Looking for a general critique...

[ObliviousAlly]

I've been hemming and hawing over posting here for, like, months. I'm finally breaking down and doing it.

I'm looking for just a general critique of my work. Things overall that I should be looking out for and improving upon. I tend to have a pretty good grasp of what I can improve on, but there's always /something/ I'm overlooking.

Yes, it's furry art. But I'm not drawing to go pro (unless I self-publish or something), I'm merely drawing because I enjoy it. But I'm always looking to improve.



Two pieces that were recently finished. I abused Photoshop brushes, yes. But I, at least, tried to make them look like they were part of the whole picture.



I can /always/ use constructive criticism and tips on male bodies (and faces!).



Aaaand...some things vaugely resembling interaction. The first one isn't done. I plan on coloring it at some point. The second one is only done in monochrome because I thought it looked nicer.

I hope this isn't too much spam, in the way of images and all!

[Bonsuego]

First off, I'd like to say that the two pieces at the top of the page are on an entirely different level than the other four. To me that indicates that you simply need to spend more time on your work. Your attention to detail is very good, and judging by the flames on the shirt (top right image) you have a lot of patience. You would benefit quite a bit from some life drawing, if you have access to it. Your poses feel slightly awkward and off balance- especially the male in the yellow shirt. He's leaning way too far forward. Your hands are also off. If you don't have access to formal life drawing sessions, then at least do as many studies as you can of your own hand. Keep up the good work!

[AldoKatayanagi]

The first 4 drawings are essentially the same pose. The first 2 are cropped very awkwardly. It makes it feel cramped and gives the impression that you just don't want to draw certain body parts. Avoid cropping characters near the wrists or ankles or only showing half a hand. I just noticed that the 2st piece doesn't even have hands, though there isn't a good reason not to show them. The ears are also strangely cropped.

Like bonsuego wrote, your stylizations will benefit from real life observation. Even if you're drawing for fun, there's no reason not to make your work better

[Jason Rainville]

Right now these characters, their poses, their hair, their clothing, everything about them is similar and interchangable. I'd say the main weakness is lack of variety. There are small differences, but on the whole it's all the same - animal-person in informal pose with simple background.

Mix it up a bit. Draw some of them interacting differently, from different viewpoints, with differetn stories. It seems more than anything you need some inspiration. Open up an art history book at the library and flip through until soething catches your eye. Once it does, learn about it. You might get a different perspective on art, which is what I think you need.

But yes, anatomy and the basic principles of art shouldn't be overloked if you want to improve as well.

[ObliviousAlly]

First off, I'd like to say that the two pieces at the top of the page are on an entirely different level than the other four. To me that indicates that you simply need to spend more time on your work. Your attention to detail is very good, and judging by the flames on the shirt (top right image) you have a lot of patience.

The first two images are the result of forcing myself to use Photoshop (CS3, to be exact) over the last few weeks. Prior, I'd used Paint Shop Pro exclusively and, after finding a version of PS that actually ran on my computer, I realized that PSP wasn't all that fab for my digital work.

I would love to take credit for the shirt design but...it's really a Photoshop brush. This isn't to say that I /can't/ do intricate tribal designs freehand. Because I have. But the shirt design in particular? Just a brush.

The first 2 are cropped very awkwardly. It makes it feel cramped and gives the impression that you just don't want to draw certain body parts. Avoid cropping characters near the wrists or ankles or only showing half a hand. I just noticed that the 2st piece doesn't even have hands, though there isn't a good reason not to show them. The ears are also strangely cropped.

The cropping is the result of my drawing on smaller paper than normal (6x8, or so). I usually draw on 11x8 and, when I do that, it's usually just a full body, stagnant pose (not that most of these aren't, of course!). So I've been carrying around smaller sketchbooks to doodle in and, sometimes, that leads to strange image croppings and such.

Hands, yeah, I need some hardcore work on them (legs/feet, too!). I do reference my own from time to time, or find photo reference. Lately, I've been putting more focus on the main body of the character and more detail with clothes and fashion in general than hands and feet and such.

Mix it up a bit. Draw some of them interacting differently, from different viewpoints, with differetn stories. It seems more than anything you need some inspiration. Open up an art history book at the library and flip through until soething catches your eye. Once it does, learn about it. You might get a different perspective on art, which is what I think you need.

I totally agree on the inspiration part. I've been feeling very stagant with my work and, despite having tons and tons of actual ideas (believe me, none of these characters have normal, simple lives) I've simply been lacking the motivation to act upon them. Which is something I should start kicking myself into doing.