[JUL] [Cash] Two of Them

two of them



Drew this on a lark because it fit the "nesting" and "relaxation" prompts! Lion cubs are super cute, y'all.

 

Dunno if this is in order or not, BUT I CLAIM THIS CUS KITTIES

 

A fellow realistic pokemon painter after my own heart. I LOVE THIS SO MUCH.

The Epic: This piece is incredibly appealing. The line art itself is just phenomenal, and I absolutely love how you carried that greenish tone throughout the painting, and then even subtly into the fur of these cats. That is a super experienced and conscious move to bring your environment into your lighting; IT MAKES ME SO HAPPY. The background is soft and simple, but holds tons of depth. And the restraint you made in withholding details and complex shading there was an exceptional choice, because it pinpoints the focus onto your Shinx. (I struggle with this myself and the constant need to detail EVERYTHING; major props to you!)

You are hyper aware of your lightsource here. All of your highlights and shading is consistent with that “overhead cone.” ALSO TEMPERATURE SHADING, OHMYGAWD. I hardly ever see this. Thank you so much for not using white/black or just different shades of the same color. You are a goddess. Just spectacular.

Your focal – the Shinx. Stellar. Anatomy is flawless. These things look like real shinx-inspired lion cubs (THEY ARE REAL, OK). Your markings are all accurate; love the fade in the dark spots. The dimension is great. *Gush*

The Tips: Honestly, take these with a grain of salt because I love your style as is.

Shading: I notice this piece is shaded in 2’s - the base color, and the highlight. I, personally, have found that shading in 3’s – the base color, the highlight, and the shadow – has brought more depth and pop to my work. This can be a stylistic choice and a complete matter of preference, but maybe it’s something you can try out if you are feeling adventurous some time (maybe you already have tried it, idk).

Example of what I mean:



Especially when going for that realistic look, shading in 3's completes that 3-dimensional idea of roundedness. I always try to keep in mind the concept that "light shines in a cone"; it wraps around objects and reflects back onto them. These reflections create new colors and shades, hence the idea of shading skin with purples and grass with blues (which can bring shading in 3's to even 4's, 5's, and so on...). HOWEVER, art has no 'law', and I seriously admire this piece just the way it is.


Secondly, have you ever tried coloring your actual line art? I’ve found that it gives the piece a more completed and polished look, while still keeping that baller line work inside the image. You just keep the line art its own layer -> color and shade the image as usual ->then go back and create a clipping mask from a new layer above the line art layer -> color it!

Example:



THIS WAS REALLY QUICK, but you can kinda see the effect of the colored line art on the right. It still frames and accentuates the image without looking flat and sketchy. I used colors kinda drastically different to emphasize what I was doing, but typically you would want to use colors very similar to the colors within proximity of the lines. Sometimes you wouldn't color everything either, as black naturally creates dimension when lines are in place of shadows. I use smudge to blend everything together, but airbrush coloring works nicely too.

I've felt that coloring my line art adds to that effect of 'realism', and further pulls away from the 'toon'.

Outcome: Something very cool to me about this piece is that it looks so simple because it is elaborate. One of my favorite concepts is that "if it looks easy, someone is doing something hard very well." Art is not easy. It's easier for some more than others, sure, but it's a very long road to expertise. You have utilized a lot of concepts and skills in this image, with the lighting, color scheme, and focal restraint. The line art itself is drawn with a pen skill that I envy!

I think this piece is near flawless, honestly. There is not enough complexity in design to warrant like a 95 score, but I think the mastery in which you have crafted this is worth at least complex rank. I give this a 65, which translates to 30k. Well done!

Unfortunately cash entries do not qualify for the monthly theme though, even though this does fit. Sorry, fam.

 

Sweet cripes, that was a fast curation! Thank you! And for the record, I did pull most of my reference from lion cub photos. I usually don't go full realism on Pokemon, but I like to make them look at least a little more feasible than they would if I just translated them one-to-one. -plus i have no idea how to draw in actual pokemon style rip-

I definitely appreciate the tips. I've been doing some experiments with refining my shading style, but I'll freely admit that this wasn't one of the bolder ones. I see what you mean on the leg, and I'll try to pop in some highlights when I go for more intricate pieces. Colored lineart and I have a complex (har) relationship, but I definitely understand your meaning and will give it more of a go! Thinner lineart has helped tone the 'toon down, but I can see how adding a bit of color would help it out more.

And whoops. Ah, well, I can still put this money to good use. Thanks again for the curation!