THE Scribble Smorgasbord

[Waluigi Time]

Doctor Wactopus and the Scribbler Six - Issue #1

In his dimly-lit laboratory at [UNDISCLOSED LOCATION], Doctor Wactopus was deep in thought, planning how he would win THE Scribble Smorgasboard.

"The Ringmaster is formidable enough of an opponent as-is... and then the category is entertainment?! That's gotta be rigged. I'm going to have to work hard if I want to win this first round..."

"Perhaps you should be practicing your drawing instead of sitting here drinking coffee."

"Shush! This is thinking coffee."

To the uninitiated, it may have looked like Doctor Wactopus was a madman talking to himself in the dark. That assessment wasn't entirely off the mark, but in reality, the artificial intelligence embedded within those mechanical arms was transmitting messages directly to the doctor's brain! Whether it being the voice of reason between the two of them was intentional or just a fluke, none could say, but it didn't really matter. The doctor rarely listened anyway.

Suddenly, Doctor Wactopus came up with an allegedly brilliant scheme!

"That's it! I'll assemble the ultimate team of scribblers to cover any and all artistic deficiencies, making me unstoppable! And I know just the person for this - a real pro wrestler! The entire circus can never stand up to the entertainment value of a proper smackdown! It's perfect, I'll win this tournament or my name isn't Doctor Wactopus!"

"Your name isn't Doctor Wactopus."

"Alias, alter-ego, whatever... Do you always have to be such a buzzkill?!"

---

With his plan in motion, Doctor Wactopus set off for the nearest wrestling ring to watch the matches (and enjoy some popcorn).

"See this guy? They call him Reznor. Almost went for a Dino Rhino theme but he changed his mind because they don't have horns, so the costume wouldn't look as cool. That's real attention to showmanship."

The poor sap in the spiky fish costume never stood a chance.

After the match, Doctor Wactopus approached the victorious Reznor to offer him a deal.

"Hey! Reznor! You wanna join my team of scribblers?"

"What's in it for me?"

"Ultimate victory!"

"..."

"And, I'll pay you, I guess."

"Okay."

Will the combined might of Doctor Wactopus and Reznor be enough to overcome the talents of the Ringmaster? Only time will tell...​

 

[BEEEEEAAARRRS]

Some quick notes before you go at it:

• Please continue to specify if the quotes in your titles are part of the title, it saves the quick moment of decision for me
• Titles must be given in the same three hour window as the Scribbles going forward. I was lenient on this since it was the first round, but titles have voter swaying power sometimes and getting extra time on them can be an advantage

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LINK TO THE VOTING FORM
(closes in 24 hours)

 

[Uniju]

.:. my thoughts on scribbles .:.
i love the lighting on snack's

ryan's is one of my favourites... that boy says he can't draw but i think he did pretty well. my artistic interpretation is that he feels like a scared little guy entering the scribble and bowser is his competition... i believe in you though ryan. i think by the end of this you will be able to throw the bowser into the bowser thing that makes the bowser explode

woglril came out SWINGING. daisy and the bumpties are so cute, the sparkly manga background with the bubbles has such an ephemeral feeling from the layering of the colours. i'm a little glad you never posted art here before because it was fun seeing people's reactions in the scrollback

my own matchup... hearts' is great. pokemon is a great choice for the prompt, and the scale and perspective are incredible. sudowoodo is so imposing and i love the trees and the sky in the background. those little guys are gonna die tho lmaooo

what the fuck gba................... what the fuck
i don't know what else to say
OTL how th e fuck you draw that

pitohui.... this is probably something to do with kg that i don't understand but what a lovely image. i love this scratchy shading on everything and especially the brick wall in the background... incredibly bold to put hands right in the front like that

commercial... probably the hardest match up of this round for me. the perspective looking up at the billboards and the buildings is awesome... the concept for yap's feels like such a power move. like he's telling me to vote for fwd's..... i think the best parts are the hair and shadows thoguh

.:. my own scribble postmortem .:.
when i saw the word adventure i immediately thought of laputa. i really wanted to draw something like pazu and sheeta on the little airplane thing as the clouds part in the background to reveal laputa. i tried and failed to draw elements of this for a long time, and after needing to stop and go "okay, but, what CAN i draw instead of this part" for every single part, the image ended up having a very tenuous connection to the prompt

other than that, i'm not unhappy with it. i managed to draw something that actually looks like a human being, which is big for me... yes, i also hid their face, hands, and feet. work smarter not harder luigipartythink. going forward i think the most important lesson from this is better time management

all in all pretty good week you guys all did great looking forward to next one

 

[Hooded Pitohui]

Thank you for the sweetness you added to the day, Woglril!


I already shared these thoughts in the Awards server, but in the spirit of being more public with Scribble thoughts, just in case there are folks who haven't found the specific thread because Discord can be odd about that, I'll copy them here, too. If you've read through the thread, you've already seen these, though!

Spoiler: copied thoughts

Snack & winstein

Snack, now, admittedly, I may be biased, but this is an adorable concept.

I'm impressed you were able to convey characters at so small a scale. That's pretty difficult, I feel like, since it limits detail and makes it really important to emphasize their overall silhouettes and most recognizable features. But you did well with that, just through choices like those lines in Nadie's hair.

The intersection of the window light and the tv light is a nice touch, as well.

How front and center Waluigi is in winstein's is impressive. I liked the experience of my eye flowing down Waluigi's arm from the rose and it dawning on me that I was taking in Waluigi's visage.

Him drawing so much attention sort of works in a meta way, huh? Not only do all of the ladies want him, all the Scribblers do, as well.

I didn't register all the faces/heads immediately, but it was neat to discover them as I looked around the image. They really show off that talent for a diversity in character designs you have, winstein, that we've seen in some of your assorted art posts.

BBQ Turtle and Smasher

Oh, this joke in BBQ's is a good one.

It has some layers to it. The gremlins caught my eye, then I saw the computer screen and the overall joke clicked. And then I saw that chart, and that made for a solid punchline.

Forget Inside Out, I want to see the movie about these gremlins.

Big divergence in how Smasher and BBQ tackled the prompt but I think Smasher's angle is a neat one too.

Programming typically carries a nefarious connotation when used in the context of education, so it makes it interesting that Smasher went with an overall pro-social message.

I don't think this part was intentional, but because of the twintails and school uniform, I kind of see the one blackboard figure as Nico,

And so the blackboard ended up kind of reading to me like trying to teach TFP not to kill Turb.

Steamlined and Ryan

Steamlined and Ryan both did so good here, and with different sports, to boot.

I would be scared to face either this Waluigi or this Bowser.

The use of all three colors as thin lines in the tennis ball's trail is really nice. It's chaotic enough to pair with the suggestion of rapid motion without feeling overwhelming.

The expression on Ryan's is a hoot, but more subtly, I like the choice to let some of the gathering energy lines around Bowser escape into the lower panel.

Them breaking the bounds of the composition itself adds to the sense of building power.

Neat how they both had cool use of those lines suggesting motion. I suppose sports lends itself well to that.

Rose and Wolgril

Ooh, Rose's has a nice sense of restraint to it. I quite like how simple it is, not a lot of detail to clutter up the scene. It knows what it's going for and presents that plainly, without distracting details present just to fill space.

It made me chuckle, too, strong concept.

I feel like there is a specific reference in Wolgril's that I am not getting. [It's Mary Poppins, ah!]

Regardless, it's adorable. It has this sense of softness to it, and I don't have the right knowledge to say how she achieved that, but I'd guess it has something to do with her sparing use of her color and the roundedness in the faces of the characters in it.

It draws out this visceral sense of being a little kid and laying on your back in soft grasses, watching the clouds drift by and I adore it for that.

Uniju and Hearts

Speaking of visceral senses relating to the sky,

Man, Uniju's speaks to me.

It has this pervasive sense of wistfulness to it that makes me want to go lay down and watch the sky.

I don't know if this sounds deranged or not but Uniju, your Scribble makes me feel like a little kid stopping to appreciate Mario 64's skyboxes (extremely complimentary).

Like, the out-of-focus clouds, the perpetually-unmoving rocket ship blasting off, I can imagine this Scribble rerendered as a stretched and crunchy jpg wrapping around a Mario sandbox and that's awesome.

Your Scribble has a lot of heart in it, and the city skyline gives it a nice sense of depth with the rocket giving it a solid focal point so you can better appreciate that big blue sky.

Hearts continues to kill it with the expressions.

Shout out to the positioning of the Sudowoodo behind the Bug Catcher making it so you trace the Bug Catcher upwards with your eyes and then keep going to run into the Sudowoodo.

Perfect visual punchline.

YtSSm and GBA

That Monty Mole in YtSSM's is very readable.

I like the concept, too.

Makes me feel like I'm going to see this interview on some kind of local culture show on a PBS station.

Y'know, playing so much Pokémon Emerald as a kid engendered a deep appreciation of raindrops on plant leaves, for me.

So already GBA is hitting my personal buttons.

The moodiness of this image calls to me.

In the Biddibuddies, I see memories spent playing on the boundary of a laundry room and the yard in the rain.

That childlike sense of wonder at being able to take shelter in a simple structure or a tree when the rain started to pour imbues this image.

Dodo and Fanta

Dodo's has a solid composition. I appreciate how the staff and the manipulated fire trace this curving up-and-down path for the eye to follow.

The distant moonlit cliffs are nice touches that add to that sense of fantastical adventure.

I need to learn how to suggest shape through outlines like that.

I like to imagine that Fanta's is a follow-up to winstein's.

Mario saw the Wah-chelor and couldn't get him out of his head.

He's smiling so he's into this dream, huh?

Flygon and Turb

Oh god

BWAHAHAHA

God, Flygon, something about Rawk Hawk Maya

The caption over Mario is very appropriate because that knocked me flat.

Very good juxtaposition between character and pose.

And neat callback to the Glitz Pit actually having a stepladder

A lot going on in Turb's.

I do like the Hustler tent.

Turb, is that sheet on the left screaming?

Kright

Kright's relating to her Toadbert Assigned Job is cute, and her expressions are even cuter!

Bowser looks so bashful, it's adorable.

And even Peach's heartbroken expression is adorable.

She looks a little bit like a dog approaching you with an empty food bowl in its mouth and looking up and at you while begging because you forgot to give it its evening meal.

Y'know?

Like, it's sad in a sympathetic way but it also makes you want to coo and gush.

Lakituthequick and Rose

Awards 3D-Printed Bullet Bill cameo in LTQ's :clintHype~1:

The title made me chuckle, too. I'm a sucker for streamer jokes.

ORIYA CAMEO!?

Ohohoho, this is so, so cool.

This is another good "simple, uncluttered, and effective for it" Scribble.

Funny that Rose makes a cameo in it, on that account.

I feel that chat message.

Oh, wait, did Rose make that one?

It would explain things!

Yap and FWD

Yap went for a placement joke, eh?

Fortune favors the bold, it seems.

Definitely enough going on there that this would work well regardless of its placement.

It strikes me that there's so much going on in this image but it's all well-organized and avoids feeling visually cluttered.

Don't know if I trust Flavio with the e-commerce business.

There are so many little jokes here to tease out.

The banner text at the bottom, the veiled threat of dying in a KG night in the little spiky text bubble thing, it's all cool

Now, Despair's is sleek.

Feels like he was able to fit a lot in with it all feeling nicely streamlined.

Wexlyn Corp and BPI and Hustler stocks are nice touches.

In general I appreciate how many references are packed in while still making them all feel natural in the context of the image.

He really captured that billboard-studded city feeling, an overwhelming parade of ads coming from different angles, each with their own marketing spin.

It's a subtle touch, but having each ad be for its own thing and taking its own approach (the "look at this scientific new product" of bleach, the "friendly neighborhood" way of Spooks, etc.) adds a lot to the image.

His color actually worked really well for this, too.

The dark... tones... pretend I know the right word.... let him put a lot of detail in against the black while saving white for places he really needs something to pop.

Koops and TPG

Koops did nice work with that "suggesting the shapes of things through their outlines" thing.

There's this neat implied sense of motion with the framing of this one, too.

You can just kind of intuit Luigi jumping away from the explosion based on his landing pose.

So much tension in TPG's, and good use of dramatic shading to intensify that.

I almost missed that you can see the resolution in silhouette. Using the panel border as the ground for a continuation of the scene is bold.

Nine and Wyvy

Man, Nine and Wyvy are similar right down to the references tucked into the control panels.

The character emblem buttons on Nine's and the Hud Coin Counter and Life Counter on Wyvy's are super nice tiny details.

Nine's comes across as action-y with all those lines outside the window, feels like Mario is really racing towards a goal.

While Wyvy's feels more contemplative, befitting that moment in a battle where a captain needs to make an unconventional choice.

I think Wyvy did an excellent job enhancing that sense of contemplation with Mario's shadowed eyes and heavy, drooping facial stache and brows.

I cracked a smile at the incorporation of the NES Power Glove in Nine's.

MCD and Flotzo

MCD's has big "staring into the abyss long enough for it to stare back at you" energy

The little ostrich [it's a vulture, actually!] on the tree in Flotzo's got me

WT and FTG

Wow, Walugi Time couldn't have gotten a more fitting prompt, huh?

I'm surprised he didn't go with a comedy magic joke and do mage Waluigi Time.

Really nailed that BITF style, though, and the :comedy: emote and thrown out cereal cards are nice little nods to community jokes.

That's solid work making the in-jokes present without making the image reliant on knowing them.

It's interesting both WT and FTG have someone telling bad jokes while someone boos them in the audience.

The King Olly cameo is fun.

 

[woglril]

View attachment 47811

View attachment 47812​

Thank you for the sweetness you added to the day, Woglril!


I already shared these thoughts in the Awards server, but in the spirit of being more public with Scribble thoughts, just in case there are folks who haven't found the specific thread because Discord can be odd about that, I'll copy them here, too. If you've read through the thread, you've already seen these, though!

Spoiler: copied thoughts

Snack & winstein

Snack, now, admittedly, I may be biased, but this is an adorable concept.

I'm impressed you were able to convey characters at so small a scale. That's pretty difficult, I feel like, since it limits detail and makes it really important to emphasize their overall silhouettes and most recognizable features. But you did well with that, just through choices like those lines in Nadie's hair.

The intersection of the window light and the tv light is a nice touch, as well.

How front and center Waluigi is in winstein's is impressive. I liked the experience of my eye flowing down Waluigi's arm from the rose and it dawning on me that I was taking in Waluigi's visage.

Him drawing so much attention sort of works in a meta way, huh? Not only do all of the ladies want him, all the Scribblers do, as well.

I didn't register all the faces/heads immediately, but it was neat to discover them as I looked around the image. They really show off that talent for a diversity in character designs you have, winstein, that we've seen in some of your assorted art posts.

BBQ Turtle and Smasher

Oh, this joke in BBQ's is a good one.

It has some layers to it. The gremlins caught my eye, then I saw the computer screen and the overall joke clicked. And then I saw that chart, and that made for a solid punchline.

Forget Inside Out, I want to see the movie about these gremlins.

Big divergence in how Smasher and BBQ tackled the prompt but I think Smasher's angle is a neat one too.

Programming typically carries a nefarious connotation when used in the context of education, so it makes it interesting that Smasher went with an overall pro-social message.

I don't think this part was intentional, but because of the twintails and school uniform, I kind of see the one blackboard figure as Nico,

And so the blackboard ended up kind of reading to me like trying to teach TFP not to kill Turb.

Steamlined and Ryan

Steamlined and Ryan both did so good here, and with different sports, to boot.

I would be scared to face either this Waluigi or this Bowser.

The use of all three colors as thin lines in the tennis ball's trail is really nice. It's chaotic enough to pair with the suggestion of rapid motion without feeling overwhelming.

The expression on Ryan's is a hoot, but more subtly, I like the choice to let some of the gathering energy lines around Bowser escape into the lower panel.

Them breaking the bounds of the composition itself adds to the sense of building power.

Neat how they both had cool use of those lines suggesting motion. I suppose sports lends itself well to that.

Rose and Wolgril

Ooh, Rose's has a nice sense of restraint to it. I quite like how simple it is, not a lot of detail to clutter up the scene. It knows what it's going for and presents that plainly, without distracting details present just to fill space.

It made me chuckle, too, strong concept.

I feel like there is a specific reference in Wolgril's that I am not getting. [It's Mary Poppins, ah!]

Regardless, it's adorable. It has this sense of softness to it, and I don't have the right knowledge to say how she achieved that, but I'd guess it has something to do with her sparing use of her color and the roundedness in the faces of the characters in it.

It draws out this visceral sense of being a little kid and laying on your back in soft grasses, watching the clouds drift by and I adore it for that.

Uniju and Hearts

Speaking of visceral senses relating to the sky,

Man, Uniju's speaks to me.

It has this pervasive sense of wistfulness to it that makes me want to go lay down and watch the sky.

I don't know if this sounds deranged or not but Uniju, your Scribble makes me feel like a little kid stopping to appreciate Mario 64's skyboxes (extremely complimentary).

Like, the out-of-focus clouds, the perpetually-unmoving rocket ship blasting off, I can imagine this Scribble rerendered as a stretched and crunchy jpg wrapping around a Mario sandbox and that's awesome.

Your Scribble has a lot of heart in it, and the city skyline gives it a nice sense of depth with the rocket giving it a solid focal point so you can better appreciate that big blue sky.

Hearts continues to kill it with the expressions.

Shout out to the positioning of the Sudowoodo behind the Bug Catcher making it so you trace the Bug Catcher upwards with your eyes and then keep going to run into the Sudowoodo.

Perfect visual punchline.

YtSSm and GBA

That Monty Mole in YtSSM's is very readable.

I like the concept, too.

Makes me feel like I'm going to see this interview on some kind of local culture show on a PBS station.

Y'know, playing so much Pokémon Emerald as a kid engendered a deep appreciation of raindrops on plant leaves, for me.

So already GBA is hitting my personal buttons.

The moodiness of this image calls to me.

In the Biddibuddies, I see memories spent playing on the boundary of a laundry room and the yard in the rain.

That childlike sense of wonder at being able to take shelter in a simple structure or a tree when the rain started to pour imbues this image.

Dodo and Fanta

Dodo's has a solid composition. I appreciate how the staff and the manipulated fire trace this curving up-and-down path for the eye to follow.

The distant moonlit cliffs are nice touches that add to that sense of fantastical adventure.

I need to learn how to suggest shape through outlines like that.

I like to imagine that Fanta's is a follow-up to winstein's.

Mario saw the Wah-chelor and couldn't get him out of his head.

He's smiling so he's into this dream, huh?

Flygon and Turb

Oh god

BWAHAHAHA

God, Flygon, something about Rawk Hawk Maya

The caption over Mario is very appropriate because that knocked me flat.

Very good juxtaposition between character and pose.

And neat callback to the Glitz Pit actually having a stepladder

A lot going on in Turb's.

I do like the Hustler tent.

Turb, is that sheet on the left screaming?

Kright

Kright's relating to her Toadbert Assigned Job is cute, and her expressions are even cuter!

Bowser looks so bashful, it's adorable.

And even Peach's heartbroken expression is adorable.

She looks a little bit like a dog approaching you with an empty food bowl in its mouth and looking up and at you while begging because you forgot to give it its evening meal.

Y'know?

Like, it's sad in a sympathetic way but it also makes you want to coo and gush.

Lakituthequick and Rose

Awards 3D-Printed Bullet Bill cameo in LTQ's :clintHype~1:

The title made me chuckle, too. I'm a sucker for streamer jokes.

ORIYA CAMEO!?

Ohohoho, this is so, so cool.

This is another good "simple, uncluttered, and effective for it" Scribble.

Funny that Rose makes a cameo in it, on that account.

I feel that chat message.

Oh, wait, did Rose make that one?

It would explain things!

Yap and FWD

Yap went for a placement joke, eh?

Fortune favors the bold, it seems.

Definitely enough going on there that this would work well regardless of its placement.

It strikes me that there's so much going on in this image but it's all well-organized and avoids feeling visually cluttered.

Don't know if I trust Flavio with the e-commerce business.

There are so many little jokes here to tease out.

The banner text at the bottom, the veiled threat of dying in a KG night in the little spiky text bubble thing, it's all cool

Now, Despair's is sleek.

Feels like he was able to fit a lot in with it all feeling nicely streamlined.

Wexlyn Corp and BPI and Hustler stocks are nice touches.

In general I appreciate how many references are packed in while still making them all feel natural in the context of the image.

He really captured that billboard-studded city feeling, an overwhelming parade of ads coming from different angles, each with their own marketing spin.

It's a subtle touch, but having each ad be for its own thing and taking its own approach (the "look at this scientific new product" of bleach, the "friendly neighborhood" way of Spooks, etc.) adds a lot to the image.

His color actually worked really well for this, too.

The dark... tones... pretend I know the right word.... let him put a lot of detail in against the black while saving white for places he really needs something to pop.

Koops and TPG

Koops did nice work with that "suggesting the shapes of things through their outlines" thing.

There's this neat implied sense of motion with the framing of this one, too.

You can just kind of intuit Luigi jumping away from the explosion based on his landing pose.

So much tension in TPG's, and good use of dramatic shading to intensify that.

I almost missed that you can see the resolution in silhouette. Using the panel border as the ground for a continuation of the scene is bold.

Nine and Wyvy

Man, Nine and Wyvy are similar right down to the references tucked into the control panels.

The character emblem buttons on Nine's and the Hud Coin Counter and Life Counter on Wyvy's are super nice tiny details.

Nine's comes across as action-y with all those lines outside the window, feels like Mario is really racing towards a goal.

While Wyvy's feels more contemplative, befitting that moment in a battle where a captain needs to make an unconventional choice.

I think Wyvy did an excellent job enhancing that sense of contemplation with Mario's shadowed eyes and heavy, drooping facial stache and brows.

I cracked a smile at the incorporation of the NES Power Glove in Nine's.

MCD and Flotzo

MCD's has big "staring into the abyss long enough for it to stare back at you" energy

The little ostrich [it's a vulture, actually!] on the tree in Flotzo's got me

WT and FTG

Wow, Walugi Time couldn't have gotten a more fitting prompt, huh?

I'm surprised he didn't go with a comedy magic joke and do mage Waluigi Time.

Really nailed that BITF style, though, and the :comedy: emote and thrown out cereal cards are nice little nods to community jokes.

That's solid work making the in-jokes present without making the image reliant on knowing them.

It's interesting both WT and FTG have someone telling bad jokes while someone boos them in the audience.

The King Olly cameo is fun.

This is so cute!!!

It draws out this visceral sense of being a little kid and laying on your back in soft grasses, watching the clouds drift by and I adore it for that.

It's the art equivalent of good pancakes

Also both of these comments made me so happy, thank you

 

[Lin Beifong]

I was going to wait with my commentary until after polls close so I wouldn't influence votes; Commentary like this can have swaying power for people who are on the fence about choices after all. But it seems like no one else is doing it, so, I'm changing my approach.

Please DO NOT READ THIS unless you have already voted.

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Throughout all of this, always keep in mind that art is subjective. No rule is ironclad, everything can be broken or subverted if its done with intent and understanding. Also, I can and will be wrong, and things I suggest may not necessarily work for you. The best way to read this is to keep an open mind and seeing if anything I say sounds like something you would like to try taking on board for your future work.


Let's write some feedback.
​

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Spoiler: Kright - Commentary

Your style is very clean and defined. It is very easy to look at a picture and identify that you're the one who drew it. I like the use of bold lines here; very clean and confident shapes. The facial expressions also read clearly and the intent of the scene is apparent. This is also a creative interpretation of the prompt, eschewing drama in an entertainment sense for interpersonal drama and a love triangle between Mario, Bowser, and Peach. Choosing this trio of characters was also a good idea with regards to your color, as all of them have strong elements of red, yellow, and orange.

Spoiler: YTSSM - Commentary

The blue works well here for a sky backdrop, so going for an outdoors scene was a good call. Good also to use solid blacks in your composition. Many, myself included a while ago, often fall into the trap of relegating black to just a means to draw outlines instead of seeing it as a color that can be used in its own right. Doing this makes the train look more striking as a visual, compared to how it would have looked as just white or just blue. I also think it is a good idea to use patterns to suggest surface textures, like what you tried to do with the half circles on the ground.

Spoiler: Pitohui - Commentary

There is some good color blocking going on here; you have the bold black on the floor and the turquoise for walls and the curtains. White is almost solely confined to the paper held by the hands, which draws your view onto it. I am intrigued by that black circle you drew around that chair on stage. That's an interesting effect, breaking up the potential monotony on the floor hatching.

Also, Director Sinclair. I see it.

Spoiler: Snack - Commentary

I know you've said you worried about spending too much time on the background and not enough on the characters, but I also think it is good that you are even considering the background. Many beginners and even experienced artists undervalue the role of backgrounds, thinking nobody pays attention to them anyway. But a good background can be very effective at setting the scene and giving context. I like the heavy use of black here and reserving your personal color for the window and screen. It's an interesting composition. Feels very moody. I know this wasn't intentional, but it creates this atmosphere that this room is actually the main focus of the image, and the characters are intruding on its sanctity. Maybe that's a theme you could tap into for future pieces. Lots of potential there.

Spoiler: Flygon - Commentary

I think this is a pretty good attempt at translating Maya Fey's facial expression and body language onto Rawk Hawk. The minimal use of your personal color for just Mario and the stepladder/ladder is also interesting. If I understand the joke correctly, this is a reference to how fighters in wrestling matches often use props like chairs and such to attack each other, and Rawk Hawk used a step/ladder to knock Mario out.

Minimal, but I like the small hints of black in the top corners, hinting at the presence of a spotlight. It helps break up the monotony of the square grid floor.

Spoiler: Power Flotzo - Commentary & Critique

You have a lot of scenery detail in this composition. That is good, it makes it apparent that this is taking place at a graveyard. The image has a solid sense of depth, with objects in the back being smaller and becoming larger towards the front. Good. Tactile. I like the little vulture in the tree.

There are two things here that stand out to me that could be improved. For one, this picture is very overpoweringly black. That is generally a good bet for a horror-themed picture, but it can be monotonous if it isn't broken up occasionally by another color. What's more, when you do use another color in a piece that's dominated by black, it becomes very important to consider where to use it. I think the solid pink trees in the background are a bit distracting. They pull focus away from the figure standing behind the gravestone. There is a lot going on here without a clear direction of where you're supposed to look. Maybe it would be a good idea to try construct an image with one(!) clear central concept, and then have the rest of the image support that singular concept without fighting for the viewer's attention. Right now I think the pink trees, the figure behind the grave, and the creature popping out of the ground are all trying to grab focus equally, and it might have been better to just have one of those three things (preferably the lurker or the creature).

The second point is a little more minor, but I should still point it out. You started applying a tiled floor texture to the path the passerby is walking on. This is good, surface textures like that can enhance the "realness" of your piece. But then past the person you just kind of stopped drawing it. I would have liked to see you commit to that texture choice and draw it all the way through, maybe warping a little around the creature to emphasize that it's coming out of the ground.

Spoiler: GBA - Commentary & Critique

I already told you this in private, GBA, but this is a stunning picture. You have this uncanny ability to draw these kinds of nature and scenery pieces. Stuff like clouds, and smoke, and fluid dynamics, and now foliage too. You have mastered this technique. This leaf is drawn with two, barely three colors and it looks like something I could touch and know how it would feel in my hands. You should like, try to get into landscape painting or something because you have serious potential to be fantastic at it.

There almost isn't anything I can really see to improve here. Maybe the sky in the background could have had a little more white to counterbalance the very heavy use of black and green everywhere else. But then maybe that would just distract from the rest of the image.

Spoiler: Wyvy - Commentary & Critique

The color blocking on this is excellent. You have some very strong, easily readable shapes in here and almost every element has its space and room to breathe. The selective hatching on the chair makes it look three-dimensional; I can tell that it is made of rounded shapes and it feels weighty. The proportions and color choices on the characters are solid. Their body language reads clearly. The environment is detailed without feeling cluttered. This is a very competently-made image.

The one issue I can maybe identify is the space battle going on in the background. It's kind of just... there? The chair blocks it, it's actually very easy to overlook. A thing you could have done here might have been to move those visuals to the black space behind Luigi. Imply there is a viewing screen behind him and have some lasers flying past, idk. I think the fact that there's a space battle going on is vital to the joke and it should have pulled a bit more focus.

Spoiler: MayanRyan - Commentary & Critique

You're tapping into something here, which is that concentric lines have the effect of immediately drawing in the viewer's eye to their source. As a result you pretty much guarantee that Bowser is the first thing the viewer will see, which here is what works best for the joke, so good job on that. Remember this technique, it's very useful for drawing attention where you want it. It's also a very solid joke in general. Good use of facial expression.

As for the motion lines themselves, their concept and direction are good, but they look a little unclean. Particularly the little hedgehog quills in between the bigger beams. I think long, continuous lines would have served you better than several short needle strokes. It makes the vortex of energy look a little bit hairy.

Also, this is certainly subjective because I've heard other people praise this about the picture, but for me the motion lines leaking into the other panel is a bit of a miss. I'm really digging the harsh contrast of the mundanity of the bottom panel and the clusterfuck of whimsy up top. I think the overlap takes away a little from the serenity of the bottom panel.

Nitpick: The shape of the helmet is a little off. The side guard thingy could stand to be a little more oval.

It is now hours later and it occurs to me that I'm going to have to do this in stages.
I will continue after taking a break.

 

[Lakituthequick]

Spoiler: Live commentary (reposted) (read only after voting)

Action: Koops v. TPG
I'm not sure if I get all the references in Koops' but I enjoy the composition a lot, I think Luigi just blew up King Boo's mansion? Fun concept
The standoff is a classic western trope innit - it did take me until reading Pito's commentary on this one to notice the subsequent turn of events but I should probably just look at things better, this is very neat

Fantasy: Dodo v. fantanoice
I'm a sucker for fantasy things and especially floating island settings so Dodo's is striking a chord for me, nice fire particles, cool staff, cool design
fanta took the prompt in a different direction but holy heck is this giving me a good chuckle

Mystery: Flygon v. Turboo
It is said that Flygon's is an AA reference so I'm gonna believe that and otherwise not get it, but seeing Rawk Hawk is cool so scoring there
Lot going on for Turb's, seems this treasure map is just leading to a death trap - enjoy the NFT monkey on the tent, the tent seems to belong to a KG character and the presence of the monkey says a lot about them

Livestream: Lakituthequick v. [Roserade]
Hey its me, what a conundrum to have to vote either myself or a replacement - I am glad though that a replacement was available on short notice so I wouldn't face a blank in round 1

That said I'm glad at least the Bullet Bill is well liked as I added that thing about 10 minutes before time ran out as I had no idea how to decorate the desk

curious if the other two references will be picked up on
Good replacement with the limited time you had Rose, very excellent punchline, the return of a classic character

Sports: Steamlined v. MayanRyan
Always enjoy when two scribblers have the same general concept, both great movement lines
Love the face of Mayan's bottom panel fellow

Adventure: Uniju v. Hearts
Uniju's is very cosy, the blue fits perfectly for the sky, the spaceship makes good use of the colours, I like this
Pokémon has always been a wacky concept hasn't it, with the ten year old kids going into the woods to fight with bears and living trees and all that - this scribble exemplifies that perfectly with good facial expressions, neat

Documentary: Yoshi the Space Station Manager v. GBA
Having a monty mole be the presenter of this documentary is a cute touch, all the other characters suit well, neat
Biddybuds in a nature documentary is not something I'd have thought off but it makes perfect sense, great composition in general, good leaves, great water, the logo is a neat touch

Romance: Snack v. winstein
Man, these are both great in their own way
Indeed Snack the composition is not bad at all, and I love these characters returning for a scribble reference - I may have missed which RP occasion connected them though, but it's a fitting couple
This is a dashing Waluigi winstein, the women should definitely swoon over him - I enjoy the rose being once again in his possession

Commercial: Gabumon v. Fun With Despair
So much packed into both of these it's great
Excellent idea to make the commercial for the other scribble, and to jampack it with references - I lost it over the Diddy Kong callback, that is a fenomenal joke
Plenty of fun references in FWD's as well, I don't fully get one or two posters but it has Spooks so that balances it

Horror: MCD v. Power Flotzo
I feel the horror of having no idea what the hell is going on on the left, but while it looks busy it doesn't look messy and there are a few elements that definitely have a describable shape
Flotzo's a bit more traditional in the horror theme but there are a few neat details like the bird and the flower pot to spice it up

Musical: Roserade v. Woglril
Very cool reference by Rose, well executed, good pun, neat
Wogl where have you been this is a very nice and cute art style you have there - I also like how this has two panels that overlap for added dynamic, and the interaction itself is adorable

Comedy: Waluigi Time v. Fawfulthegreat
I refuse to believe this match was a coincidence - and both executed it pretty much the same way as well, this is nuts
Love the return of BitF Waluigi, the comedy area, the lame pun with Boo, indeed the bin, excellent
"What's the deal with X" jokes are a great punchline for this sort of thing, Olly is a neat touch as well

Science fiction: Ninelevendo v. LittleGreenWyvy
It's enjoyable to see pretty much the same set-up across two artists with the same idea of a space ship with control panels referencing things
Nine also referencing other Nintendo series is a neat addition
Wyvy meanwhile adds a neat dynamic between the bros.

Children's programming: BBQ Turtle v. Smasher
Gotta love the programming being taken as software programming here BBQ, and these little gremlins just doing whatever - even some of the components are somewhat recognisable
Then there's Smasher with a plain old "school shooting bad" programme. How American of you.

Drama: Hooded Pitohui v. Kright
"For eyes only" is very threatening - cool setting, nice shading as well, there's a bunch of little things here
Marvellous mail scenario as well, and a very cute art style to bring it with - I'd ship them

 

[Lin Beifong]

Spoiler: Fanta - Commentary & Critique

First off, this is a very creative interpretation of the prompt, taking it from fantasy as a genre into a more personal fantasy. That's a good setup for a joke. It also coincidentally synergizes very well with Winstein's piece. The line art is very clean and defined, and adding a pinstripe pattern to the blanket to give it a bit of flair is a good decision.

I think what would elevate this picture is a bit more variation in color blocking. The image is very blue. Like, VERY blue. It makes it difficult to make out the shapes at a glance, which are otherwise fairly good, I'm thinking maybe the background could have been a different color, like black, which would break apart Mario and his dream bubble and make them pop more. Right now the elements all have the same general look and weight. Perhaps the skin tone portions of the image could also have benefited from a bigger dash of white. And maybe the dream bubble background could have been solid white.

This is a bit difficult to visualize through textual description alone, so I made an example of what I mean. I hope this is okay to do, I don't mean it in a disrespectful way.

I'm hoping this demonstrates how the variation in color blocking and deepening of the highlights on the faces make the individual elements of the picture stand out a bit more from each other.

Spoiler: FWD - Commentary & Critique

Aw, fuck. Look man, I don't think I really have anything to critique here. This is a very solid piece. The color blocking and balance is top-notch, the shapes are great, the concept is perfectly executed. There are no obvious glaring errors that I can point out... I don't know, man. This is a good picture. Maybe the title is a tad on the plain side, but you're making up for that with all the very colorful references and details. Like, I mean, there is a billboard to the left that says "Mmm... Bleach!" I don't know what I can add to that, it is exquisite.

If I end up losing to this piece, I can't even be mad. It's really good.

Hold on, let me try to reach into my bag of nitpicks. Maybe I can find SOMETHING to ding you on. Uhhh... d'ehhh... hmm...
On the central advertisement, the black banner that says "NOW!! 1" appears to be merging into the spokesperson's clothes. Mayhaps that's a bit distracting and makes it difficult to read the text on the banner.

Uhh...

Th-the purple ribbon with hieroglyphs above the door could have been used to squeeze one more joke in.

...

Yeah, shit, I got nothing.

Spoiler: Lakituthequick - Commentary & Critique

Solid execution of the prompt. I assume "MoonTycoon" is Pauline? Is she live-streaming the horrifying doomsday machine in her basement that drains a Power Moon every second? If so, good on her on finally coming out as evil. Someone should send her a congratulatory cake or something. I like the inclusion of the Bullet Bill figurine you made for the awards. The color blocking and balance here is nice, even if I'm missing a bit of black. Maybe for the background you could have gone for a black-red gradient, like the ones you did for Scribble Labs--starting black from the image border and then turning red as you move inwards towards the screen.

These kinds of environmental pictures with no characters in them can be very nice, especially when they synergize well with the prompt. A lot of people tend to strongly gravitate towards characters though, so it can quickly become a risky play to go for. A picture with no characters needs to capture a really striking or evocative or thought-provoking environment. I personally think here it would have been a good idea to put a streamer onto the screen, in a significant capacity. There is something at the bottom right corner of the screen, but it is very small, so it doesn't have a huge impact.

Spoiler: Turb - Commentary & Critique

There's a bit of a two-tier thing going on here. You have the top half, which is a wacky campsite scene, while the bottom half is dedicated to a map. I like the top half. It is very detailed but also has a clear focus in the center with a large block of white and a Koopa being abducted by aliens. That white generated by the tractor beam pulls huge weight in de-cluttering the scene and giving it room to breathe. The color blocking in the top half is pretty good, maybe some additional texture or hatching could have been applied to the cliff face in the back to make it stand out from the ground more. Not a deal-breaker though. The top half of this picture is very good.

The bottom half I have some deeper issues with. Foremost this one: Contrast. The ground here is orange, and so is the map. Then the outlines of said map are thin and white, and the path in the background is also white, which means the map and the ground are barely separated thematically. It's thus possible to see this as the person holding up a mound of earth with white scribbles on top. I think you needed some kind of solid barrier here, to help the map separate from the background.

A thicker outline for separation might help here, but it would also be possible to block the map section with a different color. Like, you could pull the map down a little to separate it from the white path in the background, and then have the map be white (with or without outlines).

Those are some thoughts about the situation. I still really like the upper part though.

 

[BEEEEEAAARRRS]

WINNERS:​

Spoiler: click

(the Hearts v Uniju set was only split by 2 votes)

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​

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Match 2 will end in 1 day, 14 hours, 3 minutes, 28 seconds

This week will have us studying possibly very important things someone (or something) could do that affect... their future. Match ups are below:
​

Spoiler

RAN OUTTA ATTACHMENT SPACE LOL

​

 

[TPG]

amazing showing from everyone, i've said this in the server but this is the best opening round we've had so far. super excited to see what comes next

 

[Lin Beifong]

Spoiler: Waluigi Time - Commentary & Critique

Thiis is a good scribble. The colors are blocked nicely, the shapes are clear and readable, the characters are clean and well-drawn, and the concept works with the prompt. I don't know if this was intentional, but Waluigi is following the Rule of Thirds. If anyone is unfamiliar with the term: The Rule of Thirds is an image composition concept, very often used in photography, where you mark the thirds of the image with lines horizontally and vertically, thereby dividing it into 9 evenly-sized cubes.

The goal is then to make important elements align with these, making them fall onto the lines, or even better, the intersections. As you can see here, Waluigi's body is almost perfectly centered on the left line, and his eyes are level with the top line. I believe this is contributing to why this image feels so clean and well-spaced. This is a handy trick that everyone can use if they feel uncertain about where the elements of their picture are placed.

I think what really makes this image for me though, as strange as that may sound, is the floorboard texture on the stage. It's a very nice and simple detail that makes that area look good and tactile, where leaving it white would have made it look plain and boring.

As for immediate improvements, maybe you could do a little bit of shadow work. Characters and objects casting shadows can help them integrate into the scene. Doesn't even have to be elaborate, just a little squiggle where the feet connect with the ground can already go a long way.

As for thematically, you draw very well while working with the comfortable and familiar. Something I've noticed is that there are certain themes and references you like to fall back on a lot and it generally serves you well. What I would like to see from you is for you to step out of your comfort zone a little. I think you could really break out and evolve your style by trying on some bold new concepts. Explore the unfamiliar. Go wild.

Spoiler: Roserade - Commentary & Critique

This is a cute picture with a cool reference. You draw these with your finger on a screen, right? That's kind of nuts to me; doing that and somehow still being able to produce something coherent. I think I would only be able to muster some vague smudges. I'd like to see what you could do with a proper setup.

I throw around the term "color blocking" a lot, but I think I haven't actually explained yet what it means. I don't even know if this is a real term or just something I've adopted as a shorthand. Color blocking is the process of dividing up elements in your picture and assigning which colors and in what ratio you are going to use your three colors on it (thus separating the image into its building blocks and determining their color). You can use this to make elements stand out from each other, and you can see the effects of that in this image.

These are the elements I would divide Rose's sketch into, and you can see how they affect the image. Why does the PLANT block look distinct from the FLOOR block despite both using pink so heavily? It's because Rose decided to use a different secondary color. The floor is pink and BLACK, while the plant is primarily restricted to pink and WHITE. Why then does Ms Mowz look different from the plant even though they use the same two colors? It's because of the color ratio: The plant uses pink as its primary color, with white serving as a way to add accents, like the lips and the splotches. Ms Mowz on the other hand does the inverse, using white as the primary color while reserving pink for the accents, like the mask. You can see an even more extreme version of this with the floor and wall. Both use pink and black with no white at all, but the floor uses both in equal measures, while the wall is almost entirely black with only the tiniest bit of pink.

Which brings me to the one conceptual blemish of this image: The Toad. The Toad's cap is blocked with pink and black, pink serving as a foundation with solid black geometric shapes creating a pattern. The composition attempts to contrast this with the floor, which is a pink surface with solid black geometric shapes creating a pattern. You see what is happening here? The floor and Toad are supposed to be separate elements, but the color blocking of both is too similar to distinguish them from each other. The result is that the Toad blends in with the floor rather than standing out.

How do you fix it if you notice something like that? The most effective and elegant solution would be to rethink your color blocking. But sometimes you catch this kind of issue with ten minutes left on the clock and you don't have time to fundamentally change the make-up of your image. So a quick and "dirty" fix you can do is drawing a fat (relative) outline between the elements that blend in too much. If the environment is too dark for a black outline to look good, add a secondary white outline around it. You can also try to apply some highlighting; that's a good way to make an element pop but can be situational.

Just keep experimenting and eventually you'll discover your own ways of handling something like this.

Spoiler: Mysterious unknown figure who substituted for Blathers, I wonder who it could be - Commentary & Critique

Ok, I already did one of Rose's so I'll keep this one a bit more brief.

Due to the circumstances under which this image became necessary, Rose only had an hour to complete it. It looks good for that. The composition and concept is relatively simple--just a live-stream--but simple is not bad. Sometimes a picture's success is determined by how firmly the artist can grasp the fundamentals. Color blocking is excellent; the hair is black with small pink highlights, the jacket combines pink and black and contrasts well with the sparse white and pink background. For what it is I don't really have anything critical to say.

Spoiler: TPG - Commentary & Critique

First of all, the lighting in this is phenomenal. You can see the sun in the back of the first panel serving as the primary light source, and it carries through the entire image. The gunman in the first panel is backlit; you can tell by the very diminished use of white and the narrow strips of highlights framing the arm the rim of the hat. The second figure by contrast is almost bathed in bright light, meaning the sun is shining directly onto his face. Because of this, even without an establishing shot, you can tell that these two characters are currently facing each other. Very good use of the basic elements of the picture.

I'm not much of an expert on human faces since I prefer to draw creatures, but what I see on display here is very good. They both look very grungy and scruncly, very fitting for a gritty western setting. The face on the bottom is done especially well; you have all the wrinkly skin folds illuminated and shaded meticulously, giving a very good sense of how the face is shaped. Subtle touches like the wrinkling of the forehead and furrowing of the brow convey the mood of the piece very well.

The one thing I think you need to be careful about are the eccentricities of your color. Yellows can be very fickle to work with and they don't contrast that well with white. I'm wondering if the text is maybe a little too weak. Looked at from somewhat further away it becomes harder for me to read. Perhaps you could experiment with dropping a dash of black behind the letters.

Also, small thing: I wasn't able to tell the first person is supposed to be Koops before you told us. Maybe that's a me problem though.

Spoiler: Gabumon - Commentary & Critique

Let me roast myself real quick, so it doesn't seem like I'm just picking apart everyone else.

I like the meta concept you went for here, that was probably a bit of a gamble. On the one hand it's clever and quirky, but on the other you're basically directing traffic to your opponent. Very strange idea, man. The character is cute though. Koopas are a good addition to everything. Good thing you decided to go with a more custom design instead of using a generic one like you originally planned.

I'm not sure about the color blocking in this picture. You went for a very wacky and psychedelic pattern on the lady's dress, which I like. But then you filled in the background with crap and it's not distinct enough from the dress pattern. It blends a bit, maybe you should have tried something else there, like make the dress black. The background itself really feels like filler, like halfway through drawing you lost confidence in your basic shapes and just shoveled in a random pattern. You're really lucky that didn't make the image fall apart.

Also, clean up your letters, man. Some of those smaller ones look really dirty and are hard to read.

Ok, I think this is everyone who opted into commentary and critique in round 1. See you in round 2.

 

[Lin Beifong]

While I'm at it I'd like to talk about one more thing. It's an interesting topic I intended to mention as I see it popping up from time to time, but I didn't get the opportunity to point it out here.

Tangents

What is a tangent? Well, this post certainly qualifies, but in an artistic sense, a tangent occurs when an artist (usually by accident) implies a relationship between two or more elements of a picture that are, by our understanding, not supposed to connect in that way. This sounds very dry and obtuse when I explain it like that, so I'm going to give you an example instead.

This picture has two tangents in it. Can you see them?

Here is the solution:

As you can probably see, the way the line work was drawn here is a bit odd. It appears like the curvature of the island in the background moves into the koopa and merges with the stripe pattern on his shirt. And similarly the side of the tree melts into the ground and becomes the path. The one on the left is especially bad because we wanted to draw a guy lounging on the beach, not some kind of horror story where someone gets eaten by the horizon. We need to detangle these elements from each other.

How do we fix this if we notice it happening? Well, the simplest solution is to just move stuff out of the way.

See? Problem solved forever.

But sometimes it's not so easy. Maybe you only notice the tangent really late into production and everything is too shaded and integrated already to move it around. Or maybe you're drawing on a piece of paper and can't exactly select and drag. Here are some other things you can do.

So why is this even necessary? Are tangents really that bad? Well, no and yes. As with everything in art that would conventionally be labeled a "mistake", there are ways to use tangents to some effect if you know what you're doing. But generally, you first need to understand why a rule exists before you can break it to great effect. You have to know WHY you're breaking it. And the reality here is that most tangents occur unintentionally.

When you present a person with a picture you've drawn, you have only a moment to draw them in before they get bored and scroll past your creation. Tangents by their nature are confusing and disrupt the connection between viewer and art. If this disconnect happens at the wrong time, say, while you're trying to reach the viewer in that initial moment, it can repel them, or sway them against your piece. That's why it is usually best to try and avoid tangents, unless disrupting your viewers immersion is your goal (which, in scribble, it shouldn't be).

Here are some more examples of tangents:

Confusion over what is foreground and what is background.

It's not always weirdly intersecting lines that cause tangents. Patterns connecting oddly can create them too.

I am in great pain.

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And, for now, that is all I can say about tangents. Hope this helps you stay alert and vigilant.

 

[fantanoice]

so like this kind of thing?

Spoiler

 

[Jeff Lyne (real)]

Ew no tangents stop I already finished Algebra 2