Critique Request Elephant(progress)

[oniemarc]

So, I've been having a whole lot on my plate lately, including some car repairs which cost me my Lindsay purchase....lot's of work...kid is starting highschool after summer(takes some preparing with that kid of mine). Anyways, been super busy and I have been struggling to find time to engrave. I did start the elephant my wife asked me to try, so here goes. I don't feel it is finished yet, but with 10 minutes here and there, I can't seem to get in a flow.

All suggestions and tips are welcome as always, aswell as harsh critiques. I can take it, hahaha.

 

[dcurrie911]

Overall very nice. My only suggestion is to avoid cutting the outlines as you did. The tusks for example have hard lines. With the exception of fish I use dots or little dashes for outlines. But that is just me.....

 

[oniemarc]

Overall very nice. My only suggestion is to avoid cutting the outlines as you did. The tusks for example have hard lines. With the exception of fish I use dots or little dashes for outlines. But that is just me.....

Thank you for the tip, I will try and avoid cutting the outlines next time. I allready cut the lines for a rhino on the other side of the plate, so I may have to try and hide some of those lines, hahaha.

 

[mitch]

if you're going to cut any outlines, they should be very fine and only used where you'll be shading to black on one side. outlines can be useful for sharply defining edges, but they shouldn't stand out. deepen the shadows around the tusks, trunk, etc., and the lines will disappear.

 

[oniemarc]

if you're going to cut any outlines, they should be very fine and only used where you'll be shading to black on one side. outlines can be useful for sharply defining edges, but they shouldn't stand out. deepen the shadows around the tusks, trunk, etc., and the lines will disappear.

Thanks Mitch, I will try and darken those areas and see what I end up with. I'm pretty sure I can salvage it if I can get those spots dark enough. Or at least make it half decent, hahaha.