# Constructive Critique Please



## robinbirdie17 (Nov 8, 2016)

Hey guys! I'm Angel or Robin. It doesn't matter to me which you choose to call me.

I'm not new to FurAffinity, but I am new to the forums.

I'm looking for some constructive criticism on my newest submission, which is a character reference. It is the first time I've drawn one of that species and I would like to know what I can improve on for the next submission.

Now, I'm not sure if I can post a link to it, but my FA is the same as on here, robinbirdie17, and the submission is titled Blue Rose Reference.

If you could please take a look at it and comment some critiques, that would be great!

See y'all later!


----------



## Pinsley (Nov 15, 2016)

I'm gonna say here what I found.
In general your linearts are uneven which I marked on one of the sides.

Personally I think that the mirrored image was quite unnecessary as it doesn't show any diffrences to the other side.

Then there are a few more things.
As I marked the head is a little bit uneven (?). If you were aiming to copy mlp style it probably should look more like that if you asked me.
Linearts are all shaky. I'm not sure what tool you use or if it's just your hand but still. They are not as smooth as they probably should be.

Then there are the mistakes I marked with numbers.
No.1s are blank spots. When you were using selection tool you missed those bits leaving white spots there. They are merely visible On a smaller version but I spotted them when I zoomed in.

No.2 is a dint in the feather. I drew oer it but the feather is actually dinted in. I assume it should be a part of the unsmoothened lineart but still. Try to avoid such uneaven shapes. That feather is nearly a rectangle.

No3 is what I would call a broken lineart. Those breaks happened when your hand slid  to the side and got left. It makes the lineart look... not neat. Try ereasing them and drawing over and over again untill lineart looks as neat as it's heavenly possible.

What else I am goigng to add is how stiff the mane is. It looks as stiff as a braid or even further so as long as it isn't formed that way (judging by the coloring of the mane which indicates that he hair is rolled up and the mane is actually really really long) it means you might want to work on the fluidity of the hair.

Quick little side note. I know you tried to imitate mlp style on this piece but the thickness of the lineart is a little too small for that. You might want to experiment with that a little bit more. 
Personally I would avoid coloring the lienarts in many diffrent colors as well. I'm not sure if you do that on your other works but bare I'm mind it's not always possible to pull off. 

Personally judging by this single piece I believe you need a little more time. Draw frequently to get used to it. You still need a little more experience.


----------



## robinbirdie17 (Nov 15, 2016)

#1) I honestly didn't notice that. Thank you.

#2) Boy, you are really focusing on the lineart, aren't you? I just got the tablet this year and I haven't had much time to practice with it, so of course the lineart is shaky for right now.

#3) Intentional. The tail is supposed to be that way. Same thing with the mane. Her mane is short and in a spiked style that I could never pull off in real life due to how style resistant my hair is.

Quick reply to the side note: I did not intent to imitate the MLP style. I merely used it as a reference. I have never hand drawn a pony like this before, so I needed a reference.

Last note, the mirrored image shows the leg markings on the opposite side. This is her reference and her markings aren't symmetrical.

Thank you for being the first to respond, but next time, please try to not hyper focus on the lineart that I'm still working on improving.


----------



## Pinsley (Nov 15, 2016)

I'll be absolutely honest.
There is no need to get offended. It was just something I spotted so I pointed it out. I might've mentioned it too many times for what I'm sorry, but my intentions were pure. It's nice to see someone trying to improove.

And since the post asked for criticism I gave it all I've had.


----------



## Neymar Jr (Nov 15, 2016)

What kind of critique are you looking for?

If you're not trying for MLP, why use their specific style as a reference and then almost mimic it?


----------



## robinbirdie17 (Nov 15, 2016)

Pinsley said:


> I'll be absolutely honest.
> There is no need to get offended. It was just something I spotted so I pointed it out. I might've mentioned it too many times for what I'm sorry, but my intentions were pure. It's nice to see someone trying to improove.
> 
> And since the post asked for criticism I gave it all I've had.


I'm not offended. I appreciate your post.


----------



## robinbirdie17 (Nov 15, 2016)

Neymar Jr said:


> What kind of critique are you looking for?
> 
> If you're not trying for MLP, why use their specific style as a reference and then almost mimic it?


What I meant was that I was aiming to put my own twist on the MLP style. I intended to use the anatomy but make it in my style. And I'm mostly looking for constructive anatomy critiques.


----------



## Pinsley (Nov 16, 2016)

Tbh if you use anybody elses art style and ask for criticism others will immidiatelly assume that you are aiming to make your art look exacly like that art style. If you want others to see that you are not aiming for a perfect resemblance try modifying that style enough to make it your own. That way we can't just compare you art to somebody elses.

Just a tip to consider in the future.


----------



## robinbirdie17 (Nov 16, 2016)

Pinsley said:


> Tbh if you use anybody elses art style and ask for criticism others will immidiatelly assume that you are aiming to make your art look exacly like that art style. If you want others to see that you are not aiming for a perfect resemblance try modifying that style enough to make it your own. That way we can't just compare you art to somebody elses.
> 
> Just a tip to consider in the future.


Like I mentioned in my last reply. I was using the MLP anatomy and what you are seeing is my style. I don't like using thick lines. To me it just doesn't look good. That's why the lines are thin. Because it's in my style to use thin lines.


----------



## Pinsley (Nov 16, 2016)

Yeah. What I meant was that It has to be enough to look diffrent. As in the thin lines weren't enough of a personal quirk. What I mant you shouldve gone a bit further and say... Changed the color of the outlines to black or say the way you shaded the eye.
Mark your territory bruh. All like THIS MY STYLE LOOK I DRAW LINES IN A WAY DARKER, AGGRESSIVE AND SWIRLY WAY. I see you stepped a little bit away from the mlp style but all I'm saying is the diffrence wasn't big enough. Not pressing you about this piece just make sure to step out and make sure the art style is like 
Like even in this pic. 





You have everything specific for mlp style. Thick lines of similiar color to the inside color, really soft shades, sparkly eyes. You still can tell that that wasn't susposed to look like in cartoon. 


Sorry if I'm going too far I'm just trying to help you make sure you're not judged for something you don't want to be judged for in the future. It is not a nice feel so having that is always frustrating.


----------



## robinbirdie17 (Nov 16, 2016)

Pinsley said:


> Yeah. What I meant was that It has to be enough to look diffrent. As in the thin lines weren't enough of a personal quirk. What I mant you shouldve gone a bit further and say... Changed the color of the outlines to black or say the way you shaded the eye.
> Mark your territory bruh. All like THIS MY STYLE LOOK I DRAW LINES IN A WAY DARKER, AGGRESSIVE AND SWIRLY WAY. I see you stepped a little bit away from the mlp style but all I'm saying is the diffrence wasn't big enough. Not pressing you about this piece just make sure to step out and make sure the art style is like
> Like even in this pic.
> 
> ...


Okay, now I get what you're meaning. I will try in future pictures to make Blue Rose more in my actual style than in one that resembles the MLP style. Thank you for clearing that up for me.


----------



## Revous (Nov 23, 2016)

I know you said you're still practicing with the tablet, but consider using a program (like SAI) that has a line stability feature.
Practice proportion and how to work with angles. Avoid "stiff" angles like the plague because we rarely see them in real life, go for fluid or dynamic angles. 
Clothing doesn't stand stiff on the body, it drapes and curves, and even the thickest of fabrics still have a certain "weight" and feel. Same for hair and fur.
Try coloring, shading and detailing, they all enrich pics. Even lineless or monochromatic art use the same principles as lined, colored and shaded art.

Study the works of artists you like (best if they're in the same style or "field" as you) and look up to them, read their tutorials, take tips, watch speedpaints, etc. Draing is at least 80% study and practice. But after a while, you'll see you will be improving literally on each and every single pic you draw. Don't let yourself feel discouraged, ever, because we all were beginners once!


----------



## robinbirdie17 (Nov 23, 2016)

Revous said:


> I know you said you're still practicing with the tablet, but consider using a program (like SAI) that has a line stability feature.
> Practice proportion and how to work with angles. Avoid "stiff" angles like the plague because we rarely see them in real life, go for fluid or dynamic angles.
> Clothing doesn't stand stiff on the body, it drapes and curves, and even the thickest of fabrics still have a certain "weight" and feel. Same for hair and fur.
> Try coloring, shading and detailing, they all enrich pics. Even lineless or monochromatic art use the same principles as lined, colored and shaded art.
> ...


I have used SAI before and I didn't like it. It was too tricky for me. I use FireAlpaca. And this was just a reference, so shading, detailing, and dynamic poses are not the best for it. I'm still trying to figure out how to make clothes look good on art, and even when I do draw the folds and stuff, it doesn't look right. I also don't really look up to any artists. I haven't found one that I want to look up to yet. I do have artist friends, though, and they do give me tips. I also do a lot of research on my own, but I don't really find any tutorials that are easy for me to follow or that I like.


----------



## metatem (Nov 23, 2016)

robinbirdie17 said:


> I have used SAI before and I didn't like it. It was too tricky for me. I use FireAlpaca. And this was just a reference, so shading, detailing, and dynamic poses are not the best for it. I'm still trying to figure out how to make clothes look good on art, and even when I do draw the folds and stuff, it doesn't look right. I also don't really look up to any artists. I haven't found one that I want to look up to yet. I do have artist friends, though, and they do give me tips. I also do a lot of research on my own, but I don't really find any tutorials that are easy for me to follow or that I like.



If you go to the top of fire alpaca there's a little drop down box with, I think, correction written next to it. Bump that up to about 10 and that should help with stability. I have some issues with my hands that means they sometimes shake a lot so this is invaluable to me. If you're looking for tutorials I personally would say the best are by a person called Mark Crilly.

Also if you are really struggling with lines I would recommend just doing a rough sketch in fire alpaca then redoing the lines in something like GIMP using the vector tool. I did the start of what this could look like below.


----------



## robinbirdie17 (Nov 23, 2016)

metatem said:


> If you go to the top of fire alpaca there's a little drop down box with, I think, correction written next to it. Bump that up to about 10 and that should help with stability. I have some issues with my hands that means they sometimes shake a lot so this is invaluable to me. If you're looking for tutorials I personally would say the best are by a person called Mark Crilly.
> 
> Also if you are really struggling with lines I would recommend just doing a rough sketch in fire alpaca then redoing the lines in something like GIMP using the vector tool. I did the start of what this could look like below.


I think I see what you're getting at.

My apologies if I seemed a little harsh before. My mood just hasn't been the greatest lately.

Though this was the first time that I've ever fully drawn a pony in the MLP anatomy without using a base for more than a reference for the wings. And I'll definitely take a look at the artist you mentioned. Although if I'm being perfectly honest myself, I don't even know what my style is right now. Do you have any other tips or advice?


----------



## metatem (Nov 23, 2016)

robinbirdie17 said:


> I think I see what you're getting at.
> 
> My apologies if I seemed a little harsh before. My mood just hasn't been the greatest lately.
> 
> Though this was the first time that I've ever fully drawn a pony in the MLP anatomy without using a base for more than a reference for the wings. And I'll definitely take a look at the artist you mentioned. Although if I'm being perfectly honest myself, I don't even know what my style is right now. Do you have any other tips or advice?


Generally, the easiest way I find to understand drawing is to learn how to draw boxes in 3d space then make up your basic anatomy out of those boxes and maybe some spheres. Though to star off with you'd be better off learning by just proportioning boxes right. Really you should learn to draw humans first as that's what there is the most resources on and then once you're satisfied with your knowledge branch out into drawing animals.

The easiest way to pick up these skills is just analysing other people's art that you like and working out how to get a similar style and proportions.


----------



## robinbirdie17 (Nov 23, 2016)

metatem said:


> Generally, the easiest way I find to understand drawing is to learn how to draw boxes in 3d space then make up your basic anatomy out of those boxes and maybe some spheres. Though to star off with you'd be better off learning by just proportioning boxes right. Really you should learn to draw humans first as that's what there is the most resources on and then once you're satisfied with your knowledge branch out into drawing animals.
> 
> The easiest way to pick up these skills is just analysing other people's art that you like and working out how to get a similar style and proportions.


Okay, okay. That does make sense. Although, to be fair, I did start out drawing animals. My humans look like lanky blobs in comparison. But I will definitely start observing more from artists that I like and trying to get the proportions right.


----------

