Monster Workshop - full sketch due tonight (Monday)!

[Andail]

Update May 13th
In order to stay in the workshop, you have to have at least a sketch ready before midnight. This sketch is the one that your finished piece will be based on, and the one you'll received feedback on.

Tomorrow we'll put away our own creations for a while and spend a day or two to discuss our members' pieces and suggest improvements.
Over and out!

Monster

This workshop isn't exactly game-oriented, since I'm asking you to make a full-sized, hi-res illustration. This time your artwork should feature any kind of monster of your own design. It can be a portrait, or a whole scene. It can be cartoony or horrifically realistic, any genre, style or execution.

Monsters like these.

Week one
We present our ideas. We show references and/or describe the scene in words. After the first week, we should have some kind of concept sketch ready.

Week Two
During the next week, we exchange feedback and start fleshing out our illustrations; we set up the lighting and start colouring.

Week Three
After the second week, we give each other a final round of C&C and start refining our pieces, adding details, textures and highlights where needed.

Vote
After three weeks, we present our final versions, and vote for a winner. Only participants who've been active during the entire activity are eligible for the final vote, although people may enter the activity at any point. We give votes for
* Best development - Vote for the one who's been the most active from the get-go, posting updates and explaining methods, laying out plans and elaborating thoughts.
* Most helpful - Vote for the one who's given the best feedback to other participants.
* Best finished version - Vote for the best illustration.

Rules
* The theme is "monster", and people should be able to look at your piece and think "yeah, monster, I get it", so don't interpret it too loosely or symbolically just to be special...
* We're talking illustration here, so it's not a sprite, and it's not a background. While it may be a portrait, it's a portrait with some sort of backdrop (not just a floating face). Preferably, there's something going on, or at least something being expressed.
* The finished piece should be at least 600x600 pixels. You may present sketches and concepts at any size, but do use thumbnails if your pictures are more than 1000 pixels, so we don't have to scroll the board sideways.
* Let's do this 2D. While 3D may be used for the initial mock-up, we'll use 2D software for most of the production. The reason for this is that 3D modelling is so fundamentally different, and your process won't be very helpful or inspirational to other participants.
* We give plenty of feedback, but we don't provide paint-overs. This is after all an individual challenge, and furthermore posting various versions of others' works will probably make the thread confusing.

If you want to participate but have no material or even plans yet, just claim a spot by posting here and you can add stuff later. If you haven't joined the activity within the first week, you may participate outside of the competition.

Posting
We can distinguish between WiP posts and other chatting by adding a title to the WiP posts. Like, everytime I publish updates to my own picture, I write something like
"Balrog, WiP, step 5" in bold at the top. That will make it easier to keep track of someone's progress, in the midst of chit-chat and c&c. Preferably you link back to the previous step, if you want to be super-helpful to your audience.

While cheering and commenting is free for anyone, don't spam the thread with one-liners or just unnecessary blathering, since the thread risks becoming rather unwieldy anyway.

Go!
Alright, so let's sign up and start planning/sketching!

Here's a nice inspirational video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PBsLCPYGmUQ

Another AGS workshop:
http://www.adventuregamestudio.co.uk/forums/index.php?topic=34542.0

[Cerno]

I'd like to take part if that is allowed. As I mentioned in the seed thread over in the C&C forum, I have little to none experience and would like to use this workshop as a good opportunity to learn. I'll try and research some tutorials before starting so I will have at least some theoretical knowledge.

So, yeah, I'm in if that's okay with you, although I completely understand if not.
Also if spots are limited (due to all the confusion that will ensue), I'll gladly take a back seat to the better artists around here.

Enough with this insecurity crap, let's do this!

[ThreeOhFour]

Marking my place in the thread. Hello! This is my post now.

Week 1, step 1, what do I wanna dooo?


Week 1, step 2, let's look at spines then!


Week 1, step 3, with a design in mind, I try an initial concept sketch.


Week1, step 4, trying the same design from a different angle (with slight tweaks).


Week1, step 5, moving on to the entire body this time.


Week1, step 6, I take my established body design and experiment with different configurations of spines.

[cat]

Water dragon, week 1, step 1
I blatantly stole Ben's layout:


Water dragon, week 1, step 2 - Environment
Let's take a look at the environment:


Water dragon, week 1, step 3 - First sketches (10.5.2013)
 

Water dragon, week 1, step 4 - Thinking about composition (11.5.2013)
I want a setting where the dragon is in its territory and the viewer is an intruder. I tried several poses, not sure yet which one I'm going to use.


Water dragon, week 1, step 5 - Basic sketch
I decided to do a combination of sketch 1 and 3: the monster attacking through kelp, but with a slightly lowered viewpoint.


Click here to continue

[selmiak]

Step 1:
sketch and some references

Spoiler

rough Sketch:
[imgzoom]http://selmiak.bplaced.net/stuff/sketch.jpg[/imgzoom]
so I want to draw ... a mutated muscle frog... thingy?

rough references:


surroundings references:

probably something like this, gotta screencap this from my DVD for better quality than the random image found on the net

[close]

first sketch from paper to the computer

Spoiler

seems a bit undynamic but also somehow fitting for this surprised looking blob...

[close]

week 2 continues here

[waheela]

This sounds fun. I'm in.

-----

Ok, so my monster pic is based off a story I heard on The Drabblecast a couple years ago that really stuck with me. It's called "The Second Conquest of Earth" by L.J. Daly.
Excerpt:

    He sits across from me, a stone slab between us like a tabletop, in what used to be a mausoleum before thieves, human or Kus, shattered the crypts. The Kus's crocodile teeth are bloodied, flecked with gobbets of
    white and gray. The smell of his fresh meal ferments in the summer heat. That blood, that gristle were someone's child. The Kus eat their meat live. Before the image can ignite memory or panic, I force myself to
    examine the details of him. 'Observe, Kasandra.' The old picnic bench creaks under his weight. Even for a Kus, he is huge. The bumpy, loose skin at his throat is the pale green of spring leaves. It hasn't yet darkened
    to full green-brown or begun to swell and dangle, so he is younger than the bulls who rule hereâ€"but old enough to wear the purple chest blazon and whip of a drover. Brawn, not brains. A young tough. He's traveled
    far from the nest. Why? To visit me, of courseâ€"the only attraction in this human cemetery. A sham fortune-teller.

If you're interested in listening to it too, you can...
LISTEN TO THE AWESOME STORY HERE.
Skip to the 1/5 mark, that's where the story begins. It's really well done, you won't regret it.

------

Notes I took from the story for my pic:

Setting
-Story takes place in cemetery
-Cards placed on stone slab (tabletop) that used to be a mausoleum.
-Fortune teller

Lord Jagged (Kus)
-blood on teeth flecked with gobbets of white and grey
-pale green gullet, loose skin.
-young
-purple chest blazon and whip


Week 1, Step 1: References/Inspiration (May 7, 2013)










Week 1, Step 2: Thumbnails (May 9, 2013)
After looking through a bunch of reference images, I made 5 thumbnails in order to explore
the composition of my piece. I always force myself to do 3-5 thumbnails before starting a pic,
even if I already have a strong idea on what I'm going to do. It's a challenge to go against my
preconceived notions for a piece, but sometimes, I'm able to come up with a more dynamic composition.



My first idea for the piece was the bottom, left image, but I ended up going with the top, right image instead.




Week 1, Step 3: Rough Sketch (May 9, 2013)
Here's the beginnings of a rough sketch. During the sketching, I often flip the canvas horizontally or
vertically. Your eyes get used to seeing the image in its regular form, so rotating or flipping it allows
your eyes to better spot glaring errors with the piece.

         




Here's the end result. I think this will be enough to build on, but I may revise it in the coming days.

I often have trouble with perspective, so I suspect I will have problems making the cards/table/hands look right. If anyone has any pointers, I'd be much obliged.

[Stupot]

Spoiler

I'll join in.  It would be a nice way to learn from others who can actually draw.  Unfortunately I doubt I'll have anything constructive to add, so I'll probably be more of a ghostly background participant, copying everyone else's techniques

I'm going to take my inspiration from Japanese monster movies such as Godzilla (of Stu's avatar fame) and the Cloverfield monster (which was itself inspired by her Japanese counterparts).  Expect some kind of giant abonination trampling over the cityscape.

[close]

I'm out.  You guys are too good.  I'll study this thread, but I can't add to it.

[miguel]

Participants get food, right?

I'm in.

**********************************************************************************************************
Okay, some references here:


No, there will be no human-reptile making out! The picture was just too good not to show.

I will be creating a reptile monster, something scaly and wet.
My background, at least for now, is a dungeon where this reptile is chained.

***********************************************************************************************************
1st sketch - basic shape


Here I defined the basic shape for my beautiful monster. Next, I'll correct posture, symmetry and limb sizes.
And yes, all genitals will be covered by fur.

2nd sketch - jumping straight into the action


Low quality scan here, didn't want to wait.
Instead of doing what I said, I jumped into defining some important things first. How the body would be covered with both scales and bone was a big issue to me. I want to make it that some parts are like hardened scales/near bone.
Somehow a hole in the skull looked interesting to me.
I also started defining the right arm better.

3rd sketch - legs makeover


I wasn't happy with the position the monster was crouching and changed it. Still not completely sure.
I'm focusing again on limb sizes.

4th sketch - defining random stuff


Again, I didn't do any of I said I would.
I worked a bit on the right knee, legs and feet. Added fur.
Going to get some final lines straight. Just a few.
***************************************************************************************************************
drawing part 5 - When Harry Eats Sally


This is just a quick update, made him slimmer, added scales and defined some final lines.
Again, against all proper rules of drawing, I went on to add detail although some parts aren't really ready.
I also decided on a name for this guy: Nitro.

******************************************************************************************************************
drawing part 6 - The Largo Embargo


Just kept drawing scales on Nitro. Made some small adjustments on some other parts as well.
I will now leave you with the word: Barabarossa

******************************************************************************************************************
drawing 7 - Vicar in a Tutu


Okay, Nitro is looking more and more defined into his final state of ugliness.
Next I'll sharpen my pencil and do stuff on Nitro.
Word of the Day: Testicle

********************************************************************************************************************
10th May 2013
step 8 - Some Girls Are Bigger Than Others


Right, Nitro got some colours thrown at him. Basic tones assigned and light source as well.
The real work starts now as I want him to be wet and glossy without using any PS effects.
Tail changed position as suggested by the incredible Misj'.
Stay tuned for more on 'How Not To Draw Your Lizard'
Word of the Day: Bananarama

*****************************************************************************************************
14May 2013

Last update for week 1. I hope I'm not kicked out of this because I failed to deliver a background in time.
This is just a crappy background that goes to show that Nitro will be in a dungeon.

[Misj']

I can work with this. I've been a bit too busy to do some actual drawing lately. But I'll try to make some contributions.

But let me get this straight: any kind of monster - from mam shaped to Nessy - is allowed right?

EDIT:

No idea yet where I'll be going with this. But I started by searching the internet for things I had to think about for this subject. My final references will be more and more diverse. And yes, these are just inspirational (style, atmosphere, looks). They can be as useful (or useless) to me as to anyone else.



EDIT:
Some references for clothing and colours taken from random places on the internet.

[Ghost]

This is me marking my spot!

Count me in. I just re-watched The Fly and think it's a really, really iconic and visually interesting creature. I'd like to put it into a full-fledged "action shot"; I am not really good at composing and drawing scenery and this may be the place to learn some more!

[imgzoom]http://i.imgur.com/6UDpt7v.jpg[/imgzoom]
Yeah. Classic!

[Mordalles]

also marking my spot, hoping to take part, since last time I remember not being able to finish!

Week 1 Step 1 (10/05/2013): I just want to do something easy as i've never really drawn a monster before. i wanted to monsterise a bunny but decided just to monsterise a turtle. he will drag something. (disclaimer, that bunny is just a quick sketch of a google photo. )
I'll just leave it in a relatively basic pose, as I don't want to jump in over my head.



now, the idea is to really monster up these basic shapes in the weeks to come.

Week 1 Step 2: (11/05/2013) continuing playing around with monster details and thinking about surroundings....


Week 1 Step 3: (12/05/2013) further detailing and playing around with background...

[SookieSock]

I'm in
Updated
Week 1

[Kasander]

A good occasion to shake off the cobwebs from my fingers...and from inside my mind, too Count me in.

----------------------------------------UPDATE---------------------------------------------

Monster workshop, week 1, step 1. Brainstorming.

This tutorial thread seems to be good occasion to give something to AGS community for all the help and kindness I've received in the past.

Obviously, the process of creation starts in the head... so, for whoever is interested, here's my thought process.

My main goal: to paint a monster that I could put in my concept art/illustration portfolio.
It has to be a monster that could be used in a video game. I'm thinking about a big, high-leveled, 'boss' type creature that player's character could encounter at the end of some maze, at the bottom of the cave or...well, at the end of the level

I decided to start from rough pencil sketch on paper instead of searching for references. This is probably because I had been covered in gigabytes of reference material until recently with another project and I want to see if my brain is still able to function on its own. I'll use references later, when I need them. They will most likely be some pics of nature, like in Cat's or Threeohfour's posts. If anybody's wondering why - that's because basing the creation on something real will make it appear more real. So realism and credibility are some of the traits I'm looking for when designing this monster.

My painting has to have a commercial appeal. I've decided to associate some key words with my project, so if I'll get lost, looking at them should put me back on the right track. 

Key words: majestic/towering/powerful presence, armed & dangerous, scary but - if possible - with a hint of lost (or forgotten) 'human factor'. And let's not forget about the 'wow factor' which seems to be a favourite term of some software developers!

----------------------------------------UPDATE---------------------------------------------

Monster workshop, week 1, step 2. Sketching the monster.

I started with sketching monster heads (numbers 1, 2, 3).



Initially an the idea of  no.2 appealed to me - with its irregular skull, blank eyes at each side of it and many long, thin tentacles or tongues hanging from its mouth. In number 3 I've tried to go further with this idea, attaching the worm-like corpse to the head, but it didn't fit. Instead of searching further this way

I drew another monster, a humanoid creature (number 4). When I did the first sketch the thing that I liked in an instant was its expression. It looked a little bit like an enraged child... besides the obvious fact that it was mutated and seriously overgrown.

I wanted to make the monster look more aggressive and dangerous, so I drew the tentacles that spring from its arms. During the drawing I had this idea of a parasitic-carnivorous plant that roots itself into the body of its victim. Coincidentally, this idea reminds me of something...

----------------------  A SHORT AD BREAK-------------------------

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Have you tasted from Quoth the Raven's Big Blue Cup?
Have you ever ventured into the wrong cave and returned in coexistence with an alien species?
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Participate in Color Ball! The current theme is COEXISTENCE. Win sun and moon as a prize!

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I started to imagine the plant as a parasite/carnivore that blends with the other samples of flora in some dark place which is rather hard to get to. A place like some corner of jungle, cavern or some distant hill. Now, I think, is the time I could use some reference. I visited the wonderful botanical garden in WrocŠ‚aw (Poland) lately but unfortunately it was too early to see any carnivores (they plant them late in May there). So google will have to do.



Reading about some of the specimens above, I've come up with an idea for my carnivorous & parasitic plant (let's call him 'carniparas kasandris', whatever).
It coud exist in two cycles - first, when it's attached to its floral host for a time and grows big, then a second, carnivorous cycle, when the humanoid or some other animal is nearby, the plant strikes the victim with its tentacles, paralyzing it for a while, then grabs onto it and roots into it. In the course of time (days or weeks), it slows down its host's vital energy and grows even more, turning itself (and its host!) into carnivore.
     
From then on it was relatively easy to come up with the idea of host. A humanoid species, that lives on hills and the rock plateaus near/in the jungle, eating roots, shrooms and other plants. They are quite intelligent, able to use some crude tools, and spend their days in the shade of their primitive stone and mud huts or bathing in the pools of mud/water... In general, they are friendly to other humanoids and can even exchange some carved rocks or mushroom stew with player...

Yeah, they're peaceful vegetarians, until they meet the 'carniparas'.

[imgzoom]http://i.imgur.com/bRKTPY7.jpg[/imgzoom]

----------------------------------------------------------------------


I had some computer related problems lately, so I wasn't particularly regular. All right, let's hope this time BSOD will wait until I finish writing this... (BTW, if anyone has a good advice on how to diagnose and get rid of BSOD, please PM me! )
---------------
Week 1, Step 3. Thumbnail sketches. Picking the right pose.

With the key words in mind, I did few thumbnail sketches of the monster.

I was trying to envision his towering presence. I've added a silhouette of human to make monster look bigger. Still everything was open at the thumbnail stage, so I could experiment with few poses, searching for the most dynamic one. I've also experimented with what was to become the most tricky and difficult thing to draw: THAT DAMN CARNIPARASES... Which are, as you may (or may not) know , the parasitic and carnivorous plants that my monster has on its arms. The flexible nature of carniparas has caused me some composition problems.

Let's have a look at these thumbnails.



Number 1.
The biggest problem with this composition is the attacking carniparas. Its part on the left takes too much space in comparison with the lower right part of the picture. This, along with the very static pose of the monster, makes it my least favourite of the four. I've painted it over to give it more expression - back-lighting the monster and trying to experiment a little with the environment. The monster's shadow could be helpful later in determining the atmosphere. The towering monster CASTING EVEN MORE TOWERING SHADOW... Sounds cool, eh? Well, it certainly sounds much better than it looks at this point

Number 2.
I've tried to capture the monster in three-quarter pose. It looks very static and not at all interested in killing the petty human. It doesn't even look towards the victim... It's like it was featuring in a 'spring fashion' catalogue, not in the monster workshop. It looks like a cowboy with his lasso overhead. The contrasting, defensive pose of human make it even less convincing.

Number 3.
Here, we're getting somewhere, at last. The carniparases seems to be more balanced. Also, both monster's and human's poses are dynamic. The attacking carniparas seems like its out of control - which is good.  This would make a decent illustration. A proper monster look, full of rage. Reminds me of my own feelings when I was having those BSODs lately.

No. 4.
I've tried to make it even more dynamic, so I made the monster run towards the human. Although I don't dig the twisted carniparas, and I'm still not sure whether the human should be on monster's right side or left, I like the pose. So let's build further on this one.

With and without opponent.





-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Week 1, Step 4. The final sketch: value painting. Lighting & environment.

After deciding on monster's pose, I imagined it in a jungle or a cave... I started to paint jungle environment in the background, but the silhouette of a monster was appearing more and more diminished (and less and less towering). Seemingly the trees weren't his thing. Oh yeah, and I forgot to save it before experiencing BSOD... Anyway, after deciding to abandon the jungle, I went classical, easier route and painted my monster in the habitat of a cosy cavern. I've imagined it walking into his home in a cave... Then suddenly it sees a human, shrieks a surprised greeting and starts running. Shaking hands couldn't be more painful to this monster's guest

This time, my main focus was lighting and environment. At this stage I'm concentrated on setting the painting's atmosphere. The shadow is exaggerated to make monster look bigger (TOWERING!) and the painting more expressive. I've also tried to do the 'Frazetta triangle' thing, but it didn't work. Perhaps it was too late in the process. I should have thought about triangles, circles and frazettas earlier, when I was doing thumbnails :/ Maybe I'll try that Frazetta approach later if I have time (and courage).

[imgzoom]http://i.imgur.com/DUkQiKv.jpg[/imgzoom]

>Hmm, I'm still wondering if these hands with flesh-eating carniparas aren't too long. The shorter hands weren't that expressive though.

>> The lighting seems wrong on the attacking carniparas part. There are some bright spots that should be darkened, that monster has just run into a dark cave after all. I'll fix that later, probably at the proper painting stage.

>>> In general, the hands should be upgraded and better looking.

>>>> Lot's of environment details should be added. I still don't know what kind of cave is it and how should it differ (IF it shoud) from any other random cave.  Maybe the carniparas plants in their vegetative phase should grow in there.

>>>>> The monster's opponent/victim. I'll have to decide if I want him in the painting... He (or she?) would surely be a good excuse for the monster's pose. Otherwise the creature would just run, well, *somewhere*... towards the viewer... or towards the edge of screen... like in a FPP game or like in Joe Dever's or Choose Your Own Adventure book.

Yeah... and that concludes Week 1 for me.

-----------------------------------------

Week 2, step 1, 'Better late than never' or 'Coloring the damn thing'  

I thought I'll be more active in this week but life got in the way  Only today I could find some more time to paint. I'll give you guys some feedback later

While painting, I've experimented with different color variants (using Color Balance in Photoshop), looking for the one I'd like most.



I wanted colors to be vibrant, but not too vibrant. Oversaturation, as seen on the middle thumbnail in the lower row, was out of question.

After few attempts, I've found the color palette I like. 



Here's the same picture, only with Curves adjusted in PS:



I'll probably do something in between.

I'm afraid I won't have time to experiment with changing the scenery or making the cave less generic, but it's not that important. Next, I'll work on details with small brush. There's also that monster's opponent to paint. I'll probably have to make canvas bigger to make room for the human. Still quite a lot to do with that painting.     

Feedback is most welcome

[EchosofNezhyt]

cool cool
I don't think I've ever organized a drawing before I did it... I a bit lost hmm I'll look around for something cool.

[Atelier]

Love it! (It's a yes for now)!

[Cuiki]

I'll probably regret it later, but... count me in for now!

--------------------------
Week 1, Step 1 - A few reference pics and a lot of rambling (7 May)



Week 1, Step 2 - First sketch (9 May)

[imgzoom]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v467/missy_L/sketch-1.png[/imgzoom]

Not particularly happy with the way he turned out. I wanted to make him look like he's in great pain (that thing in his hand is supposed to be his own chopped-off arm), whereas now he just looks like he's doing some sort of a gay dance move. Any suggestions appreciated of course, though I hope the whole thing would look at least a bit better once I add colours and textures.

[Shane 'ProgZmax' Stevens]

Oh no, not another plan!

[imgzoom]http://i485.photobucket.com/albums/rr218/ProgZmax/plan_zps4e52a709.png[/imgzoom]


Alright, I had some time to sit down and condense my ideas into a semi-coherent 'thumbnail' sketch that I am going to use as a reference for the final:

[imgzoom]http://i485.photobucket.com/albums/rr218/ProgZmax/planref_zps19e63570.png[/imgzoom]


Basically, the things I wanted to show were:

1.  The Elder God (obviously).  He takes center stage in the piece.
2.  The cult summoning him back from the depths using the Necronomicon (and a sacrifice, of course).  I place them in the background on the left.
3.  The hero making one last desperate try to shoot the cult leader before the ritual is complete and the Elder God consumes the Necronomicon (and the world!).

So what I want to portray here is a very dreary setting.  I'm hoping the final will have lots of blues, blue-grays and red-grays.  The ritual being conducted is sending a dark whirlwind from the Necronomicon into the sky, choking out the sunlight so it will need to look very dark and stormy.  The Elder God I'm presenting here is going to look like he's been underwater for quite some time, with a slimy, barnacle-covered appearance as he looms out of the water grasping for the book.
The hero will be in a rather shabby suit with a 1920's-1940's period sniper rifle in his hand, staring down the sights at the head of the cult leader who is wearing long robes that are blowing in the wind.  The cultists are bowed down in front of a pyre which will be the brightest light source in the piece and will be illuminating most of the cliff as well as add some interesting reddish highlights to the otherwise putrid blue-green-gray Elder God.  Behind the cultists will be what looks like the remnants of a greek/atlantean type structure with a sacrificial altar upon which a dead woman will be laying (presumably the romantic interest for the hero).

Hopefully I can take the final image in the direction I want it to go, but I think the plan is a good one visually and provides some good balancing items for the viewer to examine.  I might add something more to the right side but I kind of like the effect of the hero by himself on a neighboring cliff vs. the evil.  It should evoke the same kind of helplessness most Lovecraftian tales illustrate.


Now that I have a plan, I've gone back and made a larger sketch of the Elder God, refining the initial design and bringing it closer to how I want it to look.

[imgzoom]http://i485.photobucket.com/albums/rr218/ProgZmax/godsandmen_zpsa1af735e.png[/imgzoom]

Some things I've changed:

1.  Gave it a more defined (less bulky) body.
2.  Reworked the mouth, adding a beak (which I think looks pretty cool).
3.  Made the wings a bit larger, probably will need to make them a bit wider as well.
4.  Adjusted pose to make it look more like it was moving forward and also reaching DOWN.  In the original sketch I have the God reaching up towards the Necronomicon but what I really want is to show his size so in the final version the cliff will be lower and he will be reaching down for the book.

Now that I'm relatively happy with the basic design for my monster I can start on the actual final piece which will include the changes I've made here as well as some more as I improve his anatomy and musculature for the final sketch.


Okay, so I had some time on Sunday (5/13) and the ear of a certain Ben so I hammered out my final sketch with most of the guidelines and such still included.  Next I'll do a light/dark value paint to start some color rolling.



You can see the full sized version here :
http://i485.photobucket.com/albums/rr218/ProgZmax/deadlydepthsdone_zps4f9c3ae3.png~original

[Mati256]

ProgZmax, I love everything about your idea! 

[Baron]

I'm going to be honest about the fact that I've already taken many stabs at this in an abandoned suspended project of mine:


I'll be starting from scratch for this workshop of course, but I'm still angling towards creating something that might work here.  I need a dragon with a broken claw and wings, and otherwise just an immensely fearsome and impressive beast.  What I found didn't work last time around: my figure looks flat, anatomically unrealistic, stiffly posed and disjointed.  This time I'm going to attempt an anatomical study of related beasts (dinosaurs, lizards, birds...) and a real-life model (my imperiously lazy cat) to see if I can create something more "natural" looking.

[Misj']

By the way...I'm thinking about creating two outputs. The first is as described in the original post, the second is a re-interpretation of the SAME monster (so using exactly the same character-designs) but that could be used in-game. So with a lower resolution and fewer colours, and keeping in mind the need to animate it.

I don't want to propose this as a general 'rule', but I do think it could be interesting and educational.

[Snarky]

      â€œIf we were very, very, very naughty, and wouldn't be good, what then?”

               â€œThen,” said the mother sadly, “I should have to go away and leave you,
                 and send home a new mother, with glass eyes and a wooden tail.”

This was a game idea I was working on a few years back, inspired by Lucy Clifford's creepy children's story "The New Mother." I thought the new mother might make a good topic for this workshop.



My go-to sources for visual inspiration are mainly Jan Svankmajer and the Berlin Monsterkabinett. Also Harlow's surrogate mother experiments with monkeys (thanks to Quintaros for pointing me towards that) for the concept.

I had some concept sketches at one point, but I seem to have lost them, so I'm starting from scratch again.

Edit: Initial sketch

[Eric]

Same as Snarky!

[loominous]

Great initiative Andail, and will be cool to try out a new format!

After seeing ProgZmax's ogre, I did start sketching on one of my own yesterday, an ogre intellectual, or as close as they're able to get. It didn't look very monstery though, but I figure one could take the concept further, more towards the topic. (was a paper sketch, which I don't have with me atm, but I might find n scan it).

So yea, monster intelllectual is the current plan.


05-09 - Initial Sketches w lighting

Started sketching on my monster intellectual and tried some lighting. The 'monster' label will be used in a Quasimodo fashion, where it denotes freakish qualities, rather than scary.

Still a bit too harmless human like, so the plan is to push the extremes further.

The character is supposed to be standing on a shelf ladder, in a library, which is hardly readable atm. The designs are quite generic, so I'll be researching and trying to come up with some nifty ones. The angle of the shelf and ladder will probably change as well, to better suit the back lighting, and making the character pop.



05-11 - Further Sketching w lighting




Reworked the char a bit, his neck in particular, giving it more of a straight line to his back, and fleshed out the backdrop with diagonal shapes n arcs.

Been thinking about ditching the ladder, and instead just make him this hugely tall guy, which could be cooler as well as avoid the whole ladder readability mess.

After I saw the cute creature in dactylopus' montage, and probably due to the fact that I've been periodically accompanied by a yawning kitten for the last few days, I tried adding one to his long neck. I initially thought it could be holding a candle, as I had some issues with the current lighting setup, and a candle behind him could help, but then I started fleshing out the background, and it seemed to work without it. I't s quite generic atm, so like with the char I'm gonna push it further.

The backdrop is working okish atm, wanna get a sense of scale and the windows might detract a bit too much, might end up hiding them and just have light haze be visible, we'll see. Also considering flipping the whole thing, as it would make things flow a bit better. (also, when I flipped it, way too late as usual, I noticed a lot of tilting issues, which I'm gonna have to deal with, along with the severely flawed perspective (I tend to be very loose with perspective when I sketch, just winging it, hate straight lines).

05-12 - Some refinement/modifications



Bit of refinement/modifications.

Thinking about adding a few of these kitten like creatures, perhaps giving his robe a hood where they would gather. Quickly sketched in two of them, and they do make the scene more interesting, particularly if they're not that easy to spot, adding some exploration. Overall gonna keep things in low contrast, with hopefully lots of nifty things to discover.

[Cogliostro]

Okay, I already have a character in mind for one of my games, but no actually idea of what he looks like.  The villain's name is LaPLace, named after LaPlace's demon, a thought experiment about determinism.  Scientifically, LaPlace was slain by Heisenberg's Uncertainty Principle, but that never stop a good villain before.  As a recurring character, he was a shapeshifter, but introducing himself the same way every time he runs into one of the main characters.

THE DEMON: “I got a lot of different faces in I where in all sorts of places, but I only got one name, and that's LaPlace.”

LaPlace also exists in Voodoo as the Master of Ceremonies.  Based on that bit, I reimagined LaPlace as a dignified monster who has to obey rules and helps the players as much as he threatens them.  Most of all, during the course of the game you will begin to understand LaPlace.  Sure he's a evil, but it's so much more disturbing when you understand why he has chosen a course of action that has earned him the label, demon.

So, what does he look like?

I don't want to make him look like a traditional video game demon â€" actually I might have, but Ben beat me to it, so onto the research.
A Google search turns up few useful images: the inventor of the thought-concept, LaPlace himself, and a picture from “The Rozen Maiden”, but I'd rather not go rabbit.  Honestly, I'm hoping for something dark and sinister with a veneer of civilization over the top.
Switching to something more Voodoo, I can find Baron Samedii, but not LaPlace. 



Historical demons look stupid.  A monster made of horns and fangs, isn't necessarily bad, but looses the evil gentleman feel.  I can go with an abomination of shadow, tentacles, and madness, but ProgZmax is already doing Cthulhu.

For the moment, I think I'll emphasis the shapeshifter angle, a supernatural entity who appears as a vagrant in our world, but who can pull you into a world of madness and shadow.



Okay, that's starting point.  Now I have to actually produce some concept art.

- Cogliostro

[Andail]

Alright, I don't really have a plan or a clear picture in my head yet, so I just sat down and sketched a bit today.









May 8th, Distant monster, more sketches!
I still have no real visions for the monster itself, so I'm just sketching some more, this time more land/cityscapes. I think I want to make the monster appear in the far distance, its features almost indiscernible, probably with the hero in the foreground, being chased. I'm gonna do a handful more of these sketches, as I really enjoy the process, and the randomness can give me new ideas for designs and nice compositions. I try not to spend more than perhaps 15 mins per sketch.


I really love sci-fi cityscapes, and if I go with this setting I'll probably try to increase the sense of speed further. I like the idea of a fish-like, floating monster, even though it's not really original. I began drawing the buildings seen more from beneath, with a more "drastic" perspective, but I changed it back to a more standard perspective, but some buildings are still tilted.


This one has a very straight and calm composition, which I hope can make the giant humanoid shape even more eerie and out of place. I envision someone being chased seen in the foreground. The tree-brush is just a placeholder until I draw my own trees. Still some perspective-lines visible.

May 13th, Flying cockroach snake!

It's a bit messy, so I hope to get it cleaner. The focus will be on the two figures on the hover-bike-thingie. I might bring them even closer to the camera, to be able to catch more details.

[cat]

*bump* 

Water dragon, week 1, step 2 - Environment

Let's take a look at the environment:


Link back to step 1

[Cerno]

Edit: moved this to the next post to have it all in one place.

[Cerno]

Mammalian Dragon, week 1, step 1: references

So here's mine, let's see how this will turn out



Mammalian Dragon, week 1, step 2: first sketch

Okay I'm going out on a limb here and present my end of day 1 sketch (original about 3800x2600).

This went better than expected, but there are a lot of things that are just wrong or didn't turn out as I wanted.
So I'll keep working on this sketch and see if I can improve here.

I especially don't like the missing dynamic of the monster, as it's missing the more dramatic attack pose I was aiming for. Also obviously the arms are far from how I envisioned them.

So yeah, needs a lot of work.



Mammalian Dragon, week 1, step 3: second sketch

I did some research on perspective after I realized that the previous sketch was way off, especially the legs.
The horns seemed too flat and stuck to the head, but some perspective lines helped to improve them as well. Theory yay!

I also found a better brush after seeing some of the sketches here, as the standard one does not offer much in terms of sensitivity. I like this one is much better.

Next I realized that in order to make it qualify as a dragon I would have to lose some of the animal characteristics I was copying from my references. It looked too much like a chimera and too little like a dragon. It still looks like I simply tacked on a bull's head, so I guess that will need some work. I get the feeling that adding spikes and horns will not be sufficient here.

Still not happy with the legs and arms, though. They will need some additional iterations.




Mammalian Dragon, week 1, step 4: corrections, detail and shading first pass

Increased the wing size (thanks for the input, miguel!)

Cleaned up the lines and added some details. Finally got semi-decent feet after figuring out that in this perspective we should be able to see the inside of the feet. I guess I got lost in the details though.

After reading 304's excellent update I copied some of his shading techniques, although I will need a lot more practice here.

Decided to move the sun to the left to achieve more dramatic shadows. After playing with light sources a bit I realized that shading this setup will be quite a challenge (sun, volcano and wizard's staff), but a very good exercise. The volcano and staff lighting cast on the dragon is not there yet.

So far I'm a bit surprised how well it turned out compared to my previous endeavors in drawing. I could do with some more c&c at this stage



Edit: Since I had to finish another competition I did not have enough time to work on this, but I am still in. So this is my end-of-week-one-status. The composition will remain more or less like this. If anyone would be so kind I'd really appreciate some c&c.

--- other thread ---

Since I'm quite new to all this, I am pretty much stuck at this stage.
For anyone willing to give me c&c, I would be happy with some very general pointers here.
Basically, what I should improve at this stage before it's too late and what the next steps would be.

Week 2 Step 1

Thanks to everyone for their invaluable support and tips.
I had to organize it all and even the condensed version now fills two pages.

So first I tried to improve the wings. The initial imbalance was inherited from the reference image of a bat with its wings pretty much in the same pose, but I agree that this has to change.

Next I tried to do some thumbnails, very useful technique, by the way. Thanks loominous!



I like the general feel of them quite a lot

Next I tried to sketch a pose that incorporates some of the advice I got, mostly from Kasander and waheela
I moved the wizard to the lower edge of the screen and made the dragon more prominent. The legs, arms horns and snout now all point towards the wizard. I tried to hint at a triangle here.

Unfortunately I was not quite able to catch the presence of dragon from the thumbnails, maybe this stage needs another iteration.



Edit: Maybe a little more like this, now the wings underline the arrow-shape more and it becomes a little more dynamic:



@waheela: Thanks a lot for the eagle images, nice finds. I have some trouble adapting the pose since an eagle has no arms, while the dragon does. But I tried to get the wings somewhat similar and I plan to heavily reference the talons.

@loominous & Kasander: Unfortunately I won't have the time to redo the whole dragon, so I won't be going for the 3/4 perspective since I fear that I might not make it in the end.

To every other helpful soul out there: You are not forgotten. All advice has been compiled into a neat list and will be commented on in due time


Week 2 Step 2

Last update for today.

I played around a bit with talons:



Also I tried to apply the pose I sketched earlier.
Somehow I get the feeling that every time I go from abstract to concrete the picture loses a lot of personality

Anyway, I know this is far from perfect, but I think I'll have to start thinking about lighting and colors, since I'm running out of time for the sketch phase...



Week 2 Step 3

So I tried to get a feel about lighting and colors with a very rough sketch. It might have been a good idea to do lighting and color separately though.



After Kasander's hint about adding some meaning through colors I drew the whole scene in reds, lighted from below and colored the wizard's spell in blues to underline his foreignness in this envionment. Just realized that the mountains would need different shades of grey to give them a better impression of depth.

After loominous's hints about contrast, I scaled down the image to thumbnail size:



I can see that the dragon takes the focus as it should but the smoke has too much contrast and competes too much. My decreasing the contrast here, I hope to get the background volcanoes to actually feel like a background, the same goes for the mountain range. Also the central volcano at the bottom as well as the wizard's cliff is almost invisible. This has to change.

Week 2 Step 4

Detail work, slow progress. Needs plenty more work, still got a lot to learn, need to research more, I guess.
Tried a different pen for the hands, which now somewhat clashes with the rest of the image.
The wizard's shadow is most likely wrong, at least the pole should not cast a shadow with the light source on top.



Week 3 Final Image

Time's up. Here's my final version (click for full size image):



Phew that surely shaved some time off my life. Worth every minute though
Unfortunately now I'll have to consider redrawing everything I did for the game I'm working on so far...

[Cuiki]

Bump. Step one.

[EchosofNezhyt]

I've been a bit stressed this week. But I really like Minotaur... Hair is a #@&!* to draw though (At least for me.)

But it should be a good learning experience. I'll think about a pose and work on a sketch right now.


Edit: Or maybe not... HMMMMMMM!

[Monsieur OUXX]

Hello dears, this is Selmiak's mom, I'm looking for him, he didn't pick up my calls.
Selmiak, you need to come home and do your homework. ^_^

http://binarylegends.cbm8bit.com/forum/index.php

[Ghost]

Week 1, Step 1 - ideas, reference pics, and ramblings



Will go straight to sketches now. This is gonna be awesomely sick.

Week 1, Step 2 - Roughs
So, I'll defenitely go for a "spliced human", but I want more than just a "Fly" copy. Why settle for one insect when you can mash up everything? So far I got a rough pose; now to research what makes a nice mash.



Week 1, Final Sketch


Everything's settled- a cliché but still powerful "point of view", and the monster's complete too. Lots of shoddy work in the background there, but this is my final layout.

[selmiak]

Hello dears, this is Selmiak's mom, I'm looking for him, he didn't pick up my calls.
Selmiak, you need to come home and do your homework. ^_^

http://binarylegends.cbm8bit.com/forum/index.php

hi mom

[Misj']

I finally decided on the kind of monster I'm going to do. I want to do a monster loosely based on those found in Greek mythology. Like most monster the Greek 'invented', it will be a monster made up from different animals mixed together with some human in there too. Oh, and she's going to be female (because females are much more vicious than men, and that makes them terrifying as monsters).

So...Female with animal parts.

ps. and it's going to be totally different from Ghost's awesomely sick human turning monster...I promise

EDIT:
Some studies and sketches.

The first four were drawn while I was riding the bus to/from work. They were more about ideas than about execution (yes, I say that because their execution is terrible ). For the three on the right I try to fleshen out some of my ideas; focusing on her face. Her hair definitely has to change (because it reminds me too much of Disney's Rapunzel). But I wanted to give my monster a bit of an angelic first impression; so I gave her a bit of a softer face. I do love the very small pupils of the top-middle sketch...it's very hypnotic.


Edit 2: CONTEXT
my monster started out as the following scene: imagine walking into an old church (possibly a bit fallen into decay). In the light of a window you see the contours of a shape: an angel. Turns out, it wasn't an angel.

So I want my monster to have - at least when we first encounter her - a silhouette that resembles an angel. And my entire character-design is based around finding that silhouette and especially how to deform that into something less attractive.

Edit 3: CHARACTER-STUDY SHEET
She's definitely going to have a feline body ('cause Cats are cool; and they look really cute when they sleep). She's also not going to be evil per se, because I just don't feel like drawing evil at the moment. That doesn't mean she won't kill, or even won't kill the innocent. It's just that she kills for food and not for fun; she actually feels bad about it. So initially she's introduced as the silhouette of an angel, then she turns out to be a monster, but in reality she's innocent and vulnerable.

I prefer to draw around story, so as the story is fleshening out, so is the character (and there are still some holes in both). I almost always do these sketchy character-sheets (well, normally they're on multiple pages of my sketch-book I always carry around) because it helps me to build around characters (and story) rather than a single image/stance. It also helps me explore different sides/aspects of the character.


Edit 4: THE UNEXPECTED AND UNUSUAL
One of the best parts about character-design is that you get to try things that are different. So I have this innocent and shy girl who is also a monster (feline body, wings, horns, will kill for food, that kind of thing). This creates some nice contrasts to work with; even in the most common situations.


I like this piece, because showering and cleaning oneself is not the first thing you think about when you're thinking 'monster'; yet it fits the character of a beautiful femaile-cat-person perfectly. My only concern...I might be a bit close to breaking rule #1, because she's getting less and less of a monster; just trapped in a monster's body.

EDIT 5: WARRIOR PRINCESS
Added another small sketch just playing with and exploring the character.

I have to say, the wings are going to be a challenge to position with the right energy and stance. Then again I haven't tried any stance where she's actually using them. Maybe it's about time I should explore what she'll look like when jumping/flying. That could be quite interesting.

EDIT 6: ATTACK
First of all, from now on she's named Sandra.

I was thinking about a nice pose to work on; and this was what came out. Though there is still a lot correct, push, and make stronger, I think it's a nice basis for an image. And it's something I've never done before (it's also something that would be ruined my my usual flat rendering unfortunately...so that's going to be an interesting challenge).



EDIT 7: COMPOSITION

the overall idea is to have her live in a cathedral/church kind of place, and have a big church-window behind her. That's all I know for certain right now...the rest will evolve as I continue working on it.

I want to have a (male) character to the front for her to attack, and maybe a small group of people in the back slightly in front of the window (this will also help us get a sense of scale). I would love to have a chandelier in there as well, but I don't think it will fit within the composition/framing. So basically...all key-elements are still missing

kept the flying attack-pose, and addressed some of the things that bothered me.



EDIT 8: CONTEXT
I added a some very rough additional character sketches to the scene to add some context

[selmiak]

rough Sketch:
[imgzoom]http://selmiak.bplaced.net/stuff/sketch.jpg[/imgzoom]
so I want to draw ... a mutated muscle frog... thingy?

rough references:


surroundings references:

probably something like this, gotta screencap this from my DVD for better quality than the random image found on the net




miguels Monster looks scary already. And I'm looking forward to ben's cute hedegehog monster?

[Chicky]

Holding of this space for me!

[Kasander]

Update: step 1

[Cerno]

Mammalian Dragon Step 3: Sketch-over, new brush, learned something about perspective, ever so slightly more dragon-ish: Bump

[miguel]

Cerno, check your wing sizes. To lift the dragon up you need bigger ones.

[Cerno]

Cheers, miguel, I'll try that.
I based it off the bat without realizing the different body sizes of the dragon and the bat

[SookieSock]

Added some simple sketches of tree monsters
Bump

[Misj']

The story and character are slowly fleshening out and getting some dimensions, so I added some more character-studies here.

[Kasander]

Step 2 - sketches (with co-existential ad break!)

[Shane 'ProgZmax' Stevens]

Had some time to do a test sketch:

http://www.adventuregamestudio.co.uk/forums/index.php?topic=48175.msg636453519#msg636453519

[Cerno]

Mammalian Dragon, step 4: corrections, details and shading first pass

[selmiak]

I wouldn't mind reading only the updates in new posts (and see them added to the huge first post as well) as the collective first post will soon be getting huge and when making comments to these updates withing the flow of the thread it is easier to know what the comments refer to

[Andail]

Distant monster, more sketching
Made some speedpaintings, still no clear vision in my head. I think I want a huge monster towering in the distance, almost featureless, with someone fleeing in the foreground.
http://www.adventuregamestudio.co.uk/forums/index.php?topic=48175.msg636453580#msg636453580

Also, what's the general opinion so far on having a collective thread like this? I find it rather cozy myself, to have everyone gathered. I think having separate threads for everyone would make it easier to keep track of an individual member's process, but maybe people would be conscious about having few visitors/posters in their threads, and it would perhaps be more competitive. Thoughts?

[miguel]

I'm having lots of fun with this collective thread Andail. It's really cool to see WIP of several people on the same subject. Selmiak post makes sense as well.

[Calin Leafshade]

I think the collective thread is good but it lacks chronology a little.. maybe updates should be in new posts to dhow the progression and for posterity.

[Andail]

Ok, so from now on we'll publish the entire update in the bump-post as well.
This will make it easier to follow the chronology of the whole thread, and it will also let us comment on updates easier.

The original post should still display all updates, preferably with dates added.

[Shane 'ProgZmax' Stevens]

Now that I have a plan, I've gone back and made a larger sketch of the Elder God, refining the initial design and bringing it closer to how I want it to look.

[imgzoom]http://i485.photobucket.com/albums/rr218/ProgZmax/godsandmen_zpsa1af735e.png[/imgzoom]

Some things I've changed:

1.  Gave it a more defined (less bulky) body.
2.  Reworked the mouth, adding a beak (which I think looks pretty cool).
3.  Made the wings a bit larger, probably will need to make them a bit wider as well.
4.  Adjusted pose to make it look more like it was moving forward and also reaching DOWN.  In the original sketch I have the God reaching up towards the Necronomicon but what I really want is to show his size so in the final version the cliff will be lower and he will be reaching down for the book.

Now that I'm relatively happy with the basic design for my monster I can start on the actual final piece which will include the changes I've made here as well as some more as I improve his anatomy and musculature for the final sketch.

[Misj']

Also, what's the general opinion so far on having a collective thread like this? I find it rather cozy myself, to have everyone gathered. I think having separate threads for everyone would make it easier to keep track of an individual member's process, but maybe people would be conscious about having few visitors/posters in their threads, and it would perhaps be more competitive. Thoughts?

I like the fact that all participants are in the same thread. I also like all the work-in-progress posts. But personally I find the continuously updated posts a bit difficult to read; especially on my tablet (on my desktop it's a bit better, but I still tend to just scroll over everything). For myself I chose to have different posts on different subjects (one on reference material, one on character sketches, and each new step will get it's own dedicated (but updated) post).

[Kasander]

Ok, so from now on we'll publish the entire update in the bump-post as well.
This will make it easier to follow the chronology of the whole thread, and it will also let us comment on updates easier.

The original post should still display all updates, preferably with dates added.

I like this idea. With the original posts getting bigger and bigger it will be increasingly more and more frustrating to find updates in them. So updates in the bump post should fix this... and they will instantly show who's got something new to show. Also, I don't mind having everything in one thread. Sure, it's messy, but the monsters should learn to coexist with each other in this environment  

[Vukul]

Hope it's not too late for me to join in the activity. Certainly, there are a lot of people to learn something from - and also the opportunity to show that you've learnt something. But enough blabbering

After some consideration and seeing the really great variety of interpretations of the subject, I decided to give a little revamp to one idea that has been haunting me for some time (of course, it was a kind of monster, why else would it haunt me). I'd call it Guardian of the Veil. So...

Guardian of the Veil, Step 1. Concept
First of all, I need to pin up the idea of the monster in question - of course, it can change over the course of working, but still there should be some starting point.
So, as I see it, the Guardian is a cross between the Death-like figure (with maybe some attributes like scythe, cloak, bones and such) to deter travellers from crossing the Veil and the Cerberus to fight them back (hence I could need some canine features added as well)... Originally, the Guardian was a masked floating figure with a weapon and armor, which existed partially in physical plane and partially in the ghostly realm. But in order to make it more 'monstrous' I decided to re-work it and try to combine with a Cerberus.
Thus, the keywords for reference should be 'death', 'cerberus', 'scythe' (or maybe some other weapon), 'mask'.

Now let's start looking for and gathering references (the thing I never did before, but I'll give it a try - why not?). To be continued...

[loominous]

Main thread

Started sketching on my monster intellectual and tried some lighting. The 'monster' label will be used in a Quasimodo fashion, where it denotes freakish qualities, rather than scary.

Still a bit too harmless human like, so the plan is to push the extremes further.

The character is supposed to be standing on a shelf ladder, in a library, which is hardly readable atm. The designs are quite generic, so I'll be researching and trying to come up with some nifty ones. The angle of the shelf and ladder will probably change as well, to better suit the back lighting, and making the character pop.

[Misj']

I think it's time for some feedback.

I'll try to drop a few lines on each of the designs, but I'll start with ThreeOhFour. I hope it's useful.

[miguel]

9th May 2013, update 7
******************************************************************************************************************
drawing 7 - Vicar in a Tutu


Okay, Nitro is looking more and more defined into his final state of ugliness.
Next I'll sharpen my pencil and do stuff on Nitro.
Updates will be at least 800 pixels wide from now on as well.
I'm still waiting for the food I was promised.
Word of the Day: Testicle


Original Post with step by step drawings here

[Kasander]

Monsters like these.

Suddenly it occurred to me how geometrical Frazetta's compositions are. The shapes form triangles, circles, rhombuses even. That's one of the things that make his paintings dynamic and so powerful. This is something we could all learn from. I watched his works hundreds of time in the past, but it broke through my skull only today (with the power of CtB's/Deathdealer's axe though), when I was looking at them all at once.

[imgzoom]http://i.imgur.com/5v95Qek.jpg[/imgzoom]

Triangles, trianges, triangles everywhere!
Great idea to post that link Andail.

[Misj']

Miguel, those human reptiles do walk among us. Please ignore my drawing-style...

[nihilyst]

Week 1, inspiration


Week 1, Sketch 1: general idea


I want to make a gigantic undersea creature, maybe some kind of mixture between plant and animal in a way that it resembles an animal with tentacles, a mouth and stuff, but that it grows and spreads like a plant. I want to display a creature that has taken an enormous amount of the floor of a lake. Spreading like a giant fungus and to show its hugeness, many instances of the same thing should be seen, like many mouths, tentacles and stuff stretching into the background. The water surface should be seen from below, maybe with a small boat on it.

Ideas: Some bioluminescent parts of the creature to get some illumination down there.

----
Week 1, Sketch 2: two ideas for composition; one already with rough values

This one shows off the entire lake's floor with the creature growing out of a huge mess of a blob that covers the ground. On top, there's a boat visible to showcase the hugeness of the 'thing'. The tentacles reach out for it, but can't reach it, as if they were trying to break loose and escape their body, but they are stuck. They have to wait until they have grown even more. I'm not too happy with the right side yet; I'll have to revise it.
In the value sketch I tried to capture a rather tranquil feeling, with patches of sunlight shimmering on the floor, showing that this creature is part of the normal world and not evil at all.
Ideas: Cover the ground with some pimples and other gross stuff. No one should ever feel comfortable diving down there.



---
Week 1, Sketch 3: revision of the first sketch



Changed the right side to achieve a better flow. Changed values and set up some colors to establish a mood.

----
I really like what all of you've done already. Great stuff! And so many different approaches.

[Andail]

Yeah, Kasander, it's amazing to see Frazetta's perfectly harmonious compositions. That along with the dynamic poses of his figures are just eyecandy. I had books of Frazetta which I studied before there was even an internet, but I didn't understand until almost recently how much he worked with geometry.

[Cerno]

Just a short comment on Misj''s comments:
First of all, awesome and invaluable input, kudos!

Second, Miguel, what I really like about your initial design is the similarity to an Oni from Japanese mythology, especially like the ones depicted in Onikirimaru by Kei Kusunoki (example).  I'm not sure that this was intended, since you were going for a reptile, but I like the look a lot.

[Ghost]

Week 1, Step 2 - Roughs
So, I'll defenitely go for a "spliced human", but I want more than just a "Fly" copy. Why settle for one insect when you can mash up everything? So far I got a rough pose; now to research what makes a nice mash.



- Zombie-gait pose is always nice.
- You can say about Fly 2 what you like, the monster *was* awesome.
- The telepod's design in the movie is based on director Cronenberg's car's cylinders. The guy's a show-off.
- Also a painful testimony to the fact that I still can't draw a circle on my tablet.

[waheela]

Update! (Click here to go to the original post.)

***********************************

Week 1, Step 2: Thumbnails (May 9, 2013)
After looking through a bunch of reference images, I made 5 thumbnails in order to explore
the composition of my piece. I always force myself to do 3-5 thumbnails before starting a pic,
even if I already have a strong idea on what I'm going to do. It's a challenge to go against my
preconceived notions for a piece, but sometimes, I'm able to come up with a more dynamic composition.



My first idea for the piece was the bottom, left image, but I ended up going with the top, right image instead.




Week 1, Step 3: Rough Sketch (May 9, 2013)
Here's the beginnings of a rough sketch. During the sketching, I often flip the canvas horizontally or
vertically. Your eyes get used to seeing the image in its regular form, so rotating or flipping it allows
your eyes to better spot glaring errors with the piece.

         




Here's the end result. I think this will be enough to build on, but I may revise it in the coming days.

I often have trouble with perspective, so I suspect I will have problems making the cards/table/hands look right. If anyone has any pointers, I'd be much obliged.

[selmiak]

Ghost, screw the circles, these fingers look creepy already
I remember fly 2 as a really bad film as a whole, I can't even remember how the flymonster looked in part 2, so it can't have been that good. But fly 1 great

[nihilyst]

Update: added two composition sketches, one with rough values.

Week 1, Sketch 2: two ideas for composition; one already with rough values

This one shows off the entire lake's floor with the creature growing out of a huge mess of a blob that covers the ground. On top, there's a boat visible to showcase the hugeness of the 'thing'. The tentacles reach out for it, but can't reach it, as if they were trying to break loose and escape their body, but they are stuck. They have to wait until they have grown even more. I'm not too happy with the right side yet; I'll have to revise it.
In the value sketch I tried to capture a rather tranquil feeling, with patches of sunlight shimmering on the floor, showing that this creature is part of the normal world and not evil at all.
Ideas: Cover the ground with some pimples and other gross stuff. No one should ever feel comfortable diving down there.


This second pic is closer to the water surface. But the more I look at it, I get drawn back to the first concept. Yeah, I like the first one better and will work on it from now on.

(Click to warp to original post)

[Cuiki]

A little update:
Week 1, Step 2 - First sketch

[imgzoom]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v467/missy_L/sketch-1.png[/imgzoom]

Not particularly happy with the way he turned out. I wanted to make him look like he's in great pain (that thing in his hand is supposed to be his own chopped-off arm), whereas now he just looks like he's doing some sort of a gay dance move. Any suggestions appreciated of course, though I hope the whole thing would look at least a bit better once I add colours and textures.

(original post HERE)

[miguel]

Misj':

Miguel, those human reptiles do walk among us. Please ignore my drawing-style...

Thanks for the time you took "reading" my drawing. By the way, your skill is fantastic.
I liked what you did with the tail, it does look better.
I understand what you mean about the scales making Nitro cluttered and hard to "read" but I do love every one of his scales and it becomes less confusing in full size.
Anyway, as I write this lines, me and my wife decided to adopt the lizard and he'll be living with us.

Cerno:
That's one mean looking dude. Cool stuff! But, no. I didn't base my lizard on it or anything else. Just the pictures I showed for reference, specially the one where that dude is making out with a lizard.

[Misj']

Added another small sketch just playing with and exploring the character.

I have to say, the wings are going to be a challenge to position with the right energy and stance. Then again I haven't tried any stance where she's actually using them. Maybe it's about time I should explore what she'll look like when jumping/flying. That could be quite interesting.

Thanks for the time you took "reading" my drawing. By the way, your skill is fantastic. I liked what you did with the tail, it does look better.

Cheers, it was a fun exercise.

[Misj']

I often have trouble with perspective, so I suspect I will have problems making the cards/table/hands look right. If anyone has any pointers, I'd be much obliged.

This one's for you, Waheela. 

[nihilyst]

Week 1, Sketch 3: Refining the first sketch

Another revision:


Changed the right side to achieve a better flow. Changed values and set up some colors to establish a mood.
Added a sign in the foreground as a hint that there might have been a town or a factory which has been flooded later.

[waheela]

Misj', thank you so much for the feedback! You had some really great comments that I'd like to try out with the piece.

• The light source/shadow idea is a really interesting thought. I'll be experimenting with that next week for sure.
• I really like the way you made the hands and cards more dynamic. It's a lot more interesting to the eye. I'll be playing with that idea more as well.

Thanks again, I really appreciate you taking the time to give me your thoughts!

[dactylopus]

I'd like to go ahead and join in the fun.

I decided to work on a Furry Monster:



So those are my primary references thus far.  I'd still like to investigate more face ideas, and establish some references for the pose.

[Mordalles]

some really great stuff in this thread.


Week 1 Step 1 (10/05/2013): I just want to do something easy as i've never really drawn a monster before. i wanted to monsterise a bunny but decided just to monsterise a turtle. he will drag something. (disclaimer, that bunny is just a quick sketch of a google photo. )
I'll just leave it in a relatively basic pose, as I don't want to jump in over my head.



now, the idea is to really monster up these basic shapes in the week to come.

[miguel]

10th May 2013
step 8 - Some Girls Are Bigger Than Others


Right, Nitro got some colours thrown at him. Basic tones assigned and light source as well.
The real work starts now as I want him to be wet and glossy without using any PS effects.
Tail changed position as suggested by the incredible Misj'.
Stay tuned for more on 'How Not To Draw Your Lizard'
Word of the Day: Bananarama

Original thread with all updates and great jokes

[Misj']

I added a new pose for Sandra (she's named Sandra now). It's an attack-pose that will probably serve as the basis of my final high-res piece. In the nature of feedback and criticism I've chosen to take a look and point out a few places where I went wrong. No paint-overs though...because that would be just weird.

[cat]

Water dragon, week 1, step 3 - First sketches
 

Link to first post: http://www.adventuregamestudio.co.uk/forums/index.php?topic=48175.msg636453462#msg636453462

[cat]

I wanted to make him look like he's in great pain (that thing in his hand is supposed to be his own chopped-off arm), whereas now he just looks like he's doing some sort of a gay dance move.

I like your monster! I just didn't recognize the pain, probably because of the pose - I thought he copped his arm off to use it as a weapon which makes the picture even more creepy 
Maybe you could draw some blood dripping from the cut arm and his wound?

[selmiak]

first sketch from paper to the computer

seems a bit undynamic but also somehow fitting for this surprised looking blob...

first post

[EchosofNezhyt]

Damn Misj your a really good cartoonist.

Edit: I really wanna get something done but I've been super stressed lately and kinda meh feeling. Grr.

[dactylopus]

OK, I've taken a look at some faces, and I think I've pieced together a good idea of where I'm going to take this furry monster.



Still evaluating poses and doing various rough sketches (mostly on paper).

Everyone in here is doing such a great job so far!

Selmiak, the ambiance in your image is already fantastic.

Miguel, wow, that's a lot of scales.

[cat]

seems a bit undynamic but also somehow fitting for this surprised looking blob...

I like the overall atmosphere a lot. What makes it feel undynamic is the tail I think. There is a lot of tension in the face and arms but the tail seems to be relaxed. Maybe you can change it to a more alert position?

[loominous]

Main thread




Reworked the char a bit, his neck in particular, giving it more of a straight line to his back, and fleshed out the backdrop with diagonal shapes n arcs.

Been thinking about ditching the ladder, and instead just make him this hugely tall guy, which could be cooler as well as avoid the whole ladder readability mess.

After I saw the cute creature in dactylopus' montage, and probably due to the fact that I've been periodically accompanied by a yawning kitten for the last few days, I tried adding one to his long neck. I initially thought it could be holding a candle, as I had some issues with the current lighting setup, and a candle behind him could help, but then I started fleshing out the background, and it seemed to work without it. I't s quite generic atm, so like with the char I'm gonna push it further.

The backdrop is working okish atm, wanna get a sense of scale and the windows might detract a bit too much, might end up hiding them and just have light haze be visible, we'll see. Also considering flipping the whole thing, as it would make things flow a bit better. (also, when I flipped it, way too late as usual, I noticed a lot of tilting issues, which I'm gonna have to deal with, along with the severely flawed perspective (I tend to be very loose with perspective when I sketch, just winging it, hate straight lines).

[Cuiki]

I wanted to make him look like he's in great pain (that thing in his hand is supposed to be his own chopped-off arm), whereas now he just looks like he's doing some sort of a gay dance move.

I like your monster! I just didn't recognize the pain, probably because of the pose - I thought he copped his arm off to use it as a weapon which makes the picture even more creepy 
Maybe you could draw some blood dripping from the cut arm and his wound?

Hey, thanks! Yeah, the arm would definitely serve as a weapon, and I was planning to add dripping blood and all sorts of other open wounds in one of the following steps. Glad you find it creepy though. I suppose it's a good thing in a thread that's all about monsters.

[Mordalles]

Week 1 Step 2: continuing playing around with monster details and thinking about surroundings....

[cat]

Water dragon, week 1, step 4 - Thinking about composition

I want a setting where the dragon is in its territory and the viewer is an intruder. I tried several poses, not sure yet which one I'm going to use. Any suggestions?


Link to first post: http://www.adventuregamestudio.co.uk/forums/index.php?topic=48175.msg636453462#msg636453462

[nihilyst]

@cat: I really dig the first one. The dragon making his way through a bunch of trees, coming out of a forest on his way to the viewer who dared to set foot on his territory. Could make a dynamic illustration.

[Misj']

Intermission: just wingin' it.
Some musing on angel-anatomy and wings on human figures.

[cat]

@nihilyst: Actually, the whole scene should be underwater, the 'trees' are supposed to be kelp. Also in picture 3, which is seen from bottom up.

[nihilyst]

Well, it's a forest of kelp then. I like it best nonetheless ^^

[waheela]

@cat
I really like the bottom, left one. Especially if you lit it from the top like this...



...and made the dragon looking down at the viewer.

It adds mystery and ominousness to your monster, and makes you feel like it could descend upon you at any moment!

The first one could also be cool if you had the kelp strands obscuring parts of the dragon, keeping that mysterious, predatory feeling.




@Cuiki
I like your idea, super badass. I agree though, he doesn't really look like he's in pain. I think it's something in the eyebrows. Usually when I'm drawing someone in pain, I make their eyebrows turn up at the top and furrow the skin between the brows, like this:



I actually like your pose. I think it would be more evident that he cut off his own arm though if you put a counter in front of him with some crazy torture tools and his own blood splashed on top of it. Not only would this provide context, but the viewer could internally build a better, clearer story about who your character is. Also, if he's into self-mutilation, maybe some gross piercings/chains running along his face/body? I think that could look pretty cool.




@selmiak
It's simple, but I still like you composition! I think it works well. One thing I'd suggest though is adding something on the rock with him/her/it to give the viewer some idea of how big the monster is. For example, a coin, or skull if he's really small, or a tiny person if he's really big.

[loominous]

Main thread



Bit of refinement/modifications.

Thinking about adding a few of these kitten like creatures, perhaps giving his robe a hood where they would gather. Quickly sketched in two of them, and they do make the scene more interesting, particularly if they're not that easy to spot, adding some exploration. Overall gonna keep things in low contrast, with hopefully lots of nifty things to discover.

[Misj']

Cuiki's Butcher or Meatilator as he prefers to be called. Well, you know what they say: never approach a wounded animal. So imagine the threat of a monster in pain.

[Andail]

Alrightie, just posting to say that in order to stay in this workshop, you need to have a sketch ready by tomorrow. The sketch should have your monster and all key elements that you wish to include in your painting. It should also show roughly what kind of environment, perspective and composition you're aiming for. It doesn't need to be some kind of perfect pencil-drawing, but your final painting has to be at least vaguely based upon it (so you can't throw in a brand new, totally different painting the day before the final deadline - that's not how this workshop works).

[Mordalles]

Week 1 Step 3: (12/05/2013) further detailing and playing around with background...


Main thread

[cat]

Water dragon, week 1, step 5 - Basic sketch

Ok, I decided to do a combination of sketch 1 and 3: the monster attacking through kelp, but with a slightly lowered viewpoint.


Link to first post: Link

[Misj']

The sketch should have your monster and all key elements that you wish to include in your painting. It should also show roughly what kind of environment, perspective and composition you're aiming for. It doesn't need to be some kind of perfect pencil-drawing, but your final painting has to be at least vaguely based upon it (so you can't throw in a brand new, totally different painting the day before the final deadline - that's not how this workshop works).

Ok, so the final piece will probably be nothing like the image below. But the overall idea is to have her live in a cathedral/church kind of place, and have a big church-window behind her. That's all I know for certain right now...the rest will evolve as I continue working on it.

I want to have a (male) character to the front for her to attack, and maybe a small group of people in the back slightly in front of the window (this will also help us get a sense of scale). I would love to have a chandelier in there as well, but I don't think it will fit within the composition/framing. So basically...all key-elements are still missing; but that's the way I work best (even though it brakes some of Andails rules (read: guidelines))

I don't know anything about the way I'm going to render the piece (both in style and tone), the elements that are actually going to be in there (let alone their exact shape), etc. etc. I wanted to focus on the character during the first week, because everything else will either be an extension of her or contrast her (in case of her attackers).

Anyway...I still kept the flying attack-pose, and addressed some of the things that bothered me.




follow link here

[Kasander]

I had some computer related problems lately, so I wasn't particularly regular. All right, let's hope this time BSOD will wait until I finish writing this... (BTW, if anyone has a good advice on how to diagnose and get rid of BSOD, please PM me! )
---------------
Week 1, Step 3. Thumbnail sketches. Picking the right pose.

With the key words in mind (see my main thread), I did few thumbnail sketches of the monster.

I was trying to envision his towering presence. I've added a silhouette of human to make monster look bigger. Still everything was open at the thumbnail stage, so I could experiment with few poses, searching for the most dynamic one. I've also experimented with what was to become the most tricky and difficult thing to draw: THAT DAMN CARNIPARASES... Which are, as you may (or may not) know , the parasitic and carnivorous plants that my monster has on its arms. The flexible nature of carniparas has caused me some composition problems.

Let's have a look at these thumbnails.



Number 1.
The biggest problem with this composition is the attacking carniparas. Its part on the left takes too much space in comparison with the lower right part of the picture. This, along with the very static pose of the monster, makes it my least favourite of the four. I've painted it over to give it more expression - back-lighting the monster and trying to experiment a little with the environment. The monster's shadow could be helpful later in determining the atmosphere. The towering monster CASTING EVEN MORE TOWERING SHADOW... Sounds cool, eh? Well, it certainly sounds much better than it looks at this point

Number 2.
I've tried to capture the monster in three-quarter pose. It looks very static and not at all interested in killing the petty human. It doesn't even look towards the victim... It's like it was featuring in a 'spring fashion' catalogue, not in the monster workshop. It looks like a cowboy with his lasso overhead. The contrasting, defensive pose of human make it even less convincing.

Number 3.
Here, we're getting somewhere, at last. The carniparases seems to be more balanced. Also, both monster's and human's poses are dynamic. The attacking carniparas seems like its out of control - which is good.  This would make a decent illustration. A proper monster look, full of rage. Reminds me of my own feelings when I was having those BSODs lately.

No. 4.
I've tried to make it even more dynamic, so I made the monster run towards the human. Although I don't dig the twisted carniparas, and I'm still not sure whether the human should be on monster's right side or left, I like the pose. So let's build further on this one.

With and without opponent.





Read my main thread

[Ghost]

Week 1 - Final Sketch
[imgzoom]http://i.imgur.com/Wp6vPox.png[/imgzoom]

* Camera as "point of view". Maybe corny, maybe hackneyd. But I think it works with the idea that a scientist records his work. Also allows for the idea that maybe, MAYBE there is someone else in the lab, doing the recording.
* Background shows the "telepod" from the movie. Needs a LOT of work.
* As I see it, black-and-white could work well. Would force me to make the shading really good 

Follow here: http://www.adventuregamestudio.co.uk/forums/index.php?topic=48175.msg636453646#msg636453646

[Kasander]

Week 1, Step 4. The final sketch: value painting. Lighting & environment.

After deciding on monster's pose, I imagined it in a jungle or a cave... I started to paint jungle environment in the background, but the silhouette of a monster was appearing more and more diminished (and less and less towering). Seemingly the trees weren't his thing. Oh yeah, and I forgot to save it before experiencing BSOD... Anyway, after deciding to abandon the jungle, I went classical, easier route and painted my monster in the habitat of a cosy cavern. I've imagined it walking into his home in a cave... Then suddenly it sees a human, shrieks a surprised greeting and starts running. Shaking hands couldn't be more painful to this monster's guest

This time, my main focus was lighting and environment. At this stage I'm concentrated on setting the painting's atmosphere. The shadow is exaggerated to make monster look bigger (TOWERING!) and the painting more expressive. I've also tried to do the 'Frazetta triangle' thing, but it didn't work. Perhaps it was too late in the process. I should have thought about triangles, circles and frazettas earlier, when I was doing thumbnails :/ Maybe I'll try that Frazetta approach later if I have time (and courage).

[imgzoom]http://i.imgur.com/DUkQiKv.jpg[/imgzoom]

>Hmm, I'm still wondering if these hands with flesh-eating carniparas aren't too long. The shorter hands weren't that expressive though.

>> The lighting seems wrong on the attacking carniparas part. There are some bright spots that should be darkened, that monster has just run into a dark cave after all. I'll fix that later, probably at the proper painting stage.

>>> In general, the hands should be upgraded and better looking.

>>>> Lot's of environment details should be added. I still don't know what kind of cave is it and how should it differ (IF it shoud) from any other random cave.  Maybe the carniparas plants in their vegetative phase should grow in there.

>>>>> The monster's opponent/victim. I'll have to decide if I want him in the painting... He (or she?) would surely be a good excuse for the monster's pose. Otherwise the creature would just run, well, *somewhere*... towards the viewer... or towards the edge of screen... like in a FPP game or like in Joe Dever's or Choose Your Own Adventure book.

Yeah... and that concludes Week 1 for me.

*Read my main thread*

[dactylopus]

OK, big post.  I'm a little late getting my sketches in, but work has kept me pretty busy over the last few days.  Still, this is a really nice concept, and a lot of fun, so I'd really enjoy participating.

Here are my pose references:



I've been trying to get a handle on this pose, but it's been difficult finding an image with the pose I'm looking for.  Either way, it's coming along.

Here are my references for environment:



Yeah, so basically it's in a cave.

OK, so now let's see some of those sketches I was working on:



Worked out his face, but I may add a few spikes or horns before we're through.  Pretty happy with how he looks with that mean brow and creepy, cold insect eyes.  Lots of spikes and horns, big teeth, and of course lots of fur.



Working on the pose a bit.  Finally got something I liked towards the end.

And here's my initial sketch:



A big beastie.  I think I ended up making him taller than I intended while working out the fore shortening, but when I get working on it in the computer that may be changed.  The hand reaching forward will likely be larger and rotated to the right a bit.  Aside from that, I'm happy with this sketch as a starting point for the digital work.

[Shane 'ProgZmax' Stevens]

Okay, so I had some time on Sunday and the ear of a certain Ben so I hammered out my final sketch with most of the guidelines and such still included.  Next I'll do a light/dark value paint to start some color rolling.



You can see the full sized version here :
http://i485.photobucket.com/albums/rr218/ProgZmax/deadlydepthsdone_zps4f9c3ae3.png~original

[Snarky]

I envy all of you who apparently knew from the beginning more or less what your monster should look like. I spent many hours sketching all kinds of different concepts, strange anatomies, without finding anything I was happy with. So many crappy drawings! In the end, I returned to a pretty basic human shape (wearing a dress, even), and using mainly the head, pose and a looming perspective to try to get the monstrousness across.



Though the background is pretty much a placeholder, the shot will definitely be of the new mother coming through the doorway. As for the design, I know I'll try something different with the hair. Any other advice?

[Andail]

I guess I've settled for sci-fi. I don't know if I've chosen too ambitious a project; this one will crave LOTS of time that I don't really have, but hey, it's a challenge.

The perspective is just everywhere right now. I've gone with some kind of fish-eye perspective, but I don't know how well it works. I want a swooshy, speedy feeling.

I've used close-up photos of fleas as references for the monster, but clearly it also has snake-like qualities. Since it's a sci-fi setting, I might add glowing parts on it - concept artists I've studied seem to like adding glowing parts on their monsters.

So now I have like 20+ hours ahead of me drawing those humans on the motor vehicle...


Back to OP

[selmiak]

Kasander this is pretty impressive. I'd say keep the opponent in or the pose really makes no sense. Also the light on the feet is a bit off, the one foot closer to the lightsource is darker.

[Shane 'ProgZmax' Stevens]

Snarky: Break up some of the emptiness on the face with extra eyes, nostrils, etc?  Other than that I think it's cool ._.

[Calin Leafshade]

I disagree. I think the emptiness of the face is part of the allure of the monster. Blankness in a face is unsettling.

[ThreeOhFour]

Hello hello

Just posting this so I don't miss the deadline! Will add explanations and stuff to it later when there are less deadlines looming!



Bye now ^_^

[loominous]

Perhaps it would be a good idea to break the thread off after the deadline, and have a new thread for each step. Would be a nice fresh start, and it would gather the pieces that moves on neatly.

The artist could simply post their last version as their new start, and thus we could also filter out a lot of pics.

[Andail]

Loominous, yeah that was exactly my thought.

[cat]

I disagree. I think the emptiness of the face is part of the allure of the monster. Blankness in a face is unsettling.

I'm with Calin here, I think this mask looks great. I also love the position of the legs.

@Snarky: I'd love to see some of your concept drawings.

Edit: Since I think this thread is seriously lacking feedback, I'll do a few comments

dactylopus: I like the pose and the facial expression. However, the strong, almost cartoony foreshortening somehow leads to strange proportions in the shoulder area. Either make them smaller or distinguish them more from the breast area. Alternatively, I think you could make the head bigger.

Kasander: I think your last version without the person standing there works perfectly well, I just wonder where the light source is, that makes the highlights on the front of the monster.

[noavana]

Can I still join you guys?
so this is a character that I'm hoping to feature in a 3D short animation I'm making. Dunno if it will actually happen (the movie) but this is a good experience for me since I'm pretty stuck at the sketch level and have no ideas for now as to the design, setting, lighting and all those fancy big words you guys use making a good looking 2D drawing will help me progress..
So here goes:

[Misj']

minor update...
I want to have two monks way in the back (they should be big enough to have some distinguishing features, but too small to have any actual details). The second, much younger, monk (apprentice) would serve as the comic-relief; a bit like Matthew Broderick in Ladyhawke. Of course I will only create this one scene, but drawing characters (with character) is much easier with a back-story.

So here's one of my early concepts for the comic-relief-monk (his very cartoony and goofy look will probably change as the piece progresses; especially since most details won't be visible in the final image).



EDIT: and added additional characters to the scene...I think they add some nice story.

[SookieSock]

Last update for week one

i ran out of time a little so I've not refined this as much as i would like.

[Cuiki]

Thanks for the suggestions, Waheela! And wow, Misj', thanks for taking the time to do all that, there's some really cool stuff in there.
Makes me feel even more ashamed to say I'm pulling out, because I've just got too much other stuff going on at the moment, and I haven't got enough time to afford to spend ages on every little sketch like I usually do (yeah, lame ).

But it's still really cool to see all the updates, some of the sketches look great, and there's just generally loads of talent in this thread.

[miguel]

14 May 2013
-----------
I hope I can still be included on the second week and phase of this workshop. I know it is 1am and already Tuesday, but I please ask to be in!
The picture here has a really bad background that just shows that my monster will be in a dungeon.



I also want to say that there's a lot of talent in this workshop and quite some good artists around. Congrats to everyone!

[Baron]

Update May 13th
In order to stay in the workshop, you have to have at least a sketch ready before midnight. This sketch is the one that your finished piece will be based on, and the one you'll received feedback on.

Update: Yeah, that's not going to happen.

If you haven't joined the activity within the first week, you may participate outside of the competition.

Separate but parallel.  Oh yeah, Baby!

[Kasander]

Kasander this is pretty impressive. I'd say keep the opponent in or the pose really makes no sense. Also the light on the feet is a bit off, the one foot closer to the lightsource is darker.

Kasander: I think your last version without the person standing there works perfectly well, I just wonder where the light source is, that makes the highlights on the front of the monster.

Haha    Thanks Selmiak, thanks Cat! I like your different opinions about the presence/absence of monster's oponent Well, I'll definitely try to do a version with the oponent, since it's more challenging one (and in the spirit of those Frazetta's monster paintings that Andail linked to in the first post). And if I fail miserably, I'll just keep reminding myself about what Cat said here;) 

The light (on the monster as well as everywhere else) is definitely going to be more realistic before I call it quits. I'll keep your suggestions in mind doing the next stages, thanks! 

@SookieSock 
Your welcome

The second, much younger, monk (apprentice) would serve as the comic-relief; a bit like Matthew Broderick in Ladyhawke. Of course I will only create this one scene, but drawing characters (with character) is much easier with a back-story.

I hope this young monk won't ruin your painting the way M.B. ruined that movie Other than that, I think it's definitely a good idea to introduce these characters into your composition