corvidus wrote on 2022-05-26 03:44:57:
@MeltedTeeth
oh, that's very cute! i love the pose and expression, you've got some really nice character acting here.
to start with, i think the piece could be a little more ambitious and, well, 'finished'. i don't mean the sketchy style, necessarily (i'm a big fan of sketchier pieces myself, i have next to no patience for clean lineart). but there's very minimal shading and not much of a background. i don't think every piece needs a background, but at the same time i'd say, always try and keep in mind how you can push a piece further. can you add more lighting? props or other objects? a background? drawing characters against solid colour backgrounds will only help you learn how to draw characters against solid colour backgrounds; if you want to work on other stuff (more detailed backgrounds, atmospheric lighting, perspective etc) you'll need to branch out and work on bigger and more ambitious pieces.
this next part is going to be kind of subjective, so here's a reminder that as with everything i post here this is just my opinion! take what's useful to you and throw the rest out as you please. but, if i'm being totally honest, i think you're relying a little too much on shorthand and symbols here, and not doing enough observational drawings (of, eg, real cats). i want to be clear, i'm not railing against stylised art styles here - i draw a lot of very stylised stuff myself, and i think that a strong style is often more interesting and appealing than realism. (in fact, i think your style is super cute and charming, so i'm definitely not knocking the style itself!!) but if you only draw stylised subjects without ever looking at the real thing, your art and your style can stagnate, and i think a little bit of that is happening here.
that all is a little vague, so here are some more concrete examples: starting with the face, i think the perspective is a little off? your eyes are nicely foreshortened, but to me the snout doesn't quite match the angle of the head, and the mouth ends up looking a little flat. the ears don't attach on the same place, either, and so you're undercutting what's otherwise a solid construction with a few things that are a little 'off'. these are all really minor things, but they add up to a face that just doesn't quite 'pop' like it could:
(this is for illustrative purposes only - i'll freely admit that that bottom jaw is pretty wonky, cats are far from my area of expertise haha. but hopefully this shows what i mean!)
if you want your subjects to really feel 3D, you need to be properly thinking about your volumes, and making conscious choices about how you want to stylise them. and ultimately, the best way to do that is to do lots of observational drawings of the real thing! i know it's clichéd advice, but it really is best to know the rules before you break them. even if realism isn't your goal (and like i said, there's no reason it should be!), knowing how to draw real animals and real anatomy is still really helpful for working with a strong style. it'll give you a solid 3D foundation, help inspire new ways to stylise or vary certain features, and ultimately it'll only make your style, and your art, richer.
to reiterate (because i know this kinda advice can get kind of preachy lol), this isn't me saying stylised art is bad. i think your style is super cute and charming, and has a lot of energy to it! but if you want to improve (and if you're posting in this thread, presumably you do!), in my honest opinion, studies and observational drawings are the best way to do that. hope that helps! :D
oh, that's very cute! i love the pose and expression, you've got some really nice character acting here.
to start with, i think the piece could be a little more ambitious and, well, 'finished'. i don't mean the sketchy style, necessarily (i'm a big fan of sketchier pieces myself, i have next to no patience for clean lineart). but there's very minimal shading and not much of a background. i don't think every piece needs a background, but at the same time i'd say, always try and keep in mind how you can push a piece further. can you add more lighting? props or other objects? a background? drawing characters against solid colour backgrounds will only help you learn how to draw characters against solid colour backgrounds; if you want to work on other stuff (more detailed backgrounds, atmospheric lighting, perspective etc) you'll need to branch out and work on bigger and more ambitious pieces.
this next part is going to be kind of subjective, so here's a reminder that as with everything i post here this is just my opinion! take what's useful to you and throw the rest out as you please. but, if i'm being totally honest, i think you're relying a little too much on shorthand and symbols here, and not doing enough observational drawings (of, eg, real cats). i want to be clear, i'm not railing against stylised art styles here - i draw a lot of very stylised stuff myself, and i think that a strong style is often more interesting and appealing than realism. (in fact, i think your style is super cute and charming, so i'm definitely not knocking the style itself!!) but if you only draw stylised subjects without ever looking at the real thing, your art and your style can stagnate, and i think a little bit of that is happening here.
that all is a little vague, so here are some more concrete examples: starting with the face, i think the perspective is a little off? your eyes are nicely foreshortened, but to me the snout doesn't quite match the angle of the head, and the mouth ends up looking a little flat. the ears don't attach on the same place, either, and so you're undercutting what's otherwise a solid construction with a few things that are a little 'off'. these are all really minor things, but they add up to a face that just doesn't quite 'pop' like it could:
(this is for illustrative purposes only - i'll freely admit that that bottom jaw is pretty wonky, cats are far from my area of expertise haha. but hopefully this shows what i mean!)
if you want your subjects to really feel 3D, you need to be properly thinking about your volumes, and making conscious choices about how you want to stylise them. and ultimately, the best way to do that is to do lots of observational drawings of the real thing! i know it's clichéd advice, but it really is best to know the rules before you break them. even if realism isn't your goal (and like i said, there's no reason it should be!), knowing how to draw real animals and real anatomy is still really helpful for working with a strong style. it'll give you a solid 3D foundation, help inspire new ways to stylise or vary certain features, and ultimately it'll only make your style, and your art, richer.
to reiterate (because i know this kinda advice can get kind of preachy lol), this isn't me saying stylised art is bad. i think your style is super cute and charming, and has a lot of energy to it! but if you want to improve (and if you're posting in this thread, presumably you do!), in my honest opinion, studies and observational drawings are the best way to do that. hope that helps! :D
Thank you so much for the tips! I will definitely put them (and already have and seen improvement) to use!
