Random Self-Critique

[the_gneech]

Dear Gneech:

When you revamp your art style for the new version of SJ, you need to keep the following in mind:

• Cut back on those huge, horizontal muzzles. They get in the way of characters' eyes!


• Speaking of eyes, make them a tad bigger generally. Not anime-huge, but bigger than the little beads you tend to do now. (With the exception of Stretch Ferret, of course!)


• Use more photo reference. It always improves your art by 200%.


• Thumbnail first. Don't compose on the page.


• When possible, put at least a week between the draft and the final product.


• More shadows in the inks. Practice this muchly!


• Rulers are your friend. You know you can't draw a decent straight line without one. Don't be lazy!


• Ditto model sheets. Particularly since you're redoing all of the character designs anyway.


• Speaking of models, work out new marking/mask sheets and stick to 'em. Try to keep the markings on the hands/feet very simple, to avoid clutter around what are already difficult areas to draw.


• Study Sue, Vince, Herbie, iktis muchly, particularly the character designs. Look for underlying structures.


• Your perspective sucks, except when it's great. Tighten this up.


• Don't be afraid to get more expressionist. Make Dover skinnier, Katie chunkier, Tiffany curvier, etc. Not to the point of total distortion, but more than you do now.


• Try to be looking at good art when you're getting ready to draw. Think about what makes it good and incorporate that!


• Finally, don't get discouraged. Look how far you've come!

Your pal and second-harshest critic,
The Gneech

PS: Other critiques welcome. :) I'm mostly posting this here so I'll remember it.

Comments

[exatron.livejournal.com]

Make Dover skinnier

Sounds like someone is getting put on a diet.

Don't forget to study Vince's layouts. Crazy as they can get, they have an underlying order.

You may want to try doing a few really short stories in a comic-sized format, with a fixed pagecount, to get used to the medium.

[the-gneech.livejournal.com]

Believe me, I've made long and detailed studies of Vince's layouts since before Suburban Jungle existed -- and I expect I'll continue to do so as long as he continues to draw 'em. I've told Vince before, although I don't know if I've posted publicly before, that I have a motto of "WWVD -- What would Vince do?" when I'm trying to think of ways to add visual interest to an image or story.

The most direct influence, I think, can be seen in these two strips:

http://www.suburbanjungle.com/d/20040602.html

http://www.suburbanjungle.com/d/20041206.html

In both cases, I had information that had to be gotten across, but all I had visually was a bunch of talking heads. So I tried to imagine what Vince would do if handed the task, and came up with the kind of visual metaphor that he's so good at.

re: doing stories in the comic format, I have plans along those lines, including some Carpe Diem work, I hope.

-The Gneech