Meriko Says: Wow!!! O.o Kathy, may I just say that you've improved VASTLY in the months that I've had the honor of knowing you? Hmm, okay, you asked for hair and ear tips...and with your no-line-ness beautiful style, it's hard (at least for me) to really define curves and dips and such while not going overboard on the shading. My recommendation is to nab a few magazine pages or pictures of family, etc. and practice a few ears. Looks like you're using at least 2 or 3 different shades to...well, shade. *laugh* Ye might try adding one last, darker shade to use for more definition...like eyeliner on top of eye shadow? Not really adding lineart, just a deeper shaded section here and there to define the really "deep" portions. For hair, you've got GREAT detail work in there, *squints at all the fine lines* on top of some really bold/thick/whatever definitions for sections of hair. Ye might try adding something...in-between. Hair (at least mine) doesn't just sit in 7 or so sections, unless I messed up making a ponytail. *^^* You could tone down the hills and valleys of the hair a bit, I suppose. Also, for a more natural look, where the hairline is, add some baby hairs or strands that seem to be a bit loose from the rest of the..."pack." That's usually a good thing all over the place...you could add some extra, free-floating strands of hair where it's flowing loose, too. And that's all I have to say! *^^* Kathy, you're absolutely awesome!!! This is worlds more be-yew-tiful than your Miang, and that was already gorgeous! *snugs*

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Lorelai Says: Hoiiii Kathy! *SNOOGLES Kathy* So glad you submitted a pic! I wove your art!!! Your style reminds me of a couple of artists I've encountered at RPGamer...very unique, because you're not limited to that manga style that a lot of people - REFFs even - stick so closely to. I'm so proud!!! The eyes are gorgeous, so expressive! Her lips and face in general are also well rendered, and so lifelike! My only concern is with her hair...the V-line on her head is waaay to glaring, almost like she's wearing a helmet or something. The hair itself is beautiful, but the edges seem cut-out...you will need to find another way to stop the hair and begin the background/face. I like the way the ears turned out...maybe try whatever you did to them on the hair? I suggest some dramatic shading on the edges to make them round and blend into the background. it will also make the brighter, closer parts come out more, if the edges sort of fade away from the viewer, both in light and in importance. Great work Kathy!

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Young Wang Says: Hrm.. because you go to UCLA and I go to USC, it's in my contract to say that you suck. But because I graduate in 2 weeks and could care less what USC wants me to believe about UCLA, hi there! =^.^= This is actually a very nice portrait. I've not done much in terms of 'realistic' portrature, but this is a nice combonation of anime and 'real' life. I think her left tear gland (right to us) looks odd because it's poking out of the corner of her eye. If you want to add more realism, you might wanna draw some stray hairs along the border of where her hair meets forehead since no one can pull back their hair that nicely without hair gel. =} I was also under the impression her ears were pointier than that.. but I haven't played Lunar in ages. Your ears aren't that bad. All in all, it's a nice pic.

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Keiiii Says: This is one great portrayal of Jessica. It's great how your style is still visible even though it's a realistic one (I think the styles aren't as visible in realism as in manga). You've done a good job making the hair look 3-D by correctly placing the highlights and shadings. One thing you could try to improve it is drawing longer, more visible strands. For ears, just give them a little more details. Try sketching from a real person's ears. It's even better if you can get more than one person to draw ears from. It's interesting how everyone has different ears ^^ And lastly, I think it might be fun for you to try making stronger highlights on skin (what I do all the times...) for artistic emphasis. It's not that the subtle highlight is a bad thing (it's better than strong ones in some pics), but aren't exaggerations always fun? XD Worth a try!

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Ryuuzaki Says: Hiyas, Kathy! First of all let me say that I'm very impressed with your super-realism. =) I love how you do the eyes, nose and lips. That said, here's some points you can improve on. I assume she's a Caucasian lady, ne? What I've noticed about Caucasian features is that they have deep-set eyes, high cheekbones, and eh...how do you say it...a high nose? Well...it's sharper and protrudes more than most other races. To achieve this effect you should heighten your contrast. I only have 2 bits of my Star Wars Montage I made for my daddy on Father's Day to give you examples off of, so bear with me. =) She has a very nice complextion, but there isn't enough shadowing to suggest a lot of difference in facial features. There should be darker shadowing right below the eyebrows, where the skin caves in. Left side of the nose and face should be a bit darker to show more depth. (Amidala's face - high contrast gives a lot of depth.) Nostrils would look best if they were near-black, like where her lips open. Same with the ears, they should be shaded with lots of black parts (grooves) and lots of highlights (ridges) rather than a sort of blended grey-pink swirl. (Look at Qui-Gon's ear...not everyone has as pointy ears as he, but you get the gist of how deep the shading is?) You have nice highlights in the hair, but it looks more metallic than stringy. It'd look really nice if you could get some individual strands to show up. Use some light brown to draw some strands in the direction they're flowing (don't stop in the middle, go from the base of the hair to wherever it disappears off the page or behind the person). Whew! I think that's about it...I'd say you could improve the most with contrast. You have a good sense of proportion and color. Detail in the hair and ears might use a little work, but that's nitpicky stuff you can get into if you wanna be a perfectionist.

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