Thread: Dragon Masters Art

Dragon Masters Art And Stuff

Well, I decided to post some art. This thread will be where I will post all my art I am entering.

And for my first picture:

http://i60.tinypic.com/xerlol.jpg

Originally Posted by Dragon Master

It is a shiny Espeon, made for the shiny contest. For the clouds I tried to emulate what I would do in a traditional painting. I got minimal success with that.

Like it says, I made it for the shiny event digital art contest, and decided to post it here since I had it. I am trying to catch Eevee (Because apairently I can do that even though the picture is of Espeon?). I honestly don't expect to, but I figured it would take me five minutes to post this, so I might as well.

Hey there DM! Sorry it took like almost 6 months to get your artwork judged. I've been pretty actively posting around here lately, so I'm going to try to keep my eye out for these threads more often.

So, upon checking with Monbrey, it IS acceptable to post artwork of a Pokemon that isn't the Pokemon being caught so long as it's in the evolutionary line, I believe. So I'll be judging this for an Eevee!

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Untitled

Just remember it's probably best to add a title to your artwork, next time. Even the simplest titles help others distinguish different art pieces from others, plus overall it may give you a few more creativity points. :>

Effort and Detail
Well, for one, I can definitely tell that you took a while to sit and create this digital painting. However, the detail really is minumum: maybe you could have added a little more to the background? Little things like rocks and maybe actual clumps of grass. It's the little details that can make an art piece...well, greater. As of now the grass is just like a solid, lumpy green carpet. Try to make it more believable! We know its grass because of the rest of the piece's context, but otherwise it really could be anything; even dirt.

Color and Shading
Let's talk about the color, first.
Don't get me wrong: I enjoy vivid colors. It gives a more friendly, bright, and approachable vibe to almost anything it's applied to. However, the shiny Espeon's green is actually so bright that it kinda hurts my eyes. Not to pick at split ends, but shiny Espeon is more of a wasabi green color than a bright, neon green. Lowering the saturation will help immensely. Remember, even if you like to use vivid colors like I do, make sure to keep it under control. Having a more vivid palette will make other, duller colors seem to stand out more. They compliment each other, in a sense.
Your shading on the actual Espeon also lacks some depth, especially around the head. The tufts of fur on its cheeks especially are shaded as if they are paper-thin: only along a single line. Instead, let the shading curve. Think in three-dimensional shapes! Take what you did with shading the leg: that's a good start. You have a curve going along its thigh, so just make sure to keep thinking in 3D...or at least 2.5D, hahahah.
Also remember that the insides of Espeon's ears--the shiny version, that is--are less blue and have a greener tint. Just a LITTLE greener.
However, I like what you did with the clouds. It looks like you smudged some blue, even light magenta, to give the clouds more life and color. This is good! I know a lot of people would just make the shading on the clouds gray and call it a day. Shading in almost anything is never really pure gray.

Texture
Remember what I said about making clumps of grass, and how the grass you have now appears flat and almost like a carpet? This is an issue with texture. While I don't expect you to be creating all of these in-depth textures, just try to keep the tip about grass, from earlier, in mind.
And once again about the clouds: I really like the puffy shapes and wisps. While they are a little bit misshapen for cumulus-like clouds, no cloud is perfect, right? These look so puffy and I love it.

Creativity
There really isn't much I can say about creativity here. It's honestly just an Espeon sitting, looking at the viewer on a flat plane with a background. I know this is your first for the URPG, but try next time to get a little more creative with it! Have fun with it, and I'm sure you'll do great. I know I haven't seen much of your art, but I do remember that bit of typography you made, which was really interesting and a real thought-provoker. Use some of THAT creativity! Make us think about it. Even a title could help. A title could add context, even a story to the picture that the viewer wouldn't otherwise be aware of. That makes us think, as well.

Anatomy and Proportions
You've mostly gotten it down, but there are just some nitpicks I have...mainly relating to Espeon's face. Its eyes look a bit too small and unusually high up on its head. The insides of the ears are also a little too large and don't actually take up that much of Espeon's ears. You know how we have the outer and upper "shell" of our ears? That's what Espeon is missing hear. It's hard to explain, so take a look at Espeon's official artwork:


Perspective
As mentioned before very briefly, Espeon is just sitting on a flat plane of a landscape. There really isn't much perspective here; it's pretty two-dimensional. I would maybe look at a few tutorials and perspective and at least try out some two-point perspective. Even drawing the Pokemon at a diagonal angle and the background complying to said angle could also count as two-point perspective.

The Score
This was alright for your first, but could have been much better AND I'm sure if you take all this advice into consideration you can make something awesome out of this! The thing about art is that you should never be too satisfied with a piece of art you make; it can make you grow attached to said artwork, like its a piece of you. This is a reason that a lot of people get offended when their artwork is criticized: attachment. Their art is like their baby and if anyone threatens it, they will retaliate. Think of your art as an EXTENSION of yourself that is a separate entity all on its own. But nonetheless, my point: if you learn how to detach yourself from your artwork, you will be able to understand that sometimes, even mid-way through your piece, you'll need to start over. When drawing, I'll start over multiple times. Usually I'll start by drawing out one part of the image, and if I don't like it I'll just keep re-drawing it until I'm satisfied. Then I'll continue with the rest in a similar manner.

Anyways, it was a good effort, but I don't think this can pass for an Eevee, which is a Pokemon in the Hard difficulty tier. Keep in mind that you can resubmit as many times as you'd like to and try, try again!
My final score is a 30/55; 55 being the minimum to catch Eevee. Keep trying!! I would try going for a Pokemon maybe in the Simple or Easy tier; this will help you get the practice you need.

@Dragon Master Mike