GnomeZome's art Reviews on Newgrounds

[Secret Santa-Craven and Dario]

I wish I knew more the story behind this, but I get the feeling that the skull is the elder adn the slasher is the boy.
I made me immediately think of "Mystery Men" and the Legacy Hero "The Bowler" who was the daughter of a superhero who would fight crime with bowling balls, and when he was killed for it, she put his skull in a bowling ball.
That movie is pretty memetastic, especially since the official music video for "All Star" by Smashmouth is a tie in to that movie.
Anyways, I get the sense that older figure was maybe a scientist from the gray heir, and perhaps had an experiment that rendered him into this weird form with his kid?
Like a much grimmer Danny Pantom.
In any case I love the otherworldly flow of the mist, and the sense of dark reflection in the foreground.
Thank you for making this, and for sharing the characters.

Sony-Shock responds:

Oooh, long commentary! Love it!

You are right in one thing at least! But guess what. You can actually read about the story behind it! The person I made the Secret Santa for revealed it all in a series of comic that were part of a tournament in entervoid. It's super compelling

Link' https://entervoid.com/index.php?action=archive;chara=2620 The Invitational Tournament 2019 comics covers it!

[Softcentia]

Thanks for making this cute little moment.
I like the sakura blossoms and the the passing clouds, and it's just a nice fluid kind of mood.
I feel you choice of ground clashes with the natural curves of the rest of the piece, but sometimes we those clashes in in real life.
I know for a miko to take a moment and relax like that is kinda out of place, so maybe you where going for a comparison of rigid and fluid emotions?
I hope you see an eggplant, an eagles, and Mt. Fuji for New Years dreams.
Thanks for making this.

clarigaricus responds:

Thank you for your kind words and for such a thorough review!

[Mermaid]

So, a few stray thoughts.
Hmm a cruel lady of the lake.
Reminds me on that odd documentary the discovery channel did on mermaids.
Kinda a water bending illusion, especially with the blood, I wonder if there could be a water tribe that learned to breath water or be nomadic like dolphins in the Discovery channel thing.
The red mist might be a reference to Ariel, and how datk the orginal little mermaid was.

Over all the merperson is well rendered, and considering they seem to be modeled in part on an Angler fish, especially with the attena rendering the face, I could understand how they would develop breasts as attraction method for their prey.

The unknown horror of the deep sea is something that still sits with me from my childhood, and I think it was simply the fear of the Unknowable that left that impression in my mind.
You've done well to render that, and created something wonderful.
Thank you for making this.

RodneyAmirebrahimi responds:

I've been writing an fantasy story and I thought how can I put my own twist on Mermaids so I came up with this, Glad you liked it and thank you :D

[worldvom]

I feel this effectively conveys cosmic horror and Memes with nice references to Stranger Things font and coloring trying it all together.
(to be fair that coloring and font is of course referential to Steven Kings novel covers and movies based on them, but it's a layered reference where Stranger Things is currently more culturally prevalent)
Really enjoy the color choices, along with the balance of three you used to center the image, especially with the hands.
I wonder if the center hand is modeled on a mouse holding position, it's interesting you choose to very the hangs from being left or right, but makes visual sense.
The light emanating from te planet also has unworldly feel for me, because most terrestrial worlds do not naturally produce light, and the way their entranced faces are contorted suits that unnatural power of creating a world.
Thanks for making this.

7gobu responds:

wow, thank you so much for your in-depth review! you absolutely got what i was going for with the type, good eye! you really picked up on a lot of what i put in this piece. i appreciate you looking so deep into it, reading this made my day!

[The Year of Hope]

Lebanon, Hong Kong, Chile, and I must admit the Tricolor has me ignorant.
I have hope for those peoples this next year as well.
I have hope for Tibet, and the Uighurs, and the minority communities of India, and the child soldiers of Sub Saharan Africa.
I have hope for the reservations and territories in the US.
I have hope for the small island nations that are washing away in the pacific rim.
I have hope for the starving communities in the cities I have know, and ones I never will.
Thank you for sharing some of your hope with me, and thank you for using your talent to make this message.
Thank you for making this, it's important to remember we need to keep moving, and keep hoping.
Mucho Gracias, Feliz Año Nuevo.

MatthewLopz responds:

aaaaah what a wonderful message, thanks for commenting and sharing your toughts, it's the colombian flag, feliz año nuevo! :^)

[Zen Knight]

It's interesting seeing a living piggy bank on what looks to be a mercenary.
They are obviously well outfitted, and seem to take care of their gear, implying discipline or at least money to have someone else maintain it.
I'm curious of their story, but in my mind a Mercantile contract where a magic piggy bank aromatically collects your guild's cut and also acts as your certification really makes sense to me within a magical bureaucracy.
In any case, I see this likely just a nice reference to Ragnarok, but I still really like the choices you made in lighting and shadow.
The layered darkness in the scarf is so cool. aand the uniformity of the shadow on then, the pig, the gear, it's just a nice attention to detail.
Thank you for making this.

ramalooke responds:

the piggy bank was just a random hat that was in the game. but i really love the story you came up with. i absolutely love it! :D

[Beachy]

I like this alot.
I grew up around the ocean, but mostly on the east coast, so this kind of visual would appear to me as a sunrise.
But, red sun at night, sailor's delight, red sun at morning, sailor's take warning.
So if this is sunset, that's a good thing, but if this is a sun rise, then a storm is coming.
Unfortunately that weather motehd no longer servers as well as it once did, because sunset's have been altered by pollution in the air.
It's thought in the famous painting "The Scream" that the sky might be shown that way because fot volcanic activity from krakatoa temporarily changing the sky of the world.

Past that tough, this is a lovely sunset, and I really appreciate the tone you captured, of the sand slowly growing cold, and the the night settling in. Those Cumulus Clouds to the south seem to be moving out to sea, and the night dew on the seagrass is a lovely detail.
I really wonder what the younf lady has come to do, or think.
Is it to paint, or look at the stars, or just have a pleasant meal.
Being caught in the dead of winter with snow just out my window, this is alovely reminder of the promise of spring.
Happy New Year to you, and thank you for making this.

SouredApple responds:

Thank you for the very nice response. It's very nice to have someone study a painting of mine in such a thorough manner. Also an interesting bit at the beginning about sunsets/sunrises, I never knew that!

[[Dawn of the second day] - Snowhead Temple]

Link is a really interesting figure in games for me.
He is an eternally reborn hero, and his choices are almost predetermined, in a way that reflects playing the games that feature him and his lore.
The world constantly changes, but there will always be courage, wisdom, and power.
I know in the toon link timeline apparently the hyrulian blood thins out, and the legend ceases it's repetition, but that was as of the last time I checked a few years ago.
But onto why any of that is relevant.
I was thinking this picture really captures what it must feel like to be Link.
He's always born into this land of wonder, and must always fight these fantastic beasts and and enemies repeatedly.
While doing so, he finds greater and more daunting challenges, and there is no choice but to meet those challenges.
I think this image of a simple skirmish, with a looming future really capture what his character, his courage, means.
I do feel you almost over detail link, where as he in my mind is apart of the world of hyrule, and should match the fuzzy less deatiled landscape, but I by making standout, you remind us that courage is outstanding.
It's very cool.
Thank you for making this.

Orlek-sketch responds:

That was beautiful! Thank you for your feedback!

[Forest Sorceress]

I respect your efforts in this project deeply.
One thing that made really think about light is a question Einstein used to play with which is the mirror question.
If you are going the speed of light, and you are holding a mirror, would be able to see yourself.
The question is certainly flawed and outdated, but it made me think alot about light sources and reflection. It's hard to tell where the light source is.
I can tell there is some residule light coming from the canopy, especially with the name "Forest Sorceress", but I am not even certain she is in the woods.
If she's an illusionist that uncertainly is amazing.
It seems her plams are imuminated, but not the back of her hand, and it's hard to tell if this a misty morning or more illusion blocking the spread of light.
Another interesting thing to consider is being a pedestrean on an active road that has hills.
As a pedestrean you need to make yourself as visually aparent as you can so you walk opostie to vehicle traffic, meaning you walk on the side of the road that allows a drive to observe you the most quickly.
Statistically we observe oncoming objects faster then outgoing objects, kinda a visual Doppler effect. When going up a hill, you walk with vehicle traffic, because the car might not see you until it crests the hill.
Headlights factor in here too, with the fact that fog means high beams are dispersed by the mist in the air, and you need low beams to bounce the light most effectively against the ground.
There plenty of theory of lighting in modeling and photography, but I like to mention these because they are practical things you can personally observe to understand light, and how it interacts with an environment, and your skill is clear, along with your dedication, so I thought that would be more help then any normal resources.
Thank you for making this.

keepwalking responds:

Intresting review. Indeed lighting is one, if not, the most complex subject in painting disciplines.

[Leone Abbacchio]

It's interesting because this reminds me of a FFX box art rendition of FFVII's Sepharoth in that "swirling air around a dramatic pose" kind of way. I like the mix of colors, and the comparative collage being part of the back ground.
Thank you for sharing.

PkBlitz responds:

Oh wow I didn't even think about it, but you're kinda right. I know it was intentional because the drawing started off very differently, and all the changes just kinda led to this.
Thank you!