Chow 101 :: The Spanish High Inquisitor

[S.C. Watson]

http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii293/chowarchive/CHOW-LINES/CHOW-LINES-MEDUSA.jpg

ROUND #101

THE SPANISH HIGH INQUISITOR
-------------
DESCRIPTION

Historical Fiction
Spanish High Inquisitor Father Domingo Cristobal

“The Society of Jesus was established by the papacy in 1540 as a very special "fighting unit" at the total and exclusive disposal of the Roman Pope -- whoever he might be. From their beginnings, the Jesuits were conceived in a military mode. Soldiers of Christ, they were given only two purposes: to propagate the religious doctrine and the moral law of the Roman Catholic Church as proposed and taught by the Roman Pope, and to defend the rights and prerogatives of that same Roman Pope. Purely spiritual and supernatural purposes. And specifically Roman Catholic.”
--From The Jesuits, by Malachi Martin

Father Domingo Cristobal’s faith has never failed him. Years of Jesuit training has made him a stoic man, stern but loving with his order, loyal to his superiors and an unrelenting pursuer of the heretical Protestants. He is used to applying any method necessary unflinchingly in purging the world of sins of the flesh, mind and soul. There is no question about God’s Will.

And yet… a shadow lurks in the back of his mind. Unanswered, unrecognized, quietly probing, and exploring – what if Holy See is wrong?

_________________________________


:right: FOLLOW THE TOPIC.

:right: POST YOUR FINAL IN THE FINAL BURNING THREAD.


:right: SAVE YOUR FILES IN THE FOLLOWING FORMAT. Chow##_Nickname
example: "CHOW#100_Oblio.jpg" ;)

:right: PLACE THE IMAGE IN A FRAME WITH YOUR NAME/TOPIC

http://i73.photobucket.com/albums/i222/ChowPics/frame.jpg
(you can add CA logo, etc).

-------------------------
DEADLINE
SUNDAY, JANUARY 20TH, 2008 -- Adjustment deadline. CHOW 102 will begin Jan 14th
The way the deadline works: if deadline is on a Sunday and your image is posted on that Sunday 23:59 your local time it's a good entry.
In fact - as long there is Sunday somewhere on the planet your entry is ok. I will make the poll sometimes Monday evening my time (GMT - 8 ) yet I'll have a look at the last entries.
--------------------------


POST YOUR FINALS IN THE FINAL BURNING THREAD!

Remember to include your nickname in the filename.

About quality - as general rule: if your shapes and values are not decent - you are out. Watch proportions, perspective etc. we need perfectly readable shapes and coherent, consistent values.

_____________

BE PROFESSIONAL - only finished and good quality entries will be taken to the poll. The host will make the selection.
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[Eurayo]

Nice.

This is really different from anything I've tried before. Good challenge for my first CHOW. Good pick, Oregano. Spicy.

[peter_john]

I didn't expect this...

[hammajamma]

Brotha Oregano! Awesome topic.

I already miss everyone from Revelations. It was an amazing experience. I can't wait toC-YA at the next event, or maybe an Illustrator's Open or whatever.

[mrgrumble]

daaamn - you do realize that i've been spending the lat few months writing a graphic novel based on the spanish inquisition? perfect timing hahaha!

[Slash]

I didn't expect this...


NOONE DID!


;)

[carotello]

goddamit...i started my job yesterday...and I still haven't finished my LMS entry...gaaah. I'll try to make it...a quickie at least. Thanks Oregano, awesome topic.

[Gwenevere]

Ho my god, it's another good one... I can't miss this! I think I'm not gonna sleep at all this month...

...um, whatsit mean, "adjustment deadline"?

[S.C. Watson]

...um, whatsit mean, "adjustment deadline"?

Trying to give some extra time for the topic because with Revelations the new topic and poll got posted late. So, CHOW 101 & 102 will overlap a little bit.

~Oreg.

[Benjamen Christ]

i too, am very sad to home from revelations, i really do miss everyone,............ and the drinking, .....oh yeah , and never sleeping! Now , "Soliders of Christ " eh? Bring it bitch!

Christ

[davidherd]

Awesome topic (as usual).

[Lake]

well I guess I owe it now..... I'll get SOMEthing up.

[Verastegui]

In the back of my head this yells History of the World part 1 and Monty Python.

[Slash]

Oh i forgot to mention..

I'm IN!

[matias]

Hey guys, sweet topis, crazy times in history!! Anyways, heres my initial sketchin. I had a look around trying to find what clothing was around and am still unsure if its appropriate.
http://members.optusnet.com.au/matias.jakku/Linking%20Files/CHOW%20101%20Matias.JPG

The major thing Im having second thoughts about is the graphical pool of blood at his feet, just got that naggin feeling its been done a bajillion times before but cant remember where from, grrr hate it when you have an idea that your not sure if its something youve seen and cant remember or an actual idea.

Let me know what you guys reckon!

Cheers
Mat

[daestwen]

Yaaaay I am so so in! Gotta love the history stuff, man. >D

Nice to see you around, Panda! :D

[Sorknes]

In the back of my head this yells History of the World part 1 and Monty Python.

Mine too. I *SO* envisioned John Cleese in his inquisitor uniform storming in a house the moment I read it.... >:D

Now I need to get that out of my head if I end up having time for this....

[ACRO]

yo this topic is whats up....
im back from the long awaited month of medusa

only thing im having trouble with is finding what high inquisitors would of wore back then..... can anybody help me out


NICE START MATIAS..

[Aly Fell]

only thing im having trouble with is finding what high inquisitors would of wore back then..... can anybody help me out


This might help... Terry Gilliams face is priceless...

3ZQI0Xm29To

The COMFY chair!

F56ZZzz4meU

[Matsign]

Our two weapons are fear, surprise, three weapons, amongst our weaponry are fear... ah we'll come in again!

oh damn!


EDIT: Diabolical laughter

[smugbug]

*still wiping sleep from my eyes*


I'm in. :D :yayca:

[edujante]

Matias:
The inquisidors werent use armour, they were religious!

Nice pic anyway!

[daestwen]

Here's some stuff I found with a quick search that might inspire:

277042277043277044277045

I'm having a hard time finding specific outfits (curse you, internet, who only has an eye for modern dress!) but these should give you the general idea... Not a lot in the way of armour, but plenty of malice! :D

[Sorknes]

I so don't have much time for this...

But I've started to do initial tumbs anyway...

Ack. *lol* Making an alluring topic like this when I promised myself to not enter the next one because of the time....

[ACRO]

http://i59.photobucket.com/albums/g313/PARNUN/ACRRRRR.jpg
2 GET THIS BALL ROLLING.....
im not ashamed to show you guys what i have so far
cuz its a 15 minute progress shot and i gotta go 4 now.
update tomorrow(thurs)...
thanks daestwen... for lookin out forreal!
im sure im not the only person who appreciates the help wit the costumes

[Pixel Dust]

Got to give this a try. Determined to up my game and get into a poll :)

Here is my wip.

http://i128.photobucket.com/albums/p194/Blue_puppet/Stage-4.jpg

[cowboy surfer]

Here's my first sketch idea... raving fanatic warrior of god etc etc

[/ev]

edit_

[daestwen]

I'm posting this early because I want to get as much input as I can on this one. Gonna work my butt off! >O That, and I'm going to try to paint it without line art. :/ So... this is going to be hard...

Anyway, here's the primary sketch just to get the idea... (It came to me so fast that I had to get it down really quickly).

You can kind of see my notes on the side... anyway, yeah, any advice would be awesome.

277166

[hammajamma]

Christ - So many things to say. This should be right up your alley!

Patricia, show em how we do it!

And hell yeah I'm in.

[OYO!]

Hmmm interesting brief... I like the idea of trying to represent doubt and confusion within such a strong and feared figure. Well LMS deadline has been pushed again so ... Hope to get it done on time !

Good luck everyone !

[Matsign]

I'm in!

[longshao]

http://i135.photobucket.com/albums/q137/yty2000/INQUISITOR1.jpg
This topic is kinda hard...
WIP. Fixed a few things, El Greco is awesome!

[S.C. Watson]

I immediately thought of El Greco's paintings.
I was browsing some of those earlier today for the same reason. I think he'd be a good resource.

Ciao,
~Oreg.

[Blaz]

I love the theme! <3

Ill try to be in!
:teeth:

[Jason Snair]

This one should definitely be a challenge. The hardest part being ballancing power with doubt....and to nail the costuming. Great theme indeed.

longshao:
I immediately thought of El Greco's paintings.

Yeah, same here. Right now I'm looking at all painters from that era to find out what the dress & hairstyles were like back then.

[Aly Fell]

More good reference would be 'The Name of the Rose', both the book and the film. Certainly for fantastic medieval faces...

[mark malone]

The costumes reminded me instantly of velasques "Innocent X" painting and so I am basing it on that, and having the overweight opulence for someone in this high position. I am going to france snowboarding on saturday so don't know if I'll get this finished, but here is the WIP so far:
Going to throw in some half naked wenches for good measure, also want to get the spanish thing in there some how and his role.

http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b87/Mal-1/pics2/spanishinquisitor1Medium.jpg

http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b87/Mal-1/pics2/spanishinquisitorMedium.jpg

[S.C. Watson]

More good reference would be 'The Name of the Rose', both the book and the film. Certainly for fantastic medieval faces...
Holy crap, I forgot about that film! Yes, Definitely. good call, Aly!

~Oreg.

[stumpy]

i want in.

[mark malone]

Still tinkerin' with this....tryin' to get as much done as possible...the wenches turned into hot nuns.....I went to a catholic school so I'm diggin' up old fantasies here!! :yum:

[Meme]

Some stuff I made for a personal project..
http://i211.photobucket.com/albums/bb93/mihai_titoiu/skitze03a.jpg
http://i211.photobucket.com/albums/bb93/mihai_titoiu/skitze00.jpg

[nilfheim]

I didn't expect a kind of Spanish Inquisition!



anyway :D
It's a cool subject, i would like to participate, but i don't know if I'll end my project

[Jason Snair]

Incase anyone's looking from some great reference from painters of that time, check out this site:

http://www.wga.hu/

You can do searches for any artist, time-range, periord, area. Best of all, the artwork is very large & zoomable. They have lots of El Greco, but just about every artist you think of.

j.

[t11]

Initial reactionary doodle pending research, period, armor, your mom, etc...

[Verastegui]

I'm in, here's mine.

[Glottis]

---NEWBIE ALERT---

I feel like joining in.

:mod:

so, Posting a very very rough sketch

[mythril_golem]

might join in for once but then again i might not even finish in time or to the level i'd like.
As much as i love the pointy klanesque inquisitor look, I decided to tone it down and go for the regular knight look plus torture victims for the bg

[Jason Snair]

quick sketch, just to get the ball rolling.

[Verastegui]

Here's my entry. I think there's something odd about it.

[Korovyov]

Incase anyone's looking from some great reference from painters of that time, check out this site:

http://www.wga.hu/

You can do searches for any artist, time-range, periord, area. Best of all, the artwork is very large & zoomable. They have lots of El Greco, but just about every artist you think of.

j.

great find! Using this I was able to find a number of drawings/paintings by Francisco de Goya involving the Inquisition. He produced a number of images of prisoners of the inquisition and one especially good one of an inquisition tribunal. I'll resize these and post them if people are interested.

-Korovyov

[barbu]

here's my wip of the Spanish Tall Inquisitor hehe

[Lake]

first pass - still working on the sketch but would of course appreciate feedback.

[chaosrocks]

www.costumes.org

crx

[Arbu]

Panda wow! just make sure you resize the image when you paint it so the head isn't to much near to the top line of the image but u must have that in mind already..

barbu ahha i just noticed my nickname is yours but without the "b" =X xD spanish tall inquisitor.. ahaha

saw that video on the first page... idont know what to do.. im just sitting here and made this lazy ugly sketch before i go to sleep have to try and draw something for this though

[Meme]

Great stuff so far guys :) Hey barbu, nice
Here's my sketch
http://i211.photobucket.com/albums/bb93/mihai_titoiu/inquisitor.jpghttp://i211.photobucket.com/albums/bb93/mihai_titoiu/inquisitor1.jpg

[Aly Fell]

Lunchtime sketches...

http://img240.imageshack.us/img240/9948/sketches1kq6.jpg

And a few more... This is fun, but I'm not sure which one to go with... :/

http://www.darkrising.co.uk/Stuff/Sketches2.jpg

But I did a bit more on one of them.

http://www.darkrising.co.uk/Stuff/Inquisitor.jpg

[Slash]

humble beginnings.

[Jason Snair]

Posh: Nice work. There's something really nice about that first one. Love that face.

[mrbo18]

Wow some really nice wip's so far.

Meme: Just really nice, solid pieces. I like them a lot.
Panda: Great angle. The perspective makes this one and his pose looks very natural.
Poshspice: Nice sketches. Each one of these seems to have a character all it's own. Good expressions on the faces.

[Meme]

Thanks mrbo18 :)
Here are some colors..hope I'll finish it tomorow...
time for beer
Some cool stuff so far guys
http://i211.photobucket.com/albums/bb93/mihai_titoiu/inquisitor3.jpg

[Gwenevere]

I was wondering about costume, myself... I have a bunch of good reference books I can use, but right now I'm hazy on the actual period. I don't think it was in the brief, or did I miss something important?

If there's a specific period expected for the brief, can someone clarify? Pretty please? I've been looking up the Spanish Inquisition, and apparently it technically ran on and off from 1478 to 1834, which covers an awful lot of ground.

Wikipedia gives 1480 to 1530 as a period when the inquisition was "extremely active", with other flurries of activity into the mid-17th century, apparently. That still covers a good stretch of costume evolution, at least if you want to be really historically accurate. Are we allowed to put our Inquisitor anywhere in the late-sixteenth to mid-seventeenth century, or is there a specific decade we need to hit?

[corspufo]

MEME: Great stuff dude, and I love your use of the bible. Very creative. Your linework is great as well.

[Meme]

Thanks corspufo :)

[smokenmirrors]

Meme, sick design man. The inquisitor holds pose/bearing of piety which is perfectly offset by the sacrilegious use of his cleaning method. NICE. checked out the site too, Great characters! some warhammer 40k inspired??

[Glottis]

Not being happy with the other sketch, here´s my new approach on the subject:

(orange and blue cones are the lightsources btw)

Next step´s painting it :D

[Tydal]

I hate you Meme! You're so f***ing perfect in my eyes!!! *Envy rises, eyes turn green* lol. only joking, about the hating you :P although I am jelous. good entries so far :D As if i've not made it obvious my favourite is meme's so far, although there are a lot of good challengers :P

[Penumbra]

Wow, the sketches so far in this challenge have really been well executed.
Meme-really moody, well done and the lighting is great.
Poshspice-the character in your characters is something to inspire.
mark malone- he is repulsive, I like that in a person.
Jason Snair-well done, he has personality

[cowboy surfer]

Some really nice characters emerging this round - awesome job people.

Here is some progress, slow though it is going this week with 10 mins here and there - will finish, will finish, will finish, will finish, will finish, will finish, will finish.

[Lege1]

Just had to send a big shout out to Meme! Your work is off the hook and straight through the bible as shown in your illustration,lol. Awesome stuff as always! =)

[Meme]

smokenmirrors: thanks man, I have to work on the sword a bit more..is not on the same angle with the bible...my website is vrey old, don't think I new about warrhammer by then. I just played the games few months ago...and I became a huge fan...and the art in waaa :D
Tydal:glad you don't hate me...I don't like people hating me, only joking :P It's not that perfect..ther's a lot of work to do, hope I'll have time. I got a lot of work projects in the making at this time :(
Penumbra: thanks man, hope you'll be happy with the final result :)
Lege1: wasup man! hahaha yep..bible + sword = blood...well it's all history

[Jason Snair]

Thanks Pen.

Here's an update. Cleaned things up...fixed anatomy. My only problem is, is that I just realized that bibles were never that small back then. I mean, they were huge books. Aw well, maybe the Church had some secret stash of handy travel versions.

Any crits? Anyone see any major problems?

[Hobo85]

i hav an idea in my head but I dunno if I can make the deadline I will try!

[Slash]

Progress:

[Verastegui]

Here's an update. I fixed quite a few things, but that arm still looks off.

[JessiBean]

Banging out some quick studies of period dress/costume, trying to establish a tone for this character. About 5 or 6 to go and I'll get cracking on a final...

:teeth:

279177 279178

Some AWESOME things out so far... Slash, you're blowing me away with this render, it could be your best yet. Poshspice, as ever, you have such a way with characters, I can't wait to see more. And damn, Meme, you are fast! Looks good, don't lose that priestly vibe though (it migth be a touch too subtle as is) Jason Snair, he looks amazing, I love the bold shapes and personality you are building. More from me later...

[Jason Snair]

Thanks Jessi, I like what you've got there as well. Very interesting!

Ya know, I was just about to go to bed (it's 12:30am here), when I thought of an awesome idea for the background. Here's a little update, but I'll need to research what those solar-system diagrams things really looked like back then. I just had to draw it out before going to bed, for fear of loosing it in the morning.

[Slash]

Verastegui: Your face needs work. The right half (his left) looks okay, but the other is weird. If you flip the image horizontally it will become very obvious.

Jessi: <3

[Coinpurse]

really digging this last one Jason, some good wip's so far. Keep it up guys!
Finish em!!! :D

[Meme]

Jessi : tanks man, nice sketches you got going...I kida' like the first one..
hahaa, fast...mmm.well...I have to be..so much work to do and I kinda love girls and partys..so I have to finish everything fast to go party :))

[davidherd]

This is a stunning thread already . . . meme - Outstanding, he definitely looks like he has some doubt in his mind about whether the cause is right or not and of course beautifully executed. slash - Thats a great looking piece, lots of character. jessibean: as usual your costume expertise is inspirational, Jason Snair - awesome line work. Posh - great work also. I'd like to say so much more but time is of the essence and I ain't got much so far.

wip
279399

[Meme]

Thanks david :)
I have some free time today so I started adding some details
http://i211.photobucket.com/albums/bb93/mihai_titoiu/detail.jpg

[Dan!]

@jessibean- the sash details from #3 + the outfit and scars from #1 would look great:yum:

[S.C. Watson]

Okay, Oreg goes emo:

You people just blow me away every week. Time and again. I am really just humbled that you can take the drivel that I hobbled together and create such fantastic illustrations. Yeah, whatever. You guys just kick. All of you.

Truly.

~Oreg.

[Lake]

meme - heh, he looks like you. check the shape of the skull, looks a little lopsided to the left.

[kayness]

great, great stuff so far, esp Meme's. I'd love to participate, but I don't know enough about the Spanish Inquisition to do that. I mean, sure, I can draw a guy in a costume and stuff, but I really would rather know about what I'm illustrating. Plus, I have exams next week, so I really can't be combing through the web and Wikipedia to acquaint myself with the subject matter when I have revision to do :o

[tsoren]

Here is my initial sketch.
I'm going to focus on the grittiness of the theme.
My take on the Jesuit is an ascetic approach to the costume and "soldier" in the loosest sense of the word as someone following the orders of some higher authority.
He has been involved in forcing his religion on someone and the darkness to the left is dimly lit perhaps by fire. Maybe there are blood spatters on his robe, hands, or the floor and window sill. He is looking out into the world and questioning his use of conversion by force, and maybe seeing the contrast between the confines of the room and the beauty of the natural world. I know it's character of the week and I am relying a lot on setting, but that's the approach I'm taking. I'm going to really try to put some time into the facial expression and hands.

[2ma2]

Not much design, it turned out more of an illustration. I envisioned a rather grim and selfabusing faith with little or no remorse. I got stuck on it, I really don't know where to go with it.

http://www.riotamot.com/dump/inq_2ma2.jpg

[Aly Fell]

Matias - Nice work man! Great expression. Watch the floor plane, it looks like he's on a step rather than the ground.

Acro - Have a good look at some costumes before you plunge in with outfit. However, nice expression and you're concentrating on his character.

Pixeldust - Already looking very 'period'. Love the painting here, but I think you could still work on his 'mood' a bit more, the intensity of his gaze.

Cowboy Surfer - Lovely line drawing. Reminds me of Moses somewhat. Looking forward to seeing where this goes.

/ev - Amazing piece so far. Cinematic and full of impact. Love the energy in the brushmarks. Don't forget it's a character piece though and get his personality across.

Daestwen - Good start! Be cool to see where this goes when you start tightening up the details.

I'll pop back in a bit with some more! Top stuff guys!

[Jack Frost]

great sketches and work so far people, I really like your change of style on your sketches posh, jessi bean great studies for the variations on the theme... what is weird is I did this same topic for another chow, it didn't meet criteria so it didn't make it to polling here it was

http://www.evrenbilgihan.com/Posting_images/CHOW%2390_Jack_Frost.jpg

[Aly Fell]

Some more... Sorry they're so brief.

Longshao - Looking cool so far! The shadowed face in the cowl is pretty enigmatic. Watch the arm on the left of the image as the upper part looks a bit short.

Mark Malone - He's great! Smashing face and expression. To be honest I'm not sure you need the 'wenches'. He's strong enough on his own and you could work him up some more, but tht's a personal choice, and I know how much fun they could be to draw.

Troy Wilkerson - Cool simple composition. The sword sticks out a little awkwardly for me, but there's a load of potential to develop his face as the simple features you've already defined work great.

Verastegui - The sketches are fab, but watch the proportions; the head in relation to the body. Proportionally he's more like a boy at the moment. The new sketch is vibrant, but again watch those proportions. :)

Glottis - Sketch is cool. Really need to see a bit more yet before I can give a proper crit, but there's a lot of confidence in your linework! I think the new sketch works better, it’s much more intimate.

mythril_golem - Once again a great sketch. Love the lowered head and general attitude. That cross looks damn heavy.

Jason Snair - Smashing character and pose! Really loads of personality and energy. Reckon you could play up his evil side a bit more.

Barbu - Great face! Lighting is working well too, with the heavy shadow. How about experimenting with having him look at the viewer.

Panda – Interesting viewpoint, and the thoughtfulness of the expression fits in well with the brief requirements. Maybe open out the composition a bit more as it looks like you’ve cut the top off a bit.

Arbu – Quite a lot of dynamism in this. Looks like he’s swing round at us. Maybe push that further and develop the drama with a sweeping cape, and broadening the composition.

Meme – Lookin’ really great! Intense and very Frans Hal’s. The close-up shows the details spot on. This is going to look smashing!

Slash – Lovin’ this! The sensitivity of the face is great. I’ll be honest and say I think you’ve lost a bit of that in the colour version. However this is fab and thoughtful.

JessiBean – Really enjoying the costume roughs and the attention to detail and accuracy. As yet I don’t have a fav, but look forward to the others you say you have coming. Love the mixture of sensitive linework and flat tonal areas. :)

Davidherd – These are fabulous little heads. You have a real sensitivity in your mark making.

Tsoren – Good start to the sketch. Good to hear you’re going to concentrate on the facial expression and the hands. How about pulling the composition in a bit to bring them up. You’ve put blood on his hands, so maybe that theme could be worked up to as a metaphor.

2ma2 – Because this is quite an intense I’d think about a more upward viewpoint than an overhead one. As you say, you need to decide whether it’s illustrative and has a secondary motive to the pure character, or concentrate on the character alone and treat other elements as less important. However, the face is top, although I’d avoid the splash of violet in his eyes.

Jack Frost – Love the illustration, but you’re not going to be able to submit an earlier competition entry to this one I’m afraid. :(

Hope that’s the lot! Thanks for the comments on mine Jason Snair, mrbo18, Penumbra, JessiBean, Davidherd, Jack Frost et al! :)

[chaosrocks]

beanie... six is the most accurate. 3 and five look feminine. (costuming wise) you go girl!

FOR INSPIRATION TRY WWW.COSTUMES.ORG

best costuming site on the netz
Posh the faces are great each is different and each expresses something important to the brief... I am impressed

[Lake]

poshspice and others - yea - I appreciate the comments! I was however only zoomed in on him. Composition's further out; I just wanted to show you guys the part that had the most completed.

progress here, and I've started painting, but not heavily enough to show real progress yet.

[mythril_golem]

@poshspice: it was pretty cool of you to comment on everyone's pics like that, just thought i'd show my appreciation.
did a little more work on mine.

[tsoren]

Here's all I am going to get done today on my image.

Comments are welcome. I know I need a lot more work in the hands and face especially. I am going to upsize the image tomorrow so I can start to zoom in.

poshspice, thank you for the comments on my last post.

I will try to comment on everyone's images tomorrow. I'm putting all my effort into making progress on my own so far.

I have seen some great work on the rough work that many have done so far. Meme seems to have a tight working method such that his preliminary work even has a nice nearly done appearance.

I will have to read some of the many how-to posts on this site, when I get some time.

[blackrobin]

dont know if im going to finish this in color, the costume is kinda plain
great design meme

[Penumbra]

Ok , I finally got something rolling. It should be moderately presentable by tomorrow. I must say that the realism has cranked up a few notches in this challenge. Truly impressive so far.

[Meme]

Well..this is a closeup...I'll post the final later...I hope..time to party! Thanks for the crits :hugsmile:
http://i211.photobucket.com/albums/bb93/mihai_titoiu/inquisitor3b.jpg

[Lake]

it appears as though some people are under the impression that this is due today. I was worried about that very thing. but check the first page. due date is the 20th. repeat, January 20th.

[S.C. Watson]

it appears as though some people are under the impression that this is due today. I was worried about that very thing. but check the first page. due date is the 20th. repeat, January 20th.

Panda is correct. The Due Date is the 20th. Mainly because it got a late start due to Revelations.

However, CHOW 102 WILL start tomorrow, MONDAY THE 14TH with a one week turnaround. After that, schedule as normal.

Ciao,
~Oreg.

[tsoren]

I like the textures meme. especially the look of the armor. I hope to someday be able to do work on a level you have achieved.

I will only mention some things that caught my eye. The hard edge on the characters right arm makes the arm look flat, almost like a decal. Maybe some reflected light to show the turning of the form would make a difference.

On the characters left, the clothing behind the armor seems to be immediately in deep shadow and that makes it look farther from the armor than I think it should be. I mean that the chest seems too dark if there is strong light on the armor as it appears to be. There may be shadow, but a more defined edge to a shadow from the armored arm and more light on the chest, I think.

Another small note. On the characters face there appears to be red on the characters right cheek just beside the mouth. Maybe some bleed over from painting the lip color. Not sure if it is intentional.

[tsoren]

dont know if im going to finish this in color, the costume is kinda plain
great design meme

I went with a plain cosutme too. Depending on how much you play up the fiction or historical part of your image I think there is flexibility.

I think that if you put in some dramatic cloud effects in your image sky it would help to balance out the large figure. It's cliche to have astral rays in a religious themed painting but storm clouds may play up the conflict that the character is supposed to be feeling.

[tsoren]

@poshspice: it was pretty cool of you to comment on everyone's pics like that, just thought i'd show my appreciation.
did a little more work on mine.

Cross as warhammer, that's a nice literal touch to the theme of hitting folks over the head with your doctrine. He doesn't seem too conflicted though, looks more like he's trying to remember if there's anyone he's missed. If he was maybe looking up for guidance or sitting with the hammer resting it may look less like he's just pausing before going off on another crusade.

[tsoren]

poshspice and others - yea - I appreciate the comments! I was however only zoomed in on him. Composition's further out; I just wanted to show you guys the part that had the most completed.

progress here, and I've started painting, but not heavily enough to show real progress yet.

I like the layout. I think you may need to show somehow what he's thinking about. It looks like he's deep thought but like an evil schemer not someone in regret. Maybe some bloody torn cloth, broken religious icon or something to show what he has been involved in.

[Meme]

tsoren: thanks man, I think is my left monitor..need to work on the contrast setings a bit..oh..what the hell there is one more week left hahaha...

[Jason Snair]

Started laying in color and lighting. (Glad we have til the 20th, that's for sure)

[tsoren]

Thanks Jessi, I like what you've got there as well. Very interesting!

Ya know, I was just about to go to bed (it's 12:30am here), when I thought of an awesome idea for the background. Here's a little update, but I'll need to research what those solar-system diagrams things really looked like back then. I just had to draw it out before going to bed, for fear of loosing it in the morning.

Very nice composition Jason. I think he looks self confident at having broken up some clandestine astronomy research. I will be tricky to try and capture some sense of him having regret over it, but maybe if he seems surprised or deeply interested with a furrowed brow in some astronomical chart or maybe the device you mentioned.

[mythril_golem]

@tsoren:thanks for the input, you're right that he does actually look more like he's forgotten something than anything else so that needs fixing but the idea of regret (as far as I know) was supposed to be played down a bit. The description made him sound more like he wasn't even aware of his regret and someone managing to make his way all the way up to high inquisitor must be pretty vile.

[Sellis]

Hey guys, i haven't got time to involve myself with this one which is a shame coz it's a cracking topic :P

Some cool stuff going on here, especially /ev thats one mind blowing sketch you've done, can't wait to see the end result.

Cheers,

Stu

[JessiBean]

Mmmm... don't forget that this guy is coming to the realization that he may be wrong. I see lots of pompous and self righteous, which is great, but not that sense of doubt...
;)

[darkly]

I've just got to say Meme friggin rocks!

[daestwen]

panda: I just realised how awesomely placed that sword is, but I'm not sure if the meaning was your original intention? XD

[mythril_golem]

it's kinda tough to show the right emotion. The problem is how does someone whose witnessed and carried out all kinds of horrible things look stoic, unflinching, stonyfaced and at the same time start to show regret in one pic. Imo you could only show one or the other. If i showed him being confused you'd just have to assume how he used to be and the same with the otherway round.

[daestwen]

mythril_golem: No, I would disagree. Because humans have two very different methods of displaying emotion - body language and facial. Your body can say one thing (I'm strong, proud, etc) and your face entirely something else. And you don't need to shown a full on "god, what am i doing" look, there are a lot more subtle facial expression that you can experiment to get what you want.

Or, you can use symbolism in the painting itself, bring in other elements that would portray that, rather than the character himself...

*babbles on*

[mrbo18]

My WIP.

Meme: really nice, although I preferred him without the mustache.

[cowboy surfer]

Posh - Really like your coloured update, marvellous pencilling, Panda - This guy looks great, a real presence, i second the lack of regret comment though, Meme - At the risk of gushing: 'holy mastery of many different styles, comic, historical, environment, is there anything he cant do, batman'... loving the armour decoration and subtle stubble, Jason Snair - Always like the daring colours you use in you skin shading, i think it works well, if i were to crit i would say your guy looks a little more smug than regretful.

Anyway another miniscule update for me... need to research what tears should look like - never attempted them before, any tips out there???r

[cowboy surfer]

mythril_golem: No, I would disagree. Because humans have two very different methods of displaying emotion - body language and facial. Your body can say one thing (I'm strong, proud, etc) and your face entirely something else. And you don't need to shown a full on "god, what am i doing" look, there are a lot more subtle facial expression that you can experiment to get what you want.

Or, you can use symbolism in the painting itself, bring in other elements that would portray that, rather than the character himself...

*babbles on*

I would have to second that... body language verses expression can be a very powerful message in an image.
I myself am 'trying' to capture a zeal in body language and facial expression and background if time permits, but to inject a powerful hint of remorse with his tears - this will hopefully show that the regret is at present overwhelmed by indoctrine teaching and religious fanaticism.
This is of course only my take on things but try to find the 'real' character you are drawing and think how he thinks - i find this really helps me visualise him.

[mythril_golem]

you are both correct, I'll go mess around with him some more, see what comes up.

[tsoren]

Many fixes: the hands, feet, right leg, lighting. I think I will try and tackle the face now and see if I can get the expression I am looking for.
I'll try to do something about the hands later. I worked on them close up so there is a lot of detail. I think that I should work the face an robe first before making any more adjustments to them.

Critiques are welcomed.

[LORD M]

Nice pieces everybody!

Here's mine, I finished it pretty quiclky - as you might see.

http://fc01.deviantart.com/fs22/f/2008/013/f/3/The_Spanish_High_Inquisitor_by_BrainGhost.png



A WIP

http://img526.imageshack.us/img526/1663/incuisitorwipll3.jpg

[Meme]

Holla guys...I'm a bit drunk...just kidding..pff..thanks for the crits and input....there is a nother week..? jeeez..let's make this a bit interesting and make a full character concept with views and stuff..not just nice nice character renders....no one gives you so much time to render just one character in this business...trust me...let's make this character challenge a bit more interesting...what say you? :P

[Meme]

this is what I got so far..what say you? let's work guys...tomorow I'll quit my shity job so I can draw and sleep :P
http://i211.photobucket.com/albums/bb93/mihai_titoiu/inquisitor3b-1.jpg

[Jason Snair]

very nice Meme. good expression. looks like he's really tired from fighting and is just now coming to that all important realization.

Update on mine: Got rid of the smug look, began cleaning up.

[smugbug]

My initial WIP. Wanted to capture my Inquisitor's face first. Here's my take:

So...my guy is seated, grasping the Bible in one hand and his other is grasping his chest as he looks up high. Light from above. Eyes closed. Long, angular face (think El Greco), almost skull like as he has lost more and more of his soul over the years. He's almost empty inside.

I see McHattie's Grand Inquisitor from "The Fountain". And as I'm working on this, I'm listening to the soundtrack of "The Fountain".

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2412/2191299256_bdff3815ed.jpg

[Eurayo]

280426

Hi gang. CHOW newbie and I'm having trouble finding the Final Burning thread for this one. Is it posted somewhere?

[mrbo18]

There's no final burning thread posted yet. This CHOW is running slightly longer than they usually do. The deadline for 101 is the 20th so we can expect the final burning thread sometime around then.

[Eurayo]

Thanks! I have to read more carefully next time. Thought the deadline was today. So, that means I have more time to develop this and get feedback and post sketches...

[barbu]

a new sketch...it's cool it didn't finish this sunday this chow hehe

[ShockWave]

Trying to obtain the right feeling and atmosphere from this quick wip.

I'll probably end up adding some facial hair to add to his age.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v616/mcpumper/kneeling.jpg

[OYO!]

Hey guys,

So far so good !

JessiBean : I think the more readable costume design is the last one on the right. Most of them looks a bit gay/too feminine :) or doesnt read like a church man.

Meme : really nice rendering... but in my opinion, the expression doesn't convey doubt and something-is-wrong-with-this-holy-crap spirit. For me, he's like a dandy-musketeer for now, not a man with an iron fist in a velour glove whose torturing and whose sending people to death on a regular basis.

I like the idea of using the bible to clean the blood from the bible but the hand holding it doesnt look belivable, maybe move it more in the middle or redo the fingers ( take a reference shot maybe ? )...

And what about the sword piercing through the cover ?

After that, am wondering if he can still rotate and move his arm with his one piece shoulder/arm armor :)

I dont have much time now to critic more entries sorry

Ok so for my own entry :

I really want to get the expression on the face so after few sketches, i decide this time to sculpt a little model so i can play and change quickly the expression and observe it from every angle and choose the right one that will conveys the mood.

I don't use any armature as i usually destroy/re use the supersculpey to do another stuff. Takes too much space and money to keep them all :)

It's funny to notice that following the angle the actual expression can be right or wrong.

What dya think ? :)

(sorry for the bad photoshoot )

Y.

[tsoren]

Hey guys,

So far so good !

JessiBean : I think the more readable costume design is the last one on the right. Most of them looks a bit gay/too feminine :) or doesnt read like a church man.

Meme : really nice rendering... but in my opinion, the expression doesn't convey doubt and something-is-wrong-with-this-holy-crap spirit. For me, he's like a dandy-musketeer for now, not a man with an iron fist in a velour glove whose torturing and whose sending people to death on a regular basis.

I like the idea of using the bible to clean the blood from the bible but the hand holding it doesnt look belivable, maybe move it more in the middle or redo the fingers ( take a reference shot maybe ? )...

And what about the sword piercing through the cover ?

After that, am wondering if he can still rotate and move his arm with his one piece shoulder/arm armor :)

I dont have much time now to critic more entries sorry

Ok so for my own entry :

I really want to get the expression on the face so after few sketches, i decide this time to sculpt a little model so i can play and change quickly the expression and observe it from every angle and choose the right one that will conveys the mood.

I don't use any armature as i usually destroy/re use the supersculpey to do another stuff. Takes too much space and money to keep them all :)

It's funny to notice that following the angle the actual expression can be right or wrong.

What dya think ? :)

(sorry for the bad photoshoot )

Y.

That's a nice sculpture OYO.
I think at the moment that it has a facial expression of disdain more than regret. Nice idea to use a sculpture, since you can experiment with angle and lighting too.

[tsoren]

My initial WIP. Wanted to capture my Inquisitor's face first. Here's my take:

So...my guy is seated, grasping the Bible in one hand and his other is grasping his chest as he looks up high. Light from above. Eyes closed. Long, angular face (think El Greco), almost skull like as he has lost more and more of his soul over the years. He's almost empty inside.

I see McHattie's Grand Inquisitor from "The Fountain". And as I'm working on this, I'm listening to the soundtrack of "The Fountain".

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2412/2191299256_bdff3815ed.jpg

That may look like he is just pondering a passage unless you have him holding the bible face down as if pushing it aside. Of course, he could be grasping one page as if to rip it out... that would be a strong impression.

[tsoren]

a new sketch...it's cool it didn't finish this sunday this chow hehe

Very cinematic look to that shot. Looks good so far.

[tsoren]

280426

Hi gang. CHOW newbie and I'm having trouble finding the Final Burning thread for this one. Is it posted somewhere?

Interesting design Eurayo. It looks more like he is in rapture than feeling regret though. You may want to show him in contrast to having done something he regrets, then he could be "eaten out from within" over regret.

[tsoren]

this is what I got so far..what say you? let's work guys...tomorow I'll quit my shity job so I can draw and sleep :P
http://i211.photobucket.com/albums/bb93/mihai_titoiu/inquisitor3b-1.jpg

I like the dark lighting and all the details you put into your image Meme.

It sounds like you are trying to drum up support for multiple images for the one character is that it?

I'm taking enough time doing just the one, but maybe someone else can try to keep up with your speed. New CHOW starts soon though...

[tsoren]

Trying to obtain the right feeling and atmosphere from this quick wip.

I'll probably end up adding some facial hair to add to his age.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v616/mcpumper/kneeling.jpg

Looks like a good start. Could be kneeling out of being overcome with guilt. You may be making your job harder by having so much of the face hidden though.

[tsoren]

This is coming out close to what I envisioned.

I'm going to set it aside for now.

Any feedback is welcomed.

[S.C. Watson]

Thought I posted this earlier, but apparently not.

JUST A HEADS UP

I am very pleased to announce that due to a *very* generous donation of a PHOTOBUCKET PRO ACCOUNT from an anonymous source thumbs will NO LONGER BE NECESSARY as they were in CHOW 100.

This is money that is being put into the CHOW, people. And while I can not say who donated the account, I will say that I am very touched and grateful for their generosity. :yayca:

All the best,
~Oreg.

[S.C. Watson]

Holla guys...I'm a bit drunk...just kidding..pff..thanks for the crits and input....there is a nother week..? jeeez..let's make this a bit interesting and make a full character concept with views and stuff..not just nice nice character renders....no one gives you so much time to render just one character in this business...trust me...let's make this character challenge a bit more interesting...what say you? :P

Including concept sketches with the character would be great. It's optional, but it certainly would make for a more interesting submission especially if we could follow the design process.

~Oreg.

[Vorace]

Wow wonderful entries as usual...

here's mine, worked a bit on the color scheme... input and tips welcomed. I'll try to crit a bit the other ones tomorrow!

[Verastegui]

I got to fix the face plus added some color to it. I haven't done much to the proportions yet.

[Asatira]

meme: Wow, a lot of progress on this piece. The details, such as the embroidery on the medallion cloth, really makes this piece. He has a somewhat doubting face, like he is second guessing what he has just done. The Bible as cleaning cloth adds to the dark nature of this image.

Jason Snair: It's coming along really well. There's a narrative element to it; looks like he just barged into some sort of observatory, ready to arrest a Galileo-ish figure for his work.

oyo: Interesting approach. Looks like you're making a much older person, someone whose habits and dogma has been grounded into him a lot longer, so it'll be harder on him at the time the prompt suggests. Can't wait to see the finished piece.

[ShockWave]

Update.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v616/mcpumper/kneeling2.jpg

[Lake]

tsoren - I'm not sure if you're trying to increase your post count or what... But it clogs the pages. Thanks for the helpful crits, but please keep them to one post? The more posts on a page, the less art we get to see at a time.

daestwen - lol @ you. you perverted rabbit, you. it's just resting in his lap. and also apparently in your dirty mind.

Soooooooo... first pass digital. I see what you guys are saying about the regret thing... I have some surprises up my sleeve too though. check progress though.

[Penumbra]

Panda-the brief indicates doubt, not regret.Nowhere in the brief does it say that he regrets his horrible activities. A subtle difference and a fine hair to split but I think that your characters pensive expression covers the bases and its a great scene.

[Micaiah Nelson]

Lake, thats a hardcore sketch but the perspective on the top half of the chair is wierd to me. Looks like you improved a lot bro!

[t11]

wip 2, more like 7 probably, just kept going without occasional snap-age. nit picking expected:

[t11]

Meme: You disgust me. In a good way. I wanna vomit love all over your soft lighting and subtle textures.

Jason Snair: Always loved your palette. With this piece I'm not so sure about your decision with the constellation machinery in the background considering here we have a devout christian and they've sort of always shunned scientific and non geocentric ideas. Or is that a subtle hint that this guy is in fact starting to question his beliefs?

Posh: Thanks for the kind words on the sketch, I obviously diverged a bit, nixed the oh so awkward sword since someone in his position might never have to truly get his hands dirty like that. As for your sketches, drool.

[Jason Snair]

Asatira
Jason Snair: It's coming along really well. There's a narrative element to it; looks like he just barged into some sort of observatory, ready to arrest a Galileo-ish figure for his work.

TroyWilkerson
Jason Snair: Always loved your palette. With this piece I'm not so sure about your decision with the constellation machinery in the background considering here we have a devout christian and they've sort of always shunned scientific and non geocentric ideas. Or is that a subtle hint that this guy is in fact starting to question his beliefs?

Thanks guys. I always try to include some narrative element. Asatira, you're dead on. He's just broken up some Astronomer's Observatory, just read from the scientists journal and the for first time is thinking that's he's the one who's wrong.

Troy, I'm going for a reversal here. For all of his life he has thought that he knows the truth, but here he's the one standing in darkness. I chose that yellowish, orange light on purpose, which normally depicts a "heavenly-truth". Here, though, that ultimate truth is, well, natural, scientific. That room is also slightly symbolic of his mind...as in, just like the corner of his mind that now doubts everything, so too does that room exist. And the only way to see that truth, is for the Viewer to enter passed him, behind his head. He's also, at this point in his life, facing away from the truth, he's even blocking access for others to see it...even though it's light is entering the Viewers space.

[EElevation]

so when is this due?

[tsoren]

I think I am just about done. Please provide comments if you would. Too graphic? It's looking like a pulp magazine cover.

Panda: thank you for the heads up on making one post vs. multiple.

Jason: I like the story developing with your image.

Meme / Oregano: by concept sketches you mean showing the character in various situations, to show some personality etc.? Just asking. I've never "lurked" on this site so my idea of concept sketches is the kind of stuff you see in a DVD bonus features, esp. for animation.

Troy: your figure seems to have moved well beyond doubt to be tossing that book in the fire, unless it isn't a bible...

To anyone: I found this warrior type of slogan in latin that I was going to use in my image maybe on the wall or in a banner style heading but I chose not to. Maybe someone else would like to use it?

Ad Maiorem Dei Gloriam ("For the greater glory of God").

[stumpy]

Tsoren~ Excellent look of inner turmoil on this guy. With the victim in the background he seems to be regretting his actions. With the victim cropped out he seems to be looking out over the land and regretting the suffering he is causing the people. Either way, I don't think it's too graphic, but then I like my blood to have some gore.

Troy~ Nice lighting! Especially on the face. If he is burning heretical books you might want to show more in the fire or waiting their turn otherwise it looks like he is burning his bible.

Panda~ I like the perspective. Like he knows he is being judged by a higher authority.

Shockwave~ When one of those religious people had a crisis of faith this was exactly the pose they would take.

Verastegui~ I like his expression. He looks like a … not nice person. And his 'hand of god' gauntlets are pretty sweet too.

Vorace~ He looks so tired; like he has been burning Protestants for weeks without respite. Nice brooding atmosphere.


it looks pretty immature next to some of the other work up here, but here is a wip showing simple layout and colors.
http://mailbombpress.com/presents/conceptart/chow101_stumpy_wip01.jpg
i am going for a "the pope is a voice in his head that he is beginning to doubt as he takes a mental step back to look at the earthly results of his mission" type of idea.

[barbu]

wip wip wip

[S.C. Watson]

FINAL BURNING THREAD IS UP (http://www.conceptart.org/forums/showthread.php?t=115985)

CHOW 102 has begun! (http://www.conceptart.org/forums/showthread.php?t=115984)

[Jason Snair]

Just about done. I need to rework the hands some and add some last little details. Any crits?

[Penumbra]

Jason, I can see that you are still working the hands but do you want to know about the armor construction...I don't want to get into it if it's not a concern for you but there are some armor tweaks you could do to improve the foreshortening of that visible elbow. Specifically the wing on the couter looks flat on and it should be at an angle like the elbow wants, considering the curve lines on the Rerebrace.
Oh...and the wing itself is on backwards.( I could be wrong about that, depending on ..well...wether or not I am wrong)

Yes...I am an armor geek...

[tsoren]

Jason: some subtle things catch my eye. I'm not sure if it is a concern to you but the alignment of the sword and hinge edge, and directly parallel to the bolts gives it something I had heard was a bad thing to have in an image. It causes the eye to pause there, ambiguous alignment or something like that. It makes the sword and hinge look closer than they would otherwise appear if the sword overlapped it more completely or didn't align right next to may look better. I think that the top hinge has a similar issue just barely touching the door edge, tenuous contact I think it's called.

Barbu: looks ominous. From the view it's like he knocked us down and isn't sure he meant it. You could definitely say his face shows doubt. Like just before the villian goes into a monologue.

Stumpy: it has a stained glass look, which I think you were going for. If you follow through on that idea though you may want to sharpen the edge on the yellow glow and/or add more of the leading that separates the glass. Or something like that to keep the stained glass feeling.

[ShockWave]

Almost there. Just need to tighten up the piece and detail the cross.

C&C is appreciated.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v616/mcpumper/kneeling3.jpg

[Eurayo]

Jeez Louise! You guys are good! I'm gonna have to rework mine. The pressure of thinking it was due Sunday pushed me to do something I've never done before, but I can do better...

[DeKal]

yo jason - im a huge fan of that sketch style you have but not so much how you paint. i love your colors but, i dont know...your finished pieces always seem to lose so much from those first sketches you post. at least for me. i think it might have something to do with contrast. i cant put my finger on it though.

barbu - thats sick man

[coldrum]

Here's my sketch...

[Aly Fell]

Fab work Coldrum. You're nailing the 'doubt' aspect. Smashing face! One crit, watch the length of his arms. Taking in to account the foreshortening they look a bit stumpy.

[OYO!]

Barbu : I like your shot, a lot of tension in this composition and a good relation with the negative space.

Here is my sketch so far.

perspective s bit off on the stairs and background in general, not quite sure about the face too for now, spent most of my time rendering this f***g draperie :) Also I tried to reduce the cartoony style of the sculpture. I was thinking of using blood on the hands and the bible at the beginning but i read on wiki that the inquisitors even if they could torture people, didnt had the right to make them bleed... Hence the creativity in the torture devices... freaky...

Do you think the angle/lightning/face expression convey the right mood ?

Am thinking of enlarging the canvas and give more space above the character for casting creepy shadows on the blank wall...

Comments and crits would be really appreciated.

[coldrum]

Posh - cheers I missed that... he's got his arms kind of tucked in a bit at the mo so I might extend them out a bit and see how that goes. Your Chow is looking great btw

[ManaBurn]

Here's a paintsketch I did last week trying to put the charchter in the future. Maybe seeking out the heretics on some distant space colony that they had fled to, escaping persecution on the Earth. Looking at the work that's been happening since then, I think I should ask, Oregano do you want us to concept you a charchter from the actualy heyday of the spanish inquisition, or can we move through time as we see fit?

EDIT Nevermind, I just now saw that it says, historical ficition. One dirty man in a dirty robe coming up, lol.

[S.C. Watson]

Oregano do you want us to concept you a charchter from the actualy heyday of the spanish inquisition, or can we move through time as we see fit?

EDIT Nevermind, I just now saw that it says, historical ficition. One dirty man in a dirty robe coming up, lol.

Tellin' ya. NO ONE expects the Spanish Inquisition. :P

[Jason Snair]

tsoren: Yeah, I noticed that too...there's a few that need to be touched up.

Penumbra: I'm all ears man. PM me if you have to. I grabbed some online photos from a stock site...but they really didn't have a clear shot. I want it to look accurate enough...so that it doesn't look blatantly wrong.

DeKal. Ouch. I'm glad you like my sketches....I think I can see what you're talking about with the contrast. Right now, some of the tones aren't really correct...and there's no overall hue in the foreground room. If you have any tips or further thoughts, I'd love to hear them. I'm here to improve.

[davidherd]

wip.

coldrum: Perfect expression (I think the length of the arms is fine).
OYO!: Is your guy kneeling? Great expression and drapery work btw.

281741

[king_scribbles]

I'll do my best; but I'm having a lot of trouble learning to digital paint in the grey background/ shadows/ focal point/ mid-tones/ highlights/ flatten/ details/ more highlights/ more details method. I get it to where its very messy and there are no lines; but I cant get it to come together. I get to the part where it just needs tightened and I get overwhelmed, I'll get there again and post it and maybe someone could shoe me where Im going wrong... :nohope:

[fuuryoku]

Been a while since I've jumped in the ring on one of these, but it's time I started working again, and this is too meaty of a topic to let slip.
(Actually both topics that are live this week rock, but I don't think I'll have time for both. Serious pity.)

Anyway, here's the WIP:

http://www.thomscottart.com/images/inquisitor.jpg

[edalva006@yahoo.com]

meme i really love your peace!

[ManaBurn]

Tellin' ya. NO ONE expects the Spanish Inquisition. :P

HA!!!

[tsoren]

tsoren: Yeah, I noticed that too...there's a few that need to be touched up.

Penumbra: I'm all ears man. PM me if you have to. I grabbed some online photos from a stock site...but they really didn't have a clear shot. I want it to look accurate enough...so that it doesn't look blatantly wrong.

DeKal. Ouch. I'm glad you like my sketches....I think I can see what you're talking about with the contrast. Right now, some of the tones aren't really correct...and there's no overall hue in the foreground room. If you have any tips or further thoughts, I'd love to hear them. I'm here to improve.

Jason: Maybe look at simulating some texture too. The door, the stones, the floor, they seem too smooth/plastic. The gap between adjacent floorboards right under the door disappears. If the character has enough light shining on him to cause those reflections I think it would show on the door, a shadow from him and some gradation effect on the rest of the door and walls. If you want to just preview some dramatic lighting changes try to add an adjustment layer in photoshop using hue saturation. Turn the saturation down and the brightness down to the lowest values you want in your image. Then in the layer mask with the gradation tool set for opaque to transparent transition and at a low opacity paint back the lightest and most intense areas of your painting. You can click the adjustment layer on and off for "better before - better after" type comparisons. I just tinkered with your image and posted a snapshot of it here to show what I meant about the lighting. I apologize in advance if this is not acceptable practice for you or this site. I will delete it if anyone complains.

Shockwave: that knee would be pressed into his shoulder I think. Try that pose yourself and see if the knee could be so far from the shoulder. It looks like you had it further up in an earlier post?

Fuuryoku: he seems off balance maybe leaning too far to the right without a forward leg to balance him.

Oyo: he does seem to be cut off at the knees. Maybe it's an extreme of perspective but the chains don't seem to support that. If you crop that lower half and add more wall like you say, for shadows, that may work.

Coldrum: I like the ancient style of what you have done so far.

KingScribbles: keep the lines in a layer above your painting and set the method to multiply. That way you can still see your lines while you paint. You can also adjust the contrast on it so that the paper texture is removed and the lines stand out more.

Davidherd: looks spooky so far.

[longshao]

http://i135.photobucket.com/albums/q137/yty2000/longshao_chow101.jpg
Posh thanks for the crit. I fixed the arm I think.
A lot of great entries so far:
/ev: the sketch is looking good, I like the mood of the image.
meme: nice design and lighting. Using the bible to wipe the sword in a great idea.
mythril_golem: the main character looks good so far. I can't tell what's going on in the back.
jasonsnair: lovely colors, and there's a lot of character in your design. You might want to separate the elbow armor on his right forearm cause right now he can't extend his arm wearing that.
coldrum: I like it a lot, no crits.
tsoren: the face is too compressed on the side. The costume is a little too common IMO.
Verastegui: the guys forehead is very flat right now. You've rendered a trench right in the middle of his forehead, which doesn't make sense.
barbu: good stuff, nice lighting.
panda: I like the more closed up composition better. Maybe replace the sword with a rapier?
troywilkerson: very scary looking guy, good job.
vorace: nice colors. The armor looks a little odd, very big and sagging.
jessibean: awesome costume designs! Middle bottom one is my fav.
shockwave: check the lighting on your character, the armor should be mostly in shadow.
Posh: great personality in your character, can't wait to see it finished!

[barbu]

wip..wip...wip?


ookey i guess this is my Final Spanish Inquiquisitor.

feel free to c&c it so I wouldn't think it's final...ok i'm wasted...sleepy time...buh-bye

[Rodimus25]

WIP:p

Some colour

Thanks for the feedback everyone, heres my final:)

[S.C. Watson]

Barbu, I think your image lost something when you added colour. It was, for me, far more dramatic in black in white.

Ciao,
~Oreg.

[Meme]

Yes Oregano, I think he needs a backlight to give a more cinematic look to te image. Barbs, hope you'll finish this one :asspat:

[:::rain:::]

Damn!...great stuff guys. Here are a few warm up sketches from me....probably won't expand on any of these, still thinking. Since the deadline is Sunday, really want to give this a try:


http://i242.photobucket.com/albums/ff67/water_spiritz/inquisitor_sketches.jpg

[barbu]

Thanks a lot guys for the feedback, it seemed to me also that i lost the feeling during colouring aaaand a sneaky backlight would be puurrrfect :D ...meme, uhm, are you slapping my deriere ? :))))

[t11]

Jason: Had I been a little more awake (and caught asatira's comment) I probably would've caught that. Very sharp. Gorgeous illustration both in rendering and storytelling right down to the "hmm" expression.

tsoren: well, it's a bible, just not a christian one. ;)

stumpy: I intended to once I shifted from guy w/sword to non christian bible burner just jumped right into modeling and coloring and that fun crap. I'm not happy with the fire the way it is now so I'll be going back in and reworking it later I'm sure. Thanks for the comment about it cuz I probably would've forgotten otherwise ;)

coldrum: way to nail it.

anyway here's a colorpdate. this is the point i tend to get stuck and or realize i started too dark with the grayscale and get all agro. comments/crits/links to spiff painting demos.... gimmegimme:D

[smokenmirrors]

Im not sure whether or not Ill be able to color this bad boy in time, but I couldnt resist sketching it up. Originally I was going to do the stern and solemn looking character, but its seems the majority went that way... so I started exploring the hellfire and damnation preacher status..... which consequently is a bit more fun. :tihi:

[Jason Snair]

I think I'm done. Thanks for all the help/crits guys ... appreciate it.

[Vorace]

Stumpy : lol I think I was tired too :)

Longshao : wow nice one! Thanks, hum yes the armor is a little bit too big. Errh I need to fix that.


Jason Snair : I definitively love your style. Always great colors and personnality.
Meme is really cool too.
Longshao : I like it a lot, but there something strange with his left arm, it looks flat compared to the other, maybe the shadow is too small, or the the fact that the shadow on the hand looks like lineart. Sorry I dont know how to say it in english :(

fuuryoku : I like it, the light beam looks weird but I suppose it's WIP

My WIP :
I tried to work on the color. Cooler on the top to represent God's and doubt, and warmer-darker on the lower part, as a symbol for the crimes, the blood, the fire of the inquisition. Also the cross-staff leads the eye to the face of the inquisitor and to the blood splash on the sword !

[Verastegui]

Thanks for all the crits. I'm almost done.

[Vorace]

Verastegui : Hi! Some crit : The inquisitor robe is a bit monochromatic, maybe you could use some lights or colored shadows to put a bit of life in it. The shadow on the skin looks like you added black to the skin color. You must not do that! Shadows are not black. As for the clothes, it could use some more color. Also a part of the robe is black as if you had forgotten to color it. The metal gauntlets could use more highlight and hard shadows to show that's it's a metallic surface.
I hope it's help and that my English is comprehensible :)

[longshao]

Looking great vorace! Dude got posterized.
You mean the hand holding the cane is lacking volume? I'll try to fix that, thanks for the crit.

Jason: nice use of patterns on his garment. Repeat what vorace said, the guy's got tons of personality.

[coldrum]

Hi all, I started on some crits a few days ago but never got time to finish them... here's what I got through so hopefully theyre not too out of date. I've just noted things that stood out at first glance so take my opinion with a grain of salt ; )


Matias - I like the colours... a few small things, his top half looks as tho he's almost leaning on something. This could be fixed by changing his right arm/hand position. Maybe have him holding his crucifix and looking at it?

Acro - It may help to roughly sketch your figure out first before starting any finished linework. It can help ideas flow and hopefully iron out any anatomy issues. Keep it up.

Pixel Dust - Looking pretty good so far. He's at a slanted writing desk right? There may be a slight illusion happening there. You could try and rotate the desk slightly so that the viewer can see the desks face... only a bit though. Things tend to look a bit 2 dimentional when drawn straight on. A candle lit room would look great with this.

Cowboy surfer - Cool concept, not sure if there is doubt in him though. I see that he's crouching slightly but at a glance it looks as though his legs are too short.

/ev - Cool sketch ... love the mood you have happening here. Looking forward to seeing what you do with his expression.

daestwen - Nice concept. It may be a little flat... you could rotate him slightly and maybe have one hand lower than the other to add a sense of imbalance?

Jason Snair - I like your use of blue in the skin... makes your style recognizable... the armour around the torso area looks a bit strange. .so has he just busted a scientist?

ShockWave - Looks good so far... you could really play with the lighting here. It kind of looks like he's bowing before the queen tho.

OYO! - He looks more grumpy than doubtful.. also his legs are a problem.. but I think others have already pointed that out. Nice lighting tho.

ManaBurn - Apart from the anatomy issues Im not sure about the direction you have taken here. But check his torso area and thickness of ankles to start with maybe.

davidherd - maybe a little early to crit on yours but he looks as tho he's looking down a hole.. maybe shift his attention toward his hands with a look of doubt? cool sketch tho.

king scribbles - I like the concept so far. you could save yourself some work and get rid of the two behind him. I think his pose and expression is enough to convey the message. Watch the thickness of his left wrist and fingers. His right elbow is a little too far forward. hope this helps.

fuuryoku - Looks good so far..not sure about the expression..is he saying goodbye or maybe watching something die..... cool painting

longshao - Sweet colours and nicely painted. His hand gesture is a little distracting... a little like a 'V'. I cant really see doubt in him but otherwise looks great.

Barbu - The angle on this is really cool, nice job. Are you leaving the BG like that? Could have something there to suggest the Inquisition maybe

Rodimus25 - Hey mate, looks awesome... and evil haha .. we already had a chat about the shadow and I think your right... it's supernatural so anything goes. Not alot of doubt here but should be a cool painting anyway... a lighting flash would look cool mwahahahaaa

[ShockWave]

Coldrum: Thanks and I will work with the lighting since its a main part of the scene.


http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v616/mcpumper/kneelingcopy.jpg

[matias]

Hey guys, nice round, awesome to see some of the great pics!
/ev I really like this feel, having him outside in perhaps the aftermath of some big event, nice!
Meme really love the armor and the details, fits really well.
Poshspice as always sweet sketchs, they look nice and loose but are nailing forms and texture, sweet! Also thanks for the comment, I've hopefully fixed the feet now, I have to work on feet and legs in general, my weakest point I think.
Barbu I really like the angle and the nice format, I like having the subject far off to one side with that great dark space with hints of the church, that works for me!

Anyways, been slack, worked and reworked the face, annoying how sometimes the initial sketch seems to work better then when Im refining it, grrr.
http://members.optusnet.com.au/matias.jakku/Linking%20Files/CHOW%20101wip%202.JPG
Also, Coldrum, thanks for the comment, I kinda wanted to keep his hand wiping his face but can definitly see your point, might see if I cant make my idea read better, fingers crossed!

Cheers guys
Matias

[benu]

WIP, and my first completely digital painting. I'm currently using a nice freeware program called artweaver, wich is very similar to painter, and better than painter essentials wich came with my wacom.
Any suggestions?
282842

[Gwenevere]

If anyone still needs it and hasn't found this, here's a rather handy page that has little pictures of costumes worn by all sorts of people working for the Spanish Inquisition, more or less. Links to the images are down at the bottom, in the grid titled "Organización del Tribunal de Distrito"... (Yeesh, THAT took some digging...)

http://www.gabrielbernat.es/espana/inquisicion/ie/organizacion/organizacion.html

It's in Spanish, though, so if you don't read Spanish it may take some guesswork...

[Jack Frost]

thanks for the comments Posh, also I wanted to add that I am really loving your illustration so far Jason Snair....

ev

[Stephan_R]

These are my attempts at helpful critique...

meme: Fantastic sir!! Does he feel slightly stretched horizontally about 5-10% though?

Coldrum: Really great mood, I think this captures the emotion/description perfectly! Something about the noise in the dust/beam of light is distracting though... maybe make it more subtle over the character? A little more fleshy tones for the face and/or hands might really pop the depth and life into him as well.

longshao: The red on the cloak versus the background flatten him a bit but otherwise I really like your piece... very solid, great face!

Posh: fantastic sketches, you are such a character master. Every one could work.

Jessi: The third from the left sketch really stands out to me.

Jason: really great, the background planets distract a tiny bit but I love the whimsical feel. How about gold for the door hinges as to not compete with the costume reds? I think you could pop out some stronger points of interest still like dodge highlight the sword.... the book, the white around the cross and the face. You've made such strong angles and composition that I think with some hot points it will still lead back to the face.

tsoren: My brain is too busy fighting the perspective to focus on the character. I like the idea a lot, maybe if you pulled your camera view down lower to the ground and removed the left hand from view it would relax the image a bit?

barbu: awesome perspective and execution. THe colors are a bit harsh on me eyes hehe... this is personal taste but maybe desaturating the lower portion and adding a different background color could really isolate him more.

rodimus25: If you polished the top 1/3 and left the rest sketchy I think you're done... really cool Dark Crystal vibe.

Troy: awesome, very cool... front running material :) Maybe little TOO much red in the design for me personally but hey. Execution and emotion mmmmmboy. ALso I first thought the cross/staff was glowing from sitting in the fire and ready to brand some poor soul, maybe push that idea more? :)

Vorace: I'm a big fan, I really like your character here. Everything from the pose to the costume and colors especially. Something about the contrast in the foreground and the character are jarring, I find myself looking at the foreground border too long. Maybe keep polishing the contrast and points of interest?

Matias: Very unique, I love it! Two things.... the floor and the white highlights on the clothing are working against this image overall. Otherwise cheers!

benu: Pretty strong so far... but the waist is too thin *gasp* :D

[Lake]

oregano and others -

I've been going through a rather rough time the past week... Ringling just doesn't do what I need it to. So I'm leaving.

Unfortunately, this cuts severely into my image making process. I'll try to get a final up, but no promises.

Look for me in future CHOWs though.

[t11]

Stephan: Thank you for the kind words :) The branding's something I'll save for the future I think not so sure it's historically relevant... eh who knows haha. thanks though.

I think I'm done. Or at least done looking at it till I make headway on the plague doctor. Suggestions?

[coldrum]

Cheers for the crits guys.. I havnt had time to back into mine but I'm sure I'll get some time tomorrow... just as well for the extra time on this one.

Stephan - Cheers I thought long and hard about this one so hopefully it will show when I'm done. Thanks for the suggestions, I'm planning on painting some detail and colour into this but want to be careful not to over do it. See if I can get it to look like it was painted around the 1600's.


Benu - Looking good.. a popular concept with the flames. My only crit at a glance would be the thickness of his middle.. he looks a little thin there compared to his shoulders.

Troy - Nicely painted.. Composition wise I'd like to see the Bible larger and actually in the fire already with a few embers and bits of page floating up. The little Bible falling through the air just seems a little weak and may be letting your painting down imo. Also I think the lighting on your previous posting is much better.

[Gwenevere]

Well, here's where I'm at so far, which isn't very far... oh-so-rough roughs and studies, got the general composition and face that I want, though, I think... I reeeally hope I can finish something on time, haven't had much time to work on it, but - will try.

@#!$ WHY are CHOW 101 and 102 due on exactly the same day?? Dang, I wanted to do 102 too, don't think I'm gonna manage...

Er, ignore the chick in the bathrobe. That's just me in front of a mirror getting an idea of the hand and lighting...

[king_scribbles]

Ok, so I am trying to learn how to lay down values first. (Instead of just scanning a sketch, blocking colors, and then doing values with a multiply layer on top of the colors...Like what was done on the stuff in my sketchbook). I've gotten great tips in my sketchbook, and posted this in the critique section; but i only got one suggestion in the critique area. It's ALMOST SUNDAY! Anything you guys could suggest Id really be thankful for, I really am having trouble with this technique. I'll submit it regardless but I must have worked on this for five hours already and I am not happy, I am half tempted to just start a new one and do it my way; but I dont want to cop out.

[tsoren]

I'm just posting some crits that jump to mind when viewing...

Troy: I'm not sure a fire would start outside the burning material like you show it maybe it would look better inside an overall teardrop shape. I also think that the lighting was better in your earlier post, the constrast on the figure especially.

vorace: that's a nice iconic looking image.

shockwave: if his leg is bent so far forward that it doesn't touch his clavicle then the boot top would be much more circular in shape not flat as it appears.

mathias: I like the painted look your image has.

gwenevere: going for the erotic angle eh? Good old temptations of the flesh... niiiice.

king scribbles: don't overdo the technique. Just put your sketch above the layer you are working on. Set your sketch to multiply and paint using grays on the layer below it. The sketch over your painted layer is only there as a guide and to possibly merge in later when you are finishing up. There is an excellent tutorial by Vegas Mike over on the creature of the week forum.

[Gwenevere]

gwenevere: going for the erotic angle eh? Good old temptations of the flesh... niiiice.

Wasn't originally my original intention, it was going to be an emaciated male torso, but then a twisty female torso looked so much better there, so... heh... Yeah, could have all sorts of things read into it.

[tsoren]

Wasn't originally my original intention, it was going to be an emaciated male torso, but then a twisty female torso looked so much better there, so... heh... Yeah, could have all sorts of things read into it.

You could play that up as the cause of his doubt. Harming a beautiful woman in the service of an overzealous religious order has finally caused him to reflect. It would be unique based on what has been posted so far.

[Gwenevere]

Some random crits of everybody I can get to right now - more later... (huh, interesting that so many people are doing fire themes...)

TroyWilkerson: I love the lighting on his face, but the lighting on his costume feels oddly flat - and less finished than the face. (Granted, the lighting WOULD be a bit harsh due to the fire - but maybe a little too much so?) Also it bugs me slightly that the fire seems to be floating at the outer edges... Maybe curve it in at the bottom so it's coming from the pile of kindling?

benu: I like the light and color scheme (everyone's going so dark, it's kind of refreshing to see a light one.) And his face is not bad, though his nostril seems to be getting kinda big... His overall proportions are odd, though. It strikes me that his waist is too skinny and too far over to the right, and the hand with the book is much too big.

matias: Well, stylized pools of blood have probably been cropping up in illustration for decades, so I wouldn't worry about subconsciously copying something... Personally, I quite like the design with the cape and the blood, very graphic. Minor crit, the folds in the cape around his neck feel kinda flat, somehow. Perhaps that area should be a tad less stylized? show the folds going round to the other side of his neck?

ShockWave: Oh, excellent face. Could be a good pose, too, but at the moment it feels slightly awkward around the legs - the raised leg looks too short. Also, are you going to tone down the primary color scheme? It really doesn't feel right for the picture - more shadows and more muted colors might be better... Maybe an off-cream sort of wall instead of bright yellow...

Verastegui: Some minor crits: the gauntlet on the hand holding the cross is all lumpy, as though it was a bunch of bracelets - it should follow the contour of his arm pretty closely, with only slight ridges. Also, his belt is entirely 2-dimensional - it should curve round his waist, and could use a bit of shading. As could the necklace, which could also be toned down - it seems too much of a flat, bright yellow as it is.

Personally, I'm not sure about that costume - teal? Is that historically correct? Then again, how historically correct are we supposed to be, that's the question... and I'm not sure myself. So just ignore that comment...

Vorace: Wow, that's beautiful. I love the blue and red-orange color scheme, symbolic or no, and the light is just sumptuous. Tiny crits, first, is the back of his cloak going to get cleaned up? Looks hairy now... Also, I'm not sure about that lettering. I dunno,either make it more obviously scribbly/inky/handwritten, or make it clean, as it stands it looks a bit slapped on and it brings down the tone of the piece...

JasonSnair: Really a wonderful piece, I think. I like how you've got the indication of a story in there with an economy of means, and the colors and light make an excellent design. Very illustrative. Teensy crits: the shoulder of his armor feels kinda weird to me, at least, that bit that looks like he's got a spring coiled around his arm. It makes him feel a bit robotic. If that's based on some actual armor, though, never mind me, I'm no expert. Also, the planet on the left looks oddly squished... should it maybe be round?

smokenmirrors: Heh, rabid inquisitor... Certainly a different take. Going to finish it hopefully? I like the energy so far...

rain: Interesting so far... Personally, I incline towards the guy with the hood over his face facing towards us, he looks like he's doing some serious mulling over. I also like the bald guy with the big smirk on his face, but I don't think he works so well for this brief...

rodimus25: That's one scary-looking little bugger. I like the pock marks and red circles under his eyes... Might want to watch that he doesn't get too troll-like with his head disappearing into that enormous collar and cape, though, otherwise he'll get precariously close to looking inhuman...

barbu: Oh, I love the angle and lighting of this. Gorgeous red-and-gold color scheme going on... I hope it still fits the 3-quarter figure requirement, though, seems to be cutting it close. If it was me, I'd say it's OK, but I ain't the moderator...

fuuryoku: Well, I love his fanatical face and the dynamic pose. Er, the background - I assume that's at a VERY rough stage? That big gray smudge is just killing things for me. Also, I'm thinking it wouldn't hurt to crop a bit, unless you plan on doing something much more compelling with the background...

king_scribbles: Hmm. I wouldn't obsess too much about technique, there's no one right way to do things after all. I don't see why you couldn't mix things up a bit, sure, maybe do a basic value layer to start, then lay down colors, but then why not add more transparent or multiplied layers on top of that to give it more depth? And perhaps touches of solid color on top of all that? Or any other such combination...

One definite thing I can suggest is to tone down everything behind the main figure, as it's a bit distracting right now. Even just a semi-transparent or multiplying layer of some neutral tone would do it (preferably a color, not grey, as that could make it all muddy.)

davidherd: Intriguing so far... your sketches are always so wonderfully loose. Ummmm, planning on finishing one this time...? (Not to harp, or anything!)

ManaBurn: Uhhhhh... not sure if I should crit that apocalypt-inquisitor or not... You really gonna do that??

oyo: Well, I for one love the angle and lighting. His expresion looks a little too gloating, though, somehow, like he's an evil bastard really enjoying seeing people tortured. I think it's largely the mouth... Also, even with foreshortening, his legs seem to have been truncated - almost as though he hasn't got any. Add a bit more length, and maybe show a foot?

And, oh dear, the sculpey-heads are awfully entertaining... especially the grinning guy behind the inquisitor! And I thought I got carried away with pre-production!

coldrum: Wow. You know, that's beautiful as it stands. Are you going to keep the textural, hand-drawn look, I hope? Because it really adds something here... Don't make it too slick, whatever you do!

stumpy: Well, if you go for totally cartoony, the little floating pope is quite funny - you could play that up...

panda: It's lovely so far, great point of view and composition, and I love your line-quality. It'll be a pity if you don't get to finish it, but if life gets in the way, watcha gonna do...

tsoren: I like the idea of the contrast between the horrific scene in the room and the idyllic scene outside, but right now the landscape is coming too much to the fore - perhaps lighten it up a bit? Or throw a slight bit of haze over it, or something? Also, it would be better if his face, chest and hands were picking up a cooler, more daylight tone of light, to contrast with the fiery light behind him.

meme: Well, of course I have to comment on that one. Damn, that's amazing. I love how you've managed to emulate the tone of late-renaissance Spanish painting, the colors and light are just beautiful. And the textures keep it from getting too slick, very nice. And of course the bible-and-sword - cool concept. If I have a crit, it's that either his nose or mouth are off-kilter. They don't line up with each other, and it bothers me ever so slightly. If it weren't for that, he'd be perfect.

Lord M: Nicely dramatic... Some crits: to my mind, the necklace and sword are perhaps too uniformly lit up - especially the necklace, it looks very flat and stuck-on. Perhaps add a bit more shadow? Also, the plume is kind of klunky as it stands, I think it's the white highlights all over it. Would be better backlit without the highlights, or just removed entirely.

Slash: Oh dear... you know, while I was researching this, I ran across some jesuit sites and they had some scary-ass priests who looked very much like this guy... I guess that means he's right on! Great face, he looks like an utter close-minded zealot with absolutely no sense of humor. One thing, are you going to extend the bottom a tad? I'd worry that he's too close to being a "bust" to fit the brief - wouldn't want him to disqualify on a technicality... Of course, I wouldn't know for sure, ask Oregano.

longshao: Gorgeous colors, and I love the blood on the scarf! Not sure we can read awakening doubts in this, though, what with his face being mostly shadowed... Also, minor nitpick, but he appears to have a cuff on only one sleeve... (Come to think of it, you could just lose that cuff and it wouldn't hurt a thing.)

chaosrocks: I don't know, it still feels very unfinished and sketchy to me... Sure there isn't time to refine it a bit?

[Vorace]

Stephan R: thanks! I worked on this, hope the foreground is less eye-catching now!

Gwenevere : thanks a lot for the crit! Wow you give words to everyone, :) . I changed the typo to make it better and worked a bit on the cape !

my final!

[Gwenevere]

The rest of my crits for now, for what they're worth...

Eurayo: Interesting concept, rawther surreal but why not... Overall, the colors and composition work for me, but the hands are bothering me. The two middle fingers seem to merge, giving an impression of three-fingered hands, and the thumb and wrist of his right hand (the empty hand) are awfully uncertain. Somehow the thumb is looking more like a finger - I think because the base is not wide enough, and the last joint is too long and bendy...

PatriciaS: Well, i like it so far... austere but slightly troubled is what I get out of it... I await developments...

cowboy surfer: Tears, huh? Tricky... keep 'em subtle, I'd say. Depending on the style you do you could just indicate them with a few delicate highlights. Actually, the Spanish masters are probably good to look at for inspiration, especially Ribera, he's got people crying all over the place...

Crits on the piece so far: I dunno, is it a bit too blatant, conceptually? I wouldn't mind seeing a more subtle take. Or at least a few less props, right now it's starting to feel like everything-and-the-kitchen-sink...

mrbo18: Nice fiery atmosphere, don't lose all the looseness as you go more finished... Is he reading a burning book? Very cool concept if he is... Like he's paused in the middle of a book-burning because he just spotted a phrase that's about to change his life.

blackrobin: Has potential, like the off-center placement with the bare landscape, hope you can finish some version, black and white would be fine... Some crits: the arm holding the cross looks ever-so-slightly short, possibly. May want to play with it a bit to be sure, anyway. Also, is the cross supposed to be bendy? It does have a pronounced curve, not sure if that's intentional...

mythril golem: The face (from what I can see of it) has potential so far... Personally I feel he doesn't need all that paraphernalia, though, least of all the humongous cross. Some vague images in the background *could* work, but only if they're kept very subtle. As is, they kind of overwhelm the picture and are maybe a bit too blatant and in-your-face...

2ma2: Oh, scary dude. The inquisitor loses it, heh... He's even gone and stuck his crucifix on his head. he looks so deranged, and I like that. Also like the swashy acid-pink background. Still feels unfinished though - is it? The area behind his sleeve at the far right and the hands in particular could use more definition and tightening up.

JessiBean: Congrats on the queenship, yo! OK, inquisitors... Those are some nifty costumes, but some of them feel a bit femmy - kind of fashion-plate-inquisitor. Although it's partly the pose, really... Frankly, the two with the black chasubles over the white robes feel the most historically convincing to me - although I personally like the costume in between them better.

Glottis: Hmm, haven't seen a lot of fat inquisitors... Bit hard to gage at this rough stage... But maybe it would be stronger if you lost the crucifix and cropped in on the inquisitor? Just a thought...

Poshspice: Those are all so cool! You've got yourself a whole cast of ecclesiastics, there. All great characters already, though they fit the brief to varying degrees... I do like the guy you've started to color, although is that an evil grin under his mustache? That may be a bit much... If I had to pick the one I felt fits the brief best, it might be the guy in the middle of the top row, the one tenting his fingers... He looks like the smartest of the lot, and the one most likely to be having serious doubts...

mark malone: Ummmmm... To my mind, that doesn't fit the brief at all, I'm afraid. Looks like a totally corrupt lecherous old bastard, not a dedicated zealot. Hot nuns... Oh DEAR... Also, that's a pope outfit, if I ain't mistaken. Though I could be.

daestwen: Any further progress? Bit hard to gage anything from the rough posted so far... Looks like it could work, though... I'd keep the skulls subtle if I was you (mostly in the dark, say.)

/ev: Well, I like the sketch so far... very dramatic, nice epic feel... can't say much about the character at this rough stage, though...

Pixel Dust: Arrgh, wish I could remember the painting that's inspired by. Looks interesting so far... some crits, his arms look a bit on the small and skinny side. Also, I know it's still rough, but watch the lines of the room - some are getting out of line, so to speak. Especially the shelf right behind the desk, it's slanting off the horizontal...

[OYO!]

Hola !

Everybody is doing a great job ! That's very motivating !

Thanks for the people who gave me critics, very helpful, especially for the legs. I will reply and give more crits when i ll have more time, hopefully.

I ve got a really bad color profile problem at the moment on my mac, i dont really know what you ll see on ur screen. That's a shame, if somebody as any clues about how to match the mac book pro monitor rgb with the photoshop srgb, please help me. thanks.

So here is my update :

[king_scribbles]

-Tsoren- Thanks Ill take a look at it.

-Gwenevere- I'll try that out thanks.

After this its DEFINATELY P2P v2 time for me

[2ma2]

I threw my initial design out the door, and while somewhat unoccupied at work, started doodleing a knight. The main inspiration are the templars. A veteran with grim and struggleing faith.

Heres the current piece, but I'll work on it some more. EDIT: Cleaned it up a bit, and adjusted colors.
http://www.riotamot.com/dump/ink_2ma2.jpg

[S.C. Watson]

hey man,

Sorry to hear that things are going south for you. No worries on the CHOW. It's not a commitment like the LMS - far more open ended.

Take care of yourself.

All the best,
~Oreg.

oregano and others -

I've been going through a rather rough time the past week... Ringling just doesn't do what I need it to. So I'm leaving.

Unfortunately, this cuts severely into my image making process. I'll try to get a final up, but no promises.

Look for me in future CHOWs though.

[davidherd]

davidherd: Intriguing so far... your sketches are always so wonderfully loose. Ummmm, planning on finishing one this time...? (Not to harp, or anything!)

Thanks and . . . nope! I'm never planning anything :evilmustache:

[chaosrocks]

gwen..thanks for the encouragement.. but no Im done with it. I have neither the time nor the inclination to achieve the required slick polish. I hope that the character is presented in an evoctive enough fashion that any roughness is atributable to roughness in his character. If its not enough...so be it. I find in my own work that when I refine too much and too far it loses character and life. I prefer a loser more painterly approach that is not in vogue around here.. I know that. This may be a fatal flaw in my make up but there it is.

thank you greatly for taking time to comment and try to crit all the works. it is much appreciated

[ACRO]

http://i59.photobucket.com/albums/g313/PARNUN/ACRO---CHOW101-INQUISITOR.jpg
WORK IN PROGRESS
update - NOT SURE WHAT ITS MISSING

[benu]

benu: I like the light and color scheme (everyone's going so dark, it's kind of refreshing to see a light one.) And his face is not bad, though his nostril seems to be getting kinda big... His overall proportions are odd, though. It strikes me that his waist is too skinny and too far over to the right, and the hand with the book is much too big.
Thanks for the crits; it`s not so easy to keep track of the proportions when zooming and scrolling all the time. :/ But I think I fixed it so far.
283846

[king_scribbles]

Benu-His hands and face are coming out of the screen! :)

[king_scribbles]

CHOW Update: I started from what I wanted to see in the pic and worked backwards. I'll go in and tighten edges more tonight. I wont stop working on this till the very last minute I figure. I tried some of the layering, not too sure how I did, I will cool down the shadows on the front guys robes too and add motion to the torches in the background, stars, etc. Then more tightening. Thanks for the input guys, it helped, if not with the excecution, definately with how I feel about it now after trying what was suggested.

Still A Wip

[cowboy surfer]

Hmm feel a bit like i'm loosing my way a bit... trying to get a chiaruscuro light and dark feel... any sugestions???

[thedestroyer]

Youre losing your way, but not in a negative way...
this looks even more professional

[ShockWave]

Fixed the boot and added light from the candles.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v616/mcpumper/kneeling6.jpg

[dan ianos]

Hello Visual Art l'm new here so please be gentil witm me.Here's a skech l made for this theme.:lifedrawing:

[king_scribbles]

CowboySurfer-Looks good to me, if your losing your way then I must be in hell. Try mixing a little purple into the sideof his cloak, or having some reflected light on that side of his see what that does. But I think its great. Make a sketchbook for us??

Shockwave- Wow...please make a sketchbook.

[dan ianos]

and work in progress:lifedrawing:

[Gwenevere]

Shockwave (not Cowboy Surfer, sorry!): Much, much better in terms of light and color... You might also try making the armour less uniformly blue by sneaking some reddish tones in there (as it might be picking up a bit of red from his other garments...) the knee may still be a little short, I'm not sure. Perhaps try adding a bit to the top of it to see what it looks like...?

Dan ianos: Well, I like what you've got so far. Excellent subtle lighting scheme, interesting composition, and the folds of his white garments are nicely done. I wouldn't mess too much more with those, but the folds of his red cloak-thing are starting to look a bit too wiggly to me - it strikes me that that cloth would be thicker than the white cloth, and ought to have heavier/straighter folds.

Hands are excellent so far, face is coming along well, but I'm not sure about having his mouth screwed up to the side so much. I dunno, to me it makes him look more like a crabby old guy grumbling about "those dern kids" than like someone having serious doubts (probably just my subjective opinion, but that's what I see) - maybe try having it not quite so much askew?

[daestwen]

Cowboy Surfer: Much, much better in terms of light and color... You might also try making the armour less uniformly blue by sneaking some reddish tones in there (as it might be picking up a bit of red from his other garments...) the knee may still be a little short, I'm not sure. Perhaps try adding a bit to the top of it to see what it looks like...?

I think this crit (or at least half of it) is meant for ShockWave as Cowboy Surfer's has no armour at all. :)

[Penumbra]

Jason Snair-your inquisitor looks excellent...the armor on the elbow looks much better.

[dan ianos]

l'm trying to upload my the final version of the inquisitor and it doesn't work!please somebody to give me an advice.

[dan ianos]

l'm trying to upload my the final version of the inquisitor and it doesn't work!please somebody to give me an advice.

[:::rain:::]

Alrightie I finally found some time to rough something out. Still deciding what to do with his hands...either to clasp them, have them holding a bible...sword....lollipop:D


http://i242.photobucket.com/albums/ff67/water_spiritz/spanish_inq_02.jpg


http://i242.photobucket.com/albums/ff67/water_spiritz/spanish_inq_03.jpg


dan:ians: great expression!

[Jason Snair]

dan ianos: Same thing was happening to me. It kept erroring out saying that I didn't type enough letters in my message. Even though I didn't want to type out anything to begin with, it wouldn't accept a "submit" with no type written.

Try typing just the word "final" in your message window. That worked for me.

Pen: Thanks man. I'm really glad you like it. Now where's yours at? I saw you sketching something in your SB thread.

[Gwenevere]

I think this crit (or at least half of it) is meant for ShockWave as Cowboy Surfer's has no armour at all. :)

Ooooops, you're right, grabbed the wrong name... they're right next to each other...

Edited my post - sorry! Spaz moment!

[Verastegui]

I think I'll do some more work tonight before posting the final.

[tsoren]

Hmm feel a bit like i'm loosing my way a bit... trying to get a chiaruscuro light and dark feel... any sugestions???

cowboy surfer: I don't think you need it, you have a bright graphic image style, but if you want to try chiaroscuro: add a hue/saturation adjustment layer over your image. That is Layer, New Adjustment Layer... On that layer set the brightness and saturation down to the lowest level that you want for your images darkest areas. Then paint back the light areas by using the gradient tool in the layer mask. Set the tool to go from foreground to transparent instead of the default foreground to background. Set it to the radial gradient. Set the opacity of the gradient tool to low opacity so you can build up the effect slowly. You can check your progress by turning the layer on and off.

[coldrum]

Dont think I'll have the time to finish mine sorry people so I'll leave mine as a WIP sketch.

Dan ianos - Welcome! Only crit I have is the size of his hand.. you could enlarge it 20% ? Nice work

[Gwenevere]

coldrum: are you kidding? Your WIP was pretty much good as is (last I saw of it, anyway.) Yeah, it's a loose approach if you leave it as is, but it's a GOOD loose approach, and looks appropriate for the piece. To me it looks like you were going for a kind of old-master-drawing aesthetic, and if you told me that was the finish, I'd accept it. Post it, man! Whatcha got to lose?

[king_scribbles]

Thanks Coldrum, I see what you mean there, you are right about the other two...Im SOOoo hard headed. Anyway this was a huge challenge, hopefully there is a toaster IDOW coming up, cause I'll NAIL that one for sure! *crickets* No?

[2100]

the spanish high inquisitor is supposed to be a soldier, right? So why is everyone making such old, priestly characters?!

[:::rain:::]

ACRO: His hat has a great 3D feel but you lose that in his armour. Try draw rings around his body where his armour is supposed to be for reference. Its very important to draw the parts you don't see to make the parts you do see stronger.:rendered:

shockwave: Really like the comp of your pic. One crit, the knee above the boot I think needs to be punched forwards a bit more. That can be done by fixing up the perspective of the boot, as if its coming towards the viewer more.

cowboy_surfer: If the light is coming from the back then most of his belt will be in shadow...and the half of the face closest to us. You can make the light more dramatic by giving it some subtle colour, instead of just using white...as if the light is coming from a fire? Watch the cropping of your pic also. I would give him a little more space at the bottom.

2100: From the research I've managed to pull up, The Grand/High Inquisitor first off is old because well it takes years to get to that position. As to the priest bit...they were men of god, fantatics you would say. Do not confuse Spanish Inquisitors with Spanish Conquistadors. Their very different. i havn't managed to find anything about inquisitors wearing armour. If anyone has a link to that information I would really be interested!!!
PS. check out the first page of this thread.


As to my piece. Try get it finished by the end of today.:S

[Gwenevere]

the spanish high inquisitor is supposed to be a soldier, right? So why is everyone making such old, priestly characters?!

Um, well, no. According to my research, inquisitors are expected to be theologians and/or judges, and were generally required to be a minimum of 40 years old. The first grand inquisitor (Torquemada) was a former soldier I think, but subsequent grand inquisitors mostly include priors, bishops, and archbishops. Actually, even Torquemada was a soldier who became a prior. All the portraits or historical depictions of actual grand inquisitors that I've managed to find so far show either monkish/priestly types or pompous old magisterial types...

[Jason Snair]

Rain and Gwenevere: While I agree with what you both wrote, the brief also mentioned that this is historical fiction...not historical non-fiction. Doesn't that mean that a little interpretation is allowed?

If it was our purpose to copy the exact look of the Grand Inquisitor (which could be a different role than the High Inq), then the brief could have simply stated "Paint Torquemada, the first grand inquisitor."

You're right that we should be historically accurate as possible, we should do our research, but this is still a made up person, in perhaps a made up role. The brief mentions that our character leads a distinct order born out of a military, with the sole purpose to be soldiers of christ and to follow the orders (and whims) of the Pope.

I think that could be interpreted in a number of ways. While I don't think you'd want to make your character a huge hulk of man, swinging battle axes as he went along fighting, some armor I think is appropriate. That's what I did I my own piece. My thoughts were that this character wants to look powerful, wants to look strong...wants to appear unrelenting in his desire to find out those heretics. I used the armor almost a form of decoration, which I don't think is really outside the norm for Catholics.

j.

[:::rain:::]

Jason: Yup you're right. If there was no interpretation, this challenge would have been pretty boring....guess its up to the voters to decide how much is too much.;)

Anyways I worked on my piece a little more, but I consider this far from finished. So I'm gonna place it here. Any crits?

Really great topic though . I'm off to check out the finals!

http://i242.photobucket.com/albums/ff67/water_spiritz/CHOW101_rain.jpg

[Gwenevere]

While I agree with what you both wrote, the brief also mentioned that this is historical fiction...not historical non-fiction. Doesn't that mean that a little interpretation is allowed?

Of course interpretation is allowed! So monks and dudes in armour are both kosher! And there seems to be a lot of leeway even if you want to be a stickler for accuracy, as far as I can tell... I've seen pix of grand inquisitors or people of similar rank (bishops etc) in everything from monk's habits to full jewel-encrusted bishop/archbishop regalia to rich but sombre court dress...

You're right that we should be historically accurate as possible, we should do our research, but this is still a made up person, in perhaps a made up role. The brief mentions that our character leads a distinct order born out of a military, with the sole purpose to be soldiers of christ and to follow the orders (and whims) of the Pope.

I think that could be interpreted in a number of ways. While I don't think you'd want to make your character a huge hulk of man, swinging battle axes as he went along fighting, some armor I think is appropriate. That's what I did I my own piece. My thoughts were that this character wants to look powerful, wants to look strong...wants to appear unrelenting in his desire to find out those heretics. I used the armor almost a form of decoration, which I don't think is really outside the norm for Catholics.

Historically, the "soldier of christ" bit seems to have been interpreted in a lot of different ways - the chief role of jesuits historically seems to have been a missionary role, actually, going out into hostile territory and trying to convert "pagans". Hence all the jesuits in the far east...

Another historical tidbit, totally irrelevant but I thought it was intriguing: apparently the pope was a bit leery of the Spanish inquisition, because the person they REALLY took orders from was the King of Spain, and the whole thing was largely organized to bolster the King's Catholic-centric power.

And armour is definitely within the norm for high-ranking Spaniards of the period, Catholic or no (well, OK, if they're high ranking, they're definitely Catholic.) And since there was a lot of overlap between nobles and churchmen, you've got a lot of options to play with... Do what you want. (:

Sorry, I spent waaay too much time doing research on this! And I'm a costume geek, too, so pardon me while I babble on...

[huhwhat]

Started today, but realised I didn't have the time nor the drive to finish it.

http://img406.imageshack.us/img406/38/chow101inquisitorcopyxx0.jpg

[smugbug]

I'm out. I'll post the WIPs to this and 102 in my sb. Having issues today with asthma and well, I'd rather relax and you know, breath than get all panicky over these things and you know, NOT breath.

I really wanted to do this one, too. I'll be in for 103 though - that's for sure.

[Jack Frost]

I'm sorry but this sketch is all I could muster this time around, good luck everyone

http://www.evrenbilgihan.com/Posting_images/span_in.jpg

[aoleon]

I started this a few hours ago and I just posted it in the finals thread..I know I can go a lot further with this but I have run out of time...:nohope:

http://img120.imageshack.us/img120/9092/spanishinquistorchow101xy6.jpg

[smokenmirrors]

:nohope: I rushed to get my contribution in with one minute to go before the deadline and then realized that I sized it too small in the final thread... so much of the detail is lost. OH well, at the same time I suppose its well enough as I needed another session or so to really lay down everything I had planned, ie: engravings on armor/axe...embroidery on cloth, metal texture on armor... all of which wouldve been largely invisible.... saying nothing of any color plans!! :nohope: :thinking: None the less, I thought better to make my first submission then no submission at all. :yayca:285854

[Gwenevere]

Well, here's my final - oils again, whomped out in about a day and a half which is pretty fast for me... (Need to leave more time for these things...)

We weren't supposed to host it externally in the final burning thread, were we? I just attached it, hope that was right... The instructions didn't actually say.

It's weird, but I can't see attachments in the threads anymore - all I see is a link... Is something changed? Is this happening for anyone else? Are we supposed to be hosting externally now or something?285898

[cowboy surfer]

Well heres my final, just have no more time to spend on it.

I have posted it in the final burning too but it is not showing up... Help Oreg, was i suposed to outside host now that I have learnt to attach it through CA???285908

[S.C. Watson]

Well heres my final, just have no more time to spend on it.

I have posted it in the final burning too but it is not showing up... Help Oreg, was i suposed to outside host now that I have learnt to attach it through CA???

No worries.

There's two issues at work right now - one, as noted in both Final Burning 101 & 102, we have recieved a Pro Photobucket Account by donation - so the outside hosting is longer an issue.

The second is that CA is being upgraded and is not showing attatched images at the moment. I'm sure that this will be fixed eventually.

In the mean time, just make sure your final is posted in the Final Burning Thread.

I'll be making the Polls around 5-6 p.m this evening, Pacific Standard.

Ciao,
~Oreg.

[chaosrocks]

note ..the attached images show if you insert them into the post via the paperclip
crx

i fixed em

[cowboy surfer]

Thanks Chaos, used the paperclip icon for my final burning image, seems to have done the trick!!!