namuwonderling's art Reviews on Newgrounds

[3 years.]

Almost forgot to write a review for this 'cus Newgrounds went down for maitenance earlier (big L), lol.

I already said this was fantastic in Discord, but I wanna be more in-depth about it here. For starters, the presentation is superb; a noticeable step-up in regards to the artstyle, particularly. Now, I will say that the background looks rather off; for it's hard to tell exactly where Flame and your sona are at, even with repeated glances - the lamp(?) at the bottom right-hand corner could also confuse some viewers a lot.

Another oddity I've noticed as I'm writing is in your sona's expression. The eyes aren't aimed at Flame's and the blank stare is a tad jarring upon closer inspection. On the other hand, Flame himself looks great, and the Fatal Error shirt looking confused adds a nice touch of charm to the whole thing.

Aside from those critiques, this is still a great illustration. It just needs some bug fixes, if you get what I mean.

Faith3231 responds:

yeah i tried to reference the art by the scott priligam art style a bit (and note, it was challenging as hell around the time i was drawing it) but thanks,,

[Flag Bikini Burger Day 2024]

erm what the sigma

I just noticed this as I'm typing, but the color palettes for the bikini and burger are completely swapped; now it looks like the fox woman is eating a burger-shaped American flag while the bikini's prolly designed to have a burger scent when someone gets close. Although speaking of the fox woman (i forgor her name srry), I like that she's positioned in a side-profile. It's not too common to see curvaceous characters from the side, so it makes for some useful reference material. And her expression's pretty cute, too.

The tbh creature-shaped Bocat(?) in the left-hand corner - and her accompaning Gen Alpha brainrot - adds a touch of humor, which is a thing I enjoy most in some suggestive artwork. The same applies to the random eagle images in the background; I think a third eagle picture would make the visual gag feel more complete.

Kalmoire responds:

Aung! Thanx! 💥 and myea yea it's Conefop and Bocat !

[Clinton brothers]

So if Dan's green, and Dave is red.. who's the blue Clinton brother? (I do like his adventurous-esque smile.)

MidTierArtist responds:

dave has been autobalanced to blue

[yerself thing]

I was confused as to why there was a tag for Mario's Madness until my brain took two-and-together and figured out that the second drawing is supposed to be a mock-up icon for a freeplay menu akin to that aforementioned mod.

Aside from that, I'm liking how you're actively incorporating shading into your recent digital drawings. I think I mentioned this in the full-body Cree review, but it gives your art a lot more life to it.

Yerself's grin is peculiar in a good way; specifically in regards to the way his teeth are drawn. It's vaguely akin to the way Sonic's teeth appear when he grins in the Sonic Adventure artstyle, albeit here, it's for every row/column of teeth in his mouth.

MidTierArtist responds:

my brother in christ i have not touched ms paint for a long time to the point people think i never put shading

[tags arent important]

So on one hand, Yerself is majorly depressed about being dumped by his wife and expresses it like most people do.

But on the other hand, he has a full-on Joker arc.

MidTierArtist responds:

no shit but youre a wee bit wrong
its another version and this one is a mix of beta luigi and yourself yeahhhh babyyyyyy

[Aiden Etch Dee]

As I scrolled down on this, my eyes instantly caught notice of an ADHD tag in the Credits & Info section. I feel obligated to say somethin' like "Hello fellow neurodivergent artist!" 'cus for me, it's a surprise to bump into other neurodivergent people online; and in regards to Aiden's explicit purpose as a character, it adds a lot of relatability to some of the mental health struggles she embodies.

With that mini-ramble aside, time for me to do some actual critiquing. Since ADHD's been mentioned, I'll start off with Aiden's name; I love it. It took me speaking her name outloud in my head to realize that her full name's a somewhat subtle corruption of the pronounciation for ADHD, which is some great attention to detail without being *too* on the nose about it. Without that context, I doubt most people would surmise what Aiden's full name is supposed to mean.

Now, as for her design, I like it as well. For a vent character, she doesn't come off as overwhelming edgy, which is apparently a common trend amongst these types of OCs; I'd say she'd look right at home in some location reminiscent of psychological horror games like Silent Hill 2 or In Sound Mind. I can imagine Aiden would likely be in need of a hug or some positive affirmations.

The only part of her design that confuses me a bit is the bloodstained slab of metal. The third image has me thinking its supposed to part of some torture device, while the first one makes it appear as a weapon that Aiden could use as a form of self-defense. If the latter is true, I think the metal slab having a makeshift handle on one side would make for a relatively decent sword design.

And that pretty much sums up my thoughts on this character. Overall, she's a good OC in my eyes; has a great name and a horror-esque design that doesn't fall on edgy OC tropes from back in the day when those were popular.

CacklingPumpkins responds:

Thanks! And I appreciate the critique. As for the blade that's meant to be the blade of a guillotine. It's a cursed object that's a constant reminder of her pain. The blood on it is her blood. It's usually right at her neck like a guillotine is meant to be. But it can be removed though never truly gotten rid of.

But she does need it as if she doesn't for too long she goes feral. Think of the blade like the cap of a bottle. If it isn't there then everything could leak out. Much like someone who bottles up their emotions. She starts to act more animalistic when it's gone for too long.

[PNG's eye [and speech]]

I don't know if my Mario's Madness brainrot is getting worse, but I'm certain that PNG's speech is supposed to be a somewhat subtle reference to Ultra M's brief speech from All-Stars (Act 4).

I'm a fan of PNG's eye looking directly into the camera, for it makes his dialogue hit harder; it'd feel as if he's directly speaking to you whenever you glance at this.

MidTierArtist responds:

PNG is trying to help the lad to cope with depression
with the Boyfriend here being Yourself
yes its a reference to Ultra M's brief speech

[that part of silly billy where yourself gets smol]

My personal headcanon for this guy is that he comes from an alternate timeline that's identical to Yerself's, albeit it all takes place in the Madness Combat universe.

I can imagine him appearing through some type of portal while Yerself vanishes somewhere into the distance, before the latter eventually returns to the song's backdrop.

MidTierArtist responds:

*inhale*
c o r r e c t !