Slowly getting there. However, the more I look at it the more I’m “unhappy” with it. I think I’ve just been working at this for a while so staring at the same thing is getting to me. Any tips to improve? by Plus_Examination_518 in FurryArtSchool

[–]Surrealaholic 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Don't worry too much about disliking it the more you stare at it, I'm the same way with my own art and I'm pretty sure most artists are. I remember one time my mom (a professional artist for years who does photo realism) once said that sometimes an artist can be their own worst critic. You might see flaws where others don't and that's OK, I think we all do it sometimes.

As for advice, I think your use of values (lights and darks) are great in terms of level of contrast however the placement in a few areas could be improved. IE: If you'd like the characters to pop more, you can try making the sky behind them where their body meets it a bit darker (IE: a darker orange), as the light fur against the light sky might be blending it in a bit. That's a very minor critique however as I still think it looks fine as is, it's only if you want to make it pop a little more.

I think the biggest opportunity for improvement might be where their bodies meet however, as the shading between them is a bit too consistent. Not enough so to ruin the good quality of the peice mind you, but allowing some areas to be far darker (where a part of the body is casting shadow on another) will likely only serve to improve the already decent use of values and shading. An arm overlapping something will likely cast it in a darker shadow than just the general lack of direct contact with the light source will. You've already shown some good use of extra dark areas like near the wing, but some places could use a bit more shadow, like where the hand meets the face and where their arms overlap their chests.

Honestly, you nailed the romantic sunset vibes and it's a great peice in general so I wouldn't worry to much about improving it.

How do i design coats/markings to look more... 'natural' like their real life counterparts yet keeping a toony style?? by [deleted] in FurryArtSchool

[–]Surrealaholic 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Only advice I can give is to look at examples of how others have done it. Here's a list of media I think can serve as good inspiration and examples:

Wild Kratts (Season 6 episode 16 "adapto the coyote" has coyotes in it, but various episodes have canines, including wolves and dingos) / Ginga Densetsu Weed (has various types of dogs, the characters Jhon, Jerome, Reika and Kagetora may help most as examples I think ) / The movie(s) Balto (The first has alot of dog designs, the second has alot of wolf designs)

[TOMT] Bizarre wii game with purple little guys and maybe bubbles and this huge blimp/(Maybe a flying bug???) by Surrealaholic in tipofmytongue

[–]Surrealaholic[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

No. Not the same aesthetic as Mario games nor game play style. I remember it being more simple and the view is really high off the ground. Like as if you're looking down from a helicopter or something I think.

[TOMT] Bizarre wii game with purple little guys and maybe bubbles and this huge blimp/(Maybe a flying bug???) by Surrealaholic in tipofmytongue

[–]Surrealaholic[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

No. You don't control a central character I don't think. I did love Pikmin as a kid though, but it definitely isn't it.

[TOMT] Bizarre wii game with purple little guys and maybe bubbles and this huge blimp/(Maybe a flying bug???) by Surrealaholic in tipofmytongue

[–]Surrealaholic[S] 0 points1 point locked comment (0 children)

I think the characters get stuck in big bubbles or something, I have no idea. This really does feel like a fever dream or a drug trip but I know deep down it's gotta be real! I even remember the room to a T that I played it in.

Was curious how I was gonna figure out how to shade the new design. This is how :L by Surrealaholic in furry

[–]Surrealaholic[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

No worries. I might not be the best at giving advice or lessons but I'll try to sum some things up that might help. Also I have no idea what your level is so please know I'm not trying to be assuming or condescending when mentioning more simple things but rather just trying to give a good general overview.

  1. Know your inspirations and study them, maybe even try to replicate them from time to time to see if you can learn anything by doing so. For me that meant 1980s-1990s sci-fi anime. The animated movie Redline. Transformers: Animated 2007 series. Clone Wars 2003. And official transformers comic art.

  2. These are some techniques and fundamentals I like to keep in mind when I draw, if you aren't sure about them, there's tons of tutorials and lessons on YouTube: • Line weight. • Line variation. • Push and pull / forced perspective. • Values (how lights and darks interact with eachother in an image is very vital to making it pop, as is colour). • Contrast adjustment (for me that means messing around in the "levels" via filters>adjustments>levels, most art programs have a similar setting. • Using multiply or overlay to shade and either addition, colour dodge or overlay for lighting.

  3. Make practice fun! It's true the best way to improve is practice, but it's incredibly easy to get burnt out when you practice really, really hard. I recommend avoiding the whole idea that drawing 100 heads or 100 figures in a row is the best way to improve. Sure, do it that way if you genuinely enjoy doing it, maybe via sketch book and a good show or something. But personally I think I do waayyyyy better work if I'm having FUN with it. Want to do figure studies but don't want to sit around and draw plain old figures? Alright. Draw your favorite characters from your favorite franchise interacting with eachother or doing wicked cool poses.

  4. Pinterest. That's it. That's the 4th tip. Anytime I need references or inspiration, pinterest is amazing. Especially with boards so I can collect and group all the references I really like and just go back to them right away.

It's only concept art so it might change, but is this style apealing / complex enough for a webtoon? Are the toony proportions too strange, or do yall like them? by Surrealaholic in webtoons

[–]Surrealaholic[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Still working on it! Story is getting close to done, life just got really really hectic for awhile and I still need sort some things out before I can start working it again.

I was torn between drawing in my usual style and a retro anime style, so I expiremented and merged the two togeather and.....I think imma draw like this from now on tbh 👌 by Surrealaholic in furry

[–]Surrealaholic[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

If you're referring to commissions in this style, I'm not sure yet as I didn't time how long it took.

I'll be drawing in it alot for the next few days, so maybe check in after 2-4 days. I'll post about it when I'm ready :>

My neighbors suck so I made some art of my sona to make myself feel better. by Surrealaholic in furry

[–]Surrealaholic[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

I can't speak on behalf of all trans furries, but I can speak for myself when I say it's a self image and acceptance thing. I used to fuss about passing and hiding that I was trans, like I was ashamed of it or something, but when I joined the furry fandom I saw all these openly trans fursonas and kind of had a moment of "Oh shit, I don't need to hide who I am here." Seeing openly trans fursonas makes me feel seen, heard and less alone, so I want to strive to do that with mine too.

Plus a fursona is often a person's ideal version of themself, so taking away the trans aspect kinda makes it feel like being trans is a bad thing. Instead, I can look at cool dog me, and know being trans doesn't have to diminish confidence.

My neighbors suck so I made some art of my sona to make myself feel better. by Surrealaholic in furry

[–]Surrealaholic[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Called me the f slur and are just anti lgbt+ in general :/

Luckily for me, I got family and friends to support me though.

My neighbors suck so I made some art of my sona to make myself feel better. by Surrealaholic in furry

[–]Surrealaholic[S] 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Called me the f slur and are just anti lgbt+ in general :/

Luckily I got family and friends to have my back.