My first post...

[shoushirei]

Hello everyone! I already posted this pic up in the art arena, but you know how things get overlooked there and you don't get much CC. Please tell me what you think and if you have any suggestions, I'd love to hear them. heart

Oh, but there is a light shonen-ai warning... ^^;

Let It Snow  

[Salsa Mime]

Hey. So, critical comments before compliments, that the way I serve it.

The cast shadow beneath his booty (err, Naw I wasn't looking down there . . I was just . . err , , yeah) doesn;t help place him on the snowy plain; it's kind of diffused in this general round cirle. Apparently they're face the sun, so it should come back in an thin ovalur (if that even a words) shape. Do that and make it a little darker and it will help place them in the backround. Also, the fact they're sitting in the snow without sinking in at all is kind of lazy; did you put them into the snow scene after you were done drawing them?
The shading switches between cell-shaded and light gradient. Correct me if I'm wrong, but it looks like you use markers, colored pencil, and a computer rendering program. Work on keeping your rendering process consistent throughout your works; failure to do so makes certain objects and parts to stickout and remove themself from the drawing.
Last big thing; atmospheric perspective. There shouldn't be such a hard edge to the hills in the backround, and the distant snowflakes shouldn't be so vivid.
Okay, these are just little nitpicking stuff, problems which I'm geussing are unique to this drawing; the bright shine on the back of his head, the drawn-on quality of the details on the pants, that guys ear is too far down, and the striped scarf is acting like it's made out of paper.

Now that thats out the way, let me say this is a great drawing. The colors are lovely and vivid, and the two charecters have alot of personality, and I could spin a story about them right now. In fact I will! Heres what this drawing says to me. First off, they're gay (woohoo, I'm a deduction!). They have a distance relationship, and the blond haired kid comes from out west where they don't really get snow. He seems in awe of how beautiful it is, not able to do much more than have his face fondled by his buddy there with a nostalgic, dreaming expression on his face. They most both be in a really good place right now; otherwise they would be freezing their asses off.
What I like most are the hands; you didn't shy away from a difficult position and as a result they are wonderfully expressive and dynamic; adding a sense of a sustained period rather than a captured moment.
What I'd like to see most is a backround that seems a part of the picture and not a last minute addition.
Great work, looks awesome.  

[JackalAndromeda]

I like how bold the colours are, and the shading in the hair. (Especially the blonde hair). In addition to Mairi's critiques, I would say that you should take the shape of the skull into more consideration when you draw. I can't tell on the blonde because of where his head is, but on the other guy he doesn't really have a lot of skull in the back of his head. It's not a huge deal, but something to think about the next time you draw. I like the picture a lot, it makes me wish it would snow a little here. :3  

[shoushirei]

Thank you for the WONDERFUL critique Mairi. I found it extremely helpful in seeing things that I never really noticed before. biggrin You were spot-on about the mixed-media (it was just a quick coloring job.. ^^ wink and I appreciated the comments on the background (which I'm kinda afraid of so that's why it's so half-assed).

I also enjoyed the story. xd It made me laugh because it's so accurate.

And thank you very much Andromeda, for the tip on the head. I always have the worst time with proportions and shapes... Hahaha. I'll definitely try to keep it in mind. biggrin