Hug the Bug?

Whew! Caterpie is much harder to draw than it looks. Lots of circles and damn that shading! Unfortunately, the scanner ate a lot of my carefully done pencil shading, but I think it still shows up half-decent. Spent more time than I expected on this ^^;; But yeah, adorbs little Caterpie. I always loved how cute he was in the manga!

Initial sketch to prove that it's mine:

Spoiler

Entry:

Spoiler

Pokemon to catch: Caterpie
Level: Easiest
Points to acquire: 25/100
No. of drawings: 1

 

In-depth because you've earned in-depth now

Hug the Bug? by TheProtobabe

Once again, a strong drawing. The first thing that the viewer notices at a glance is Caterpie’s eyes, and that’s a great thing because eyes, when drawn well, can deliver such a message. Yours do just that - Caterpie’s eyes are endearing and adorable, and make an easy task of bringing out the viewer’s soft side.

Moving on, you continued with something that I’ve noticed is a strength of yours - attention to detail. The fuzzy bit before the main part of Caterpie’s tail and also the line running down its center (complimented perfectly by a slight turn of the head) were excellent little things that really made this image to me. Its things like that that really help your image strike home as a “complete” representation, because if you’re nailing even the little things, one gets the sense that you couldn’t miss much (and it’s true with you). Shading was another strength. I love the way you drew the Y on Caterpie’s head (particularly the front, where you shaded it perfectly and at the right point to give it a realistic three-dimensional look), and also Caterpie’s neck/mouth, where there was excellent shading that worked very well together to create one of the best ways I could imagine that part of Caterpie being presented.

The only weaknesses I want to bring up with this image are partly trivial. The first one is the right line going down Caterpie’s tail/lower body. The angle is extremely awkward, it should have more of an upward curve at the end. Maybe it doesn’t seem like a huge mistake, but certainly when you look at Caterpie, the odd line stands out more than just a little bit. Given the minimal shading in that area (which is perfectly fine on its own, but highlights the awkward line angle), it’s even easier to notice when looking at Caterpie’s lower body because there simply isn’t much else for the eye to concentrate. Given Caterpie’s pose and the angle that you’re looking at Caterpie, that line doesn’t seem too easy to draw, but at the same time, that awkward line should have been spotted early in the outlining process and fixed - it’s not an obscure mistake that’s easy for viewers to miss. My only other complaint is the angle of the rest of the body. It’s partly related to the awkward line, but the rest of the body looks awkward on its own as well as Caterpie seems to be standing on almost the end of its lower body, and still somehow have the strength to stand almost straight up. It looks more than a little awkward, and there’s a slight turn in its lower body that makes this look even stranger.

Overall, however, what I saw here was mostly positives with just a few mistakes that were minor, if noticeable, in comparison to the rest of the image. Great job here, and continue the good work while making sure your Pokemon’s anatomy works out without that one kink next time. (Side note: lowish Grade since there’s a lack of a background, although it’s fine since this is only a Caterpie)

Grade: 35/100

 

Thank you so much, Nitro!