Galneda's art Reviews on Newgrounds

[Pleasure]

"So much wrong with this?"

Are you nuts? This is great!

stnkjuc responds:

Teeth, lower lip, and her left (our right) eye lacks depth. But thank you, it means a lot! :)

[Cosmic Horror]

The raging river of people are just as compelling as this monster...holy cow.

The only thing that particularly look out of place to me are those drawn-star pentagrams. We have the starkly-realistic, living and breathing, mass of nude bodies streaming and bending into this horrifying other-worldly demon...and then we got these stars that almost seem to hint at "innocence" or "youthfulness" and it kinda throws me off from the epic spectacle of hell that the rest of this beckons to represent.

Why the stars, in that fashion?

Still voting 5.

Xaltotun responds:

You described it very well, and the stars were all intentional. Maybe they don't have the effect I was hoping for, because you're not the first to be put off by those, though. Anyway, thank you. :)

[Kratos as a Lady]

I'm in love with that face of hers. Great work, great lines! The feet seem a little small, too me, and the angle viewing upon her HEAVING BREASTS is a little weird at first, but her far shoulder makes the angle sensible. (Do you see what I mean? There would have been nothin' wrong for a profile view of those tits, but seeing them from above while we're mostly seeing the side of her is a little odd.)

Again, I love the face. Great job on the hair and legs too...and hell, the tits rock, the chains rock, great job, voted five!

Sabtastic responds:

Hey thanks for the insights!
Guess I just fell victim to that damn 'escher girl' posing. lol Snappin' spines for visual appeal---

Gah I gotta start keeping an eye out for that. I know I've done it more than once.

Glad you like her face so much..! I tried this sweet little 'flipping' technique where I reversed the image to see her face from another angle-- it really helped to make things look more balanced and to work out imperfections.

That, and having a photo reference helped. xD

[Happy Days]

I love it! My favorite details being the hooked-metallic tentacles and the toothy grin of the monster. The style on everything looks fantastic.

I have to ask, because I have NO idea how you do it, but how did you manage to get the comic-booky "dot-matrix" kind of shading? Is that a pattern that you overlay on the whole thing and erase where you don't need it, or is it much simpler/more complicated than that? I would cherish a response on the matter.

That's all I have to say about it, lol. I can empathize with the feeling of starting an art piece months ago and sludging along until its completion...I've been there too many times. But hey, it got finished, and it looks great! Don't beat yourself up about it, Mr. Front Page feature! Keep up the great work! :D

BryanV responds:

Thanks, man! It was done in Adobe Flash. I just set the color of the brush to a dotted pattern and then lock the pattern, and then just brush like I normally would. The only hard part was getting it to look right as flash would create a weird messed up pattern if i would zoom out to get a better look at the drawing so every time I had to do that I would just save it as an image. So.. yeah.

[Chalk Pastel Self Portrait]

You nailed the face, and the hair looks good too! I can see where your concerns are routed in the shape of the hand (wrist area, finger length) and the shading of the shoulder. Chin up, though! It all comes with practice...and dude, chalk pastels have a bit of a learning curve on them...I could only pray something I was fucking around with, using only chalk pastels, would come out half as good as this...its WAAAAY out of my comfort zone, and the only way to expand on YOUR skills as an artist is to push the boundaries of your own comfort zones.

That said, Mission Accomplished!

Keep it up dude! It looks good. Even if you hate it, never delete this; for it will serve as a testament to how far you've developed in retrospect...and shit, if you don't like how THIS turned out? You're aiming highly for yourself. Settle for nothing less, and keep on developing and improving.

372 responds:

Thanks dude, you always leave the best comments<3

[DeathInk 2099]

That's fuckin' awesome!

deathink responds:

thanks man

[Swampmaiden]

Looks fantastic! The detailing all over the creature's face is a marvel to behold...though I'm sure it was an intense, time-consuming undertaking, I kinda wish the same level of detail was continued to the comparatively bare forearms...

Even if it wasn't necessarily pores and wrinkles, creases...the contrast is evident. But, shit, there's no way that deducts on this artwork's score in the slightest. The overall color scheme is wonderful, I love big elements like the flowers, to little details like the necklace. I even enjoy the texture on the background.

This deserves its status as a front-page feature! Great job, keep up the fantastic work!

Jaona responds:

Thank you!

[Sketchswap]

"For the sake of lulz"

That really sticks out to me...sticks out more than the dude's man-cleavage.

You should know that I was legitimately stressing over the sketch you had sent me for this contest.

First and foremost, because the theme was Beauty and the Beast, and what you sent me was, in my initial impression, a stretch of an interpretation on that theme. But, it had damn good potential; the poses you sent me were dynamic, it had challenging perspectives and angles on characters, and there were even elements you threw in to be included...from the people in the background to the toothy grin within the dark, cave-like reflections of the water.

I stressed out, and busted ass on that thing to make it look good. I just couldn't wait to see what you had done with my sketch. As more and more completed sketches began accumulating in the Sketchswap thread, I couldn't wait to see if we qualified to win anything...just to see where we stood among these talented contestants.

I perused through your art when I was thinking about what to sketch for you. I had gathered the impression that you seemed to really like furries, and you're pretty talented at handling them...but as indicated by the sketch you sent me, you weren't afraid to draw a human. I wasn't about to go av-ante-gard on my interpretation of "Beauty and the Beast" when I submitted you my first sketch, but I wanted to challenge you like you challenged me. I gave you a stocky balance of two characters, and a sufficient reminder of an environment.

The raptors legs were drawn too long, in what I had sent you...some details were really out of place, or were simply the wrong size, but I trusted your artistic integrity to hone it right, adapt or alter anything in there and make it work. Even if it came down to completely changing the appearance of the Trapper/Hunter/Poacher, it would've been fine to me. Hell, I was looking at some of the sketches sent to some of the other contestants, and they were SUPER LOOSE, the bare necessities of what that user had in mind, and the other artist turned it into something frame-able.

Any adaptation, I would've been down for it as long as it looked good.

But this is really underwhelming. I will not lie to you, and I gotta get this off my chest, because I really think about it a lot.

I was looking forward to how you would have made the female velociraptor more elegant. I am met with a cartoon derp grin.

I was looking forward to how you would have handled the raptor toe-claws. They have been replaced with just toes.

I was looking forward to how you would have detailed the shotgun. It is replaced by a hip-strapped, still-sheathed dagger.

I was looking forward to the man's grizzled, bearded facial expression. Then, this. Then a big 'ol Texan belt buckle, and instead of patches, a smiley face pin, and that two-strap saddle, and so on and so forth.

There are two details that I like. The sky's color pallete looks good, very believable overcast, yet kinda happy. The other is you included the original sketch into the frame...what happened dude?

What could have happened?

I know you submitted this thing at the last possible moment, (and that's cool; so did I and a whole bunch of other contestants)...and you even revised it during the period of time when the deadline was extended, so, I get the impression that you're really busy, taking priority to other arrangements...school, family, work, bitches, it's none of my business, but hey, we all have lives.

Time-management is a factor, and it's especially stressful when working with deadlines on ANY project...and, fuck yeah, "Life gets in the way." Believe me, I understand...but the overall creative decisions you made in how this piece turned out is really a let-down to me, dude...and THAT is the bulk of my criticism and negative scoring.

You handed me your sketch, and I stressed out...I even had a convo with you and one of the judges to change it early on in the competition, but at the beckoning of the rules, I TOO finished what you had sent me at the last minute. I felt really stoked that I was designing characters in a way that I did NOT typically design characters. It challenged me, and it was kinda exciting as the sketch filled out to what it became. I had hoped that you had looked upon the sketch I sent you similarly.

You finished somethin'...but it wasn't what I sent you. Even without my bias, as just a completely original art that had nothing to do with me or a contest, outside perspective, I don't dig it. And I look around at your other art submissions and I know you're capable of effort. So, what happened? Were you not digging the content, the contest, or was it time?

That's my real-talk man, I don't want you take this as an attack. Its my honest, no-bullshit critique, and I needed to get it off my chest. If you only took ONE THING WITH YOU from this review, just remember me when you participate in another sketchswap, dude. That's all I ask. The future partner might not be so receptive to the sake of lulz being catered, when it was craftsmanship they were hoping for.

Thanks for reading.

-G-

maficmelody responds:

I see where you're coming from, and I stressed a tad as well unsure of what I could and should do.

The image I sent you had quite a bit of careful thought with layout and emotional appeal. I'm MORE than impressed on how well you translated it and that people who reviewed it were able to appreciate the message.

The challenge was "beauty and the beast", yeah, but I wanted people to READ it, not SEE it, and to draw their own conclusions. It's a higher form of storytelling I anticipated the judges to appreciate and for you to take the cake for execution.

The reason I gave you that picture was because I knew what you could do with it, especially because of your style. I couldn't pull that off with my curvy and soft cartoon lines and color pallet at this point in the game.

In the time we had I drew pages of raptors and barrel chested dudes, each time bettering myself with knowledge of shape and form. The picture you sent me had no real character dynamism telling of their relationship other than 'here is my steed'. I understood it as a reference sheet, actually. My background in animation often prevents me from nursing my lines and tossing in superfluous detail, which I believe is evident in my gallery and cartoons. I'm surprised you're surprised that I didn't reference your drawing 1:1. I was tempted to draw OVER your drawing with slight modifications but I figured you would take that as a cop out and perhaps you did actually expect me to cartoon it up as my gallery would imply.

Time was also an issue, but besides the usual factors of school and work, I spent every minute I could with my visiting nephew who I haven't seen in years and probably won't see again without flying across the country because of a custody dispute. Drawing in front of a computer that week wasn't something I really wanted to do. To top it off my internet provider was doing area maintenance that week so my last post and upload was on public wifi. Not fun, to say the least.

Anyway, participating in this challenge has made me think that I need to expand my scope with less cartoony things and more practice with art like beksinski, which I really like. Essentially you've participated in changing me as an artist and led me to pursue other avenues. So you can take that as you will.

[Hunter Space Fighter]

That looks fun to fly! Kudos on keeping everything proportionate, symmetrical, and overall looking great!

Since the metal plating shade of grey is kinda trying to blend with the grey fuselage of the fighter, it would be a good idea to make the background either a black tarmac kind of look (so the machine pops out more) or to give the fighter a paint job for the same effect.

In a futuristic setting of stealth-defeating detection, I'm sure blending in to the blackness of space is the last of their worries. :P

The 3-Dimensional attention to detail all over the Thermal Radiators are really eye-grabbing, and I'm loving the plausible details all around the cockpit. Like the Rescue release latch, the cut of certain panels, it all looks great.

The idea of the Omnidirectional Engine Pods on the very tip of these slender Predator / Reaper Drone looking wings raises concern of the payload capacity of the wings. They're long and slender, and I'm sure they're made of intense materials. SPACE materials, even...but its really the only detail in the design that I'm curious about.

Granted, in an animation, it would frantic and awesome as it's doing spins and maneuvers, absolutely TESTING the wing's ability to not snap off...and then it needs to abruptly pitch down, so the pilot is blinded by a pillar of fire shooting upward right in front of his line of sight...hope it's not leaking fuel, or catches on fire, because now the pilot is terminally IFR for the rest of the mission.

Also, there's an additional set of wings or kind of "fins" that are in between the Thermal Radiators and the cockpit. They're prominently featured in the top view, I think I can see where they end, aligned with the rear "X-wing" stabilizers, but on the side view...I suppose they're mostly hidden behind the top OmniDirectional Pod, but they don't seem to lend any significant stability to the design. If they were shaped to look more like a long-range comm or sensor array, that would lend strength to the design, in my opinion... wings have no function in space but a surface. There's no airflow, and no real need to generate lift. It's got plenty of thrust to compensate for that! :D

Great design! Reminds me of many a cool sci-fi. Can't wait to see it animated!

Nanashi responds:

What a thoughtful and comprehensive critique. Thanks!

In response, I'll try to address some of your concerns.
First, the engine pods. The idea is to move the thrusting units as far away from the center as possible in order to gain a mechanical advantage over moving the ship in zero gravity. You'll notice that the 'wings' or engine booms are actually quite thick compared to an aircraft wing, as they have no aerodynamic needs. To add to your concerns though, you should also know that the wings hinge back 90 degrees for storage, so the structural challenges in this area are vast for sure.

The rapid pitch thrusters are a serious design flaw that I chose to leave as is. Without going into too much detail, these fighters are generation two, but are still the result of a VERY rapid development cycle with very little testing (The colonies needed some sort of defense craft while capitol class ships are being built). Additionally, these thrusters are actually high-energy ion engines, which emit very little visible light when operational. Fire is a non issue, as the cockpit is the only pressurized and oxygenated location, and the engines use an electrical fuel source.

The craft is actually designed to undergo some basic atmospheric flight to facilitate emergency landings, so you'll notice the wingletts actually do have flaperons. The computer controls all flight surfaces during atmospheric flight because of the crafts inherent instability (much like a B2).

Finally, I'm kinda torn on how I want the craft 'painted.' I feel the somewhat boring grey lends to the fact that the craft is rapidly developed (You'll be happier with the MkIII in this area).

You're welcome to PM me if you feel a need to respond to any of the above, and again, thanks for the thoughtful feedback. Though I have responded to most of it, I am not ignoring the concerns you've raised.

[Beauty of the Beast]

Wow. So far, this is absolutely my favorite submission in the sketchswap!

It's majestic!

I've yet to master the technique of NOT drawing everything with a sort of a black ink outline / comic booky style. I would LOVE to learn how to do NICE LOOKING art like this.

The expressions say everything that needs to be said. The body language is perfect, the fire looks amazing, the trees are a thing of beauty, and the color pallette leading up to that AWESOME spirit wolf.

Tops, man. This is really cool.

What's your favorite submission that YOU designed? Point me in a direction and I'll review it. You've earned a fan in me, but "WE MUST GO DEEPER."

Fived and faved, good luck in winning the contest! :D

gayhobbit responds:

Wow, thank you so much for that encouraging review. Painting is certainly enjoyable though I'm also still getting comfortable with it. I like doing comic book style art myself, but with a classic look. 'Or that's what I attempt anyway, haha.

For the rest I have posted, there's nothing I particularly dislike, though I wish I had a favorite up and finished because I really enjoyed your review. 'Very much made my morning. =)