Gift: Crystal The Hedgehog

Hey there! Came across your page from Crystal's contest, and saw you wanted some critique on this. I'll do my best! :">

Overall, this is quite an appealing pose. While it's pretty static, there's still a shift in weight that makes it nice to look at.
Your lineart is another strength; the variation between thick and thin makes it pop out in the right places.

However, there are a few issues in the pose mechanics that I'll point out. I'll make a numbered list so that it'll be easier to follow instead of just word vomiting everywhere. XD

1. A lifted foot is a good idea, but in this instance, it looks a little awkward. I can't entirely put my finger on it, but it may have to do with the combination of the heel not resting anywhere and an absence of a bend in the boot.
2. The hand closest to the viewer looks quite distorted and broken because neither the arm nor the hand has any foreshortening applied to it and it's hard to tell what's going on with it. If the fingers are bending towards us, the pinky should be covering part of the ring finger, not vice versa.
3. The hand on the hip grows straight out of her elbow. Now, I'll cut you some slack because this is a pose that is REALLY hard to achieve on Sonic characters because of their massive hands. Also, her fingers should be slightly less curled--as is, they look like they have only 1 knuckle. Also, if you try the pose, it feels unnatural to have a tight fist.
4. It's more of an aesthetic thing, but I think her boots should be a tad thicker. Her socks are really wide in comparison and make it looks like they're just floating instead of being tucked inside.

Now...I wouldn't just go rattling off without offering some fixes, so I've done a (very quick and messy) redline/redraw! i260.photobucket.com/albums/ii… By NO means is this meant to be proportionally or anatomically correct (even I had problems with that leg and foot), but it serves to give you a visualisation of what I'm referring to.

I'm not very good at critiquing shading, but I'll give it a shot! First thing that comes to mind is that I can't really locate your light source. Because of the ears, it looks backlit; the bangs and and most other parts make it look lit from the top, the boots from the right, etc. I suggest doodling a basic 3D "stage light" with an arrow for the light source, and consciously mark areas where the light hits and where the shadow is cast. Your shading isn't too flat and I can tell you're generally thinking 3D, but since hard cel-shade naturally will lean towards looking flat, make sure you're consciously using the shadows to describe the planes of all the shapes. I very much recommend studying life drawing books to get used to thinking this way in all your drawings! Finally, don't be afraid to shade using different colours instead of darker greyed base colours. It'll add more atmosphere!

That's all that really stands out to me--I know it seems like a lot, but I just went into nitpicky detail is all. <img src="e.deviantart.net/emoticons/a/a…" width="19" height="19" alt="" data-embed-type="emoticon" data-embed-id="417" title="Sweating a little..."/> (Don't pay much attention to the star ratings, it's hard to rate Sonic styled works with those 4 criteria)
Overall this is quite a strong drawing that you should be proud of! If you want any more tips or clarifications from me, please ask, I love to help if I can!


_{oh, and one last thing...despite the image file being large, the drawing looks a tad fuzzy in full view. It's not really important, but seems slightly strange and I have no idea why that's happening, haha!}