Phronemophobia's art Reviews on Newgrounds

[Purple and Blue]

I can hate on the quality of almost all the other recent Pokemon games (I bought the "new" Snap on Switch and it is a beautiful exception), but the designs of the monsters have always been excellent and if the series manages to return to the level of shine from the days of sequels like black/white or remakes like heartgold/soulsilver, then we'll have so many fantastic creatures to catch while appreciating their return to glory. That's probably a strong reason for why many still enjoy the current titles in spite of their issues. If you can roam around with something as cool as sneasler, then it becomes significantly easier to look past the flaws.

I don't know enough this particular evolution, though it seems like the simpler art in the middle looks more appropriate for sneasler's personality. I do like the one tearing through... grapes, I'm assuming, and the other with the imposing look to the far left, but sneasel always gave me the impression that it did a better job looking intimidating rather than being intimidating and that appears doubly so for its evolution. Feel free to correct me on that. Again, I haven't played this one. I'm just going by feels right now.

ICam2k responds:

So can I actually. I don't like how undercooked/limited Sword/Shield feels , even though the nuzlocke I did on it was the most memorable. While I could care less about Scarlet and Violet due to some its "quirks", its still not THE worst I've ever seen. Not sure if they can go back to the peak period at this point, but I'm still willing to give hope to the future projects like Legends Z-A despite being rarely shown since its tease.

That's exactly how I perceived from this tall weasel/sloth monster despite its poison/fighting typing, even though that's also based on one of my mons from my team (the trainer besides him is a nice giveaway) heh. These are Oran berries, but really, it's not too far off given that most of the berries are based on fruits anyways (although these resemble blueberries more).
Pretty funny given that these guys are described as being solitary prior to their johtonian forms' "hunting in packs" nature that they've adapted afterwards.

[Chill and Cool]

I saw Vector and asked myself, "Why gator so fat?" and, apparently, this is his modern look? Is this like what happened to Knuckles in Sonic Boom?

"It looks like it could fill its role as a new banner too!" - my literal first thought when I saw this!

"I can't just ignore the decade that I lived in." Why not? I do that all the time. I already lived through that decade, so I want something new. Well, okay, once in a while it's fine to be nostalgic but I don't want to grow into one of those old folk who end up thinking life stopped being good after their childhood ended.

ICam2k responds:

That's from Sonic Boom indeed. Until by the second season, they decided to give him a black jacket and took away his headphones.
Yeah, as a matter of fact. I used to have this banner set on dA for quite a good amount of time. And it's not like it's completely gone either, it still has it's place on Twitter, whether that's a good thing or not. heh
Hahah, guess that makes me a grumpy grandma then. I did find and appreciate new things happening nowadays despite the nostalgia kicking in every once in a while.

[Cap'n Kevin's Treasure Map - Talk Like A Pirate Day 2024]

The one major downside to this map is the path provided. Right at the start there's really no reason for me to sail upwards when I can just go straight from Backwards J Island to the path right above The Pigeon Kraken. An easy fix would have been to place The Suck Zone right between the island and The Sirens That Make You Watch Every Episode Of Fraiser, Then Eat You. Then again, even if I did go upward, I could land at the island of Fractured Arch near The Pointy Cliffs instead of continuing south so the same problem shows up again. The locations look great but I'm not incentivized to see most of them. Artistically typing, this is really cute. Skull Fuck Island is the best name here, too.

Syrupmasterz responds:

My brain was thinking that maybe it was a timing thing to avoid the sirens while also avoiding sea rocks that the ship would run aground with. Sailing northwest as you approached, hiding behind the salty shores, then perhaps when the sirens went to sleep, you followed the charts closely to avoid rock spikes underwater.

That was my thinking anyways, but I probably just didn't draw enough rocks in the water. :P

[Long drives, longer nights]

A little of A and a little of B. Since I don't sleep well, I find myself waking up to see the sunrise while struggling to straighten up. It was a memorable part of my childhood, too. Wake up before Saturday morning cartoons, take out the trash, make something quick for breakfast, then be unproductive for six hours in front of a TV. Since my workplace has no windows, I seldom get to see the sunset, but it is something I will stop and admire from time to time. There are a few days when I can leave work and see the sunset during the drive. I'd love those times more if traffic itself wasn't so awful.

This seemingly empty neon world of yours is always fascinating to experience through these pieces of art though they always strike me as some obscure location you only happen upon by accident when taking a wrong turn and never see again once you drive through it.

MoeAnguish responds:

Thanks for sharing, and for the review. I completely get you, cause at a certain point life was like that to me too.

And yeah, that's kinda the intent. I don't know what word to describe it with or if a single world exists, but i try to make my location look like those "Save/transition rooms" in video games or at least have that vibe, where you're completely alone and "safe" but you're about to go back to something that's the complete opposite, and you'll likely- as you said - never see that place again. But you'll remember it.

[Now it's time to...]

It's going to be a challenge having a rotten day after seeing this. I love that you have him squeezing out of a Game Boy screen. I almost missed that little detail which would have been shameful on my part considering how often you've mentioned your love of Wario Land.

"I planned to add more, but I was running out of space..." Yes, I noticed a lack of Wario-Man. He's studlier than a snow tire, you know! Outside of that, not entirely sure what else would be necessary for a complete representation of the legendary fellow. Maybe something like his costumed appearances in Mario Party or perhaps you were thinking about his inclusion in other spin-off games, like Mario Kart or the sports titles. There's more than enough eye-garlic here to take in and enjoy without them.

"Heck, I'd even go as far to say that Wario felt like a more proper rival that Sonic, but that's just me." He definitely is. Sonic is suppose to be the faster one who keeps going forward and Mario's more acrobatic and keeps going higher, but both can do what the other is offering with enough practice. Wario, however, is just an entirely different experience from Mario. Why have style and respect when you can just overwhelm something with brute force and mock it afterwards?

"Also just in case, I did draw Waluigi's cap letter wrong." Wario has done much worse to his friend/brother, so I doubt Waluigi would be too upset by this mistake. He'd still be upset though.

ICam2k responds:

Game boy screens are pretty, so are the Virtual Boys. Even when there's somehow a situation where I can't make fanart, if get asked about Wario Land, chances are I would go on to talk about how good the games are and how almost everyone ought to try them.
Dammit, I can't believe I neglected to include him of all Warios, now I'm gonna have to make a whole page of nothing but Wario-Mans afterwards. I suppose the Mario Party ones are a bit more interesting, specifically from 2 were it allowed characters to wear different constumes depending on the board. The mage ones were always my favourites though, even on the yellow fat-man. Can't say that the karts aren't noterworthy though, the motorcycles especially.
Glad to know I'm not the only one who feels that way. He can have the worst traits and quirks that rival against the middle aged man's family friendly ones while still gaining fans. It's a win win really.
Crisis averted then, Wario's going to have to pay for my mistake then. heh

[Undertale - Butterscotch pie, with friends!]

I find it amusing that a certain king is missing from this image despite the fact that he likely enjoys that pie more than anyone else here. Also, Papyrus looks so cool. You really captured his greatness... in cute form.

Crisppyboat responds:

Honestly asgore is like as wide as the image and I wanted people to still see at least a smidge of the background so, choices were made

[We're doodleane-y!]

"I tried to draw the whole thing by memory. There has only been very few cases where I used references..." I'm so jealous of people with a clear and confident memory. In nearly all things I discuss, I have to take the time to double check out of fear of mixing up my names, dates, and details, because I constantly make mistakes if I don't. Meanwhile, you made doodles this dynamic, vivid, and accurate with almost no references? Probably not a big deal to you, but that's insane (the good kind) to me.

"This may be because of the reboot... except I'm not quite a fan of it..." It wasn't awful but it definitely didn't convince me that the reboot was worth having. Then again, few have.

"Would you be shocked if I tell you that this is one of the many shows that influenced my style, at the very least the "90s" like?" I suppose if I had a style (or talent, for that matter), it would be pretty similar. Drawing was not something I enjoyed directly. I almost never drew except to show friends what dumb idea or joke I had floating around in my mind. Obviously, the cartoon-y style would work best for that sort of mindset.

"There seems to Warners all around, but I always made enough room for others... and I still feel I could add more." Yeah, you need Ralph, Mr. Skullhead, Slappy Squirrel, The Mime, Baloney the Dinosaur... the ones that matter most.

Is it strange that the comments you provide alongside your art have slowly become more interesting to me than the art itself?

ICam2k responds:

I guess it comes down to memorizing. There would be references needed at the first attempt, but after many tries, you'll pretty get the knack of things to the point were the references thave become redundant. Simplicity is also a factor.

Neither do I, certainly there are some merits that the reboot has and would be lying if I said I didn't get some chuckles on certain aspects. I would've had had different outlook if it wasn't attached to a certain show, but really, I think it's alright.

I wholly disagree that jokes can't work without the style and flair. If some memes or shows are to be considered, then drawings like these should hold just as much punch on their own.

Yeah you're right, next time I come back to this show, I would pour in Baloney as much as I can.

See, that's another good aspect besides art. I get to put out thoughts and notes in the descriptions. Some artists may not do that, but I do.

[Sonics Second edition]

The first image makes me think of Spinball, the best Sonic game, and Vector looks more interested in Sonic's situation with Amy than with his own predicament of currently missing the lower half of his body.

"Oh and there was the hot summer too. I HAAAATED that every time..." I'm the opposite. When it's cold, I bundle up and refuse to do anything productive. When it's hot, I can just drink some water and go back to it (whatever "it" is). Helps that I've lived in the heat most of my life.

"I did make an another Sonic doodle prior to this one, but it has seemingly aged poorly." If you haven't already, you could have just posted that one alongside this one for a showing of your artistic progression. Highlight how you've improved. I usually find the flawed (or in this case, the poorly-aged) art to be more interesting than seeing overly-polished works repeatedly being uploaded.

ICam2k responds:

Kept hearing about Spinball but never got to play it. Others seem to say otherwise, but who knows. I play a bunch of pinball clones, so it may be actually be a masterpiece.
When someone like Vec is encompassed in the world of fiction with no limits, he never has to worry about anything, even where some body parts may be cut off.
Well there's at least one thing, I hate summer and love winter (although I like spring just as much) while you're on the opposite side, which is alright. I actually like hearing different perspectives even when I may not agree some of them.
Not a bad idea actually. I suppose it's more due to the differing style that clashes out with the current one rather than the quality, even there're some glaring flaws here and there. I still may not be up to it, but you might've changed my mind. But hey, I never said that I wouldn't post the older work. heh

[Before the presses came in]

"I did try choosing other zones besides Green Hill Zone since people seem to hate that zone apparently"

From the Sonic rabbit hole of YT videos I fell into a long while back, it seemed less like people hated the zone and more like they have growing tired from seeing it. The series has introduced its fans to a wide variety of locations over the last couple of decades yet officially it seems like only IDW Publishing bothers to acknowledge them once in a while in the comics. Fan art isn't much better. Green Hill Zone is just what most artists default to whenever they want to draw more of the Hedgehog. It's easy. It's eye-catching. It's what casual fans will immediately recognize.

On to the drawing, it's pretty obvious where the initial effort went (even if I didn't know this was one of your pieces). It's near-impossible not to be immediately drawn toward Vector as the sights of Tails in a hurry, Sonic resting, and the smaller animals (especially the flickies) are not all that uncommon to find. Charmy wanting to be a little mischievous here is appreciated, too, but it really is difficult not to focus on the croc. I love how you can keep producing fan art of this series and Vector frequently ends up looking like the main protagonist regardless of any other characters you add to it. Sonic and Tails are here, but, once again, they come across as the sidekicks in your works.

ICam2k responds:

I have to admit, I'm not particularly that active in the Sonic fandom (I know, crazy) so I can atleast excuse myself that I got that impression.
I guess part of the reason why Green Hill Zone is often picked is not just because it's the first level (although I feel that's besides the point) but also because it looks stylistically pleasing in its own way. The checkered soil, the stripes showing the rustling movement of the grass (all in which looks like those grasses used in football terrains), the palmtrees and flowers that have that "papercraft" look, and most notably the presence of loops, are attention grabbers. They've got the aesthetic that feels exotic, whimsical and yet captivating. Elements that are fairly exclusive to Sonic's world... that's just my explanation though and it probably is just SEGA and the fanartists playing safe. I can even admit that I'm part of the problem. heh
I admittedly do kind of wish that the other locations would get more screetime besides that zone, but it's nothing for me to get upset over. Besides, the games that have these are still around thanks to ports and remasters.

Dang, I didn't intend to make the headphones croc steal the spotlight from the blue blur. Then again, I did draw this feller countless times to the point that I've come to terms with the fact that I'm a "Vector fanartist", as much as I try drawing other stuff.

[A picture of a flower]

Oh, you were going for an old photograph? I figured this was done in B&W as a reference to Super Mario Land being on the original Game Boy.

As much as I should love seeing a tomboy in her swimsuit, something seems off about the bottom half of the body. It might just be due to its comparison to the super-thin waist attached to it. Not sure. Aside from that, Daisy has a wonderful smile, and the entirety of the Muda Kingdom background is treat to look over. The yurarins are especially cute.

ICam2k responds:

It technically does reference the colour limitations that the Gameboy had (even though the original model that the game released on actually supported green colours instead of B&W) but I also noted how Daisy once had longer hair compared to now. I like to think that there's a "passing time" theme going on, even though such changes may not be drastic.
Yeah, I can't blame you, even I noticed that. Maybe I got better with this afterwards, but I'm pretty much aware that not everything can be perfect, as expressive my art style can be.
At first I didn't care about the yurarins until I found out that there were art made for all the characters, including the enemies (the manuals were soo fun everytime they had these). They're very cute indeed.