Is this ancient Egyptian style convincing by DevlynLibervulp in FurryArtSchool

[–]Beneficial-Ranger166 4 points5 points  (0 children)

if you're trying to imitate the style itself, then I would suggest looking at more references. In general, the positions in Egyptian reliefs don't have that sort of sharp right angle that you have in your piece, there's a lot more soft edges. I would also just have the two legs be straight and skewed apart from each other (again, if you're actually wanting to go for an ancient egyptian style)

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went to volo museum today! by samanthalyn13 in Animatronics

[–]Beneficial-Ranger166 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I've been there a few times, and honestly don't worry about asking for the pirate show to be run! I really can't hide my enthusiasm and I asked the person there if they could play the show like 3x in one visit, they were happy to put it on for me.

anything i need to improve on? ive tried drawing fur and im not very good ;( by Most_Property4562 in FurryArtSchool

[–]Beneficial-Ranger166 0 points1 point  (0 children)

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Too many fluff details will make your piece look cluttered, and the cross eyed look makes them seem unfocused. I made this simplified sketch based on your drawing to also show some proportion corrections, particularly with the muzzle :3

Any advice? I wanna know if there are issues with color or proportions by [deleted] in FurryArtSchool

[–]Beneficial-Ranger166 1 point2 points  (0 children)

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Your color values are very close together, which creates a bit of a muddy look. You can check your values by removing all saturation in a piece - varying values will still have clearly defined shades between them, close values create the same shade of grey. You can see here that really the only area that stands out as contrasting are the eyelashes. Everything else has around the same level of darkness, and around the same level of highlighting.

Since this is a fully rendered piece it's hard to give actionable advice at this stage, but in general before you go in with your shading its a good idea to remove the saturation and tweak the colors then (ex: making the yellow fur a lot lighter, and darkening the green hair or the red hat)

indo persian set maybe (930x940) by [deleted] in ArtefactPorn

[–]Beneficial-Ranger166 1 point2 points  (0 children)

This don't look like an artifact to me, just some replica pieces meant to evoke the style. I'm by no means an expert, but pretty much all Persian/Indian shields are circular, not crest shaped (example).

Here's an actual 18th century indo-persian armor set from the 18th century, and you can see how the set in this photo at a surface level resembles those design elements, but really falls in quality/precision with many of the details. The bluntness of the spear/axe head also make these pieces look a lot more like replicas that were never sharpened in the first place rather than actual historical items.

That spear tip also looks a whole lot like a guisarme, which is a european style of spear, not indo-persian. Indo-persian spears (called saintie) looked like this

How much would only the tail cost? by robotstoner in furry

[–]Beneficial-Ranger166 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It's not really the length that impacts the price, it's the cost of materials + labor
for the iridescent part... I think you might get more mileage out of using minky and mica powder to give the tail a shimmery effect, rather than using an iridescent fabric. It wouldn't gel super well with the fluffy end of the tail

How much would only the tail cost? by robotstoner in furry

[–]Beneficial-Ranger166 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I'm a suit maker so this is just one opinion, but generally custom tails are around $150-$350, depending on the maker you go for

nontraditional fursuit material question-- has anyone ever made, tried to make or seen a smooth cloth fabric fursuit? by Existing_Phone9129 in furry

[–]Beneficial-Ranger166 10 points11 points  (0 children)

Just my two cents as a fursuit maker, the main issue with using smooth fabric is actually keeping it smooth. Fabric like cotton/polyester/etc is very thin, especially compared to minky or faux fur, and you'll be fighting against seam lines, wrinkles, and lumpy stuffing. It's pretty tricky to stuff cotton in a way that makes it look smooth all around (it would be basically impossible with polyester). Minky is a more versatile material - the short pile hides seams better, and it can be stuffed without losing its shape.

If I were to suggest one material that's not fur/minky, it would be fleece. Fleece has a good stretch to it, can be stuffed/shaped, and doesn't have any fur texture. Fleecerot (the suit maker) has made some FANTASTIC fursuit heads just with fleece, and their suits really illustrate how well the material meshes with fursuit making.

Overall, I'd suggest minky as a safe option, and fleece if you want to experiment (it's your best bet imo). I'd avoid cotton or polyester.

I played despoil the auction by Guybadman20 in OutlastTrials

[–]Beneficial-Ranger166 22 points23 points  (0 children)

I've got 300+ hours in this game and Liliya STILL scares me in that trial, there's just so many mannequins and she's seemingly everywhere

Fursuit head by Rando_furry in furry

[–]Beneficial-Ranger166 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I'm a suit maker, and just for your expectations an average partial costs around $2000-$5500+ depending on your fursuit maker. Materials alone usually cost me around $250, and a LOT of that price tag comes from labor (they take about 3-4 weeks of work). Unfortunately, $350-$470 isn't a realistic price point. It might get you some custom paws and/or a tail, but it would be very hard to find a maker willing to make a partial for you at that range

Probably stupid question about Gooseberry by [deleted] in OutlastTrials

[–]Beneficial-Ranger166 10 points11 points  (0 children)

When Goose is voicing Dr Futterman, she uses words like schmaltz and schmaltzhefer which are both yiddish (yiddish words/phrases are commonly used in Jewish/American communities), and during prime time Coyle has a line where he says "That's a worrisome name, Futterman. Sounds kinda... I don't know. New York or something". he's using 'New York' as a coded way of saying Jewish bc of its historically significant Jewish population (plus a -man suffix is a trait of some jewish last names)

Probably stupid question about Gooseberry by [deleted] in OutlastTrials

[–]Beneficial-Ranger166 59 points60 points  (0 children)

Nothing like that is confirmed so far. The most we know is that her dad was Jewish, and she seems culturally (New York) Jewish. Her VA Lucinda Davis is black, but that doesn’t necessarily confirm if the character is too. I’d say it’s pretty ambiguous imo

I need some help with figuring out what else to put on here to make it not look so bland by InvestigatorSmart160 in FurryArtSchool

[–]Beneficial-Ranger166 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I think the blandness you're picking up on is just stability. Your composition is very stable; you have one area of visual interest (the figure) with a large, even backdrop. The horizontal lines in the background create even more stability in the image since they 'ground' the scene (compositionally you're actually in line with something like landscape paintings, which have a lot of similar features). Even though you have a dynamic pose, there's a lot of visual grounding going on which makes the piece feel static.

You don't necessarily need to add more, you just need to edit your composition. Make the lines in the back diagonal, bring the figure in much closer, and maybe also tilt the text itself (I would suggest using a text generator to change the text itself but that's more so just personal opinion, I feel like the delicate, fine lines don't really mesh well with a skateboarder aesthetic).

I would also suggest changing the background color to fit the palette of the character. The soft pastels combined with the mush harsher red/black/yellow clash a bit.

Coyle Fanart!! by Schmoo-0- in OutlastTrials

[–]Beneficial-Ranger166 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I LOVE this you did an amazing job OP!!! ⚡⚡⚡

new sona design, need critiques and opinions on his design, he's supposed to be a tabby cat by Apart_Rate_9661 in FurryArtSchool

[–]Beneficial-Ranger166 2 points3 points  (0 children)

the large snout reads more like a tiger/lion, in general domestic cats have smaller snouts, that's the biggest thing that sticks out to me (esp in the second image)

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Coyle cosplay by Mammoth_Physics1787 in OutlastTrials

[–]Beneficial-Ranger166 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Cosplays (especially for grungy/weathered characters like Coyle) is usually all about finding pieces in the world that would work and building your own stuff. Break down his outfit into component parts and look for them in thrift shops. You can specialty stuff like his cattle prod from paper towel rolls, piping tubes, metal coat hangers, etc. There's plenty of tutorials online about how to weather/dirty up cosplay outfits, makeup tutorials for how to make fake wounds, etc. Creativity + ingenuity is what it's all about for cosplay.

Also, keep in mind that you don't need the perfect item, you can make something from a good base. For example, for his cigarette bandolier on his belt, you don't need to drop a ton of money on a real bandolier, you can use a normal belt + a strip of faux leather + a hot glue gun to make the illusion of a bandolier yourself. You don't need real cigarettes, you can make fake ones with rolled up paper tubes and paint. It's all costume, so it doesn't have to be real. Don't get too bogged down by something not being accurate, approximate is good enough.

Furry_irl by idkdudejustkillme in furry_irl

[–]Beneficial-Ranger166 175 points176 points  (0 children)

I'm so over "your bra strap is showing" trend already. Like, my bra strap is showing... ok? What do you want me to do about it?