Adventure Game Studio

Creative Production => Critics' Lounge => Topic started by: DodgeR on Wed 21/01/2004 15:27:33

Title: New Artwork
Post by: DodgeR on Wed 21/01/2004 15:27:33
Not posted for a while, been busy working on stuff and trying to find art jobs and failing mainly.  So im back to doing mundane desk/office type work which bores me senseless and pays really badly.:)

This is for a competition/ Draw off from an art forum im a member at, based on the topic 'ragtag futuristic pirate leader from 2050, with background and non futuristic weapons etc'

(http://www.thedumpvalve.com/newtunder8.jpg)

comments crits and santa referances welcomed

Title: Re:New Artwork
Post by: n3tgraph on Wed 21/01/2004 15:49:22
umg that rox!!!

keep it that way  ;D
Title: Re:New Artwork
Post by: BOYD1981 on Wed 21/01/2004 18:56:48
santa? it reminds me more of that movie "The Thing" :)
very nice art, but i can't really see pirates riding around in a boat called "Daisy" :P
Title: Re:New Artwork
Post by: Sslaxx on Wed 21/01/2004 19:39:03
Quote from: DodgeR on Wed 21/01/2004 15:27:33
Not posted for a while, been busy working on stuff and trying to find art jobs and failing mainly.  So I'm back to doing mundane desk/office type work which bores me senseless and pays really badly.:)

This is for a competition/ Draw off from an art forum I'm a member at, based on the topic 'ragtag futuristic pirate leader from 2050, with background and non futuristic weapons etc'

comments crits and santa referances welcomed

Is the pirate meant to be making himself look like a poser? Weapons aside, it's not a particularly threatening pose.

Nice artwork, though. What did you use to create it?

[edit by Andail: Please don't quote images!]
Title: Re:New Artwork
Post by: Andail on Wed 21/01/2004 20:15:40
The colours are great, but his posture could be improved.

First of all, the foreshortening of his arms aren't completely right, and now it looks as though they are far too short. At least the one grabbing the gun.

Also it's hard to tell whether he's sneaking, running or just standing there.

It's a bit sad, because it draws attention from the excellent details and colours.
Title: Re:New Artwork
Post by: DodgeR on Wed 21/01/2004 20:17:54
N3TGraph:Thanks:)

BOYD1981: lol, that is seriously funny i really did laugh when i read your comment.  He used to have a red suit not orange so i was just testing if the santa Look was still there, im pretty sure its gone now:)

Yeh actually daisy is a crap name for a pirate ship.  SO i hereby officially launch the 'Name the Boat Competition'  Best name will get immortalised forever on this image.

Sslaxx:Thanks, I hear what your saying man but did you really NEED to repost the image seeing as its the only one in the thread, i think ppl are gonna know who your talking about.(Im not being a dick when i say this to you i just dont think there was any need to repost the image)  

yeh he is posing the main point of the pictures is the character and hes supposed to be saying like this is my dock.  And to do this pic i used various packages mainly painter classic and paint shop pro for editing colour ajusts and cropping.

Andail:Thanks,  the arm, yeh i have had ppl say about it before i think i will look into it as its got more than one comment now.  About his legs i worked real hard with his pose and im still not happy with it, bad planning on my part before going to paint:)
Title: Re:New Artwork
Post by: Andail on Wed 21/01/2004 20:44:13
I took the liberty of (very roughly) edit your picture to see if there could be any easy improvements.

(http://www.esseb.com/andail/newtunder8.jpg)

I didn't have the time to make proper editing, so I just pointed out what could be altered.
The foreshortening is accented by skewing the arm so that the hand appears a bit closer (I hope). I think increasing the distance from his wrist to the cuff, widening the cuff and filling it with black might make it appear as more directed towards the viewer.

Also I just twisted the legs a bit to give him a less static look.
It's all done very hastily, as you can see.

Sorry for ruining your image, it just seemed easier to explain if I had the image to show.
Title: Re:New Artwork
Post by: DodgeR on Wed 21/01/2004 21:00:22
Andail: Awsome:) i really like what you did with the arm that definately works.

I know exactly what you mean about the legs too, i have tried them in various poses myself the image in bmp larger size is like 20 mb and i have a whole folder just on this pic totalling 3 gig :/ im definately going to incorporate the ideas on the arm
Title: Re:New Artwork
Post by: DodgeR on Wed 21/01/2004 22:43:17
some ammendments
(http://www.thedumpvalve.com/newtunder9.jpg)
Title: Re:New Artwork
Post by: Igor on Thu 22/01/2004 10:51:56
Very good! It looks even better now.
I still like Andail's edit on arm more, though. It gave it more dynamic feel... also if you compare it to his right hand, where you applied much perspective, it's more correct. Actually, i'd make perspective even more exaggerated (though, i think i exagerated a wee bit too much on my edit).

(http://maniac.adventuredevelopers.com/edit1.jpg)

(btw, sorry for crappy quality, i edited it in Flash)
Title: Re:New Artwork
Post by: TheYak on Thu 22/01/2004 22:06:02
Between the edits and the modification by DodgeR I think it's improving quite a lot.  From the first image posting, I was merely wowed by detail, character and shading and didn't think I could mention anything that would improve it.  However, once you throw in a little skewed perspective (e.g. bringing the gun to the forefront), it makes the saber look slightly out of place to be vertically straight.  Perhaps if it were tilted somewhat on the man's Y-axis, making the point rather small and narrow, it might give the saber a skewed viewpoint more in keeping with this increasingly dynamic image.
Title: Re:New Artwork
Post by: cornjob on Fri 23/01/2004 09:47:38
Yeah, I like Igor's edit, making the left arm much bigger, as it should be with foreshortening. With that, the figure looks great. Now let's talk about the background. I'd like to see brighter highlights and sharper shadows on the foreground (dock). Especially the character's cast shadow on the ground. And keeping the light source consistent with the figure, I'd make the top of the boat very bright with its side very much in shadow. And maybe put a nice glare on boat's right windshield i.e. reflecting the sun. And the boat's passenger seat seems too high to be in perspective. Nice clouds, by the way.
OK, very nice overall.
Title: Re:New Artwork
Post by: DodgeR on Fri 23/01/2004 14:20:56
Igor:Thanks for the edit man!  I do really like how you guys pushed the forced perspective, but im inclined to stay with the changes on my latest version,  I  know in reality the hand should be bigger, but i dont want to step into the realm of comic book foreshortening where reality is almost warped and exagerated:).  

Yakspit: Yeh i like the idea about the angle of the sword, even with the gun as it is now, a slightly vanishing perspective may well look better.

cornjob:thanks,  The bottom left, and left of the image are the least worked, so i hear what your saying about the docks i already need to work some of the backdrop to the sky sharpness so could well be in a future edit.  The shadows on the dock and highlights im unsure about as yet.  I know there are certain ranges you can push in certain lightsources so at the moment im treading carefully to not create an unatural contrast for the time off day.  

i still got um about 15 days to go on this yet before the deadline, but i got a very small paying job just come up so i need to finish those pics before i go back to this:(

Title: Re:New Artwork
Post by: Pessi on Fri 23/01/2004 15:16:34
Here's a good method for getting the character's proportions correct with perspective. I don't know if you've seen it before but I tried it on the image and the fist is something like 2/3 of the 'realistic' size. Or something. That's what I think anyway. Check it out! The diagonal lines method especially.

http://www.fineart.sk/photos/figure/016.JPG (http://www.fineart.sk/photos/figure/016.JPG)

I think there's something about the color theme that kind of disturbs me. It's just hard to concentrate on one thing on the image. Despite the fact that the sky and the shorelines point at the character. I don't know if it's actually the detail throughout the image or something. Sorry, not being that helpful. :)

Overall, great work!
Title: Re:New Artwork
Post by: DodgeR on Fri 06/02/2004 19:57:38
Digging this outa the grave i know but its 3 days to go i think im on track to get this finshed in time but theres gonna be a lot of coffee beer cigarettes, lack of sleep, self doubt, sore eyes, blurred vision and headaches...

(http://www.thedumpvalve.com/newtunder10.jpg)

quite a few changes all superficial with still more to do, like the boat the arm and height of the riders etc but C & C still welcome
Title: Re:New Artwork
Post by: on Sat 07/02/2004 05:56:40
I like it, but it liked it more the first time I saw it....ON TAILSPIN!
Title: Re:New Artwork
Post by: Erwin_Br on Sat 07/02/2004 14:32:58
One thing: Almost everything seems to have the same material. I mean, the boat, the water, the sky and the dock are all drawn with the same texture.

I would give the dock a more wooden look by adding planks and a wood texture. It looks like the guy's standing in a big puddle of mud.

Other than that I think it looks fantastic. Very atmospheric.

--Erwin
Title: Re:New Artwork
Post by: Erwin_Br on Sat 07/02/2004 14:39:18
Quote from: Pessi on Fri 23/01/2004 15:16:34
I think there's something about the color theme that kind of disturbs me. It's just hard to concentrate on one thing on the image. Despite the fact that the sky and the shorelines point at the character. I don't know if it's actually the detail throughout the image or something. Sorry, not being that helpful. :)

Yes, same here. Personally I think the futuristic-looking city on the left is too interesting. Even more interesting than the character perhaps.

--Erwin

Title: Re:New Artwork
Post by: DodgeR on Sun 08/02/2004 22:21:12
Erwin: Thanks, i put the similar texture of everything down to nerves on this one, i learned stuff from it so its all good.

Heres an updated and final version, i can lay this totally to rest now

(http://www.thedumpvalve.com/under.jpg)
Title: Re:New Artwork
Post by: timh_009 on Mon 09/02/2004 05:31:48
Looks great. I'm glad you didn't call the boat Daisy. It wouldn't be right.
Title: Re:New Artwork
Post by: Erwin_Br on Mon 09/02/2004 09:41:40
These simple changes like the changed colour of the hat makes the character stand out more. The previous colour was too much the same colour of the sky I think. Good job.

I also like the added detail on the clothes. Too bad the cord on the gun is gone, but now I'm nitpicking ;)

I think you did a very good job, this image looks fantastic  :D

--Erwin