ratchili's art Reviews on Newgrounds

[Eris and Alley: Lolfuls for Breakfast]

Hate to sound cynical, but is there any real reason this got front paged?..

It's kinda bad imo. I really don't like the color choices, except for the vampire lady. They just feel so gross to me, especially with this very flat style that lacks depth and expressiveness. I just don't see any hint of a cohesive palette, except for the vampire lady's design. Not a fan of the character design either, they just feel so lazily put together. Like "uhh I guess I'll give her a green shirt." (With the exception of the vampire lady again, because quite frankly I think that's a well made character. If you just made a comic full of the vampire lady that probably would've been better.) I also hate the font choice in these very cramped word bubbles. It makes it unlikable to read simply because I hate looking at it.

Furthermore, I just didn't find anything that funny or even creative about the comic at all. The joke didn't land, and honestly that would've been something that could've singlehandedly made this comic great. Some creators (like Sickanimation) use very simplistic, flat designs but the humor and style is so likeable and charming that it excuses how amateurish or poorly made his stuff is. But for you? ehhhhhh.. It just felt like I read some nerdy web comic from 2007, which I don't find charming at all. If the joke had landed, you'd be able to defend the elements you used since they were effective. Unfortunately, it didn't.

I would say work on your colors, character design, joke set up and subject, and some anatomy since that never hurts.

Sorry if that was rough, not your fault for being front paged haha. But hey, you definitely have potential though and should keep working! Practice is the key to improvement and the most important part is that you personally enjoy what you make, anyways! (I mean you should see half the garbage I make for myself teehee)

[Jack's corrupted conscience]

Sickkk, awesome details and the teeth are wicked haha. Would love to see this thing animated.

[Blue baby]

Pretty good! Dig the wing texture you made with the paint strokes, definitely the best part. I'd just work on anatomy and upping the contrast in shading. The wings don't really connect evenly with the back and the blue baby definitely needs better shadows and highlight to really make him pop.

Otherwise, that's a pretty badass painting homie.

AlixBalica responds:

Yeah I agree, overall editing with MyPaint is plain out impossible since there are no selection tools like in other paint programs. Though I do need to work with my shading and lighting techniques, I've neglected them and my stubborn ass refuses to look for references fhksdajlfhkasdj
Thank you for your feedback bro! <3

[B O R T]

beautiful simpson boy have many cow

[Horizon]

Dang that looks sweet as hell, especially since galaxies are deceptively hard to paint. I know from experience haha. Love the glow-y effect in the middle, nice touch. I guess I'd just add a little more variety in color, like more reds in the mix. Still amazing though.

Diverart responds:

wow, thanks for the feedback!!

[Chance]

Pretty dope, I'm a fan myself! The cartoon style is pretty cool and fitting, as were the colors of the background. The anatomy needs work though. The arm pointing seems a little fucked up, like it's bending weirdly. As is his oddly shaped hand and pinky finger. The colors and shading on Chance could use some work too. Seems overly saturated at certain points and the shading, especially on his face, is too dramatic and doesn't match the rest of him. Just work on those three things for next time.

kristinamartinartin responds:

I do agree about the arm. Looking at it a second time. Since this was a warm up, I was trying to be looser for practice. I tend to be too much in control and I want to be looser with my style and The arm was a result of that. Honestly, The hand isn't that bad. The pinky was foreshortened in the picture, which I'm not the best at foreshortening either. However I would disagree on the shading. I went to your page to see what your art is all about and I notice you get comments on your subtle shading style and honestly, I think thats just it. We have different styles of shading. I prefer dramatic, and you prefer subtle which are both great I think. :)

[In a Bag]

I love it, especially the way you painted it. Just wish you drew more!

You pumped for their new album about to drop btw? Jamie Hewlett's got like a new art style for the characters and everything. I'd check out the little books they made for all the characters if you haven't already. Shit's pretty cool.

Mataknight responds:

Yeah, I'm pretty excited for their new album.

I've checked out their "Book of-" series and I love it.
My favorite's probably 2D.
It's funny just seeing this man successfully survive.....with no survival skills. :P

[Thrust Dancing Mouse Animated Gif]

I enjoy how fluid the gif is and your art style, I also like how you added a shadow below the mouse. I really suggest you don't make the head and feet 100% stiff next time you did something like this. I know it's a cartoon, but it would look a lot better if the rest of him was effected by the motion he was creating. Adding a little bounce in his feet and head would really make the motion seem more natural and lifelike. I also feel that the arms jump a little too quickly. Lastly, I'd work on your line quality. The lines are a bit rough looking. This would look a lot better if the lines and color were smoother and less pixelated.

critterfitz responds:

thanks, i hate but also like flash because of how easy it is to animate on it, but for me i find it's hard to make the lines look good on flash. (arms do jump from one end to the next, a mistake i didnt notice until i finished it) XD thanks for the feedback

[Juice + Jam]

Hey, not sure why this is rated so low, this is really good. You got good line quality, dynamicy, it's well composed and the text is well made. I like the colors too, but I wouldn't have picked the gold background though and maybe tried to coordinate the colors more to the darker blues and purples that Pan balances with the yellows as well. I dig the animation too, but the fading transitions seem a little odd. I'd just tweak the design to better suit the cool idea you got if you were to continue these kinds of pieces in the future. Good work, my dude, no idea why the rating ain't higher.

[Season 2, Episode 3]

I love it when I'm browsing through the art portal and something really catches my eye. I love the colors and overall style of it all. Sometime the art portal is so saturated with forgettable things, but I reaaally like this style you got brewing. I'd pursue something in that direction if you haven't decided to already. However, there are just a few things I'd work on--

First off, I'd tweak the body a bit. I've got nothing against unique body types, but the legs look a bit too wide to suit the character and her pose. Plus the leg up front looks a little odd with it's bend. Also, the way you drew the feet needs some changes too, imo. You made them too tall and the shoe up front doesn't seem to match with the leg. Maybe make the shoes a different color than the socks too if you decide to keep drawing them this way since I almost mistook the sock as part of the shoe.

Second, work on color coordination and text design. Your colors look really nice, but I feel like the green and the yellow are fighting each other. Individually the colors look nice with the character, but together, they don't fit as well. However, I do like the pink band-aids on the legs, that was a really cool decision. As for text design, if you don't like fonts, make sure that the lines are still smooth with the handwriting. It can be a hassle, but it's worth it. The outlines on the words look very pixel-y, plus the words seem oddly placed.

Also a simple background would be a nice touch. Anything besides a solid color works, I know I've personally been playing with multicolored shapes that fit the motion of the piece. It's simple but actually kinda fun and helps a lot.

There's a lot you did right though, no worries, I love it! I just know critiques can be mega helpful. Can't wait to see what you got in store for the future, keep it upppp.

verimatsu responds:

Thank you so much! I'll take these into consideration next time!