Critique these villain designs?

[DokiDokiTsuna]

I'm trying to test a theory...also, I just feel like something is off:

Notes:
-Their names are Scylla and Charybdis~
-Yes, Splatoon fans, they are Octolings
-The neon parts are supposed to glow, in theory. I ALWAYS have trouble with stuff like that; it frustrates me to no end. I think it's because there isn't really a way to make it look correct in flat colors, which is 90% of what I do when I design characters...
-Their civilian designs are probably also relevant:

[magnavarra]

I like it overall - especially beefy chick on the rifght. I thibk that greenone doesn need a detailed face ander the tentacular fringe - it seeme a bit overdosed with details. I'd let the tentacular cover the face entirely

[LadyN]

So I’m no character design expert but…The first one is fine but I feel like the colors are kind of clashing, just the tiniest bit on the second one. Like the colors for the outfit and skin are fine but the hair color blue feels a little out of place. Maybe make the blue a little less saturated or more gray to make it a little less out in the open. The neon shouldn’t be outshined by the hair’s blue.

[doomerC]

Both of them have distinct highlight colors that draw the viewer's attention - however, the fact that you use the highlight colors for both the upper and lower body, while also putting the lighter (and brighter) color highlight one the bottom part of their dress makes it really confusing as to where the eye's actually supposed to be drawn.

I'd suggest either using a darker/less saturated shade of the same colors for bottom; or maybe an opposing color (green-purple, blue-orange) of lesser saturation.

P.S. - also consider that the bottom highlights are on the inner surface of the dress, which is supposed to be in shadow. If it's the glowing part, then there should be a colored reflex on the back of the legs and higher brightness contrast between the glow and the rim of the cloth; admittedly, not part of colored flats.

[toonben]

I like the colors and the shape variety for each character. The rooms of improvement includes the head and faces. Are they supposed to be that big?

[DarkChibiShadow]

I actually think both of these look perfect the way they are! I don't really think any changes are necessary, and to be honest, some of the comments here feel unnecessarily nit-picky about small details. The silhouettes are strong, the colors are fun and bright, the hair is cute, and they match their street clothed versions super well!

About having trouble coloring glowing parts: if you're coloring these images digitally, there is a pretty quick and easy way to make stuff look like it's glowing!

Use a soft, airbrush or "spraycan" looking tool in programs like SAI or Photoshop, and on another layer on top of the colors and lines, go around the edge of the colors that are supposed to glow and use that tool there. You don't need much to achieve this effect, all you're looking to do is make it seem like the light is coming through and around the edges of the material that isn't glowing.

You can fiddle with the opacity of the layer as well as layer effects like overlay or screen to see how you like the effects of those, and further down the line you can think about backlighting and such.

Here's an example of what I mean:

You can also try changing the line color from black to green/blue/etc to help with the glow-y feeling.

Maybe this is a technique you already know about-- but I find it works wonders to quickly get the job done and give out the glow effect without having to spend hours getting it where you want it.

Good luck!

[rajillustration]

The one on the left seems cool, has nice sharp edges, some clear ideas, and a clear silhouette--the one on the right is too many different design ideas going on for me so my eye is just kinda going everywhere. Not a huge fan of this particular gray/blue color combo, either. This blue doesn't read as neon, too, even if you were to do a glow effect I think it'd be too dark. Other people like it though, so take what I say with a grain of salt.

[thedude3445]

Everything looks good except, IMO, the mask on the one on the right. It seems a little weird maybe due to the way her hair tentacles are going. I can't critique color or anything though.

[Ardelvion]

I like them all. Just lessen the amount of neon/glowy parts. Like for Charybdis, you can just put the neons on the rings surrounding her wrists, neck, ankles, and the one that's near her waist. For Scylla, you can put the neon on the green part of her mask (not the tentacles, but the mask). Hope that helps.

[DokiDokiTsuna]

First update??

By that I mean, this only looks a little better than the original, but all the same I feel like I could live with it if it was the final version. 9v9

As much as I liked the translucent blobs on Charybdis' costume, I feel like all they did was force me to come up with another color to put into her scheme. So I decided to try getting rid of them. She definitely looks less busy now; I think that was a common complaint.

Also, I added some gradients...I feel like they help get the message across better. I dunno. If nothing else, C definitely looks better with them than without.

[IndigoShirtProd]

Is the star design supposed to signify that they're villains? Like is the star their calling card like how the R is the calling card for Team Rocket from Pokemon? Also, are their civilian forms supposed to be disguises, like their villains form are supposed to be secret identities? I assume so because of the masks. If that is the case, that their villain forms are secrets and the four pointed star is their calling card, then you should probably change the star on Scylla's front tentacle to something else that's less identifiable. It's cool, distinguishing design element, but if she's supposed to be a secret villain, then something like that would be a dead give away. How many other octolings have their green tentacles styled like that and have a big four pointed star scar? Probably not that many. But if it's not a calling card, and their villains forms are not a secret then its fine. Or if you really like it on Scylla, then that's also fine.

[DokiDokiTsuna]

Is the star design supposed to signify that they're villains? Like is the star their calling card like how the R is the calling card for Team Rocket from Pokemon?

Nah...I drew one on C's mask, realized it looked kind of analogous to S's scar, and from there I just rolled with it. :9 Maybe I should make it their thing, though...

Also, are their civilian forms supposed to be disguises, like their villains form are supposed to be secret identities? I assume so because of the masks. If that is the case, that their villain forms are secrets and the four pointed star is their calling card, then you should probably change the star on Scylla's front tentacle to something else that's less identifiable. It's cool, distinguishing design element, but if she's supposed to be a secret villain, then something like that would be a dead give away.

The villain forms ARE supposed to be a secret alter-ego, but a sort of obvious secret like you often find in kids' media. ^^; Like, any fool could tell based on their dialogue and appearances that they are the same duo, but apparently the general public doesn't give enough of a damn to put 2 and 2 together.

[IndigoShirtProd]

Okay just making sure. You know, function over fashion and everything. I think it's a great design choice.

[spadesart]

the main detail that's drawing my eye is the right one's hair colors. i think the navy of the 'hair' should be somewhere else on the drawing, either that or the bright white. those specific colors have no unity with the rest of the design so they look a little out of place. something i would do is take one of those colors and use it for the 'blobs' that were in the original, or change the hue of the cyan to be in the same range as the navy (not the value, just the hue)

[Kiweevil]

Dreamy and adorable not even gl. That green one is