Cinderella: Crowdfunding Project- Critiques welcome

[Nyrryl Cadiz]

Hi, everyone! So I'm starting another project. I know right! I'm all over the place lol! I plan to have at least 2 personal projects going on so that I can alternate on them both if I get bored with one. For this project I plan to make 3 illustrations for 5 classic fairy tales with a modern twist. They're all going to feature people of color and I plan to crowdfund its printing when finished. Maybe you'd be interested in supporting it when it launches?

Anyway, I'm still starting on my first illustration. What do you think? Thoughts? Thank you!

[Neha Rawat]

@Nyrryl-Cadiz This is so cool! What a great idea!
I love the character design and color palette for Cinderella. Maybe have her right hand open or holding the dress?
I love the cape but I love the flow of the dress more. I feel the dress is getting a little lost because of the cape. Maybe you can make the cape thingy see-through, or redraw it so that it's not covering all of the dress.

[Nyrryl Cadiz]

@Neha-Rawat thanks, Neha! Great notes on the cape. I was thinking the same thing

[Kristin Dudish]

It sounds like a fun project. (I totally understand the need to have multiple projects going on at once.) This looks great so far - I can't wait to see more!

[Nyrryl Cadiz]

@Kristin-Dudish thanks Kristin! I think I’ll complete an illustration this week

[TessaW]

That dress is ridiculously pretty! The only thing that gave me pause was her right arm/hand (the one on the left for us), like Neha mentioned. It doesn't look quite natural. I think the hand needs some tweaking.

[Nyrryl Cadiz]

@TessaW Thanks!

[Nyrryl Cadiz]

here's an update. thoughts?

[TessaW]

It's shaping up nicely, but I think you messed up on the text. I don't understand what it says.

I love that you have the gravestone in there. I wanna see how the fairy godmother turns out!

[Nyrryl Cadiz]

@TessaW Oh dang! someone vandalized my illustration.

[gavpartridge]

@Nyrryl-Cadiz Hi, i love the feel of the piece, I like the moodiness of it, very nice colour palette, but for the main character it does feel as thought her head is turned a little unnaturally too far though, and whilst her other features are very dainty, the nose doesn't seem to fit, its just too big, and the linework seems different somehow, no variation in line width, and the angle of it doesn't match the angle of her head, so much so that is it distracting and draws all the attention to it.

[Coley]

@Nyrryl-Cadiz ooh that gold against that blue! Knockout! ️️️️️

[KathrynAdebayo]

Beautiful colors!! So nice... love the stars in her hair. Something is making the pose look a bit stiff to me. Maybe the turn or position of her head? Looking forward to seeing more of your project.

[Lorna H]

@Nyrryl-Cadiz - this character is beautiful! As others have mentioned the colour choices are fantastic as they are so atmospheric and make the key character stand out. I really liked the way Cinderella was looking directly at the viewer in your sketches, it made you feel like you had a connection to her. I'm not sure whether your illustration is for the cover or inside spread but it might be nice to have her gaze out the page like your sketch in another of the images as I loved that. I showed it to my kids and my daughter said she'd "like to be her", which is high praise indeed as she's usually brutal about any sketches of mine Beautiful work!

[Nyrryl Cadiz]

@Coley @KathrynAdebayo @Lorna-H Thanks everyone! I'll definitely work on the pose once I find more time.

@Lorna-H I actually wanted her eyes to be looking down on her dress. I guess that's another element to work on. I'm really happy your daughter likes it! When I was younger there were no books with main characters who looked like me. My main goal for this project is to provide characters that kids of color can identify with.

[Nyrryl Cadiz]

@gavpartridge thank you so much for the input but i have to disagree with a lot of them.

Firstly, this is how I draw noses. It’s my signature potato nose and I love it a lot. I do agree it’s not the most appealing but I personally enjoy it.

Secondly, she’s a black girl. Black people mostly have bigger noses. I don’t want to white wash her by giving her a dainty button nose.

Thirdly, no variation in line width. I mostly don’t do line work on my illustrations. Therefore, I don’t really give much thought about lines.

Lastly, you said it’s too distracting. No, the line work is too faint that it needs even more definition if you ask me.

I do agree on her pose though. I’d have to work on that some time. I’d really like to apologize for sounding mad in this pose. I just had to say what’s in my mind. I’d like you to know that I do value your opinion and I do enjoy reading them. They help me to grow as a better artist. Do keep them coming. Thanks!

[gavpartridge]

@Nyrryl-Cadiz fair enough, its your art, you do what you want with it. Feedback was asked for, feedback was given, thats all. We're allowed to disagree sometimes! Peace and love!

[Lorna H]

@Nyrryl-Cadiz - I totally agree that it’s so important that kids can see characters who actually reflect themselves in the books they read, so it’s fantastic you are doing this project. I can also totally understand why she might want to gaze at her dress having just transformed into her ball gown, it fits the narrative perfectly, so just forget my suggestion!

[Nyrryl Cadiz]

Hi, everyone! Sorry for the long update. I've been really busy with work lately. I wasn't able to work on this piece as much as I want to. I wasn't able to implement your critiques. I'll get to it soon, I promise!

Currently all I managed to do is add some "magic" lines. I hope you like it. Stay tuned for more... in a couple of months...

[Nyrryl Cadiz]

more updates. I've finally started to work on Cinderella