InsertFunnyUserName's art Reviews on Newgrounds

[Maiko (Serenity)]

Good, but unbalanced.

The character is very well drawn. I especially like the hair for its color and its shine. The only problem I see there is that I think her legs are too long, specifically the thighs. Everything else looks pretty good.

But the picture as a whole could use some work. First, there's almost no value contrast between the sky and the character's skin, which messes up your composition by taking the focal point away from the character--where it's supposed to be--and dispersing it over a large area. To remedy this, I recommend changing and darkening the colors of the sky specifically. Doing this has the bonus of removing that saturated cyan, which conflicts with the rest of your color scheme and which is also more saturated than cyan should be in such large quantities.

Your background has no direction of light. The character has one to an extent suitable for anime, but the background is completely lacking, making it look flat. Isolate the direction of light falling on the character and use that for your background. Note that with a more realistic background, you need heavier shading.

I noticed that you used repeated drawings for your textures, especially with the grass, tree trunk and stone wall. Never use that kind of repetition. The eye is very good at finding those types of patters and you don't want that to happen because it's completely unnatural-looking. I also noticed that you defined your stone blocks with straight lines. That type of stone is lumpy--not straight--so you should treat it as such.

3/5

Vortex00 responds:

The idea actually was in fact to take it in as a whole first =/
I don't often use dark colors. So you will have this issue with all of my art.

I can't agree with you on the sky, I like the sky and the colors the way it is even after reading what you typed.

lol man there's no way I have time time to draw every blade of grass, give me a break -.-;

I can see a heavy majority of your crits have to do with the background, I'm not surprised. Sooo.. won't be doing BGs for a while then, I don't like drawing BGs anyway >_>;

maybe I'll work on it later, thanks for the feedback.

[A present for my brother]

Contrast

There isn't enough contrast in the shading. This leads to the features blurring together but mostly, it just doesn't look alive and realistic enough. Put in a few more splashes of shine and then darken the shadows by a lot. Also, use a wider range of tones as opposed to different shades of the same few colors.

Your direction of light isn't consistent. It isn't coming from the left enough on the rock and her hair doesn't have any direction at all.

There are proportional problems, as well. Her arms are too long and her face looks smaller than it should be. Also, there's something very wrong with the way that her left (from out perspective) leg is angled. It looks like it's broken. The leg is also too long. If you aren't already using a reference, then you should almost always do so.

My last comment is that you have fallen into the trap of the smudge tool. You should never use the smudge tool to shade unless it's something very subtle. Use pallets of color instead.

[Look at me]

Consider working bigger.

The realistic style that you drew this with seems to me like it's demanding more intricacy. That is, all of the little details that irises encompass, the shadows and highlights that fall onto the eye and the skin around it, etc are missing and although that would be okay if this was a more cartoon-esque or vector style, I think it takes away from a picture that gives off the impression of realism. So, I suggest that you work on a bigger canvas so that you have more room to get in those details.

The other thing that bothers me is the composition. It doesn't feel like there's any rhyme or rhythm to this, so to speak. All of the pieces look as though they're hanging in air. It's as though they aren't parts of a single picture but rather several little pictures on one canvas. Consider scanning it into an image program like photoshop if you can and messing with the arrangement of the objects. They should pull the eye through a figurative path around the picture, if that makes sense.

[Smoking in bed]

[summary]

There are two major problems that I see. The first is proportions. Her legs are far too long, especially considering the angle. The lower part of her leg is also too long in proportion to the thigh; you have the same problem with her left (from our perspective) upper arm being longer than her forearm. They should be equal in length. Her neck is too long and her breasts seem to be too far down on her chest. In regards to her face, it appears to be too wide and the eyes are too far apart (they should be one eye's width apart). The nose is unnaturally straight and the lips should be higher.

The second problem is perspective. The woman, the bed and the little objects are all being viewed from different angles. Additionally, you're missing the foreshortening that you need to make the pose look realistic. My recommendation for you here is that you use a reference.

Another detail is that there are some inconsistencies in the direction of light. One is the facial shading, another is the shadow in front of her, another is the shadow cast by the objects on the right side of the bed and the last is the shading on the dresser.

Lastly, her left hand (from our perspective) is backwards. The thumb should be facing inwards.

I do like the crisp, black and white style that you used.

Abuelodigital17 responds:

Thanks for the review!
You're right about the issues, especially the proportions.
Thanks again.

[Smoking Kills]

[summary]

Even with a character like this, even though it's a cigarette, it's anthropomorphic body demands that it have a foundation in human anatomy. The problem is mainly with the arms and the shape of the legs/feet, but the face could also use some work.

Always be conscious of your characters' equilibrium. The cigarette looks like its leaning too far to the right and if it was real, it would fall forward.

Your horizon line should almost never be directly under the characters' feet.

The composition could use some work especially in regards to where the text is placed. Also, speaking of the text, it's generally better to draw stylized letters than to use a pre-made font.

I don't think that the way that you have that all-white background flatters the picture. It makes it look too empty. Pure white is also a color that you should avoid using due to it being particularly lifeless. Same with black, though you don't have black in this particular picture.

Scarface responds:

Yes, I was lazy with the background and the words. I honestly don't know what the hell I was thinking when I put the horizon line right under their feet.

I will try working on arms, legs, and shoulders, as they seem to be what I have the most trouble with, and I will touch up on my facial features.

[Destruction Upon Us]

4.6/5

The first thing that catches my eye as being very well done is the way that you've done the different textures. Both of the planets/asteroids/suns (I don't think it really matters that I can't discern. The effect is still the same) are quite convincing and powerful. Then there are the subtle patterns in the sky and the particles and rocks exploding outwards.

I like how you've utilized contrast to highlight the flames/explosions so that they become the focus of the picture.

The only thing that bothers me is that it seems to be too much of one color. It seems to be almost all different shades and saturations of the same reddish orange, which is a bit too overpowering, given the nature of the color. This isn't so much of a problem in the sky as it is in the planets/asteroids. Try blending in some subtle cool colors into the shadows.

But, that's just a small detail. Overall, very awesome.

[Father's Golem]

4.7/5

Colors, colors, colors. Awesome scheme of dominant blues and accenting browns. A nice combination. There's also the nice effect of a gradual shift from the lighter shades in the bottom left and the darker ones in the top right. Furthermore, there's how the left side of the picture has more browns whilst the right side has almost all blue with brown ambient light. Speaking of which, the shimmer of the ambient light on the boy and the body guard is fantastic. But there doesn't seem to be enough on the boy's arm and the top/side of his hand. That's just a little detail, though, which took me a few minutes to find.

The amount of detail that you put into the blending of the colors is great, especially on the boy's face. However, maybe you could put a few more blueish tones into the character in the background to the far left? Just a thought.

Awesome job. Favorited.

[Look back]

3.25/5

The artist and subject ideas in this are pretty original. I'm liking the style of dress that you gave her, along with her stance. Her center of balance seems right.

I have some mixed feelings about the hair, but my overall opinion is positive. You did well on using a variety of tones and shades as well as capturing the ambient light. However, something about how it's flowing doesn't seem right. It's not a huge problem, but there isn't enough of an impression of wind for it to flip up that much. But, like I said, my opinion of the hair is more positive than negative.

Like the other reviewer mentioned, something about the face seems off, but I can't put my finger on exactly what. I wouldn't necessarily say that it's totally a textural problem. Perhaps it's that you should have a little brighter shading on the cheeks and more definition of eyebrows/lashes? I don't know. You do have a nice blend of colors in the skin.

I like the background. There's an awesome contrast between shadows and the reflection of light there that gives it a very ominous glow. But, again, like the other guy said, the texture difference is a little offsetting.

The direction of light is a bit funky. It's not totally off, but I don't feel like there's enough of a uniform flow. Some highlights are coming from directly above whilst others are shining down more leftwards.

My last thought is that the color scheme is kind of random. I almost get a sense of a dominant color (red), but not entirely. It's a little awkward.

But, your problems aren't huge, terribly distressing ones. You've still done a nice job, better than I could do, certainly.

duplex2 responds:

Many thanks for your deep review. I think I have messed too much this picture, I tried some new things and it seem that I need to get a better workflow or forgive the experiments :)

[Frankenstein]

3.5/5

Nice shading. You really captured the texture of the skin, how it crinkles and cracks like a monster. You also did a nice job defining the bones in a way that makes him look appropriately emaciated. I like how you drew the cracks and creases in the lips and eyebrows.

Something bothers me about the nose, though. It seems like it's a bit too small and too far up from the lips.

Also, the hair feels too flat and unrealistic. I know it's supposed to look like it's lifeless against the head, but I think it should have a little more body and form. Also, the way that the locks fall doesn't seem right. I'm thinking that they're positioned too independently from each other. Try giving them a more similar flow. Additionally, you might want to add a few loose strands that separate from the locks.

tallkid47 responds:

You know, I had the same feeling about the nose. The hair was difficult since I based the image off of an incomplete bust. Thank you for the insight though, I appreciate it and I hope to make it better.

[Patient Hell]

3.5/5

I certainly like how you did the flames. They seem almost fluid and the way that you blended in those undertones of pink make the color very aesthetically pleasing. I'm thinking that you might want to fill in those spaces of unoccupied darkness, though, as they feel a bit to empty. But, other than that, there's strong composition.

The figure in the middle gets me, however. The way that it's filled in with a blotchy texture of a single color of gray makes it feel incomplete and out of place stylistically. Also, he seems to be a bit off balance, leaning too far to the right.

Overall, though, I think it's good.