HOME | DD
MoonbowDragon — Happy 19th Birthday to me.
Published: 2011-10-23 06:12:38 +0000 UTC; Views: 881; Favourites: 0; Downloads: 161
Redirect to original
Description
October 22th is my Birthday
I am now 19!I don't really do this as a tradition, but I try make it so. I draw I birthday pic to reflect my skills. I post this pic on the 23th because I just started at 8:00pm at NIGHT.
This drawing is based on the falling cherry blossoms I see on dArt. Only, since it's fall, it's autumn leaves instead of blossom pedals
. Also, this is a self-portrait of me using a tutorial on basic anatomy.
Related content
Comments: 19
This piece is quite an improvement over the older piece you originally requested critique on. When I go back and find some of your older pieces, I can tell your artwork has gotten much neater. The two things I'm noticing most are your coloring and line art. This piece is composed much better. The coloring is smoother. You have a nice gradient on the sky, and the structures you're drawing (tree, pumpkins, etc) are clearly defined.
Your anatomy has shown quite a bit of improvement. I think you should take a second look at the feet. They seem a bit too small to me. Otherwise the basic form seems fine to me.
I feel there are two things missing from this piece that would make it much stronger. Namely, detail, and lighting. Of course, different styles command different levels of detail - but certain details will always help a scene look "complete" no matter what style you're going for.
For example, I'm not really getting a sense that the ground is the ground. What I mean is that the trees, pumpkins, etc. seem to be floating. A few leaves on the ground could help here. Certainly it would be a pain to draw every single leaf - and realistically, it's not practical. But you can give the illusion that the ground is made of leaves by drawing a few in strategically chosen places. Knowing exactly how to do that takes practice, but a good place to start would be to draw a few around the base of the objects on the ground. Since we expect a few leaves to be on the ground, that would give our eyes a fixed reference point. If a few leaves were in front of the base of the tree. it would be easier to believe the tree is fixed to the ground. One of your more recent drawings has this feature. See: [link] It's much easier to believe the creatures are sitting.
While it is a small thing, details like these help establish point of view and perspective. If you want to take your artwork to the "next level" so to speak, in my opinion, I think you could do more to establish depth. Lighting and shading would be a big help here, as would some strategic details. In this drawing, there are no shadows.
This piece, while I feel lacking in lighting and depth, has a strength in atmosphere. You've done a very good job suggesting a cool, breezy autumn day. The leaves really tell that story. It's another illustration of a single, strategically placed detail, that really brings the drawing to life. In the case of atmosphere, I think it's done very well.
My primary advice is to just keep experimenting. Maybe try some new subjects or new styles. Try to experiment more with shading and shadows. I've seen you experiment a bit with light in some of your drawings - and the results, I feel, are very effective.
👍: 0 ⏩: 2
Marvelous critique! That is exactly to which I aspire while writing critiques by my own. From my point of view any work like this should be marked as fair even for its size and for the time that the "writer" had spent on leaving a thoughtful and detailed comment instead of a little comment where would be written only "Super", "Good" or even "Wow"! Yours is a beautiful example of an incontrovertible work/critique!
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
I try my best
*Griatch-art wrote a good piece on giving and receiving critique that I try to keep in mind. It's here if you're interested in reading it yourself: [link]
Although I'm sure there are dozens of other little essays about critique on dA.
👍: 0 ⏩: 0
Even though I feel that your rating feels harsh, your critique is quite insightful. I'm surprised you looked at my other pictures in my gallery as you were criticing this.
I can see what you mean on how to make the grass look more like grass. I can see some things that could use some more detail. As for lighting and shading, my shading has a hard time showing up on the scanner and I'm not sure how to do lighting with color pencils. I'm not sure I should run a black color pencil where the shading should be to make show more.
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
I'm glad you found it insightful, although I'm sorry you felt the rating was harsh. I never set out to ruin anyone's day. Please keep in mind it is just one person's opinion. For what it's worth, I do feel I could have rated the other drawing higher. Whenever someone responds to one of these threads with an option, I almost always choose the piece I can give the highest rating to. However, I also remember you said something along the lines of I should avoid writing about the other drawing if I weren't familiar with the reference (which I wasn't). I did want to respect your warning.
👍: 0 ⏩: 0
Happy birthday!! :hugs: I love the beauty you've made of autumn <3
Pumpkin pie mmm
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
Thank you. 
What do you like best of this pic?
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
the best I like how you did the oak leaves flowing in the wind -not to distracting and just the right amount to admire!
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
Heh, I based them off of the falling cherry blossoms is see in a lot of pictures.
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
ahhh! but I like falling oak leave better because of this -please draw more falling oak leaves!!! ^^ *we need more falling oak leaves fanart hahaha*
👍: 0 ⏩: 0
What name brand colored pencils do you use, or is that crayon, it's hard to tell?
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
What do you think of my drawing though?
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
Don't feel bad about not being able to draw well with crayons. They are truly a pain in the ass to work with. Rose Art colored pencils are those really cheap kind right? Don't get me wrong, it took me years of practicing with those and other brands like kodak and crayola, to finally upgrade to the $1.00 - $1.50 a pencil brands. But if your serious about your art, the investment is well worth the price and then some.
Anyhowwwwww, your drawing was very nice. I like the background and the color scheme, you did up. Has a nice fall/autumn feel to it. I would have done the "Oct 22" digitally, but that's me. It caught my eye since it was done in traditional medium. If you look at my stuff, you'll see that I have a undying love for the medium.
Overall, I think you have potential. (I hate that word, lol, but it fits) If you ever want for me to give ya tips to perk it up a bit, I can do that. Like make the pumpkins shiny, using just colored pencils and stuff like that.
It looks good and I like it. BTW, never go full digital and your stuff will always stand out and catch looks. Oh yeah, I do like the semi-anime look. Don't try too much for full-anime, otherwise, you will sink in the vast sea of others then.
Bravo!!
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
Thank you
By the way, I rarely do combo's of traditional and digital if that's what you're talking about. I have Photoshop, but it constantly freezes up on my when I try to draw on it.
Also, my art always looks unintentionally anime. I believe it's only because of the eyes though.
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
Ok, let me see if I can cover all the points. lol
I have no problems giving ya the tips you want/need, just bring them to me when your working on them and I can either give you direct help or send ya in the right direction. I always had more luck focusing on the issues as they came up. If you try to learn it all at the same time, you won't learn anything. Like I said, bring them to me when your working on 'em.
I've been told the combo of digi and tradi is actually cool looking, here's 2 of mine:
[link]
[link]
Don't be afraid to bust through the barriers of normalcy, it's what makes the difference between common and above average.
As far as Photoshop crashing and freezing, read this real quick:
[link]
Trust me I know the pains of Photoshop, but I found out that 2 things were the issue. Working at too high of resolution, if your working higher than 72 dots per inch aka dpi, then bring it down to that level. The other thing was RAM in the computer. RAM or memory is the one thing that makes the biggest difference in speed of a computer. Plus it's cheap, compared to a new PC or other PC parts. Photoshop is a memory hoggggggggg. I will be uploading Paint Shop Pro 7, when I upload my tutorial on PLZ icons, here soon. It is old as can be, but is almost as powerful and easy to use as Photoshop. Maybe even easier. I'll let you know when I do or just get the link, when I upload the tut. at the group page.
And Finally, lol, the eyes are exactly why your stuff has an anime look to it. Remember, the eyes are the first thing everybody looks at on all artworks. If nothing else, focus your practice on eyes. You will see a huge difference in your art if you improve your eyes. Dull eyes = Dull picture.
Just let me know when you need help, I'll be more than happy to help ya.
Talk to ya soon,
Roadie
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
Thank you!
By the way, how's my anatomy in this drawing?
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
Your very welcome.
Ok I'm going to be blunt, since it is the only way I know how to be. So please don't take anything too personal or too harsh.
First thing I noticed, was the neck is too thick for the head. The head is a lil tiny bit too small and the chest needs more definition. The only other thing is the center of gravity is too far forward. If you leaned like that, without cocking your head back to compensate, you would fall forward on your face. lol
I hope that wasn't too harsh. Overall, you do have the basics down, though. Too many ppl try to copy anime or cartoons, which is a mistake. The only way to be good at anime/toons, is to understand the difference from true anatomy. Learn your anatomy from real life, not toons. There are tons of model/reference pics here if you just look. I believe their titled "stock" photos. Here's a good starter artist.
I actually still use "stock" photos, as a starter for some of my art. I copy the pose and then cartoon it out from there. So don't be too hard on yourself if you need reference art/pics, to get the overall look you want. It's not cheating or stealing, unless you trace or try to claim someone's work. But, like I said you got the basics down. Absolutely.
I hope that wasn't too discouraging. I don't like pulling punches or sweetening up harsh words. Since it does nobody, any good. Remember, it caught my eye to begin with, which says "good job," all by itself.
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
Thanks. 
Normally I draw bigger heads and thick neck, but I think can thin the neck next time. I'm not so good at drawing chests with breasts(though I try a lot). I either use other drawings/photos, my own body, or my own imagination to draw poses and stuff.
Your criticism wasn't too harsh, but helpful
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
Well I'm relieved that you didn't take it negatively.
Like I said before, it was the eyes that made it look anime-ish. But, anime-ish is not a bad thing in itself, just don't get caught in the lure/trap of your art looking just like everyone else. When it comes to this site for example, anime is way too popular, which makes anything anime, blur into the sea of daily submissions. That's the only reason I was pointing it out.
As far as the chest is concerned, I can give you a few pointers, that is, if you want them right now. Just send me a note and we can go from there. (considering that it would be privately seen by only me and you, not the general public like this is)
talk to ya soon,
Roadie
👍: 0 ⏩: 0