Feedback requested for portfolio piece
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Great use of values, the washed out background really helps the subjects to pop. One thing that stands out to me is the repetitiveness of the kids' poses. The girl with the ponytail is the most interesting of all the kids because she has a slight tilt to her head like she's curious, but you could add some interest to it by having more distinct gestures for each child.
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@Tom-Harshberger thank you, that’s very helpful feedback and I see what you mean.
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Hah, I got the same thoughts on your new piece as Tom.
The illustration is reading well and fits very good into your online portfolio, but the poses of the kids are kind of unnatural, as it is not very likely that all kids would sit in exactly the same pose.I would google search "kids sitting" to get inspiration for additional poses from that.
Also it would be nice if the kids would not have to sit on the blank ground but maybe on cushions?If you don't like to rework finished pieces, you could show us your sketch for feedback next time, before you do the coloring.
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@MimiHecher Thank you! Yeah, I should definitely show the sketches beforehand. But I will still rework it! Or try to, lol. Thanks so much for the feedback. Do you think it would be a good addition to my portfolio? I'm trying to be more selective about what I have on there.
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@Laura-Hunt I think that really depends on what style your are aiming for and what makes you proud.
You need to ask yourself in which direction you want to go as an artist, and add portfolio pieces that goes in that direction so that you will be hired (hopefully) to go in that direction.
Similarly, it is hard to give specific feedback if we don’t know where you want to go. -
@Laura-Hunt I have to nodd to Geoffrey's reply.
It depends on what YOU want to have to draw in the future.
If you like this type of style of yours, the illustration is cool for your portfolio. If you would prefer to head into another direction ... you need to draw the other stuff.(Btw that's exactly my actual problem as I don't have finished illustrations in the style I want to get hired for.)
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@Geoffrey-Mégardon said in Feedback requested for portfolio piece:
@Laura-Hunt I think that really depends on what style your are aiming for and what makes you proud.
You need to ask yourself in which direction you want to go as an artist, and add portfolio pieces that goes in that direction so that you will be hired (hopefully) to go in that direction.
Similarly, it is hard to give specific feedback if we don’t know where you want to go.Thank you, I want to stick with the style in my portfolio, and I’m primarily focusing on comedy in the books that I’m writing/illustrating.
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@Tom-Harshberger said in Feedback requested for portfolio piece:
Great use of values, the washed out background really helps the subjects to pop. One thing that stands out to me is the repetitiveness of the kids' poses. The girl with the ponytail is the most interesting of all the kids because she has a slight tilt to her head like she's curious, but you could add some interest to it by having more distinct gestures for each child.
@MimiHecher @Geoffrey-MégardonHere is my attempt to make the kids’ poses more dynamic, I also worked a bit more on the teacher. Thank you
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@Laura-Hunt I just watched the "How To Fix Your Art" episode on Character Design, and I'm not sure this would have occurred to me before, but having just watched that, I feel like this could benefit from more storytelling. Right now I get from it that a teacher is reading a story about kindness and sharing to some kids, but I don't know what their reaction is to it. You said you were interested in comedic pieces, so maybe the kids could be doing the opposite of what the story says--fighting over toys or pulling each others' hair--or maybe most of the kids could be lined up neat and well-behaved like this but one could be in their own world acting out a story of being a dinosaur or...not sure, but for me, seeing some push and pull between what she's offering them and how they're receiving it would increase my interest in the story. I like the style and colors and look of the characters otherwise!
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@GabeRobinson said in Feedback requested for portfolio piece:
@Laura-Hunt I just watched the "How To Fix Your Art" episode on Character Design, and I'm not sure this would have occurred to me before, but having just watched that, I feel like this could benefit from more storytelling. Right now I get from it that a teacher is reading a story about kindness and sharing to some kids, but I don't know what their reaction is to it. You said you were interested in comedic pieces, so maybe the kids could be doing the opposite of what the story says--fighting over toys or pulling each others' hair--or maybe most of the kids could be lined up neat and well-behaved like this but one could be in their own world acting out a story of being a dinosaur or...not sure, but for me, seeing some push and pull between what she's offering them and how they're receiving it would increase my interest in the story. I like the style and colors and look of the characters otherwise!
Thank you, that’s a great idea! The truth is, I was making this initially as a gift for my child’s teacher which is why it’s more sweet. But I think what I’ll need to do is give her a print of it a this version and then maybe do. Portfolio version where there’s more of a funny story happening.
