Creative Corner

@Liom ooh, some super nice stuff here! i'm mostly going to focus on that top pic because painted scenes like that are the most within my wheelhouse and give me the most stuff to talk about, but i'll come back to the other two if i have time (and the post isn't getting way too long.) i'll start with the stuff i really like about the top piece (because i think it has a ton of strengths to highlight): first and foremost, it really tells a story! in the expressions and the action (one character lifting up the other with a fond smile) you get across so much about these two characters and their relationship. (in fact, from the other examples/flipping through your gallery, i think you've got a real knack for this kind of storytelling in your art!) i also like the colour scheme a lot, it's soft and really effective at conveying the mood. in terms of things you could have pushed a little further, one that's immediately jumping out at me is the composition. the focal point (the character on top reaching out for the berries) is a little bit cramped. the 'rule' of thirds is more of a rule of thumb, but it is usually good to make sure your focal points aren't too close to the edge of the canvas so they have a little breathing room. here, i added some extra height to the top so that the top character falls roughly at the top third line. it's a small thing, but imo it makes the 'flow' of the piece much more natural, and more easily draws the eye towards the characters. [img]https://64.media.tumblr.com/2ca1144219ecfb7de88158eda33cee09/b3d0e6b18be71c3d-4f/s2048x3072/5f5c9e7d594e71675afeb01d1249e2c349298524.png[/img] one other small thing i noticed while filling this out: remember that overall a tree grows up, not down! not a hard and fast rule, obviously, but i noticed we have a lot of branches coming down into the frame without any obvious source of where they're coming [i]from[/i]. i also think you could push your lighting in this piece a little more! i like the soft, diffuse lighting scheme overall, i think it really adds to the atmosphere, but a little more care could make it pop. like, are the baubles on the top character supposed to be glowing? if so, i'd really love to see the light they shed reflected on the two characters. it's little consistencies like that that can really pull a scene together. hmm, what else... okay this is super minor so feel free to discard this out of hand but the anatomy of the top creature is bugging me. obviously it's a fantasy animal so i won't belabour the point, but remember that if the center of gravity isn't over the feet, an animal will fall over! your creature looks a little front-heavy, like a four-legged animal that's just missing its front legs. in comparison, birds will carry their center of mass directly over their legs (see a [url=https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/1467/6660/products/SC-074-D-Raven-Skeleton-Artic2.jpg?v=1534519076]raven [/url]and an [url=https://i.pinimg.com/originals/b4/c4/78/b4c47823742abe1eac30b2d538233566.jpg]eagle [/url]skeleton, and look at how the chest is held almost directly over the knees/feet). it's not a major issue, but thinking about how your creatures hold themselves really makes them feel more real. looking at real animals can help you figure out how your critters would move - how [i]would [/i]they counterbalance themselves while leaning forward, for example? staggering the feet? moving the wings further back? or, like birds do, keeping the chest back and just reaching forward with the long, flexible neck? right, i think that's most of what i'd flag up on this one, so moving on to the other two real quick. that veilspun is really nice! good character acting. i'd like to see a little bit more commitment to a strong line of action, the pose meanders a little around the tail, but that's mostly it. for the final piece, i really love the angle, and the foreshortening is very bold - it's a challenging piece to pull off, so kudos for even attempting! i think the main thing that's throwing me is how the characters are holding their weight, especially the one on the back seat. really try and think through where the weight is being supported, and make sure your poses 'lean' into that. also, weight-bearing limbs are usually held straight! (try it yourself - it's much easier to prop yourself up on a straight arm than a bent elbow.) so again, if a character is supporting themselves on an arm, that arm should usually be held straight. i'd attempt a redline but i'm also still learning human anatomy so i doubt i'd really be able to make any helpful observations LOL, but for what it's worth i think the piece looks great! alright, i'll wrap this up here since it's getting pretty long. i think your art is really strong! the way you convey mood, character and storytelling is really great. it's a hard skill to teach, but i can tell that it's something you focus on in your art, and it really shines through! hope that helps, and keep up the good work <3

@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 [i]needs [/i]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: [img]https://64.media.tumblr.com/7bc84594338920822f024e963fb52292/b3d0e6b18be71c3d-84/s2048x3072/3d8ca93dd390b86c48b983e3f5e94d4794d2930e.png[/img] (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

@5keletons hey there! ooh, i dig your style, very spiky. i'm going to start with the boring one: do more observational drawings! (by which i mean, drawing from real life or photographs, and trying to study how real things look, move, etc.) your work has a nice level of polish, but there's a lot of 'guesswork' that i think is weighing you down, and that you could improve on by doing more anatomy studies and using reference. the third picture that you posted has the clearest example of this, because it's easiest to compare real animals to photographs to see where you're off: [img]https://64.media.tumblr.com/7a6f8c936afea68a74857666c924fe6d/b3d0e6b18be71c3d-8f/s2048x3072/be5b2373d54353a152bad226124975fc5cc3d07d.png[/img] in fact, at the moment, that's by far the biggest tip i have for you: use more references, and try and do more observational drawings! i think a misconception a lot of people have is that, if you're an artist, you can draw things just from memory. but the majority of the time that's not true at all! in my experience, being an artist is really about being able to draw things you [i]observe[/i]; and that means using reference, and lots of it! remember that you never have to 'guess' how something looks. if you're drawing feathers, or crystals, or dogs, or boots, look up reference to see how they look, how they're textured, what the shapes are like, and so on. obviously, there's one big flaw with this advice: dragons don't exist, so how are you supposed to look up reference images of them? well... yeah, that does make things kind of tricky hahaha. BUT this is where doing lots of observational drawings comes in! i'd recommend doing studies of different kinds of animals to figure out how they're built and how they're put together. the more you get used to drawing different animals, the more you'll be able to mix-and-match bits and pieces from them to create your own imaginary creatures. for example, when i'm drawing coatls, i take inspiration from snakes, geckos, jaguars, lizards, and a variety of different birds! honestly, i think this is really the biggest tip that i'd give you. i think you have a strong style, and technically (in terms of linework and colouring and so on) you've got a really solid foundation! but i think your art is spinning its wheels a little because you're not doing enough observational drawings, or taking inspiration from real-world things and creatures. get into the habit of doing studies and especially using reference, and i think you'll be golden! hope that helps :)

@corvidus I got quite a few years of experience, but I always love feedback to improve! I made this drawing from my dragons, Skeleton. One thing I know I struggle with is to bring depth into drawings, I kept the colors of this one flat on purpose, since I wanted to work more on the lineart. But does this make it look 'unfinished'? Should I not be lazy and add shadows anyway? Any other pointers? Thanks in advance! [img]https://i.pinimg.com/564x/1c/00/20/1c002087b24d3a2df3fc0a6cb8bfdacc.jpg[/img] [url=https://www1.flightrising.com/dragon/40974521]Skeleton, my dragon[/url]

@corvidus that is very useful advice, thank you! i think you're definitely right! that specific example of the french bulldog was a drawing i made for free on a "draw the dragon above you" type of thread here, so yeah, it is definitely lower effort than usual! im not generally going for a hyperrealistic style, but i do agree that i need to study anatomy more and use irl pictures instead of other people's drawings or on-site art
i've actually been doing that a little more lately, drawing some dogs whose pics i find on insta
i will definitely be back in the future to show my progress

@Urslie
hey! ooh, i really like those inks. i always have a lot of respect/awe for people with the patience and dedication to make nice inkwork, haha.

i'll open with the usual ramble i give to anyone who feels like they're stagnating or doesn't know where to go next with their art. in my experience, that's almost always a sign you should do more observation. art isn't just about drawing, it's about observing - looking at the world around you and trying to figure out how to put it onto pen and paper; but also looking at things other people do, and seeing if you can learn anything from their technique and execution.

pen and ink drawing is an old tradition with a super rich history. i think the first thing i'd do is step back from your art and go, okay, so what do i really want to achieve with this? can i learn anything from the minimalist forms and strokes of chinese ink painting? the detailed, almost photorealistic hatching of intaglio-style ink prints? the sharp shapes and bold areas of black from comic-style or manga inks? there are infinite different styles you can pull off using just pen and ink, and they all have different strengths and try and convey different things with their strokes.

i'd really recommend just searching out some different artists who do this kind of pen and ink drawing and whose work appeals to you, and see if you can learn anything from what they do! the more diverse your art inspirations, the more techniques you'll pick up, and the more your own style will start to come into itself. (for my money, one of my absolute favourite b+w artists is Mike Mignola - he's got a fantastic style, his use of shapes and strong black shading is just my favourite. his art might not grab you like it does me, but the more you look into artists with diverse styles, the more artists you'll find whose stuff you really love!)

alright, onto actual crit! as i've hinted, pen and ink work isn't my forte, but i'll try my best. i think the biggest thing i'd say is that the piece is a little bit cluttered right now. you use very similar lines on all three of your subjects (the foreground dragon, the human(?), and the larger dragon in the background), and so they blend together a little bit. the eye will try and 'match up' things that are drawn with similar line quality, which is a powerful tool to bring your subjects together; but it can also make things a little muddied here and there.

leading onto this, i'd also say, watch your contrast and where you're putting down those thick lines. the eye is strongly drawn to contrast, and white on black is pretty much the biggest contrast you can get! it's a strength of the b+w inking style, but it can also become a drawback if you're not carefully using the contrast to draw the eye. i'd try and vary the line thickness you use a little more, being careful about where you put your thickest lines, and maybe commit to more areas of pure black or pure white so that you give the eye somewhere to 'rest'. (for instance, check out the examples or artists i linked, and look at how they use bold lines and areas of detail to draw the eye, and uniform areas of black or white to provide contrast and a resting point.)

finally, watch your lighting a little more! remember that a large area of black implies shadow, so your lines should always be motivated by where your light is coming from. this is another thing that can 'confuse' the eye; if your lighting appears inconsistent, the eye will slide all over the piece while the brain is trying to figure it out. if the lighting is consistent, then the volumes will 'click' much more easily, and your subjects will fall into place. try not to just put down lines wherever you feel they should go. instead, really think about your light source, and try and be a bit more deliberate with your line placement. hope that helps!

@HappyAccidents hi! ooh, i really like your illustrations, your lighting is nice and they've got a real cosy vibe to them. since you mentioned it i'm gonna spend most of this talking about 3D form. i straight-up grinned when i saw the third piece you post it because it gives me the [i]perfect [/i]example to talk about: books! when you're drawing something and trying to give it 3D form and dimensions, the first step is to try and break it down into its basic volumes. books are a really useful exercise for this, because fundamentally they're just cuboids! [img]https://64.media.tumblr.com/5279d86668972a49deb2cd271fec0b2c/8736e7f84c3c0388-24/s2048x3072/81cc4ad50141a3396a8fa23da3ab0735144b2002.png[/img] i've kept things in zero-point perspective here (eg, isometric view, no foreshortening). similar principles apply in perspective, but things get a wee bit trickier. for now, i'd recommend sticking to simple (zero- or one-point) to really nail down your volumes. with this in mind, let's take a closer look at your example: [img]https://64.media.tumblr.com/cfbfa1d7dd5e7ce7f908347d5bb6d485/8736e7f84c3c0388-70/s2048x3072/543ecfbedbd2805145e57a65abea30f418625608.png[/img] the lines really are the crux of the issue; you're not treating your shapes according to the rules that cubes should follow! really try and make sure you're approaching your volumes with deliberate intent. don't just draw lines wherever, really think through them and make sure they all line up. (there are ways to make things feel 3D while breaking those rules and drawing wonky shapes, but for now, i'd stick with the basics, haha.) also, if you're having issues setting up your parallel lines, take advantage of the tools in your art program! i can't freehand a straight line to save my life lmao, so i make extensive use of photoshop's guides. i don't know what program you're using but chances are it's got something similar! the number one resource i'd recommend to practice this is [url=https://drawabox.com/]drawabox[/url], which is a (free!) online beginner's course that walks you through volumes and perspective. the truth is, there's not really any way to get good at this kind of technical draftmanship without lots and lots of practice. drawabox involves drawing a lot of boxes (like, a lot), but it really is the best way to start to get your head around how to construct volumes in 3D. i've talked a lot about books and boxes without much talking about how to draw other stuff, haha. but the truth is, once you've got the construction of a cube down, you can kind of use that to build basically anything else! the other key point i'd drill in on is observational drawing. make sure you're doing plenty of drawing practice from real-life photographs, objects and creatures, and really try to pay attention to the 3D volumes. again, the jump to 3D is one that takes a lot of observation and, honestly, a ton of practice. it's a lot of work, but i think you've definitely got all the skills you need to make the jump. once you start thinking in a more 3D way, a lot of stuff about art should start to 'click' for you. good luck with it!

Ahhh my favorite [s]and only[/s] critique thread is finally back. I've moved to digital and improved a bit since the last time I was here. As you can see with both though I still haven't gotten past my habit of scratchy lines lmao I've been trying to get some feedback for like a week on this one so finding this thread again is just [i]perfect[/i], always love your critiques. Still a wip though so some things (like the jacket) still need to be tweaked a lot. I struggle with expressions which usually makes my faces look like they're struggling with constipation but I'm liking this one so far. Clothes are also a big issue for me. I don't see any particular issues other than my inability to draw facial hair and clothing but fresh eyes are always helpful. I'm also trying to learn how to do shadows. (updated once again cause I found the thread again and thought the old version looked too ugly to leave lmao) [img]https://i.imgur.com/qkQ1xPk.jpg[/img] I actually bought a replica of a human skull specifically to draw this one but it's just been a fantastic reference (and decoration) in general. Really happy with the face but I've been slacking on the neck because I'm a little lazy. Very sketchy and far from finished. I'm specifically having issues with the jaw spike on the lower right, no matter what I do the angle looks off and it's driving me crazy. [img]https://i.imgur.com/32sFaes.jpg[/img] Still trying to figure out the best size to have my art cause I'm kinda just winging it at the moment. I have been trying to be more positive and less critical of what I draw though so I'm working on it more than usual, even if I do work extremely slow still.