SuperBastard's art Reviews on Newgrounds

[Lara Croft Animated - Sketch to Final]

Where are the principles of animation here? Squash and stretch? Anticipation? Ease in/out? Arcs? Exaggeration?

You need stronger key poses. I've found that the best way to work on something like this is to really get your keys nailed down before you begin the process of connecting them.

I think the biggest contributor to the "mechanical feeling" LoadCartoons mentioned is the fact that Lara's torso stays so static throughout. When she reaches back with the pick, we should see more of her back because her shoulder moves farther away from the rock in preparation for a bigger hit.

She's got a bit of a Barbie doll face going on. She never even blinks. You'd think she'd at least grit her teeth when she swings the pick at the rock, or closer her eyes against the ensuing shower of dust and chipped pebbles.

Her left hand doesn't make a very convincing grab. she's just sort of putting it on a flat surface, not even bending her fingers. It looks like she should just fall right off the wall as soon as she lifts the pick. There's also a really weird frame when she's moving that hand upward -- her forearm seems to disappear. I imagine you felt that frame was necessary because of the lack of space between her torso and the wall, but a better solution would have been (again) to rotate the torso so her shoulder moves away. Not only would you then have more space to draw the arm, but the movement would feel more deliberate and would read better.

You need more frames for all this action to be clearly described.

WaldFlieger responds:

Your points are well made (except I was definitely using the principles described...that was sort of the point). But I was pushing outside of my comfort zone with this one, trying to go for a more naturalistic approach and relying a little too heavily on the in-game animation from the latest Tomb Raider for reference. The "mechanical feeling" is probably just a response to my attempt not to exaggerate as much as I would usually do in my cartoony work. But thanks for taking the time to write a thorough response.

[The Sea Dragon - 3rd Ed.]

Wow, that's some wicked improvement! Nice job, you've come a long way in 4 years.

I like this current design and I think the variation in the scales is working really well for it. The only real crit I can offer is that it doesn't seem to fit with the background. I'd say you need bluer shadows to get a more unified look going. Also, some parts like the bottom of the base of the tail seem to have too much light on them. Highlights there would be better in an environment where there's a lot of reflected light coming from below, but under water the light would dissipate well before it had the chance to bounce back up!

If you keep improving like you have since 2011 there's no doubt in my mind that the next time you draw this dragon it's going to look absolutely stunning.

Tektyx responds:

Thanks! I thought gap in time was greater, but nope; it's only been 4 years since the first time I drew it.. I thought I was a big shot then, but I'mma have to disagree with myself.

I appreciate the critique. I should have taken that extra time to blend the dragon better with the background, but oh well. I'll save it for next time. ^^

[Primitive Life]

The forms and materials on the robots are incredible, but the cardboard and paper on the ground looks like it's not being affected by the rain at all.

Still giving this a full score because other than that your attention to detail is impeccable. That robot pelvis is crazy. I love your colors, lighting, textures, and composition as well.

SmokeryDots responds:

Yeah, you're right, and the funny thing is, I thought about it during the whole process, but when it was time I kinda forgot about the cardboard... I also wanted to get som barbed wire in there as well. But heck :D
Afterwards though, I thought to myself that I could always excuse myself by saying that the setting is in some kind of alley, where the rain doesn't come down as much ;)

Thanks for the 5 stars :)

[Dragon]

Very very cool, you can do fierce as well as cute! I just wish you'd put more detail into that guy's armor; compared to the rest of the work he looks unfinished.

icheban responds:

Thanks!

And about the armor detail bit... maybe. Looking at it again, I'm still happy with how he turned out. I'm pretty sure if you didn't get to look at the piece so zoomed in, the character size would have made him detailed enough. Not sure though, but thanks for the input!

[Nondescript]

SUNY? No shit, I went to Alfred State!

The varied perspectives are very interesting here, reminds me of some late cubism and your rendering is pretty solid. It feels as though a few places, especially the scene in the middle, are lacking a little in detail though.

Zhon responds:

Sweet deal. Nice to meet another New Yorker. I know someone that went to Alfred - small world.

I didn't look at the perspective like that, that's an interesting observation. Since they're different scenes though I'd distance it from the concept of cubism.

Funny you mention the middle scene lacking detail - I always felt that was the most detailed, with the bottom one lacking the most.

Anyway, thanks for the words and stuff!

[Zombie ziggs]

"Hey, where'd that brain go?"

[Paint'o Gurrrl]

I hate this. It isn't interesting. It provides no connection at all to me as a viewer. Much of the painting looks rough and hastily done, which can be a good thing but in a case like this I feel it hurts the overall effect. I don't feel engaged or intrigued in any way by the subject. You lazily sprang for the easy cliche of orange and blue. It simply doesn't feel like a creative piece and I believe you can do better work than this, or could have finished this up more before posting it.

I'm disappointed that this was frontpaged.

AkiCarlito responds:

awh well yeah it was intended for the painty/painted feeling so i can see what u mean and art wise i can agree on not understanding how it got frontpaged, really took me by surprise too! but yeah this was something i wanted to practice on and that is lighting that made me myself uncomfortable to work with, which is both cold and warm lighting. i'm doing my best to improve but thatnk you for your thoughts on it btw

[i am so fat and sad]

Your fat is spilling over to the front page.

Don't die though I like your work.

[Punching guy]

This is pretty rad, the colors and detail are fantastic. The "idle" part of the animation is great too, but I think the punch would benefit from a bit of anticipation and follow-through. It doesn't look like it has any power behind it since he just kind of tosses it out without changing his stance at all.

Awesome work anyway.

spacefader responds:

Yeah, you are probably right, I guess I neglected the animation side a bit. Was concentrating more on colour and light, which the guy above is not happy with ha ha.

[sexy sexy sexy sexy sexy sexy]

So, the ones in control of the money are the wasps who toil away in the debit machine while their fortunate ducky brethren continue to exist complacent and sheltered, looking down upon the busy frantic lives of all those beings beneath them. The wasps know it is not their place cast the first stone, because this is simply the way things are, but perhaps this is not as they should be.

They live for their system.

But the system itself is an inefficient machine, hewn from wood and simple parts where it need be crafted from better materials. It feeds on the work of those in the lowest working caste as it is designed to. The wood soaks in their blood.

They are monitored. Inefficient by design, the machine keeps the masses tired and weary. Meanwhile, those masses continue to breed; a million faceless mothers in a line, shoulder to shoulder in a hellish maternity ward, doing their sole civic duty and producing the next wave for the future. They are simply parts, free energy, feeding their life force back into the system.

But the eye who watches the wasps at the base of it all is lazy. Even while it sleeps, dreaming of the ease of things, the wasps sense opportunity, but they do not know how to seize it. They call for help, and though they are not themselves leaders, all it will take to trigger their fury is a spark. The next step is upheaval. They will only detonate.

Surrounding the duckies, the wasps will commence the final chapter. With the raised fist of rebellion, they will cut into the duckies' stronghold of complacency and force them to look upon the demented reality they have created.

I think this drawing is about waffles.