Rocktopus64's art Reviews on Newgrounds

[Goin' Clubbin']

Great stylization!

I love your the mix between traditional-looking brushes and digital vector shapes.

The lighting is a little too intense, though. I'm not very fond of the shadow floating behind him, either; it looks like it was made to try and make the bright-white lighting blend less with the background. I feel that could have been solved if you had toned back the lighting and shading a bit.

Still, the proportions and exaggerations are very appealing to look at, and all-around I think he's a well-designed character.

[Back in the Day]

I don't give out 5 stars lightly.

This is one of my favourite pieces of art in all of the portal. I am not joking.
The composition, the lighting, the colours; all of it is great. But really, REALLY stands out is the characterizations. There's so much personality, so much narrative and character defined... without a single word spoken!

From the highly exaggerated, hyper-violent clusterfuck used to represent the story being told, to the chaotic looking fireplace scene with the two children huddled on the ground, it all just drips with personality.

Every little design choice I find seems to accent the scene as a whole. The exploding fireplace shows how chaotic the scene he's describing is. The veins on his arm, the impossibly deep scratches he's making on his helmet, and his sharp toothed spitting mouth all show just how overly dramatic and intense he's being. The poses of both the children and their facial expressions define both their personalities immediately. The circular space they have between them an all the fire, blood and chaos enhances their look of being small an terrified. The sheer illogicality of the scene the soldier is describing shows just how much he's over-embellishing the story to scare them.

All these, just to name a few.

Seriously, this is brilliant work. I dream of one day being able to do art like this.

[Isis]

Fantastic concept!

First and for most, the composition is astounding. The posing, flow and all around feel is exceptional in that way that's difficult to describe. I scarce see such a unique combination of imagery. The anatomy is spot on, and my eyes are led perfectly along the entire picture thanks to the excellent set up.

I must note, though, that the shading on the skin could use some adjusting. It's not bad by any means, but it doesn't quite have the same level of contrast or depth as the rest of the lighting or shading. Some slightly heavier lighting effects and shading effects could do wonders.

But don't fret! You've more than made up for it in colour and costume design! The mixes of blues and yellows and browns are good enough as they are, but that tiny touch of red with the rose and her neck ornaments are what keep me coming back to look at it.

Excellent work.

Dahlia-K responds:

oh thankyou very much for the critique! I'll work on improving my cast shadows in the next piece :)

[Time]

This is a lovely piece of art, and I would love to write a review of it.

I'll start with the first thing I noticed. Your technique is excellent, and both the shape and colors of, well, pretty much everything are something to be proud of. The best part about them is, for sure, the silver blades, wings and feathers. They add a stunning level of contrast and do an outstanding job of moving the viewers eyes around the piece.

I do feel your concept, "time heals", was a bit lost though(at least on me). I got the time part, but I can't seem to find an aspect of the image that portrays healing. If it hadn't been for your description, I wouldn't have known. I think this concept could've been expressed much more effectively if there was some sort of imagery associated with healing or recovery. Just a thought.

Though I feel that the overall composure more than makes up for this. Your ability to blend light sources and create such a high contrast in shading while maintaining a high level of color is praiseworthy. Overall, it's full of a thick atmosphere and is a joy to look at.

clayscence responds:

thank you so much for taking the time to comment on this piece. I am very happy you like it!
concerning the "time heals", that wasn't part of the drawing, just a thought I had after I finished it, that's why I put it on the comment, because I drew this when a close relative of mine passed away.
thank you again!

[Beacon of light]

O.o

I'm trying to write a critique for you, but I'm having trouble. Normally, I like to say what I think you did well, and something I think could be improved, but seriously struggling to find something wrong with this one.

The soft colors, the positioning and depth-of-field, the pose, the costume design, the background, it all comes together so seamlessly. It doesn't help my conundrum that you've basically surgically strike'd me right in the personal interests with this one: beautiful and tastefully-dressed woman? Check. Heavenly background setting? Check. Angels/religious imagery? Check. Soft colors? Creative outfit? Lots of white, blue, and yellow colors? Check, check CHECK!

The only thing (and this is really a stretch for me to criticize it) I can critique is that a few of the brush stroke, most notably on the wings, look a little under-detailed and blobby, and could've done with some smoothing out.

But really? In the grand scheme of things, that's one shriveled leaf on an otherwise mighty oak tree.

Now I'm a firm believer that an artist should draw what THEY want, not what other people tell them (especially not random strangers on the internet) but if you ever feel compelled to draw and have nothing else in mind, please make something else like this.

[Vivi]

Great style! Love it! The proportions are awesome and fun, and I think you nailed the character's look with it.

The black lines that squiggle all around it definitely need to go, though. Not sure what you were going for with them, but they look messy and detract from the overall look of the picture.

That being said, I find his pose to be very expressive, and say a lot about him. When a character has no face that's, its usually really important to find another way to emote him, and I'm impressed with your ability to do so.

HandofRel responds:

Thank you, glad you like it:) Actually, this is an older drawing. I'm just finally getting around to uploading it to New Grounds. I don't use the messy lines on the outside as much anymore;) I should have those pieces up soon :D

[War rider]

Ok here we go.

Now right off the bat, the first thing I notice is that the costume design is excellent. It has a great balance, flow and is, above all, creative. And while I'm not a huge fan of revealing clothing, I loved the ideas you had for the corset-armor and the cloths covering her breasts. The headdress is my favorite part, I think. I love the way it coats her neck and collarbone.

Now I do have a bit of a problem with the background. It's just a bit... lacking. I understand that sometimes a minimalist background is used to add atmosphere to the main focus of a piece without drawing attention away, but it's a bit too boring and lacking in detail. The horse could have also used a little more work; its shading looks a bit less detailed than the rider.

Desite this, I really liked the shading in this work. Especially noticeable on the rider, the think high-contrast lighting is really cool. And, though it could've used a little more work (and maybe a little more contrast) the black silhouettes of trees in the back do en excellent job of making the main figures pop out.

Oh and by the way, DEM LEGS *Rich Boy face*

[Ivicus]

A good work I think! The colors are great, and the wings (especially the shading) are excellent.

I'm not a big fan of the bluish green glowing parts, though. I think it draws away from the original focus, not so much at the legs and waist and hands, but definitely at the shoulders. Glow effects, especially when they're a contrasting color, are extremely eye-drawing. I find the grow is distracting from the face, which is clearly a huge part of the overall character design. I recommend either toning it down the next time or removing from the shoulders all together.

Though its not all bad! I very much love the attention to detail you have. Little things like the sparks look great and add a lot of flavor to it, and the armor and wings have clearly been drawn with great patience.

Nempatriarch responds:

Thank you so much for taking time to give me this pointers! I agree with you, but i'll also say that i wasn't very proud of how the face turned out so the lights were sort of distractive on purpose. I'll have your critique in mind for next time!

[Huehuehue]

The red hue looks superb! It adds an unbelievable amount of visual appeal to the whole thing.

The arms and legs could use a little work, they're not totally proportionate with one another, and the foot on the left doesn't quite look like it's on a flat plane.

Aside from that, the shading is superb, perfectly balanced all-around, and does a great job giving the whole picture an awesome contrast.

Nempatriarch responds:

I'm glad you like it and thank you for the critique! it will help me get better.

[Mother Stork]

Holy smokes what a weird and intriguing concept! It's such a strange thought, seeing things in nature like this personified.
Art quality is amazing, btw. (I'd feel wrong critiquing it seeing as how much better you are than me ;^^)

AkiCarlito responds:

there really isnt any reason to feel that. all art takes effort and its always good to appreciate all kinds of art :) so just critique away!