Coop's art Reviews on Newgrounds

[The Lovers]

Holding on for death's embrace

A very poignant image, which certainly brings home a sense of impending disaster, combined with the sentiment that love is not bound by the mere rules of time. Though the couple may perish, their love will last forever.

Looking at the image, I was a little confused about the shapes and position of the male's arm. Looking at the way that my own arm looks, there would seem to be more space between where the bicep rejoins the line of that arm and the joint of the elbow. Correcting that would help the elbow itself to look less out of place at the back of the arm. With biceps that large, it might be in favour to bulk up the tricep a little to the rear of the upper arm, adjacent to the shoulder.

The female's lines are good and the piece is a little dominated by her gigantic eye, since below, there is not really that much detail to be taken into consideration.

What does raise a question in my mind is the lines around the crescent of the moon - is that some sort of Space Elevator that you have incorporated in there and possibly a chance for humanity's salvation?

[Review Request Club]

Merol responds:

Wow, thanks a lot for the great feedback on the guy's arm. I'm actually considering on getting a anatomy book.

Eyes are very important for me, and I know I already said this, but I like drawing girls with big eyes.

Heh, not at all! That's a rope pulling the moon to sink it deep down into the water!

THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR YOUR REVIEW!

[Float]

Strange erspective

Wow, this one certainly bends one's mind while viewing. Certainly something that I'd say is a little akin to a Pink Floyd album cover, except for the lack of bright colours that they have used over the years.

The perspective seems strangely distorted and the one thing I would have dine differently was to shade all in one direction for the blocks faces. Each face could have used a single direction (horizontal or vertical) and this would have made the blocks look slightly more uniform, perhaps even highlighting the perspective quirks which have caused me to squint at the piece... might be the booze though.

Certainly something for a progressive industrial album cover.

[Review Request Club]

[Ikebana - Palm]

Palm tree, or palm of the hand?

Ah, a double entendre! Well, this is a very good piece, where I can see the shape of the palm tree, but I can also see the shape of a hand on the left hand side of the image. The white, almost claw-like shape looming out there is very imposing and could certainly make a decent living in a Hammer House of Horrors film.

With the way that the palm tree takes its shape, you've got a nice looking "yucca" plant form up the centre. Form within abstract is something that I feel is very important.

FInally, what is that striking black shape below the "yucca"?

[Review Request Club]

[Ikebana - Corner of Ikebana]

Colourful Jack-in-a-box

Well, that looks to be a very strange and surreal piece. I have to sayt hat the first impression that I got was of a Jack being released from his box-like prison. Perhaps this leads to some sort of symbolism for Pandora's box and the way that everything bad comes out of there... maybe it's the other version, where everything good dwells within the box instead.

There is certainly a lot to see here.

[Review Request Club]

[Lay off the coke, Garfield!]

Open mouth presents an issue

With all of the Garfield cartoons that I've watched over my many years of cartoon-based indulgence, I can honestly say that I don't think I've ever seen Garfield's mouth open. That's the one thing that made the most of the cartoon, was the factt hat Garfield was even too lazy to move his lips to speak. Though this was more than made up for by Odie and his hyperactive tongue.

With how laid back Garfield is, I'd have pictured him smoking a joint or a bong, because relaxants like Marijuana almost seem to be of the same genus as him. Coke being the opposite way, this is going to have some really weird consequences, so with the face that you're drawn for him, it's almost like he's done some Marijuana already.

The background is not the best I've seen - it almost seems that you've added it as an afterthought, so please consider working on that, as it's another point to think of, with the way that the focus isn't always drawn to the central part of the image.

[Review Request Club]

[Marine Dance]

Says Orca to me

Ah, I love seeing this one - it looks like you've got a pair of Orca leaping forth from the water and rolling backwards, pretty much as I recall from Free Willy, effectively landing on their backs, which seem whiter than I remember, but with abstracts, the detail looks a little different, so I'll let you off.

Quite a choppy sea scene, if I'm honest, but you do have a good variation and a range of colours spread across this piece. Having now checked your notes, I can also say "go me", as we're looking at similar things, if not entirely the same.

With the range of colours that you used, I'd probably question the reds and yellows, since it doesn't seem normal for the scene to be there. If you could show why you felt that was right, I'd be interested :)

[Review Request Club]

Hacsev responds:

By all means. While the blues and greens are dominant colors in a seascape, there's no denying the fact that elements with their complimentary colors do exist at sea.

[Ikebana - Totem]

The totem is on fire

Ah, a piece that I can see something in - I see a Totem Pole, rising through the middle of the piece, surrounded by a yellow flame at the base. To the front of it, I can see a black figure dancing amongst the flames, so I have pictured this as some sort of spirit, that is either patron of the totem or in being exorcised from it, somehow.

Again, the directions of your brush strokes can really affect people's perception of the piece as a whole and I can see various things moving about within the picture. I'd love to see your own thoughts in the comments, so that I can compare my notes after I've seen the piece.

[Review Request Club]

[Fred]

Scooby Snacks?

Hmm, a little "pac man" with the ghost and your usual quirk of the colouring roughly doesn't seem so noticeable this time - you're almost making them perfect, but not quite.

Personally, I'd have gone for more detail on the neck tie and shirt, but made the outlines look a little less obvious, as the thick black that you're using at present just seems a little too dominant, especially with the white of the shirt and the ghost.

You've captured Fred's features nicely, though I can't really see too much of the face. The quiff is well drawn and you've picked out his wardrobe choice well.

[Review Request Club]

up-a-notch responds:

why thank you my good sir :)

[A Duck!]

Interesting perspective

Good clean lines for this piece, with a very nice muse in the centre. I was a little confused by the perspective you have used, as the mountains can't be that far in the distance, due to the size of the trees on them. Perhaps I have been drawn away from the beauty of the piece by this error and the fact that you highlighted it in your notes.

The pastels that you have used for this piece give a nice soft look to the project and you can really benefit from something a little more harsh along the outlines of this. You've tried to do outlines in charcoal, but it doesn't seem to work. Careful though, as if you overdo it, you could ruin the image. I'd suggest an editing suite, such as Photoshop for that, since you can always delete the lines, without smudging. If you've already done this, consider darkening them ever so slightly.

The best part of this picture is the sky - it has so much going for it, with the lazy swirls that set it apart from a traditional sky scene. No clouds, but the effect of the waves and swirls really gives you a great impression.

[Review Request Club]

Merol responds:

Thank you!
I didn't use charcoal for the oulines, I used a 5B pencil, and you're right. I wish it would look darker.
I put my old stylographs in alcohol and have been there for like 3 days already, I hope they still work. It should look better with ink than pencil.
I use photoshop, but only to crop and resize my drawings. I don't know, I like them looking the same as the original, that's why I stopped coloring them with flash.

THANKS AGAIN!!

[Ikebana - Night]

Ooh, two in one

Ah, this one could be a skull... or a torso that appears to be burning and the folded arms lurch into the greens, with the head rising above it. Brilliant that you've managed to cram some shapes in there which leave a liberal route for interpretation out there :)

Either of these two interpretations of a face looks quite angry and sinister, so that creates a nice dark ambience to the piece, completed with the colour scale that you've chosen and the night sky in the background. Perhaps a few less stars there would have been better utilised.

I think that on the lower side of the image, harder lines could have been used, take something from Picasso and even go for the strong black outlines, to emphasise these parts. Maybe they will make more of an impression?

[Review Request Club]