Tangled (Critique requested)

quadraptor's picture
Exactly why Pema avoids trees...

So I'd like to be able to add more to my art, especially adding in finer details and maybe doing better for backgrounds. This took about 10 minutes, but I know I could do more with it.

Do you mind critiquing this? What could I do to improve my artworks?

I think the first thing I plan to do is work with a bigger canvas.

Edit Here is version #2, taking Terabetha's suggestions into consideration:



I realized her spots are not there in this version, because I had added them in on the wrong version (the PNG version, not the SAI version that I can edit), so please just ignore that they are missing.

Edit #2 Version #3, taking Dannii's suggestion into consideration. I really like how goofy she looks, especially her facial expession.




Thanks for any suggestions and help.

I'm no artist, at all,

I'm no artist, at all, therefore any critique I gave would pretty much be useless.
The one thing I noticed with this was that in order for Pema to be in that pose, the strings would have to be around her body or wrapped around her upper legs. I...think.
♥ I love the colouring of that treebranch, by the way.

EDIT: oh wait, if the strings are actually attatched to her and she's fallen down and sort of...wrapped around the branch, she'd pretty much have to be upside-down?

I don't know man ;;

Haha aww poor Pema, it's a

Haha aww poor Pema, it's a cute idea though!
As for critique, here's a few notes on things I think might help;
-You mention you want to do backgrounds, and that's a good goal. Think about where the picture is taking place. In this case, it's a forest. In a background you can include some other trees, grass, different colors of the ground itself (dirt, grass, various greens and browns).
-When I was learning to draw backgrounds I would sit my deer down somewhere in The Forest and try and draw the landscape. You can do the same thing, or draw from a screenshot.
-Expect to spend more than 10 minutes on pictures with a background, otherwise you won't be impressed with the results.

I see you've been exploring the different brushes, this worked really well on the tree branch texture. Try using different brushes to create other textures like grass, or fur.
Keep at it; you're already improving!
quadraptor's picture

Dannii - Ahh I see what you

Dannii - Ahh I see what you mean. Her body would have to be kind of twisted as well. I didn't consider that when I added the extra lines around the branch. What I'll do is take my real marionette and try tangling her strings (not permanently of course) and see how she appears. I do want to redraw this, thank you for the suggestion.

Terabetha - Sure, I'll look into the other brushes and see what works. Maybe I can use a reference of an actual forest for help with the background. I'll give that a shot and see how it turns out, thank you!
quadraptor's picture

Version #2 is up. I'm still

Version #2 is up. I'm still going to redraw Pema, but a better background has now been added.

Version #3 is up, Pema is completely redrawn, and I changed the angle of the limb to fit the trees in the background. I'm pretty happy with how it came out now. Thank you both for the suggestions, I'll make sure to put more time into my art now.
onyxsoulclaw's picture

If I may be honest I find the

If I may be honest I find the first background best as it does not distract the eye from the main charater. I love all the poses and the idea behind the art. Please keep up the great work and best wishes.
quadraptor's picture

I do like those simple

I do like those simple backgrounds as well, but it makes me feel like I didn't put enough into the artwork. I may go back and forth between them in future artworks. Thanks for the comment on it Eye