My first semester at RISD (big dump)

[Noah Bradley]

Hey y'all. I haven't posted in ages because... well, I guess because I've been too busy with making all this art to document it. But now my first semester as an illustration major at RISD is winding down and I've got some free time to scan some of my artwork.

I'd love general as well as specific advice as to what I need to work on. I definitely have a long way to go before I'm professional, and would love to hear where I'm weak (or strong).

Also, if you think there's anything worthy of competitions, let me know. I'm thinking it might be good practice to submit a few pieces.

Thanks! This forum was one of the key inspirations in my decision to become an artist.

[Jason Rainville]

Lookin good. 3rd face has some nice planes, the rest of the faces could use the same treatment. Lotsa problems with that first one, looks like he doesn't have enough body and he's missing some knees:

[Grief]

quite a diverse display of work themetically. i feel the studies of the nudes are stronger than most of the other works, it just seems youre beginning to see information and record it accurately, whereas some of the imaginitive pieces are lacking some detail of the environment that prevents the viewer from accepting it as reality.

i like the stroke utilized on the black and white works, its visually engaging in the place of color.

one thing to keep in mind (which isnt true of all the images, so youre probably aware of it) is to avoid using black paint for shadows. a lof of your shadows seem to be relatively the same as though youre going to the same pool of paint and altering it slightly for each hue instead of mixing an accurate depiction of the color of the shadow as it is. take your time to mix all the colors and really take effort in seeing critically the hue shifts in the shadows.

keep at it, its paying off.

[Noah Bradley]

Jason: Thanks, man. Very right about the big green alien one, so thanks for the paintover. That sort of critique is what I haven't been getting here at school.

Grief: Good advice all around. Thanks a lot. You're right about me getting lazy sometimes with the shadow colors.

[TASmith]

the neck armor for those horses is on backwards. One piece should lay above the other to best allow neck movement. The way you've got it, each piece keeps the next from bending backward, so he can't raise his head. And if he tried, it'd probably pinch his neck somehow.

[Black Spot]

You have pretty good grasp of composition in your environments. On the other hand nothing seems finished, but that’s understandable if you’re working full out on different thing. Maybe try to hard focus a small area just to show the final render.