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Rubilight [2015-05-02 11:23:39 +0000 UTC]

I like the dragon's pose, especially how you positioned the wings! And I like the bright colors *v* I want to start using more saturated colors in my own artwork too.

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drosera-sundews [2014-11-28 15:17:34 +0000 UTC]

Ooh lovely! I really like the colours and this picture's 'serene' atmosphere 

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CallunaDraconis [2014-11-17 18:05:14 +0000 UTC]

*high pitch squeals*
OMG YOU DID A THING AND THE THING IS SIERRA   
She looks so kind and happy with that Sierra-jay   


You got very extensive and good critique from Aimlesswaves so I'm not going to repeat that. I do want to add my compliments though: the colour scheme is complimenting Sierra's colours and gosh that background! Sempai, please teach me how to paint clouds because the way you do them is superb!

I see what you did with her tail fan!

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Aimlesswaves [2014-11-17 03:49:31 +0000 UTC]

Alright so first thing I want to say is this picture is very amazing and anything I say in review is more of a positive suggestion rather than what I think is bad. You should be very proud of yourself! Srsly. I wanna give you a big bear hug and say I'm so proud of the amazing progress you've made since I started following you.
So here are the things that come to mind when I look at this picture.

The first thing is actually the clouds in the background, which I feel are neigh flawless. They look very realistic, and they use the purple-orange spectrum of color that you're really making a name for yourself with traditionally in your pieces. Seeing this quality of background work makes me want to commission another large piece like this!

Now on to Sierra. The first thing I notice is actually that the outer tips of the wings are highlighted a little too much. Not that the highlights aren't accurate or anything, but the dramatic opacity of white on them gives them a drawn look compared to the very crisp body/head of Sierra. It's less pronounced on the folded wing and smaller feathers, and even less pronounced on the tail fluff/tail feathers. I'd say highlight more times with a lighter opacity to try and diminish this. This would also diminish the contrast between the tips of the feathers and the background, as they look a bit matte otherwise. I know Sierra must preen her feathers a lot but looking semi-glossy is just odd to me for feathers.

Still on the wings, it's a little odd to me how many feathers you chose to make rounded tipped rather than starting to go the full length of the plumage as it nears those feathers. I'd wonder if it would look better if the natural contour stayed in a u with the feathers growing slightly in the middle 2-4 to retain a u contour to the wing, as opposed to the m shape you went with. After looking up some pictures of bird wings, I'd say that another feather or two on the top row wouldn't be out of place either, as the wings nearly come around full circle on bird-wings to begin pointing inward again. Not that they're even needed here, the wings look fine going as high as they do, just some thought if you wanted to start using more realistic anatomy for your fantasy fliers.

On a similar note it also occurs to me that the bird isn't like a standard blue jay but more of a Sierra-style bluebird. Not sure what purpose tendrils have in flight, but they're cute nonetheless. The bird looks great, very birdy.

Something else that comes to mind is how everything stacks up three dimensionally. The biggest one is the folded part of the right (her left) wing. It seems to fold a little dramatically. The lightsource is a little ambiguous so it's hard to say that more shadows were necessary to give depth, but it looks a little too jarred to have it turned straight around. Also on the back part of the wing, I feel a little more texture would be nice, and that it was perhaps laziness rather than true intent that it looks the way it does. I don't think it's that noticeable unless you're doing what I'm doing though, and I hardly want to call you lazy looking at how much effort was put into the fine details!

Still on 3-d, the wings are definitively flat to the viewer compared the the body which is turned to face the bird. I imagine the true reason for this was you really just can't help yourself and want to draw giant fluffy wings in all their glory. To be fair, there are many things you did well to attempt to make this shift look very natural. The way the wings go in front of and behind the body, the corded muscle in the turned shoulder, the folding of the wings inward in general as they go out. Not sure how the anatomy of this particular dragon works so perhaps turning her wings independently of her body is a simple task, I just noticed at all that they weren't aligned the same way.

Still slightly on 3-d, it's hard to tell exactly where the bottom fluff connects with the body. Don't get me wrong, I love outrageous amounts of fluffy, but it doesn't curl towards the body much as it gets hidden by the wing, so it's hard to say whether it's front higher up on the back or where the fluff really comes from. Especially since the mane of navy blue-blue hair seems to be diminishing on the top as it gets hidden behind the wings. I'd stylistically like to see that not diminishing and the mane turning into a giant fluffy strip from head to tail that you'd want to nap on in the afternoon sun.

More on just personal preferences, I'd like to see more texture on her hide. Perhaps she's a very delicate dragon that goes to the spa, but my thoughts of dragons usually have a scaly hide on more than just their belly and would like to see something like this if you ever decide to make a dragon that will rawr at you before chasing birds. XD Though things like the arm reaching out to the bird do have very good detail on the muscles/tendons responsible, something I know isn't as easy as it looks.

Still on personal preferences, I really love Sierra's horns, and would love to see them accentuated to a

rounder fuller extent so you'd have something to grab hold of when you need to give her a noogie. XD

And that's about everything I have to comment on. Just take anything I didn't mention as absolutely flawless! You're really good Elly, and I hope you continue to make such wonderful pieces for us all to enjoy!

Oh, and I would want to do an art trade but I'm miserable at art. D: Let me know if you have anything in mind though!

XOXO, Ocean.

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Schmengee [2014-11-16 19:58:59 +0000 UTC]

So pretty

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Aimlesswaves [2014-11-16 00:06:54 +0000 UTC]

Pretty amazing. I really want to give this a better review but haven't the time atm, so I'll be back later for an extended critique.

Srsly though, gj.

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LunaClare [2014-11-15 15:30:21 +0000 UTC]

It looks great Elycian! Great job with the lineless. I can imagine Siera going around trailing birds til they notice her and then reenacting a Disney princess moment XD

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ShadowHunterSpartan [2014-11-15 10:55:37 +0000 UTC]

awesome.

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