Andrew Sonea Portfolio Review

[Andrew Sonea]

Jake made one, so I thought I might as well join in. For those not aware of what this is, please skim these threads:
http://conceptart.org/forums/showthread.php?t=59247 http://www.conceptart.org/forums/showthread.php?t=58831


Age: 17 (I turn 18 in June...a scary thought)

Goal:
I am interested mainly in illustration, although I am particularly fond of fine art in the Academic styles being taught many places in the world. I only started to take art seriously maybe 2.5 years ago, but want to one day become the greatest artist of the century (maybe ambitious, but, as Michelangelo said, it is better to aim too high and fail than aim too low and reach the goal). I see myself working mainly in fantasy and possibly science fiction genres, and it is one of my lifetime goals to illustrate Magic: the Gathering cards and get into Spectrum. I work at the moment in almost exclusively digital (when painting) but one day hope to be equally skilled in oils (I just keep putting off learning it...).

Here is my stuff OLD to NEW:

[Deadlyhazard]

Is that a painting of an ohmu? Awesome!

[Ian Barker]

let's do this >

1st image: Obviuosly there are some serious anatomy issues, but beyond just the technical faults of the anatomy, the way the right leg is kind of limp and dwindling just takes away a lot of the power that i think you want this character to convey. I like the way the face is kind of elegant and noble looking; good contrast with the powerful body. Just send that message with a little more emphasis. It would be interesting to see some blue light enter the image - nothing to strong, just something to give some hue variation. Also remember that each of the falling rocks is giving off its own light.

2nd: The composition is very static. The monsters in the background are just in a straight line, and it's not very frightening. You want to give the impression that the 2 main characters are really under an overwhelming assault, and the composition lacks the dynamism to convey that. Also, none of the monsters are moving, it seems like they should be attacking. Having the man shoot offscreen isn't that satisfying; imagine if he were shooting at a monster charging from the foreground instead. Maybe that's not exactly what you want to do, but something along those lines would be way more engaging.

3rd: This is off to a nice start. I think the dragon/snake could be more descriptive, it was kind of hard to tell exactly what was going on there. The way there's the huge line of the snake at the bottom of the image and then it just dwindles off into the little head is kind of awkward. I like that you have warm and cool greens in the background. With some polish I think this could look pretty good.

4th: The anatomy on this one is really goofy, which really kills the piece seeing as it's such a focus of the image. You need to find reference. His injury seems kinda dinky; he's doing this epic scream in front of the mountain with a giant eagle wrapped around him, and he just has a little dent. Speaking of the mountain, it doesn't read as a mountain as well as it should, partly because the line of the mountain goes right over his head in an unnatural way. Let the outline of the mountain and the outline of his head intersect. Also find reference on mountains; they don't look like that. As far as color, I don't think the white light source is your best option. Choose something that will compliment the red sky.

5th: Seeing some big improvement with your anatomy and composition. Remember how I said your second piece had to dynamism in the composition? Well this does, and it's far more engaging because of it. I would try to be more deliberate with your compositional lines. A few of the swords are kind of pointing at the focus point, but it could be more emphasized. His necklace is pointing out of the picture, which doesn't help the composition; true, that might be what would happen physically, but consider whether it would be worth it to have the necklace pointing a different direction if it helps the composition. At the very least I would fade it out a bit so that it doesn't have so much attention grabbing value contrast.

6th: Honestly I can't tell what's going on here. Needs more context.

7th: The swordsman's arms look pretty stiff and unnatural, as does the decapitated head. Get reference. I think the lighting and composition are working well enough, just fix the anatomy, give it some life and flow, and then give the entire thing another layer of polish or two.

8th: The type looks pretty tacky. I would rethink it. Not too sure on the illustration. Seems like with all the specs floating around there s no center to the composition, no flow. Also doesn't really give you anywhere to put the type. I think you would need to completely redo this and go for a simpler illustration that is more emphatic and leaves opportunity for the type.

9th: I like this. The muddy background could use a subtle hue change I think; maybe a bit of blue in the darker part of it. You might try emphasizing the red in the bandana and tomatoes more; just a thought. The way the light on his chest suddenly turns into shadow on the stomach is not natural at all.

10th: This looks nice. The first critique I think of is that having the head perfectly to the side like that is not natural; give it a more realistic angle. The anatomy on the legs does not look good; the right one is pointing out in a really weird way, and I think they just don't have the feeling of strength that would be nice to see with this character. The muscles on the stomach area need more work. Find reference; I know this creature doesn't exist, but the muscles are based on human muscles so you should be able to find plenty of helpful reference.


Good stuff man. I see some definite improvements through these, and imo you're very good for your age. Keep working, keep cranking out studies and I think you'll get where you want to go.

[Andrew Sonea]

Deadlyhazard: Yes it is...surprised you can recognize it! Interestingly the one picture you immediately understand is the only one that Liffey was not able to comprehend.

Liffey: THANKS SO MUCH! That was a very spot on critique, and very in depth. I found it interesting how several things weren't reading as I intended (the sixth image, or the cast shadow on Red Riding Hood's stomach in the ninth image).

Three things in your critique seemed to repeat, and I think are quite valid--first my anatomy (interesting because I consider it one of my stronger points...but looking now I do think it is quite off in a number of those pictures); secondly, the fact I need to grab reference more (with the exception of the eagle wing and the hyena head, no references were used, and I think you are right in saying this is weakening the images); lastly, the storytelling and compositional components are weak.

Thanks again for this, and I will try to work on the things you mentioned.

zwarrior: Thank you so much! Like Liffey you immediately mention that I am weak in composition/storytelling. To answer your question, I painted the last two pictures separately, but with the intention of it being one scene...it is for this week's CHOW, and I was uncertain of how we were to present them. I tried to keep it so that it would work either as one image, or as two (perhaps I will present it as a diptych?). The problem with splitting them is that the cast shadow from the hyena onto Red is not reading well without the context.

The hell piece is depicting Prometheus' punishment...I guess if you are not familiar with the story it doesn't make much sense.

As for legs, well I think that it is a bit of both. I am weaker with them for sure (ESPECIALLY feet), so probably unconsciously hide them more.

And I really should paint in oils...







So, thanks again to everyone for their comments. It appears that the biggest issue at the moment is my inability to tell a story and my composition. How do I work on this? Should I just start doing speedpaints? Thumbnails? Advice on this is welcome.

[Andrew Sonea]

Just wanted to toss in the updated versions of the latest two (since it was for CHOW this week I felt I could still work on them a bit more). I didn't change too much, but on the hyena I changed the legs a bit (still off a little GRAAAH), and found some ref I referred to for the abs (Belvedere Torso!). On Red Riding Hood I made the red of the fruit and her bandanna thing just a liiiiiittle more saturated. I also changed the angle of the cast shadow on her so it looked more like a cast shadow and not a weird change in planes of her rib cage.