Troisnyx's art Reviews on Newgrounds

[The Raft of the Minit]

The colours are spot-on, the balance is spot-on, the image is uplifting. You probably will have had this experience from all the comic panels you drew, and it really caught my eye the first time I saw it. Excellent!

[Minit animated gif]

Very mesmerising to look at, especially with the little details you've added, the rocks on the path and the stars in the sky. Everything has detail, which I'll notice after looking at it a second, and then a third time. Brilliant! All the very best!

Flaxor responds:

Thanks a lot! I was going to make it a minute long with the character dying at the end, but thought it too much for a gif. Maybe I can add even more details with NPCs in the background and objects. All the best to you too!

[Day in the Mermaid Life]

The proportions feel out (or if that's meant to be a foreshortening thing, the lighting throws it off) -- but otherwise, my word the colours are stunning. The hair and the tail especially. They are mesmerising to look at.

What did you use for this, out of curiosity?

BiggCaZv2 responds:

Acrylic on canvas.

[Squid Girls]

I love this. Notwithstanding the fact that it's Splatoon and everyone recognises these characters from a mile away, the art style is so sweet. I love the pastel colours you used. It's not 'in your face' like other Splatoon fanart I've seen so far; it just looks like a beautiful shared moment between friends that you want to let last forever -- the colours really do play a part in conveying that to me.

It feels like a little something out of a children's book, too. That feels like a plus in my book ^_^

[Dead Men Archipelaho - Ice Cover]

Hey. I only discovered this today and I'm really touched by your character and her story. I didn't realise that you drew inspiration from me all this time. Thank you so much for sharing.

There's something very ghastly about her eyes, it's the first thing that comes to mind. That, and perhaps the chill of the Russian climate you showed here.

[Red Shirts Promo]

I remember commenting on one of your other pieces about a lack of clarity, and it is present here too. However: I really like how you've divided it into comic strip panels a lot clearer here. I have a slightly better idea of what to make of this picture. Some bits are quite surrealist (those sharks up top, for example).

AdventVoice responds:

Well the clarity needed for this piece is found in the actual book: Red Shirts by John Scalza's
He was the one that came up with Ice Sharks. He said it.
From his words I just could not get out of my head what an Ice Shark would look like.
realistically: did not make me happy: A shark swimming in ice would not make you think of an Ice shark. You would think of an Orca. At least I would have.
In this man's world the bathroom was open to all genders and creatures and everyone made it out just fine. So I was wondering if in reality we could?

[Loving your fighter]

I feel your pain. My own father was one of these so-called "real men" and spoke with his fists to me, almost exclusively.

It's hard for me to make out what the figures in the art are doing, either because of a lack of clarity in the outlines or the colours, I cannot tell which.

AdventVoice responds:

Lack of clarity will be fixed over time when I find better mediums. The messages will get better too!
This is only the beginning.
There is a more elaborate explanation found at www.adventgradepress.com
In short:
Scene 1: The man and woman both love the dream the comes from the fight, the idea of money and the spotlight.
Scene 2: When there is no crowd, each has to weigh how much the fame, the money, the spotlight is worth it to them.
Scene 3: She is alone, she asked him to stay, don't fight, who cares, "ill love you, when or loose, leave it all, let the dream die, just don't fight."
Scene 4: The bell rings
Scene 5: He is hit a lot.
Scene 6 She can not take it, she can't look, he face getting hit is not worth it.
Scene 7 HE is winning, everything is going to be fine, it is worth it, He is so strong, can't wait to go home!
Scene 8: the Bell rings and no matter what we love our fighters. We love the strong man and strong woman.
The story of my life.

['Empress of Tides']

This entry is easily the best I've seen in this entire competition to date.

The proportions are on point, the shading is on point, and best of all, there's a beautiful contrast up the front that sets Ariel apart. That is easily the most striking part of the piece, the bit that draws me in. Don't get me wrong, everything else looks accomplished too -- but you've really got a hook in this piece, pardon the pun. (get it, hook, trident...?)

Just a stylistic choice I guess, one that doesn't make me want to dock points but I just feel... Flounder looks awfully like Flotsam and Jetsam. I'm not really a fan of that. That being said, just how Ariel looks after having taken Triton's place is imaginative. I don't know if for good, or for evil; I wouldn't be able to tell by her garb, her pose and her seeming enjoyment for all things scaly and bat-winged.

Anyway, props to you. Well done!

Djoresh responds:

Thank you for your lofty words and feedback. Personally I feel the proportions could be better and I was clueless about the lighting. (nice pun btw ;)

I felt the same way about the look of Flounder, It was a choice to keep him somewhat prehistoric and evil looking, as he would be like a pet/protector for Ariell. My mindset was the level one cute baby versions of dragons in games in contrast to their bad ass full level evolution.

I see what you mean with the bat like garb, I was aiming for a see trough fin-like protection, but I guess I failed that part, I didn't really had in mind if she was good or evil. I wanted her to look powerful and someone to not get on bad terms with. If she is good or evil I wanted to leave up to the imagination of the viewer.

Thanks again, and good luck in the competition with your kingdom hearts piece.

[Dark side of the moon]

I love the symbolism of this piece, just thought I'd get that out of the way first. Also, the rosary up top was a nice touch. An important note about the symbolism though:

Pop culture can be an ill, but there isn't enough of it for the person to be drowning in your drawing. It feels so, uh, Captain Planet-esque. "Move into a new neighbourhood and you become a drug addict!" And this is what it feels like here. There isn't enough visualisation of context. It's like, oh, she's listening to Pink Floyd and playing with a Fidget spinner and so she must be lost in pop culture. We know that that IS NOT ENOUGH to make someone an obsessive type.

The picture actually brings out more questions than it does answers. What is she going through? Why isn't it visualised here? Why are we getting a namby-pamby, less-than-honest version? Alcohol and drugs are social ills but how did she get there? There are so many things that ought to have been put onto that drawing, that haven't.

----

But for all its symbolism, it's not striking, and it's not artistically competent. And I really cannot stress this enough:

1) Proportions. Every artist on Newgrounds will tell you how important anatomy studies are. It seems you have done some -- the hand up top looks far better than any other bodily part in this drawing -- but you still need to keep at it.

2) Shading. Where is the light coming from? Top right? If so, your shading doesn't reflect this. Light and shadow can make a very important statement in and of itself, and it's lacking here. Everything looks porcelain. Even things that aren't supposed to be porcelain, like the lady's hair or even her shirt. For a piece titled "Dark side of the moon," I don't see actual physical darkness -- which can actually heighten and enhance whatever symbolism you already have here.

3) Perspective. I know this one is a hard one to achieve; every artist struggles with this. Even I do, so I feel your pain with what I am about to say.

We look at things just by what they're supposed to represent, not a photographic memory necessarily. But if you tried to put this on a photo, for example, is this what you would see? If you had an actual lady doing what she was doing on a photo, is that what she would look like, her body squished like that?

This is where perspective comes in. Our eyes see things at different angles, but even front view has a perspective all of its own.

----

So what do I recommend?

Tutorials, and studies, and lots and lots of practice, for one. Ask any artist on NG and they'll tell you that to get from meh to great, they did precisely this.

I cannot stress this enough to you because I know that with a lot of practice, you'll turn this into a much better drawing.

PROFA21 responds:

First of all thank you for your input. I will work on other aspects and more, but i think you went way overboard with the rant !!! The project is about how teens are lost in the modern day, and i have witnessed a lot of them reaching out for help. there is high suicide rate n my city. This piece is God reaching out. I looked at your work, and it's average at best buddy. I'm not dissing you or nothing, but if a person was to judge our work. I'm pretty sure mine would stand out. I could pin point your driffty line work, and low color schemes into the same basic anime style, but i won't !!! I will thank you again for your input.

[Yosemite Blam!]

Right off the bat, I love the idea of the smoking guns. Also, his proportions look amazing. As far as drawing (not colouring, drawing) Yosemite Sam goes, you've stylised him well.

And now this brings me to the meat of the piece, the reason why I've docked a number of stars: shading.

You seem to have gotten a hang of hard and soft shading, but it still feels flat. It still feels like it lacks contrast. If I didn't know better, his hat would have looked like a massive egg sitting on his head. Those guns are chrome, man -- and they NEED hard contrast. Especially if you're intending them to be shiny. You see some really well-defined dark and light places on metal surfaces, so why aren't they here?

I mean, I talk about the guns and the bullets and things but the lack of contrast goes onto his clothes as well. I couldn't even tell that his shirt and trousers had creases until I zoomed in. For something to pop, it must be visible from a distance as well. Had I not zoomed in, I'd have thought his entire body was made out of porcelain.

Tom-Par responds:

Cheers for the review. I'm still getting my head around contrasting shades and that, it's something i'm working on. I usually have hard outlines on my work so I thought i'd try a bit of artwork without any lines, but you're right the contrast isn't there. If I get time i'll work on it a bit more taking on board what you said. Thanks for the feedback, really helpful.