Coop's art Reviews on Newgrounds

[Ms. Leursen Hates You]

Well, she's angry.

I wonder what she has seen to deserve a reaction quite like this? Being a school teacher, she probably had enough, when the kids fed the class pet frog to the chickens, or something like that. Of course, it could be the case that it's something innocuous, like the third child that morning who has accused the dog or eating the homework, so she has just hit TILT and exploded.

A decent level of detail, with furrowed eyebrows and a lot of creases across the dress. I'm glad that you told us that the subject was a female, as there is no body shape to indicate one way or the other and curly hair could apply to either gender.

I'd like to see a little more in the way of background - perhaps a school scene, that is faded out, as the red mist has descended with this image of a hastily roller-coated rouge over the background. It could give a more devastating effect.

[Review Request Club]

Aqlex responds:

This teacher was quite insane. It was probably somewhere between ghetto fights nearly starting in her class, students mocking her voice and mispronunciation, students not knowing the bible (she was very unhappy about this), students threatening to say something about her constant bible thumping, me secretly posting pictures of Jesus and God from south park around her classroom, me drawing a turtle being stabbed for one of her assignments (she wanted an animal from the Life of Pi, so I gave her one), and plain insanity that led to her anger.
And yeah, I gave no good hint as to what her gender was, it's a very odd caricature I drew of her back when I had her class.
I totally agree that I left something to be desired with the background. Doing maybe the same thing with the red mist, but including a faded or fading school background would have produced a nice effect.
Thank you for the review! =)

[Jillian on the Ocean]

Good, but needs a lot more on the background...

Right, the best thing that I can advise here is to spend time creating your own background. This looks like you putting the character onto a photoshopped scene, including the rock itself here. That either means a great level of detail in your drawing of the rock, or just that you've not reduced the quality enough from you tracing or similar. The clouds look like a photograph and the effect of having them next to a cartoon looks poor, if I'm honest. Try something other than just an Ocean / Sky background. Have you considered adding something like beach in the foreground, for instance?

Turning to the character herself, you've done a decent job there, with the feminine curves, the smile, the red hair and the horns. Applying a subtle cheat, by covering the feet in shoes and hiding the hands behind the hair and rock was a nice way of getting out of potentially "tricky " detail situations, but we'll let it slide. The pose was decent, but no-one sits down perfectly, so a little detail, where the underside of her right thigh gets pushed in by the top of her left, as they cross over would be nice, as would be the attention to where the shading should be. Looking at various other shadows, I would say somewhere around the top-left of shot, therefore more of a shadow should be cast by the upper leg.

Attention to detail is what will get you more stars, so keep working on it.

Finally, your signature is a little colourful to blend in to the piece, particularly with the shading as it is. Perhaps consider layering it on top of the piece in post-production, as opposed to putting it on the rock itself, as you have. If you're going to leave it on the rocks, perhaps change the colour and don't shade it so much...

[Review Request Club]

DragonPunch responds:

That sounds like sound advice my good friend! Thank you for your feedback, and the three and a half stars was well-deserved. Thank you. :)

[Discipline vs. Passion]

Wonderful stuff!

I just had to add this straight to the favourites - no questions asked, because it shows a wonderful contrast between creative expressionism (music and art), compared to the cold, hard logic of sciences and the like. That said, there are some things that are cold and hard in the musical aspect, such as the conductor's baton. I would have liked to see the keys be a little more uniform on the conductor's sleeve, just as that's what they are on any keyboard that I've ever seen before.

I love the use of musical shapes, including the body of a violin, or other member of the string family, with the way that it adds form to the chaos. I know a few pagans, who would not exactly feel the same way about the pentagram, being used exclusively in the "chaos" of the picture.

Overall, a wonderful piece - I wish there was more colour in it, to give even more expression to the chaos side of things. Perhaps use it only for the chaos, as in a scientific world, facts are quite often laid out in Black and White... Such a strange thing for a guy who studied Colour Chemistry to say, wouldn't you agree?

[Review Request Club]

SoundChris responds:

Hey there!

Thanks for your very, very nice review! I am so glad you enjoyed it, especially because i think from myself not to have much talented at drawing (normally i am making musics).

What you said about the contrast between logic and chaos is exactly the thing i wanted to express. When i made this drawing i had to decide, if i should study music or something more conservative so i felt really torn between passion and calculatio - this drawing is based on a real and hard internal conflict i had.

I absolutely agree with your advice to use more colour to encrease the contrast. Its been a long time since i have made this drawing (ca. 10 years) but i can remember that i decided not to use colours because i was afraid to destroy the whole thing being to unskilled in using colour. You said black and white could represent the scientific world etc. I think it has been consequent to draw the "Logic-side" that way. In my opinion science represents clear categories like "right - wrong" or "1/0" etc.
But now i think it would have been even cogent to use some colours within the "Music and Art-side". It would be interesting if you would prefer just to use few colours within a dominant and rough structure or a bigger variety of colours in a very filigree structure of lines (sorry for my bad english skills!!! I hope its possible to understand what i try to say :D )

Anyway i appreciate this review very much. Thanks a lot!

Chris

[Crossing the Alps]

Detailed, but slightly inaccurate.

I think that the Elephant would be being led by someone, rather than having it's tusks so close to someone merely walking along in front of it. Still, as details go, it's relatively minor, so Nothing major gets deducted for that.

To be honest, the wrinkles on the elephant's trunk irked me more - they are too angular, as if some sort of bone plating has been sub-dermally implanted, giving armour plating to something like that. You need to make the skin seem more relaxed and supple. The tusks certainly look dangerous and should they come across any Romans, Hannibal and his men will definitely take some out, before sustaining losses of their own.

The other thing that needs more detail is the fallen tree. It looks to have been "cut" in the angled manner and the re is no natural random splintering of the wood fibres, as a tree falls over. If an elephant has pushed it, consider making it an uprooted tree, as the roots may give way in the mountainous / hilly terrain first.

[Review Request Club]

samulis responds:

Your fallen tree is a ruined column, symbolic of the distruction to come.

Perhaps I should sub in a different elephant... all the hate at this one poor elephant! XD

Though thanks for the great review. Next time I will be far more subjective when finding elephants.

[Carousel Boutique at Midnight]

Poor rarity, indeed.

A nice looking piece, with a well designed background and a lovely blend of shades, across the sky. Perhaps a touch more cloud would have been better employed to give a greater effect, but other than that, I can see no real issue with the background... maybe make the moon look more moon like, as opposed to the sun - the sky wouldn't be so dark, otherwise.

Turning to the main focus of the picture, the problem that I see is that you've taken a cutout of the carousel and have cut parts off, leaving jagged edges, which does look like a little destruction, but for me, it doesn't work. Small explosions and fires may have destroyed parts of the building, but you have to consider as an artist what would happen in the game of building kerplunk! The upper tier would not be able to support the weight, with most of the front missing. That should have toppled forwards, for example, perhaps raining more destruction and misery upon the unfortunate inhabitant.

If there was fire, which the upper floors look likely to have suffered, the colours of the paintwork would have blackened from smoke and ash. Shading needs a bit of work on it there, to give the final impression. I'd really like to see what else you can make of this, as it's a good start, but something that can be well finished, with a little more creativity and forethought.

[Review Request Club]

SerPounce responds:

Thanks, I may get around to redoing it. Now that I look at it, you're right, I don't think the top would still be standing. There should be blackened areas, I was originally planning to add those but I guess it just slipped my mind. Thanks for a great review as always.

[Fish Tank]

Much better!

Okay, so the tank could use a good clean, but I think we can work around that. Personally, I would have put more work into the fish, a few more layers of detail, making them three colours, as opposed to just a monochromatic silhouette. The effect is quite profound and even the splodges for the bubbles works surprisingly well.

Perhaps spend a little more time practising the drawing / painting of the Angel Fish, before you put them into your piece. (Usually, Angel fish are quite a bit bigger. The green one on the left has a tiny body, compared to the fins, which may not be out of the ordinary, but the proportions are slightly wrong) They tend to look conventional at the moment, with them all occupying a horizontal plane - try having one pecking at the gravel at the base of the tank, for example.

Yes, it looks murky in there, but that is something that can be tolerated, as some people choose not to light their aquarium, which leads to these dim scenes. Perhaps consider a lighter backing colour in future and maybe you will compensate enough, but not too much.

[Review Request Club]

MajesticBob responds:

You have some very valid points. The only thing I am going to say is: They are not angel fish. They are Beta fish, and yes I know they don't get along so they would not be in a group like that. I just like Betas. But you are still right, I mean Kinsei thought they were frogs. I could try and say since this was mostly just spraypaint, i could use that as an excuse, but it would be weak. If I'm going to try something different, I should still practice and get them more recognizable. Thanks for the review.

[Gabriella]

Nice work, but...

Poor photography, if you ask me. If you're doing a publicity shoot, having her stand in front of the name and obscure some of it is not a good idea. I like that you've given her a biography and have developed this concept / promo art, for a game that is currently under construction. Keep it coming, this could be worth playing, in a Soul Calibur style at some stage.

The anatomy needs a bit of work, as she has massive thighs, buttocks and hips, yet a tiny waist. I know that there should be curves there, but not from cutting a catwalk size zero model off at the waist and attaching her upper body to the lower body of some black dancer from a hip-hop video, with all the junk in the trunk. I'd suggest thinning down the lower half and bulking up the top half a little. Otherwise her punches will be awful.

Finally, the sword. It's a lazer, in pink. I can handle that. Please make it look like one, as at the moment, it looks like a boiled sweet, which probably would pack a punch, but not in the way that Gabriella hopes. Some sort of corona (halo) effect around the edge of the blade would help there, possibly even making the blade slightly translucent, for effect.

[Review Request Club]

DragonPunch responds:

I'm just trying to keep my work from getting stolen is all, but I appreciate your feedback.

[Lackadaisy Cat]

No nose?

I'm not sure that I like this particular style of drawing - it doesn't lend too much to be desired, from my point of view. A plain background doesn't help, but the main issue I have is the lack of shape for the nose / muzzle, leading to it looking very flat faced.

If you were to improve it, I'd suggest thinner lines for outlines - the piece would look just as good, if not better, with finer outlines, not ones that have been drawn with a half-inch tipped pen, like Rolf Harris does. Zooming in with your drawing program will also help that, as will using a smaller tool to draw with. Coloured outlines could also be used for some things - the ace of Diamonds never has black on it, so drawing those outlines in red would be nice.

Using human eyes was a mistake here, I feel - cat's eyes would have worked so much better, even though the comic strip "Lackadaisy Cats" is based around humanised cats, from what I can tell. If you changed the angle of the playing card to a diagonal, it would look more realistic.

Finally, I'm not sure of the significance of the extended, extrapolated brush strokes. These weren't needed and if I'm honest, were laid on a bit thick. Yes, additional hair / fur at the ears does occur in felines, but not on their hats, surely...

[Review Request Club]

SerPounce responds:

Yeah, for the millionth time, I fucked up with the extended brush strokes. I'm getting mixed readings now, some say the plain background helps and some say it takes away. Now that I look at the cat, though, I do agree that the nose isn't all that great looking. All of your review has been very helpful, thanks Coop.

[To Write Love on Her Arms .]

She looks a little scared...

Aside from the facial expression, this is an awesome piece. I think that softening the lines around the eyes, closing it up around the corner and "relaxing" the expression on her face a little may turn it from shock to longing.

The hands could use a little detail on the palms - the creases for the life line and so forth, ever so finely from the thumb, to the middle of the wrist. I also spotted that you made the pupil of her left eye (her left, your right) slightly smaller than that of the other side. Perhaps a small error in drawing, or is it an observation from a photograph, due to the light being less on the one eye, from the curtain of hair, obstructing it slightly?

What is she supposed to be holding? I get the feeling that it could be a dog-tag plate, which would require a bit more of a uniform typeface, to hold that script. If it's something like an eraser, then you can get away with a more haphazard style.

Good work.

[Review Request Club]

Flashmovieboy responds:

The observations you've made are right on to the point. The errors with the creases of the life line come from reference photo not reaching that much in width so I had to improvise, which is of course less precise than drawing according to a reference. The issue of pupils are explained in my previous responses, and yeah, my mistake on that one.

It's a dogtag plate indeed. I agree that it looks unnatural, but at that point I had everything drawn out already and I was afraid to smudge the rest, so I tried to avoid drawing in the middle section (dogtag) as much as possible. Again, I probably should had spent more time and drew it earlier. . .

Thank you for taking time to observe my work of art ! :)

[MuchaFresh]

A productive use of your time.

I'm glad that you had such an awesome time at the Newgrounds meet - I've seen people drawing and creating artistic pieces at meets before (full pencil sets, pads and so forth), but never someone attempting a full 6-8 hour piece such as this.

Lavishly detailed, this piece has a lot going into the background, without even looking at the main event in the foreground. Each skull is independently drawn, as opposed to the copy / paste nature of wallpaper that can be bought for such a purpose. A small cheat of reversing the pattern and cutting it to fit from left to right was spotted, but I think we can let you off :P

As for the incredible detail of the devil, from the blood splatter bra, through the flowing locks and the relaxed tail, this piece looks fantastic. I'm not to happy with the look of her chin - it just looks a little angular, but if she got her claws into me, I'd be a footnote in history, that's for sure. The shadows give a fantastic perspective to the piece and it certainly gives depth

With the PVC / leather stockings / boots, shouldn't they pinch in on the thighs a little, to stay in place? Choice viewing material across the years has taught me something! I wasn't too sure about the way that the horns have been "combed back" and both seem to point the same way. I know that no-one's perfect and that nature both strives for and abhors symmetry, but that just seemed a little strange.

[Review Request Club]

Sabtastic responds:

First off: thanks for the awesome review, as usual!
You have a knack for picking out details that I don't pay enough attention to, and you're great at offering some good constructive criticism, too!

I'll probably be taking into account the PVC stocking comment next time I draw something similar. I always forget to make it look as tight as it's supposed to be. o: It really does 'grab' to stay on the wearer.

The horns gave me a hell of a time, too, so you hit that nail on the head as well. B:

Thanks again for the great review!
I give your review a 5/5! :V