Shirt Critique

[MannUp]

Hey I've been doing shirt designs for a nature center near me and would like some critique on the pieces. The crow is a finished piece and the deer is 85-90% there. I plan to do three more pieces and will post them as they near completion.

[ChantalFournier]

I really like the style you are going for, it works quite well for a shirt design. For the deer, some of the spots inside the ears and around the eyes look like they were in the reference so you put them in but you don't understand what they represent. They look a little random to me and don't describe the form. The inside of the ear looks flat but with little dark spots. Also the antlers somewhat overlapping the smokey shape bugs me, but it might be just because the piece is not finished:)

I thing you could also make the shape where the neck ends a big more interesting and designey.

Good job overall.

[MannUp]

Definitely see what you are saying, they were repeating design elements like the ones that are near the eye and the chest and they were emulating the odd patches of colored hair in the ear. But they were definitely too busy for a small space. I changed the smoke shape as well to flow a bit bitter. I also looked at having the smoke be just behind the antlers but I liked it being more involved with the figure. Thanks for catching that.

I'm also starting my third of 5 if anyone has any pointers about vulpine anatomy that I am missing, or silhouette recommendations. I don't often draw many animals outside of deer and birds.