Hello and critique

brubenacker · 14 Sept 2017, 01:52

Hi Everyone,
I'm new to SVS but have been selling art on etsy for quite a few years. I don't really have any artist friends to critique my work so I thought maybe some strangers would take a shot.

I don't really fancy myself an illustrator as I've only done a few for large companies and a couple of published works. I had some work purchased for the set of "Two Broke Girls" but mainly I do one off images to sell as prints. If you look at my etsy stuff you can definitely see a difference over the years in ability and style. A lot of the images are just cute dogs sometimes there's a bit of a story. I'd like to take my work up a notch so I thought I would check out SVS.

Here is an image I'm currently working on. My dogs get these rolls of skin on their necks and it cracks me up so that's where this idea started. Then I thought it would be funny if he was jammed into some water wings and couldn't put his arms down. The bird was a last minute addition I'm not 100% on it but thought it might add a little more interest since it's basically a display pose. Let me know what you think
Thanks,
Brian

Kat · 14 Sept 2017, 00:35

Hi, Brian, and welcome! Your terrier is so cute, I love the image! I like the bird. It looks like he's checking out the dog and isn't quite sure what to make of him - the eye on the ducky, too. I think it adds a bit of story. Is this a traditional painting? You might want to think about not having rolling waves in line with his neck rolls because they sort of get lost at the edges right now. Just a thought.

I look forward to seeing more from you!

brubenacker · 14 Sept 2017, 00:44

Hey Kat,
It's painted in photoshop. Thanks for the feedback I appreciate it.

Chip Valecek · 14 Sept 2017, 11:20

@brubenacker welcome to the forums!

Art Dud · 14 Sept 2017, 12:22

@brubenacker This is an awesome concept. Just a couple items that stood out. The right arm/hand is too small. It doesn't quite match the perspective. A darker edged where the duck floaty meets his body would create a better illusion of wrapping around. Also the shadow angle on the tennis ball doesn't seem to match the other two. Cute pic. I love the variety of shapes and textures you have going on.

tombarrettillo · 14 Sept 2017, 13:30

cute! Reminds me of Randy in "A Christmas Story". If you keep the bird (which I like), I suggest moving the dog to the right a bit to balance the image, and give some space to the bird. Also, I would tilt the bird's head up more so he is looking at the dog's face. Adding the dog's tail might increase the cute factor. None of the shadows' angles match. The tennis ball seems to be floating or on a separate plane (maybe the shadow). And lastly, the right flipper needs to be fixed so it does not look like the heel is off the ground.

brubenacker · 14 Sept 2017, 15:06

@tombarrettillo Yeah nice catch on the heel. I had a darker shadow edge but must have painted it out when fussing with that shadow. Boston Terriers just have little nubs for tails so nothing to see. I definitely was uncomfortable with the shadow angles I'll have to fool around with them. I guess with the bird I was thinking more like he was checking out the weird yellow duck. But maybe having him look directly at the dogs face would work better.
Thanks for the feedback

brubenacker · 14 Sept 2017, 15:10

@art-dud Yes the right hand is off. I think I was being lazy on it thanks for keeping me honest. I'll work on those shadows some more. Thanks for taking the time to respond

brubenacker · 14 Sept 2017, 15:12

@chip-valecek Thanks

TessaW · 14 Sept 2017, 16:48

@tombarrettillo pretty much summed up what I was going to say- mainly about shifting the dog to the left and tilting the bird's head up a bit. I don't think the seagull needs to be looking at the dog's face and I think it's a good idea for it to be looking at the duck's face, but to me, it looks like the seagull is gazing below the duck's head. I also agree with Kat's comments about the neck blending in with the waves.

Overall it's really cute though! You are a really skilled painter and now it's all about tweaking things here and there to make it the best piece possible.

brubenacker · 14 Sept 2017, 16:50

@tessw Thank you, I stare at these things so long sometimes the simplest things slip by. I'm glad to finally seek some critiques I think it will really help.

DOTTYP · 14 Sept 2017, 16:52

Hello and welcome your painting is really cute I love it,but I do agree with Art dud I think his paws could be a bit bigger.This is a lovely idea and i like the seagull studying him.