Week 4

Original

Redlined

Just a few things I'd like to point out. The problems are mostly in the shading, as there seems to be a complete lack of harsh shadows. I know the soft shadows are intended to bring out the smoothness of her face and all, but hard shadows are for contrast, and they do exist, particularly around places like the edges and under the nose. You can use hard shadows sparingly, and it won't affect the smoothness of her face. I made a few suggestions for that in the redline. As for the anatomy, I think some of it is skewed. In particular, it seems her right eye is positioned too far to the right side, and the nose is positioned too low (and it's probably a little too long anyways). I drew in her skull because I found her head too big. The hair should just fit over top of it, and not take up too much space, or else it will give off the illusion that her head is bigger than it should be. Just don't do it unless you want afro hair. Her body was also lopsided. This was probably affected by the skew perspective, but I couldn't quite figure out what was going on there, particularly with regards to her left arm, so I made a suggestion. Now I know it's probably intended to be covered with shadows, but even with shadows, they should suggest the shape or form of the object that's being covered by them.

Week 3

Original

Redlined

Just a few small issues with this one. And then I think it will look really nice. I found her arm looked a bit stiff. I'd curve it a bit towards her hand. And speaking of which, I think her hand could be a bit smaller. I think the pose of the hand needed some work too. A useful tip is to make use of your own hand as reference. It's rather handy and convenient whenever you're drawing hands. Make sure to have a mirror though; you need to get the hand from the right angle and in the right pose. The way it was drawn, the body was posed as if her right shoulder would be dislocated. If you angle her body slightly, then her shoulder would be in just the right position. As for the flowing objects like the hair and the skirt, hair can sometimes be drawn in clumps, but when it's flayed out like being blown in the wind, you tend to see a few stray strands. Irregular clumps is probably a good way of describing hair. It's a combination of larger clumps of hair and some stray strands. I found the skirt was unnaturally angled out. It's actually much shorter than it appears, unless the artist wanted to make the skirt longer, in which case it should be covering more of her legs. I found her ears were not really easy to see, and were too high. And her belly button should also be closer to the middle.

Week 2

Original

Redlined

There's actually a lot of different ways of going about this. I offered some suggestions for them, as you can see in the redline. First of all, I found the entire bottom half of his pose unconvincing, as it was too low. Now this has to do with the fact that I interpreted his sitting posture as being a bit slouching and leaning forward. Judging by the content of the image, I think such a lazy posture would be more suiting anyways. Which means there is some forshortening, and part of his torso would be hidden at that angle. There were a few parts here and there I found were a bit skewed, particularly his eyes--now I don't know too much about Tron, but I think the eyes were slanted just a little bit too much. If it was done on purpose stylistically, then I'll understand. I couldn't decide whether or not his head should have been angled up or down; the position of the nose and mouth suggests down, but the angle of the nose suggests up. So I went with slightly downwards. I also found the posture of the right arm didn't feel like it was curling around her shoulder particularly much, and I don't think we can see all his fingers from this angle. And her helmet was a bit too small. I found the girls legs were a bit too thick, and I didn't know how the right girl's hand was supposed to be positioned. I thought she should have been putting some weight on it, so it looked a bit strange from that angle, considering the floor is flat and not at an angle. And if she's not leaning on that arm, I gave an alternate suggestion.

Week 1

Original

Redlined

In general, some of the faces are a bit lopsided; these characters could really make use of base sketches to get perspective and form right. The shoulders in all the characters all seem to be a little bit too scrunched up; shoulders usually have a gradual sloping shape. This varies from character to character, but they don't really have a kind of "bottle neck" appearance, unless viewed from specific angles. I suppose some of the characters could also be drawn a bit larger, but then you can interpret them as simply being far away, rather than too small. I marked off the characters that I thought should be scaled up with the scale-up icon.
The hair also needs a bit of work. I believe these characters are from Final Fantasy 8, so Squall's hair should look more like it's parted to the sides from the middle rather than simply falling over the front of his forehead. Selphie's hair at the bottom seems to have an unnaturally large amount of detail, which makes it look bristly and spiny rather than soft and wispy. In general, it's a good idea to draw hair strands in clumps rather than each individual strand; save that for close-ups. Some hair strands were not tapered enough, and did not look or feel like hair. Rinoa's eyebrows were too thick and bristly for a lady.
The bodies for the most part have fairly strange proportions; I'm finding the arms are much too thick, and the torsos way too thin.

Ask Random Red!

Every other week, Random Red offers an advice column where you get to ask Random Red almost anything! Please keep in mind, however, that there are some questions Random Red will not answer, including but not limited to the identity of any of the artists, spoilers for video games, books or movies, or generally NSFW related topics. If you ask something Random Red will not answer, you will be notified.

To ask your question, send Random Red an e-mail with the following subject: "Ask Random Red! Question". Not using this subject may result in your question not being read or answered.

Random Red's e-mail is: randomredline [at] gmail [dot] com

Frequently Asked Questions

Questions

New questions will be added if enough people ask them.

1. What is Random Redline?
2. How did Random Redline come about?
3. What is a redline critique?
4. Who's Random Red?
5. Who drew the images you redlined?
6. Why don't you simply redline people's drawings directly instead of doing them anonymously?
7. Aren't the mistakes in some of the images you picked a little too obvious?
8. Couldn't redline critiques be subjected to interpretation?
9. What if you don't have permission to post people's artwork here?
10. But what if the artist whose work you redlined isn't interested in being a serious artist? Aren't you taking this art stuff a little too seriously?
11. That artwork that you redlined is old, and no longer reflects how the artist currently draws.
12. Won't some people get mad at you for taking their artwork and drawing all over it?
13. I think one of your redlines missed pointing out a critical mistake.
14. I have an image I would like you to redline. Can I send it to you?
15. Aren't you just doing this to boost your own ego?
    
16. How come you don't have anything nice to say about the artwork you're redline critiquing?

What is Random Redline?

Random Redline is a blog which posts a redline critique of a random image once every week. The idea behind this is simple; using a random image protects the identity of the person whose artwork is being critiqued, so if they don't like their art being critiqued, there's no shame; nobody has to know who's being shamed if the said artist feels that way. And if the said artist does actually appreciate it, he can post a comment and thank Random Red, or send him an e-mail. Furthermore, because the redline critique is made available to all audiences, everyone who is serious on learning to have better anatomy in their art can benefit from seeing common mistakes being corrected, as they may make these same mistakes too.

How did Random Redline come about?

The author of this blog came about this idea when browsing through artwork on DeviantArt. He/she stumbled upon artwork that he/she found less than satisfying; there were errors everywhere! He/she was really tempted to write up a comment, detailing every mistake on the drawing. But then he/she realized that if he/she made his/her comments public, the artist might not appreciate it. But he/she was really keen on helping the artist. In the best interests of artists who know they want to get better at anatomy and lighting, he/she came up with the idea of doing the redline critiques anonymously, and without revealing the identity of the artists. And in that instant, Random Redline and the mascot, Random Red were created.

What is a redline critique?

A redline critique is a form of critiquing artwork which involves overlaying lines on top of the original artwork in order to suggest improvements to the anatomy, forms or shading in the original. The name "redline" derives from the fact that these lines are typically red so that they are easy to see and stand out. It is an extremely useful form of critique because anatomical errors are sometimes difficult to explain in words only, and it is often very easy to understand in conjunction with brief descriptions.

Who's Random Red?

Random Red is a disembodied hand made of red lines, in matching with the redline critique theme. He is the mascot of this blog; or you may say the mastermind behind Random Redline, since the real author of this blog wishes to remain anonymous.

Who drew the images you redlined?

In order to protect the identity of the artists who drew the original images, Random Red will not disclose who drew the images. This is because Random wants to avoid any drama that might come from making fun of artists simply because their artwork was critiqued and has flaws. Furthermore, Random Red understands that people may feel a bit anxious or scared of having their own works being critiqued, but if it is someone else's work, and they share similar mistakes, they may be less afraid to approach the mistakes. The fact that many different artist's works are being used may also provide some comfort. That is, the artists may feel as if they are not alone in making mistakes. If you happen to know the artist who drew the image, please keep it to yourself. Any and all comments which identify the original artist or attempt to slander or insult the artist will be deleted. Random Redline is not a place meant for ridiculing artists who don't yet have a solid grasp of anatomy or lighting; it is intended as a learning tool by helping artists see their mistakes.

Why don't you simply redline people's drawings directly instead of doing them anonymously?

Because it is extremely difficult to know if someone actually wants a redline critique, let alone even have a critique in the first place. Random Red has had various experiences with this; some people who ask for a critique will be happy to know what kind of flaws exist in their artwork. And some people will be eager for it, only to find they're not nearly as happy with it as they wanted it to be. So instead of directly offering a redline critique, and not being sure if the artist will appreciate it, Random offers random redline critiques so as not to defame the original artist if he felt that way, and to offer artists who want critique the opportunity to offer their art up for redline critique (see the question below about offering your art for redline critique).

Aren't the mistakes in some of the images you picked a little too obvious?

Yes, they may be, but that's the whole point of random redline critique; if it weren't random, Random Red would be more selective about what kind of art he would like to redline critique. And besides, saying it's obvious might be offensive to some viewers.

Couldn't redline critiques be subjected to interpretation?

Yes, Random Red acknowledges that redline critiques are subjected to interpretation, but at the same time, he would like to make suggestions towards improvement based on standard anatomy. It is true that some images exaggerate some parts of anatomy, and Random Red tries his best to accomdate that style with what he is critiquing. So drawings that are meant to be cartoony can still maintain their cartoony style while obtaining a more enhanced look and feel because of things like dynamics and possibly composition.

What if you don't have permission to post people's artwork here?

Random generally picks artwork with the proper creative commons that allow modifications of work. If by any chance the original artist finds his works here, and is not happy with it being put here, Random will gladly remove the redline, and simply leave the comments regarding the redline and a link to the original artwork.

But what if the artist whose work you redlined isn't interested in being a serious artist? Aren't you taking this art stuff a little too seriously?

Because the original artist's identity remains anonymous, and the intended viewers are any and everyone who is serious about learning anatomy and lighting, it doesn't actually matter what the original artist thinks of this. Besides, if he really didn't care that much about being serious in art, it shouldn't matter to him if someone goes and fixes the mistakes anyways. The fact is, some of these non-serious drawings can make for good material of things that can be improved, and such demonstrations can sometimes be useful for other people who happen to be interested mutually.

That artwork that you redlined is old, and no longer reflects how the artist currently draws.

Again, it is irrelevant at what skill level the artist is at or who the artist is; the redline is not done for the sake of belittling the artist or for telling him anything in general; it's for a wide range of audiences who may or may not be at that level and could benefit from understanding and seeing mistakes in other people's works which may reflect on their own mistakes. If you don't think of redline critique as an attack on the artist (and they should not be), and think of it more as an educational tool, these kinds of questions become irrelevant.

Won't some people get mad at you for taking their artwork and drawing all over it?

Random Red admits this is a possibility. But you can't please everyone; some people will be happy that you helped them fix mistakes they couldn't see, and other people won't be happy that you pointed out the flaws. But because Random Red never discloses to anyone who he takes the images from, there's really no reason to be angry about it because no one is going to know who to pick on if they only intended to make fun of people for flaws in their drawings. Random Red asks that you do not take things too personally if your art happens to be chosen for a redline critique; a redline critique is a statement on your art, not you.

I think one of your redlines missed pointing out a critical mistake.

Feel free to point it out. Random Red does not claim to be perfect. He is open to all suggestions and ideas.

I have an image I would like you to redline. Can I send it to you?

Yes! However, please make sure you note the following guidelines:

• Random Red is not responsible for your feelings. Please do not take it personally if the redline critique hurts more than you think it will.
• Random Red does not accept NSFW artwork officially. You may still send NSFW materials, but they will not be posted publicly, and have a lower priority than materials that are safe for posting to the general public.
• Random Red posts redline critiques once a week, and may have a backlog of images waiting to be redlined. Please be patient if your redline critique does not appear on the week after you send your work.

Aren't you just doing this to boost your own ego?

Random Red isn't doing this for personal gains; he's doing this for educational purposes. If he were only doing this to make himself look better than some artists, then he would not be open to suggestions for flaws he missed in any of his redline critiques. Besides, Random Red is an anonymous entity; the author who created him remains anonymous, so if you were to suggest that the author is trying to make himself/herself look better, wouldn't that only work if the author actually revealed his/her identity, and the identities of the people Random Red has redline critiqued? Random Redline was created with the intent of helping artists; not for trumping artists or demeaning them.

How come you don't have anything nice to say about the artwork you're redline critiquing?

Remember that this is a redline critique we're talking about. A redline critique is a tool that is used to point out flaws; not praise anything good about a piece of work. Random Red does not doubt that any of the pictures he critiques does have some good aspects to them; he just feels it's unnecessary to point them out if it doesn't further his points in the descriptions. There are probably even a few pictures that are fairly good anyways; they could just use a few more adjustments that are worth pointing out for educational reasons.