Here is a repost of my illustration titled "Old Salt". I wasn't exactly happy with the way the water came out on the first version, so I decided to go back into it again. I'm hoping to make this piece portfolio worthy and the water seemed like it was holding it back. Constructive criticism is welcomed. Thanks!
Take this with a grain of salt, please. :)
ReplyDeleteA little more water displacement form the monster. A head that size should cause more disturbance on the surface (think of the body beneath it too). Also, the highlights, IMHO are not enough, unless you make it more foggy on the lake surface, though the day looks pretty clear. Then again, you're not going for realism, right?
But what do I know? :) It still looks awesome to me.
Thanks Gonz! I think your critique is totally on the mark. Right now I think I'm going to scrap the layer that has the water on it and redo a whole new one. Or... I might just move on and not worry about saving it. In any case, I'm going to put this one on the shelf for a bit and come back to it with fresh eyes.
ReplyDeleteHey, those small changes you made really helped! Just that shade darker on the ocean surface makes the monster feel way more "grounded" in the water.
ReplyDeleteThe graphic quality of your new stuff is fantastic, and I think you could push it further into the surface lighting of the water. I agree with gonzalexx, it's a little foggy looking. Not any drastic value shifts, just more graphic treatment of the values you have.
For some reason I'm feeling a hankering for a background element of some kind. Like land, another boat, birds... something. But I'm not sure what would work well. And I by no means presume to know any of this better than you. You're a far more accomplished artist than I, and I think your work's great (both the old and especially the new).
Great move. Fresh eyes after a few days is the best. Things kind of sink in, or morph in one's head. Who knows. But its almost always for the better.
ReplyDeleteWhat the hell, I'll join the convo. A light house would make a fine addition as a background element and I feel like your water is too mushy looking. As gonzalexx was pointing out, as long as it isn't foggy, the water should have a bunch of highlights- think of it almost as if you were painting metal, you need areas of dark up against highlights.
ReplyDelete