Art trade

Hello! First of all, DON'T be discouraged by the low star ratings. It IS good, and I shall explain the stars, the good points, and the things that could improve it. ^^
_____________________________________________________________
Stars:

Vision- I gave it two stars because the definition is "Does the artwork present or reflect a point of view, theme or idea?". Whilst it doesn't mention any specific ideas in the description, it's a fursona, which does reflect an idea of how the artist sees him/herself. ^_^.

Originality- Only 1.5 stars, but this is most likely the hardest category, as it needs to be "fresh or new in its style, execution or approach" or "something you haven’t seen before in its particular genre" to get a high score, and this, whilst a good deviation, is quite common. I gave you a half-star for the adorable and quirky sock. ^^

Technique- I gave you 2.5 stars here, because I like the technique with the mottled shades and you seem to have used the medium well. ^^

Impact- It doesn't particularly resonate with me, but this is also a VERY hard category, so don't be discouraged. As said before, the little sock is interesting, and so is the stylised nature, so 2 stars ^^

Onto... THE GOOD POINTS! <img src="e.deviantart.net/emoticons/b/b…" width="15" height="15" alt="" title=" (Big Grin)"/>
_____________________________________________________________
Good points:

1. The little sock. I'm sorry, but it's really great! It's quirky and original, and if you add little quirks to your art, it'll help make you stand out. ^^

2. The anatomy. You show good knowledge of anatomy here, and you can see muscle lines under the fur, which is a nice touch. ^_^

3. The hidden back paw. Quite a tricky thing to do for a beginner, I still have trouble with this, but you've done it quite well. ^^

4. You tried, and published it. Before I elaborate, this isn't the "Oh.. He made a wonky pot. Gold star for... effort Timmy..." good point, and isn't meant to be condescending like that. >.< Instead, I'm saying that it's good that even though you weren't confident, you published it, and asked for constructive criticism, which will help you improve. ^^
_____________________________________________________________

Improvements:

1. The tail. Unfortunately, wolves tails generally seem more flexible, rather than sticky-up. Try looking at several wolf pictures on Google/dA and look for common qualities to build up your internal picture of a wolf. ^^

2. The tuft. About halfway along it's back, there's a dark tuft of fur, I'd just suggest lightening the line of it, so it's more like the lines of detail on the body.

3. Sock fur. The fur above the sock seems to overflow a bit on the left, so I'd suggest making it less wide, so most is covered by the sock width.
_____________________________________________________________

Overall, well done! It's a well-drawn wolf pic! Feel free to reply or note me if you want to discuss the critique's points or just chat. <img src="e.deviantart.net/emoticons/s/s…" width="15" height="15" alt="" title=" (Smile)"/>

An example of a 4.5/5* work that I critiqued, just for reference. But they've been doing this for YEARS and spend a LOT of time on each piece: [link]


The critique help desk, containing the critique criteria: [link]

Some of my work if interested: [link] [link] [link]