Lintire's art Reviews on Newgrounds

[The Secret Nae]

Imma firin mah lazor

Nice piece, JKA, and I can definitely see which bits were done in Flash and which were done in Photoshop - it's a clear blend of each, and you've mixed it cleverly. Not to mention that Nae is fighting ways Rays. I see some humor in that. It might just be me trying to see the funny side of everything. If it indeed is based off good ol' RaeNaeNae, but I doubt that it could be anyone else anyway. Anyway, just over here to drop a review and the like, I'll try to keep it somewhat cohesive.

There are quite a few good things about this pictures - the colouring suitably matches the background detail, you've managed to blend both Flash and Photoshop really well to give off the feeling of an urban challenge, something of a battler scouring the streets. I love that idea, and moderators kicking ass is to be expected anyway, so great job on giving that impression. Did a little clicking on the previous version and I can say you've improved a heap - not just in style, but in technique and, well, just about anything that can be improved on. The subtle additions - like colouring the highlights to make them look as if reflected off Rae's Rays, her ninja pose and the minor details like that - all add in to an effective picture.

However, there's also quite a bit that needs improving on. Her proportions are so out of whack it's not even funny - her legs being shorter then her arms, her torso a tree trunk, and her boobs look like they could probably smother me to death without much effort behind the blow. Now of course perspective plays a part but it hasn't been used nearly effectively enough to make up for the horrible proportions. The background could use a lot more additions to secure it as an urban setting - whether it be minor props, the bodies of splattered gangsters, or a thousand other things that could make the setting seem much more realistic and viable - while Flash was effective, using Photoshop to create the background would have been the better choice.

Other things - like her non-existent face (hehe, see what I did there?), her neglected shading spots, and the overall lack of detail are really what bring this submission down - it's a good piece, but simply not good enough to make up for it's own flaws. Honestly, the main way I would say to improve it is to add in everything, even if only things that might need adding, in simple format during the sketch layer, and repeatedly both going back to edit that sketch layer to add in the details, before finally applying it to your final piece - right here, it seems as though you've drawn it straight off the bat, an approach which, more often then not, turns out to be fairly ineffective on satisfying an art-critic on closer observation - it tends to lack detail, a component that most pieces need.

Overall, it's a good piece and I like it - it's effective and the inside joke is there for all to see. However, there are many ways that you could improve it and I would suggest that you try a few - while it's obvious that you've improved a great deal, being willing to take the time to really plug in those minor details and greater backgrounds really does help out in the long run. Good work, JKA, this is a good addition to your art collection as it is.

And sorry being being such a wordy bastard, it's more or less my nature when it comes to writing.

JKAmovies responds:

Well... I'd like to say that is the longest review I have ever seen (not that it's a bad thing mind you).

Alright, onto actually responding: Thank you for the review and the very good helpful criticism, as you have labeled many, well, everything that could help me improve on :3

The main point of this was simplicity (in a way), I am all for simplicity (is just me) and adding too many variations and colours degrades that simplicity that I was aiming for, though, a background would have helped for sure (I dunno, I don't like drawing bg for art).

My proportional values still need work as always, but I am getting better and will keep aiming at improving that (I'm not too good at female proportions... yet), but, in my own way, If I were to make the proportions too-realistic, it would ruin the over-all design (I wasn't aiming for realistic features, you probably guessed from the broom head) but I understand what needs to be improved and will work from it.

I should undertake your advice for trying multiple shades and layers, It isn't something I do often, and would probably help out a lot. When I draw, it's usually on paper with pencil, then scanned into photoshop or a file image, then drawn over onto photoshop/flash and finalized into the final piece. Maybe adding the variation of styles and shades would help the overall proportions also..?

Either way, thank you for your very detailed review. I will try my best to work from it ~JKA

[Zombie project]

Don't run with Scissors.

I'm pretty sure that this contains all that is needed in life - a pair of boobs attached to a badass, some zombies and a dose of bloodletting to boot. Great digital painting and positioning in this, everything from the obvious minor details liek the expression, the tattoo, and the zombies, to the major, awe-inspiring and frankly much more important details - like well, the boobs.

It would benefit from a touch of a background, from the fading out style of the picture it would probably be no more then a few lights and maybe a hint of a few foreground items, but it would help to set the setting and give the (have to agree with you here about it's not reaching fruition, looks completely badass for anything) unfortunately not really finished project a bit more definition - right now it could be anything from a schoolyard uprising to a office deathzone - and while you may have designed it that way, it could really do with that little extra.

But it's a great picture and I love it to death - she looks like the exactly kind of pissed off you would be in a zombie uprising, and combined with her obvious character and even more obvious bra-size, I enjoyed admiring this picture, so great work, man =D

[Summer Days]

O HAI THAR

I'm loving the general feeling of innocence in this piece - that chance encounter, that one brief meeting that turns to a full-blown friendship - and this picture reeks of that kind of innocent play-dating.

The watercolour effect you've achieved greatly adds to the atmosphere - it looks like a child's finger-painting in some aspects, and I can appreciate that kind of addition to detail. It certainly has a story-telling aspect,a s detailed by the white boundaries and all circling the picture, creating yet again that aspect of child chance-encounter. Even the cartooiny anime-esque girl adds to it, and it's a great piece.

However, not all fun and games. The proportions on the girl are considerably out of whack, and the background, as in props, is practically nonexistent - adding to these would significantly improve the "life" or staring time of a picture, as a viewer takes in the whole thing rather then just the general gist.

But it's a great picture, and I like it.

FallenBane responds:

Ah, proportions. My worst enemy. :P
Glad you like it though.

[Tidal Sesh]

Tropical Fruit Waffles

Cloudy, love your style, always seems to me as though you've been hanging out with the hippies of Australia, learning their secrets and applying them to your work - another by-product of the hippies affecting your mind, and apparently using Cometa as well :3

I love the colours and tones in this piece - the constant shifting and interchanging of colours making it seem like some sort of tropical fruit punch, the type that you get on Saturdays and keep well enough away from your penguin waffles. the shading is awesome and unique, and it actually gets quite hard to tell your contributions from Cometa's at a few of the points, and I'm enjoying the overall effect - although I'm going to take a leap of faith and say that you drew the middle character.

My only real qualm is that it doesn't seem busy enough - while the foreground is great and the background suits it, it seems really, really empty and the colours don't do nearly enough to make up for that - which isn't a deal-breaker, it's still a great piece and I enjoy it.

CloudEater responds:

Thanks, lol hippies. I tried to make it colourful and use an even amount of different colours. It seems it's even harder to tell who did what than you thought it was. Yes it does seem a bit empty, I need to work on my busyness personally. Thanks heaps for the review.

[Left Alone]

Will o the Wisp

This has a great atmosphere to it - one that literally reflects it's title, so I suppose you've pretty much gained the direction that you've gone for, and that's something worth saluting. I like the picture, and it's got some great stuff going for it - the muted colours, the enthralling focal points and even the juxtaposition between the human-looking central point and the two spiritual-looking things surrounding it.

However, there are a few bad points - the lack of detail outside of the focal point becomes horribly apparent upon closer observation and the brush strokes really start to blare out when one does try to closer inspect the focal point - it appears as if you've built the entire picture on a single painting concept, something that you don't want to achieve. But overall, it's a great picture and i like it.

3abden responds:

Thanks for the critique.

[Runk-A-Chunk]

I like big butts, that you can't deny...

A great birthday hug machine, even if one look at those tits would surely be enough to drive most when to swallow their own throats and get the death over with, ASAP.
So, great hug machine, not a great present on all acocutns, though :3

It's a good picture, though, you've really managed to apply your art style to fat chicks and get that retarded and overall fucking ugly look out into the open, exposing all their insecurities and how they cover them up with smiles, wiping away their tears in their own backyards and begging, even screaming at the walls, for a better life, less teasing, less... hurt.

Nice picture.

BizarroJoe responds:

The fun thing is that everything you said in this review is what I was intending... For another character. It was an old idea I had for an animation inspired by the "Fat Anime" collabs... One project that came again to my head when doing this... *Aah* maybe one day...
But thanks to your input, now I know I'm on the right lane for that!
Thank you very much for commenting!

[Ms. Death]

Oh Snap, it's a GRAMAPHONE!

Another great submission, Luxembourg. Loving your stuff, and, well, decided that I had to do some sort of review for it. To start off, the style is original as always. I can honestly say that it's branching away from everything that I can base it on, developing your own unique style, which seems to have a strong basis on innocence. This style is going well with the theme of death - considering all the submissions were based on or off the general subject of the Grim Reaper (Not so Grim, this piece) and the whole concept is it's own take on the subject. The colours match the lineart perfectly, giving off the idea of a musty attic - which I'm assuming is the general feeling you were heading for.

I wouldn't say that her eyes being huge is a bad thing - the lack of experssion, facially at least, does clear the way for some proportional warping and I wouldn't rebuke you for over-compensating via way of her eyes. Especially in a relatively cartoon piece which doesn't really have much basis in reality anyway. As for the designs, I think you did particularly well - they were subtle, enough to be missed at a first glance, and the designs on the girl's (I'd consider her more eccentric then insane for her utter desensitization to death) coat really appealed to me - good thing you didn't have to redraw her, because getting that right twice would have been an utter bitch.

However, there are quite a few problems with this that no-one, including yourself, seems to have mentioned. The most notable is that you've utterly cocked up the depth and volume of the background objects - they seem utterly flat, and completely indecipherable from the foreground - the main character could be 2 or 20 meters away from the shelves, for all I know. The corner spiderwebs, along with the pipe, seem unattached to anything - I'd advise trying to research how to draw your graphical drawing, then try and apply them to art. I can't really seem to find any good tutorials right now - all the Google results I can find seem to either insult your intelligence or are completely unrelated, but I suppose you get the general picture.

Now, while the designs were fairly well done, the textures did seem quite cheap - the static on the TV, the woodwork on the table, and the background "crumpled paper-esque" textures all seemed fairly cheap. Since you draw in Coral Painter, there's no real point in telling you to go try some Photoshop effects to try and emulate in the textures in place of drawing them, but I do liek to think that you have to know the limits and rules of a subject before you can fuck with them to your desire, so here's a link (probably butchered by the NG things) to some realistic texturing - pencil, but whatever.

http://www.learn-to-draw-expressively.com/drawing-realistic-texture.html

Another problem with this was the shading - it's a great way to convey tone and depth, but it's been used way too sparingly in this picture and doesn't really amount to any difference in the long run - I had to actually to actively search for the shading to find it. As a rule of thumb, while shading, and when using layers of shading sparingly (ie when you're only using the one main tone) try to go 30% to 40% shading, scoring enough of the picture for it to be notice. The more layers and tones you used, the more you shade, but that;s jsut a basic rule of thumb.

Other then defining the character and background some more, while working on your light sources, those were the main problems with the picture. Looking back at your other pictures, your lineart has improved greatly, and your colouring is eons above what it used to be. You do seem to have an overall theme of innocence in your drawings - it works well with the style. The only other things I can really add are that chimneys in your head is the the new black, try adding some cast-iron into your pictures, and would "The Big Book of Death" have anything to do with a certain Bronwyn Carlton?

Luxembourg responds:

You have a knack for giving me good reviews, and this one is no exception.
I'm glad you generally like it, and I'm glad you see the issues where they are and pointed them out.
About the depth, I am absolute shit at depth and perspective and things of that sort. That's certainly no excuse, but it's something I really have trouble with. I don't really know how to cause things to look farther back without putting them in a position to look very far away. I'm terrible at that and pretty embarassed about it.
The textures are something I'm fairly new with. As you've noted with my work, details and coloring have never been my forte and I've always worked mostly with lineart. This is one of the first times I've ever digitally tried to apply a texture to anything, and I did them all by hand. Practice will help me with that, but I understand that I did a poor job with most of the textures here. I thought I did a decent enough job with the wood texture on the gramophone (which looks different than the texture on the desk), though that's virtually invisible unless viewed full size. I regret using the paper texture in the background. That was cheap.
I'm always a little scared of shading things digitally. I tried, but I always make things too light to avoid them messing up the pieces. I'm also pretty bad when I don't set up a directly visible light source, so I don't always know how light will behave when it's area lighting rather than concentrated lighting. I was more liberal with shades in, say, The Vexon and the Light, but I'm not always aware of what to do when I don't set up some more direct light sources. I feel like I learned some things about basic digital shading on this, so I hope to be more liberal in the future with shades.
It's a reference to a Christopher Moore book, by the way. "A Dirty Job", which is about Death. It's one of my favorite books of all time.
Thanks for the awesome review, Lintire!

[Miss Neon]

No Cigar4U

Now, before you go all "ZOMG HE VOTED LOW BURN HIS ASS", just hear me out. Or more likely, grab a drink and settle down for the read. I've noticed that not many reviewers like to put much effort into their reviews so much as just commenting. I don't know what's up with that, I just keep and keep. Anyway, I can appreciate what you've tried to achieve here - that is, recreating the effect of glow sticks waving about into a picture. The problem is you haven't done it very effectively, the drawing itself looks cheap, and there's a complete lack of detail in the picture (even darkness can have detail).

The basic glowstick effect you've been able to recreate quite nicely - that is, having one of those kids that you don't really like waving his hand up and down really fast to create a trail of glow that, when ordered right, can create a picture. The problem is that the glowstick trails are extremely messy in some ends yet minutely detailed in other (compare hair - neck) and while other parts you've actually outlined colours with other colours. While this isn't only impractical, kids having the motor skills of, well, a brick, the yellow eyes being sourrounded by a fain blue outline is also unsightly.

My advice would be to put more emphasis on there being glow stick trails. Point out beginnings and ends of trails, have them much more bright to the source as compared to simply being blatantly done with a lowered opacity brush Photoshop (well, that's what it looks like to me. If you're not doing that, using a different program and actually putting effort into it, then stop what you're doing and defect). You can also shove detail into here too - have the lighted glow-sticks at the ends of the trails, grabbed by grubby little hands and try to paint this picture as an actual piece done by kids holding glow sticks, rather then a product of glow sticks. Like, without the grubby little hands.

I'm not saying there should be grubby little kids with grubby little hands and spleens ripe for the collecting, I'm just that this piece, as it is, is weak. No strength. Kids with their spleens intact can, somewhat, fix that.

As for the drawing itself. Well, Not all picture of women have to be lookers, but an egghead that looks like it came straight out of a backyard flower-shop isn't exactly attractive to look at when shrouded in all this illogically existing glow stick trail. Your proportions are fairly off - that nose does look like a facial tumour - but it's ugliness is kind of accelerated by poor positioning and structure, You moved it to the side in order to accommodate your signature - which, while not "un-fine" is kind of incentive to believe that the picture, isn't the main attraction.

Anyway, much potential for a picture, but as it exists it is pretty damn weak, shallow, and whatever other words I con conjure up for a picture that has no real substance. No sugar-coating it.

Snowman responds:

I find this review to be very helpful. I see what your saying to about everthing, and on some rainy day i will most likely be retrying this and keeping this review right next to me.

I find it funny how some have voted this review to be useless.
Honestly , I wish more people would review like this, the only thing it could do is help me fix my mistakes and improve. I dont see why people get all butthurt when they get reviewed under a 10.

[Ucogi Beach]

Assmongerer.

Well, man, you're certainly able to draw perfect asses. I mean, the ass of this drawing is perfectly ass-tacular, what with the ass and the skirt and the ass. Did I mention how great that ass is?

However there are a great many things wrong with this picture. Not that ass. Damn, I'd hit that. No. Great many wrong things with this picture. The hair is completely bland, sporting a wholesome three sparse layers of shading that are completely at odds with the rest of the picture - even if the hair was "directing" the flow of shading for the picture, the body (ass included) and clothes don't show it, sporting lighting from another two sources as well as completely ignoring the presence of the hair. My advice would be to choose one direction for the lighting, stick with that, and try and put more detail into it, while shaping the light flow around that spank-magnet.

Next issues would be the skirt. It's length is at odds with itself, longer at the sides while shorter over the big booty itself. Now, while I definitely appreciate what you're trying to do, there is no real existing fashion that employs those tactics and any attempt at foreshortening doesn't really cover how much shorter the ass-flap is. I'm not telling you to lengthen that one part of the skirt to make it fit in with the others, no. I'm telling you to shorten the rest of it, just to show off more of those gracious hips, hey?

Now, i really should move onto the way-too big forehead and unrealistic tiara and boring gradient-based background and poorly proportioned breasts, but all I really want to concentrate on is the ass so let's head back to that, shall we? The hips are out of proportion to the torso and shoulders - while the characters (whose name and face and whatever else beside the ass is not important) is turned, it's obvious that the shoulders and torso are too small for those hips, try lengthening them out a tad, or just shading them more accurately to make them seem lengthened out more.

So, overall, nice ass, ass and ass. Can't say much for the rest of the picture. Should really rate this lower but you get an 8 for perfect ass-drawing.

Sexually depraved? What are you talking about?

Veinom responds:

hey, thanks... the forehead was bugging me too lol!
Maybe I will leave this one as it is and try to be more careful next time. And yes, the shadows are a bit random, but I never thought somone would notice anything beyond that ass! I'd like to think that the sun is above her, not that it has 2 light sources. oh, and the skirt is not shorter, its in perspective, as it moves by the blowing of the wind so are the hair.

[Doubles Showdown 12]

Hot damn, a washing machine!!

Well, this may have taken a while to get around to - but I tend to procrastinate on anything and everything worth procrastinating on. Call it a failing of mine and it doesn't get any better when I actually enjoy neglecting my responsibilities. Says something about who I am, don't it? Anyway, here my (hopefully helpful) review:

Luxembourg and Ashman, the shared artwork you've done here is pretty much genius. Luxembourg, no worries - I've passed out of Lazytown and are heading into ThoseNiddlyDetailstown. It's a nice place, I recommend the beef stew they always have on special, but any length of time spent there is, in a word, exhausting. You want to put as much detail into a picture as you can, but at the same time don't want to put too much effort into it and be expected to do the same for each and every piece that you do. Just a subtle hint - details are good, but expecting yourself to produce better and better detail in each subsequent picture is a great way to suckerpunch yourself with a nice case of artist's block. Happened to me several times >.>

Commenting on the linework, I have to say that I think the idea is simply brilliant - I can see major evidence of scrap heaps and all, along with those appreciated details that are easy to pick up on - like, say, the washing machine to the left. You've kept in with your simple and elegant design, but it's obvious that you've ramped up the stakes and given yourself bigger goals, with more time to achieve them. You certainly haven't failed to deliver, and all over it's a great example of your art - I remember you stating in the Doubles Showdown thread that you were absolutely no good at drawing robots - isn't it a great thing that robots are flexible (?), able to bend themselves to no particular style. I've seen some pretty weird robots out there.

All the same, there are a few problems with the lineart - namely, I suppose, perspective. Even if the way it was drawn "was meant to be that way", matter of fact is you could have done so much more in positioning, foreshortening, and angles. The focal point is present, but seems to be weak - don't be afraid to warp perspectives and lengths to suit your goals - those washing machines could have been twice as long and warped in nature, but still look natural - the trick is to keep it in uniform - where you spread the machines, you spread the path, and you spread the robots. You probably want to work with more 3D objects, get those perspectives and distances under wraps. But overall, you did great and it's a good start into the world of... worldly things.

Onto the colouring, I'm a real bitch for fancy lights and night-time scenes, so frankly I think a 101 degrees too biased to do any real criticism. To do a few pointers, though, you'll want to research your more complicated block-style shading patterns - in fact, I've got a great example right here by David Cousens, he did a great job colouring this picture:

http://i161.photobucket.com/albums/t240/Nitecreeper/ broken-link-final.jpg (You know the drill with the spaces)

So you'll want to study multiple cases of other artistâEUTMs work, just gather in how they do it. Just a tip to improve your lighting, itâEUTMs always a thousand time more complicated than I ever think it is.
Great submission, guys, and I think you made a great team.

- Lint out

Ashman responds:

WOW way to review dude, that was genuinely helpful, with lineart work i try not to put in too much detail, it takes away from the lineart, instead i try to build on it with fancy lighting and color