Dreams

Hah. I have such a weakness for wings! The first time I saw the thumbnail of this, I thought you had decided to give that one-shot harpy a bit more development. Assumptions aside, I was nonetheless pleased with this work on a number of levels.

This does not mean that I am not going to nitpick it. That is what critiques are for! <img src="e.deviantart.net/emoticons/d/d…" width="29" height="21" alt="" title="Dance!"/>

The thing I like most about this pic is how androgynous you made the character look. It is very easy for the viewer to insert him or herself into the picture. We have all wanted to fly away at some point in our lives.

The feathers and other details are also amazing. You show the three rows of feathers on a bird's wing well. Your hair is also awesome as usual. <img src="e.deviantart.net/emoticons/s/s…" width="15" height="15" alt="" title=" (Smile)"/>

Surprisingly, my biggest beef with this picture is not with your shading. Especially given that this was your first time trying this particular light angle, you did it decently.

The main flaw I found, instead, was a lack of depth in a picture that sorely needed it. I can see what you were going for - the flier is on a high perch, ready to take to the skies - but it does not truly feel high. There should probably be a bit of ground between the edge of the cliff (hill...ledge..take your pick). If you had a specific setting in mind to fly over, such as a town, a pit of spikes, or an endless black void, it could be depicted by cutting down the sky a little.

So! Ratings and reasons!

Vision: Everyone has wanted to fly away at some point in their life, let their dreams take wing, or leave the nest. Your idea is all of those things put together. Your perspective is also awesome.

Originality: Well, I haven't seen anything quite like this around. Perhaps it is because I am not looking hard enough. I'd love to see this colored.

Technique: There are some subtleties in your shading that I cannot nip properly, but my main gripe is with the lack of ground. Sky is always nice, but I'd like to know what the character is going to be flying over. Even a little touch of darkness on either side of the ledge would help.

Impact: Even without the ground, this is still a pretty damn powerful piece! Again, it'd be awesome to see this colored.

Hope you like...and good luck with life! Fly, Teramaster, fly! <img src="e.deviantart.net/emoticons/l/l…" width="15" height="15" alt="" title="LOL"/>