Critique invited....

[Gautham]

This one is my first post here.

The goku and the red creature one was done with a mouse and the other two with a tablet....I'm still learning and i haven't gotten that used to the tablet....I would greatly appreciate it if you could offer me ways to improve my work,things that are good,things you find bad.....


If you are interested in seeing the evolution of my work,please go to my deviantart page...

www.thedarkentity.deviantart.com


Thank you.........

[Jason Rainville]

That kakashi one's not too bad but they all suffer from a lack of understanding of the basic principles of art. None of the colours really seem plausible and the anatomy is really skewed.

Things to stop doing:

- stop making up muscles
- stop using black or grey to shade
- stop drawing 'anime' anatomy
- stop drawing clothes as if they've been vaccuum sealed around a person's body.

Things to start doing:

- start drawing real nude people from reference
- start drawing muscles from anatomical diagrams
- start working from life or photographs, trying to get the colour correct
- start being critical of you art: whatever you think you need improvement on, do a batch of studies for practice.

[Gautham]

Ooh!!!Thank you....I plan on spending the next year doing just that...go back to the basics and strengthen then,right now they suck....


I will become better.

[Grief]

you took that surprisingly well.

let me repeat some points as to emphasize their importance.

art is largely about communication of an idea. in your case youre using the figure to convey some sense of character and identity. the issues of anatomy and color right now are getting in the way of letting the viewer visually understand what it is youre attempting to say.

drawing from life is simply put the best source of reference. this is due in part to the fact that everyone knows what reality looks like and is able to identify with it. when something is right people will accept it as being correct, but if its distorted and wrong it'll draw attention (which may or may not be a good thing). once you learn to see critically you can then begin to translate reality into your art. pulling forth imaginary depictions of the figure without any connection to reality will be confusing and awkward at best until you strenghten your memory and knowledge of anatomy. there is nothing wrong with drawing from memory, but its only as beneficial as your understanding and ability to make believable the ideas from your mind in a way that represents reality.

the foundation is the basis to which you will build all of your ideas, if it is weak and sturcturally unsound it will collapse and you'll have nothing but wasted time and a mess on your hands.

you seem to have the right attitude,
keep at it.

[Kawe]

another thing that doesn't seem to have been mentioned is material. everything isn't equally shiny an example would be the bandages on kakashi. they are veeeery shiny. his clothes are that too. I think cloth overall would have more colored highlights rather than white stuff. makes it look like latex.. not that I claim to know what ninja suits are made of

on the image above kakashi you fail to use the huge light source you have (the lamp) and the character is equally lit.... well.. same with everything else actually. you have to know where the light comes from before you can even start shading.

also I'd desaturate the mountain behind kakshi slightly to push it even further back.

[Gautham]

I'll start doing more sketches,try to get a more in depth knowledge of anatomy,weight and balance....I'm not a fool,i know my art isn't great or even good,i understand that my anatomy and my sense of lighting is bad.....For me to even try to justify or pass off the criticism would only lead to my destruction.....And besides i joined this community to get better at my work,not to show off....


I genuinely appreciate your criticisms...keep em coming....


thank you again.....

[fucduck]

oh man, no fan art please, let you imagination flow and make your own characters

[Black Spot]

I disagree. Fan art is a way in and as Gautham is willing to learn to get better it may well open new avenues to explore. We all have to start somewhere.

Gautham, I hope to see your sketchbook some day.

[roninboarder]

How are ya man?

For anatomy, bridgman and loomis seem to be quite popular (and rightly so).

For material, grab some real world objects. A pillowcase, jeans, white cloth, leather, cotton, wool, etc and subject them to different lighting situations. A flashlight, the sun, indoor lighting, florescent lighting, etc until you understand it. (I don't claim to be a master... AT ALL, but it's what I try to do)

I do like the setting in the Kakashi painting though. Keep up the good work and open mind.

-Ronin

[Grief]

oh man, no fan art please, let you imagination flow and make your own characters

hey now, there's nothing wrong with fanart.
jason chan did a bit o' fanart in his early days.
and i'd say he turned out alright.

[roninboarder]

I say that fan art is fine to draw. but if you want to get better, do as Jason said. Draw from real life (Jason is really good and quite possibly working for someone you might want to work for).

I like finding nude photography (not porn but I suppose that could work. preferably something captured for the sole purpose of art.) and then draw lines of motion and anatomy over it. I would try that too

[roninboarder]

Grief, really like your stuff by the way.

[Gautham]

Thank you....As i said before i will try my best.....And maybe the progress will show....I sincerely appreciate the criticism..in a lot of other sites,they say ooh and aah,sure it feels good but it doesn't actually help in the long run.It only provides the illussion of temporary relief and appreciation....


As for the fan-art issue,i don't think it undermines one's imagination....i agree that some people take it over the top and keep on doing them...However i did the kakashi one because i have the habit of taking the characters i love and revamping them but at the same time not make it too different from the original....or at least i try anyway...I'm a big fan of naruto...not because its cool or it has ninja's,but for the fact that it has strong character development,hidden philosophies,visually appealing and strong characters..As an animator myself i appreciate it....And yes i'm one of those people who love anime rather than disney...Disney was great once,but now look at it...

Not only that look at me now..I strayed too far from the topic...I apologize..
Heh hee....


Anyway i once again thank you for the criticism....Keep it coming,i'll put up some new work in a few days.....