CRITIQUE
W H AT W O R K S
MY SUGGESTIONS
I think Les did an admirable job of creating the texture of the lizard’s scales with various techniques. There is definitely a feeling of bumpy, leathery texture in his drawing. And speaking of drawing, Les has very good drafting skills. I can’t find any lines that are false. Well done.
I mentioned that the iguana looks powerful in the reference photo, which means the image evoked some kind of feeling in me. I think that is somewhat missing in the artwork. Although nicely drawn, there is less of an emotional reaction to the drawing. Why?
There is also an excellent feeling of depth in the drawing. The iguana’s body recedes from the head, and the background recedes even farther. Les created this depth by making sure that elements in the foreground are small, detailed and sharp, while the background has loose, large, blurry elements with no detail.
Strong contrast alone can invoke stronger feeling than low contrast. The higher the contrast, the more we react emotionally. In this example, I’ve strongly increased the contrast (and also slightly changed the background hues). He instantly seems more imposing, doesn’t he? The stark contrast between midtones and shadows lends him instant power.
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