Coop's art Reviews on Newgrounds

[Beatles Crossing]

Not bad

I think that this is a nice start to the image, portraying part of the Abbey Road album cover, with the four Beatles walking across the Zebra crossing, but with a more modern Beatles background, as in something I may have expected from 1.

The four images of the guys are nicely detailed, even down to Lennon not wearing shoes, as he did for the original album cover. Perhaps they lost a little from having to be expanded a little too much, which was a shame, as the edges look particularly pixelated, in stark contrast to the hard edges of the font in the background.

With the reflection, you did a decent job with reflecting their images, but John Lennon appears to be airborne, otherwise the reflection would touch the image at the feet. Finally, I guess that "The Beatles" logo was reflected and reversed for a purpose, but if it was unintentional, you might want to correct it.

[Review Request Club]

up-a-notch responds:

the logo was real yes, also it's paul not john...he's floating because he's DEAD!

[The Smart One]

Sergeant Peppers?

Well, it's a good piece of inspiration, but I can't see the whole "smart" reference, with your drawing style. The effect of colouring outside of the lines looks messy and if you're not going to change that, perhaps consider removing the lines altogether, as this would make it look a lot better. Look at leaving some of the lines for shading though, as they do confer a benefit.

The background could have been a different colour here, as there is just a little too much yellow here - go for something like turquoise, to give contrast and allowing the flowers on the shoulders to show up more.

Finally, a little attention to detail, with things like the glasses, which just have to be perfect, in my opinion, would be brilliant.

[Review Request Club]

up-a-notch responds:

Thank you, john was "the smart one"

[Spectral Observatory]

In the observatory

Well, this is the sort of image that I would expect of the inside of a god's house, as they can walk through spectral halls into a room that looks down on the very stars, the planets that orbit them and the creatures that dwell thereon, for the gods to play games with the lives of men.

The circular white "floor", coupled with the pillars give the impression of a large domed room, in an art-Deco fashion, with some sort of giant, golden contraption suspended at the centre, which would be relatively normal, except the walls are not composed of brick, but space itself, infinite and awe-inspiring.

The globe that you have added to the bottom left of the screen is a wonderful touch, that some might think was an homage to Pandora from Avatar. The sheer scale of this piece is incredible and it makes me as a reviewer feel very small, which is a shame, but a wonderful thing, to think that someone or something may be looking down upon me through a similar scenario many hundreds of thousands of light-years away.

[Review Request Club]

EchoRun responds:

Thank you!

I am glad you like this, since it took so long to put together! :D

[Hunt The Fish]

There's always a bigger fish

An interesting dynamic of using the fins to disguise the waves of the form for the bigger fish beast... thing. I think that this is one of these pieces that is much better when you zoom out of it, as with the traditional art pieces, you're supposed to be able to take it all in as one scene.

With the way that the prey is so small, something is lost in this case of the picture, since it has been reduced so much in size and the "expression" on the face is all but lost, which is a shame.

I like how you've done the plant life - perhaps a little more work on currents causing them to be a little more irregular, but other than that, the effect is good. With the rocks, there might be something else lurking away there, perhaps a larger, distant set of eyes, perhaps contemplating a breakfast snack.

[Review Request Club]

EchoRun responds:

I like the notion of something else lurking - but all I get running through my head is some sort of woldlife parrody/comedy. Oh well, maybe I will paint that someday.

Thanks for the review. :)

[John Lennon]

Needs smoothing out

It's a good effort and I can see that you're trying to get your pieces to look better, but you won't get recommended for the Art Portal by this reviewer, unless you deal with the basics.

Seriously, as children, most of us are given black outlined drawings and told to colour them in within the lines. This is a MAJOR shortcoming with your work and as a result, the overall look of the piece really does fall off. If you're using photoshop for the drawing, do each colour in a layer with a layer for the skeleton, which you delete afterwards, so that you can round things off nicer.

Working with things like the glasses, which for Lennon were always iconically circular, these need to be smoothed out and can be done quite easily by zooming in and getting more control over what you're working on. Art is difficult and it requires so much more effort, if you're going to excel.

Please pay heed to this advice and take it forward, as you can draw and draw well, I believe, but it needs some effort to bring the best out of you.

[Review Request Club]

up-a-notch responds:

Ok thanks coop :)

[Engine]

Great Detail!

Wow, this piece is an amazingly detailed work of engineering. I don't really care that it wouldn't work, as nowadays, people like to build engines that you would have to take bits off for half an hour to get to anything interesting at all.

The colouring is good and I like the way that there is no oil residue on the parts - this is clearly a display model. I'll bet that your brother is really proud of your work here.

Just regarding personal experiences and your contact details in the comments, perhaps take the address off and let people send you a PM, so that you can pick and choose a little of the people that want to add you to their conversations.

Thinking about the state of this engine and the sheer scale of it all, I'd actually be quite interested in seeing what sort of beast of a machine you'd have bolted this into. Some sort of War Machine, no doubt belching smoke and death into the air as it trundles onward.

[Review Request Club]

[Mr. Monocle]

More effort required

I think that you've got a decent concept here, but the whole image of the piece is knocked due to a very rushed look to it all, where you're cutting corners, in your over-eagerness to publish this work, no doubt.

Take your time with the drawing - filling the background for the sky and the floor is simple, then you can draw the clouds on in white and fill them the same, thus giving you a practical, serviceable and relatively usable background. The same could be done with the sun, just to get something different in the piece. Maybe even make those clouds a light shade of grey, so they don't clash with the shirt.

Is it a black short, or a jacket? Perhaps some differentiation is needed, with the buttons being on show and a discenible join down the front. Shirts have this covered by the tie, so I might be able to let you off. Someone as posh as Mr. Monocle would have his collar buttoned up to the top, so do that, for effect. Make the monocle bigger, to get more of an impression, as it is supposed to be the focal detail. Perhaps a gold chain that links to his lapel button hole, for example, again for effect, but something so simple would have a nice effect.

With the way that you've I've given this picture a cursory once over, you've got a few glaring issues that need to be attended to. People will be much more receptive of your works when you make an effort, trust me.

[Review Request Club]

up-a-notch responds:

ok...but i just made this for fun...

[Sleepy Head]

Strange proportions

Well, this piece is certainly built on weird proportions, with the guy';s nose being almost the same size as his pink fluffy bunny-clad feet. I like what you've done with the body hair and the way you've faced in the look of the stubble, with the more visible hairs poking through.

The main thing you can do with this piece is use better quality (sized) tools for the job. Draw the outline very roughly and then zoom in and edit using a thinner brush, so that it looks neater - when you zoom out, you'll really see the results in a very positive way.

You've done a decent attempt at a background, but straight lines are needed for the walls meeting the floors - skirting boards are a way to get a little more detail into this picture for relatively little effort.

When you're doing colouring or shading, please try not to go outside of the lines - this might be helped, by drawing in the colours you wish to use and then doing the outlines last, to tidy everything up?

[Review Request Club]

up-a-notch responds:

ok...also i just do these cause i like the characters

[EBF3 Gunslinger]

Wild West, with modern influence

I think that this looks rather special and has a nice look to the character here. I love the way you've accomplished so much, without the need for arms, which while it simplifies the image, I don't really think it's been cheapened all that much by it.

The detail of the magazine being balanced on the hat was nice, but should it at least be secured? Perhaps I'm looking too hard at this and you just didn't put it in, as a part of your simple detail for the piece.

This piece would certainly have a massive benefit from a background - something along the lines of a New Mexico style scene, complete with a tumbleweed and perhaps even something like a gunfight going on in the background. I'd maybe even have considered pulling the wanted poster off a wall and crumpling it slightly, as if it were held in an invisible hand.

[Review Request Club]

kmau responds:

I imagined the magazine to be secured in the head itself, but then again the magazine (or sword hilt for the other variant) was just a cosmetic decision.
I did not really feel that it needs a background and most pictures in the game gallery are probably transparent anyway. I can still add a background later though.. Your idea with the invisible hand grabbing the poster is awesome, why didn't I think of that?

[The New Grounds Car]

Which model?

So, which model was this? I've just come here from the NG Toyota Camry idea thread that's floating around the BBS, so I thought I'd stop by with a review for you as well.

It's a nice paint job, but I have to say, I'm not a fan of the colour scheme - the orange it a little too dark, if you're going for the "NG Sunburst" theme across the paintwork there.

Some of the other ideas floated around out there were the AgnryFaic headlights, which would have been an awesome compliment for the piece. With the way that the whole piece comes together, you've done a really good job. How did the paint smudge on the Everything, by Everyone? I understand that it's something to do with the lower coats, but were you paint over the top while it was still wet? If so, that's a sad mistake to be making.

From a racing fan's point of view, I'm glad that you've left the space on the roof and door for the number of the vehicle - who would you like to have driving it? Rowdy Busch, for his style of punting people out of the way? Intimidatorm for the same reasons, or perhaps Jimmie Johnson, since he looks a little like Tom with his Grizzly Adams face fuzz at present?

[Review Request Club]

Snowman responds:

Was i linked to in the thread? I havent really kept up on it much, been working....

Tis a 2000 ford taurus. The Everthing by everyone somehow smudged when i put on my clear coat, im guessing sharpie and areosol spray coat dont mix so well. Angry faics on the headlights i did consider, but with my complete skill painting, i would have ruined the whole thing.

Personally, Im a Kenseth fan, before i grinded it down it was originally a Kenseth car. Busch would be fun to have but I would have a problem with the toyota part.

Painting over when wet, what? I made sure to let everything dry, every time i went on to a new part i let it dry for at least a day.

Thanks