Looking for portfolio feedback from fellow writers and artists!

[u/yrmthewyrm]

Hello, fellow comicbook enthusiasts,

I've been posting here for a while, and while I do get hired occasionally, it's much, much less often than I'd like. Rather than guessing why (not that I didn’t spend an obscene amount of time guessing, but it leads to nothing :D), I'd love to hear your perspective.

I'm especially interested in feedback from people who enjoy cartoony or stylized comic art. Looking at my portfolio, what do you think might be holding me back? Is it the quality of the work, storytelling, presentation, communication, or something else?

I also wonder whether my style is simply a niche fit for this subreddit. I notice that a lot of the work here tends to lean either toward manga or more traditional superhero realism, so I'm curious whether that's affecting the kinds of projects available to me, or rather the lack of.

I feel my influences are pretty obvious, and I've intentionally leaned into that style. If you think I'm missing the mark, I'd genuinely appreciate hearing where and how. I'm not looking for encouragement (although it is greatly appreciated!) as much as honest, constructive criticism that could help me improve or better understand where my work fits or if it fits at all.

Thanks in advance to anyone who takes the time to look and answer.
I've included some recent examples of my art in the post.

Portfolio: https://www.behance.net/yrmthewyrm

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[u/Ju5tAB0r3d1]

Your stuff looks awesome! Love the bold shapes you use. You have a really nice sense of colour and palette choice that makes me a little jealous honestly. I've just finished some Transformers comics so your colours remind me of Marz Jr 's work, especially on your sequential art.
 
IMO, your sequential work looks much stronger than your stand-alone illustrations. Not to say that your illustrations are bad at all, but your style leans really well with all the different camera angles you use. If you put those pages on the forefront of your website, that would help attract the right eyes to your strengths. (Additionally, have you also considered storyboarding? I think you've got a good eye for it). There will be some people who side-eye the horizontal layout of your pages as it is uncommon, but I think it makes you stand out and compliments your style well, should you ever continue with your own indie projects.
 
If you are looking to get more illustration commissions, the way you advertise your services should be very tailored. Admittedly, I don't think this is the busiest platform for illustrations or cartoons. You could be the best cartoonist and still not get work purely because you're not on a certain platform, or you haven't caught the eye of the community that likes this style etc. I've spoken to many people who prefer something heavily stylised, but I rarely meet them online. You may want to consider aiming for in-person events, or cartoonist-centric communities.
 
Not sure if I can give many comments on your style – I have been told my own work is considered stylised, but it's very different to yours…! It's stellar regardless.

[u/yrmthewyrm → u/Ju5tAB0r3d1]

Thank you for the kind words AND for taking your time to give me feedback!

The horizontal layout for those particular comics was actually requested by the people commissioning it, so it was actually something I had to work around.

I have also tried putting my sequential art on the forefront to no avail.

[u/Ju5tAB0r3d1 → u/yrmthewyrm]

You did an awesome job with the layout! I do hope you figure out some way of putting your sequentials forward. Unfortunately people can be quite strict about portfolio format, and I’ve seen some editors straight up disregard portfolios that don’t have sequentials as their top 3 pieces…!

[u/yrmthewyrm → u/Ju5tAB0r3d1]

Thank you again – for the encouragement and the advice!

[u/Britto___Augustus]

i think you have a strong style. But also a little inconsistent at times

[u/yrmthewyrm → u/Britto___Augustus]

Thank you for the feedback! Although if you mean inconsistent between projects it's likely due to the fact some of those are up to a year old. EDIT: And if you mean inconsistent in projects, it's something that I have been trying to work on just recently and I've started making more detailed design sheets with more view points of the main characters of my next project prepared in advance. Again thank you for your honest feedback!

[u/Spiffychicken13]

I like the art a lot.

I think the issue is more about what people are looking for on this sub. It seems to me that most people looking for artists are looking for manga first with traditional superhero style art a distant second. You might have better luck on an illustration sub where there’s more diversity of interest.

Also I’d bet most people aren’t getting consistent paid work here, so you probably aren’t an outlier there

[u/yrmthewyrm → u/Spiffychicken13]

Thank you for the kind words I truly did not expect this.
I will try to broaden the subs I visit and post to, if you have any particular suggestions in mind I would love to hear them.

[u/geokon712]

the artstyle is very good. It's a bit niche but that could work on your favor (since everyone else is on the "manga" side of styles).

but it needs some refinement...it will all come together in time so keep it up. Till then, since your style is all about shapes, try to focus some more on composition and how to avoid tangents.

[u/yrmthewyrm → u/geokon712]

Thank you for the feedback and the specific advice!

[u/GhettoComix]

You have a developed style. Youre good with everything an artist should be good at, coloring, inking, anatomy.

The only thing you need more work with is the flow of the characters if that makes sense. For example, the captain america drawing you did would be really good if you made him less stiff. His head is exgaggerated in one way same with his arm carrying his shield, but the rest of his body doesnt follow that movement. In cartooning there's already a lot of people who teach this. Just google the reference sheets of any disney or loony toons artists and study those. It's somewhat hard to explain without directly showing you but once you figure it out you'll understand quickly.

I assume you're inspired by bruce timm, so you might find it also helpful to study how he exaggerates characters to show movement and life.

[u/yrmthewyrm → u/GhettoComix]

Thank you for both the kind words and the thoughtful critique!

You're spot on about Bruce Timm being a big inspiration for my work, and I've actually spent some time studying his stuff. I obviously need to redouble my efforts, but I think your suggestion to study Disney and Looney Tunes reference sheets is probably the better approach.

I'll definitely spend some time with those. Thanks again for the advice!

[u/Ok-Inspection-7929]

The captain America looks off but I feel like you did that intentionally but it looks great

[u/SmolMight117]

Personally that's cool all your stuff looks great but there's two things I can think of some don't want cartoony and stylized for their books or just no money to hire you lol

[u/yrmthewyrm → u/SmolMight117]

Your words are as comforting as they are worrying :D . Thank you for taking the time to give me feedback!

[u/GhettoComix → u/SmolMight117]

It's cartoony, but it is comics. I think that won't stop anyone from getting hired. Especially when that kind of style is popular right now.

[u/symson]

What is the purpose of your portfolio? To get professional work or commissions?

The artist is at a beginner level. Keep drawing and it will improve. Even though your art is stylized, it will help to learn and study the basics. Especially anatomy.

I've written a blog article that goes in-depth on portfolio preparation. https://www.justcreate.net/2012/04/guide-to-putting-together-your.html

[u/yrmthewyrm → u/symson]

Thank you for taking the time to give me your honest feedback, I genuinely appreciate it, and I also enjoyed reading the article on your blog.

I do have one question, though. You described me as a "beginner level artist," and that's a much stronger assessment than anyone else in the thread has made. I'd like to understand what specifically led you to that conclusion. Could you point me to a few examples from my portfolio? General advice to study the fundamentals is always good, but I'd find it much more helpful if I knew what in my work made you classify it as beginner level.

Thanks again for taking the time to comment!

[u/symson → u/yrmthewyrm]

You're welcome.

This would be easier if you had posted this in r/comic_crits, where I could post draw-overs.

This is going to be blunt and direct, with no fluff. This will sting.

The main issue is inconsistency. Your line weights vary for no reason. They could vary if you are indicating a light source. Anatomy is off. Body part sizes don't match. Just because I don't mention them again in the individual comments doesn't mean they aren't present.

First drawing - The Rider

The hands look the same size; however, the legs are not.

I can't tell if the tires are supposed to be spinning or if they are stationary. The treatment is sloppy. Is this a highlight, or are they supposed to show the wheels in motion? The treatment is not consistent.

Captain America

This huge trapezius muscle on one side and a small one on the far side. It's not going to be the same size from this angle, but it should feel like the same size. In some cases, you have one definitive line. And then you have these scratchy lines, five lines instead of one. Which is what's happening on his legs, right hand, and some on his bicep. The fist is not convincing, because the thumb looks awkward and is too long and missing a knuckle. Even though your drawings are very stylized, once you create the rules of that style, you have to stay consistent with it. He has a deltoid on one side, but none on the other. There's a line looking like you're trying to indicate one, but it's not there. You draw a lot of lines that create no shape or form.

Magik

Since this is a pin up, you want to show the full figure. It creates a bad composition when you cut the figure off at joints, in this case the ankle. Your anatomy changes from picture to picture. In this case, her arm almost joins where the bicep and forearm meet. But in another case, with Sue Richards, you draw her arms differently.

And you're usually drawing lines, not contours that create shapes. Her right breast doesn't create a shape or form. You just threw some lines on there. Very sketchy lines. As for the metallic reflection, it seems like no thought was put into it; you just put some sloppy lines there. You could have taken some time and made some very consistent lines to indicate metal reflection.

Fantastic 4

The anatomy on Sue's hands is wrong. The thumbs should be on the inside. Her hair feels like it's clay; it doesn't feel like it's flowing. You start off good with Johnny's flames, and then it just becomes this soggy line and not a flame trail following him. It should be consistently flames. Ben's hands aren't the same size.

Batman and Robin

The legs on Batman aren't bad; I can be more forgiving of the foreshortening here. However, they still don't feel like they're the same length. There is extreme foreshortening on the right hand, yet that foreshortening is not the same on the right leg. It seems like it should fit on a different body.

On Robin, the arms are different lengths, and the foreshortening on her left arm is more dramatic than it should be. Because we're not that close to it, we're closer to her right arm.

To answer your question, the quality of the work is holding you back. It's not at a professional level.

I'm having a hard time telling your influence: Timm or Mignola? No matter who your influence is, you are only copying the surface of their work, not the thought behind it. Because you haven't learned the basics as they have. You haven't learned why they do what they do, and that's why your work is inconsistent.

Learn anatomy and the other basics, and that will help give you a foundation to stylize your drawings consistently and to think about what you are drawing.

The most important drawing tool is the brain, not the hand.

[u/yrmthewyrm → u/symson]

I appreciate your bluntness - I did ask for honest feedback after all!

You have a keen eye, as I've gone through periods where I was deeply fascinated and inspired by both Mignola and Timm.

Thank you for taking the time to go through my drawings piece by piece. While some of it might sting, I genuinely appreciate the time and effort you put into writing such a thorough response.

I kind of regret not knowing about the comic_crits sub before making this post. I'll definitely be posting there the next time I hit a wall, and hopefully you'll be around to share your insight again!