My art work

[Pangaea]

Boy were his legs a pain to re-draw...but I did take Pangea's advice for the squid (It looks very surprised ).

Squid don't have eyelids. They ALWAYS look surprised. The body of the revised squid looks pretty good (though it's missing fins), and the shape of the “club” at the end of the outstretched feeding tentacle is perfect. However (and boy, do I feel bad saying this after I suggested you change the squid ), I think the flailing arms in the original sketch looked better.

Sorry to hear that the legs were hard to do. The left one is definitely lgeatly improved. The right one's not bad either, though some of the outlines are a little too thick, and it looks a little too narrow at the knee joint...okay, I feel like I should shut up now. :unsure:

Also, good job making Pterano's wings look more aerodynamic, and I'd say Ada's eyes (indeed, her entire head) turned out great as well.

The colors of the water, combined with the color of the rock, looked pretty stormy, so I tried to come up with a pre-storm look to the sky.

Oh, that's the sky? I thought it was rock. I think you might have made it TOO stormy-looking.

If it's any consolation, I REALLY like the rock in the upper right-hand corner. The waves crashing against it look nice, and part of looks to be shaded, in such a way that it gives a much greater sense of depth than most of your rocks.

[Ptyra]

I've been trying to find stormy sky tutorials on Deviantart, but I haven't found anything helpful. I'm really not sure what to do for that look on Photoshop...

Anyway, I have my next picture up, the one with Pterano's eviction from Ada's flock.

I tried to emphasize Tybalt's scar, but I'm not entirely sure I did so well. And he seemed to lose a bit of scariness too...
And boy is the water and sky bland!

[Pangaea]

It's subtle, but you're right that he kind of seems a little less scary than in the sketch. I can't put my finger on why, though. :huh:

He still looks great, though. I think you did a good job on the scar. And you did fantastically maintaining all the detail on all the characters from the sketched version to the finished product. The corner of Ptyra's mouth is rubbing outlines with her lower jaw, but it's almost justified considering the fineness of detail on her. Ignoring the feet, the only other criticisms I have are Tybalt's hands (which look a little disproportionately large) and Pterano's beak and mouth. Somehow the lines look a little...pixellated? Bumpy? Not sure how to describe it.

I can't argue with you about the sky, but the water doesn't look so bad to me. Warning: I'm no expert at drawing water, so my suggestions may not be any good, but maybe if you made the entire surface more reflective and/or blended the borders of the light and dark areas together slightly (I'd suggest trying them one at a time as well as together), it would look more realistic? (Looking at screenshots of watery surfaces in LBT would probably help you more than anything I have to suggest. )

[Ptyra]

Well, I've got some sketches for ya right now. I have one being colored right now.

Annnd crack-down in 3...2...1...

It was incredibly hard to draw Pterano like this. Didn't even turn out the way I wanted. It was supposed to be a "What on earth have I done to myself?"...thing...shortly after he got to the Mysterious Beyond. He looks a lot more embarrassed if you ask me.

Ptyra came out horribly in this

But Pangea inspired me quite a bit a while ago !

Another one where Ptyra came out badly

Can I haz Littlefoot's hatching music?

Ptyra with a Sea Star

"Daddy, what's this?" Ptyra pranced over to Pterano with a Sea Star. Pterano smiled at her fondly. "That's a Star Swimmer, dear." He said. "A Star Swimmer?" Ptyra cocked her head at it. "Is it alive?" She asked. "I'm not sure." Pterano said. "But your mother thought they were." He had a deep feeling of nostalgia, remembering the first time he saw a Star Swimmer. He had asked Ada the very same question. "'Just because they don't look like something that's alive, it doesn't mean they are.'" Pterano quoted her. Ptyra had set down the Star Swimmer and was incessantly poking it with her beak. "It doesn't ACT alive!" She cried

And now for another OC...who eventually does become Ptyra's mate.

This guy was pretty difficult to draw. My goal was to make him slightly heavy-set, without it being one of the Judges in Great Day of the Fliers. And then the beak markings was to have him a little bit more differentiated from other fliers...and I have more than one "design", since I don't know what to make it look like.[/color]

[Ptyra]

And now for one in color...finally.

I ended up removing the longnecks in the back...and I think the Therizinosaurus' feet are too big (feeeeeet D8 !!!). I'm not really sure about the back wall and the grass, though...Ptyra and Ada arn't looking right at each other

But I absolutely LOVE Pterano's expression XD

[Mumbling]

lol what's that dinosaur inbetween the trees? Looks funny.

Nice job on the expressions especially

[Ptyra]

'Sposed to be a Therizinosaurus

[Ptyra]

*sigh* Double post...
Here's the star swimmer one

I'm very happy with how this turned out. I had to move Pterano's foot back, but otherwise, I'm incredibly happy. And it turned out extremely sweet too.

[Kor]

Nice pictures.   Some are very touching.  You're a skilled artist.

[Pangaea]

Sorry for taking so long.

I think the first sketch of Pterano captures the emotion you were going for quite well, though I agree that it could also be interpreted as embarrassment or shame. (Question: is it supposed to take place after he and Ptyra leave Tybalt's flock, after the incident with the herd and the sharpteeth, or after he is banished from the Great Valley?) The only major critique I have is that his head looks disproportionately small compared to the rest of his body. (Or maybe the rest of his body is too big?)

Ptyra came out horribly in this

But Pangea inspired me quite a bit a while ago !

Glad to know that I can be inspirational. The picture is fantastic! Personally, I think Ptyra looks adorable (though I notice you used your original design of the bodyless, black-eyed squid ). And both her and Pterano's expressions are hilarious! (That's pretty much exactly what I envisioned Pterano's expression to look like when I suggested that situation.)

In the third sketch (the one with the hatchling Ptyra), I again think Ptyra looks cute. I admit she doesn't look as good as usual, but I think it's mainly because, from the looks of things, it's a very small drawing of her, and there's not much room for detail. It's still an adorable scene, and I'd love to see a different version of it with a "better" Ptyra.

The new OC looks great! The two major critical observations I have are that his legs may possibly be a tad long in proportion to the rest of him, and the way his left arm attaches to his body looks a little strange. I love the idea of the black markings on the beak as a distinguishing characteristic. It reminds me of how some seabirds’ beaks are patterned. As far as the designs are concerned, I think #5 is my favorite, and that it, along with #3, is the most "natural" looking.

Darn, I'm out of time. You'll probably have to wait until at least Saturday for me to post reviews for the two colored pictures. Sorry.

[Pangaea]

As promised, I'm back with feedback on the colored images. (Sorry about the double post. )

The colored Great Valley picture is gorgeous! I like the grass (I think the color's pretty ), and while the Great Wall looks a little low in some areas, it doesn't particularly bother me (I prefer to see blue sky in the distance anyway ). The waterfall and the bark on the trees look nice, too.

All three flyer characters are great, with only minor flaws (Ptyra's left shin; Pterano's right wing disappearing behind his leg; the outlines of Ptyra's chin looking a bit "wrinkled"). Ptyra's line of vision may not be perfectly aligned with Ada's face, but her eyes themselves look fantastic (I really like that color for her eyes). Also, Ada’s feet are very well done here. And I agree with you: Pterano’s expression is terrific.

I agree with you about the Therizinosaurus's feet, but my main complaint regarding him is that you just rounded off his face, when I thought you had a very well-done snout on him before. Also, the corythosaurs in the background have no eyes :blink: (not even little pinpricks).

The star swimmer picture is very cute, and the colored version also turned out beautifully. (Even the background is amazing; I love the look of the sand and the water.) My main critique is that Ptyra’s eye is WAY too far forward on her face. Other than that, she doesn’t seem to have much of an elbow, and in the colored version, Pterano’s left forearm looks awfully skinny, while his right forearm is much thicker than in the original drawing. His foot, however, I think looks better than in the drawing. Not just its position, but the shape of the toes is much improved from the sketched version. I think Pterano’s beak looks quite good as well.

[Ptyra]

I drew that picture before I edited my first squid, so that might explain something.

I got a new sketchbook (in which it is extremely heard to draw on with .5 lead >< ), so my next two are from that.


Exactly as the "story" on the bottom says. This is after Pterano rescues Ptyra's egg from one of the eggstealers (the one that was easier to manipulate), then coming to realize that the eggs were stolen from his roost.

As I said earlier, I finally decided to give Ptyra a mate after the Great Valley Rebellion. So this pretty much depicts the turning point where Ptyra and Tarran are SUPPOSED to be ready to tell Pterano (and Ada, now that she's there) what they've decided...but there's no need to.

Tarren didn't come out nearly as "husky" as I wanted to and Ptyra's foot/feet look strange (no surprise). I also tried to draw Tarren so it looked like he hasn't disappeared behind Ptyra, as I have a habit of doing. I had to adjust Pterano's wing A LOT so it looked like he was hiding behind the tree (my idea is that he loses his balance as he's leaning into watch, and that gets Ptyra and Tarren's attention).

I decided on a beak design for Tarren, though...and the bush is to fill the space (and to practice my bushes)

[Pangaea]

I like how Pterano's head and neck turned out in the first image, but his eyes, in my opinion, aren't nearly up to your usual level of excellency of character expressions. Both his eyebrows and the eyes themselves are almost triangular at the top, and personally I find his expression hard to read. There is also an issue with Pterano's legs in that image: his left leg has a very pronounced ankle joint, but his right leg does not.

Tarren didn't come out nearly as "husky" as I wanted to and Ptyra's foot/feet look strange (no surprise). I also tried to draw Tarren so it looked like he hasn't disappeared behind Ptyra, as I have a habit of doing.

Well, considering that Ptyra is in front of Tarran/Tarren (you used both spellings in your last post; which is correct? ), it's kind of hard to see what his body looks like, even though he hasn't “disappeared” behind her either. As for Ptyra's feet, the right heel is rather oddly shaped, but the toes actually aren't so bad (making the toe tips pointed, with spacing between them, is the way to go, as far as I am concerned). And Pterano turned out really good, I think. The expressions of all the characters are also outstanding.

By the way, whose wingtip is that trailing on the ground between Ptyra's leg and Tarran's foot? :huh I'm assuming it's Tarran's, because if it were Ptyra's, then Tarran's leg shouldn't be visible in front of it. However, if that's the case, then the trailing edge of his wing must be curled upward for both sides of the membrane to be visible, and from the position of his left foot, he should be stepping on it. :blink:

You'd probably want to change both Ptyra and Tarran's right hands. One of Tarran's fingers is too narrow at the base, two look to be splayed at an odd angle, and his hand is indistinct from the forearm. Ptyra's leftmost finger should be her third (corresponding to the middle finger in humans) and like Tarran there doesn't seem to be much “hand” behind her fingers. (For the record, both characters' left hands look good. ) I'd also suggest making the crease in Ptyra's left elbow shorter; less pronounced.

[Ptyra]

I didn't realize that I spelled it differently twice. I've decided it's Tarran.
Before I color the second image, I tested a color scheme

(I don't think I'll do the shadowed hues in other pictures with him, it only ended up like that because I thought I could darken/lighten his colors in quick edit, and I ended up with that. It is pretty neat looking, though.

I do think a seagull look on him, but it's more based on the terns I see a lot around the markets and at my park. I thought black-tipped wings would be helpful to associate with the sea bird look, other than the beak and colors. I think I might leave him this way. I tried yellow and orange, but it didn't work with Tarran.

[Pangaea]

I like his coloring. The black-tipped wings were a great idea. Although, another characteristic of seabird coloration is countershading; the undersides of the wings are lighter than the tops. (Maybe you're happy with his colors right now, and don't want to change his wings, but I thought I'd mention it just in case you were planning to experiment a little more. Personally I think he'd look nice with whitish underwings like Petrie's and a slightly darker body and upperwings.)

One slight issue with this image is that, because it doesn't have a background (even a plain white one), it's kind of difficult to fully appreciate Tarran's color scheme (especially the black wing and beak markings) against the GOF wallpaper.

[Ptyra]

Yes, the black does make it quite hard to see :/ .
I did, however, take your advice to lighten the inside of the wings. It looks much better now.

I also went over the "white spaces" from where I made selections to alter the color.

[Ptyra]

And now, a sketch in color!

I was actually wanting a sunrise, but I eventually said "no", since there would be a color clash with the rest of the picture.

[Jrd89]

Oooh, very nice job on the new color picture of Tarran.

That was very creative with the grey/black two tone colors. I like the new color picture wih him and Ptyra.  

[Pangaea]

I did, however, take your advice to lighten the inside of the wings. It looks much better now.

I'm glad you think so. And I agree, it does look better (though I’m not so keen on the thickened outlines and white reflections on the pupils).

The new colored picture is very pretty. I particularly love Ptyra’s expression. She looks very loving. And even though we can’t see as much of Tarran as before, he looks very good as well. (Somehow I get the impression that he’s sort of a meek character, and Ptyra’s the more forwardly affectionate one in the relationship.) I just noticed now that his beak is slightly shorter and more squared off at the front than in the first picture of him. Was that an intentional design change? (It does make him look even more gull-like.)

Pterano’s pretty good, too, though there’s something about his smile that seems a little off to me. (Maybe it’s that the corner of his mouth touches the outline of his beak, or just doesn’t extend far back enough. :unsure:) Tarran’s right hand looks much better than in the sketch, although I would suggest adding a crease to differentiate his two hidden fingers. There’s also some grass on top of Tarran’s feet (as well as overlapping a tiiiiiny bit of Ptyra’s left leg and wing), with little connection to the ground. Truthfully, I don’t think you need to overlap your characters’ feet with quite so much grass. Finally, the water in the background looks awfully smooth to me.

[Ptyra]

The grass is the reason why most of my pictures have rocky or sandy settings =P

I've recently done some more Pterano and Ada...and one of them is a re-make
First, the remake. Remember that old dancing picture from last winter?

They ended up older than in the last one, so I thought it would be an interesting "Hey, remember that time?" kind of thing.

Ohhh, song sequence!!!

My idea of this is Pterano coming to realize how he feels about Ada...described in song. And while he's busy having his head in the clouds, Ada comes along. I like to think of this as a mix between "Very Important Creature" and "My Evangeline" (from The Princess and the Frog). I don't know how that's possible, but it is. But even better, I wonder what's going on in his head.

He's supposed to be kneeling, but I don't think I got it quite the way I wanted...BUT I LOVE HIS FEET ! His hand looks odd, but it's supposed to be over his chest, so to look more theatrical =P