Chow 122 :: Red Sonja

[zephyri]

Made my decision. Might go back and do the other at a later stage as I like it equally! great work from all so far... be back later to comment!

[Blaise]

Great work everyone.

In progress - unfortunately, I don't think I'll have time to finish it-

[haroldfay]

wow, blaise! you HAVE to finish this one!

[zephyri]

I second Harold, Blaise...thats one of the most striking images I've seen! Love the use of the lime green!

[Xaya]

Can´t wait for your finished works everybody!!!

Ok some refinements.... i think about adding some gore or post bellum (after the war) atmosphere... don´t know.

I tried to go back to the pinkish color palette, looks a bit too friendly and harmless....

438286

[sourgasm]

that's looking pretty good, xaya. you could probably pull the color scheme together pretty quickly by just throwing a Photo Filter adjustment layer on top of it and trying a few different color hues. a nice warm orange would probably look great.

decided i should have some idea of what Sonja actually looks like before i go painting her into a scene, so i started on this study last night.

i tried to go with a bug-like creature for the lower skull. looks a bit odd ;P need to fix her wrist/hand anatomy too.

[Wiggers]

I think i'm done.

Not happy with the hair at all, going to change that.

[Razorleaf]

I kinda see Sonja as a victim gone heroine, and yet less of a sex symbol. I dunno ... anyway, this is my first sketch.

http://i298.photobucket.com/albums/mm260/Razorleaf_album/RedSonja.jpg

[Xaya]

ok here the triumph variation.
Would you recommend me to finish this approach or keep the scenery from my last post?


438406

[Nightblue]

I kinda see her as a sex symbol produced by men. I mean, what kind of goddess tells a rape victim that she is only allowed to be taken by force again?

But we are allowed to do our own takes, and so far everybody's stuff just look sick.

Zephyril: yours is coming along real nicely, great motion flow and I like the subdued colors you used.

DanielC: your image looks so 3-dimensional! Can't wait to see it finished.

[Vorace]

blaise : dude pleaaase finish you image :)

Wiggers : that's really awesome. only crit is that the flesh looks a little bit dead. Maybe small hint of red could help?

DanielC, bad ass!
Xaya : that's cool, I prefer the pile of corpse, I had a sense of danger and I fit better the character

[Vorace]

Edit, double post sorry :(

[Wiggers]

Thanks Vorace! trying to go for a very pale look for her...but not dead:(

[skorpi]

Quinn Simoes Cool design, I like it

tsujni Her head seems to short, but I like her calmness.

dabble Great pose, good work I'm courios how the final would look like.

Luthi Nice start, welcome to CHOW :)

DanielC great progress

Thujon Not bad, but it looks flat. Try to smooth the transition between her and the backgroud.

nkabuto Nice sword? XD I like the design.

zephyri I love her pose

Blaise Great, I love the colors. Finish it

Xaya I like the triumph variation and her facial expression

sourgasm the skulls are cool. She looks stiff, I think because her arms are so straight.

Wiggers Great work :)

Razorleaf I like her gaze.
I think her character story is crap, but does she need one?


Done :)

[Beelow]

Started last night. Wish I had a bit more time to do some sketches first. I may do a turn around, if time allows it.

[Beelow]

blaise, daniel c, zephyri Dope images so far.

Xaya something is missing with yours. I think it may be all of the dead space that is there. fill it up some with environment or crop your image closer to your character.

nkabuto, I like where your going with yours nice design.

skorpi- My main concern with yours is the color and values. Try to pull some ref for that image. That is if your willing to take it further. You can pretty much see your figure everywhere. There should be more sillouette and dark values in the red sonja figure as well as the background. Ambition is always a great thing. Just need rework some things.

Wiggers- Nice design. You have some issues with the anatomy a bit though. The feet and the torso are areas you should look back into. Good overall though.

I still have to look at the rest of the thread. I'll give more crits later. gotta paint now.

[smugbug]

Blaise, please finish it!


Closeup of WIP progress.
438616

[ManaBurn]

Holy mexican jesus, what a sic round!

[Pixeltuner]

Yeah indeed Blaise, that looks like awesomeness all over. Go, go, go! :)

[MarkWinters]

Here by my C&C opus! I think I got everyone. Maybe got a few people a couple of times! Super stellar CHOW this week.

PatriciaS - That bitch look kwaaaazy! Haha. I like where this is headin'! Nice bikini design.

Beelow - Looking good. Sonja has an interesting, unique face. No real crits, just asspats at this point. :)

skorpi - I winced when I saw this! Great colors. I wish the fire framed Sonjas face. The brightness of the fire is making me look at the space between her arms and boobs. You've chosen a challenging lighting scheme - warm light cast from the fire, cool light from the evening moon. I don't think you were consistent enough with it but it sells itself pretty well. Nice job.

Xaya - Nice. I love the muted palette and the pile of corpses! My only to comments are I think her stomach looks too flat and that her cape is shooting the viewers' eyes off the page. Is there a way to keep it billowing but wrap it around so that it helps compositionally?

Razorleaf - Good start. Stern and evocative expression on her face. I likey. Play with those values more. Right now she's a silhouette, with a hole where her face is. Squint at the pic and make sure the image is readable when you do that.

Wiggers - Awesome. Love it. Her left foot doesn't hold up to the rest of the image to me, but other than that. Awesome.

sourgasm - Nice foreshortening on that sword! I can't stop staring at that. Haha. I like how the dark cape frames most of the figure, I kinda wanna see it start at her shoulders, framing her arms too, but that's a judgment call. Her arms could use some attention - some reference. Nice work.

Blaise - That green POPS. Fantastic. Great composition. Finish pleeeez!

zephyri - Great start, man. She's looking hot. Great action. Her legs, especially her right leg looks thick to me. Great colors. Looking forward to seeing this finished!

nkabuto - Nice design work. I love the silhouette. Get us some updates! :D

Thujon - Cool motifs on the costume. She still seems like she's leaning and I think adding a little color to the ground beneath her would be nice.

DanielC - Stunner. I hate you so much right now! ;p I feel like I can each into the screen and grab Sonja. Nice. Her hair could use a little transparency here and there. It's a little clumpy right now. Almost as if her hair were made of clay. Looking forward to seeing where you end up with this my man!

Luthi - Welcome to the boards! So far so good with the sketch. I like the hand coming into frame at the bottom. The boobs look saggy to me. Other than that - keep rocking!

dabble - Great start. Love the dynamic action. I know it's not done but watch the values. Sonja's getting lost in the dark background. Maybe that's just me though! The head design on the guy in foreground is looking sick.

tsujni - Interesting take. Nice silhouette. Check your proportions, her head looks small.

Quinn Simoes - Outstanding. Very nice work. No real crits. A suggestion though is to make the beast a cooler color, keeping all the warm tones on Sonja. Just a thought. Killer work, dude.

Rustveld - Welcome to CA! Cool sketch and nice start. Her head may be a bit large? Maybe it's a stylistic choice? Keep going on it. I want to see this finished!

Nightblue - Very nice design. I love the costume. Right now the fire is framed by the rock and looks kinda like it's just lighting on the rock instead of a campfire. Maybe make the flame bigger? That's all I got - looking great. :)

Vorace - Definitely a fav. I love everything about this one. So good!

Phaethon - Good job. Sonja really pops for me on this one. Love the heads on the post. Nice.

haroldfay - Cool approach going with the vintage pulp vibe. Her right foot is in too much of a profile and there are a few too many digital marks in the background running counter to the vintage thing you're doing.

chaosrocks - Good start. I like the wolf pelt!

Ceyface - Better! Don't be afraid to grab some reference to help you along. The red in the background is over powering the red of Sonja.

Sinix - This is DOPE. Blows me away. 'Nuff said. :)

septomin - I think this is a beautiful painting. Nice pose, great lighting. Doesn't really say Red Sonja to me though. Maybe have her chain mail bikini hanging or laying on the ground?

GeistDel - Nice start. I think the composition is compelling, the way the cape wraps around her. Nice. Her hands appear to be different sizes, can't quite tell. Keep going with this!

DeKal - Very awesome. Love the costuming. The hair doesn't seem to fit the face, the lighting doesn't jive IMO, looks like they're lit differently. A great provocative image.

cakeypigdog - You have such a great mark. Is that Painter? Great palette, nice composition. More pleeez!

Pixeltuner - Haha nice image. I dig the metal bikini. Your edges are on the soft side. Consider carving out some of those shapes here and there to lend a little more visual interest in your mark making. Nice job.

vandalfish - Nice start. I'll agree with other comments - straighten her up some. I love that she's on a big cat. Very cool.

MJ_Alcazar - Interesting take, using the goddess. Get some reference though. The figures need to be more convincingly drawn.

Seage - Great roughs. Lots of energy. I'm so jealous. Keep going!

ladydove7 - When doing your thumbnails focus on the composition first and foremost. Best of luck!

Saleem - Lets get some strong edges in there. Especially where your point of interest is. Be conscious of the marks your making. Your brush strokes are haphazard at the moment.

Eerin - Lovely image. Cool cheetah print. Reference those feet and I think you're golden. Play with inrceasing the saturation of the skin tone as it breaks into shadow. you currently have a really intense skin tone in the core of the shadow on the thigh. Check out some situations with a lot of subsurface scattering and notice how colors behave when its hitting skin.

Stoat - Nice work, man. I love the graphical stuff mixed with highly rendered stuff. I wish the background had some kinda color in it. But that's just preference, not a real crit. :) Coolness.

Arthur 'Two Sheds' - Good start. Try to avoid using black or gray for shadows. It dullens and flattens the work. Keep going!

newman - Killar. I kinda like the titles on it. No crits. Just praise! :)

The Whistler - So far so good. Reads okay, good design. Careful with the clouds, they're looking like tufts of cotton. ;)

tomwaits4noman - I love the first thumbnail. "I like big butt and I cannot lie..." :) Looking forward to this.

Illysian - The composition is working out surprisingly well. The drawing could use some help with reference and the color palette is a bit strong for my taste. But as a whole it reads pretty easily.

smag17 - for a lunchtime piece thats pretty cool. I think the texture is actually getting in the way here. Let those expressive lines sing a solo! :)

/ev - Evan, Evan, Evan. How do I hate thee? Let me count the ways! Hahaha. This is such a rich piece. I can not wait to see this finished. My favorite of the bunch.

Brulk - I think it's been mentioned before but the focus is on the Hulk here. I'd really like to see it flipped so that we're looking over the shoulder of the Hulk at Red Sonja. There's a nice vitality here. Keep going!

Venger - Very unique. Great textures. I dig the patterns used. Theres a great presence with this. Too much dodging and sharpening IMO, but its just opinion. ;)

DHTenshi - Pretty nice. Try to keep all your elements adhering to a composition. From the angle you've chosen we should see the top of her foot. Cool costume design. Doesn't look very barbarian-y to me tho.

JessiBean - You've a CHOW goddess. Finish these! The end. :)

zenichi - I'd like to see some more here. Not really enough there to comment on with any detail. Good proportions, adequate composition. Need more!

feifeicreate - Cool angle. You're not afraid to try some interesting things, that's for sure. The thighs are a little thick. Really put some effort into making the barbarian with a gun thing work. Otherwise it'll just be weird.

prepsage - Nice values. Sharpen up some of your edges and this up her waist and I think you're golden. :)

timothee - Interesting style here. Very chiseled. Her right hand is wrecking the pic for me. Fix that and you're on your way to a cool pic.

iansnyder - This is an odd one for me. I'm not sure if you need reference or if you're a slave to it! The anatomy needs work. I'm not liking the holding lines - it's flattening out the figure and sword.

UCT - The flesh tones are coming out nicely!

krisCrash - Pretty cool! Gonna keep going???

inkbrushnme - Welcome to your first CHOW! Take this further. Grab some reference to help sell some of the anatomy and forms.

moonskittles - I'm liking the design work here. Watch how you render the face. The nose is looking flat.

Cuervo - Careful using a pose designed in heels and switching the character not in heels. The figures entire posture changes when standing on tip toes. :)

Hadesdream - Learning to use reference is a huge challenge. Never trace your reference, no lightboxing. Let the reference inform your imaginative drawings. Not the other way around.

Poshspice - Dood. You're such a tease! Finish Ret. Sonja. PLEEEEZ!

Matsign - Great start here. Sonja looks a touch heavy. But if that's what you're going for then kewl. ;)

JSpayde - Grab some ref and work out those proportions. The hair makes a nice dramatic image. Keep that! :)

bluemoon - Lets start seeing this thing fleshed out!

CarolineBradley - Glad to see you found some ref you can work with. The foreshortening on the arm could use some attention.

madhatter106 - You seem to using a lighting direction as opposed to a light source. All the lights and highlights have equal intensity across the whole figure. Consider the falloff of the light. If there were no strong highlights I'd think the light was just diffused, but that's not the case here.

Searious - Still too early to tell. The proportions seem okay but the pose is a bit dull and the silhouette is hard to read. Keep at it!

vandalfish - That last sketch is bad ass. Cool design and great composition. Looking forward to this. Seriously.

Villa - Dude. Tell me you're gonna finish this! Pure hotness!

Erick Willand - Nice drawing. She's looking off balance though. Slide that one leg over and you're set.

The end. *whew*

[Venger]

Thanks Mark, it's slightly changed since - that one is a WIP, I can never keep anything simple.

[Illysian]

Updating--I'm not sure which one I should go with but either way I'm also not sure if I'll make the deadline!
This is loads of fun, I tried a newer more russian one to see how it'd look

XD Great pictures coming along for this one I'm loving it!

[Pixeltuner]

Markwinters: Thx for the crit :) I'm still fixing and refining, and tightening up everything (ie: make less soft) is on the list.

Another update, mostly design elements (boots, pants, shoulder, face). Still nog clue about the skullthing.

[Stoat]

I knew if I posted mine early, I'd start to spot the flaws. Though I suppose if I didn't I wouldn't spot them at all.

Some lovely stuff going up in the finals thread y'all.

[daestwen]

Stoat, you're perfectly welcome to touch up your work and just replace the image in the final thread. As long as it's done before either oreg or I cut off entries, then you're fine. :)

[Stoat]

I never knew that! Thank you, Daestwen! If it's still raining in the morning, I'll fix that knee thing ;)

[Ceyface]

Thanks for the crit, Mark.

[MJ_Alcazar]

Thanks Mark! I've been trying to use ref, but I shall endeavor more. I'd love to push that piece further. Alas, I have changed to another and will have it up shortly. I didn't want to be cut for being to far off the brief, I'd rather be cut for artistic value not being up to some of the entries on here. :)

[MJ_Alcazar]

http://i279.photobucket.com/albums/kk153/Seloh_Eft/scan0014.jpg

Alright, new WIP. I'm having so much fun! and, I suppose that's what counts, but I'm going to try to push this one as far as I can. :)

[ikuru]

wont have the time to do this, but at least I got some thumbs down...
again so much amazing work here! well done!
http://www.ikuru.se/2/A4.jpg

[zenichi]

the thread been updated so fast that i commenting on previous page's post...

Blaise
wicked, the stream of blood, is what i would love to have for my pool but couldn't achieve

zephyri
dynamic, flurry hair!

Thujon
use reference if can't get anatomy from mind yet, it will distract from enjoying your piece.

DanielC
WTF... great armour rendering!

Luthi
use reference, but like the idea, taking a time-out to groom? tough as red sonja, she's still a women.

Quinn Simoes
shivery creepiness! cool idea.

Beelow
nice pose :P use her sultry eyes to lure you then good look that kills? (the sword helps too LOL)

skorpi
expression suggest bored from slaughtering, or simply cold blooded smile from her day's hunt?!!

Xaya
eowyn like worrier princess! maybe some blood stain on her blue cloak?

Razorleaf;
damaged person? instead of bikini, a tight fitting body suit is still a sex symbol for me :P

Wiggers
agree with you on the hair, the rest is just done!

sourgasm
agree with ya on fixing the anatomy, the giant insect skull is definitely creepy and gives her a unique character.

PatriciaS
please show the rest!!!! devilish smile.... wouldnt want to step within her sword's range!!

nkabuto : RPG sonja!!!

dabble : the hair doesnt seems to be working!

tsujni : alternative take!

a mouse and 2 hours later, wip, i think this is as far as i could take her, stuck.
sonja with a bad hair stylist, overall lighting/shadow unsatisfactory. crits and comments are craved, but will incorporate after chow (whispering: promise! :P)
edit: why is the pool of blood glowing??!! i dunno... maybe it wasnt human... lame explanation....
438789

[Rustveld]

MarkWinters Thank you for the welcome and crit! I didn't notice that the head is too big and to tell the truth I can't really see it, maybe it's the big hair?
I hope I actually finish this one, because I have a tendency to start on a piece for an event and never finish. But it seems positive this time around. I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

This is what it looks like at the moment. I still need to work on the armor (what little she has) I want to add a shoulder piece and maybe some gauntlets. The hand is going to be a pain, I'll need to find reference for that.
I'm amazed at the work I've seen so far, and I can't wait to see them finished.

[Phaethon]

My final, I think. Basically I made all of the outlines thinner. If anyone's got comments, now's the time :)

http://www.emmaverse.com/images/Gen_Art/Red-Sonja-5.jpg

[Nightblue]

http://i227.photobucket.com/albums/dd214/lxc2000/chow122_final.jpg

Final... spent the whole week's evenings on this, but I had so much fun :) I don't remember the last time I enjoyed making a painting this much.

[rmygona]

Final entries that are just coming in are looking good! Hope I have time to finish this weekend...Here are thumbnails I started out with, and just realized how Sheena-esque they are.

[madhatter106]

rmygona - that last thumbnail, the lower right corner, makes her look like she's dancing or skipping, or at least that's how I'm reading it.

I especially like the upper right one, where she's holding the sword forward in both hands - very powerful looking, perfect for Sonja...

[Luthi]

MarkWinters and zenichi: Thanks for the crit and welcome! Saggy boobs have been noted (I didn't think they were that bad, but then I've been looking at a ref of a woman without a bikini top and.. yeah, maybe forgot that there's actually meant to be some support there. :)

I've still got a long way to go.

Here's where I'm at (the guys arm's a bit cut off because of the photo, but I'll add in some more whilst colouring):
http://www.bunnyrevolution.com/WIP/RedSonja/redsonja4.jpg

.. and now it's colouring time! :)

[Saleem]

still working, should be finished soon
dunno if i should add backround

any suggestions

[sourgasm]

I didn't seem to find the answer anywhere- what is the maximum width for submission?

[DeKal]

nightblue - came out great. i love the 2 light sources from the fire and moonlight

[MarkWinters]

MarkWinters Thank you for the welcome and crit! I didn't notice that the head is too big and to tell the truth I can't really see it, maybe it's the big hair?


Its that she's somewhere between 5 and 6 heads tall which is a little 'short' for a heroic figure like Sonja. Personally I tend to go with something like 19 heads tall :p For you it looks like a stylistic choice. I mean, no one would complain about Bruce Timm drawing heads too large. :)

[GeistDel]

Ok. I've done a total 180 on the concept. The last one looked a little stale and I was trying to go for something grittier. After a "productive" day at work I came up with this concept. I think that it works better to convey the type of women Red Sonja is. I did a quick render to see whats what. Crits welcome and desperately appreciated.

[rmygona]

madhatter106 - Red Sonja is skipping because it's just another happy day at the office :) Yup, I'm going in the direction of the upper right panel. It was inspired after watching Jet Li's "Hero" with that scene where all those arrows shoot into the compound. Thanks!

[vandalfish]

Rough wip. Straightened her head up and cut the sword down :) There's something wrong with her face. Love what everyone is doing so far! You guys make me feel enormously dwarfed XD

[c@s]

running against the time, but the topic is too cool to just let it pass

439339

[Ceyface]

Aaaand try number three....

Started off as an A. Loomis Mannkin, so hopefully the proportions are a bit better. *shrug*

http://i239.photobucket.com/albums/ff272/maver1ck119/redsonja3jpg-1.jpg

Thanks everyone for the crits on the previous.. efforts. Huge help! :)

[cmalidore]

As people have said - hard to turn this down. I've been running against a major deadline so I'm doing this in my short breaks.

Anyway, I'm tired of the young thin scar-less chick with a sword bigger than her. I'm going with a version that I wouldn't wanna meet in an alley way. Low fantasy all the way.

[David-david]

Crom! what happened?
I wanted to comment but there is so much amazing work put togheter that if I wanted to do a dissertation I wouldn't be able to finish the color of mine... so let's wait for the final burning to comment that incredible museum you all have recreated.

There you go with the pencils and first color stage of my version:
I've been thinking on making Erika Eleniak eat a lot of raw meat and submit her to a training to get the arms and the sixpax of 300 .
This is a very pissed off R.S
EDIT: Here you can find it step by step:

[Stoat]

David-David! She looks like an enraged Cherie Blair! O! Stoat trembles in fear!

[MJ_Alcazar]

I think this'll be my final. I've had so much fun with this, I know I probably won't make the cut, but I'm glad I tried. :)
I'd probably still be working on this, maybe. But, I'm starting to get a headache from staring at the white paper + the computer screen. Sooo, this'll be it. Thanks for all the crits!!!

http://i279.photobucket.com/albums/kk153/Seloh_Eft/chow122_MJ_Alcazar.jpg

[Rodimus25]

My 25 cents and abit.

[kiwigarbage]

Amazing entries- I'm stunned!

Ahh....I rather don't think I have enough time to finish her, but I can at least offer my direction.

This is Red with the head of a newly slain victim, coyly inviting her remaining attackers to follow the same demise...

I had fun with her hair, it just seemed fitting for a name like Sonja.

Thanks for looking!

[Rezeroth]

Well.. here's a roughy for a samurai ver. of red sonja..very "program" animatrix inspired ><

[MarkWinters]

This is what I posted in Final Burning. Now, I'm off to see Tropic Thunder!

http://markwintersart.com/images/posts/chow122_markwinters.jpg

[The Whistler]

Mine... Could use more work but I don' have any more time...

Great round guys! :)

[Luthi]

Here's mine now I'm totally out of time:
http://www.bunnyrevolution.com/WIP/RedSonja/chow%23122_Luthi.jpg

I'm under no illusions here about the amount of work it still needs.. but I swear one more second trying to fix that bug-eyed face and I'll scream. :/ Heck, I'll do better next time.

There are some fantastic Sonja's in here! I'm really wowed.

[JessiBean]

Thanks for feedback and kudos, guise... struggling to finish on time...

Razorleaf - be careful, your piece bears a very striking resemblance to this one. Reference is one thing, but be sure you are making it your own.

440048

[smugbug]

What I've got and what it's gotta be....

440101

[Saleem]

good stuff

[cakeypigdog]

what a bumper round! some stunning stuff this time.

[cakeypigdog]

/ev: just saw yours in the final burning: its stunning. well done!

[Venger]

A little bigger version than the final
Ran out of time in the end, I never could keep it simple.

lots of really great entries - glad to be part of this one (first CHOW)

440191440514

Tinkered with it, though outside the time limit. :(

[Rustveld]

MarkWinters I checked what you said and she's actually between 6 and 7 heads, not the ideal hight and definitely not heroic. I really need to keep practicing my anatomy.
19 heads? I would really like to see that hehe.

Phaethon I hope that's a good thing, thanks.

This is the final piece, not totally happy with it, but at least I finished (kinda).

[Wiggers]

Very nice Des!!

[Venger]

Cheers John,
I noticed you've been done and dusted on yours for ages - it looks sweet! (Glad you changed the hair on it.)
I always end up thinking of other stuff to put in...past the time limit now so thats good :)

[ikuru]

So much Kick ass solid work up in here!
Did this in one take today, love to hear if there are anatomical issues I can improve. Thnx
http://www.ikuru.se/2/sonja.jpg

[DIMAGYAN]

lots of great works indeed!

Vorace, newman,/ev: :great works, very interestings aproachs!.

[daestwen]

GUYS, PLEASE REMEMBER:

Anything with nudity will probably disappear randomly when taken to poll. This is not our choice - we host the thumbs on PhotoBucket and they have and probably will delete anything with nudity that we host. So if your image has nudity, PLEASE include a 'work safe' version that we can post, otherwise you might be disappointed!

EDIT: And please remember paint-overs are not allowed. If Oreg or I find out you've been doing it, we're prepared to ban you from ChOW. If you HAVE done this, but didn't realize it wasn't allowed, please send me a PM before I send YOU one telling you that you're banned.

Thanks.

[c@s]

My final

440442

[Phaethon]

Rustveld - Sorry, I should've been clearer! It was a totally neutral comment. The shininess just a notable stylistic feature :)

[bumskee]

mark, she's very pretty!! :D

[/ev]

.....

[Harsh]

Well, although not very vocal on the boards, I did accomplish my goal of submitting an entry for my 2nd CHOW. This is also my first painting with a graphic tablet, so yeah, this was a huge experience for me. I'm not real happy with the entry I had to post. After another 2.5 hrs work on it, I think it's about finished. Good enough for now outside of any critiques I may get.

[Villa]

so many entries! not as big as the batman one but still.

There's a lot of stuff to comment about. where to start?
commenting just on the ones in the final burning.

haroldfay: you need to clean up her face and arms in the sketch so she can stand out more. good slender body all around.
newman: great stuff man. i really dig her expression like she's really mad but just about to drop on her knees and cry from anger. dark, muddy, barbarian, cool.
stoat: interesting style. the pose is great. her chin could be refined a bit more to make her face stand out and watch all that anger coming at cha.
wiggers: veeery nice costume design. really dig. solid.
scorpi: ouch! nice scene hehe. what i can say here is that you could work the depth of the image a bit more so she doesnt mix around with the trees in the back and bring her out, the face is good, but her hands and behind need to come out a bit.
Xezor1324: maybe a better pose would have worked out, she looks really pleased and almost like resting. she's all about rage man.
Eerin: first thing in my head, shes cute. interesting costume design, more like a "theme".
maddhatter 106: since your pic is really moody and dark you could blend in the character with the background by putting a bit of smoke on her feet and get a more murkier feeling, but not overdoing it so you dont loose the shape. show the left arm too, right now she looks like she's missing it.
Daniel c: Cool armor design, i really like how you achieved that beveled look.
Mr. Gadbury:she looks though. cant read the armor very well. you could define her shapes a bit more.
Vorace: man, i am a fan of your stuff. she looks brutal and very original. everytime i look at this makes me want to rethink my stuff.
magichappens: good that your doing traditional. work on that anatomy.
Nightblue: thats really good. makes me want to be there.... by the fireplace... cleaning her battle wounds.
Antne: thats very original man. only thing id say is to show her neck a bit because her hair around the face looks a bit like a beard. chiks with beards , maybe not sexy for some people.
Dekal: nice! i think she had a lot of potential for some sexy boots.
sourgasm: thats a good idea for a much bigger more detailed illustration.
Phaethon: i like her armor design, but you covered her chest. we want to see some boobs!
JIVA*SOUL: cool rendering man. wish she had a little bit more armor, or maybe the bikini could be made of another material. she doesnt look so barbarian right now.
DeathAndDisinfectant: modern day red = good approach, your execution was not so great, work on the fundings, anatomy man.
jshamburger: very fluid lines behind the colors. you a comic artist?
MJ_Alcazar: reminds me of some old aztec drawings.
Blueman: i though of face paint too. you could have played with her armor a little bit more.
Thujon : she looks frail, need to give her some more muscle.
cmalidore That's muscle! she looks fierce man. good job.
Rezeroth: very solid, has everything that is needed.

Ran out of time! favorites are Vorace's Mark Winters, she looks really fine and the armor design is great, /ev: great execution, she looks like straight out of an old masters painting, blaise, Dimagyan and bumskee, thats great body. id really would like to see Poshspice and Jessibean's entry. hope to find more surprises tomorrow.

good round.

[newman]

thanks villa! that was what i was going for but i didn't know if i'd managed to pull it off or not.
i just saw the notice about doing "clean" version so puritanical photobucket doesn't remove them. i hate that whole censor bar nonsense; it makes a perfectly non-rude picture look like something pervy, so i'm not going to do it. if it gets deleted so be it. :(

[agnostes]

Just a quick 'well done all' and apologies for not being involved in this round earlier - I only discovered it on friday, sketched it on saturday and painted it on sunday (hence it was a bit rushed and has no background). Some truly excellent, inspiring work in the final thread.

[daestwen]

Seriously, guys, ONLY POST FINALS IN THE FINALS THREAD. edit: You can still post them here, but NOTHING ELSE should go into the Final Burning Thread until the poll goes up.

Wait until the poll goes up to post comments! I put the new thread up early because the poll is going to take some extra time this evening due to the volume...

We already have over 75 entries, which means that at LEAST 25 are going to be cut, so PLEASE be patient.

[Aly Fell]

There's some fantastic work in the final burning thread! I think everyone deserves a toffee! :)

[David-david]

Ok, Daestwen... I erased my final from this section. Sorry for the mistake... I was happy to put the step by step.

[daestwen]

Ok, Daestwen... I erased my final from this section. Sorry for the mistake... I was happy to put the step by step.

Nonono! Sorry! I meant that in the Finals Thread nothing ELSE should be posted EXCEPT Finals. You can still post your finals here, too!

Sorry to be confusing!

I had to go and delete three comments from the Burning thread that didn't have images attached to them, hence the reminder!

[David-david]

hehee, well... I uploaded it again, I think this time I did the most edited post in my life. Thanks for the clarification

[Stoat]

Whoa! Seventy five entries?

[smugbug]

Daest, for the life of me I don't know why you guys are using Photobucket! You will NOT have problems (you're having) with Flickr. I use Flickr and if there's nudity in my work, I just mark it as either Moderate or Restricted - there's also a Privacy option.

I've used Photobucket and will.never.go.back.

Just my .02 cents.

[daestwen]

Daest, for the life of me I don't know why you guys are using Photobucket! You will NOT have problems (you're having) with Flickr. I use Flickr and if there's nudity in my work, I just mark it as either Moderate or Restricted - there's also a Privacy option.

I've used Photobucket and will.never.go.back.

Just my .02 cents.

We use Photobucket because someone made us a very very generous donation of a nice big paid account, so we never have to worry about the polls suddenly lacking pictures.

[Splittingadams]

little bit of a differnt spin. Tried some new work apporches, and ended up going mad.

its an aztec sword by the way. with obsidian slivers in it. read about it in a book some where.


http://adamandhannah.com/chow122_splittingadams.jpg

[Kreator]

again I failed to meet the finals...again no time ...meh, the upshot is seeing so much quality work in the final burning...wow. great work everyone!

unfinished wip = badtimes

http://img149.imageshack.us/img149/7581/redwipkreatorfs7.jpg

[Vorace]

eeeh I have to do a censored version my Red Sonja? with no tit visible??

[daestwen]

eeeh I have to do a censored version my Red Sonja? with no tit visible??

Nic, I THINK yours should be okay... if photobucket takes it down then I'll contact you for a work-safe version, but yours isn't full-out nudity so it should be alright.

[Vorace]

oooh ok thanks for the fast answer :)

[smugbug]

We use Photobucket because someone made us a very very generous donation of a nice big paid account, so we never have to worry about the polls suddenly lacking pictures.

I should have add that I figured as much - and thanks to that person for the kind donation! Maybe a donation of a Flickr account is on order then...hmmmmmmmmmm

[daestwen]

Okay guys, the Poll is up!

This was a really difficult round this time through and I had to cut a good chunk.

For those of you who didn't make it, feel free to ask for specific critique.

A few to mention:

I cut the ones that were modern or futuristic, as I felt that went against the whole 'barbarian' theme... You might have been let through if this round hadn't had SO many entries, but. There you have it.

[Blaise]

Quick question (since I haven't been around CHOW for a while) - can you now vote for as many entries as you want?

[Splittingadams]

yes you can. i personally vote only for myself, but you can vote for me too if you want.

great entries. liked this round if just for the generous cleavage shown.

[Nightblue]

you shouldn't vote for yourself... you are prolly joking but im too sleepy to tell :P

[daestwen]

you shouldn't vote for yourself... you are prolly joking but im too sleepy to tell :P

Voting for yourself will get your voted disqualified and a very very stern lecture. :P

[Splittingadams]

welp, a little scooby doo type investigating would have proven my willingness to be self involved.

and congrats to me, some one finaly commented on something i said.

so DID i vote for myself? and DO i get a stern talking to? who knows.