underworld

[lewiston]

a recent illustration of mine... Hope you like it.
http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y92/3589806/OUTSIDEparadise_final-1.jpg

[Nadia_B]

Awesome! You contrast of colours (specifically the warm, darker colours of the alleyway in contrast with the cool blue in the background) is amazing!

Very superb.

[Kvick]

damn, nice

how about a detail shot? Looks like theres a lot of great detail but it's so hard to see 3:

[Capprotti]

Ha ha ha, I love this. The person break dancing on the care makes it! The colors are really nice too.

[sve]

Hello, Johannes...You know, I sympathize with the story in your image and understand what you wanted to tell me... well I think I understand... I'm not sure I can digest it in the way you presented though.

So, I like the story, I like this taste of adventure and risk it leaves on my lips :), night gathering of idle young men and reckless women with too much of unspent energy and aggression... excitement they might feel and await if one can go through the night without his face being beaten or his belongings being stolen ... ha, I could be somewhere in this picture, hopefully just as an observer. I do like to see gathering of picturesque people. Nah, probably not, only with a loyal pit bull on my side, maybe then. :). But that's sort of addiction... like in the anecdote:
" Went to city park two days ago... got raped...Went yesterday... got raped again... will go tonight again". :).

Saying all this I can't not to say you something about your image that doesn't let me submerge in this careless atmosphere above my head. Hope you will not take it too hard and please ignore it if you don't agree.

I think you have been a bit greedy in this picture, wanted to shoot from all your weapons at once, overusing effects. The result is the night atmosphere suffers in my opinion.
First what I think is the sky and buildings... the air is not connecting those. If you chose the evening to be this colder blue, the cool blue air would wrap around those brownish buildings and color them in something less warm. If you want to keep this warm greenish tone of the walls you need to color sky in warmer tone. Like here:
http://www.pbase.com/jolka/image/70042470

Air will soak through all objects and will color them in its own hue.
Something has to give, I think... other wise image will look like an artificial theatrical decoration, attracting but not transferring into the other place.

Another thing... hard to give up very effectively lightened up personage... but I would prefer you being stingy... the two central figures... they would be great even when you just show them as dark silhouettes with occasionally lit details, one, two, no more. They are not standing close to source of light... the lighting on the should be soft and weak. They could be totally drowned in darkness with just their back or hair pulled by light mildly. You want to lead your viewer too much, it would be better just suggest and let our eyes to fill the rest with our own experience and imagination.

Rim lights is such a cliche, so badly overused... but lets look at those guys, one standing upside down on the car and the other guy standing near the night light looking at the joker... they are at the different distances from the light source... but in your picture they both lit with the same power... should be softer and weaker with distance though in my opinion.
The other thing all second sources of light are very bright, evenly bright in your picture, there is no hierarchy... kind of not very believable... in many cases too sharp and rough. I don't feel soft scattered night light, which steals information from objects...
Lamp on the building from my left is covered, its light is blocked a bit,,, the light should be like a cone, cutting cold air with a warm light, scattered on the borders a little.
You paint greatly and skillfully but I would prefer you to reduce information you give about people in your picture for the sake of better atmosphere.
Silhouettes against light sky will be almost black. like here:
http://www.shotaddict.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2007/02/141.jpg
I personally would prefer the fallen light in the middle of the image not to be that perpendicular, a bit askew, diagonal. I wold prefer deeper longer shadows and some of the objects or parts of them completely submerged in darkness. I would prefer less information on the car, two men talking , the guy with naked torso on my right, drunk girl... I would vote for more softness in your picture.
Hope you don't mind my crits... ignore them, it is just my opinion, not much:).

[Mr. Visions]

I think this piece rocks! I think there are some anatomy issues with the two central figures that stand out when compared with the other figures in the piece, but you palette and composition are quite nice.

- Visions

[lewiston]

Thank you guys for the feedback! That is such a great thing here at ca.

Nadja: I'm glad, you enjoed it. I was really struggeling for a while with that colour scheme...
Kvick: Thanks. Will provide some details later together with some more illustrations... Thanks so far
Caprotti: Thanks for the compliments. Happy it could make you laugh (that's not always easy to achieve ;) )
sve: Oh I do mind your crits a lot as you know! Again, you stroke me with the clear critical eye you have. To almost all of the input you gave I have to agree. Especially the reference pictures are great to have - Thanks for those too!
Its interessting you said, it looks staged - the final goal of this image is to convince an investor to finance a stageplay/ musical here... Although I also agree to the compositional Idea of the blue ray in the back rather being less vertical, unfortunately this was a given... Anyways I will definately work over the piece also to meet your critique points... Thanks again - your dedication to discuss the artworks in this forums is really priceless!
Mr Visions: Thanks for the post and the advice. I feel the same way, that the two characters in the center seem different than the others. So far I blamed it on the fact, that they are static as opposed to the others that are all in action. Could you specify your point about the anatomical issues?

[sve]

You know, Johannes, my heart aches a bit every time when I see someone replied to my critique or comment and I'm about to open this thread. It is a relief to know this one went without any broken hearts. I'm telling truth... I feel fear before reading reply.
You are way too kind though... not objective to my comments I think. Please bend the image it in the direction you see yourself.
Reference of night scenes is very good in the link under your signature, your My Space in the replies of your friends :).

[Mr. Visions]

No problem: Mainly my beef is with the (blonde) dude. The forearms seem slightly short, but that also might lean to the fact that the arm in the front disappears (it's was a little hard seeing it went into his pockets because it seems that pants are unaffected by his hand.) I feel the deltoid could come up just a bit for a guy of his build, which might not make the neck seem as long. These are nit picks: the easiest way to address this would be to compare it again with a reference. With the *jacketed figure, I feel the arms are a bit short, butI really feel your focus should be to examine that jacket, get some definition in there to help tell her posture a bit more. Hope the feedback helps. Again, I'm diggin' the piece, quite nice.

- Visions

* I made a mistake, I thought the figure in the jacket was a girl, my mistake.

[sve]

two central figures are both dudes i think... the dancing figure on my right is a girl. I don't see anatomy wrong personally...