m1kclark's art Reviews on Newgrounds

[Biomech color-rotation linked]

My main response is that the image is confusing. The geometry is does not clearly point to anything: I cannot recognize any features that distinguish this as "bio" or "mech" because I see no arms, I see nothing is definitively a face and multiple things that could be reinterpreted faces, and the color scheme of the textures seems (to be regretfully honest) completely arbitrary in how it was placed on the object. It doesn't help that the texture is very highly details toward the top, but is clearly interpolated and low-resolution near the bottom. The geometry has that problem, too: why is that hood-ornament-looking thing so highly detailed when the rest of the image is much smoother and continuous?

Clearly, this sculpture took a lot of work your part, but the overall effect is a piece of clay that someone squeezed and pulled with no real shape in mind, and then painted with similar slapdash quality. I hope that these comments are helpful, and I apologize if I was harsh or too critical.

[Lightsaber handle]

Awesome! (Thanks for taking my comments seriously!) I like the geometry, especially the detailed grip toward the top and the ornamental "spike" jutting out at the end. The colors and textures, too, are also really good, giving a sense of realism to the object. Now the main flaw is that the handle is floating above the water, which is sort of distracting to the eye, but that does not take away from the quality of the handle construction.

[King Of Ages]

As always, great work. But this one looks kind of plastic. I think that more randomly-arranged color spots in the face and perhaps adjusting the specular colors/brightness. I hate to criticize something that's 95% perfect.

tlishman responds:

Thanks! Crits are always welcome! I admit I got lazy with this one and just kept symmetry on until the final bit, so the lines will looks kinda symmetrical. Also the material I used is actually trying to replicate a metallic surface. I was kinda intending on making this guy a statue iron bust or something like that.

[Lightsaber]

I have a suggestion for showing off your work. You want to choose the camera angle and the lighting to emphasize the most detailed portion of the image. As a result, I would actually have put the *handle* in the foreground and the saber-beam in the background. I would also have increased the lighting around the handle of the lightsaber.

The beam of the lightsaber is very simple and (visually) very boring, by design. Since you clearly put a lot of effort into the handle of the lightsaber, you should be trying to show us as much of it as you can! It's too small right now, and I can't see all the detail that you clearly designed into it.

In the same vein, I like that water effect, but I can't really see it. Those reflections are really awesome, but the overall effect is hamstrung because you only have the one (very dim) light source.

In summary, my advice is to add some lights, move the camera, increase the image size, and then re-render. And please post the new image so we can see!

[ZBrush Cybike]

See, here I was with my personal prejudice that ZBrush is excellent for organic sculpture but really isn't suited for well-ordered geometrical structures. Then you post this. Well done indeed: with a few exceptions, what you are capable of doing in ZBrush continues to surprise me for its quality.

[Merc]

"... What's that smell?"

Excellent 3D technique as always, but I have to say that it looks less like a "angry man snarling" and more like a "confused man detecting a foul odor."

[Kitchen and Dining Room V1]

Three main comments:
(1) Good object design, where minimalism meets realism.
(2) Turn up the anti-aliasing. The edges are a little pixel-y, for example on the fridge door.
(3) The lighting doesn't seem right. There's a sense that the light comes from everywhere, instead of from the lights that are visible in the image.

SkillZombie responds:

Yeah, I had noticed that. Some of the primary lighting from the V-ray engine was a little distorted in the design.

Thank you for the input.

[Adeptus Custodes]

That empty space actually makes this image a *wonderful* desktop-background image.

[Warthog]

I'm going to guess that this isn't for a game, based on the high resolution of all the circular objects and the reflectivity on the front surfaces. I will offer critique with that assumption.

PRAISE: The overall geometry is excellent, with good color choices and a nice framing of the object for the picture. You've got decent lighting that really emphasizes the details of the model, and the angle of the vehicle is also appropriate.

CRITIQUE: (In order of simplest to most complex.) The object isn't centered in the image, which is distracting because we expect to be looking for something in the over-emphasized left side of the background. The materials need more work; the reflective surfaces (like the hood) are too mirror-like, the non-reflective surfaces (like the tires) have too much specularity, the gun barrel simply isn't dull enough, and every single color could do with just a little bit of "noise" with a similar color so it resembles a realistic colored surface (like paint). Right now, the color looks like an intrinsic material property (like green quartz or bare gray steel). Finally, and this is the challenging part, BEVEL your edges. Nothing says, "I'm a 3D render" like those infinitely-sharp edges on the gun-scope, on the tire edges, and on the gray support structure over the cockpit.

Overall, it's an excellent model for a beginner-to-intermediate level, and certain advanced-level refinements could *really* make it shine.

Killm4nu responds:

Wow... Thank you very much for this critique :o
I find the materials too reflective too but I'm really bad with materials, I'll try to make something more "rusty" and I smooth the pieces that need it (and center the warthog)
Anyway, thank you really much :)

[Captain America Jr.]

Excellent!!! You diverge from photo-realism to give us cartoony, still relevant 3D characters. Well-done indeed!