Critique please. :]

[Q u i n n;]

So, I've decided to try my hand at learning how to create photomanips.

Clickith. :3

I'm extremely new at this and I know there are plenty mistakes here. I plan on trying to put wings on this little cat for the site that I am currently working on[she'll be my character] so I'm sure I'll post up updated images as I progress.

All I have really done here is cut the cat from the original picture, and smudge the fur. But I'm sure you can tell. >>


Edit; Any tips on blending wings nicely into longer fur would be nice. I'm having trouble with that. :/

[ROMANCE]

Hello! I wouldn't mind giving you a couple tips, although I'm not an expert myself yet. Please excuse that. ^^"

You're doing pretty well smudging out the fur so far. Are you using any tutorials? But I noticed around the paws, where it isn't smudged, the cutting's a bit choppy. It's important to have a smooth cut all around, and often times to get a smooth cut you'll have to chop some parts off. So don't be afraid to remove some fur if need be. [:

Blending wings and fur... I actually just finished a manip where I blended wings and fur for the first time. xD I can get a closeup of the wing joint from my manip, if you'd like. But blending wings with anything requires a lot of cloning, so for this the clone tool is your best friend. The joint should look a bit fluffy, but also a bit feathery. So I would suggest making a base out of cloned fur from around the area where the wing is attaching. And then, take some small feathers from the wing and clone them onto the cloned fur.
Does that make sense? xD

I think one of the most important things in putting wings on animal is making sure the colour matches. If the colour doesn't match, it can be a tricky process blending the animal and the wing together.

Uhm... I think that's it. Good luck. [:


edit: lulz, found my WIP. Hope that helps.

[Q u i n n;]

Nope, I haven't used any tutorials for smudging for. I did look one up on Deviantart for blending wings, and it helped a little. x] I realize the paws look wonky. I plan on fixing those up once I actually get a background added. :]

It makes sense, don't worry! :] I see what you mean with the cloned fur/feathers on your manip. I think it looks really nice, so I'll study that nice and hard before I attempt wings again, if you don't mind. :] I think my main problem when I was trying to blend wings onto my kitty cat was that I wasn't using the clone tool like you've mentioned. The tutorial I found mentioned using the clone tool, but not for the the things you've mentioned....course, they were blending wings onto a horse...
I'll stop rambling now. x]

Another problem I'm having is finding decent stock that'll match up to that picture I'm working on- it's hard to find a bird posing in a similar way. XD

Thanks for this, it'll definitely help me out a lot and I appreciate you taking time to give me some much needed tips. :]