Work Critique: Post work and we will comment!

[John F. Green]

I thought since there are alot of animators and illustrators and graphic design people here that there should be alot of variety in everybodys work. and since nobody comments on the artwork page I thought it would be more suitable for people to post pictures here as a group and we can all comment on them. give good and bad critiquing! We all at one point in our lives have to here good or bad right? So take the feedback like an adult and try not to cry about it..

I'll go first. I have uploaded a bunch of things on to my profile page. Mostly character designs. but recently I just wanted to dive into other types of image. Instead of my usual hand inked and photoshop colored work I tried to do a cartoon looking image without line work. also trying to make it look vector based.....which i'm "new" to! I will first post a usual drawing that I do and then the cartoon vector one.

A character i rehashed from a comic i made in highschool for a character design class in college. I really dont have a name for it but its an assassin and me and my friend that work on the comic have came around to the name being something along the lines of Avish which is an anagram of shiva. although the character has no specified gender.

The "attempted" Vector image! Dita Von teese

[Jennifer Adkins]

Okay, I'll bite. :) I think your Dita Von teese is a good start for a vector piece. I do a lot of vector work myself and I can say that the pen tool is your best friend. Don't be afraid of your shadows and highlights more to bring your art a more dramatic look. Take a look at some of the vector stock on Istockphoto.com for inspiration. You have a relatively decent grasp on anatomy so keep it up and keep studying. Draw from real life more and you'll see your art naturally improve. I like your choices on costumes for both characters. Hope this helps! :)

[John F. Green]

Thanks Jennifer! I know my vector skill needs some tuning because it looks really jagged. I have never really grasped Illustrator. I should probably take a class on photoshop. I taught myself when I was around 12, photoshop. I wanted to make my drawings look like the ones I see in comic books. And because I tend to draw on the more realistic side and not cartoony I'm getting slack for it now. And I'm starting to draw more from life now. mainly people. The problem with me is that I never copy or drew from life. I always drew out of my head. which is the case for the two posted up top. and now in college when we have to draw models i cant do it out of my head and I have to break habits that ive formed over the years. hands and feet especially!

I also have heard teachers say countless times that I dont push my shadows and highlights enough. A teacher said that I do a technique called "sculptural Lighting" unknowingly. which is that I will have a light source but i will use the highlight and shadow to make the image have depth as opposed to real lighting where it gives the character life. But thanks for the comments! I'll take all the advice I can :)

[Jennifer Adkins]

Yeah just keep trying, I'm often guillty of those same things. You just gotta keep pushing yourself out of your comfortable zone and don't be afraid to screw up. You'll be surprised by what comes out if you just do it and don't worry about a finished piece.

[Chris Kennett]

Also have a think about the physics of the piece. With "Dita" she doesn't really have any weight to her and she doesn't interact with the glass at all. If you think about it, when was the last time you sat in the bath and floated like a cork? Try having her body mould to the contours of the glass, it will really sell the picture then.

Anyway her face and pose look really nice and like Jennifer said, use the pen and line tools to eliminate those jagged lines and you'll really see the benefits.

For what its worth, I always use Flash for vector art. Its not for everyone, but you have to work in whatever way you're comfortable with. :)

[Jennifer Adkins]

I used flash for vector art myself before I learned to use the pen tool well. Its definitely great if you want to get a different view of vectors and not have to mess with those anchor points because you can just grab a line or even a fill and curve it. The only thing I don't like is that I have to remember to keep a lot of separate layers or the shapes eat each other. :)

[Kyoshi]

It's a good start. With a little of weight it could turn out perfect

[Ralph Sutter]

Hey John!

Nice work, I like it a lot! Have you done more work on it based on the critique? If so, please show!

Here is a character I'm currently working on:

It is nowhere near completion, as I started working on it today.

But, let me know what you think!

Sincerely,

Ralph

[John F. Green]

Thanks Ralph. To be honest I havent even touched the picture. Ive been busy with work. I like your picture. the eyes pop, and the shapes of the face are really characterized. the only thing that throws me is the nose. it kinda blends with the mouth. like a beak. I dont know if you intentionally did that. and I know you just said you are "nowhere near completion", so maybe I should step off.

[Ralph Sutter]

No stepping off! :P

I did do the "beak" intentionally, as I saw someone during my trip to Euro-land that actually looked like this. It was awesome, scary, and inspiring all at the same time.

Looking at the picture now, he sort of reminds me of Freddy Krueger and Eustace's (from Courage the Cowardly Dog) lovechild.

I think I might try to see what he'd look like with a big, portruding schnoz.

Thanks John! I appreciate your feedback very much!

[Ralph Sutter]

Here is a more recent version of the Belgian farmer:

Let me know what you think!

~Ralph

[Tracy]

I get the impression that his right eye is really sunken, but I'm not getting the same feeling with the left eye. I like him though. He's got a lot of personality already.