A Burial of Roses

Tremble in fear of my traditional art! You are now impressed. Admit it.

This, my friends, has been one of the most fun pieces of art I think I have ever worked on. I have had this idea floating around in my brain for quite a while, and I was quite happy to get it out on paper. The style of shading you see here is called cell shading. You most commonly see this method in both Eastern and Western comics. The thick, bold shadows can add a very dramatic air to the piece, but they can also be difficult to handle. If not done properly, the shadows will merge with the outlines of the image and make it look far too blotchy. The best way to avoid that is to leave a small white gap unshaded so that the original lines are still visible.

Fun fact: The eyes and mouth are shiny because I used a red gell pen instead of a felt tip one.

Theme:

A Burial of Roses depicts the dramatic death of a wolf, using the rose petals symbolically in place of blood. This gives a much more ironically sinister air to the picture - as roses are usually regarded as something lovely and beautiful.
4/5

Content:

The character used here, Cyriis, is a very monochrome character to begin with. Therefore, the perfect selection for this mainly black-and-white piece.

5/5

Originality:

While dark characters are not by any means original, and cliché villains are far too numerous, I find that this one depicts not only a dramatic death contrasted by beautiful roses, but also a sense of desperation.The shading is dark and dramatic, and the expression is sorrowful, but the roses (again) contrast very well with such a saddening image.
5/5

Execution:

Anatomy and proportions are great, a slight perspective is well executed, the shading is near-perfect, and the red roses stand out against the blacks and whites. 
The few flaws in the shading do not inhibit the drawing, and are not overly noticeable. The two small places being at the arm and the fur near the shoulder which seems to be slightly disconnected.
4.5/5


Overall: 4.5/5


Your turn! 
I really, really want your opinion on this! It was amazingly fun to do, and I think very highly of it so I therefore want to see how it can be improved. Thank you!