Havegum's art Reviews on Newgrounds

[Hooked on you]

Neat!

I would consider lowering the saturation of the blue ocean though - large, same colour areas tend to come across as more saturated than they are, and it can take away from the focus of the subject. I thin kif you decrease the saturation surrounding the worm, it will pop more!

Luwano responds:

Thanks a lot for the practical advice. I usually have trouble finding a starting point for backgrounds, so I'll keep that in mind.

[Augustus Valentine]

Cool stuff!

The pattern in the background is definitely creating a very strong sense of direction in the image. The contrast in the pattern is higher towards the bottom left compared to the more washed-out top-left part. I think maybe more contrast in the pattern around the head would emphasize the head more although I spectulate they're set up that way to bring focus to the crotch!

The round brush you're using has a very digital feel - have you considered using brushes with rougher edges?

Either way very cool - cubistic feel

DieterTheuns responds:

It tends to be hard keeping clean house in Photoshop's brush UI, but yeah, I should use rougher material. I'm so used to it coming automatically when painting irl :X

[Arakis city sketches 2]

Great work as always. I don't have any feedback on the illustrations, so I'll stick to what I know - layout.

Remember to keep a clear hierarchy in your layout. Be aware of how different elements interact to create "groups" within your layout. In this example, the walls on the right have a strong sense of being linked, the same goes with the buildings. However the text and moodboard doesn't "attach" to anything but themselves.

What I mean by this is the title "Arakis - Water facility" appears to be grouped with "Arakis - Defensive wall" as if they were describing each other. In this case I think this could easily be solved by the water facility title and the corresponding moodboard switching place. However this still leaves the pinched negative space between the wall moodboard and water facility concepts.

I also think the typeface choice is clashing with the designs - The concepts are all very organic and uses smooth shapes, while the typeface is stylized in a very angular and digital manner. I think some round humanist or geometric typefaces would suit the designs better and work toward better unity. (also sideway text is generally a headache to read!)

I know these things are all second priority, and that you probably know all of this already - but it's what I'm most comfortable giving feedback on! Keep at it!

Flowers10 responds:

Ey thanks man, very detailed critique!
Some of the stuff is def i need to pay more attention to, good reminder.
might even change this since i want this to be a portfolio piece :)

[Bomber bot]

He's super cool and it looks like he knows it! I only spot this weird disconnect between the two legs of his, where the closest one is quite brighter than the one further away. I understand it's probably to make the fist read better, but I think it's making his leg seem almost ghostlike imo.

Flowers10 responds:

Your right, its just about that, it seems more important to show the separation between the parts. since this is suppose to be a concept design and clearly showing whats going on is more important then aesthetics.

[Pirate ship]

That frame is beautiful

SourCherryJack responds:

Thanks man, much appreciated. One day I want to learn to do it with actual metal.

[death's shadow]

Your gallery is just really rad.
I hope you're planning on making more!

[zO-Paloma]

While it's an interesting concept, the pixeling mechanics could use some polishing. I notice a few banding issues, as well as a bunch of awkward clustered pixels. Not to mention inconsistent pixel size some places.

The concept on its own does a lot to weigh against that though. Good work!

enzob7 responds:

Thank you. :)

[Red Shades]

I think the mods FP'd the wrong submittion!

bloominglove responds:

No idea what "FP'd" means... lol XD
Oh wait nvm. lol

[Vi the Sailorgirl]

Jazza already pointed out some trouble in composition, and mentioned making the background with a more painted feel. I thought I'd add on that and say that colour and composition largely impacts where our vision is guided.

Large areas of vivid colours are attention hogs, while dimmer tones are more harmonic and sort of "blend in". In this case, Pantheon and Leonas red and yellow shields respectively, attract a lot of attention; Vi is more dimmed down, and then sort of disappears in the composition. Similarly, the strong movement from Vi punching Panth attracts a lot of attention to the movement itself, rather than the character doing it. I'd suggest reading up on composition, and how to use it to make illustrations more clear.

Of course this is all nitpicking, great work on everything else!