ACEO Rinermai

I never get the time to do critiques, and now I have it! So of course I'm going to jump in. <img src="e.deviantart.net/emoticons/h/h…" width="15" height="13" alt="" title="Heart"/>

First off, the colors in this piece are gorgeous. As far as I can see, it is well planned out and the colors compliment each other nicely. The dark blue-grey of the character doesn't look bad with the blue background, which could easily happen but didn't. Hues can make a huge difference in whether this flops or not. Whether or not you consciously sat there and thought, "Oh, I should use this shade or tint" or not (Who does?), you obviously have the knowledge in your head and don't have to even think about it. I think back and don't remember any of your pieces being ruined by an odd color combination, and this is no exception. <img src="e.deviantart.net/emoticons/s/s…" width="15" height="15" alt="" title=" (Smile)"/>

As for originality, it's an ACEO card. Tiny. There are only so many ways you can fit something into one. That said, you squeezed the image in way better than I can. <img src="e.deviantart.net/emoticons/a/a…" width="19" height="19" alt="" title="Sweating a little..."/>

The technique is beautiful. I can't really tell if you used marker or paint of what for the pelt, but it's not my usual colored pencil, so that right off the bat makes me admire it more, especially on a piece so small. What I really want to know is how you did the watercolor splatters and drips in the background, because they are placed perfectly and I for the life of me cannot figure out how to do that. Your skill here shows a lot of practice and patience.

What I consider the overall impact to be is how the piece makes you feel when you look at it at a first glance, and how you feel when you look at it longer. The brush strokes in the lineart are beautiful, and really hard to do on an ACEO card I would imagine. This isn;t something you see right away, but when you really peer at it, it doesn't appear rushed or junky in the least. This, in my opinion, makes a good "impact."

As far as tips go, I really don't have many. I love the way you highlight your drawings. Perhaps you would like to toy around with taking a pencil of a darker shade and adding some shadows for a bit more depth? I don't think it's needed, but it's always fun to play around and you may find you like it. <img src="e.deviantart.net/emoticons/b/b…" width="15" height="15" alt="" title=" (Big Grin)"/>

I love this piece. Great job! <img src="e.deviantart.net/emoticons/b/b…" width="21" height="16" alt="" title="Thank you! Thank you!"/>