ShangXian's art Reviews on Newgrounds

[Mincifry the Minccino!]

The thing that caught my eye the most was the overall colour scheme used here. I like that it is used to convey the idea of ​​the military world and the camouflage associated with it. The background is very simple and geometric, it is a stylistic choice that I respect since the main character is the main focus. I also like the weapon, how it turned out along with the helmet. They are the most detailed part of the artwork, this is why I like to look at them the most in the entire composition because I tend to focus on details.

I've noticed that outlines of the characters' eyes are shown despite being covered by the tuft of hair typical of Anime style. Nice combination of this element with your personal style which tends to be a simple and chibi-like style in some of its parts such as the big head, big eyes and smaller body, notably arms and legs. Compared to other works of yours I can see the details put in showing the character's traits, I mean the outfit, the equipment and look.

I noticed that the whole body structure tends to be built on simple geometric shapes such as squares and circles, then the rest is drawn on top of that. Now I would like to point out a couple of things that might be improved for future drawings:

1) stiff pose
2) lack of shades/hues/gradient/highlight

Keep in mind I am mainly focusing on this drawing, I don't know if in other artworks shading has been applied. Stiff pose is an element that hits every artist in the learning process, trust me I got that problem a lot when I was younger. Reasons of stiffness may be: being overly cautious, a lack of gesture, and a lack of line quality. I don't know if you start with a sketch phase before drawing them or you immediately start with the outlines. If it's the latter, I may suggest you to start doodling rough, messy lines. Don't worry too much about every stroke. Being so worried and careful makes you draw your lines too slowly, and that stops fluidity. It makes you hold your pencil too hard, and that prevents subtlety. Scratchy, messy lines also have a purpose: exploring. When you are exploring drawing poses, drawing from imagination, or just constructing the initial structure of your drawings, it is completely okay to draw lines that wouldn’t look “confident”, because you will eventually clean it up, draw it again, or just leave as a study you were doing. To avoid a stiff hand and so a stiff-looking drawing practice drawing warmups before starting your sketching session. Sketching without rules will help you get closer to the mentality needed to draw better, dynamic, confident lines.

Draw fluid lines to warmup, then you can start build the character's structure how you like the most.

A common trait I've noticed by giving a very quick look at your gallery, which is lovely with those cute characters, is that they all tend to have a stiff pose for the most part. It's a completely normal thing and there is nothing wrong in playing safe, but exploring more dynamic poses will be critical to making your drawings less stiff. Tip: include gestures even in the case you want to draw a more static pose. I've noticed the legs of the character are slightly curved, notably the right leg, and this gives a very subtle dynamism which I like if I have to be honest. Art is about making decisions, so even a stiff pose can be the right choice if you aim at it, for example this image of Tom and Jerry both scared is well conveyed by the stiffness of the pose: https://i.pinimg.com/736x/ca/5a/ba/ca5aba0ca9dd4be8b41184ef4782fe83.jpg

But because military environment sometimes show dynamism I personally think that a more dynamic pose on him would have been a nice alternative at depicting him.

These for example might be good references for a military dynamic pose: https://i.pinimg.com/originals/3c/48/33/3c48334cb92992d57a41304e331e01f6.jpg

Draw them with only gesture as the main focus of the practice. Details don’t matter; instead, focus on capturing the energy of the pose. Get inspired by your favorite artists and study their drawings by doing them yourself.

Another element in avoiding stiff poses is starting with line of action. The line of action is the first line you draw, and it sets the pose or mood of a drawing. This line of action usually represents the spine, as it is the most influential part of the body regarding movement. The more dynamic the line is, the more vibrant your drawing will be. I link here (I do apologize if it may look spam, it's just an example to better show what I mean) a WIP of a drawing I did for the celebration of the Philadelphia Eagles' victory using Pico and friends as characters:

https://www.newgrounds.com/art/view/shangxian/fly-eagles-fly-sketch-and-wip

This is the “line of force” or “line of motion,” is a fundamental concept in art and animation. It’s a dynamic and imaginary line that helps convey a subject’s overall movement, energy, and direction, typically a character or object within a composition. So as tip I may suggest you to start by drawing a line of action and then try to fit the subject into it. If you start your drawing by the head, creating poses that don’t look stiff will be harder. If you practice this enough times, it will eventually become second nature. Experiment, use different poses, don't aim at masterpieces, aim at consistency and I see you have the potential to make nice and dynamic-looking artworks.

Another core element: use contrapposto. Contrapposto is a term used in art to describe a specific pose or stance of a human figure. It is characterized by a subtle shift in the body’s weight distribution. By using contrapposto, artists can create figures that appear more lifelike and less rigid, making their art more engaging and relatable. Key features:

1) weight shift: in a contrapposto pose, the weight of the figure is shifted onto one leg, which becomes the weight-bearing leg, while the other leg is relaxed or slightly bent. This creates a sense of balance and asymmetry in the figure’s posture.

2) S-shaped curve: the shift in weight and stance results in an S-shaped curve through the figure’s torso and spine. This curve adds a sense of fluidity and movement to the pose.

3) counterbalance: the upper body and arms often counterbalance the weight-bearing leg to maintain balance. For example, if the right leg bears the weight, the torso may lean slightly to the left, and the arms might extend in different directions to counter the weight shift.

Here a photo to better show what I meant: https://enhancedrawing.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/Contrapposto.jpg

Even in the WIP is linked you can see it.

I may also suggest line variety, the thickness of outlines is nice looking I admit, I like it because it makes the draw pleasant to look at but a more variety in thickness and weight can help a lot to make a drawing less stiff. Line variety is the element of drawing essential for conveying depth, form, and meaning in a work of art. By manipulating how lines are drawn, including thickness, texture, weight, direction, and variation, artists can create various visual effects to communicate their ideas effectively. How to put in practice this concept?

1) light: try to make them thinner and lighter, so you can trick the brain into thinking that something hit by light is shining, even though a 2D pencil drawing can’t produce light.

2) distance: by making the lines on the front thicker and the lines behind thinner, you can trick your brain into thinking there is depth.

This video covers the topic of line weight, I recommend it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7m3wGbPMSUY

When it comes to shading, I suggest to watch the videos linked by Skoops, a very talented artist on NG who is always ready to help artists with fundamentals: https://www.newgrounds.com/bbs/topic/1523050#bbspost27682098_post_text

My humble tip about shading is to add even a simple shade beneath the character to make it look attached to the ground. Even a simple, oval-shaped shade beneath the character would have given a more natural vibe to the composition. Layer mode: multiply. Begin with this now and play with opacity to find the shading hue you like the most.

Ok, other than this I liked this drawing, the combination of thin outlines, dull colours of bg and the character's outfit, the weapon and helmet details made me give this drawing a 4 start rating. Keep it up and take your time at digesting what I said and linked in this very looooong and maybe boring comment. Have a nice day!

[Sunreal]

Ok, I must admit that this artwork (like all your Gallery tbh) makes me speechless for its beauty, talent and inspiration that gives. As someone who barely started pixel art between last year and this year, mainly due to Pixel Day but I plan to make more outside this holiday, looking at this especially the WIP not only inspires me to make further pixel art but it strongly motivates me since this work is helping me to realize some things when making artworks.

And I am not only referring to pixel art but to art in general. I would like to first review the WIP since it's the part that truly motivates me to keep going on with pixel art:

-the first thing I've noticed is that you started with the background or better the environment. A things I've noticed many people tend to do, and I do it too sometimes^^', is focusing first on the character and then thinking about the background as if the character should be pasted onto it when in reality a character should be part of an environment. The character shall feel the environment and this should be experienced by the viewer him/her/themselves. One of strong points of this composition is how Sunflora feels the whole environment, she is well inserted, she is part of it and she is vibing to it. This creates a dynamic structure highly pleasant to look at and is one of main points that motivates and inspires me.

-linked to what I said above is how the environment is basically built on two colours (first GIF) and then two lines (second GIF). Many people ignore how something more complex, like the final product we see here, is more than often the result of smaller and simpler structures whether they are colours or lines, or even both. I've noticed that the third GIF is what the entire artwork will be about. I can see your whole thought process by looking carefully at your WIP even though I don't pretend to know every thought you had when making it. That would be arrogant on my part. But definitely I can sense that you started with a basic idea: sunset and Pokemon. Then you built around it your childhood memory (your Pokemon from Soulsilver, btw I always loved Soulsilver, Jotho region is my favourite along with Sinnoh). Then on this idea you started to build the "skeleton" of what will be the composition starting from the two initial colours, then the outlines of the sea and the main, big cloud.

-and speaking of the cloud, I admit it's the part I love the most about the environment composition. The cloud is clearly a cumulus cloud. They tend to develop on clear, sunny days when the sun heats the ground directly below (a phenomenon known as diurnal convection). This is where they get their nickname of "fair weather" clouds. They appear in the late morning, grow, and then disappear toward evening. What I love the most about this cloud is the rounded, puffy, and a brilliant yellow when sunlit, while its bottoms is flat and relatively dark. The magnificence of the cloud is enhanced by the curvilinear perspective aka five-points perspective.

small fun fact about it: curvilinear perspective was formally codified in 1968 by the artists and art historians André Barre and Albert Flocon in the book La Perspective curviligne, which was translated into English in 1987 as Curvilinear Perspective: From Visual Space to the Constructed Image and published by the University of California Press.

back to the the perspective of the cloud and sea. I can see the geometric relationship, if we want to break it into more simpler shapes the perspective would look like this: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d9/%C5%9Aciana.png
(work made by Kuba Fober on 3 February 2011, licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported license)

Well if we look carefully the distances a and c between the viewer and the wall are greater than the b distance, so adopting the principle that when an object is a greater distance from the observer, it becomes smaller, the wall is reduced and thus appears distorted at the edges. This is how it would appear from the viewer's point of view: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/ae/%C5%9Aciana2.png/640px-%C5%9Aciana2.png

The choice of this type of perspective gives the sense of vastness and openness, plus the colours, entire colour palette give a feel of cleanliness (the water, the reflection of mountains in the water, etc.).

-speaking of water I liked how mountains reflect in fifth GIF, they look so crystalline and even without adding the more soft shading of the next GIF, they would look amazing. I understood the choice to make the reflection blend on water: ti give a more natural and realistic sense to the environment. As I said I love both possible alternatives (the more crystalline look and the more blended look) because art is about making decisions and depending on what you want to convey a solution works better than another, and I can see why you choose to work on it. The entire composition would have been refined and detailed so leaving the crystalline look would have resulted in something that clashed too much.

-I love how around the main cumulus one can appreciate cirrus-like clouds around them. It gives a really natural feel of movements and size (I mean the size of the cumulus cloud). Nice job when you started with simple strokes of the brush and the you built around to sculpt the final shape.

-I found very interesting that you initially places the lifebuoy at the bottom right but then decided for a more central focal point. I don't know what made you change idea, maybe to initially place the character as reminder to do it later and place at the center of the lake. Anyhow I like it and I like the change of shades between the 8th and 9th GIF. I also noticed the disappearance of the small light blue highlight on the lifebuoy's left part in the 11th GIF^^ (lovely detail in the WIP process).

And now the final work:

-I just love the whole composition especially after watching carefully the entire WIP and changes that occurred before reaching the final product. The composition is well balanced in both colours, perspective and the character chosen. Grass types get along well with water after all.

-The colours. I love the cold colours sequence that can be appreciated in this artwork. The only warm colours are given by the giant cloud which reflects the light of the sun which is about to set, but the real protagonists are cold colours and the shades of blue, light blue, purple and light blue. Blue is a colour linked to calmness, meditation, contemplation, rationality and thinking. Surveys in the US and Europe show that blue is the color most commonly associated with harmony, faithfulness, confidence, distance, infinity, the imagination, cold, and occasionally with sadness. In US and European public opinion polls it is the most popular color, chosen by almost half of both men and women as their favorite color. The same surveys also show that blue also the color most associated with intelligence, knowledge, calm, and concentration.

another fun fact about blue colour and gender: in the early 1900s, blue was the colour for girls, since it had traditionally been the colour of the Virgin Mary in Western Art, while pink was for boys (as it was akin to the colour red, considered a masculine colour). Blue was first used as a gender signifier just prior to World War I (for either girls or boys), and first established as a male gender signifier in the 1940s. Sales was a particular motivation for the gendering of clothing, as well as the invention of prenatal sexing.

In United States the expression "true blue" means faithful and loyal, and after reading your description I like to image that your Sunflora was true blue^^ and this artwork well show this! In Paganism blue is associated with peace, truth, wisdom, protection, and patience. It helps with healing, psychic ability, harmony, and understanding. This artwork gives me peace, serenity and almost a hypnosis to keep looking at it over and over since blue is also a calming colour.

-This artwork truly managed to send a very, strong positive vibe and I would hug that Sunflora for all the positivity she gives me with her easy-going and chill attitude. This is almost very Zen as message, at least this is what I see^^

Congratulations for the FP, really deserved. If only I could fave and re-vote other 1000 times^^
Keep rocking you and Sunreal!

---------------------------------------------

I see the inspiration and it fits perfectly to Sunflora^^ many times the simplest things bring the most substantial results^^ nice job! I am listening to the song of the video while looking at your work, it's incredibly adorable!
And you are welcome, you deserved it.

VulpsVulps responds:

Well, thanks a lot for taking the time to analyze it, the idea is a bit more simple tho
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h9uFQv3t1AU

it was just that and trying to make it look more aesthetic, also, a bit of a tribute to her, so it's the least I can do.

Once again, thanks for the kind words

[Duolingo OVA 90's]

I still remember when Archduke Franz Ferdinand got assassinated because he forgot his daily Serbian lessons, and this is why you must learn French or off to the trench!

[Cute Girl]

Wow, I really love this coloured digital piece! I liked the different gradient hues on her body, notably on her left side. Nice pose too. I like the slightly inclined angle, it gives a sense of grandeur in terms of size. The Y2K style makes everything really enjoyable to look at because despite the simplicity of the composition, it's a nice mix of futuristic and nostalgic elements. The vibrant and bright colours make everything highly eye-catching.

It's a candy for the eyes I admit. It's a style I am recently discovering and I find it interesting, I may try it one day for some of my artworks, who knows. But back to the drawing: I've noticed the linearts differ and I see the basic theory applied here. What do I mean? I mean that it's important to draw outlines thicker while details shall have thinner linearts. This gives a nice sense of volumes and details are more highlighted like in this case. I can see that this contrast helps the viewer to focus on the character herself.

The only thing I would like to point out is the way the right arm is drawn. It is not possible to see the inclination of the forearm well, the perspective of it seems a little off. To get around this problem I might recommend first drawing the skeleton of the body you want to draw, a circle for the head, rectangles for the torso and abdomen if you like, straight lines for the limbs and small circles for the joints between the limbs. Starting with lines and geometric shapes also helps you see potential problems with perspective and angle. Art is about decision making, about what you want and deciding everything you do will be affected by it.

The uniform is beautiful, I would suggest just a little more pleats, just enough to give a touch of extra detail even if I can fully understand the choice of a minimalist style :)
Colours are nicely vibrant and I like that the background has this hue gradient. It makes everything more pleasant. I am very happy to see your coloured, digital works. They have lots of potential to be very pleasant to look at. Keep it up.

By the way this is my 69th review^^ you got the funni number, lol.

SouSTAR responds:

Thank you very much for your review, ShangXian! :D

I do use the 3D shape method, but I forgot to draw the right arm this way lol
I'm still trying to draw different outlines, but as you can see, it's not perfect yet ^^
Thank you very much for your support :)

Funni number is funni! XD

[The gang]

Time to leave my feedback on this beautiful and creative way of rendering our favourite NG trio: Pico & friends.

The first thing that struck me was the brightness and vividness of the colors on the individual characters' clothes. I love the color of Darnell's pants and how his dress matches his skin tone. The whole thing is a lively harmony of colors and design (I have a sweet tooth for yellow and violet combined together). I noticed the spray can behind him, nice detail! And this brings me to the second element that I really liked about this fanart: the union of classic style of character design (the color palette of the clothes for example, the common objects associated with them like the spray can) with your style of rendering them.

First of all I've noticed in your style the thickness of the lineart. It is thick enough not to weigh down the design and not to tire the eye making it look elsewhere. I find it well balanced with the colors which, as I said, are nice and bright and are incorporated well into the lineart, making the whole thing visually even more pleasant. Even though Nene doesn't have with her the famous knife, I noticed her nails are slightly pointed. Is this a reference to her sharp personality and therefore symbolically to the knives or is it just me overthinking? Either way, it's another nice little detail that I noticed and really liked.

But if there is one detail that I know for sure is a trademark it is the scar on Pico's stomach. This scar comes from Hanzo during the events of Pico's School, so kudos to you for showing this detail ;)

Another element of how personal style gives more prominence to the character design of the characters is the hairstyle. It retains elements of the original design but drifts away with the addition of a personal touch such as Darnell's thick hair or Pico's flame-like hair. Nene's hairstyle despite retaining some elements of the FNF style still has a distinctive touch such as the curvature of the hair on the forehead (right side) or in the center of the head.

But I admit Nene's hairstyle is gorgeous and it's my favourite because it's so elegant and fits her perfectly! Wow I would courtship her just for the elegance she radiates but I know she can be quite deadly if you rub her the wrong way XD

And this brings to another element that added uniqueness to this fanart: their personalities shown through the way they look at the potential viewer. All three are characterized by a rebellious and pissed off look, as if they would say with those eyes and way muscle lips are contracted "you better not bother us or else!" I love that! The rebellious hint is also shown through the hairstyles (Pico and Darnell especially) and their overall clothing (Nene's skimpy outfits that further enhance her slim and slender body).

I also really like the angle of the faces and the muscular tension of the mouth. Each of them has a different emotional nuance that goes well with the individual character, for example Pico is the typical character who doesn't want to be bothered by stupid things and is mostly calm despite his schizophrenia and insomnia, but if you bother him just right... get ready to eat a nice bullet for breakfast. The fact he's showing the viewer his back is a further indication of his willingness to protect himself from the dangers this world offers and we know what happened to him to cause him such behaviour. Nene is a mix of wariness, curiosity and cautiousness so better approach her with cautiousness in order to avoid having a knife day (sharp pun I know, I go to hide somewhere XD).

In this depiction Darnell seems to be the most apparently friendly character with his smile and gaze actively directed towards those who are looking at him or starting to approach him. Unlike Nene who has her head tilted down to symbolize a wary and protective attitude, while Pico looks down on you with caution, Darnell seems to be the only one who wants to actively approach you with a mostly calm attitude. However, I said that he seems apparently friendly because the smile is more of a grin and the eyes do not have a happy expression but they are mischievous-looking as if we is ready to fight you if you are looking for trouble. And his fiery personality can instantly change the minds of anyone who wants to mess with him.

I just love Pico's "what the fuck do you want" face XD it's my favourite expression along with Nene's wariness. From a technical point of view I already mentioned the bright colors and the thickness of the lineart, another thing I wanted to mention is the shading and highlights. They are beautiful and very well done, I love those highlight spheres on the characters like the one on Pico's right shoulder, on his hair, on Darnell's right leg or on Nene's right hip. It adds a touch of freshness to the composition

Well, to conclude you did an excellent job with this mix of classic and modern. I hope more people discover your art and start following you because you have a lot of talent and I can't wait to see more of your work in the future. Keep up the good work!

[pico so cool]

I always fall in love with lineless artworks, they look so beautiful and visually appealing because they manage to show the overall structure without sacrificing details in their simple structure. I really like the colour gradient that can be seen on Pico's pants, shirt, hair and gun. It adds a nice depth vibe to the composition.

Despite Pico's readiness to fire (the index finger on the trigger) we can notice his tired look, a look of someone who had to go through many traumatic events, starting from Cassandra incident. I like the overall pensive atmosphere this composition has starting from the background. The use of cold colours and simple shapes further enhance this feeling: a feeling of tiredness, necessity to collect thoughts and maybe relax. Even in the title there is this concept and I like the possible pun between Pico's school and Pico So Cool if one reads it fast.

The circular shape of the whiteish circle of the background give a calming vibe and the curved pose Pico has almost looks like a fetal pose. This speaks to me as if Pico entered a new life; a life made of action, guns and dangerous enemies. A difficult life that can have a toll on his mental health and we know he suffers from schizophrenia, insomnia and homicidal tendencies. At the same time he is not an asshole nor he's sadist, he can be a pretty cool guy who gets his job done in an efficient way.

I like this depiction of Pico, it differs from the usual hot-headed gunner we usually see, don't get me wrong I like those depictions too, he is a man of action after all even though he's not reckless, but I don't mind at all more relaxed depiction of our favourite redhead. I also like the bullets as decorative elements of the background, they act as a signature of Pico since he uses guns as his main weapon.

Really great job! I love everything about it and I admit I have to thank BuupDraws's blog about their favourite works found on NG since I found your work from there: https://buupdraws.newgrounds.com/news/post/1505980

Keep the amazing job up!

ramujin responds:

thank you very much for writing such a detailed review! im glad you liked it, i honestly barely but thought into my drawings, but what you said really made me look at the drawing from different perspective! thank you!

[PROJECT 151]

WOW! This is simply fantastic! I love it so much, I love how everything turned out, from the Pokedex, the simple background used to each Pokemon. I just love how they show their unique traits and how your personal style enhanced each of them. Nice choice using the Inline way of showcasing them because it makes the overall work fluid to look at while scrolling down (and it's perfect for those who use mobile). It makes you want to keep scrolling down to reach the end.

I love so much Aerodactyl's look, that small eye really give an antediluvian vibe of an almost forgotten fossil. Nice use of different shapes to convey the Pokemon's traits i.e. Rapidash's elegance and strength, Gyarados's dangerousness compared to its pre-evolution (the use of round lines highlights this), Eevee's cuteness and so on. Each Pokemon is well stylized in this lovely way of rendering their characteristics. I love the band-aid on Graveler's right shoulder, it's a nice detail that shows its tendency to confront with dangers and possibly other Pokemons (I assume other Gravelers). Missingno is quite cool because I always wondered how people would render this mysterious Pokemon with such intriguing yet complex external look that is not always to render in such tangible way like you did. I commend you!

I love how you made Growlithe, he's such a good boy/girl. It's one of my favourite 1st Gen fire type Pokemons. And can we talk about the starters? I love how you gave them different personalities in the way they send their glare or are positioned. I can feel Charizard's self confidence with the way he curves his neck and looks at a potential challenger, Blastoise's readiness of wit in case a fight is inevitable and Venusaur's willingness to be left alone without giving up a fight if situation requires it though.

With this artwork you brought me such nostalgia because Kanto region and its awesome pokemons were the first I experienced when Pokemon arrived where I live. You hit me right in the feels with this lovely artwork. I still have the cartridge with Pokemon Red and I didn't delete in years its data: I have a Mew and Mewtwo in my team along with my lovely Arcanine, Dragonite, Gyarados and Venusaur. I tend to almost pick Bulbasaur but Squirtle is another great alternative (I love water type pokemons and in the game I could increase the overall number of pokemons in the game since there are many water type pokemons). I rarely used Charmander, I opted for Growlithe instead.

I can see the dedication put here so despite I gave you 5, just know that in my mind this work gets 10 stars. Keep the amazing job up, you have a fantastic Gallery and superb talent!

Kotico responds:

WOW OMG TYSM FOR THE WORDS!!! What a cool review I think the best I had received so far xD, both in terms of analysis of the designs as well the connection you have with the franchise, I'm very glad you liked my interpretations of Kanto region! Tried to give each one of them an unique twist and personality to reflect their characters designs the best xD, and you seem to be a very hardcore pokemon OG fan so FR FR TSYM for your comment!!! And as well appreciate the time you put on this, really struck me to the hearth :,3. Will take those 10 stars hehehe, again tyty!!!

[Xiang! :)]

I really love a lot how she turned out in your style! As I told you in DMs I love how you managed to catch her curious look and the choice of giving her big, round eyes with small irises enhance it!

Another thing I truly appreciate is your effort to draw something that was out your comfort zone: animals and more specifically a feathered coelurosaurian theropod dinosaur. Coelurosauria is a clade containing all theropod dinosaurs more closely related to birds than to carnosaurs.

Birds on the other hand are feathered theropod dinosaurs and constitute the only known living dinosaurs. Likewise, birds are considered reptiles in the modern cladistic sense of the term, and their closest living relatives are the crocodilians. They are descendants of the primitive avialans (whose members include Archaeopteryx) which first appeared during the Late Jurassic. According to some estimates, modern birds (Neornithes) evolved in the Late Cretaceous or between the Early and Late Cretaceous and diversified dramatically around the time of the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event 66 million years ago.

Birds can be quite challenging when it comes to feathers because they have different shapes, colours and patterns and it's the same with feathered dinosaurs. A thing to keep in mind when drawing a feathered theropod is the way wrist are drawn. Raptors are clappers not tappers, this drawing well shows it: https://64.media.tumblr.com/8494c33613d29939ce4b46ec228ab2a9/tumblr_nq08kb3jci1qztb1ro1_1280.jpg

from: https://korybing.tumblr.com/post/121617944477/a-dinosaur-enthusiast-told-me-this-little

A huge tool I suggest you to use when drawing dinosaurs in general is using skeletal reconstructions because they help you to focus on main elements of the skeletal structure, the body size and proportions. I link here the skeletal reconstructions of Microraptor:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Microraptor_Skeletons_by_Qilong.jpg

My Microraptor OC is based on the holotype IVPP V13352. There are three species of this dinosaur and the first one is not Microraptor gui (the species Xiang is based on) but Microraptor zhaoianus (Xu et al., 2000) while the most recent was M. hanqingi (Gong et al., 2012). But it was the specimen of Microraptor, BMNHC PH881 that helped to discover several features previously unknown in the animal, including the probably glossy-black iridescent plumage coloration.

And I like the technique used to render it, I mean when using a ballpoint pen cross-hatching and gradients are the way if you want to play with iridescence or iridescent-like effects. So kudos to you considering you only used a single colour (black) to render it!

fun fact: in 2010, it was reported that there were over 300 undescribed specimens attributable to Microraptor or its close relatives among the collections of several Chinese museums, though many had been altered or composited by private fossil collectors.

Despite its name Microraptor is not the smallest dinosaur, the smallest dinosaur known from adult specimens which is definitely not an avialan is Parvicursor remotus, at 162 grams and measuring 39 centimetres long. However, in 2022 its holotype was recognized as a juvenile individual. Right now the smallest theropod overall (including avians) is the currently extant bee hummingbird (Mellisuga helenae) at 6.12 cm long and 2.6g for females, and 5.51 cm long and 3.25g for the males.

Anyway, back to the drawing. I like the claw visible in the right wing. Nice job at drawing the hands, they always face inwards, palm-to-palm (remember the clapper NOT tapper thing) and I like how you rendered the tail. Tail is most flexible at the base and didn't wag like I did in my face expressions exercise, that was for comedic purposes. Theropods tails were rigid, long and held straight especially when running, so they weren't used as whips XD

Why weren't theropods tappers (see JP Velociraptors to know what I mean)? Because it was anatomically impossible for dinosaurs to pull off naturally. The wrists would just break if it was tried.

The only thing I feel to suggest when exploring a new territory (i.e. drawing birds/theropods etc.) is to break down the figure into shapes such as circles, squares, triangles etc. This way you can immediately study the overall shape and proportions of the subject you are going to draw. Other than this I commend you for drawing something that is out your comfort zone. Keep it up!

not so fun fact: there's a relatively new yet also well-supported theory on how some dromaeosaurs could've taken down prey, and their wings would've played a very essential role on it. They'd pounce on their prey, hold them down using their famed sickle claws, and stabilize themselves by flapping their wings wildly. After that, they'd start ripping apart and eating their prey and a lot of the time the prey would still be alive.

another fun fact: based on the size of the scleral ring of the eye, it has been suggested Microraptor hunted at night. The discovery of iridescent plumage in Microraptor has led many to question this assumption on the grounds that no modern birds that have iridescent plumage are known to be nocturnal, but this argument is itself questionable as there in fact are modern nocturnal birds with iridescent plumage, such as the kākāpō as well as various night-feeding waterfowl; furthermore, as a forest-dwelling, presumably solitary carnivore, Microraptor was significantly different ecologically compared to extant corvids and icterids with dark, iridescent plumage, which are social omnivores of more open habitats.

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22403389/

[A Funky Couple!!!]

I really like how it turned out as your first FNF fanart! I like the simplicity of the background that is balanced by the title and the arrows that immediately give the feeling of the game. I also like the perspective from which you drew BF and GF, they are usually depicted in a 3/4 view-like perspective. Despite GF's right shoulder seems a bit rigid compared to BF's left shoulder, I like the dynamism put on them because it shows nicely their synergy.

You also caught nice their attitudes by drawing their eyes differently, trying to stay loyal to the original style but being unique to your style at the same time. Maybe the only thing I feel to suggest next time is adding some shading, cell shading is more than enough, because it gives more real life vibe and it's visually appealing but I also know that in some compositions flat coloured pieces work as greatly as shaded pieces. Maybe the background would have fit better with a gradient hue such as a darker red at the bottom and then a bright red at the top. This would have made the characters stand out nicely.

Aside from this I really like this work, it's adorable (a happy couple) and full of bright colours to give the funky vibe the series has. I also like you gave your personal stylistic touch to your work. Keep it up!

SouSTAR responds:

Thank you so much for taking the time to review my drawing!!!!
(＾▽＾)

The gradient is a very nice idea thank you!! I will keep your review in head and note it for next time I draw again! :D
I gotta find a good shading technique too!

Thank you again @ShangXian for your support I really appreciate it!!（＾ｖ＾）

[300 follower raffle winners!]

I am so freaking happy to see how this turned out and I am not only referring to my oc but also to other characters. I love so much the feel your colours combined with lineless style give, it's a magical visual sensation similar to the sweet taste of a chocolate cake enjoyed after a busy day.
I know it's a strange synesthesia but that's what your art gives me in terms of vibes.

I love the vibrant colours and the way things are shaded with that soft and delicate touch that almost gives to some components of the background a cloud-like appearance. The style is very lovely and it would fit a cartoon show^^

I love how you rendered my microraptor and I commend you since it's not a dinosaur drawn by most paleoartists despite it's not an unknown species. I am glad the reference I gave you helped you to grasp her main features notably the hand, wrist, second pair of winged feathers and tail feathers. It's not an easy species to draw and the presence of iridescence adds further difficulty but I really love how you managed to add this element. Microraptor were a crow-sized dinosaurs with iridescent black plumage. In March 2012, Quanguo Li et al. determined the plumage coloration of Microraptor based on the new specimen BMNHC PH881, which also showed several other features previously unknown in Microraptor. By analyzing the fossilized melanosomes (pigment cells) in the fossil with scanning electron microscope techniques, the researchers compared their arrangements to those of modern birds. In Microraptor, these cells were shaped in a manner consistent with black, glossy coloration in modern birds. These rod-shaped, narrow melanosomes were arranged in stacked layers, much like those of a modern starling, and indicated iridescence in the plumage of Microraptor: https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.1213780

Besides the external look, I congratulate you for nailing very well Xiang's jolly and light-hearted nature. She is a personal favourite of mine among my ocs because I use her to see my own emotions and to remind myself that sometimes I should be a bit more optimistic or think more positively sometimes. Truly great job, I enjoy a lot how it turned out. Keep it up and again congrats for 300 followers, more than deserved!

whimsical-wife responds:

the ref was super helpful and well done!!