Monkius's art Reviews on Newgrounds

[Underground Shop]

Looks like a good spot for a medieval chemist to hang out/hide out...

I've been messing around with MagicaVoxel as well, since hearing about it in your last shop drawing. I haven't managed anything this complex with the lighting/fine details though... Wow!

Kamikaye responds:

Yea, thx :)

Wow, I'm glad the shop inspired you to try it out !

Even though the interface looks simple there are a lot of options and techniques to explore. I found that minecraft scenic build tips apply to most Magica Voxel work too.

[F I A T 500]

I like the aesthetic, but aerodynamically, that roof-mounted gurney flap completely negates any aero benefit of the open engine cover/"spoiler."

Also, is this based off of a real car? If someone actually put a 4-cylinder into a 1950s Fiat 500, then they have some serious spontaneity issues. I'd think that somewhere throughout the probably 40+hour process of an engine swap, they would be like "hmm, maybe putting such a heavy engine way at the back is a bad idea..."

Then again, Porsche 911. Sigh.

Apologies for my rambling; I used to like cars, a lot.

ArindamDhar responds:

Hey, thanks for the feedback. I actually used reference to make this although I don't know much about the technical stuff of cars. I just like old retro cars and how they look so I thought I make them with mods. Don't actually know if making a fiat 500 like this is feasible in the real world. XD

[Smokin]

One of the first things I noticed was the uneven number of shoelace holes from left shoe to right shoe and my brain went "AAH, DISORDER!" Which got me thinking about how disorder is one of the defining traits of spontaneous people and how without it we wouldn't have...... Anyway, it's funny how such a small detail makes such a great catalyst. Makes me want to share more of my stuff on the internet, too...

SouredApple responds:

She got a defect from the factory, she figured it’d probably worth a lot of money one day so she kept them anyway *edit: fixed*

[Mine the moon]

Criminy, they're /really/ mining it. This certainly serves its purpose, in that the small details in the foreground along with the epic scale of the mining operation bring about a bunch of curiosity and make me want to read this "Dark Planet." Did you happen to publish it?

MLeth responds:

Thank you!

No, it's been an on-going project I work on from time to time and I have no real plans on how I want to tell it either so for now it's just a passion project on the side!

[Harbor]

This looks like Victoria Harbour. HK is awesome; I want to go back, some time. I think I can make out the Bank of China Tower in the background, but it's a little bit pixelated...

HA, HA. Sorry...

Kldpxl responds:

It's not really HK, but it was definitely an inspiration for that piece. Thank you!

[Highway]

It's raining, F.O.O.L! Put the targa roof back on, man!

The way the buildings taper out from the tallest one at the centre looks like Los Angeles--or, I dunno... Seattle?--but the flourish of exterior lighting on the centre building looks more like Hong Kong or some other Asian city. Am I right in guessing that this is an "inspired by" skyline that is kind of a mish-mash, rather than based on any one real-life city?

YakovlevArt responds:

yeah you're right. It's definitely a mix of a few skylines :)

[The Calm Before The Storm]

Sweet god, that is a lot of sail area! It's like you took the biggest tall ship mast you could find and said "frigate, may as well add one more sail."

*Rimshot*

Also, creating a painting like this strikes me as something that requires a hell of an understanding of how light works. Not only do the sky and waves look epic, but the sails also seem to give the illusion that they are radiating light... Or maybe I'm just crazy.

zanaelf responds:

Thank you, I am so glad you enjoyed the piece making it feel it was a success.

[Spire]

It's like Bob Ross and Salvador Dali met and had a baby. A surreal version of a typical Bob Ross Landscape with mountains and water (I can't really tell if the trees are happy; if they are, then that's another similarity.)

SouredApple responds:

That’s quite an honor being compared to them :3!! Thank you

[Onward, Ponty!]

I see you are shaking things up from your usual (or at least the usual that I have seen.) Cool! Cars in aqueducts are always fun.

I vaguely remember a scene from The French Connection where Gene Hackman is weaving through traffic like a madman whilst honking the horn incessantly; I think I'll re-watch it, why not.

WooleyWorld responds:

Yeah! I'm watching it as we speak! Good timing.
It's just got a style i like. I think next time I will try to capture that grit of the film that was that quality of film back in '71.

[Jade Conept Art]

I don't think I've ever seen a vampire character with freckles before. It makes sense though, when I think about how people with freckles all tend to have a pale, almost vampiric skin tone, lol...

Are you going to post pics of the final mod, once you've finished it?

Galejro responds:

I don't think screenshots pass for art section of Newgrounds. But here; This be the screenshot gallery I made for the mod http://sta.sh/2o1r0uthi0l?edit=1 and on my channel you can see actual vids of the mod; https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCmFhIwuNSXdhuapdON-Y57Q But nothing stops me from promoting the mod in the forums I guess.

BTW I think there are 3 schools of transformation etc. 1- Morpho-enhencing transformation "Interview with the Vampire" You actually get prettier with vampirism, which removes freckles. 2- Morpho-preservative transportation, which you see here. You carry all imperfections, blindness, lack of limbs and scars etc. for ever. 3-Morpho-fuckingup transformation, where you start looking like a monster or a bat.