2012-05-21 - Happy 6th Birthday!

[Rosedamai]

sorry, this took a little longer than i had hoped.

 

 

red is the would-be skeletal structure, and the blue is the membrane between them, along with my depiction of what it may look like unfurled.

 

honestly, i dont think anything needs to be changed about the sprite. its just a unique gesture with a wing

OK, that makes sense, thanks!

[manticore]

That's what I was seeing, but that curve there just seems too deep and too smooth to be jointed, so it looks wrong. And that wrinkle you see on the top edge just makes it look worse.

 

tbh, the way you drew it looks much better.

[Nine]

I understand the limitations of sprite dimensions, but I still find detailed bodies more aesthetically pleasing than wings =) I'm sure there are those who prefer detailed wings over body, just as I prefer detailed bodies and heads over spread wings. If the female is opposite of the male with a more close up body, I'll be very happy to see that-- it'd be a good balance.

 

However, to put it bluntly I wish the artists who worked on the sprites hadn't listened to the concept creator to a tee, lol. The wing patterns aren't horrendously distracting or clashing, just a bit weird.

Edited May 25, 2012 by Nine

[Atalante]

ParticleSoup's explanation makes a lot more sense, so I'm dropping mine

 

Bet that image is going to be bumped around a lot in this thread.

[manticore]

ParticleSoup's explanation makes a lot more sense, so I'm dropping mine

 

Bet that image is going to be bumped around a lot in this thread.

I honestly doubt it. If I hadn't said anything, I doubt anyone would have noticed it looks off, or if they did, they wouldn't say anything for fear of backlash and people reflexively defending the spriter for no reason beyond hive mind.

[earthgirl]

Ok, What's to hard to understand here? Some people like some sprites, some people like the other sprites. It's a matter of taste. o.o Dun need to be harsh about it. If you like/don't like the sprites, dun need to spread info on the spriter all over. Yeah, JOTB does a great job at spriting and I'm jealous, but personally I like Lyzar's and Naka's spriting styles better.

 

It's a matter of taste here and that's that. ^^

Everyone is free to make a point, but let's not go overboard with that point.

[Liirarwen]

I thought tsunamis were caused by cracks in the ocean floor?

 

The blues are so pretty though!

Psssh, of course not! All tsunamis come from dragons beating their wings furiously against the water; dontcha know?

Edited May 25, 2012 by Liirarwen

[manticore]

Where have I gone overboard with my point? All I did was express my opinion that I didn't care for her spriting, and explaining why. Just because it's not "ohemgeez, ur artz is sooo great" that means I've gone overboard?

 

And what does "don't need to spread info on the spriter all over" even mean?

[StormWizard212]

However, to put it bluntly I wish the artists who worked on the sprites hadn't listened to the concept creator to a tee, lol. The wing patterns aren't horrendously distracting or clashing, just a bit weird.

I actually really like the wings, because they're really different. Even though the patterns are all different, they still tie together for me. In the description it talks about how they can be a warning to predators (I think?) and the way they are, I think that makes a lot more sense than if they'd been one consistent pattern.

 

It kind of makes me think of those frogs and stuff who have patterns that make it look like they've got a scary face in the middle of their back, to scare off predators, if that makes sense. So yeah, I really like them.

 

But I do agree with you that it'd be nice to see the female body dominant over the wings, to have balance between the two sprites and what they're emphasising.

[Nine]

Wellp, we've now got dragons who make thunder, storms, lightening, earthquakes, and tsunamis. Guess a tornado dragon is up next, or ... acid rain dragon. Apocalypse dragon, perhaps?

[earthgirl]

Where have I gone overboard with my point? All I did was express my opinion that I didn't care for her spriting, and explaining why. Just because it's not "ohemgeez, ur artz is sooo great" that means I've gone overboard?

 

And what does "don't need to spread info on the spriter all over" even mean?

That post wasn't directed specifically at you.

[manticore]

Why not all four apocalypse dragons? Pestilence, Famine, Death, and War.

 

And Earthgirl, can you blame me for assuming? I was the only one who said anything. I'm pretty much the only one who ever say anything.

 

But seriously, what did you mean about the spreading info around?

Edited May 25, 2012 by manticore

[Rosedamai]

Wellp, we've now got dragons who make thunder, storms, lightening, earthquakes, and tsunamis. Guess a tornado dragon is up next, or ... acid rain dragon. Apocalypse dragon, perhaps?

No, meteor dragons! *thinks of final fantasy 7*

[StormWizard212]

Why not all four apocalypse dragons? Pestilence, Famine, Death, and War.

I think there are already some suggestions like this in the dragon requests forum. In fact, I'm pretty sure there's a concept that involves one of each of these, so you might want to head on over there and have a look if you haven't already. ^^

 

But keeping on topic with the release, it looks like the female tsunami is due to hatch in about an hour! It flipped over to 4 days and 1 hour roughly 30 minutes ago. Can't wait!

 

Edit: and lol Nine... acid rain dragon. Go and make that concept now!

Edited May 25, 2012 by StormWizard212

[Kila]

Where have I gone overboard with my point? All I did was express my opinion that I didn't care for her spriting, and explaining why. Just because it's not "ohemgeez, ur artz is sooo great" that means I've gone overboard?

I dunno, the post where you said "At least the back legs are better than the front" (paraphrasing) was pretty harsh and unnecessarily snarky to me. The structure of the front legs is fine on all of her in cave sprites.

 

It's fine to dislike someone's style, but leave it at that, I guess? -shrug- but that's just me.

[manticore]

I dunno, the post where you said "At least the back legs are better than the front" (paraphrasing) was pretty harsh and unnecessarily snarky to me. The structure of the front legs is fine on all of her in cave sprites.

 

It's fine to dislike someone's style, but leave it at that, I guess? -shrug- but that's just me.

Female tangars would beg to differ.

 

And there's no way I would venture into the art forums. People there tend to tolerate anything that isn't spriter worship worse than even in here. Or that's been my experience in the past.

[Haloclimb]

I think what makes the wings look 'off' to me is that the hind wing doesn't seem to be bending in the same way, so the wings both look different to each other.

But I CAN see maticores point about the first wing arch looking odd, as well. I think it's just a bit too smooth, and the thumb doesn't differentiate well from the rest of the wing so it doesn't really stick out as a 'thumb?'

But regardless, I'm really digging it's colours and horns. I'm thinking that it's going to be one of my more favourite dragons, since I've ignored bigger anatomical flaws in some of my favourites (and some that I haven't been able to ignore and like, lol) than the dodgy wing

[Kila]

Female tangars would beg to differ.

 

And there's no way I would venture into the art forums. People there tend to tolerate anything that isn't spriter worship worse than even in here. Or that's been my experience in the past.

Yeah, her near leg is a little exaggerated. I missed that while looking through (I'm terribly tired x-x).

 

But this is neither the time nor the place.

[Kelkelen]

Ooooh! I like what I see, so far! I was wondering if (and hoping that) the wyvern would have a pattern on its wing membranes like we saw on the eggs—happy to see that it does!! I can see where people think the pattern is a bit 'too much,' but I agree with the other poster—it reminds me of big moths, and poison dart frogs, and other animals with 'alarming' markings. It does seem like the pattern is a bit restricted to one style per 'segment' of wing, which makes it look a bit less organic; I see that the patterns carry over a little, already, but maybe they could have been carried more. ANYWAY, that is not to gripe—I think it's got gorgeous colors and I like the dramatic pose/outline. I bet it will look great in lineages. As for the hybrid Ultraviolet, I'm so digging the color. What would you call that, a pale puce? Reminds me of that purple-grey construction paper from grade school. I think the pose is *excellent.* I love seeing a dragon in a notably different pose from most of the others—here, because its front and back feet aren't on the same plane, and because it's moving towards the viewer.

 

*applauds the dragon-makers!!!*

 

*...and waits eagerly to see more!*

[manticore]

But seriously, like I said, other than the derpy wing, this sprite is much better than her previous work, and that's good. improvement is great.

 

Also I agree, the far wing looks different, and like the arms are different lengths.

[Haloclimb]

But seriously, like I said, other than the derpy wing, this sprite is much better than her previous work, and that's good. improvement is great.

 

Also I agree, the far wing looks different, and like the arms are different lengths.

THATS whats bugging me about the far wing! They just don't look the same length and it keeps throwing me off

[StormWizard212]

Female tangars would beg to differ.

 

And there's no way I would venture into the art forums. People there tend to tolerate anything that isn't spriter worship worse than even in here. Or that's been my experience in the past.

I think it's really just a matter of how you phrase things. In my experience in the dragon requests forums, most artists seem to really appreciate constructive criticism, so long as it is actually constructive and helps them perfect their creation. But I've also found, through live experience in general, that people tend to shut down and not respond well to criticism if they think they're being attacked. Now I'm not saying that's what you're doing in any way, I'm just trying to highlight how it's usually a matter of how a point is put across, rather than what the point actually is. If someone thinks you're genuinely trying to help them, they're going to be responsive to the criticism, but if they think you're just trying to insult them, they won't be.

 

Like earthgirl said, everyone has different tastes and opinions when it comes to art. With all dragons here, there are going to be people who like them and people who don't. But if you dislike something, then I think the best thing to do is perhaps send a private PM to the artist offering your constructive criticism and hope that they'll take it on board - if not on their current release, on their concepts in the future.

 

Personally, if there was something I disliked that was released, I'd say it wasn't my favourite and leave it at that. It's always bound to happen. But I think most artists would probably feel a lot better having someone message them privately and try to help them improve their concept, rather than a heap of people having a discussion openly about what they don't like.

 

Anyway, I'll stop there. I'm not trying to offend or attack anyone, just giving my own opinion. I'm personally not as keen on the ultraviolet sprite as the tsunami one, but I still like it a lot better than many in cave dragons and I think JOTB has done a great job with them. The style the tsunamis are in is just a style that I prefer, generally speaking.

[Sazandora]

*jaw drops*

MY GOD. SO PRETTY.

 

I like the wyverns' name. Tsunami Wyvern... sounds so friggin' AWESOME!

 

Ultraviolet Dragons are just gorgeous. Makes me want to start hoarding more Spitfires so I could get some moar Ultraviolets... ha ha.

 

Come on, shiny hatchie! Grow up already!

[Nezbael]

I'm sincerely disappointed in both the Tsunami's and the Ultraviolets, for various reasons. I won't rip on the sprites or the spriters though. These dragons obviously made it through the Dragon Requests board, so I have no place questioning them.

 

I will say that I did notice the odd angle of the Ultraviolet males wing, and the Tsunamis just...I dunno. The Hatchies made me think the Adult was gonna be cute and pudgey, so I can't say I dislike them, but they were a shock.

 

But the fact that they got incave is good enough for me, and although I'm not insanely crazy about these guys, I'm still waiting for the other genders to grow up, and I still hold out hope for the 'Sunlights'.

 

So regardless of what I think of the sprites, I still wish kudos to the artists that made them for getting incave, and thanks TJ for the birthday event.

[manticore]

I usually tend to get the "Let's see you do better," argument when I reveal I can't sprite, or can't sprite dragons at least. And so people just ignore what I have to say because 1, it's really hard to explain things in words about a picture, and 2, they assume I have no idea what I'm talking about even though I do. So I'll just continue to not bother.

 

I've also gotten the "They've spent time on this, respect that" which just makes no sense to me.

 

Also idk, I kind of like the open discussion better, for one because I feel rude just pming anyone out of the blue, and for another, it fosters a sense of "let's not be so hostile to people who don't just love this or that" which is the usual attitude I run into. There's also the fact that people who are better at explaining, or drawing an explanation can come in and help.