The Art of Taking Feedback in Character Design

[@Girl_Delinquent]

Sorry for the long absence. When it came to making content I just could not find the motivation to hurry it along. I have a lot planned that I’m excited about so hopefully it will be awhile before I disappear like that again. Thanks for all the love on that video. I hope you enjoy this follow-up ❤

[@kiwi7966]

Just wanna say that your character design video truly helped me, when I went to look at the comments I thought that everyone was going to have the same opinion as me but was kinda discouraged to see so much HARSH criticism (even in this video still) :/ I honestly don't know what I would have done in your place if I received so many comments of people telling me what to do and critizing in a rude way something that i'd be so passionate about, so I want to say that I admire you and I admire your strength to not let those comments discourage you and taking it nicely, as I said at the beginning, I really appreciate your previous video because it hit very close to home and it really helped me and will help me with my designs n struggles,, sorry if this comes up kinda robotic but english is not my first language, though i really wanted to tell you this, keep it up!

[@Girl_Delinquent]

@@kiwi7966 thank you that really means a lot to me! I did doubt the validity of my advice as some people told I would only mess up people trying to learn. Which is the last thing I want to do. So hearing you say how much it helped you is genuinely nice to hear. I was also surprised by the harshness but I realized these characters have plenty of time to change for the better. There’s no rush. Thank you again for your kind words and your English is very good ☺️. I wouldn’t have noticed it was your second language if you didn’t mention it 👍✨

[@kiwi7966]

@@Girl_Delinquent You're so kind, thank you so much! 🧡 I'm looking forward to your content, also the story that you talked about on the character design video seemed really interesting! I wish I was able to express how much ur video meant to me! That "amateur" perspective felt really relatable to me which is something that i couldn't (still can't) experience by watching other character design videos done by professionals (?) or more experienced people in the area. And if it helped me as much as it did I bet it can help many more people as well

[@F0r3ver_L0st]

Smth I've learned about taking feedback is that you should never let anything to become too precious. Unless you are finished with a project it's dangerous to cherish it.

[@Girl_Delinquent]

It's kind of a tightrope to walk. You want to love your idea but not so much that you shut out all feedback or potential changes that will improve it. Sometimes I forget this so thank you for this bit of advice

[@xdani_thethinkingneko]

If my characters arcs weren’t important to me I wouldn’t care to finish them out. They’re my precious babies , and I don’t think that’s wrong. You can cherish your OC and still take criticism.

[@F0r3ver_L0st]

@@xdani_thethinkingneko Oh yeah totally! You should 100% like your ocs or else that defeats the purpose of writing them. I was just saying that you shouldn't get too attached to a certain idea or design

[@BewilderedCitrus]

I liked the old redesign a lot, but I LOVE the updated redesign even more! Not only does it cover the "what's more practical" dilemma, but it is overall more striking and memorable. I'm excited to see what comes next for this series. (Also, that callout about drawing backgrounds was much needed, I hate drawing them but I do need to work on that more if I ever want to make a graphic novel of my own, my OCs deserve to be shared with the world, so I HAVE TO pony up the effort and get good😭)

[@catsbatsnrats]

0:33 ok but genuinely, what are they yapping about bc that’s probably one of the coolest character designs I’ve seen 😭

[@xdani_thethinkingneko]

It is actually truly unique. Haven’t seen anything like it. I’m surprised she got so much hate. Seems like they’re not creatives.

[@peepysprite]

My actual critique is that the shorts are an improvement but I remember you saying that you wanted the bottoms to look waterproof because he is in and out of the water frequently or something along those lines and as someone who wore similar things as a kid slopping around in the swamps of NWI, the _gathering at the bottom of the pants_ is still going to trap water and make his movements sluggish. Water heavy. Just regular shorts would be better and the combination of shorts+skintight evokes a contemporary sporty vibe, but if you don't like that there are other options, like wetsuit shorts you could explore.

[@frogflip2966]

Even though you said you're an ametuer, you advice in this video and your last video helped me improve my character design way more than watching professionals did 😭❤

[@Girl_Delinquent]

That's so nice to hear...watching art tutorials and videos on youtube was very helpful to me when I was starting out in art. I love that my videos help people in that same way

[@Beez_Stuff]

Thoughts on current design?: Would

[@lisaobrien2051]

Absolutely loving the mouth change! Makes the design really pop

[@stellaurb7231]

I'm really impressed, that you managed to make this video and were able to stay respectful. I liked his old redesign, but I felt that it was a bit plain this new one is a lot more interesting. I especially like the mouth and Tanktop. I really love hearing about other peoples OCs, because it's very inspiring and interesting. I am really thankful that you made this video, because I feel like it's important to talk about critique and considering criticism, while also staying true to the things you really enjoy about your character (or art in general). I am a very new subscriber but I really love your channel already and I'm excited to see the next video.

[@JayDay04]

Ok before I continue the video I wanna say I LOVE the amateur perspective. As an amateur artist myself, I've realized that we lack popular videos showing the perspective of someone who's in the intermediate level of art, not too pro, but not a beginner either. Yt usually focus in one or the other, so I really like that your video got views, really shows the try and test and try again process of us amateurs :)

[@angelikaking1560]

I love this video!! Something I’ve learned from my art teacher is that you as an artist should be able to handle and understand criticism. However, you’re not obligated to listen to all of them. If they don’t come from a place of understanding your intentions and your work, you don’t have to listen. Yes, it doesn’t always come from ill intended people either, however it’s okay to disagree and say no. I actually practiced that yesterday bc one of my art teachers didn’t want me to be done with the painting, however I actually liked how it was, I got emotional fulfillment, and it felt complete :] so I told her “I see what you’re saying, but I feel done”. You did a great job love and I wish you the best of luck on your future stories

[@Girl_Delinquent]

This comment summarized what I was trying to say in the video much better lol. So much so I kinda want to pin it. I completely agree. And good on you for standing your ground with your teacher. In the moment, I probably would have added some random details just to appease them 🤦‍♀️

[@angelikaking1560]

@@Girl_Delinquentomg thank you so much :,) 🩷 actually it kinda helps I wrote an essay on when you should or shouldn’t obey rules of art for my college English class, so it’s still fresh on the mind Yeah and she gave me a 97% for not adding the last details so whatever man I’m still done with it and keeping on But I also think you explained yourself very well, I love this video bc this is something I think a lot of amateur artists like us don’t understand, that we’re allowed to like our art and say no to criticism, even if it’s constructive

[@rat7791]

Honestly this was a really fun listen because you talked alot about my biggest annoyances in design critique, those being not factoring in the artists intent or being unable to recognize unhelpful personal bias. Other than that, it's really awesome that you have a version of him that you're happy with and I can't wait to see how you go about improving your other silly little guy!

[@SteampunkFridgeRider]

the old design was pretty good but the updated design is great!! you can tell how much thought was put into it and he looks so much more like a crocodile now, its visible just by looking at him! also!! i don't think you need to worry about your opinions on character design being less important or valid because you're an amateur. you clearly have thought a lot about the process and what is important, and idk if you have done commissions before BUT when you work with a commissioner who doesn't know how to draw, they still can have valid opinions and pointers because anyone can appreciate and understand a visual aesthetic :] sometimes even better than we can as artists, its so easy to get caught up in ur own head about it all dfgdsfg

[@purplepuddlesuwu]

8:57 Damn.... Yeah thats me.... Yeah you right let me start doing that.

[@CoreyRossRTC]

🔫 work on your world

[@Jaredragon]

well handled. as for thoughts on the character like you asked... I think he looks awesome with the giant mouth open, he doesn't look well meaning, but he's an alligator. I like his new colors his hair looks nice and I think his cheeks look much better in this new design (in the old design they looked too puffy and feminine IMO, same with Micah)

[@yosoyminhyun]

I recently saw a video of a guy sharing his experience of feeling less creative after studying film than when he was a kid filming his toys, he mentions that sometimes people who "don't have real knowledge of the field" have fresher and more flexible ideas because they are not bound by the rules of "how to do things right", for the same reason I watched the video you mention, after watching hundreds of videos of professionals I wanted to see someone I felt a little more approachable and seeing how you approached each topic felt closer to how I would do it, which felt validating in a way. What I mean by all this is that even if your video above was missing some things it was just as valuable to me as watching a professional on the topic because sometimes you don't need someone to tell you HOW THINGS SHOULD BE DONE, you want to see HOW SOMEONE ELSE DOES IT, sometimes the people you least expect have the answer you were looking for. I don't know if I explained myself well and English is not my first language so I apologize if I didn't make myself understood correctly.

[@Girl_Delinquent]

I understood your point perfectly 🌸 thank you. Helping people with their art in a more relatable or approachable way is pretty much what I’m trying to do. Professionals are usually so far ahead they don’t touch on the little things you get stuck on as an artist unless it’s well known problem. Their advice is still valuable but I want these videos to provide those little solutions to people who need them. I’m glad the video helped you and your English is very good!

[@kittyclawzzzzz]

he looks so good!!! he looked great before but with his new design you can really tell that more thought was put behind it

[@Limbocats]

He looks much more like a swimmer now!!! Love it :)

[@Averagepossum]

I already love your oc's. Can't wait for some more lore! < 3

[@theultimatecatDog.]

hey, I'm new here the most recent design of this character now has a lot of reptilian vibes, also helped by the tail with the pointed suqame ones. his mouth is very particular but his ears literally look like shark fins and this is JUST FOR LAUGHING I absolutely don't want to seem mean \ rude etc, your video helped me a lot [I also have a reptile character] and probably after this I will also try to improve his design to see how to make it not seem too generic and more fascinating. *Thank you so much for making these two videos and I can't wait to see the next one*

[@Girl_Delinquent]

Hi! Welcome ✨ and thank you for the feedback. I’ve been drawing him more and I agree, the ears are too fin or shark like. They’ve been giving me a lot of problems recently. If you have any suggestions let me know, I have no idea at this point 💀. But I’m glad these videos helped you ✨

[@undeniablySomeGuy]

woah i love the jaw. it looks fucking awesome. the new shape language is also way stronger

[@SpottedStatic]

it looks way better! its defiantly not his final form, as you imply but its an improvement, i also like the few ridges on his tail you added, i remember being a little surprised in the previous re-design that he was somewhat inspired by crocs/alligators [cant remember which] because he was so smooth but now that seems to have been re-thought. good job!!:D

[@SpottedStatic]

i think the anatomy of the mouth is a little odd but if its for plot reasons/makes you happy as you said i dont really mind, i think its kind of cool as an identifying feature

[@T0B3573R]

Yes, shapes have importance, however, the rules that try to put a definition on what their true value in a characters design can change or be bent.

[@hiimbobno4391]

i love the new boy he looks like he can Crush my skull as a crocodile should be.

[@artificiallightk]

Hey I love this new redesign ! the mouth is not something i would have thought of but i looks amazing ! AND you also improved a LOT on drawing men !! (I have to admit I did also think he was a beautiful butch woman when the first video got recommended to me but i don't see it anymore) All your comments on taking feedback were very on point too

[@himboghost629]

The furry part called me out a bit but i understand why you want to have him look human-y

[@xdani_thethinkingneko]

It’ll be more marketable too. Since for some people furry type anthro characters can be a turn off (not me lmao but you know what I mean I hope)

[@ARandomEliatrope]

The new design is absolutely a huge improvement, I wasn't the biggest fan of the first redesign (and im still iffy about his secondary scale color) but I can see the design coming together, I definitely like this and if any "Suggestion" I'd have would probably be to either lean more into the scales being visible on his body (his arms, elbows, maybe even having them along his back), this comes from a >Species< thing, when you're designing a character whos a part of a species; as you said, you need to have them have very defining traits, especially when in black and white. The large scales on his tail that jut out help this, and the design could possibly thrive with a little more of that. My own other (personal) gripe is the face shape, but thats more of an artist issue, not a design issue. And I'm bias towards characters with more "Unique" nose shapes, especially for species. (Whenever i draw a more human reptillian character that isn't just straight up monsterf'er material, i resort to having their noses be two dots from the front angle and only being more visible from turned angles. I usually also connect their brows more firmly to their nose bridge but again, this is all personal choice and doesn't reflect what >your< characters species should be!) Otherwise, great design. I do think his boyfriend needs a biiig redesign too though. If not just a straight up entire overhaul to the design.

[@kelvisaisawesome]

I just watched your video on character design like 30 seconds before this one (I came here from the comment you left) and honestly, I do like this much better. This design pops so much more and it feels intentional.

[@Black_Angel_]

i liked the first redesign but the new one is even better :D

[@Lu_cidshere]

I think his new design is really good!! I like the way you changed the mouth to make it look more reptilian, one thing I do (this may just apply to me because I have a less realistic artstyle and is more heavy on big shapes) but I make my reptilian or reptile inspired characters more lean and skinny with only triangle shapes, it helps the vibe of the character a lot. I like what you have alredy and I don’t think it needs a lot of changing. Anyway have a good day!

[@ervz_dabast4rd]

Wew I'm early and probably the first one- anyways I'm excited to watch one of my favorite youtuber :)

[@Girl_Delinquent]

Thank you 🥹✨

[@kaelthas9970]

I kind of miss his longer ears but I really love the new outfit and his new mouth is very clever.

[@Finnngrxy]

The designs are great yet again, your points in the video are very understandable and something that every artist should keep in mind. Sure, tips and other critiques are helpful, but listening to yourself and making that work with the design you love is something that everyone should do. Nobody should have to change their art or whatever to have the majority happy, if it makes you and others happy, whats the point? Ive been working on a story myself and have been struggling with designs to make it more 'realistic', but sometimes too much realism makes the story boring, maybe adding things that YOU think is convenient and interesting is more helpful. I loved how you redesigned your oc to make it more like a reptile, for me when I first watched your past video I was confused as to what he really was..but with the redesign it really makes me loved him more lol.

[@Ducks.art1021]

I love your character

[@thederpydude2088]

I got the impression that shape language was supposed to be some weird universal set of rules for how characters are perceived, but the way you described it here as a language you can make up made the concept of it seem to make a lot more sense to me. In hindsight, it being called shape _language_ probably hinted at this a bit, but I think now I actually understand how it relates to language. Language is all about communicating meaning and being able to relate different ideas, and, just as people can make words with new meanings or give old words new meanings, I see how people can use their shape language have whatever meaning they desire by making the right associations between a visual theme or motif and that desired meaning. It doesn't have to operate on some meaning deeply understood in the human psyche or whatever. The meaning makes sense because the audience is able to notice these things subconsciously and understand the vibe because of the patterns or themes or motifs in the design. When I looked for ways to learn a language in the past, one idea that'd come up a bit was to learn by consuming media that is comprehensible input for your brain. The idea is to get a gist of meaning by seeing words in context and being able to infer what meaning they contribute. For example, you might watch something in a foreign language where someone refers to an object with an adjective you're not familiar with. If you see that the object is blue, and the adjective sounds similar to the English word "blue", then you can guess that this is what it means. I feel like the same exact thing must happen with shape language. If you see triangles and pointiness with this one particularly devious character, you might get a sense that another character that is introduced with such features might be similarly devious.

[@SkylarDanni]

I'm so happy that I saw my comment in like a slit second.. I'm just happy don't ask but still Bagels (Edit: W art no matter what bro keep it up

[@Girl_Delinquent]

Bagels

[@RandomyoutubeArtist]

Thats so random but i got happy there is a the isle refernce there lol, i don't think anyone remember it anymore

[@wydua]

Actually love is point of life. And passions a bit too. That's why I'll rather try to do what i like and land under a bridge than to work shitty job just cus it pays good. And i advice everyone to do this too.

[@JathenJacksonr2d2]

You're a good artist. You make good art❤

[@Girl_Delinquent]

Thank you I appreciate that 😊

[@kwingle]

The thing that looks like a fin on his tail gives MORE fish vibes than the previous tail

[@Girl_Delinquent]

It’s meant to look like the spikes crocodiles have on their tales. I just have to learn how to draw it well 🤷‍♀️

[@kwingle]

@@Girl_Delinquent aaa i see

[@xdani_thethinkingneko]

It looks like a spike to me. Exactly like the scales on crocodiles tail. His tail looks worlds better@@Girl_Delinquent

[@sheeki8688]

This newer design defiently has alot of improvments. Something I can say about it rhough is i feel like his face (at least the top part) feels too empty imo. Maybe add some small scales for detail but thats just a personal thing i guess but itd be cool for you to atleast try it when doing his redesigns

[@peepysprite]

The hair is fine. If someone comes at you whining about biological accuracy just tell them that they're proto-feathers. So many wanna-be "experts" out there in the beginner artist community give shit advice about realism without knowing what reality looks like to begin with.

[@peepysprite]

you could literally trace a photo and they would tell you the anatomy is biologically impossible. "erm her ankle is broken" "WHERE r her ORGANS!!!" don't listen to them.

[@myri5492]

I would try to state constructive criticism but at the same time why do that when I can just. Think about how I would manage to draw the mouth. Like that’s not in my skill set but it still looks fun…. I mean I probably won’t but I can say watching someone going through trial and error gives me some motivation to actually touch on my own races and world I haven’t touched in 2 months. I just often find videos like this where you take criticism well and explain your points very motivational for me. Also idk to me he looks like a silly goober I’d 100% offer head pats (Besides I’m awful at getting my opinions to words on a design, that task has no reason to be hard)

[@godzillapl8106]

I still don't like making the reptile character look like a pretty boy, but that's your choice, and I'm ok with it. I just hope that in your video about making fantasy races, you will say something about having all races have the same human beauty standards.

[@xdani_thethinkingneko]

Terrible? I wouldn’t say terrible at all.That video helped me a lot. I think the tips you got where brilliant. I had NO clue you where a amateur. The people tbh are probably not creatives. Btw YT for some reason didn’t let me know about this? But I have notifications turned on?? Weird.

[@xdani_thethinkingneko]

LMAO , it is so funny that people are preaching to you about realism, when that is obviously not what you’re going for if you have an anthropomorphic character. I think you’ve done enough realistic traits, where it seems like some thing that could actually evolve. While still having enough humanoid traits, that humans will still be able to easily relate to the character. I think the way that you change the color palette was beautiful too. The ears could also just clearly be a stylistic choice. I love when people have ears like that on their characters, it doesn’t necessarily need to make sense to them. Especially since in your world, if people have that type of your style, especially other people who look like him it makes sense. You could even try to work in the biology of him, and why he may have ears like that. Maybe it helps him with hearing? Maybe his species was originally predatory, before they evolve to be humanoid like? I think they’re cool vestigial hold overs? Similar to how snakes have vestigial legs.

[@xdani_thethinkingneko]

6:50 Tbh it seems like they just want you to make free art they enjoy....and don’t give two shits about you as an artist. When I watched the OG video your love of them was clear...for people to try to completely rewrite him into something different is so crazy....tbh it is disrespectful and NOT how to critique.

[@xdani_thethinkingneko]

10:10 You have no right making him this fine. (He’s an adult right ???)Thought I liked the 2nd redesign but I love this even more 😭

[@Girl_Delinquent]

@@xdani_thethinkingneko Thank you! and yes Lucin is 24 years old. There are points in the story where he is 14 and 10. But this is his adult design. And yeah a lot of the critiques assumed too much about the story which was a little annoying but 🤷‍♀️

[@yoop2626]

0:28 constuctive? was that on purpose

[@Girl_Delinquent]

No. I’m just now noticing that 🫠🤦‍♀️

[@Fluff_Noodles]

I love this video. Ngl I watched the first one and your tone annoyed me SO much because you admitted you were an amateur then kept (in my opinion) speaking so condescendingly about "rules" and what you "should" do.... I didn't even care about the advice at that point i was just going to leave a comment about your tone. But then i read your pinned comment and came to this video and...its so good!! Like yes there is the obvious improvement in your art but more then that i love how you phrased things in a mature, open-minded, understanding way. Only thing i will say, I think ALOT of the criticism you got for not "making him a full on furry" was because you made a comment along the lines of "I'm happy that he doesn't look too human" when with the old redesign if you took away the tail he really just looked like a blue human with elf ears, especially in the face 😅 So people are going to be more critical of his humaness when you said it was a goal for him to NOT be so human lol. It doesn't even really matter anymore because you definitely fixed that with this redesign, just wanted to try to give some insight on that. His new features are totally gorgeous especially that mouth 😳💕(self aware monsterfkr here lol) but also not TOO much of a creature. Also they totally make sense and it visually comes across reptilian now. Fantastic job. Liked and subscribed. I love when someone is willing to grow. Sorry the algorithm made you controversial though lol, I'm sure you weren't ready for all the (negative) attention but you did super well handling it 💕

[@Girl_Delinquent]

Thank you, I think the reason I was so focused on “rules” is because that’s what I personally like to hear in tutorials. Sometimes I just need to be told what to do and I hate when things are too vague. But i understand now that sort of advice style (?) isn’t for everyone 🤷‍♀️ and as someone else commented there are guidelines but not rules in character design. Thank you for your compliments on his new design. He did look pretty human before and I think I just needed to find a nice middle ground.

[@Fluff_Noodles]

@@Girl_Delinquent You definitely found the middle ground. If there's a sliding scale of humanity you got it perfect! The most important thing is that you love him and he works for your plans. Like you said, filter the critiques (love that advice so much especially with the oversaturation of online artist advice)

[@RavenWaffle_]

for character shape language, you should do a dive of Steven Universe character designs even though how absolutely terrible Steven Universe story is, their art department was good

[@phenioxflameanimations2380]

I'm this close to making a OC based on your story and characters. But I need to know the rules first before I do so. 🥲🙃

[@Girl_Delinquent]

I think the next video will contain more lore on the different races!