Greetings,
Yes, this is another blatant request to view a gallery.  I need critiques and comments.

I've been a member of this forum since .... well before 1999.  When it was "another" forum.  I've worked at improving my art and becoming more professional with the limited resources I have.  To come to the ends I'm looking for.  Sale of my artwork.  Requests for commisions.  Art Assignments I need to know where to improve my work to a professional level.  If anyone would be so kind as to view the works in my gallery and give me comments.  Here  and/or there would be very, very much appreciated.  I've worked at dead end jobs all my life.  All I ever wanted to be is an artist and life seems to have kept getting in the way in some way or other. 

I'm not just a "poser" in the other definition.  I have a BA in art.  I've sold portraits and illustrations at RPG conventions and had my work in galleries.  I just need some professional advise on how to immprove my work.  Although I do have the Adobe CS2 suite, Vue 5 Esprit, Poser 6, Bryce 5 and a few other programs ... I don't have the funds to upgrade.  I must use what I have. 

I would be more than happy to help others in a similar  way ... perhaps have a critique and comment exchange.  Just a thought.

*http://www.renderosity.com/mod/gallery/browse.php?username=Boni

All help is greatly appreciated as I respect your time spent looking at my images.

Sincerely
Boni

the robert redford one is my favourite

I left a criticism on "Is the Coast Clear?"   I am no expert (you will have spotted that), but if you need me to explain better what I was trying to say, please send me an IM and I will reply.

I'm not a professional and have no professional training/education in art other than from what I got while in high school and my own personal experience and growth though experimentation and observation in it since then.

All I can give you is my opinion as a hobbyist and someone who appreciates art and sometimes even buys it.  I'm not giving a critique of your work, just more of a general personal opinion.

I can tell you that I would not spend my money on a "Poser" image that looks "out of the box". What I mean by that is a figure in front of a background, with a few props, some lights and rendered.  Not that I don't consider that art, because I do.  However, I don't consider it "original" enough for me to spend my money on. I find that most straight from Poser renders lack depth. I'm not talking shadows.. but sometimes those too. What I'm talking about is the glassy doll eyes and zombie expressions that many figures have, the staged/posed clothing that you get from conforming clothes,  plus the image often looks "sterile" and  "too clean" (smooth edges give the look of things having been pasted).

Now before I have every Poser user around jumping at me, I'm not saying all Poser images are like that,  but the majority of  what I see in the galleries around the net for "poser" images  are like that. Those that don't look like that are few.

IMHO anyone who wants to use poser to generate income for themselves from the images they create needs to work on mastering their post work skills in order to make the image not look so "boxy digital" which is what most straight from Poser images look like to me.

I would be more inclined to spend my money on something brush or digitally painted, hand sketched, or photographed.

That being said, I should add that art is an individual experience and what some like others don't and vice versa. For example, I remember reading somewhere that someone paid millions for a huge wall mural that  was a painting of 1 pure white stripe and 1 pure black one. So it just goes to show that the value in an image is whatever the person buying it places on it.

I admire your honesty and stick-to-it-iv-ness.  I don't know if Poser stuff 'sells' on its own merit, but as a businessman I can say with confidence that we'll buy anything that helps us sell product.  Have you considered generating work for your local business community?  If you come up with something interesting for 'XYZ Plumbing' they might be happy to pay you for your efforts...and, as W.C. Fields once said, "From the acorn grew the mighty oak."

I rather like your 2D work... you obviously have the technical skill and the work is generally well done with interesting themes and decent composition and color choices. The only flaw might be that perhaps it looks a bit unfinished. I think to improve it you should try posting it on the more serious art sites so you can get feedback on how to polish it even more. I'd recommend conceptart.org for one...

About your poser/3D stuff i agree 100% with Acadia... Because of the nature of 3D art, it takes a lot of efort to make it look as alive and attractive as other forms of art. Straight renders rarely look different or appealing enough to be something a person would want to buy... esp when the same characters and settings are seen again and again in the galleries. A bit of postwork can help sell your renders so its definitely something to try out.

As a hobbyist I could not critique an artist's art. There is a difference IMHO between taught technique and just making an image for fun. I'd love to see constructive criticism that would help me improve my attempts otherwise I won't get any better. Having said that, art is in the eye of the beholder because I don't understand a lot of it and others will rave! Good luck Boni.

You people are wonderful!!!  I realize what I must do now.  You see, when  i started getting into poser/vue/bryce etc. I was so amazed at the "modeling" of the images ... the perfect shadows and perspective that I lost sight of the more subtle aspects of art.  I really understand now.  Thank goodness there are good tutorials out there on post-work  like clothes and hair.  Again.  Your help has been wonderful.

**Miss Nancy: ** The Sundance one is one of my faves too.  I did it while going to college for the second time ... and  TheRapier was right ... it really was "Electric Horseman" but I liked Sundance better. :)

**Morgano: ** Thank you very much for leaving a comment.  Yes ... I was aware of the darkness around the toes ... but I also noticed that the shadows  worked so I left it.  I will work on that.  :)

**Acadia: ** Your comments are always so helpful to people, thank you.  Makes me eager to visit Canada if folks up there are like you!  :)  Sometimes all it takes is a fresh eye to get an artist back on track.  :)

Tunesy:  Thank you.    As for local businesses I live in a depressed area with a small population and a glut of graphic designers and print shops.  Everyone is scratching to survive.  It wasn't nearly this bad when I lived in California.  Just the opposite of what people may expect.  I even set out posters to do pencil portraits from antique photos in the dozens of antique shops in the area.  Alas, my best market is "Artist's Market" and the internet at this point.

**tekn0m0nk: ** My partner has been disapointed for a long time that I've neglected my 2d work for 3d.  But my vision limits me (I'm extremely visually impaired) and is getting a bit worse over the years. (I'm 52) Because of that I've been depending more and more on the  computer for creating art.  In the past few  months though, I've learned to replicate my style with Photoshop and am getting back into 2d work ... with a lot of help from my computer.  In the beginning Poser was "ment" to be a tool, not an end product.  That's how I looked at it too ... until I got hooked.  :)

Again thank you all. :)  This really helps.

Sincerely
Boni

**Indoda: ** I don't know how I missed you the  first time around.  part of "art" is just as you said, "in the eyes of the beholder", but when it comes to the "pros", which I'm trying to be ... there are so many little "rules" to go by that are beyond self expression.  (composition, balance, color theory, content ... the list goes on). :glare: I wish the art world could be judged as much by the viewer in general as the "critics" we'd have more living Van Gogh's.  Keep at it.  I will critique your work.  :biggrin:  I'm just a viewer too.:biggrin:

Thanks again.
Boni