doesn't seem consistent with how his hand looks or how his body should be shaped, and compared to other shadows in the image, it seems muddled and rough.

To get back to why things don't work perfectly on the detailed arm, and sort of overall, I think you need to work on your color choice and matching. That vibrant yellow is very aggressive, and the blue of the sky makes it stick out even more. The desaturated oranges and greens also don't really compliment what else is there, same with the dark blue of the shorts.

---

So, to summarize: The best parts of the picture are quite good. With the right amount of effort, you should be able to make something very good indeed. However, that's brought down by an inconsistent style, lack of effort and detail in certain portions, and a poor choice of colors.

Though I used that picture as an example, that seems to be consistent across other images as well, both within images (as described) and between images (some clearly have more effort put into them, some lack the sort of style and detail that you seem to do well). And in general the color choice, proper use of contrast, etc., need improvement.

You seem to have a good amount of potential though, so hopefully you take this as encouraging.

Oh wow! That's really good criticism actaully! Thank you so much!

I do agree that my style is inconsistent at times due to the lack of effort in some aspects of my art. That's either due to me not understanding enough with what I'm drawing or literally just not bothering which is a habit i need to stop if i need to improve. I can see what you mean when parts don't mesh well. Parts like the hat and the penis, i took more time putting detail and that is something I need to do with every aspect of the character no matter how little it is.

With the colour choice, I kinda see what you mean. I heard of this trick that artists use where they greyscale their drawing to see if any values are off. Perhaps that can help?

However, I'm a little confused on what you mean by his mouth and jaw being "featureless". What exactly do you mean by that? Does there need to be more defining shadows? Perhaps a bit of blush? Do you think you can be a bit more clear on that please?

Again, thanks for the criticism!

eeveelutionist said:
Really constructive, m8, but I agree.
I had to analyze it very hard, but I think it has to do with the colors and lines. Your art is sometimes very bright and has few colors and then also the same line thickness all over the body, and imo your best images are the ones with varied light sources and line variation. I like https://e621.net/posts/2518245 for example, bc the level of detail expressed by varying thickness and shadows.

Nice criticism!

I do think the same width for the outline does make the art look more... flat? Less expressive i guess. The varied light sources however is something i can't control too much in terms of what clients want. Most of what they ask for include a setting with mostly just one light source. The artwork you gave as an example an exception since that was a commission where the client didn't want a background so I had more freedom with the lighting composition.

Still though, that's not much of an excuse with art i draw for fun. Still, your points are still very valid! Thank you!

manyura said:
Well goblins, imps, and certain pokemon. I see you also enjoy bowser Jr and yoshi. They are great examples. Also try more on model stuff with em though. I'm seeing you've got a lil habit of off model stuff which is alright. But again that bokogoblin just perfect. Its on model which is super appealing compared to some of your other stuff ngl.

Oooh on model?

I suppose I could try doing that more. I do try to have a nice balance of on model and off model. For example, with Bowser, he still a big boy without straying too far from his on model look. Next time I draw someone, I'll make sure to look at what people love about the character and see if i can replicate that essence in my work

timidwithapen said:
Oh wow! That's really good criticism actaully! Thank you so much!

Hey, I'm glad it was helpful!

With the colour choice, I kinda see what you mean. I heard of this trick that artists use where they greyscale their drawing to see if any values are off. Perhaps that can help?

That could help. I must admit, I don't really understand the technicals of color theory. I have a pretty good sense of what looks good together and what doesn't, but I don't really have the terminology to say why I think what I think. The topic is called Color Theory though.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Color_theory

This may be a good place to start. I know it's a thing that they teach in art classes at some point.

However, I'm a little confused on what you mean by his mouth and jaw being "featureless". What exactly do you mean by that? Does there need to be more defining shadows? Perhaps a bit of blush? Do you think you can be a bit more clear on that please?

It's a little hard to put my finger on, but I think maybe it's the shadows. Something about it just seems a bit undefined / more flat than it should be. But faces are tough - it's easy to go too far in the other direction and make things look uncanny. If it were me I'd play with the shadows and face structure (which, I see that you simplified from the original design, which is probably a good idea but maybe needs some more tweaking) a bit and see how things went. It's not as high of a priority as some other things, but just something to think about a little.

I'm glad that I was of some help and you appreciated it!

timidwithapen said:
Nice criticism!

I do think the same width for the outline does make the art look more... flat? Less expressive i guess. The varied light sources however is something i can't control too much in terms of what clients want. Most of what they ask for include a setting with mostly just one light source. The artwork you gave as an example an exception since that was a commission where the client didn't want a background so I had more freedom with the lighting composition.

Still though, that's not much of an excuse with art i draw for fun. Still, your points are still very valid! Thank you!

I'm glad I could help! :3

-Seems to me that what you need to do is tighten up your anatomy skills. Seems like you have a general understanding of it, but your reproductions look like quasi-shapeless blobs. You need to be mindful of the skeletons of your figures and how the muscles attach to them. This is especially noticeable around joints.

-You should also put more variety in your line weights. Right how, all your lines have the same thickness, which is rather dull to look at

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