Neophyte-Ronin's art Reviews on Newgrounds

[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. :)

[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.

[Bless You - CoV Commission]

Very Cool; the Background Just Seems "There"

The sneezer's expression and posture is golden, one of embarrassment and massive guilt. Her companion should be wincing or have narrower eyes than that, although she might be surprised. Far be it from me to nail someone for anything, but the background appears fully digital and, therefore, fully plain. T'would be far better to integrate images that were originally hand-drawn onto a background that started out hand-drawn to some degree.

Then again, this does look like the single frame of a well-polished television cartoon from the early '90s, or even the sort of Looney Tunes/Merrie Melodies fare before Chuck Jones' Spartan Abstract style debuted (particularly with Road Runner/Wile E. Coyote). In other words, the look and feel of the piece brought me back, and in a good way, as if it was "Rabbit Season" once again!

P.S. City of Villains sounds cool. My mother, it so happens, plays City of Heroes. One of her characters' names is Scarlet Knightingale (I think).

Sabtastic responds:

As usual, thanks!
I really enjoy your reviews, man. Very insightful stuff!

I'm sorta confused about the 'fully digital' comment, though. I did, in fact, draw it all by hand. :P Sure, there were a lot of shape tools and gradient/texture tricks utilized, but the image itself is still 100% hand-drawn. :P

P.S: Your mom is officially the coolest mom in the world. Holy crap.

[Myra In Her Study]

Solid Piece; Only Issues are Simplicity & Lighting

A great deal of attention was placed upon the character, and

The picture's lighting effects indicate to me that the creature should be reflecting (if not emanating) plenty of light to illuminate the front of her face. Instead, only the cheeks and back of her hair are lit up, due to sunlight that manages to get through the blinds' cracks. Even if it doesn't emanate light, a white sheet of paper, angled with a lamp, can light up the front end of a black stereo system knob. In other words, you can reflect some light off of you if you're not composed of colors that absorb it (like this bright white dragon). Hence, the front of the face should be illuminated at least a little. It's another light source. You got one correct... but the other should be a little more pronounced.

If it were me, I'd ditch the sunlight and make it an evening session in her study. When I think study I think nighttime, after the daily grind has been squared away. The character looks to me like a night owl, anyway. In doing so, the illumination would instead come from the dragon, and the front of her face would be brightened up. It would also make for a dimmer, far more mysterious picture.

Some of the textures on the floor is okay, but the light source and lack of shadows for the little legs of that chair further diminish the level of immersion one can feel from the piece. And perhaps out of a desire not to mingle too much with perspective (although a few painful lessons there never hurt one's technique), the bookshelf is conveniently barren. This poses two problems: one, we assume a magician would have all manner of treatises, ledgers, and scrolls lining a shelf, not all properly organized, either (rather haphazard in fact). The second issue is that some technical geek will call you on potential laziness for leaving it bare. We rarely assume a wizard is illiterate. At least there are books in the bottom shelf, behind the small table and chair, out of sight for the most part. Lining the shelves might have felt like bull work and perhaps you were rushed, but keep these suggestions in mind for later pieces.

Having her face in profile is not just for ease of drawing, because the subject matter--the piercing examination of the creature perched upon her outstretched hand--is the crux of this piece, where everyone's eye will rest upon. The Victorian-esque chair, the repose for an apprentice in the arcane, is well-fashioned despite the flaws in light effects. The character is also in correct proportion from what I can tell, and the minor effects like candles and oriental rugs help this picture stand out even more.

Though some elements appear simple and the lighting could have had a makeover, Myra in Her Study is still a solid piece. I suggest you outline and begin formatting the boxes for a comic book featuring your characters, because they won't be worth much if you don't draw them on a consistent basis.

Sabtastic responds:

Wow, man. Thanks! The least I can do is reply to your comment! Sorry it took so long.

First off, thankyou for such an in-depth look at this piece. If you don't write professional artistic reviews, you really should look into it! It's so refreshing to actually get a helpful review that has a lot of time and effort put into it, as opposed to some ... 'less useful' opinions I've gotten in the past.

Very rarely will someone's review inspire me to open up the artwork again on Photoshop and fix whatever errors were mentioned. Needless to say, your critique really makes me want to do that!

Cheers!!
I'll be sure to look you up if I get around to fixing up this submission. c:

[How's It Taste, Mother Fucker?]

Thanks

You've given me a new catchphrase. I'm going to SPAM this statement all over the place in random events until it becomes a pathological meme that wipes out the entire Internet community with silly profanity.

This is a good mild cartoon-like lion. Reminds me of a Rakshasa from D&D (or FF if you're looking carefully enough), though those guys are tiger-headed. Still, this dude's got a wonderful attitude, akin to the Rakshasa.

Watch out about anyone claiming to make a tattoo based on this piece, because they'll stick it someplace totally nasty. You sure you want this as a butt tattoo, for example?

But you gave me my first big laugh for the day, and for that, I thank you. It tastes just as good as women's tongue on a hot summer night. And NO, don't counter with a stupid 'yo' momma' joke or something--you know what I intended. Some jokes are totally outdated, unfunny, or perfectly nonsensical. Ever hear someone say "Yo Mama's a dead baby?" before?

BiggCaZv2 responds:

Yeah, I have. And I wonder to myself "Who would find calling someone's mom a dead baby funny?"

[My Wacom]

Like a Van Gogh Self-Portrait

This is quite cute. It's also color-coordinated in terms of picture composition, so you get a bonus there. I still don't know about the black shirt with the fluorescent stars though. On the other hand, I recall many of Van Gogh's paintings had an orange/green emphasis for contrast purposes. Manga cartoon style aside, reminding me of a classic painting gets you a few extra points as well.

If you're feeling ambitious (or bored), why not post several pictures--three to go--so you can be scouted by a fellow artist?

xxxrifrafxxx responds:

I actually own that shirt lol. And i was wearing it when i drew this.

[mechano girl]

Reminiscent of Role-Play Adventure Characters

Not much to this piece--the background is essentially vapid and nowhere near the point of the piece--although she certainly is striking. Through your style, she resembles a character for a modern, thematic role-play adventure. In fact, she reminds me of Laguna Loire (from Final Fantasy VIII) through her attire, sans the tools and lack of machine gun.

I bet you get accolades like this all the time.

data777 responds:

heuu..... no..... hehehe and it's cool ! yeah thanks
and this remind you laguna from FF8 ? cool
i just take a pirate inspiration on modern time
i think i'll make other people
'cause i do this like a real character, but i don't know for what...

(sorry for my bad english hehe)