Serious Art Critiquing

[h0m3r0w]

Hello,

I am in some need of serious critiquing. It's really hard to judge if anything I do is any good if I'm the only audience, but I do believe there is always room for improvement, so any help here would be appreciated. If you find anything wrong with my art (i.e. The eyes are a little off, slightly slanted stance, weird stance, etc. etc.) please let me know. The only way to get better is to take some will destroying criticism

Here is my imgur gallery: http://imgur.com/a/7F7XL

They are all from most recent to oldest, so it'll give an idea of my progression for anyone interested.

Anyway, this is the main cast


Again, any level of criticism would be greatly appreciated. Thanks friends <3

[MaiMai]

First off: Do NOT use realistic clothing texture especially with an anime/cartoon style! The texture you're using on the skirts really clash with the drawings themselves.

Otherwise, right now your sprites are adequate, but if you're looking for serious critiquing, than you really should look up the proportions of female bodies because right now they're still off, especially around the chest area and the problems are most apparent for the dark skinned girl. Her breasts should not be facing forward since her body and her face are turned to her left.

Other things to note is to practice drawing hands more instead of drawing them as blobs or hiding them behind their backs (although technically that's okay for sprite poses since they're just standing, but if you want to express more, hand movements are very valuable in expressing emotions).

I also suggest refining your lineart instead of sticking with sketchy lines. There's no one right way to do this, but to keep practicing drawing smooth lines and that's not so much about having a steady hand as it is a willingness to keep erasing and drawing to make sure you get better lines.

Aaaaand that's all I got, you can ask me to clarify or link to resources if you need it.

[DeletedUser160413]

I think you should use more shadow. Also the lines are too thick and is the main reason why it all looks so rough. Use photoshop's thin vector lines to make them more equal. The hands don't look real. The bodies look a bit crooked, so you should also redraw that using the pen tool in PS. I actually think the skirt pattern works but you should still put a lot of effort in straightening the lines and cleaning the picture, also shadowing.

[Didules]

Hello!
I'd suggest you use an horizontal symmetry or somethibng like that, it helps to see )mistakes ^^
I hope you don't mind, I did something on each of your sprites, but they are already quite good! On the pictures, the sprite that seems to be falling is the one you actually have, and each time I used a small rotation of the drawing ^^
Here there are: with a horizontal symmetry "on"

Here it is, I hope it helps somehow ^^
Have a good day!

[h0m3r0w]

First off: Do NOT use realistic clothing texture especially with an anime/cartoon style! The texture you're using on the skirts really clash with the drawings themselves.

Otherwise, right now your sprites are adequate, but if you're looking for serious critiquing, than you really should look up the proportions of female bodies because right now they're still off, especially around the chest area and the problems are most apparent for the dark skinned girl. Her breasts should not be facing forward since her body and her face are turned to her left.

Other things to note is to practice drawing hands more instead of drawing them as blobs or hiding them behind their backs (although technically that's okay for sprite poses since they're just standing, but if you want to express more, hand movements are very valuable in expressing emotions).

I also suggest refining your lineart instead of sticking with sketchy lines. There's no one right way to do this, but to keep practicing drawing smooth lines and that's not so much about having a steady hand as it is a willingness to keep erasing and drawing to make sure you get better lines.

Aaaaand that's all I got, you can ask me to clarify or link to resources if you need it.

Definitely agree with you. I still have A LOT to work on haha. It's funny that you say that, you figured me out like a book, can't draw hands at all I'm working on it, but you're right, I should stop trying to hide them.

If you have any resources for the female anatomy, that'd be greatly appreciated. For the most part, I'd be able to find whatever online, but I'd rather take your advice on what is a good reference to practise from.

Lineart is hard as hell. But definitely worth it. I'll try to work on that a bit. I do have photoshop, but I prefer paint tool sai when it comes to painting. I just got a tablet a few months ago and am still working with it (just left mouse mode... jeez that was terrible)

Using realistic textures is hit or miss with most people, but I think everyone would agree hand drawn is better. I'll get to work on making my own patterns and such.

Thank you so much for the advise.

[h0m3r0w]

I think you should use more shadow. Also the lines are too thick and is the main reason why it all looks so rough. Use photoshop's thin vector lines to make them more equal. The hands don't look real. The bodies look a bit crooked, so you should also redraw that using the pen tool in PS. I actually think the skirt pattern works but you should still put a lot of effort in straightening the lines and cleaning the picture, also shadowing.

Again, agreed 100%. For the most part I can tell what I'm doing wrong in major instances like the shadows, lineart, hands etc. But hearing it from another source verifies it for me. I appreciate the feedback. I think it's coming down to me just needing to practise more and more. Problem for me is, I don't know where to start. All I've been doing is referencing artists (my favorites being Kiseki himura [Eroge], Ao Miyata [Muv-Luv] and Shigenori Soejima [Persona]) and trying to create a unique style, but I think that doesn't help too much with anatomy since they're usually over exaggerated. Maybe I should work with learning real anatomy?

[Taleweaver]

This is a Personal Art thread.

Moving.

[h0m3r0w]

Hello!
I'd suggest you use an horizontal symmetry or somethibng like that, it helps to see )mistakes ^^
I hope you don't mind, I did something on each of your sprites, but they are already quite good! On the pictures, the sprite that seems to be falling is the one you actually have, and each time I used a small rotation of the drawing ^^
Here there are: with a horizontal symmetry "on"

b7X7wjH.png

GgMpYjv.png

gvJZLKD.png

JQn4MAl.png

Here it is, I hope it helps somehow ^^
Have a good day!

Wow can I say that I love you?

Maybe that's a little weird... but I really appreciate the time that you took to do this for me. I will definitely take this advise to heart and use it to work out the problems I have with my drawings. What's funny is that I didn't even notice how crooked the characters were!

Again, thank you so much. If there's any other resources you think I should take a look at to improve my art, please feel free to let me know

[Happysmily]

Sorry if it's messy and doesn't help at all lol.

Others already touched on the skirt texture and the falling over bit so I won't repeat 'em.
An important suggestion from me is shading!! Don't be afraid of using shadows and especially highlights, it'll give your pictures more of a *pop* and add an element of 3D-ness.
It's also important to note where your light source is, generally it comes from one point (let's say the sun), use it as an anchor to know where to put your highlights and shadows.
Also, the little eye highlight's a pretty good indicator of where your light source will be

Your bodies are also quite long which isn't too bad, but it can make the arms look extremely long and awkward as well.
I won't hark on the face and head since it's mostly a stylistic choice and it's not too bad, though always try and keep the nose relatively centered inbetween the eyes

i'm sorry if this is just nonsense u vu;;
But your characters are very cute and I wish for the best for your story!

PS: Don't be afraid of using references either, always try and draw from life from time to time!

[DeletedUser160413]

I think you should use more shadow. Also the lines are too thick and is the main reason why it all looks so rough. Use photoshop's thin vector lines to make them more equal. The hands don't look real. The bodies look a bit crooked, so you should also redraw that using the pen tool in PS. I actually think the skirt pattern works but you should still put a lot of effort in straightening the lines and cleaning the picture, also shadowing.

Again, agreed 100%. For the most part I can tell what I'm doing wrong in major instances like the shadows, lineart, hands etc. But hearing it from another source verifies it for me. I appreciate the feedback. I think it's coming down to me just needing to practise more and more. Problem for me is, I don't know where to start. All I've been doing is referencing artists (my favorites being Kiseki himura [Eroge], Ao Miyata [Muv-Luv] and Shigenori Soejima [Persona]) and trying to create a unique style, but I think that doesn't help too much with anatomy since they're usually over exaggerated. Maybe I should work with learning real anatomy?

You can try to take a real picture and try to follow its lines on PS by using the pen tool. Then slowly go from that to coloring and shading and maybe even mixing different pictures so that it becomes your own. And remember that it takes time to learn everything so even if you cant do everything in one day, try to atleast learn new stuff and work patiently

[h0m3r0w]

Sorry if it's messy and doesn't help at all lol.

Others already touched on the skirt texture and the falling over bit so I won't repeat 'em.
An important suggestion from me is shading!! Don't be afraid of using shadows and especially highlights, it'll give your pictures more of a *pop* and add an element of 3D-ness.
It's also important to note where your light source is, generally it comes from one point (let's say the sun), use it as an anchor to know where to put your highlights and shadows.
Also, the little eye highlight's a pretty good indicator of where your light source will be

Your bodies are also quite long which isn't too bad, but it can make the arms look extremely long and awkward as well.
I won't hark on the face and head since it's mostly a stylistic choice and it's not too bad, though always try and keep the nose relatively centered inbetween the eyes

i'm sorry if this is just nonsense u vu;;
But your characters are very cute and I wish for the best for your story!

PS: Don't be afraid of using references either, always try and draw from life from time to time!

You don't understand how much it means to me that you actually took the time to annotate my artwork like this...
Just wanted to get that out of the way, and I really appreciate it.

Just through shading alone, you made that picture look much more realistic / and less "simple", which is what I'm going for. I've always followed this weird guideline in my head that there HAS to be shadows, but I never actually thought to myself: There HAS to be light, which will influence where the shadows and different sources of light appear on the picture. Thanks for helping me realize how important that is. The differences in the two drawings are light and day (no pun intended).

I've tried following an 8 head style, but I never seem to do it right... and I've always preferred 6 - 7 heads (makes everything more cute and less serious). I'll keep working on proportions.

Again thanks for the feedback I'll try grabbing some references and converting them to my artstyle (using your tips, of course haha)

[h0m3r0w]

I think you should use more shadow. Also the lines are too thick and is the main reason why it all looks so rough. Use photoshop's thin vector lines to make them more equal. The hands don't look real. The bodies look a bit crooked, so you should also redraw that using the pen tool in PS. I actually think the skirt pattern works but you should still put a lot of effort in straightening the lines and cleaning the picture, also shadowing.

Again, agreed 100%. For the most part I can tell what I'm doing wrong in major instances like the shadows, lineart, hands etc. But hearing it from another source verifies it for me. I appreciate the feedback. I think it's coming down to me just needing to practise more and more. Problem for me is, I don't know where to start. All I've been doing is referencing artists (my favorites being Kiseki himura [Eroge], Ao Miyata [Muv-Luv] and Shigenori Soejima [Persona]) and trying to create a unique style, but I think that doesn't help too much with anatomy since they're usually over exaggerated. Maybe I should work with learning real anatomy?

You can try to take a real picture and try to follow its lines on PS by using the pen tool. Then slowly go from that to coloring and shading and maybe even mixing different pictures so that it becomes your own. And remember that it takes time to learn everything so even if you cant do everything in one day, try to atleast learn new stuff and work patiently

That's actually a brilliant idea... because I was going over my old sketches and realized "Wait a second, why am I doing lineart on something that already has so many problems??". I'll look online and possibly do some lineart from other artists / pictures of real people / places and stuff and try perfecting that. I like working with paint tool sai, but it looks like most people agree that Photoshop is the way to go for lineart. I only have CS5, so I'm hoping that's enough.
I wish I had a hyperbolic time chamber so that I could just practise and practise for days, because you're right, it's going to take a while. I've gotten into the habit of drawing for hours on end, keeping old pictures to show myself how far I'm advancing as an artist. Thanks for the feedback

[MaiMai]

That's actually a brilliant idea... because I was going over my old sketches and realized "Wait a second, why am I doing lineart on something that already has so many problems??". I'll look online and possibly do some lineart from other artists / pictures of real people / places and stuff and try perfecting that. I like working with paint tool sai, but it looks like most people agree that Photoshop is the way to go for lineart. I only have CS5, so I'm hoping that's enough.
I wish I had a hyperbolic time chamber so that I could just practise and practise for days, because you're right, it's going to take a while. I've gotten into the habit of drawing for hours on end, keeping old pictures to show myself how far I'm advancing as an artist. Thanks for the feedback

It's not what kind of tools you have, it's how you use and how good you get at it with repeated practice. Paint Tool SAI is perfectly fine for lineart as is Photoshop. Many people prefer SAI for lineart because it feels more fluid for drawings (I myself prefer it) and anything else SAI lacks, Photoshop makes up for it. So work in what looks and feels better for you basically.

[Happysmily]

Sorry just my two cents concerning programs; I've always lived by the saying:
"Only a poor artist blames their tools"
And while tools can limit to a certain degree, skill will always prevail.

Personally I do a majority of my work in Paint Tool Sai, I've barely touched photoshop at all so don't dwell on it too much.
Recently I've been using the free program Fire Alpaca on my laptop which I don't like in the slightest, but you make do with what you have.

As for the comment of how many heads: I just think do whatever you want as long as it makes anatomical sense. In the picture I edited I made her shorter since it looked like her stomach was too long and with a long torso, her arms were a little too lanky.

My number one suggestion is to just draw from life and understand what a person looks like in a three dimensional environment (photos of people make them flat and 2 dimensional which is another topic for another time). Then when you get the basics down you'll understand best how to sketch and skew the proportions.

But by all means do whatever you like, I personally can't say I always draw from life either, but draw things that are hard and draw them often. You'll be surprised at how quickly you'll improve!

I'm glad this information helps!

[LateWhiteRabbit]

I think it's coming down to me just needing to practise more and more. Problem for me is, I don't know where to start. All I've been doing is referencing artists (my favorites being Kiseki himura [Eroge], Ao Miyata [Muv-Luv] and Shigenori Soejima [Persona]) and trying to create a unique style, but I think that doesn't help too much with anatomy since they're usually over exaggerated. Maybe I should work with learning real anatomy?

Don't worry about creating a unique style until you know real anatomy. Unique style is something that develops on its own as you gain mastery of anatomic forms and naturally start abbreviating them as you draw more and more.

Real anatomy has to come first. I can vouch for at least Shigenori Soejima that his portfolio includes many realistic drawings. In fact, his style is largely focused on his character's faces. The rest of their anatomy is not stylized very much from the norm.

Anime-style is a CODE. A shorthand series of lines to represent the real thing. Your anime-style will never look good or unique if you don't understand when and where to use that code - and that knowledge only comes with real anatomical understanding of the human figure.

What's funny is that I didn't even notice how crooked the characters were!

Most artists' work will naturally want to slant one way or the other, it depends on your dominant hand. It is something to be aware of and compensate for. Flip your canvas to examine your drawings when sketching them to make sure they look correct facing both ways. If drawing traditionally on paper you can use a lightbox and flip the page over, or flip it over and hold it against a lamp or window.