What's so wrong with this?

Hello. I made a semi realistic horse breed, but it just doesn't seem to be selling. So a whole lot of work for practically nothing. But what is wrong with it?


I will keep upgrading it. Starting with the socks. They need more texture. Also will be making a winterfur version.

Maybe some people are not to fond of your style, not much money etc. :) Just keep trying! Practise and practise and practise!

Maybe the ears are a little big :)

Yes the ears will also be fixed (just like the mess above its back). Well I actually feel like not sharing my art anymore and keeping it just for me since it will never be good enough. I know I'll never make realistic art like most of the people here do since I make art without reference. I just use references for coloring my horses.

I saw your post a few minutes ago, and it seems like you just posted it today. Give it some time, not just a couple of hours, for people to see it. Not everyone is on 24/7, and some only come on every other day.

With that being said, there are a few things you could possibly improve, though I am not an artist myself. Haha. The back leg of your character is a little small, maybe its just me, but it doesn't seem right for how big the draft is. Possibly make the leg a bit bigger? The tail also seems stiff, like cardboard. I'm not quite sure how to explain it to you, without it being really confusing. Lol. Perhaps making it flow, a little more loose, messy, curvy, however you say it, could work. What I'm trying to say is, don't make the lines so straight, add a bit jazz to it. I hope that makes some sense.

Your coloring is really good, though. I think you are pretty set on that, and with practice you can add more shading/lighting to it. Just constant practice will improve your work, and if you still don't see people wanting to buy it, lower the price some. But give your sales some time, before worrying whether or not people are interested it in. At least a couple days, max. I hope I wasn't coming off as mean, just trying to throw in some of my opinions. You did a great job overall. ♥

I can't make loose tails since I can't greyscale those. I just wouldn't know how.
Thanks for your feedback. But once I feel like my art ain't good enough I just pull it out of the sales section since I'm a perfectionist. I just feel like I'm no good at all because I use a different type of style.
The backleg might also look weird because it merges with the n other backleg. I will make the sock higher since that's why the front legs are so big. It's more of a pony with draft features like socks.

I love your art, but I am saving up ;) ♥

That possibly might be it with the back leg situation, and I get your a perfectionist, trust me. I'm that way with a lot of stuff and it frustrates me more than anything, but you have to learn to be patient. Give people time to actually find your forum and see your artwork. This is also a great way of improving your art, with these kind of forums. Just wait a see what other people say, maybe they can give you more suggestions, better than I can, and maybe tutor you even? Watch videos about drawing and practice with them. I've done it myself, and it was a success when it came to drawing human eyes.

Just a small clarification: the fluffy hair around the feet of draft horses and similar is known as feathers, or feathering. A white marking on a leg of a horse, which goes above the first joint, but not the second, is called a sock. :)

Ah, yes, I only knew the Dutch word 'behang', but in Dutch that word also means wallpaper, so translating machines only give wallpaper as translation. So I didn't know about feathering :)
Behang=feathers/feathering, I will remember that ;)

Your art isn't bad. You shouldn't be so hard on yourself. I saw you said you don't use image references. I think you should. It helps you learn the anatomy. Practice will make you better, and you'll find yourself developing your own style.

Don't be so hard on yourself. Keep in mind that anyone who can draw a super realistic horse has yeeears of practice.

Definitely just try and study anatomy a bit more. It will help.

That being said... If I could buy one I would but I'm broke.

I'm going to tell you this now; throwing a pity party, saying yours isn't good, taking it down after only a few hours, it will get you no where. My art hardly ever sells here anymore, but that's because I stopped trying, stopped believing in my ability.

Part of your problem is l, as said before, you cannot just leave a post up for a few hours then take it down. Even if you are a "perfectionist", nothing you do will be the perfect you want, because it doesn't look just like your inspiration(s), or it doesn't look like the horse you referenced from #which you should do if you want to improve anatomy wise. When I started I used nothing but refs for my DARPGs/HARPGs, and now I am 10 times better at anatomy without a reference then I was a couple months ago).

And I'm not going to sugar coat it, there is a lot more work that goes into making a breed then just selling one piece. Believe me, I have on deviantart two up and running self made breeds #though with the help of partners), that would never have survived had I just tried to sell art of them.

"Well I actually feel like not sharing my art anymore and keeping it just for me since it will never be good enough. I know I'll never make realistic art like most of the people here do since I make art without reference." - stop saying things like this. Everyone started from ZERO. Years of practice and pain, that's all. Keep drawing, try to learn some anatomy, look at real horses, again keep drawing. You won't see improvement after 1 day, but after year for sure.

About your breed. As others said, give it some time. And yes, not everyone will like it. I, for example, prefer heavy breeds over light breeds, but I'm not into miniatures.

Give it time and don't give up.

"So a whole lot of work for practically nothing" - Never look at it that way. Practice is practice, and you'll never get better if you don't try (and possibly fail, yes) sometimes.

Player-created breeds are hit or miss, so don't get too hard on yourself. And others are insanely picky on the quality of the designs (and even the lines said designs are on) on here.

Keep your head up. :)

Well I just feel like what I say is true and it's no self pity at all (I just know I'll never be perfect). Just because I do a totally different style as the realistic horse art on here, it doesn't seem to be liked. I feel like what I make is just worth 10k. I do only allow my posts up for a few hours because that's how picky I am with determining if my art is good or bad for this site. I'll now improve my art with the things said.

It's not like I just started drawing yesterday. I know I'll never get better style wise. I know the anatomy of a horse, I just can't draw practically. For me drawing a straight line isn't possible, it will get wobbly if I can't use sketch lines.
My work with reference is more horrible than my work without any reference. I tried that. And it's not like I'm not googling while drawing, but I just don't want to reference to all hits Google gives me. I do use reference that way. But literally taking one picture and trying to redraw that won't work for me.

Practice by tracing. Dont sell traced lines, but it will get you in the habit of making those strokes. If you do it enough, muscle memory and bejng more familiar with the shapes you're attempting to make will kick in.

No one needs to be perfect. I'm sure not! But I do enjoy it. You need to find positivity in your art or what's the point of making it? Dobt upset yourself with it.

Looking up tutorials on deviantart.com also might help. Some artists have nice little tricks on how they find it easiest to draw their way. You'll find your style, don't worry! The more discouraged and upset you let yourself get, the less enjoyable art is. Even if you have been drawing for a while, improvement isn't quick. It's time consuming and requires a bit of patience.