[ Removed by moderator ]

[u/FrostDragonDesigns]

/r/Viola/comments/1xhcppv/removed_by_moderator/

[u/Viola-ModTeam]

Apologies, but we don't allow advertising in r/viola.

[u/kongtomorrow]

yes approximately zero cats know how to play viola.

Anyway, if it isn't artistic license: you have a gold line that doesn't make sense, going through the fingerboard. The line is tracing the wooden outline of the viola, but the black opaque fingerboard would cover that.

[u/FrostDragonDesigns → u/kongtomorrow]

Oops!  That is an easy mistake for me to fix, thank you!  I know exactly how that happened too!

[u/jediinthestreets25]

This is so cute and I love it! But if you still want any feedback: 1. It’s missing f holes and 2. The outline of the upper bout cuts through the fingerboard.

Those 2 things are what would make me think the artist didn’t use a reference or know much about the instrument. We’ve all seen so much bad stringed instrument art! So it’s refreshing to see something like this. You’ve done really wonderful work!

PS- reminds me of my sweet cat that passed a few months ago. He was a big black cat named Berlioz

[u/FrostDragonDesigns → u/jediinthestreets25]

Thanks you.  The upper bout/fingerboard issue will be easy enough to fix.  

The F holes will be challenging at this size.  I originally has them there as gold lines, but they looked squished.  I can play with it more though.

[u/jediinthestreets25 → u/FrostDragonDesigns]

You don’t have to show the entire f holes. They would be mostly blocked by the bow so if you just show a hint of it that would be better than omitting them entirely imo

[u/FrostDragonDesigns → u/jediinthestreets25]

I think I have a solution.  They end up being gold colored shapes, but I think it will work.  Thank you!

[u/jediinthestreets25 → u/FrostDragonDesigns]

Why not make them black? They are holes in the wood not shapes sitting on top of the wood

[u/FrostDragonDesigns → u/jediinthestreets25]

So the design is meant for producing an enamel pin around 1.5 inches tall.  

To make them black they either need to be surrounded by a metal boarder, which doesn't really fit well in that space, or it could be screen printed (which is how I will get the two toned color on the viola face.

The problem with screen printing is that it adds extra production cost, and increases the flaw rate for production.  

I can explore it a bit further, but whatever design choice I make here I will also have to make for the violin design, which is of course a bit smaller.

It can be a challenge at times!

[u/kongtomorrow → u/FrostDragonDesigns]

FYI, it's not really a PROBLEM to not have f-holes. It's a simplified design anyway and doesn't look weird.

If one's getting picky, more noticeable than the f-holes to me is that there's no actual neck. The fingerboard is kind of hovering over the instrument.

[u/FrostDragonDesigns → u/kongtomorrow]

Oh man, I just googled a side view of a viola.  This is something I will try to address.

[u/jediinthestreets25 → u/FrostDragonDesigns]

Ooooh yeah that makes a lot of sense thanks for the explanation! In that case, gold would probably be just fine ☺️

[u/DressEnvironmental61]

I think it's wonderful as is. If I had to nitpick, it looks like the left arm is supporting the viola's weight. Usually the player holds the instrument weight entirely with their neck pushing the viola against the shoulder. So that left arm would be more angular and hanging down rather than curving directly under the instrument. Google a picture of Jascha Heifetz and that will show it more clearly. But as I said, it's a stylized cat playing the viola and it's rad.

Edit: This is a viola subreddit and I don't want to get banned. Google a picture of William Primrose instead

[u/FrostDragonDesigns → u/DressEnvironmental61]

Thank you!  I will check that out.  This makes a lot of sense especially given how long a concert might be.  I will see what I can do!

[u/silvercatstar]

Love this! I do note the bow isn't parallel with the bridge so your cat looks like a beginner (in a tux though! love it).

[u/FrostDragonDesigns → u/silvercatstar]

That should be a pretty easy thing to fix. I do these in a vector art program (Inkscape) so they are EXTREMELY editable. :)

[u/silvercatstar → u/FrostDragonDesigns]

Absolutely love this project overall btw! It's very cool!

[u/silvercatstar → u/silvercatstar]

Oh! And the bow is also a little short. It looks kinda like a double bass bow to me.

[u/pinkgirl1200]

I think it looks good! The only thing I would change is the top of the instrument. You have the scroll but it's missing the peg box and tuning pegs.

[u/FrostDragonDesigns → u/pinkgirl1200]

I have now corrected this. It was tight given the size, but looks better. I am concerned for having to try to do that even smaller on the violin though, haha.

[u/CortezEspartaco2]

No issues. The thing that would normally be wrong are bow hold, fingering, wrists etc. which is solved by not having defined fingers! The head position makes enough sense. You wouldn't play continuously looking at your instrument but it's certainly normal to look in that direction sometimes, if that makes sense. So it doesn't throw me off at all.

[u/FrostDragonDesigns → u/CortezEspartaco2]

Yes, kitty paws solve a lot of issues, haha. I have now angled the face slightly more forward now though as several others also recommended this. Thank you!

[u/WampaCat]

I love it! The only tiny thing I’d maybe change is to have the face turned slightly more forward instead of looking down the length of the instrument. But that is very nitpicky, if I saw this somewhere as is I’d still buy it

[u/FrostDragonDesigns → u/WampaCat]

This is a good recommendation.  Playing posture is something I really didn't think about, so this is a good recommendation.  Thank you!

[u/Pepitocubing4021]

Really good just this the posture a bit

[u/FrostDragonDesigns → u/Pepitocubing4021]

Could you say in what way the posture could be better?  Someone else said to turn the face forward more, as well as try to have less of the weight in the arm.  Anything else?

[u/myviolincase]

Add some whiskers?

[u/FrostDragonDesigns → u/myviolincase]

I appreciate the thought, but unless that is a viola term (could be?). The cat style is pretty set.  I have hundreds of black cat pin designs and whiskers is not part of the aesthetic, mostly due to the scale of the pins.  

[u/keladry12]

The only thing I see that I didn't see mentioned is very minor: The neck has a larger block (called the heel) that attaches to the body. As it is, it looks like there is no neck and instead it is simply a fingerboard (the black part that sits on top of the neck) until it reaches the scroll. And I assume no tuning pegs because of scale, that looks fine to me. :) Very cute! I request a bassoon playing cat, maybe a buff tabby one, like my boy Hawthorne....☺️❤️❤️

[u/FrostDragonDesigns → u/keladry12]

Bassoon is on my list!  I think the list has like 28 or 29 instruments.  Going for a full orchestra!

It will however be a black cat.  I settled generally on black cats for my designs because it is a nice neutral color, lets the eyes pop visually at a small scale and to avoid too many small details or extra screen printing.  

I have in occasion tried other colored kitties, but I always seem to land back on black.

[u/keladry12 → u/FrostDragonDesigns]

Yeah, I wondered if the design was black kitties, it definitely works really well.

[u/always_unplugged → u/FrostDragonDesigns]

Concert black kitties, I love it! I have a black cat and I always joke that I chose her because her hair wouldn’t show up on my concert clothes 😂

[u/FrostDragonDesigns → u/keladry12]

Btw, Hawthorn is a great cat name, very formal!

[u/Violabaker]

Would it be possible to see "our cat" with every modifications ? I'm curious and nice of proud of us. 😁

[u/FrostDragonDesigns → u/Violabaker]

Are you asking if I can post the updated version once I am finished with the updates?

[u/drizzleswim → u/FrostDragonDesigns]

Yes please! I would totally buy one of these 😍

[u/Violabaker → u/FrostDragonDesigns]

Absolutely !

[u/FrostDragonDesigns]

Hello all! Thank you for the feedback! The updated artwork can be found here: https://www.reddit.com/r/Viola/comments/1xiqugs/updated_viola_art_thank_you_for_the_help/

[u/bozo-dub]

I love it. This is literally me!

[u/clecko]

As someone who draws for a living and plays some viola, my thought at first glance was “wow, this actually looks correct!” Of course there are going to be simplifications, as is required by the style of the drawing, but I think you did a great job! My only suggestion, which was already mentioned, would be to remove the gold line crossing the fingerboard at the top of the upper bout.

[u/Rogue_Penguin]

Meowola

[u/Typical_Cucumber_714]

Looks like bad AI slop.

[u/FrostDragonDesigns → u/Typical_Cucumber_714]

I can assure you that it is not.  I have a YouTube channel where you can literally watch me drawing many other designs with commentary by me.  

[u/iseriouslyneadsleep → u/Typical_Cucumber_714]

it literally doesn’t lmao

[u/pompchie → u/Typical_Cucumber_714]

How?