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AntagonistDC
The realest of the real....Ya dig?

Age 31, Male

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Do not stress over ratings

Posted by AntagonistDC - July 7th, 2016


I came across a person here on this site who complained on why he/she get low ratings on his/her artwork, but I'd say fuck ratings, because at the end of the day, they're all based on personal opinions. I've seen artwork that's worse than mine, yet they get higher ratings than me, which is absurd, but that's just the way it is here on this site. Just keep doing what you love to do and not worry about what people think. I made a nude artwork of a copywritten character that I thought was bad in quality, but yet it still has a good rating, not because the art is good, but because it's a copywritten character. It's also good to strive to improve and practice so that you can look back at your old artwork and learn the flaws you made before. I've been looking over some artwork at portal and to me, it seems like if you have 100+ followers, you're more likely have high ratings anyway whether the artwork is appealing, or not.

According to Newgrounds, this >>> http://www.newgrounds.com/art/view/koppokoppo/baby-2p-canada-so-adorable

Is better than this >>> http://www.newgrounds.com/art/view/antagonistdc/angela-final-form-vs-f-e-m-soldiers?context=ratings:etma.offset:51

 

You see the bullshit?.....But yeah, this is why people shouldn't worry about ratings, but instead, worry about improving


Comments

On the one hand, yes, screw ratings. They're fine for a general idea of how food your work is, but not for a specific idea (that is, if they haven't been zeroed).

On the other hand, I have to say that KoppoKoppo's artwork was INDEED better than yours. It was clear, well-defined and easy on the eyes. Artistically speaking, anyway, the two pieces could stand to improve a heck of a lot more, but yeah. (This is also coming from someone who didn't, or couldn't, see anything in your picture as to why you rated it A. An M would have been called for, methinks.)

When you say that the person's art work WAS indeed better, are you talking about the comparison of my last years artwork, or this years? There's no way you could be talking about my newest artwork that I've just submitted, because that would be a joke. I posted up some of my this year's artwork in the art forums and several people came and responded saying that I improved and it's not bad at all, but needs a little more work. I haven't received much complaints like the last time I did an art forum. And the reason why I rated it A is because I thought that the picture has intense violence, or may be very disturbing, but I guess I'll rate it down one.

This year's. Spacing is much needed in artwork in addition to the subject matter and all sorts that you throw into a piece. And once a piece of art gets too busy, it's hard on the eyes, unnecessarily so.

The other piece you showed me, though too simplistic, had a clear idea of how to space things. The background didn't encroach on the front.

Imagine a comic. You wouldn't make a frame like this, where it covers all the screen, unless you had context. For a single picture, you'd want the front and back to be distinguishable. You did so by the size of your characters (bigger in the front, smaller in the back), but not by colour, and things that struck out. Everything was equally bright except for the floor. Nothing stuck out, giving me no perception of space at all. I mean, that's what I think anyway.

It reminds me of this drawing of mine which, also lacks space, and I need to do an improved version of someday.
http://www.newgrounds.com/art/view/troisnyx/sweet-regina

So spacing and distinguishable entities are your only concern? Well thanks for your review. I'm definitely gonna keep practicing on proportion and making things clear, but besides all that, what do you think of my new submitted artwork from just yesterday?

Okay, I've put a copy of the image on my Dumping Grounds along with numbers signifying strong points, or points of concern. I'll explain them as I go along.

http://www.newgrounds.com/dump/item/188775cbd44d056e4c66d0f1ebd90c6f

1. Nice concept for the monster. I have to say that I didn't find the image sexual in any way. Impalement through the private parts was a historical death sentence in some parts of Asia (especially Southeast Asia), and if anything, it brings fear at the immense torture and pain that would result from it.

Only thing I would say for section 1 is to define a bit more those bulbous pink things on the main structure of its body. Is it intended to look like brain tissue, much like a Metroid? A little bit more light will go a long way. When you see brain tissue, it's all smooth and slippery. This one doesn't quite look it.

So basically, add more gloss to what is meant to be glossy, and add less gloss to what isn't meant to be glossy. The difference between matt and gloss can provide a dramatic contrast, much like fur vs scales.

2. The expression on the girl's face is not "Help, this is an emergency." It's more like "ew, what am I doing here with those plebs."

3. Amazing expression there. That actually reminds me of Cell's face in the Dragon Ball manga and the Androids' faces when they are hurt, especially when they are impaled through.

4. The background is too bright compared to the rest of the image. While I am aware that you were doing this to bring to light the many people impaled on stakes and all that stuff, it doesn't provide enough contrast with the rest of the image. There is also an issue of perspective: perhaps the image itself needs to be longer, to account for the monster in the centre, and also to give space in the background for the dead people in the distance. Which leads me to...

5. The monster's tentacles don't contrast with the background at all. The colours are too close. I can just about see them, but that's it.

What are we going for, though? A dark, grotesque thing? Or something that emits its own light, which is visible at the tentacles? I can't decide which way to critique this unless I know what direction we're headed towards.

6. Again, lighting issue. Point 3 was away from the light somehow and you conveyed it well. Points of concern 6 seem to have an unnatural amount of light.

7. Lastly, the dialogue is too long for that small space. Unless you are counting on people to look at the full res of the screenshot instead of taking a quick glance, it'll come across as hard to read. Keep the dialogue short and succinct.

------

I think the questions to raise here are:

1) What impression is this monster meant to give? What is its physiology?

2) What is the background trying to convey apart from telling us that there are dead people?

3) If there is light in the image, where exactly is it coming from?

These questions should hopefully answer criticisms about the image, and help you better it.

The monster was supposed to emit light from her body, since she's a wraith-like entity.

And thanks for the review. I guess overall it's good, but needs more work am I correct?

And to answer your following questions:

1. Causing fear and darkness. She just has a violent nature, created for destruction

2. The entire background was actually supposed to be a freaky and nightmarish illusion created by the monster to confuse and horrify her victims, because the monster is a nightmare creature and she feeds off of the sense of fear. The more fear she senses, the more worse she gets.

3. The light sources are from the monster and the far, red, distorted background. They both emit light

In that case, the background might need a bit of eerie light to it -- but also go the Metroid route with the monster, and make the light brighter as well. : ) A bit like if you had an image of a Metroid against a bright background light; ultimately the foreground has to pierce the background light.

Alright, I'll just make slight changes with this artwork and then try and do better next time. I'm not really trying to perfect that one picture. I'll just continue to study and practice more.

BTW, are you some sort of Art Scholar, or are you just a newgrounds member giving your 2 cents? Just curious.

I'm no art scholar, but I did learn a lot from people around me on NG, through Andrew Loomis' books, and through my fiancé who himself was an art scholar. Just passing on what I know, really.

Oh, alright. That makes sense