Possible Hikei revamp - Now complete

[Saturn]

I dunno... generally, the art's better, but the front legs look really wonky to me and I like the current version's expression much more. I really like how the stripes and the tails are done though.

[hebdenhippy]

I think it's the way the shading has been done, but it looks very angular. Also, I don't really like how the front legs are so chunky, I know the original had chunky legs, but it had chunky back legs too. Having thin back legs and chunky front legs just looks odd to me. Also, the eye area looks a bit strange.

Having said that, I like the new spiky main, and the tails and glowing orbs are lovely. The stripes look very nice too.

[Wingsrising]

Yeah, I second that. I like the stripes and the tail, but I don't like the fact that it's splayfooted, and I don't think the perspective on the left shoulder is quite right. I also don't like the ring around the eyes (I realize the current version has one, too, but it's less pronounced in the current one... sort of like the difference between the old and new Aishas: the old one has darker areas around the eyes, the new one looks like it's just been punched.)

Also, I think the shading makes the new version look really angular, somehow. For example, it's barrel looks sort of pointy to me (sharply folded rather than rounded) the way its shaded now.)

[Goldenchaos]

I fixed what was bothering me with this redline..



Feel free to repost, etc etc.

Yea, the chest is really bothering me a lot, it looks collapsed


Edit: ..

Blacklined..with a slightly longer torso..

[Cranberry]

I said this in the news comments, too, but the way the body's shaded makes it look like an octagon around the waist. I really love the head and the tails, but the body's so distracting that I had to vote for the old version.

[varii]

The stripes are nice and the new tail is nice. Otherwise the rest of the body looks..painful? to me. His feet actually make me really sad for him. Which is another thing, the new version isn't very gender neutral in my opinion. Something about the hair/face/stance is very male. And yeah, that chest isn't quite right either.

And I just now noticed the back leg looks really oddly placed. Like, there is no hindquarter, just belly. I know that if I said this on in the news post I'd get bombarded with 'But it's NOT a horse, it's a Hikei' but, I am 99% sure my horse (heck, dog even) does not look like that from that angle. But I may just be over-thinking it.

[Kari]

The chest looks sunken in with the (seemingly) extra black lines there in the middle. There needs to be a bit more separation/definintion between that chest area and the right leg, I think. And the splayed feet make it look like it has some sort of deformity in the legs. The back paws/feet also seem a bit small.

[Joey]

Man, there's a hell of a lot of things wrong with this. The anatomy feels cartoony, like it would be right at hime in Loonie Toons. Which is alright on it's own, but they fact that it's drawn at least semi realistically makes it look terrible. Both sets of legs are awkward, I don't see how any of them work together. The back feet look so small that can't even support it. The spiky mane isn't doing anything for me, it's way too masculine. Add like everything everyone said above too. I can see where they're trying to go but it can use some work.

[thelonetiel]

Please please please don´t touch Chibi unless you are just going to trace over it. Otherwise I don´t care, but I love that expression, and the little feets and toes. But, on the otherhand, it it is done badly, I could get a chibi escalade instead...


I agree with the shading, it looks horribly angular. It has a neat effect, actually, but not suitable for a default pet style. The mane is a little too detailed, and I´d like to see the tail things thinner. Goldenchaos´s redline looks much better, much more stable and with the more heavyset style I associate with the hikei.

There is something off with the head too. It seems to be turning it´s head away from us, but still looking toward us, which is odd. The head is profile while the body is 3/4 view. And the eye bugs me too, I don´t like the outline and don´t understand why it needs it.

[Huggles]

Angular, chunky, blocky, spiky, masculine and generally much less cute than the original. The darker shading on the white makes it look dirtier too. I always though the orbs on the hikei were dumb, and now they're bigger and more in your face. I'm sure they'd be pretty all on their own, but I think they overpower the actual pet. I would have preferred them to be changed into some sort of jewelry like the anyu's wing cuffs. I also dislike the ring around the eye that's been used instead of the triangular Jem and the Holograms style eyeshadow. The spiky hair is very punk, which is usually nice, but doesn't work for the My Little Hikei. Combined with the oddly splayed forelegs, wonky perspective, and over abundance of stripes, and there's nothing about this revamp I see as an improvement on what I think is a rather cute, if a bit outdated, species.

[Jessi]

I am not pleased.

The way it's standing really, REALLY bothers me. I don't know much about horses, so I'm not sure if they stand that way - but on a small image, it looks VERY, very weird and out of place. I don't like its positioning, at all.

Overall, I think WAY too much was changed on this pet, and not in a good way. It looks way too muscular, and the amount of thin lines used to show these muscles (and bones and what not) really drives me nuts - it looks like someone just put random scribbles on the picture instead of thick, solid lines that show actual definition.

The back legs are not proportionate to the front at all - they look like they couldn't hold the back half of this poor beast up. Also, its ... right, I believe (our left) hoof/foot/whatever looks very broken and pancake like.

Blergh.

...On a final note, its front legs look like they're growing out of boobs. Yes. Boobs. This disturbs me. A LOT.

[shaelyn76]

It looks like they mixed a bulldog with a horse and neither of them are happy about it. i have to agree with everything said above about the legs and the chest. This version screams male and has lost all its cuteness. I actually considered changing my Chai into a Hikei a while back and now I am really, really glad I didn't. I don't care for the darker circle around the eyes either. It makes the pet look sullen. The "old" Hikei was a squat looking animal, but it was kind of cute and cuddly squat versus the clunky and awkward squat we see in this proposed revamp. Now, unlike Jessie, I have always liked the floating orbs, but even I feel like making them bigger and more prominent isn't doing any favors for this pet. Oh, and the shading makes it look like it is a geometric shape instead of flowing like skin and muscle should. I am just really unhappy with this revamp and am sad to see it so far ahead in the poll.

[Jessi]

Now, unlike Jessie, I have always liked the floating orbs, but even I feel like making them bigger and more prominent isn't doing any favors for this pet.

Out of curiosity, do you mean me? O_o I never said anything about its tail, so I certainly hope not?

(also, if you are, it's Jessi. Not Jessie ^_~)

[Gumdrops]

It looks...like it's been bulking up. Ha, the first thought that popped into my head was 'that horse is using roids'.

A lot of things are better, like the tail and the back legs. The individual parts are better than the whole.

[Tiki]

I... what? How did this honestly make it to the polls? I thought that an artist had to first send it through some sort of approval to the higher-ups, or get second opinions from other artists. I can't believe for a minute that more than one pair of eyes would miss the massive amounts of mis-matched white blobs that have no discernable light source. The nose, cheek, hind leg all have pure white blobs that are matched nowhere else on the drawing. There's also the random highlight along the flank where there shouldn't be one, and a lack of highlighting on the shoulders where according to the majority of the shading, there should be some.

I mean, anatomy issues aside, this is a basic skill in art: light source.

So, I have to repeat... "seriously?"