RipRoarRex wrote:
Thanks, Dino. I think Canaan would have liked it more had the ol' hoof soles been visible. Heh!
Glad you like the style. I'm still weighing up how often to use it in future, but good to know at least that people aren't put off by it.
On the contrary. Toonishness is one thing, but the idea here was to detail form and position more than induction. I think you chose the right approach.
Carlos looks godlike. Anatomy and pose are awesome — the little compression-lines (or whatever they're called, creases) on his back, the muscles, the pecs and clavs, the neck, the mane... and the hands, man, great works on the hands, especially Carlos' left one, good stuff. I'd originally thought that the depiction of Mike's hands was off, until I looked at the bigger version — nope, no errors there. And great facial expressions to top all that off. Wow.
I'm not sure how well planned you are when you're doing pieces like this, Rip, but the overall composition came out great too, i.e. the picture's focus, lights and darks, hues, etc. The background gradient I really like. It creates nice balance given the contrast of both tones and expressions on either character's face — with Mike looking as pitiful as ever by the lamp, and his client simply enjoying himself over where it's dimmer.
I didn't even notice the bed until just a bit ago (that's a good sign, though, I think); I knew it was there and what it was, but on second glance the textures and wrinkles in it are well done, which means it's nothing to distract the viewer from what's going on. Again, I'm not sure if you consider these things individually or not, but still, props.
As a pawslut, I might bitch about the hooves looking a little goey/translucent over on the right, but the lighter shades and smoother lines / blurring places the focus in the pic better, so I can't legitimately bitch.
The only things that draw my eye are Carlos' tail — it looks off-center like it could be a little farther from the viewer — and his bicept — I'd think the line should snake forward (to the viewer's left) a little to round it better.
'Hope you don't mind full crits, it's really my own ascetic form of praise, you know.