Cheetah sketch

Hello everyone. This is a drawing I did a few weeks ago that I thought I'd upload for critiques. I apologize in advance for my shoddy scanning job.

I would have shrunk it a bit more, but then it would be too small. So I hope it doesn't annoy you too much to have to scroll a tiny bit.

Thanks in advance for any advice you have!

This is very nice!

What sort of paper do you have? I'm wondering if you might do better on something with a little bit of a different bite to it.

Other than that, I have two suggestions!

Firstly, while you are still in the early stages of sketching, I would recommend that you take your drawing and look at it in a mirror. A good, anatomically sound piece will look balanced in the mirror as well as when you are looking at it. It seems to me that the adult cheetah's eyes are not quite in line with her mouth.

Secondly, don't be afraid to bump up the contrast a little bit. This is a very tentative sketch, and I think you are talented enough that you can control your shading a little more. Definitely darken your darks to give this a little more dimension. A good rule of thumb is to leave nothing completely white, save for two or three important highlights (eyes, and maybe a single bright spot on the animal's coat).

Seriously, though, this is extremely good!

Thank you so much for your comments--the mirror tip is an excellent one.

I was using plain drawing paper. Not sure what type now.

About the white: the strip of bright white is from the scanner. It got quite a bit washed out, actually, since in the actual drawing nothing was white. (I also notice that for some reason, some of the spots are much darker than the others. Again, I think it's the scan.)

Anyway, thanks again! I'll definitely keep those tips in mind.

Hey!
It's a really nice job overall - I myself always have trouble drawing big cats, and you've done great on this.
Now for the little things that could use some more work: the big one's left ear is at a wonky angle, and I agree with Shepherd that the alignment of the eyes is not quite in line. Also, the chest seems to puff out a bit too much, and the legs are a little bit short - cheetahs have very long legs for felines.
The cub is cute, but some more shading would help bring him out a little more - he's kind of flat right now. Same for the big one, though it's already got a bit more.
That said, again, great job.

Hi there, Lupis!
This is a lovely piece of work you have, here. I mean, 'tis beautiful. I could never conjure up a drawing as good as this. XD.
Anyways, I have a few nitpicks. Like Jagged pointed out, cheetahs have incredibly long and lean legs for big cats, so making the legs a bit longer would make the picture a tad more realistic. Also, the small, baby cheetah's ears seem off to me. Maybe it's because one has the colored in part of the ear, and the other doesn't. It just doesn't seemed balance. Also, the small cheetah's right eye seems smaller then the left one. So, I'd fix that if I were you.
However, nice work. Hope this helped!
-Miss Mizz

Thanks guys!

Jagged--Notice how I covered up the paws? Obviously I am way too lazy/intimidated by her feet to draw them all the way. I will definitely try adding a bit more shading and try to fix her chest, though it's probably too late for her eyes. Anyway, thanks!

Mizzle--Thanks for the review. I totally didn't see that thing with its ear, and it does look kinda funny. I'll try and fix the other things you mentioned as well.

It occurs to me now that her back half and most of the big cheetah's back legs have been cut off. Nothing I can do about that now though, I'm afraid.

Anyhow, thanks for the helpful comments! I'll try and keep them in mind for my next drawing, which is now almost finished.

See ya!

Lupis

This is so good.

You shall not enter any art contest here 'cause I know you'll win.

Oh gosh, your brilliant! Keep drawing!

Hey!

So, I really liked this. The detail on the cheetah's fur made it look so fluffy! The little cub was cute, too. I did have one teensy issue, though.

So, the cheetah is standing over her cub in a protective way, but her legs are very straight. If she was protecting her cub, her legs would be bent, ready to lash out at the nearest predator. If you fix that, this will be great. Also, if you want, a background would be nice- but it looks fine without one. Nice job, overall!

-Dreamy

great it's beautiful!
Nike

This is beautiful. They're so pretty and cute ^_^ There is just one thing...

Cheetahs are different from other big cats for a number of reasons; their tails are longer and thicker at the tip, their legs are longer and thinner, their heads are flatter, there are a lot of things. One of the most important things, though, is that their chests are much thinner and closer to their spines. Their entire torso is much higher off the ground than other big cats too. All of these things contribute to their ability to run as fast as they do and their balance while the run.

Here, it seems as though her stomach and chest is too long and large. So, maybe if you tried bringing her chest and stomach up more towards her spine, she would look more anatomically correct.

Everything else is great though; very good work ^^

Alright Flower her for a review!

The first thing that I noticed about this piece is that the head seems very squished on the lager cheetah. The reason I feel this is, is because of the neck line. There is no major distinction of where it begins, thus making the head seem smaller than it truly is.

Secondly, the ear on the right side is huge. Since the cheetah's head is turned to the right, shouldn't the ear be smaller on the right side?

I like the fuzziness of the chest on the cheetah, but I think that it bulges out just a smidgen to much.

Now for the little guy down there. He almost looks angry in the drawing, if it's a girl I apologize in advance. The mother I suppose that is the mother, seems so calm and when he looks so angry it throws me off. The only other thing I really see about him is that his right ear has nothing done to it. It is just a round empty line that just sits there. I think it would help if you put some fur in it and shade it a bit more.

Other than that I love this, it is simply beautiful, better than I could ever do. Pm me if you need anything.

-Flower-

How cute! The cheetah looks so life-like! And the cub is so adorable! I wish I could do that kind of stuff; all I can draw is stick people! I can`t wait to see more of your fabulous art work!

I like this very much!

I can't see much to comment upon except that the chest of the adult seems to go out at an angle. I can't tell if it's supposed to be just the fur that's creating that bulge or if it has something to do with the scanner, but in any case it looks slightly off. Also the fur on the head of the cub looks a little too jagged to be real. Otherwise it looks quite good to me!

Hey, Canis! KD here to review.

Big Cheetah:

Wow. You did a perfect job on her face! But, I think the neck is a bit too thick, and that you need to add a little more curves in the chest/lower neck area. (I'm kinda comparing your sketch to this picture.) Also, you might need some darker lines for her rear legs, because they're not very visible. But maybe that's just the scanner.

Lil' Cheetah:

Pretty good. I think this also would look better with some stronger, darker lines for its head and for the legs, since the little guy, for me, seems to blend in too much with its momma. (Scanner?) And again, adding more curves to its legs would help a lot too, since right now they look too much like rectangles.

Overall:

This is great. The biggest thing that bugged me, though, was that the little one blends in too much with the bigger one. Hope I helped! Keep up the good work-

KD