hey there! i really enjoy giving critique/constructive criticism, and i'm currently trying to train my critical assessment skills to improve my own art as well - so i thought i'd make a thread for it! if you post some art here, i'll take a look and pick out some things i think you could improve on. i think i'm pretty nice, but feel free to let me know if you'd prefer a milder critique (or an all-out roast :P)
note: please post one to three specific pieces you'd most like critique on! i'm going to be a little bit more firm on this going forward. if i'm given a gallery link or too many pieces to look at, it becomes hard to give specific tips, and more general critiques take longer to write (plus i find i'm repeating myself on a lot of my more general advice). posts that don't follow this will be skipped, sorry!
i'm very much just a hobbyist, but if you want to get an idea of my skill level and what i might be able to help with my portfolio can be found here:
https://corvidart.crevado.com/
(i'm also always accepting critique! so if you have any to give, i'd love to hear it :) also also, shameless self plug but
i have an art shop here if you'd like to buy my art!)
new! RESOURCES
to be added to whenever i find new stuff. let me know if you have suggestions! (all links are just for reference - for books you may be able to purchase them cheaper elsewhere or find them in your local library!)
Volumes and Perspective
- drawabox - a fantastic beginner's resource on volumes and construction. if you've heard that you need to try thinking about your art in a more '3D' way but you don't know where to start, this is a great place for it. it's also really good for intermediate self-taught artists, who might have a lot of other experience but skipped out on some of the more fundamental lessons. warning: you have to draw a lot of boxes, but it's worth the time investment.
- How to Draw by Scott Robertson - a step up from the previous resource, this is a pretty definitive work on technical drawing. perspective, construction techniques and advanced volumes are all covered. it's a little dry, but super valuable stuff for intermediate to advanced artists who want to improve their volumes and constructions. PDF here
Anatomy
- Figure Drawing For All It's Worth - alright, i rec this one often enough that it deserves its own front page disclaimer. Why It's Good: a pretty definitive figure drawing resource, it's stood the test of time. not hugely detailed on specific anatomy (though has solid skeletal+muscular diagrams) - instead it's more focused on capturing the figure. great introductory text, i often refer back to it. plus, there's a free PDF here. Why It Sucks: it's very transparent about the fact that it's written for artists drawing ads in the 1930s and 40s, so its diagrams are based around one very 'idealised' body type (white, thin, tall... if i tell you the 'ideal female proportions' include high heels that probably gives you a pretty good idea of what i'm talking about). it's a great resource, but it definitely comes with its own caveats.
- Morpho: Anatomy for Artists. an alternative anatomy textbook if you don't want to deal with all that baggage above. never read it myself but it comes highly recommended!
- Anatomy for Sculptors - a really fantastic reference for breaking down the volumes of the human figure. takes a kind of different approach to 'traditional' anatomy textbooks, personally i really really love it.
- Animal Anatomy for Artists - another of my personal favourites. starts off with a detailed breakdown of mammalian muscle groups for a dog and a horse, then has comparative anatomy slides for many other animals. a little more technical than the books linked above, so it's more of an intermediate resource. that having been said, it's imo an invaluable resource if you want to study animal anatomy. PDF here.
- NEW! - planes of the head light reference tool. putting this here because it's too stylised to use as life drawing reference, but it's a fun little demo showing off the planes of the face with adjustable lighting. handy!
Reference Sites
- NEW! - Bodies in Motion. high-quality photographs and 3D scans of poses and, particularly, fluid motions. you need an account, and all of the best features are paywalled, but it's an absolutely fantastic resource in terms of the poses and photograph quality it offers. subscriptions aren't that cheap, but if you've got money to be putting towards art resources, this is a pretty good bet.
- NEW! reference angle dot com. a github tool that searches a bunch of reference photos that match a certain angle and expression. it's algorithmically-based, so occasionally its searches are a little hit-or-miss, but it's a great starting point for looking for ref. plus, there's one for animals, too!
- NEW! - floorplancreator dot com. oh man, this one's REALLY cool, shoutout to @/maskedshark for the recommendation. you can lay out a 2D floorplan and then click to see it drawn in 3D! it's very basic, but it's also very fast and lightweight. if you need a basic 3D layout for a room but find stuff like SketchUp too daunting, this is a great middle ground.
- Line of Action - drawing from live models is best, but high-quality photographs is the next best thing! this site has a huge amount of photos for life and gesture drawing, as well as specific photos for hands, feet and expressions, and sections for animals and environment reference! there are other figure drawing sites out there, but this one's my go-to. (warning: it does use nude models unless you select 'clothed only' in the options!)
- Magic Poser - there are similar tools out there that let you pose a 3D mannequin, but Magic Poser is one of the best known ones for good reason. it's very powerful and versatile, and comes with a great variety of props! i haven't used it that much, but i've heard the monetization is pretty fair, and there's a free lightweight browser version if you just want to try it out.
- Adorkastock (previously SenshiStock) - i'd be amiss if i didn't shout these guys out! again, there are other pose stock galleries out there, but Adorkastock is a real juggernaut and a great starting place if you're looking for poses. (deviantArt in general is a pretty great resource for this kind of stuff!)
- Visual Library - less of a reference and more just an inspiration gallery, this collates a huge range of model sheets from different artists, focusing on cartoons and stylisation. if you're looking for style inspiration, this is a great place to start.
Pricing Help
- if you want to charge USD for your commissions, my go-to advice is to figure out a price-per-hour and multiply that by how long a commission takes you. if a bust takes you two hours, then at a rate of $7.50 an hour (roughly minimum wage) you should be charging $15.
- if you're having trouble finding buyers at min wage pricing, my advice would be to not lower your prices - instead, focus on spending your time drawing for yourself and improving your art. your time is valuable! don't risk burning yourself out working for hours on a piece that's only going to get you a few dollars.
- for charging FRC (gems/treasure), Viscere has a really helpful pricing thread here!
hey there! i really enjoy giving critique/constructive criticism, and i'm currently trying to train my critical assessment skills to improve my own art as well - so i thought i'd make a thread for it! if you post some art here, i'll take a look and pick out some things i think you could improve on. i think i'm pretty nice, but feel free to let me know if you'd prefer a milder critique (or an all-out roast :P)
note: please post one to three specific pieces you'd most like critique on! i'm going to be a little bit more firm on this going forward. if i'm given a gallery link or too many pieces to look at, it becomes hard to give specific tips, and more general critiques take longer to write (plus i find i'm repeating myself on a lot of my more general advice). posts that don't follow this will be skipped, sorry!
i'm very much just a hobbyist, but if you want to get an idea of my skill level and what i might be able to help with my portfolio can be found here:
https://corvidart.crevado.com/
(i'm also always accepting critique! so if you have any to give, i'd love to hear it :) also also, shameless self plug but
i have an art shop here if you'd like to buy my art!)
new! RESOURCES
to be added to whenever i find new stuff. let me know if you have suggestions! (all links are just for reference - for books you may be able to purchase them cheaper elsewhere or find them in your local library!)
Volumes and Perspective
- drawabox - a fantastic beginner's resource on volumes and construction. if you've heard that you need to try thinking about your art in a more '3D' way but you don't know where to start, this is a great place for it. it's also really good for intermediate self-taught artists, who might have a lot of other experience but skipped out on some of the more fundamental lessons. warning: you have to draw a lot of boxes, but it's worth the time investment.
- How to Draw by Scott Robertson - a step up from the previous resource, this is a pretty definitive work on technical drawing. perspective, construction techniques and advanced volumes are all covered. it's a little dry, but super valuable stuff for intermediate to advanced artists who want to improve their volumes and constructions. PDF here
Anatomy
- Figure Drawing For All It's Worth - alright, i rec this one often enough that it deserves its own front page disclaimer. Why It's Good: a pretty definitive figure drawing resource, it's stood the test of time. not hugely detailed on specific anatomy (though has solid skeletal+muscular diagrams) - instead it's more focused on capturing the figure. great introductory text, i often refer back to it. plus, there's a free PDF here. Why It Sucks: it's very transparent about the fact that it's written for artists drawing ads in the 1930s and 40s, so its diagrams are based around one very 'idealised' body type (white, thin, tall... if i tell you the 'ideal female proportions' include high heels that probably gives you a pretty good idea of what i'm talking about). it's a great resource, but it definitely comes with its own caveats.
- Morpho: Anatomy for Artists. an alternative anatomy textbook if you don't want to deal with all that baggage above. never read it myself but it comes highly recommended!
- Anatomy for Sculptors - a really fantastic reference for breaking down the volumes of the human figure. takes a kind of different approach to 'traditional' anatomy textbooks, personally i really really love it.
- Animal Anatomy for Artists - another of my personal favourites. starts off with a detailed breakdown of mammalian muscle groups for a dog and a horse, then has comparative anatomy slides for many other animals. a little more technical than the books linked above, so it's more of an intermediate resource. that having been said, it's imo an invaluable resource if you want to study animal anatomy. PDF here.
- NEW! - planes of the head light reference tool. putting this here because it's too stylised to use as life drawing reference, but it's a fun little demo showing off the planes of the face with adjustable lighting. handy!
Reference Sites
- NEW! - Bodies in Motion. high-quality photographs and 3D scans of poses and, particularly, fluid motions. you need an account, and all of the best features are paywalled, but it's an absolutely fantastic resource in terms of the poses and photograph quality it offers. subscriptions aren't that cheap, but if you've got money to be putting towards art resources, this is a pretty good bet.
- NEW! reference angle dot com. a github tool that searches a bunch of reference photos that match a certain angle and expression. it's algorithmically-based, so occasionally its searches are a little hit-or-miss, but it's a great starting point for looking for ref. plus, there's one for animals, too!
- NEW! - floorplancreator dot com. oh man, this one's REALLY cool, shoutout to @/maskedshark for the recommendation. you can lay out a 2D floorplan and then click to see it drawn in 3D! it's very basic, but it's also very fast and lightweight. if you need a basic 3D layout for a room but find stuff like SketchUp too daunting, this is a great middle ground.
- Line of Action - drawing from live models is best, but high-quality photographs is the next best thing! this site has a huge amount of photos for life and gesture drawing, as well as specific photos for hands, feet and expressions, and sections for animals and environment reference! there are other figure drawing sites out there, but this one's my go-to. (warning: it does use nude models unless you select 'clothed only' in the options!)
- Magic Poser - there are similar tools out there that let you pose a 3D mannequin, but Magic Poser is one of the best known ones for good reason. it's very powerful and versatile, and comes with a great variety of props! i haven't used it that much, but i've heard the monetization is pretty fair, and there's a free lightweight browser version if you just want to try it out.
- Adorkastock (previously SenshiStock) - i'd be amiss if i didn't shout these guys out! again, there are other pose stock galleries out there, but Adorkastock is a real juggernaut and a great starting place if you're looking for poses. (deviantArt in general is a pretty great resource for this kind of stuff!)
- Visual Library - less of a reference and more just an inspiration gallery, this collates a huge range of model sheets from different artists, focusing on cartoons and stylisation. if you're looking for style inspiration, this is a great place to start.
Pricing Help
- if you want to charge USD for your commissions, my go-to advice is to figure out a price-per-hour and multiply that by how long a commission takes you. if a bust takes you two hours, then at a rate of $7.50 an hour (roughly minimum wage) you should be charging $15.
- if you're having trouble finding buyers at min wage pricing, my advice would be to not lower your prices - instead, focus on spending your time drawing for yourself and improving your art. your time is valuable! don't risk burning yourself out working for hours on a piece that's only going to get you a few dollars.
- for charging FRC (gems/treasure), Viscere has a really helpful pricing thread here!
I'm always up for some constructive criticism so I'd love your input on some of my art. here are some examples of it:
[img]https://i.imgur.com/gz86CrM.png[/img]
and a bigger piece:
[img]https://i.imgur.com/8nnICBF.jpg[/img]
Its uncoloured, but I'd like some input about forms and staging if you would :) tysm in advance!
I'm always up for some constructive criticism so I'd love your input on some of my art. here are some examples of it:
and a bigger piece:
Its uncoloured, but I'd like some input about forms and staging if you would :) tysm in advance!
Oh, I forgot to ping you, @
corvidus .
@Nazarick
hey there!
so, i really like the concept of the pieces! the 'cutaway' idea is really interesting, and i love the paper texture - it gives it a very nice kind of handmade feel. but it doesn't pop as much as it could? i think it's because your values are very close together. i went in to have a look in photoshop, so here's an example:
[img]https://66.media.tumblr.com/340c760bca686e93b232575ec7a4d8ec/926db1df985eae0c-fa/s540x810/f0e4ea068e0e3aed02cf29de62c777aa947403cf.png[/img]
especially if you're using a minimalist palette, you want to make sure your values "pop" enough so that the different forms are more easily separable. the second image is a bit more easily delineated, but personally i find that green kind of eye-searing with the bright white, haha.
i feel like you could push your lines of actions a little more, too! the first image shows you've got a really nice understanding of flow, i love the shape of the fish and the water outlined in the silhouette. i think you should trust in this a little bit more and try and push your poses. both images are kind of static side views. for example - adding either a little "twist" to show volume (like maybe seeing some of the back of the PC's neck in the first picture?) or playing a bit more with the secondary elements (like the whiskers, or the direction of flow of the petals in the second pic) could help add some more visual interest. they're both almost there, but they need a little bit [i]more[/i] to feel alive, imo.
i really love them both overall, though! the linework is very very nice, the hatching gives it a lovely kind of hand-made feel. and the concept is strong - the juxtaposition of silhouettes is very stylish! if anything i'd say you're just playing it a little bit safe, i think you definitely have the skill to push the pieces further.
hope this was helpful!
e: and no worry about the ping! i'm subbed, haha.
@
Nazarick
hey there!
so, i really like the concept of the pieces! the 'cutaway' idea is really interesting, and i love the paper texture - it gives it a very nice kind of handmade feel. but it doesn't pop as much as it could? i think it's because your values are very close together. i went in to have a look in photoshop, so here's an example:
especially if you're using a minimalist palette, you want to make sure your values "pop" enough so that the different forms are more easily separable. the second image is a bit more easily delineated, but personally i find that green kind of eye-searing with the bright white, haha.
i feel like you could push your lines of actions a little more, too! the first image shows you've got a really nice understanding of flow, i love the shape of the fish and the water outlined in the silhouette. i think you should trust in this a little bit more and try and push your poses. both images are kind of static side views. for example - adding either a little "twist" to show volume (like maybe seeing some of the back of the PC's neck in the first picture?) or playing a bit more with the secondary elements (like the whiskers, or the direction of flow of the petals in the second pic) could help add some more visual interest. they're both almost there, but they need a little bit
more to feel alive, imo.
i really love them both overall, though! the linework is very very nice, the hatching gives it a lovely kind of hand-made feel. and the concept is strong - the juxtaposition of silhouettes is very stylish! if anything i'd say you're just playing it a little bit safe, i think you definitely have the skill to push the pieces further.
hope this was helpful!
e: and no worry about the ping! i'm subbed, haha.
Ah! Thank you, this was really helpful for me to hear this :)
Ah! Thank you, this was really helpful for me to hear this :)
[s]"not a professional artist" but it certainly looks pretty heckin good[/s]
anyway, I've only been seriously drawing for a year ^w^
[img=650x650]https://i.imgur.com/m7XdEfB.png[/img]
this one's talons are Not Right, i know-
[img=650x650]https://i.imgur.com/2Mg6meD.png[/img]
some mirrors
[img]https://i.imgur.com/Q1jASQJ.png[/img]
and some stylized human sketches
"not a professional artist" but it certainly looks pretty heckin good
anyway, I've only been seriously drawing for a year ^w^
this one's talons are Not Right, i know-
some mirrors
and some stylized human sketches
[s]please be gentle--[/s]
disregarding me not ever drawing fullbodies, what do you think i could improve on? i mean personally i think my shading definitely needs work but i would like to hear what you have to say.
here are a few of my most recent art things (most to least)
[img]https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-tGyIfvuoz98/Xlh-1nHV3lI/AAAAAAAARX0/Lsg4m365nVQZXK0hZq9A4eVEbd6mG3wDQCK8BGAsYHg/s0/dtiysfull-2.png[/img]
[img]https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-UpnAmcL20mQ/XlXNb8ekDJI/AAAAAAAARTQ/3iU4HlPOL-gb4PC33Yoec4rBgr07aJteQCK8BGAsYHg/s0/dtiys3-4.png[/img]
[img]https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-dZocOTivlI4/XlciWYimkXI/AAAAAAAARVA/v1iWmfQ9ydk5mN71lBbalaFQxdroGJ54ACK8BGAsYHg/s0/shijiyo.png[/img]
[s]ah. posting is scary.[/s]
please be gentle--
disregarding me not ever drawing fullbodies, what do you think i could improve on? i mean personally i think my shading definitely needs work but i would like to hear what you have to say.
here are a few of my most recent art things (most to least)
ah. posting is scary.
@corvidus
I am always grateful to hear things I need to improve on!
[img]https://imgur.com/eB3gnGL.png[/img]
[img]https://imgur.com/ADXq44r.png[/img]
@
corvidus
I am always grateful to hear things I need to improve on!
I’d greatly appreciate any tips on shading, lining, or anatomy as I know those definitely aren’t my strong points;;
[img]https://i.imgur.com/ZXbnBKa.png[/img]
[img]https://i.imgur.com/TBcI0WL.png[/img]
[img]https://i.imgur.com/hPjMf6Q.png[/img]
@
corvidus
Hello!
HOW ARE NOT A PORFEESIIONAL YOUR ART SINSO GORGOEUSBH)HBHUGFHIGGJGHCGCH
umm anyways.. I’m still kinda new with art, I’ve maybe been drawing since last summer?
I used to do a lot of digital art, but the a transitioned yo traditional, but I’m trying get back into digital.. I’m still trying to find my style and I’m still trying to get better, as I literally know that my art sucks... so yeah, that’s why I’m trying to improve it. I’ve gotten a lot of helpful tips in the past, but perhaps you can give me some more! :3
Here a docs that I put a lot of my art on. Not generally in any order.. just kinda there.
https://docs.google.com/document/d/132gRa4lo-nM08eUcnzh_US9fmn-WLKlUH4GE-9nhj2s
@
corvidus
Hello!
HOW ARE NOT A PORFEESIIONAL YOUR ART SINSO GORGOEUSBH)HBHUGFHIGGJGHCGCH
umm anyways.. I’m still kinda new with art, I’ve maybe been drawing since last summer?
I used to do a lot of digital art, but the a transitioned yo traditional, but I’m trying get back into digital.. I’m still trying to find my style and I’m still trying to get better, as I literally know that my art sucks... so yeah, that’s why I’m trying to improve it. I’ve gotten a lot of helpful tips in the past, but perhaps you can give me some more! :3
Here a docs that I put a lot of my art on. Not generally in any order.. just kinda there.
https://docs.google.com/document/d/132gRa4lo-nM08eUcnzh_US9fmn-WLKlUH4GE-9nhj2s
