Ryan-of-the-Metal's art Reviews on Newgrounds

[#249 | Struggle]

Wow, I really do enjoy this submission. I honestly can't even find anything wrong about it, I really like this a lot. This may sound silly, but this art actually sort of connects with me.

It connects personally with me mostly because when I was younger, I used to be an avid collector of rocks and scrap metal. When I look at this piece of art, it reminds me exactly of that, and it reminds me of when I used to do that. How uncanny, huh?

You did it again, with your anonymous style of making things that are unrelatable and in an atmosphere of their own sentience. This one does look a bit like a few things though.

This does look like a quartzite material, like a semi-translucent stone made from quartz. It's really granular, and interlocking. It's a bit like one of those gems you find in the raw, how they're more pronounced from other rocks, yet still are dull and muted despite being a crystalline substance.

I really like the dull sheen you captured here. The way the light moves in the stone, is much like a marble in terms of where the dark and light areas end up.

You also put that rusty crack in this quartzy material too, that is cool. I do have a suggestion about it though. I know that it's a simple detail, but I find that it being so straight kind of implies that the domed section of the rock is flat, or on the same plane as with the section in the background. Now, I don't know if you intended that, but I see it there, and it was something I noticed.

Perhaps if there was a little more curvature to the crack, it would help express the depth of the curve from the dome? Regardless, I like this whole submission. Its rusty, coarse and milky all at the same time.

I know you like to put quotes on your work, but in my personal opinion, I think this submission would of had something detracted from it if it had words on it.

I like your work, and I still hope to see even more, my friend!

Anchorwind responds:

Thanks for your thoughtfulness. Stick around long enough and there will be new work to see. I bounce between Audio, Visual, and Written works, but always something.

[#248 | Climb]

Your art fills my heart with a feeling of almost ethereal sentience. No humans, no brands, no recognition. Only aesthetics and unknown places. I enjoy this sort of work that you make, this one moreso particularly.

Selective colors, grainy composition with obscurity. Thank you for that.

I see evident pain in your words, life does hurt. But I suppose you could always let your art speak your words instead of actual words themselves, but I don't want to tell you how to do your art. I am only here to make suggestions.

I came here to enjoy the loneliness, the style and the ethereal aura of this composition, but I don't like seeing you in pain. So please, next work you make, make it with that essence that you capture so well. But relax, other people feel your pain too.

I leave a star out for room for you to grow, in the future, I imagine if you keep this up, you'll most definitely produce more interesting submissions

Anchorwind responds:

I am enheartened by those that possess both the willingness and the ability to share a thought out response. Thank you.

[tank concept]

Interesting, mate.

This is like some sort of cross between steampunk-esque and Gears of War style. :o

I really like how it's a half-track, and it's quite a bit rusty-looking, like an antique of war, dude. It also looks relatively simple, coppery or brassy, but on top of that, I really can't find anything wrong with this submission.

A brackground would be nice, but meh. :P

AssKiller responds:

thanks for the feedback. I'll improve this design to make it more "possible". I'll ad some sort of mechanism so he can turn his front tracks and improve the back tires so they're more resistant to firepower. Maybe add some shielding or something.

[{BT} Underground Symmetries]

Oh WOW.

Look at this! Look at this!

This piece looks like a hybridyzation of the matrix and your piece 'Guts' in terms of construction. I love this piece for some reason, it has an interesting vibe to it, like a digital tide almost.

Also, I commend you on using a different pallet of colors this time. The blues and reds are really cool for a color scheme, but it's nice to take a break from them every once in a while, dig?

Anyway, I like the little details in this... Like, this piece looks like it was etched out with a gel pen, if I were to give my honest take on the style. Not to mention the jaggedy-ness of the curves help relay a digital ridgid, pixelated feel, almost like sawblades, but not as lethal.

Cutting everything into boxes also did a similar effect, it's mysterious with those shades of green and black, I love it.

BenTibbetts responds:

Thanks! I'm glad you liked it.

[Graveyard Defense!]

XD

I think this is pretty freaking awesome. Ghouls, Grim reaper, tombstones, and upsidedownheaddemons. that is pretty epic.

I never saw the game B13, but I recognise that sub-machine gun is a Vector, one of my favorite automatic weapons. :D

I think that this belongs in the art portal, and shoot, you have me on my toes, I might have to continue reviewing your art now.

Ritari responds:

Lol this took me SOOOOOOOO much longer than I thought it would, so I probably wont be putting any art out any time soon.

[Grinning Knight]

Dude....

This is like the most purestly badarse gladiatorial warrior that would make you drop several bricks in your pants if you saw him chansing after you at full spead at the dead of night.

I love this! It's awesome! I would expect this to be used for a gaming banner ad or something on a website. Keep it up :]

<deleted> responds:

Haha yeah, well thanks a lot for the kind words :)

[Masque Girl Basse-Taille]

Woah.

Dude, you've got a borderli- screw it- completely epic piece of art right here, I'm a bit surprised that nobody reviewed it, but yet, it still got the frontpage... Well, congrats anyway lol. ^_^

Well, your art explination was very educational, since, personally, I know a bit about art, but I never knew about basse-taille. And now that I think about it, you probably couldn't get the same expression and depth out of simple acryllic paints, so that's a great selection of media there, bud.

This art looks like it was made in 1789 or sometime in the 18th-19th century lol, and you know, I think if you are capable of accomplishing an antiquidated (sp.) look such as this, then either your media's real good, or your skill is real good.

Considering how much time you've taken, disregarding your other projects, then youreally put alot of effort into this piece. I really like the colors, with the heavy-grey shades of blue, dark turquose, greens and that rich copper too. Man, all that work must've paid off, since that is one seriously cool piece of art.

It has no arms, but I won't complain. It must be heavy. ^_^

radiodark responds:

Thanks! 1789 is so oddly specific.

[{BT} Mondra Roder V]

Hey, at least I still like it.

It's awfuly interesting, I'll admit. Even if you don't think so, I'll reluctantly assume the role of partaker of this piece. :P

What really struck out at me was those springs. They have some weird properites, starting normally, but should I say, 'contorting' to flatten out and twist everywhere. Alright, get ready, here I go...

With what I've already seen of springs, those springs are actually a very accurate representation of springs that are flattened, by say, stepping on them. But with them being bent heading towards the... Uh... Screen? The focus seems well accounted for too, except the smallest one in the corner. It may have distorted prperties, but it still looks cool anyway.

Typically of your work, if you included color, you always stick to the red-blue pallet lol. But I can understand why, as those colors can best convey the senses of hysteria, or mystery, things like that, you'd know, you're using them. I guess I'm just saying that I like the colors.

Also, this seems like surrealistic cubisim here you whipped up in Bryce, but it's not portraying anything in common life, so I don't know. By the way, what is Mondra Roder V? if you excuse my ignorance? :)

BenTibbetts responds:

Thanks for the detailed review. The springs were made by a process called "multi-replication", which involves duplicating an object over and over (say, 100 or 500 times) and altering the new object in some slight way so as to differ from the previous version. I like this function in Bryce because it's always struck me as a very natural, "evolutionary" approach to some complex objects.

You're right about the color palette! I guess I'm just predictable. :) The "Mondra Roder" series (words "random" and "order" rearranged) is just a collection of some abstract ideas I've been exploring lately.

[{BT} Demon]

'WOAH'

Was the first thing I wais when I saw this, it's really interesting, I must say.

I like renderings/paintings/works situated inside space because space doesn't have huge bilboards and brand logos that remind you of the really stupid, simple or heavily funded projects of earth, like advertising, or brands and such.

So that's why I initially liked this, but it also has other interesting aspects too.

The color sceme is nice too. It's like a monochrome of blue and purple, giving it an interesting aura, with the white as a surreal contrast to the deep-space black.

Now these 'demons' remind me of two (nebulii?). Almost as if they were both like twin stars, then suddenly both expended thier fuel and imploded at the same time, creating the wierd equator at the middle.

Now some people would simply say 'oh you copied that.' I like to think that it is the equalization beteween the traveling material and forces of both 'demon' nebulas (yeah, there we go). I know it sounds like I'm making an excuse, but I like to interpret it like that. :P

On a smaller note, I also found the blending of the two 'demons' interesting too since they look like they're still moving, which is cool. If I was to go into further detail with blue shift vs red shift, then they wouldn't be colliding, unless through a Z-axis. But since I like this piece so much, I won't rate it through practicality.

Nice stuff, sir.

BenTibbetts responds:

Thanks very much! Interesting thought about the nebulae, although I think the bit about expending fuel might pertain more to stars than stellar nurseries. After a few Google Image searches, one is forced to conclude one thing: the universe is a glorious thing. :)

[{BT} Mondra Roder IV]

I enjoy this.

I never said it, but I really like your work. I really fing the abstract strength in your renderings fantatsic.

Stairs are great for abstract pieces, since they have ties to contemporary living, yet are still open enough of a slate and definition to have more of a symbolic and abstract value.

Plus, I like how everything is rendered to make it look like a gritty ink painting and the darkness and light choices.

BenTibbetts responds:

Thank you very much! I'm glad you like it. I agree about staircases; they are surprisingly versatile in expressing both "rising" experiences such as hope or elation and "sinking" emotions like fear and despair.