Posts by Chana

Even more D&D stuff
She's a hobby chemist who's color blind and also responsible for our medical care/health care so that's 9/10 times a pretty wild ride since she can't distinguish between good stuff and possibly poisonous stuff, soooo

More D&D stuff

The character on the right was colored in greyscale, don't know if I like the outcome or not

wip
Something different from what I usually do, it's kinda refreshing though

@Aquilaria danke, freut mich, dass es dir gefällt!

o/

#7 Mir gefällt die Herangehensweise an die Edward Grafik. Sie ist sehr stark geometrisch gehalten, was ich bisher glaub ich eher weniger bei dir gesehen hab? Mir fällt spontan zumindest kein Beispiel aus deinem alten Thread ein, von dem was du hier gepostet hast würde am ehesten noch die Kalista Signatur in das Schema passen. Da ich momentant schlecht mit Worten bin hab ich dir einfach mal reingezeichnet, was ich mit dem Geometriegedöns meine:

Es ist recht simpel gehalten, dadurch springt das einem imo auch sofort ins Auge (was nichts Schlechtes ist). Beginnend vom FMA Logo hat man einen durchgehend gelenkten Blick, dadurch wirkt die Grafik nicht unnötig wirr und man verliert sich nicht in ihr. Sie ist einfach klar definiert, mir persönlich gefällt das sehr. Außerdem finde ich's schön, wie du durch den Hintergrund nochmal das Wesentliche wortwörtlich einrahmst, wenn auch nur sehr dezent. Was mir auch auffällt, ist, dass die Komposition durch so Dinge wie dem Ast, der sehr unauffällig neben dem Logo verläuft, den Elementen im Vordergrund und auch durch die konstrastreiche Farbgebung nochmal schön unterstützt wird. Mir fällt nichts großartig auf, was ich daran kritisieren würde, ich find's sehr stimmig.

Die erste Signatur in dem Post überzeugt mich etwas weniger, die Farben sind sich alle recht ähnlich, dadurch geht in erster Linie ihr Kopf sehr unter. Ich hab mir den Post heute Morgen erstmals am Handy angesehen; da war der Kopf auf den ersten Blick nicht mal wirklich zu sehen. Die starke Lichtquelle unterstützt das nur noch mehr, finde ich zumindest, sie ist ein ziemlich dominanter Eyecatcher und stiehlt dem Gesicht/Kopf einiges an Aufmerksamkeit. Vielleicht könnte man dem mit stärkeren/anderen Kontrasten und/oder einer anderen Lichtquelle entgegenwirken?

Attempted to paint rain
The opacity of those more defined streaks of rain is way to high I should've lowered that down.
It doesn't really look like rain I guess, but hey, practice /shrug

reference
I'm currently super frustrated with drawing characters so I just avoid it by drawing random stuff.
The contrasts could be stronger, otherwise I guess it came out ok?

aaaand some NPCs

Just a quick sketch of our D&D group since motivation is leaving me again

Danke für's Feedback, das mit dem Fokus behalte ich auf jeden Fall für die nächsten Bilder im Hinterkopf!
Lichtstrahlen hatte ich in dem Bild eigentlich als Overlay dabei. Fands zu grell und hab darum die Deckkraft etwas runtergedreht, scheinbar etwas zu viel, man sieht nämlich nicht mehr viel davon merk ich grade.

Auf was Düsteres hab ich auch Lust, das kommt ganz bestimmt noch irgendwann!!

I'm addicted

I dislike painting landscapes, so I thought it would be a great idea to finally tackle them. It turned out quite ok, I guess?
I like the result but something bothers me and I don't know yet what it is. Feedback would be highly appreciated!

wip

Hey!

#3 Du verbesserst dich momentan von Bild zu Bild sehr stark, mittlerweile sieht alles sooo realistisch aus. Besonders gelungen finde ich die Lippen, die sind mir sofort ins Auge gesprungen, sie sind wirklich sehr detailiert. Der Regen sieht vermutlich weniger wie Regen aus, weil er aus verschiedenen Richtungen kommt? Ich weiß, dass es im Video der Fall ist, allerdings würde es auf der Zeichnung vermutlich verständlicher sein, wenn man den Regen auf eine Richtung reduziert. Mich persönlich verwirren vor allem auch die dickeren, unscharfen Linien, die lassen den Hintergrund für mich mehr wie Scheinwerferlicht anstatt Regen wirken.

#4 Ich finde den Stil wirklich schön, er hat was ruhiges und impressionistisches an sich. Der Schatten an seiner linken Wange ist imo etwas scharf, dadurch wirkt sein Gesicht sehr kantig, vllt hättest du 1-2 Zwischentöne einbringen können ums weicher wirken zu lassen. In der restlichen Zeichnung hast du das super hinbekommen. Ich bin gespannt, ob du noch mehr in die Richtung machst und wie sich der Stil entwickelt!

Danke, das ist super lieb von dir.
Bin im Moment leider nicht sonderlich motiviert; hab zwar Ideen, aber keinen Willen sie umzusetzen. Dementsprechend werde ich hier vermutlich erstmal meine letzten Zeichnungen nachposten >:

5.) Responding to criticism – but how?

We have now received some criticism, but how do we respond?

First of all, we should thank the critic for taking the time to look at our work and even giving feedback. But that goes without saying.

You have to keep in mind that it's your decision whether or not you agree with the criticism. And it's also your decision whether or not to incorporate the criticsm into later artworks. If we agree to the criticism I find in most cases there's not much to say.

But if you disagree with certain criticism, you must not take it personally first and foremost. Your work is being criticised, not you or your personality. There's no reason to get all emotional and huffy. A situation like this is nothing more than a basis for discussion. If you disagree with your critic, take a stand and offer him an explanation on why you did this and that and why you think it's not a fault/flaw. Or perhaps a compromise between both views could be the solution?

In the end, however, it's also important for the artist himself to not only criticise his own work – I know you all love to do it – but also the work of other artists as well. Criticism isn't only beneficial to the artists who are being criticised, but also to oneself. You will gain experience by observing other's art and become more aware of your own art and that's a cool thing, right?

4.) How should criticism/feedback look like?

Before we take a look at what criticism should look like, we should first take a look at what aspects we can criticize at all. Basically, we can break it down into two main aspects: the representation of the motif and the overall topic of the artwork.

Aspects of representation

These are usually easier to criticise and also what most people will actually criticise.

So what can you say?

The medium

The medium is the art form the artist has chosen e.g painting, sculpture, photography etc.

(avoiding potential confusion here: „Medium“ can be also used to describe artistic material eg. „oil on canvas“ or „ink on paper“)

For example

> Was the right medium chosen for the artwork? Or would it look more interesting in your opinion if it was done in another medium?

> What are the artist's strenghts regarding the chosen medium? Are there weaknesses? How could these be improved?

The technique

Medium and technique go hand in hand. There are tons of techniques for painting and other art forms. Consider poetry and all its stylistic devices.

For example

> How does the artist utilize his medium of choice? Does he use one technique throughout, or are there many different ones?

> Has he mastered the techniques used in the artwork or are they in need of improvement?

> Does the chosen technique support the artist's intention/message/effect of the artwork? Would another technique have fitted better?

Composition

The composition is the arrangement and connection of the various elements in the artwork.

For example

> Does the composition support the message of the artwork?

> Is the composition coherent? Or is it falling apart? What could've been done differently?

> Is the composition strictly geometric or rather organic? How does this affect the artwork?

Contrasts

There are many contrasts ranging from light/dark, color to warm/cold and even texture contrasts.

For example

> Are there enough contrasts, or does the artwork appear monotonous due to a lack of contrasts?

> Did the artists work well with light/dark contrasts to give the artwork depth? Or does it look too two-dimensional? Should the contrasts be stronger? (→ shading)

Aspects of the topic

These are usually more on the personal/emotional side, so it's often more difficult to say something about them imo.

For example

> How does the artwork affect me? Does it evoke any emotions?

> What do I think was the artist's intention?

> Do I interpret the artwork differently than others or the artist do/does?

I know that nobody can nor want to go into all of the mentioned stuff, especially since our (Els DE) gallery was dominated by character portraits and comissions, but it should be an impulse to say at least something.

Okey, since we've learned what we can criticise and how, let's go and criticise a little!

„Her arms look weird“

„The composition is odd“

„dat's kawaii!!!“

„I like your drawings“

These are neither constructive nor useful feedback. Our ego may benefit from statements like „I like your drawings“ but it isn't really helpful regarding improvement. It shouldn't be a simple list of flaws and vague compliments. While statements like those above may be true they neither offer solutions nor supporting arguments for why the arm is looking off. Instead, the criticism should contain statements supportion the respective opinion.

„Her arms look slightly strange I think. Her upper arm is way to short in relation to the rest of her body. The elbow should be at about waist level!“

„The composition seems out of balance. The left side of the painting is overcrowded while it's almost empty on the right. Maybe you can keep that in mind for your next artwork!“

„I notice you have studied your references of Japanese food with nekofaces well and have been able to incorporate that knowledge into your work. Which is why it seems so kawaii to me.“

„I like your drawings because of your exciting compositions, which you emphasize even more with the strong coloring.“

1. Who may criticise?

One reason for the disappointing amount of feedback in our old gallery - and I think everyone who is active in our media library has already heard the statement at least once – was and probably still is the famous

„I don't know anything about drawing or art in general, so I can't really say anything about it.“

That's plain nonsense

„Everyone is a critic.“

A film critic isn't a director, a book critic isn't an author and art critics don't have to be artists either. Anyone who is able to form an opinion and/or make an analysis can probably call themself a critic. Many reject this view. „Only art connoisseurs can see themselves as critics“. Art connoisseurs can of course deal with many more aspects than those who don't really deal with the topic of art on a regular basis. But in fact, you don't have to be a brainiac and you don't even have to be able to draw to identify obvious flaws of an artwork, especially concerning the basics such as anatomy, proportions and perspective. Even if something just seems off to you but you haven't quite figured out yet what the problem is – tell us!

Everyone can be a critic and it doesn't take much to identify certain flaws or strenghts in the artist's work.

2.) What exactly is criticism?

A critique is an honest and subjective opinion about someone else's creative work. This covers a number of aspects such as the topic of the artwork, the presentation, the technique and many more. The intention of a constructive critique is to help artists develop their skills and to train their (as well as your own) critical eye.

3.) The Importance of criticism

Why write criticism at all, why is criticism so important for artists?

It's for the same reason why authors need editors and actors need directors. An actor doesn't see himself on stage. In his opinion, his acting and delivery may be convincing if not flawless. The director, however, recognizes in which points the performance is lacking and could be improved. That's because he sees the play from a completly different point of view: from that of the audience.

That's exactly what every art form needs: an „outside“ pair of eyes that points us in the right direction. While the artists can recognize and correct some of their mistakes themselves, there will still be things they may overlook or doesn't perceive as a possible flaw. The opinions of outsiders are important because they see our work not with the eyes of the artist but with those of an observer. We as artists need to know how our work can be further improved. We need to understand how others perceive our art. And that's where feedback plays an important role.

5.) Auf Kritik antworten – aber wie?

Wir haben nun Kritik erhalten, aber wie reagieren wir nun drauf?

In erster Linie sollten wir dem Kritiker dafür danken, dass er sich die Zeit genommen hat sich mit unserem Werk auseinanderzusetzen. Das sollte aber selbstverständlich sein.

Was wir im Hinterkopf behalten müssen, ist, dass es unsere Entscheidung ist, ob wir die Kritik annehmen oder nicht. Und es ist auch unsere Entscheidung, ob wir die Kritik in spätere Werke einfließen lassen, oder nicht. Stimmen wir der Kritik zu, gibt es in den meisten Fällen nicht mehr zu sagen als einen Dank. Aber was, wenn wir nicht zustimmen?

Finden wir eine Kritik abwegig, dürfen wir sie in erster Linie nicht persönlich nehmen. Unser Werk wird kritisiert, nicht wir oder unsere Persönlichkeit. Es gibt keinen Grund emotional zu werden und eingeschnappt zu reagieren. Eine

solche Situation bietet in erster Linie eine gute Grundlage für eine Diskussion. Wenn wir unserem Kritiker nicht zustimmen, nehmen wir Stellung und bieten ihm eine Erklärung unsererseits. Warum haben wir dies und jenes so gemacht und nicht anders? Warum denken wir, dass wir im Recht sind? Oder könnte vielleicht ein Kompromiss zwischen beiden Ansichten die Lösung sein?

Letztlich ist es für den Künstler selbst aber auch wichtig, nicht nur nach Kritik für seine eigenen Werke zu geiern, sondern sich selbst mit den Werken anderer auseinanderzusetzen. Die Kritik schult nicht nur den Künstler, sondern auch den Kritiker, welcher in dem Fall ebenso ein Künstler ist. Damit ist nicht nur den anderen Künstlern geholfen; ihr sammelt auch selbst Erfahrung und das ist doch eine coole Sache, huh?