++Scarlet Grace++

Before I start this critique, I must warn that I haven't done any in a long while, so pardon if I become wordy and start rambling XD

Anatomy: The anatomy is very accurate, with nice shoulders, torso, and legs, however her face is a bit off (but it's not too bad). The style of her nose and eyes don't go too well together , and her right-hand eye seems too far away from her other eye, which seems to be in the right place. Also, bringing her jaw and chin down would make her head fit more to her broad and well-structured shoulders/ collarbone. A good way to fix mistakes like these is to inverse the image (if you work traditionally, holding it up to a light source or using a light table should work out fine) should help you see mistakes you didn't see before.

Vision: It is apparent here that you knew what you wanted and you knew exactly how you wanted it. The movement, details, and designs show that you worked hard for this to come out just the way you had it. The character is quirky but very appealing in both design and tone. Though I understand the limited color scheme is part of the design here, the lack of color can make all your effort in the details a bit futile. There is so much red that the viewer has to concentrate a little too hard to appreciate the details. Maybe adding more shades of red, darker and lighter, or even more gold and black to the parts of her that are red can counteract that. Especially in that weapon, where the details are swallowed by all that red.

Originality: Her design is most certainly original, with components put together in such a way that she is also memorable, and that's what you want in a character. Characters that stand out from the crowd not only make them enjoyable for the viewers, but make them enjoyable for the people drawing that character as well. No one likes to get a commission of an OC in hoodie and jeans and maybe a pretty belt buckle. So kudos to your interesting design! I might also like to add that the style she takes on and her relations to dragons (even that dragon tail with the accessory on it) makes her even more appealing.

Technique: It's always nice to see traditional media done so well, with nice crisp lines and whites along the edges done without a white gel pen. Though the coloring is nice and consistent despite your medium, your shading is a little shallow in many parts, like the skin and the tail. Using a darker shade of red should help, and for the skin maybe a darker peach/orange. Because of the lack of darker shading, and the removal of saturation she must've gotten from the scanner, her colors are almost swallowed by the white background. You can barely tell that her skin is colored at all. A good fix for this is by putting it in any art program like Photoshop, SAI, Artweaver, and raising the saturation levels and the Color Depth levels to get that color back. Tweaking the contrast levels helps too. I took the image and tested it out myself, and her lines definitely get crisper along the way too.

Your lineart skills are definitely fantastic, you just need to improve on your coloring. Use more colors when you shade, put in some depth, and it won't look so monotone <img src="e.deviantart.net/emoticons/s/s…" width="15" height="15" alt="" title=" (Smile)"/>


Impact: Although the character design is certainly impressive and memorable, her details are hard to pick out with the coloring used (again, more depth would help with the details so they won't be swallowed in all that red). When I casually viewed this picture, it wasn't too much of an impact on me because I didn't notice all the details off the bat. Also, after I moved onto the next picture and thought about it, all I could remember was a blur of red and white. Despite that, taking a good look at the character made me appreciate the design and originality of it, and I certainly know that you could be known for this character if you put enough love into it and showcase her often. A few tweaks and this picture could be something worthy of 100+ favorites ^^

Overall: Overall this image is definitely impressive, and it shows just how much confidence you have in traditional media. With a bit of improvement, I think you can be an amazing artists. This work certainly shows you have great potential!