How NOT To Draw: Our Friend SonicClone

I think many of you have heard of SonicClone, who is known for drama and bad drawings. Those are quite a bad combination, but since this series is mainly about art and not about harassing people, we'll keep the drama bit about his refusal to listen to critiques.

SonicClone is nineteen years old, yet he draws like someone eight years his junior(at a minimum). When beginners and children draw, they often neglect fundamentals like structure and basic shapes. This leads to objects and characters that look like sacks of goo, which is not going to make a good picture.

Exhibit A: sonicclone.deviantart.com/art/…

Now, the Charlie Brown we all know and love certainly does not look like a real human boy, but Charles Schultz did know enough about the fundamentals of art(like structure) to make him and the other characters look believable. In this picture, it looks like SonicClone just drew the silhouettes and coloured them in. For example, the perspective on Charlie Brown's arms is somewhat okay, but his left leg looks too long. This is a bad technique and one of the things you are taught to do in art class is to use the right side of your brain, rather than the left. Now if SonicClone was just starting out, this wouldn't be that bad, but he has been on deviantart for five years already. In those five years, he hasn't improved.

Exhibit B: sonicclone.deviantart.com/art/…

This is another example of the importance of learning basics like anatomy, foreshortening and structure. The characters in this picture look like half-deflated balloons, or melting wax. When drawing characters, you should start out with basic shapes. It's VERY important. I critiqued this picture, and he hasn't hidden it yet, but he banned me from his page for this and other critiques. He desperately needs to listen to critiques from others and not be so defensive, but it looks like this is not going to happen. Very disappointing.

Exhibit C: sonicclone.deviantart.com/art/…

Not only do we find bad anatomy and lack of structure in this one, but horrendous colouring. You have to be able to distinguish the foreground from the background with your eyes squinted, or you're doing something wrong. This guy needs some real art school, not pats on his patoot. There are many tutorials that could help him improve drawings like this, yet he doesn't listen at all.

Exhibit D: sonicclone.deviantart.com/art/…

In this one, we see poor cropping and the like, your typical badly-scanned drawing. It looks like it belongs on the fridge, not on the internet. Now this is quite important because when you submit something to a website, it's going to be there forever in most cases. This is yet another example of five years of no progress. Limbs have no joints, they are wavy as if the characters are gumby figures. Plus, their body parts are not proportional, and the girl's thighs are too wide. Not that I'm knocking women with wide pelvises and thighs, because we all come in different sizes and shapes, but you have to make sure your character's anatomy looks proportionate.

The characters' feet look all wrong, and Dirk looks like he has hooves. This is because SonicClone is making the same mistake over and over again; he is using the left side of his brain, which stores outlines of certain objects, instead of his right hemisphere. Remember: Draw what you SEE, not what you THINK you see.

Exhibit E: sonicclone.deviantart.com/art/…

Another example of poor structure and proportioning. As I have emphasized, these concepts are very fundamental in art. You can't draw a good picture unless you have at least a basic understanding of shapes, proportioning, anatomy, structure, perspective and shading. Yes, your relatives and friends might like your art, but someone who knows how to look at art will not be impressed. When you submit your works to a public gallery, you must expect some feedback in the form of constructive criticism.

In this picture, Puddleglum's arms are too short, and they lack proper joint or bone structure. This is what happens when you don't use basic shapes BEFORE drawing your character or object. It ends up very messy and your character or object will look like a blob. This is like building a house without making a foundation - not recommended.

Now for a look back in time for comparison: sonicclone.deviantart.com/art/…

How much has SonicClone's style changed since that picture? This was done five years ago, and he has shown little, if any improvement. Nightcrawler's body looks very twisted and misshapen, and if he were to try to walk, he probably would be unable to do so. The length of his legs is very inconsistent, as is the length of his arms. Perspective is very important! From the way his body was drawn, it looks like something broke his back. Even if his back isn't broken, he would still have a very hard time walking or moving.

And now for a "Critique Me"!



She loves getting critiques, and hardly gets any. Faerie-starv is one of those breaths of fresh air that make deviantart worth returning to, and the more constructive criticism she can get, the more her art will improve. So go give her some love and a few good, heavy critiques.

Worth mentioning is someone I had written about in a previous journal:

She is an awesome person, very articulate with her critiques, and she will accept criticism from any artist, regardless of skill. If you want a heavy, no-nonsense critique, she will not disappoint you!

Now, if you or someone you know is longing for some heavy-duty constructive criticism, or is great at giving and receiving critiques, then note or comment for a possible feature in the next "Critique Me" section. Helping out others is awesome, and it can improve the overall quality of art on this site.

If you see some exceptionally horrible art, where the artist just has no use for the fundamentals and is not trying to improve, comment or note me and I might feature it in the next issue, especially if the artist is being a jerk about it. Having one's art featured like this can be a good attitude adjustment.

Until next time, practice, learn, help improve the quality of art here and beyond, one critique at a time.