Neophyte-Ronin's art Reviews on Newgrounds

[Officer02]

Shouldn't the text be reversed for her to read?

Now, the main focus is the character, but blurring the city background to unidentifiable lengths does not help in immersing the viewer. The eye has to trace to and fro but there isn't much in the background beyond nondescript stars and what looks like distant ships.

It's hard to tell what the reason behind her urgency is, or why she has been wounded in the face. And a little hint: the face bleeds like a geyser if it's been cut. Hit it just right and boom, it's all over the place, man. Still, it's better to show the wound in some capacity. If it bled too much, we'd go from futuristic to metal real quick.

While it might be fun to delve into futuristic/sci-fi, I would not dwell there exclusively; your fantasy fare still reigns supreme. I recommend three fantasies to one futuristic, roundabouts.

Don't get me wrong--there is a bucket-load of effort and detail that went into this piece and it holds its own, but it's far from flawless, let alone perfect. It's standard rather than flawed, though. Twenty hours on one piece is still a lot of effort. I suggest you sleep more because, regardless of the good qualities I see here, the flaws would never have happened if you kept a clear, rested head. Most sci-fi horror stories happen as a direct result of scientists and technicians overexerting themselves and causing avoidable accidents in laboratories. Consider this as you delve further into the vast coldness of space.

But she is sorta bad-ass, isn't she?

[My Boyfriend is a Tarantula]

I know a few people I'd send this to just to watch their reaction. And snap photos.

The simplicity of the victim flies and the irregularity of the neck jewelry belie a certain complexity in the subject matter, somewhere between the innocent upward glance of the girly-girl toward her apparent guardian, or familiar spirit (if she is a sorceress). Wreathed in spider's silk and peppered with her man's underlings, it shows childlike innocence in a way rarely spoken: that their curiosity and wonder supersede any preservation instincts. Most people smash spiders if they're not too busy freaking out in their presence. Others will let them be, knowing they pick off other lesser beings fluttering through the household. Still others, like this girl, will let them keep her warm at night.

Hate to sound ironic, but that's damned sexy. I like it (rather, PREFER IT) when girls can keep their composure when faced with the little things in life. Reminiscent of those fantasy images of werespiders, with the torso of a hottie replacing the head of a black widow or other such nefarious specimen, only that here, the cute woman is the friend and master of countless spiders, some fist-sized. The way they should be.

In another fit of symbolism, she could be somehow above the snares of her many boyfriends, seeing how they might crawl around her, but she does not seem all too concerned, and her innocent guise and expression only compound her inherent allure. Besides, if they really are together, there is that chance that she must devour her mate if he wishes to breed, so that implies a level of control.

In other words, physical beauty aside, there is a lot that makes the subject of the piece a desirable ideal, even if most people will brush it off as purely a darkly fantastic horror piece (it's far too silly for that label).

I've noticed across several of your works that you're definitely a fantasy illustrator like out of "Heavy Metal" Magazine, with a serious glamour bent. This deserved its Front Page status. Heh, this deserves to be plastered on desktops, either as a reminder of what to shoot for or just because it's too damn horror-cute to pass up.

Dahlia-K responds:

thankyou so much for this critique. Always a pleasure to read these. :)

[Morticia]

The background is dull, but being out of focus means it's not the subject of the picture.

Always was an Addams Family fan, but my mother is far more familiar with the television series than I am. What I have seen of it, however, I must say that I prefer Carolyn's portrayal because the perky goths are more approachable and Mrs. Huston's attempt fell short.

This one should get Front Page, if people had a thought in their brain.

[Germaine (Strong Pose)]

It appears as though her obese phase ended with a massive gym regimen! Good job. It's nice to see a character evolve positively after a long-and-drawn-out phase of being the butt monkey of society. It would be an impressive feat to transition this level of detail to the cartoon, too.

[Computer art.]

Not bad for a first try! Any references used?

[Warscene - Cy'An versus Humans]

There is always something suspect when looking at modern representations of robots and placing them in the context of a pitched fight that looks like trench warfare meets infantry and cavalry. Also, the shield maiden suggests fantasy or medieval style, though that stuff, in the modern or futuristic context of war, is either outmoded or unrealistic.

Not to say this isn't a cool piece of science fantasy art--it's actually tremendous as a sketch--so what I'm getting at is that the story between a cybernetic or robotic empire turned against a small human resistance, while engaging, fails to address technological changes on the battlefield. When you're composing a story of this ilk, you have to remember that steel trumps flesh and computers can out-calculate brains, but that humans are adaptable and tenacious, soulful and ingenious. First order of business is to use an EMMA pulse via a high-altitude nuclear detonation, which fries anything with a circuit and disables many a thing that the robots rely upon. However, if there is a reason this will not work, you'll have to spend time rationalizing anything from alternative methods of microscopic propulsion (like maybe nanotechnology, but even that is a stretch) to some sci-fi convention like a dampening field.

As melodramatic as this image of a confrontation appears to be, it begs to ask how a resistance would be so foolish as to rush into a wall of steel as though that would save them. Again, humans are far more ingenious than this and would not waste time or energy on pitched battles and such. They might use this as part of a diversionary tactic if they were content to just have themselves butchered so one lone saving grace among their ranks can deal a killing blow with the robots preoccupied. It doesn't necessarily add up; historical knowledge of military conventions in place during the middle to Renaissance periods have little to no place in a modern conflict such as this. War is stupid, for sure, but this, to some, just looks even stupider.

I do appreciate the level of detail in the picture. This thing looks like it can be finished into a brilliant picture, digital or otherwise. Despite the anachronisms and suspicious premise, I perceive the energy and grandeur, from the villain's pose to the fire from the sky. This looks like the cover of a science fiction novel--the beginning of one at least--and it may even inspire a sci-fi feature-length cartoon akin to "Gandahar" (aka "Light Years"). Given the context, that's a compliment.

Ynek responds:

In all honesty, this is just a piece of artwork. It wasn't intended to be scrutinised for it's scientific merit. :P

The Cy'An in the Second Era weren't quite so much interested in wiping out humanity as they were interested in recovering what the humans had stolen from them and gaining reparations for the actions of a select few humans who had endangered them. The Cy'An were not built by humans, but were instead built by Levitus, who in himself was built by the Forigumians just after the dissolution of the Aloken and just before the Forigumian-Shydakhi wars. The Cy'An discovered humanity much later than this and took them in as part of the Cy'An protectorate, believing the humans to be part of the Great Seeding - and a successful seeding at that - by the Forigumians. Eager to preserve Forigumian science, the Cy'An resolved to protect the humans, until the humans stole something from the Cy'An which was of great value. This sparked a war that didn't end until the Child of Volheme, Gams, son of Loritus, inadvertantly destroyed the universe by re-uniting the stolen Cy'an relic with it's twin, thus un-creating all of the universe by unleashing the Shia from his prison - precisely what the Cy'An had been trying to prevent.

But my point is that the Cy'An were never human constructs, and the war was about more than just annihilation of the other side.

[A'Le Levitus design drawing]

The so-called evolutionary effect of two opposable thumbs on either hand is hard to fathom. I'm not sure if it would enhance their intellects as one is plenty for handling tools. Still, it looks cool and exotic, and for something to sell, that is often sufficient.

The facial details are a little clearer. Lev sports a mean squint in permanent furrow that stares you down cold, while the horns seem ready to converge near the top. They embellish his height, but are likely ill-disposed as weapons.

It is clear that this was an interesting design that got the graces of shading--not a full-body design (which is required for a team of artists to base its efforts on) but design nonetheless--yet I have to be frank that this showed its origins in how it resembles a small desktop posing model. Everything from the ball joints to where the abdomen ball should be (made vacant and emaciated with Lev's slender design).

The slenderness does not help in giving the character any bite, and the otherwise smooth rendition of single pieces of metal does not convey a sense of menace. Other graphical touches, such as the incorporation of little rivets that resemble scales, or the inclusion of asymmetry with sporadic patchwork of random replacement parts over the many, many years of fighting wars (as stated in Lev's biography), might demonstrate better the freak's megalomania and sinister edge. Expanding upon the strange heraldry that appears on rough occasion across his frame may also help out a bit.

You're on a proper track, of course, judging by the sharpened teeth and the grandiose design. I would have gone far to suggest that the wings are worthless for the design but, as you pointed out, they were not shaded so as not to detract from the rest. I cannot give an opinion on them as a result. But usually this is bad since people tend to seek out a completed product instead of unfinished, progressing, or cancelled works. This is of the very last, though I see the reasoning.

Overall, nice work. Again, if you ever manage to make this world a published reality, shout it out, will ya?

[Levitus, Emperor of the Cy'An]

Scary on the wall.

The demonic rendition of his physique is obvious, yet I don't get the same impression from his face--not from this angle at least--because you have to really distort and contort the bad guy's snarling face like a Chick Tract's portrayal of anything non-Christian before you can hit the nail properly.

I guess it got cropped, so things are absent from sight. For a good character portrayal, everything must be in the picture. If you have to, extrapolate the missing components with a digital reworking of the whole picture. The pencil shading is top-grade, but this guy needs to be fully visible.

Judging by the comments, this guy is obvious principal villain material. Hold onto it and shout it to the world when the novel or comic book or cartoon comes out.