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Nekter — Guardian of the Forest- Comission
#druid #feral #predatoria
Published: 2014-10-30 18:16:58 +0000 UTC; Views: 2228; Favourites: 48; Downloads: 2
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Description
This is a gift for Predatoria of Emerald dream, it was a surprise that he knew was coming. Predatoria is passionate about protecting wild life and he implements this in his druid rp. So here is a scene where he stalks the long grass and trees as the guardian of all helpless creatures without a voice.Related content
Comments: 10
The composition is well done, and the technical aspect (when it comes to hair and other such detail) is superb. You have a knack for really analyzing detail, evidenced by the strong, well-proportioned composition of the druid's head, particularly its eyes. As a whole, this picture seems as though you had a clear vision of it in your head, and you succeeded in realizing it as close to the original idea as possible.
The largest issue with this piece is the lack of variation within the shadows. There are two very prominent light sources (the eyes and the sunlight outside of the cave), yet the shadows don't seem to be dramatic enough to reflect that. By dramatic, I mean that the shadow on the far left of the picture (around the druid's tail) is about the same intensity of the shadow around the druid's middle, or even the shadow that edges really close to the sunlight. Shadow is ambient and responsive, especially when a powerful light source is present. Because of that, I'm not getting a sense of depth, that the space beneath the rock is a space that druid's actually occupying. This also carries over to the grass/dirt, and the rocks above.
In a lot of your pieces, you seem very observant and faithful of animal anatomy--now, you're ready to experiment with exaggerated forms to convey expression and emotion. The sense I'm getting from the druid is a huntress on the prowl, someone with a purpose, secretive and powerful at the same time. But their pose is static and impersonal--a stock pose, instead of a pose characterized by the character. Try sketching this pose again, but experimenting with exaggerating the curve of the spine, the hunch of the shoulders, the rise of the neck ruff--small parts of her anatomy to really bring attitude to the subjects you've drawn. You've done well to learn the basics, but it's time to thrust yourself out of your comfort level >e.deviantart.net/emoticons/b/b… " width="15" height="15" alt="
I hope this helped some. e.deviantart.net/emoticons/s/s… " width="15" height="15" alt="
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Excellent as always
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Vision – Does the artwork present or reflect a point of view, theme or idea?
When I play on my Feral Druid, I often stalk prey (unsuspecting Horde) from the shadows. I imagine my Druid lurking through the grass, through the rocks, and through unseen crevices to sneak up on her prey. This drawing depicts my druid in a situation that is appropriate for doing just that. Her body posture is one of stealth and of seclusion. She hides in the rocks waiting and watching.
She looks out upon her next target with a facial expression very similar to the one depicted in this piece of art. Here, Predatoria looks very calm and collected, like a hunter. Often I stalk groups of players, just waiting for the right moment, waiting for them to pull a mob, to separate, for a random ally to jump in, etc. Always calm and always watching. Always ready. This picture depicts my druid doing exactly this. Her posture and facial expressions reveal her thoughts as a window to her mind, especially the eyes.
Often in my RP, I write about my Druid as a defender of Winterspring or Ashenvale against the Orcs who are either cutting down the forest or killing creatures for furs or other trophies.
I think this picture depicts the idea or point of view of my Feral Druid patiently watching, stalking, or tracking someone who has hurt her home or the creatures that she protects. Her facial expression and body posture show that while she is aware of the destruction those she hunts have done to her home and family, she is not upset. She is confident she will be able to make them pay for what they have done with their lives, and she will enjoy the hunt.
Originality – Is the artwork fresh or new in its style, execution or approach? Is it something you haven’t seen before in its particular genre? Does it surprise you?
I often write about my Druid as if she’s a beast in the wild, not a humanoid shapeshifter. She prefers her cat form above her elven form and rarely visits her elven form. She has become so feral that she embraces her beastly nature more-so than elven nature, while she still retains Druidic magic and humanoid-level, above-average intelligence which often surprises those who hunt her and those she hunts.
Looking at the art of Predatoria, she lacks the generic jewelry that most Feral Druids wear and does not have facial paint markings. The artist didn’t ask me about the presence or lack of jewelry or facial markings on my Druid when working on this piece, but I am thrilled with her decision to exclude them. I feel that my Druid is somewhat original in just how feral she has become, and the artist has reflected this by omitting these paint markings and jewelries from her cat form with the exception of the Druidic marking on the shoulder, which I’m ironically glad she included in the work. Not to mention, the scar on her hind leg is actually from a piece of RP writing I created about her being shackled and imprisoned. The scar is a great touch, showing this truly is Predatoria, not a generic Night Elf Feral Druid.
The drawing of Predatoria reflects both my RP stances on my Druid and an interesting and original mix between a Feral Druid and a wild animal that I really enjoy.
I’ve looked up a lot of Feral Druid art online before. I’ve never seen one quite like this. While it’s hard to be technically original drawing a Feral Druid in World of Warcraft, I think this piece is quite original in how the Feral Druid has been portrayed. Most drawings I see online either try to make the druid look too cute or too ferocious. I think some originality here lies in mediation between these two extremes. Predatoria doesn’t look overly ferocious here, nor does she look too cute. She struck balance between the two quite well in this piece of art.
Technique – Was the artwork skillfully created? Does the artist exhibit advanced knowledge of the medium and/or bring special focus to the craft of the medium used.
The fur technique really stands out as being superb in her artwork. I literally want to reach out and pet Predatoria, (which ironically causes me to stop attacking my foe in-game, kind of a secret way to get me to back down). The fur around her stomach looks amazing. I always see cats have this shaggy, soft belly fur like that and it looks so real in this picture and so realistic. The fur on her arms and legs looks shorter, much like you would expect from a real-life animal. Her tail fur looks amazing. Every inch of her body is covered in an amazing looking fur coat that consists of the best done fur I’ve ever seen in any drawing I’ve personally ever seen. The coat even folds at points where it would normally, around the crouching front right leg. I think my favorite part of her fur is the neck fur between her front legs. I would say the artist’s fur technique is unrivaled.
I really enjoy the choice of colors the artist has used. A lot of greens, browns, and greys were used. The sunlight shines on her right paw and the left side of her face revealing how brilliantly white her fur normally is. One problem an artist may encounter is just how washed out a picture would become if the entire picture were that bright. Having Predatoria in the shade of the rocky bluff allowed the artist to use a full range of greys and very subtle pinkish greys to create the fur colors while keeping an appropriate and varied spectrum. I think this made the picture look much better than if it had been done with Predatoria fully in the sun. The fur color is darker at the top, and becomes lightly shaded at the bottom, both on the tail and the body fur. Her legs are brighter ever so slightly than the top of her body. The surrounding rock is darker, allowing for a nice contrast between Predatoria and the background. One tough thing I think was executed well in this picture was the choice of color for both the rocks and for Predatoria. A problem could’ve been that they’re both grey. To me, the textures, color differences, and contrast between the rocky face and Predatoria herself look actually very different, yet similar at the same time as they should. I don’t know why, I can’t quite explain why, but it just looks really good. The artist demonstrated a mastery of color choice here quite well I think.
The background of the picture is well done. In photography, there is often a consideration made for depth of field. You want to create a photograph with the subject in focus while blurring out other parts of the picture. In this piece of art, the background on the right is clearly supposed to be a leafy forest, but it’s blurred out. There is enough detail to reveal that Predatoria is in a forest, but not enough detail to draw the viewer away from the subject, which is Predatoria herself. The rocks are similarly done. Notice the rocky bluff she resides under, while in focus, it has just enough detail to reveal exactly what it is yet not so much that it detracts from the focal point of the art piece. The grass borders the picture nicely, yet once again isn’t extravagant enough to pull the viewer’s eyes off of the focal point. The artist clearly considered the photographical aspects when designing this piece of art.
I’m no artist myself, but I have tried to point out how the artist very well executed color mastery, her fur technique, and choice of background well in this piece of art.
Impact – Does the artwork resonate with you or evoke strong emotions? Does it make you think? Does it blow your mind?
This picture makes me think about the beauty of nature. The natural world is so beautiful, and so are the creatures that inhabit it. This is what I think about when I see this picture. She looks absolutely beautiful. The fur, the face, the way she crouches into the rocks, it’s just a raw wild beauty that I love seeing.
When I view this picture, all these aspects mentioned before also make me think about playing my Druid. I love my Druid, and seeing a drawing that depicts her in all these facets that revolve exactly around my playstyle really makes me think about how much fun I have on my Feral Druid, and how much I enjoy it.
I’ve always been both a gamer and somewhat of an outdoorsman. This picture makes me think about why I love both, and why I love Druids in WoW. They are the defenders of the natural world, and as such I care deeply for the natural world in real-life.
Ever since I've seen this piece of art, I've literally been obsessed with it. I've shown all of my WoW friends, my guild, several real life friends, my parents, my cousins, my aunt, my uncle, random people I've encountered in WoW, people on Facebook, and even the secretary that works for my lab how great it is. I set it as my phone background, my desktop background, and am meeting next week with a professional to get the drawing printed on canvas. I would say my mind was blown completely by it.
Deviousness – An average rating based on your selections within Vision, Originality, Technique, and Impact.
I know my critique may sound like a ton of flattery, but it isn’t. If it was, I would not have taken the time to write this critique in the first place nor would I be having it professionally printed on canvas. I can’t really think of anything I don’t like about this piece of art. I can’t think of anything she could’ve done better, because I’ve literally never seen anything better than her work regarding Feral Druids, and I think this is her best piece! I would give the artist five stars in every category. The best advice I can give to the artist is keep doing exactly what you’re doing, because your work is truly amazing and outstanding.
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Good job on this illustration, you get the feeling that its alive. As someone had already mentioned, the fur detail is amazing in all aspects. Keep up the great work.
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dat fur detailing! you nailed it; it doesn't look hyper realistic and at the same time it doesn't look like a giant glob of nothing. it just looks like.. fur! so in love with it. amazing job <3
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Wow I absolutely love this! You're an amazing artist! Keep up the good work
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Awesome feral druid! the fur seems so soft, it looks very real, awesome work
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Thank you ^_^ Good, it means I accomplished my job
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