The Battle for the Homathkos (updated Oct 26)

[nikia]

Here's something I'm working on. A little frustrated with the proportions on the rider. Just getting back into sketching regularly and I'm way out of practice.

http://members.shaw.ca/nikia/moosey-KatherineNicholson.jpg




New versions below



some of my other work here (http://www.conceptart.org/forums/showthread.php?s=&postid=101696#post101696)

[tomi]

i think you've got a perspective problem at the face of the animal he's riding. otherwise its getting good i think.

t.

[nikia]

Hi Tomi, thanks for commenting on this. I've never been very good with perspective on animals, or probably people either for that matter. That's what I'm here for. Unfortunatly, I have no idea how to fix it. Do you have any suggestions for me? Also I think the antlers need more work. They don't look right to me.

Any help much appreciated!

[WildSpruceMoose]

Its looking good so far. The moose's neck does seem a little short, and in general his proportions seem a bit dwarfed. The rider's pose seems most of all a bit stiff, maybe, and I'm not sure, but maybe slanting his shoulders a bit and in general making a slight more looser pose could work better. The torso may be a bit short which could be causing the stiff look too. Looks like a great start and the rendering of the hair on the moose seems very detailed. The armour is looking well designed too. Make the moose conquer the world! hehe Good job.

[nikia]

Hi Wildsprucemoose. By golly! I think you guys are right on about this sketch! I think I'll redraw it on larger paper. By lengthening the neck, I can fix the near antler, and show the dewlap also. And yes! The torso on the man is too short! And by making it bigger, I will be able to draw his face and eyes in better. A huge thanks guys!

[Pencil Soldier]

The moose seems rather jolly for being under attack.

[nikia]

Hi Pencil Soldier. Yeah, I didn't get the expression I wanted there. I'm going to rework it. I'll see if I can get an expression of terror or, maybe the moose attacking like a warhorse would. Thanks for the tip. I'll try and have something up in a few days.

[gallon]

Think about the size of the moose... They are huge animals. A bit bigger than a fullgrown horse... I think you should make the moose bigger.Good luck...cool idea

[nikia]

Thanks Gallon, I think you're right. I'll have to check out the difference in size between a large grizzely and a moose. I think the legs of the moose look too short, moose are tall gangely animals. Also I'd like to show the hump of the shoulders more. I think I'll have to move the position of the head.

[nikia]

Ok here's an update of my moose Rider drawing. I'm having a bit of trouble with the rider, I'm hunting down some decent reference pictures that I can use for that part. Also, the bear needs to be quite a bit bigger, will work on that. other than that... Tell me what you think?

http://members.shaw.ca/nikia/moose-grizz1.jpg

Newest Version below

[nikia]

Here's the latest picture of the sketch.

http://members.shaw.ca/nikia/The_Battle_for_the_Homathkossmall.jpg

Here's the high res (http://members.shaw.ca/nikia/The_Battle_for_the_Homathkoshigh.jpg)

as always, crits and comments much appreciated. :)

It would be really, really nice if ANYONE would comment on this sketch! PLEASE! I'm about to trash it as useless garbage!
Give me a good, give me a bad, give me a anything! LOL

[Tully]

You have the moose kinda bringing his foot up really high... I'm quite certain moose can't do that. Also, a big bull moose will be about 7-8 feet tall. Most of that height is in it's legs. They're super lanky animals and their legs are very thin in comparison to the rest of their body. They also have rather long necks that they hold out only slightly raised in relation to their spine (after that hump, of course). The neck is pretty stiff, so it wouldn't be able to curve in the way you've depicted here. On their necks is also a flap of skin called a bell. It's kinda droopy... go to www.gettyimages.com and search for moose if you want some reference. They're also not as shaggy as you've shown here. Their hair is pretty short.

After that little session on moose anatomy... I think you've got a good idea here! I'd never thought much about moose riding, but it definitely has interesting potential.

[nikia]

Hi Tully, thanks for commenting. I actually have cousins that ride moose. It's what gave me the idea, and once I started researching it, I found that native North Americans and native Russians both, at one time, used moose for riding and travois animals. Thanks again for commenting.