Chow 127 :: The Little Mermaid

[DIMAGYAN]

thanks to everyone who comment and crit my work, much appreciated!

some comments

zephyri: very good, i like the design of your mermaid.


Supervlieg:nice progress, the composition of the two images is coming very well.

Poshspice:great sketches! your last take is very good, specialy the human form very narrative.
waiting to see your update.

MJ_Alcazar:you made a nice progress.hope you get well about tour health.

Slash:i like the human version more than the mermaid,a good shot and feel.the clouds could have more variations, right now it looks a bit disconected form the rest of the painting treatment.

Dimagyan:need to work more...

Havoc-DM:i like the design of your mermaid. well, is not a strange thing to have a similar idea on this kind of subject because there are certain things that just pop up in one's mind after reading the brief in my opinion.
to be honest i liked the original face on your sketch more than the final.very good atmosphere in both the mermaid and the maiden.waiting to see your final image.

WTFsteph:the new version is much better.

zenichi:good research.i like ypur composition idea.just be careful with the attachments of the legs in your maiden

Cup_of_Tea?:good shot and idea.try to find references to work the head in that angle.the right shoulder(the right side of chest in fact)is a bit strange.overall nice work.

DefiledVisions:nice pencils. i like the composition.i can't add much more because is still in progress.waiting to see how you develope the image.

bitjockey:nice work.keep an eye on proportions.

DecayingLolita:nice work and good colours.

dirkvandulmen:nice work.not too sure about the face though,it looks a bit masculine in my opinion.

Kleewyck:nice designs and composition.keep an eye on the hands.

The Whistler:i like the drawing and the composition.is still a wip,but the colours could use some variations aswell the clouds(too uniform).some asymmetry to the brackground could make more intesting and dynamic the image.

tmyohlaing:good sketches.

Carnifex:i like the design of your characters.the relation between the two characters is coming well.

ccsears:beautiful work.i like the mirror composition.is not very clear the position of the right hand aswell as the left. the hand that appear bellow her hair is the right one? if so is a bit disconected form the arm.if not...forget my comment!

Clochette:beautiful work.love the sketches.very funny take on the subject.

Katinki:very nice work! the only thing is the heigth of the maiden, it seems a bit short in the legs(in proportions) in my opinion.very nice indeed.

petitmistress:nice design. i like the bioluminiscense(?) element on her forehead.the hair could use some movement since she is in the water.more dynamic i guess.the second version is better.

fuuryoku:nice shot and design.

iuvo:very nice. the man in the background had some proportions problems.the fish tail could bend in a more curve way, to avoid the costume look(it feels like legs inside bending).i like her expression.

Monotony:nice composition.the mermaid could bend more the body on the hip(sorry, i don't know how to say it)she seem to bend in almost a right angle at the moment.the head of the memaid seems a bit small also.

DHTenshi:nice design and colours.

JessiBean:very nice scene(the mermaid), really atmospheric.that drawing tell a story very well. the maiden is good too.the left arm looks too parallel to the floating dress, i know is a wip so maybe you change that or not(could be a composition decision i guess)

Jason Strutz:nice mermaid.try to work with opposite curves, for instance in the pointing arm.

Didiher:the second version is much better.keep it up

chaosrocks:nice design.a particular hair cut.keep an eye on the left part of the body, the breast shoul follw thw extended arm.

Fox:nice design.good fix, the second versions looks much better.

venger:very good, i like the more fishy head.

Max Martelli:nice design.as Daestwen said, in the mermaid version we can't see her face. i feel that the face is one of the most important part to show in a character.if is posible try to show the face, that give a lot of information.

KleeWyck:nice sketch and idea.the maiden has two diferent perspectives(one for the head and torso, and one for the hip and legs)

Vorace:thats a extreme version.i like your second version of the mermaid.im not too sure about the red ligth, though(in my opinion of course).

DigitallyDumbfounded:nice design.less background could help(she is a bit small in the composition)

Senira:i like the design of your mermaid, the head is very particular.she looks very sad

cowboy surfer:to be honest the head don't match the style of the body and looks a bit small.covering her left eye and the eyebrow with the hair could help.overall i feel the body as more "realist" than the head.

Artfish:nice sketches.watch the movement of the arms.use more opposite curves to avoid this () look(sorry i don't know how to say it in english)

Lalilulelo:very nice.good colours.

MM Howward:very nice characters! the second version is coming well.

Daray:very nice work! i like the composition.

La-Fairy:you need to lay the proportions before to continue the drawing.trust me is easy to fix something in the early stages.keep it up

Adele:very good.the human version is coming really well.

Crrristian:nice face.keep an eye on the rest of the body.the tail seems to be a bit small i think.

avefenix:very nice designs.watch the chest and arms connections in the mermaid, are a bit off.

JSpayde:nice design, but you need to lay down proportions and connections.the right hand look very strange, i guess you try to make a distortion effect because of the water,no?

Ramariel:good idea and drawing.

Zyklonb:good drawing and design.perhaps you could do something with hers expression to make her more melancholic and vulnerable? after all she is suffering because she wants to be human.

atitphats:nice design.like an aquatic hydra,no?

Kugu:good work.the last variation is better.nice sketches.

Fractalbot:nice sketch and pose.she looks a bit scary though.

VampireHungerStrike:very nice painting.i like the human version the most.

matjosh:very good.i like the last version.

n1va:nice sketch.where are the hands? try to work the whole figure to avoid some problems later.

okay, i wanted to cover all the entries, but is late now and after almost two hours i need a break.sorry.
i will try to make more comments.

cheers

[Teigrob]

Some pretty amazing stuff going on in here. :) Here's mine...wips and final. I'll post the final in the finals thread too...when it gets posted up. So, ah...when's that going to happen? :teeth:

All right, I especially wanted to focus on her innocence and youth, as well as her desire to be a part of the human world. Initial sketch...

http://www.raja-animation.com/rachel/images/horse_zebras_deer/CHOW127_wip1.jpg

I found it interesting that Andersen described her as having a 'fish tail', which is different from a whale or dolphin tail in one important aspect: it's vertical not horizontal. So I thought I'd focus on that (without going too close to the fantastic mermaids in Harry Potter 4) and make her more like a tropical fish...hey, how about those fighting fish? They have marvelous fins!

http://www.raja-animation.com/rachel/images/char_design/cd124.jpg

Hmm. I got her face right away, but the tail turned out to be more problematic. I liked her eyes being big and dark - kind of like shark eyes, but hopefully more emotive. :)

Well, I got the maiden part down to my satisfaction...but the tail was still eluding me.

http://www.raja-animation.com/rachel/images/char_design/cd125.jpg

Then my husband gave me a marvelous idea...what if her hair blended in to the dorsal fin down her back? Bingo.

http://www.raja-animation.com/rachel/images/horse_zebras_deer/CHOW127_wip2.jpg

Hopefully this conveys her yearning as a mermaid to be human...not realizing what it will lead to in the end.

So there you have it...my thought process. I wish I could've had more time to do a better composition and to colour this, but I'm gone for the weekend, so this will have to do. Maybe I'll even make poll. ;) Regardless, look for the coloured version in the Chow Revisits and Revisions thread.

http://www.raja-animation.com/rachel/images/char_design/CHOW127_Teigrob.jpg

Minor notes: Andersen made a point of mentioning her 'thick hair' that she used to cover her nakedness before the prince, so I thought that was important to include.

[Niva.]

Ok, here's a color update with a beach, I'm really not happy with this... probably because I'm looking at the work of the others who posted here :)

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I cheated with a lot of soft brushes and smudging and it shows though some of the blurring is kind of working to my advantage for the focus.

[indus]

great work already!!
here is my rough sketch for her design.
http://in2thepaper.cdn2.cafe24.com/chow/127wip.jpg

[AlotAbitAlittle]

A little late to start...but I am going to attempt to rock out with my conch out!

Mermaid form - " She stole into the garden, took a flower from the flower-beds of each of her sisters, kissed her hand a thousand times towards the palace, and then rose up through the dark blue waters."

[Venger]

Ok the Maid is done, just got to finish the Mer :)

This is going to be a fun round (I must add WIP to my initial post)

Hopefully it'll all make sense next to the mer version.

Hmm must reduce her hand size, they seem a little large.
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[zenichi]

more sketches, ditch the illustration composition, just plain old character design, try to zoom in more on the duality of the character in two forms, her hand's expression (maiden: struggling with the dagger, mermaid: beaming with anticipation of what the potion holds), biting lips (maiden: agony of internal turmoil, mermaid: keep hold on reality as dream coming true), eyes expression, tilting of head etc...

problem with elongated necks amongst other anatomy issues...

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edit: while going thru the post, saw xaya's WIP, i think i'll ditch mine altogether and just enjoy seeing xaya finish his piece,that's the idea i wanted to see developing, the expression etc! now i can "take a break" in peace! hahah

lots of c&c already, will focus on more recent updated ones later, apologize in advance if any repetition....

[Daray]

Sorry I haven't been adding c&c, little time to go about online atm! :)

Small update. Not really sure what colour to do her dress, did want to go pink, then remembered it was the same in the Disney one, so blue was my other choice. hmm. :^^:

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[LA-Fairy]

Well I didn't have time to change the pose.. but I played a wee bit around.

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Wip...
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My final.. ehh not impressed.. why did I wait til wednesday to start?! Next time I'll remember.. LOL... Don't know if I really want to post this in the final.
I need to practice more to wrap something in one week. But it was good practice soo, that is good.
EDIT: Forgot to resize the images. LOL.

[zenichi]

zephyri: great illustrative stuff here! waiting for the maiden!

Poshspice: great sketches, not so vigorous on the design :P like the blood flowing into the water, maybe dark red in the mermaid's shadow?

DIMAGYAN: dolphin skin? nice design, just like to see more emotions to maybe bring out the character?

Adele: violent!! lost her tongue!! hahahah always fun to watch your take!

vineris: nice period take! maybe she's on board the titanic!!!

DefiledVisions: beaming with anticipation the more finish WIP!!!

WTFsteph: cute designs, update?

bitjockey : nice design on the party dress that co-relates to the mermaid! updates!!!

maguinness: nothing to add, update!

dirkvandulmen: great work, but the innocent young thing didnt came thru, more like old sea hag, thinks its the wrinkle neck and too much lines on the face? would be nice to see your take on the maiden! hope you'll update soon!

The Whistler:great references! the sketches doesnt seems so, but the WIP seems to tie up the two form with great facial expression!!!

ccsears: nothing to add! just sit back and wait for the finish results :)

Slash: great example of great use of reference material, rare entry where i see great effort in the maiden form, easily recognisable body features but not really the face :P

tmyohlaing: sketches are there, where's the update?!!!

katinki: great work coming thru! the lighting for the mermaid could be slightly more different than the maiden form?

Havoc-DM: love the new improved mermaid, you got my expectation all up to see similar vigourous design on the maiden!!!!

fuuryoku: although alien looking, but her smiles make her recognisable as young, innocent etc.

iuvo: nice rendering, need to see the maiden soon!

monotony: the maiden's arm is a bit masculine and big size. but like her feeling the awkwardness of having legs, which makes her mermaid form seems more at ease!

Supervlieg:the maiden form seems to loose that extreme pose of the mermaid! and need to look at her face more to co-relate the two! update soon, please!

DHTenshi: she has lots of tribal tatoo, which would be fun and interesting concept where she was wash up on the shore of new zealand! she swims with the giant whale!!

JessiBean: apart from the hair style reminds of disney, the rest is just great. i'm having some twisted thoughts here... just exploring, she's contemplating whether to let the young man in her arm drown and add to her collection of doll house full of kent, :P while brushing his face with her fingers, she utters " bryan you really should. oh sush sush sushhh so you think batman's made gotham a better place?" sorry... that hands brushing the cheeks, i couldnt help it...

Baxter-E: would be difficult but score of fish swimming thru is a nice idea, i'm sure there are plenty of diving images and photos for reference on the web :P

DidiHer: the aquatic tail looks like a pair of legs in a mermaid suit, the bending is not naturally aquatic enough... need to see the maiden now :P

chaosrocks: weird.. but some how it gave me the sensation of looking at a geiger design... incidentally no-one has taken a geiger approach to this, would love to see species like mermaid and tight vinyl/ leather clad maiden... sorry, just day dreaming here. updates?

f o x : unique take, the tail could be extended slightly more to allow flipping. like to see how you transform that face into a likable maiden! or maybe the prince have eccentric taste when it comes to making friends with the opposite sex? :P

Venger: great design! a maiden that retain much of the mermaid, so the mermaid will have more fish design or more human traits? which explain her longing for the surface world?

Max Martelli: like the mermaid, but the maiden form is a bit too "unapproachable"? she can be alien/ foreign looking, but a recognisable emotion would help?

KleeWyck: eww... a bit scary, she wont be able to stand with new legs on a cylindrical surface with such stability, she should be wonky and loosing balance which explain why she drop the knife, if not she can be in the pic but parallel verse...

Vorace: loving the voluptuous design, her lack of ability to communicate in maiden form suits very well with her perceive "attitude problem" look! hahaha voted halfway for this

DecayingLolita: actually quite like her intense stare at the potion! dark hair is fine and so isa dark hair maiden :P

DigitallyDumbfounded love the expressive tail design! expecting similar flambouyant dress for the maiden!!!

Cup_of_Tea?: the facial features dont seems to co-relate the two forms together?

half way....

cowboy surfer: she's looking up? what about the "new found legs"? or she's missing her home world? like the green eyes! quick to the mermaid design!

ArtFish: use some reference :P the design for floral connection also need to think about surface flora and deep sea or underwater flora :P

Lalilulelo: i love your mermaid sketch, some how the lighting and all seems to have lost in transition in the more finish piece? please find that feeling back :( great pose and anatomy, cant wait to see the maiden!

LA-Fairy: the idea of the composition is fine, just need to work on the pose more...

Daray: mermaid form, eyes a bit too far apart, and what's her emotions? the maiden is reading clearly! anticipating some fun stylistic paint work! cheers

Carnifex: great great designs! like the way she retain her features and easily recognisable in her maiden form!!!

Clochette: hehehehe nice fun & humourous design!

Crrristian: replace flowers with sea weeds and coral stuff? unless she dwell in the pacific near hawaii...

MJ_Alcazar : missing your spirit, energy & enthusiasm already!

avefenix: need to work on the facial expression, at the moment, mannequin in mall...

JSpayde: wow, illustrative and almost foreign/ alien feel to it, love the atmosphere, hope you can achieve the same for the maiden, even with human legs she would still stand out amongst the crowd as the odd one out with the eerie "air" surrounding her!

Ramariel: love it! very contemplating composition and great use of references!!! can i cast half a vote already?

ZyklonB: got to finish this great start! loving the design!

petitemistress: deep sea!!! tone it down, maybe she has a blank stare, for deep sea aquatic creatures, which makes her yearn so much more for surface experience...

senira: great original take! anticipating original take on the maiden too!!! stimulated!

artiphats: madam eel? a younger, more innocent take would be more appealing, but like the eel design! .... its one of my favourite food... she is making me hungry... hahahaha

KuGu: laods of great sketches! somehow the finish work is too muscular? like to refer back to your sketches, the muscle definition seems less chiseled?... like your sketches more :(

Fractalbot: the twisting of the aquatic part is awkward and doesnt look natural. other than that, she has a sinister feel to it... maybe its just me

VampireHungerStrike: always great pleasure to see your work! are they traditional?

matjosh:great great work, i also had the gills at rib cage idea, cant wait to see your maiden form! i think you've got half my vote already :P

n1va: the pose can be more dramatic, maybe if she's arching her torso up from her supporting arm? or relaxing with her supporting arm, would have different shoulder manifestation, the twist of the aquatic part are a bit awkward, maybe a bigger loop to ease the transition?

The Nozomi :she can be any naked woman, need your mermaid form to see how they co-relates!

MM Howard: the nose is a bit weird looking. the facial expressions are fun. the hair style, is it by design the mermaid form has knots, cos she's princess and maids to help her... in maiden form she's has a looses hair by design? or retain the knots, she's in the palace so maybe there are surface maids too :P

laterDays: nice designs, especially how the costume and the aquatic part corelates! the interlocking hands are lovely too!

CamSyko: iguana?!!! the red paint on her face, is it gills? if its paint, it will probably flow all over the place under water...

zulu: need a fresh take on this mate

skorpi: more! the necklace tie the maiden with the mermaid!

Xaya: wow!!! already got my vote with this WIP!!! hahaha now i can sit out this CHOW and just enjoy!

kiwigarbage:great ideas, can the maiden form be larger? really want to see both forms in similar size, wanna savour the.. little emotions :P

Jason Strutz: the integration seems a bit odd, the "fish head" could end up better at her waist? a bit weird without her torso, looking back at your sketches, i like those design more, they look more "natural" :P

Scraw: hehe deep sea mermaid! maybe a maiden on bright sunshiny cliff?

Teigrob: fun exploration exercise, just realise you have her biting her lower lips too :)

indus: as always, great work! like the giant fish or mini memaid... depending on reference scale but always great characterization!!!! cant wait to see your maiden!

AlotAbitAlittleshe' blowing something, need to see more.

phew... hope i didnt left anyone out, good luck and will wait for the poll to be up!

[Carnifex]

thanks for all the thoughts...only progressing slowly...

[purb36]

venger - she's crying, but her expression doesn't show it. lose the up curves at the side of her mouth, pucker up her chin a little, and bring up the inside corners of her eyes (where the eyebrows would be if she had them), to show some sadness in her (check out zenichi's sketch for a good example of what i mean). try making a sad expression in the mirror, or have someone do it for you, see what i mean. the piece looks pretty sweet, it's just that disconnect between what's supposed to be there and what you actually read in her face. g'luck.

g'luck to everybody else, as well. this chow's lookin purty. :^^:

and i hope y'all all remember...she's SUPPOSED to be 15 ...

[S.C. Watson]

i used it for ref, and i liked the idea, im not trying to do Plagiarism , ive made it in a good way, thats offensive for me, and im sorry if this is offensive to others and if is Plagiarism to others as well, im out.

zulu, what you've done is more of a study - the pose, with the exception of few minor modifications, is the same as John William Waterhouse's Mermaid painting. While technically not plagiarism in this case (it's not a paint over) it is still not acceptable for CHOW.

Works submitted to CHOW have to be originals. Period. Your own design. Using photo ref is accepted, so long as it is not a paint over.

However when using someone else's artwork for reference, then we start skirting a very delicate line. My recommendation is to not follow someone else's work too closely here. Do your own work. If you wish to do a study, keep it in your sketchbook thread, but do not submit it to CHOW unless it is part of the developmental process for your final piece, which must be distinctly different than the the study.

All the best,
~Oreg.

[Adi.]

heya all :)

wow some awesome work going on in here.
Just some poses for the moment... time is short though.

[chaosrocks]

well i sort of have a princess version ...long way to go probably won't make it

[AlotAbitAlittle]

Thanks Zenichi...this one definitely shows a little more, but there is still much to do.

WIP1- I have added some of the rough shading, and bubble detail. Flowers to come...on to shading for a bit.

WIP2 - The shading begins. I have been looking at how Digital Bobert and John Singer Sargent approach their work and I am attempting to incorporate their methods into my style. Crits are welcome and much appreciated!

[Venger]

venger - she's crying, but her expression doesn't show it. lose the up curves at the side of her mouth, pucker up her chin a little, and bring up the inside corners of her eyes (where the eyebrows would be if she had them), to show some sadness in her (check out zenichi's sketch for a good example of what i mean). try making a sad expression in the mirror, or have someone do it for you, see what i mean. the piece looks pretty sweet, it's just that disconnect between what's supposed to be there and what you actually read in her face. g'luck.

g'luck to everybody else, as well. this chow's lookin purty. :^^:

and i hope y'all all remember...she's SUPPOSED to be 15 ...

Thanks for taking the time to comment purb - I kind of wanted her like that, her face cold and expressionless..like a fish (maybe I should make more fishlike?) I'll have to make it more obvious.
Thanks again.

[ArtFish]

ArtFish: use some reference :P the design for floral connection also need to think about surface flora and deep sea or underwater flora :P



oh ya the flowers are just like "flowers" haha
ya i really need some more/better references...
thanks :]

[Teigrob]

Teigrob: fun exploration exercise, just realise you have her biting her lower lips too :)


Yay! You saw it! That's exactly what I wanted to convey - her biting her lip. I mean, she's going through a bit of a moral dilemma, right? To kill or not to kill... Anyway, I'm glad I successfully represented it. :)

[ArtFish]

ok I'm definitely not going to finish by tomorrow..not happy with how its turning out and there are a lot of flaws and some other things i need to do :\
hopefully i can revisit it at some point...i guess thats what the revisions thread is for! :]

[S.C. Watson]

Just remember everyone, you technically have until roughly 5pm, Pacific Standard on Monday to post your final images.

~Oreg.

[DigitallyDumbfounded]

Scraw: Nice expression on the mermaid. I find her eyebrows a little large.
On the maiden that outstretched leg looks wrong. I think if you consider the foreshortening of the (not visible) thigh, I think her knee should be closer to her other knee. But I might be wrong.
Ok, screw that!!! I've just been laying down in front of the mirror and (although she might be much more athletic than me :x), there's no way for me to have my torso upright and my knee touching the ground, while the other is outstretched like that. It would point up more (if that makes sense). And you'd see the front of her knee more. So, more foreshortening actually. The other leg is about right then. :)

Dimaygan: Thank you! I already scaled up (pun!) the mermaid and I guess I'll crop the maiden some more then. :) (and lol on criting yourself.) Are you updating? I quite like your start! The sketches of her face are beautiful.

Zenichi: Eep. :x Ahem. Have worked a little on that. Thanks for the inspiration. I'm now getting a much more interesting idea for the dress. Hope I'll be able to finish that. Will put in (much!) more underskirt that's floating around. On your WIP I like the expression of the maiden. Maybe the mermaid could have open arms to express her... well, being open to the world more.

Adi: These are beautiful! I like the face on the second in particular.

So. Here's an update. Hrmpf, the jpg's got quite blurry. :/ Oh well.
I don't know if the violet on her tail is working and I'm not happy with her hair. I tried bright turquoise but she looks like Krusty the Clown with that. :blah:

[ArtFish]

still trying to get this sort of done haha
more work on the mermaid
sort of fixed her shoulders i think...still need t do the hands and the rest obviously

[Senira]

Thanks for the crits guys! Here are some for other folks, followed by my update of the maiden:

matjosh-- I like the eastern theme you've got going on; it's an interesting take, and you've integrated it well with the underwater elements. The bangles in her hair are a nice touch. :)

slash-- It feels to me like the foot that's in the water is a touch too twisted. I can see that you've got some lean in her torso, but I think that it's still too up/down right now for it to read properly as her having weight on her opposite hip. If you lean her right more, the forward leg will be fine.

Kugu-- That's a buff mermaid you've got there. The amazonian look is interesting, but just don't make her too war-like; if you do, I think you might lose some of the innocence she possesses in the story.

Then again, maybe she wants to flee to the human world because the undersea is always at war? I spend far too much time thinking about these things.

Scraw-- The lights are cool, and I'm diggin' the hands. I'm guessing you're going for a deep-sea feel for her, since you've got in so much florescence. It'll be nice to see it finished!

teigrob-- I like the koi-ish fins she's got. And incorporating her scales into the dress design was a nice touch. Keep going!

alotabitalittle-- It looks like the shading on that is coming along beautifully. Can't wait to see it done!


Started working on the maiden. To keep some similarity between the two forms, I tried to use a toned-down version of her head shape, and I tried to maintain the facial proportions between the two forms.

As far as costume goes, at first I had her in this rigid renaissance number, then I decided to go for something a little less fussy. On second thought, though, the bigger dress may have done a better job of conveying how hemmed in she feels in the world of man.

Hm. Well, it's something to consider.

[chaosrocks]

i having trouble withthe attachment manager
but can't put thison PBucket

[Claudio Grassi]

Dimagyan: Thanks, see if you like this final version :)

N1va: Wow! amazing background wish I could paint oceans like that!

Indus: Gorgeous sketch, and Ive seen your stuff so I know it'll will look fantastic! :D

Zenichi: I get the only sad face on the post?!?!?! :( hehe anyhow, thanks tell me if this is better vvvv

DigitallyDumbfounded: Looking very nice...I love the human version in the ocean..wonderful expression!

Senira: You seem to be the only one adhering to the ortho views dealie...extra points for that on top of a great design :)

2 updates..now I think I can finish but alas my internet connection in the mountains is fickle..so I hope I can post my finished version...Here's a wimpier mermaid, and a noodled-faced human version..pant pant pant..5 am..time for bed :)

http://i210.photobucket.com/albums/bb304/TenGuKu/Chow127s-wip5.jpg
http://i210.photobucket.com/albums/bb304/TenGuKu/Chow127sb-wip2.jpg

[S.C. Watson]

I'm not entering, but I figured I'd crank something out today, as I need to start doing more character work, and hey, what a perfect opportunity! :P

Anyway, no ref.

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All the best,
~Oreg.

[maguinness]

hey all,

first off, thanks for everyone giving input. life has gotten busy and i will not be able to finish the little mermaid. maybe next week.

cheers

[AlotAbitAlittle]

maguinness - That is unfortunate. I really loved your interaction at the surface. I hope to see it in the revisited thread!

[Max Martelli]

Oregano: I wish you were entering, I really like that pose. Also the texture of her fishy parts is really good. I like it alot.

Here's yet another update, both this time.

I'm working on final bits and such, Thank you everyone who gave me their small critiques (oh so helpful). I'm just sorry that I had no time to go through and critique you all.

As always let me know if you see something I need to change before I submit the final.

Good luck everyone

Enjoy.

[AlotAbitAlittle]

Maiden Form - I can't decide between the two. I like being able to see the face of the right one, but I like the emotion of the first.

Any suggestions and cc's are welcome.

[duckyfeets1]

Gah! Late entry!

[Kreator]

not going to be able to make it ..so i will just post my mermaid wip.

congrats to all those who finished . Standards are definately very high and i look forward to voting.. :)

http://img294.imageshack.us/img294/8487/mermaidwipvu0.jpg

[laterDays]

Just turned my final in 3 minutes ago. I finished it tonight because I won't have any time to sit down tomorrow.

vineris - thanks! I hope you will like how I did on those legs in my final image.

Senira - wow! Cool design.

indus - your design looks awesome, I love the face, I cant wait to see it rendered out.

Kreator - too bad you wont be able to make this one, that looks like one intense illustration. I hope you will make it next time!

[MM Howard]

My mermaid final:Here (http://www.conceptart.org/forums/showpost.php?p=1932453&postcount=198)
Maiden hopefully to be finished today sometime. Not my best, but I appreciate doing this, as this pushed me to actually do a finished digital piece. This definitely isn’t my last Chow! Just because I finished doesn’t mean I won’t except critiques for next time or before the contest ends. Feel free to tear it apart.

So here’s my last comment on this thread for the updates/new entries:

Lalilulelo: Maiden form is very lovely. The pose is very natural. Your final entry is awesome. Good luck in the finals!
laterDays: No matter how “unrealistic” the design is, it is a beautiful, inspiring design. Good luck in the finals!
Daray: Very, very pretty. One of the my favorite entries!
DecayingLolita: Beautiful, gorgeous design. The final mermaid design is awesome. Only critique I’d give was that the arms seem a bit too thin.
Slash: I love the maiden design and the arm sleeve. Very nice! Only critique would be change the position of the leg. Looks like an uncomfortable position.
CamSyko: Very pretty color palette and the animal adds an interesting touch to your piece. I suggest fixing the right arm a bit.
The Nozomi: No problem! Photobucket can be a pain in the ass, attachment manager is better on here anyway. Very nice pose…I’d maybe round off her butt a bit more.
Vineris: Very nice so far! Thank you for the critique, I definitely took what you and others told me in mind about the face, which explains the complete change.
DigitallyDumbfounded: Thank you too! I took your critique in mind for the finished piece. I ended up make her chin the same size accidentally, I think. Anyway, you final is coming around greatly.
DefiledVisions: Very beautiful progression. I love the background of this piece.
Ramariel: Another beautiful progression. Can’t think of a critique at the moment, you seem to be on the right track.
KuGu: Thank you for the critique! Your final of the mermaid is gorgeous and the cityscape in the background really makes it stand out from the entries. Your maiden painting is also coming out really great.
Matjosh: The hair came out interesting. I don’t think you overdid it! Can’t wait for your maiden form.
ArtFish: Really nice pose and great hairstyle. I’d fix the proportions of shoulders. Maybe make the left side smaller?
Skorpi: Very pretty sketch! I think you and kiwigarbage have an edge over everyone by doing watercolor. Can’t wait to see how it turns out!
Xaya: Gorgeous! I almost threw my pen out the window when I saw it! Truthfully, though, I wanted to throw my pen out the window once I saw just about everyone else’s entry.
Scraw: Very nice beginning. The mermaid design is incredibly eye-catching. I love the use of glow in illustration and used it quite successfully.
Senira: I love your designs! They add some original to the whole competition. Best thing about them is that they could be 3-D modeled in a very interesting character.
Max Martelli: The marble type background sets off your characters nicely. I’d fix the left arm on maiden, however, as it looks like she doesn’t have an elbow.
Telgrob: Nice and pretty lineart! Hurry up and color it, can’t wait to see what you’re going to do!
N1va: I’d say your background is one of the best here. You should be happy with it! Maybe work on the arms a little bit to give more structure. Otherwise, I’d say you’re good to go!
Indus: Very beautiful sketch! Excited about seeing your final!
AlotAbitAlittle: Nothing wrong with a late start! Sketches and WIP are great!
Venger: Beautiful, interesting, original…someone to watch out for! Mermaid design is no doubt going to blow everyone out the water.
Zenichi: Dude, my sentiments exactly about Xaya’s entry! Lovely new sketch…good luck to making it to the finals! The nose was weird looking, until I changed it. Thanks for the critique.
LA-Fairy: It was good practice! I waited until Wednesday to start too, so don’t feel bad! There are people who waited until Saturday, so there is nothing wrong with that!
Adi: Great beginning! Middle pose is my favorite.
Chaosrocks: Very beautiful designs! I especially love the hairstyle on your maiden design!
Oregano: That is so beautiful. If you were actually entering, that’s when I would’ve given up.
Duckyfeets1: She is so cute! Definitely looks more fifteen then most of the entries on here!
Kreator: That. Is. Awesome. Its too bad you’re not going to make it to the finals. I might actually be joining you in the “Couldn’t Make It” Chow party.

[Daray]

Updating with some more work. Pretty much near the end at what I can do for this round, although Im happy with the piece. I can't quite decide on which on the three colours I like best though, I think the left may work the best. Not sure, what do you guys think?

469626

[petitemistress]

alright im out. i was sleepy and i forgot to save a copy of 6hours worth of work on my mermaid, i just saved jpegs like an idiot, and im so disgusted i cant even look at fish without wanting to fucking cry. my mermaid i opened today isnt even at the stage of the last WIP i posted. fuck it. im so angry i could pull out my hair and feed it to myself by my eyelids. /tosses shit around

gl everyone

[zephyri]

I'm in the middle of an art flow at the moment, but I thought I'd just say I've updated my first post with the final linework: UPDATE CLICK HERE (http://www.conceptart.org/forums/showpost.php?p=1927439&postcount=11).

There's a tonne of great entries here already, and I'll get to commenting for more people later here's a few thoughts.

Petite mistress: Aw man that sucks... I've had that happen more than once and wanted to destroy everything around me every time it happened. Hope you might get the impetus back to finish it one day anyhow!

Daray, the colours on that are looking lovely and the composition works nicely. Just a minor detail, btu I'd be tempted to make her maiden hair just a touch longer to underlap the clouds and her tail a bit more... they're just touching, and it's breaking the flow of the shape a bit.

Duckyfeets: I really prefer the lower right sketch on the page in terms of pose... the one you've coloured up at the moment look a little too hunched... and it's a killer of a pose to try and make look graceful, even though the emotion is there.

Kreator... she's hugely firece, but I love the colours.. the gold works amazingly.

Oregano: I'm echoing the others here to say it's really a shame you won't get chance to finish her and enter it, she's looking lovely.

Artfish: be careful of the way you've overlapped her body and tail.. right now at a glance it could almost look like a human wearing a big hat! giving the tail more curves, and changing the tail fin to be less pompom looking would definitely help!

Digitally Dumbfounded: Love the look of your mermaid and the way you've used the stronger colours as highlights on both and the opposing colour schemes are great too, especially given they're not their stereotype situations (the yellow being the sadder of the two). I love the fact you've chosen to go for the moment she starts turning to foam.. it's my favourite passage in the book.

AlotAbitalittle: Loving the way that colour version is looking and the styled wave foam and her tail really give it something a bit different, I'd love to see those handled in a more designy way... but it looks lovely regardless.

Chaos: yours is looking beautfully regal and the colour choices on their skin work beautifully. I'd be tempted to perhaps floof out the hair ont he mermaid a bit more... to add to the curves you have with the body.

Venger: I think you win hands down for originality on the maiden version.. a lovely interpretation of her from the fishy version. The veins in the legs are vote worthy alone for me... I think it conveys the agony of legs for her brilliantly.

Senira: I think thats probably one of the least-disney versions I've seen! And disney probably did choose that colour combo because it works so well.

Kay.. back to painting!

[townes]

http://www.kaneho.de/Bilder/2.jpg

Hey fellas
unfortunately I couldn#t finish both forms of her, but could you give me a critic anyway so my work wasn't spend in vein?? :)
do you think it would have passed to the poll?

[S.C. Watson]

alright im out. i was sleepy and i forgot to save a copy of 6hours worth of work on my mermaid, i just saved jpegs like an idiot, and im so disgusted i cant even look at fish without wanting to fucking cry. my mermaid i opened today isnt even at the stage of the last WIP i posted. fuck it. im so angry i could pull out my hair and feed it to myself by my eyelids. /tosses shit around

gl everyone

Aw, man. That sucks in the extreme - if it's any consolation, which it probably isn't, I think it's safe to say that we've all had that happen at least once :[

~Oreg.

[zephyri]

Hey townes. Right now? I don't think it would be poll worthy myself, but Oregano/Daestwen would be the only ones to give you a definitive answer! The thing you've got to remember here is that it's strictly speaking a character design challenge... and while some people (like myself) choose not to stray form the original/cliche version of the character in cases like this, we still make an effort to add some design touches or to go for an unusual composition that might show the character in a new light. Right now with your character, I'm actually having trouble trying to decipher which version of her it is. I'm guessing mermaid from the tail shape of the trailing form to the left, but with the wrapped up head and only being able to really see the eyes it was hard to tell at first glance, especially as it could have been the end of a cloak with the rest of her being hidden in shadow, with the way the lighting is hitting right now. There's nothing on the character that speaks of any kind of culture, no hints as to her personality, or the world she comes from, who she is... which is one of the main aims of this challenge (as I see it!). If you'd have tried adding some detailed touches to the cloak or the wrap - such as beads or trinkets, belts - , or given her tail more form and added some unusual markings. As it stands, the hair is probably th emost interesting part of her, and with a whole ocean and any kind of culture you can think of at your fingertips, I think the design could be much much more attention grabbing.

Consider things like body language, what does it say about the character? Is she proud, scared, laid back, feminine, and how's best to convey that? Look at the silhouette of your character if you block it all in... could anyone tell what it was, or be interested in it?

With costume design, you don't have to go overboard, but even little things can hint at what kind of world a person has come from, and their place in it. For example here, the mermaid is a princess.. so I'm kind of confused as to why she would choose to wrap up and hide herself, unless she was sneaking out somewhere, which she never had cause to do in the story... and again, given this is a character design challenge, it sort of takes the fun out of the design process! You could have had great fun with designs for her crown or headpiece, even if you'd stuck with wrapped clothing.

While backgrounds are optional here, make sure you're emphasising the things you like about your character with it if you put one in... right now your character is lost in the background.. and the light makes it hard to even figure out what she looks like. Why does the light stop suddenly behind her and not continue on the other side? If she's casting a shadow, why is there dark behind the left side of her head?

The rendering of your piece is not looking bad at all and there's some nice expression in her face (what I can see of it!), so i think you most likely have the technical skills to get to poll, but the design and way the image is put together is weakening that skill considerably.

Apologies if that's a bit long or seems harsh.. it's more thoughts I try to keep in mind while I'm working, related to your image, and could be applied to any CHOW activity... I hope it helps a little and doesn't kill your enthusiasm totally. Don't be afraid to use reference and look at others work for inspiration, or if you want an opinion while working, feel free to drop me a PM and I'll give you some feedback or ideas.

And I shall hop off my soap box now.

[Slash]

Yeah, that sucks big time Petite. And like oreg said, its happened to us all more than once.. The upside is that the more it happens to you the closer you get to becoming an ocd saving freak.. ctrl+S *paint paint* ctrl+S *flip horizontal* Ctrl+S etc etc..

And don't get me started on iterative saves.. my painting folder is probably 10 times bigger than it needs to be.. T_T

[DigitallyDumbfounded]

Ah, Zephyri, thanks. I'm so glad that the foam dissolving thing shows! I wasn't sure about it. I love that tragic ending too but it's so beautiful in it's way and I think it shows her maturation process and acceptance. So it has sort of a calm and warmth to it wich is what I was going for. In a sense I think it alleviates her over the simple childish (don't mean that negatively) longing and fighting as she makes this decision in regards to her own consciousness and moralty and love of course. Acting not out of need and wanting but accepting the consequence of her transformation wich ends really in her dissolving (of ego).
Sorry.
End of ramble. :)

Daray: I like the second best. Reads the most clearly, I think.

And PettiteMistress: Temp file? I've always got a large temp file left till next startup of PS. Might be lucky.

[Carnifex]

alotabitalittle - i'd go with the human on the left, the playfullness of her having discovered her new feet is adorable. i can almost see her wiggle her toes. don't have to be all death and tragic,no? ;)
daray - i'd actually go for nr.3, with the mermaid colours abit more towards nr.2 - greenish. nr.1 is too dark for my taste,and in nr.2 the colours are good,but seperating the charactes abit too much,like it were two persons.
kreator - heh,looks more like the sea witch ;)
zephyri - o.o

more work...i feel so slooow...so much to do yet,gotta bring the colour variations back in,add shiny and stuff....

[sourgasm]

Gah. I just found out about this one yesterday. I love the original story. It has that Greek tragedy feel to it- as opposed to the pap Disney bastardization.

She always sounded like some nutty stalker to me, so I decided to make her a little more conniving. I hope I have time to finish- this is about 2 hours in.

[MJ_Alcazar]

Hey everyone. There is some amazing work on here! Everyone is so creative!

Daray - I like the left one the best also, all the little things you did shows up the best.
Zephri - I do hope you finish, I'm loving the design.
AlotAbitAlittle - I'm loving the one where she's watching her feet, I know you can't see her face but her whole pose is screaming with personality. At least to me it is.
Oregano - the pose is amazing, I hope you'll be able to finish it at some point.
MMHoward - I love your mermaid, the goldfish details are awesome!
DigitallyDumbfounded - I love the feel of yours. The expressions on their faces are marvelous, especially the maiden.
Kreator - amazing work, the colors ae awesome and all the little coral details.
Kugu - wonderful work. I love all the details on your mermaid, and the maiden form looks so forlorn!
I know I didn't get everyone. Sorry about that.

Just wanted to say thank you to everyone who sent me words of encouragement. I'm okay now! I'll be seeing you in the next CHOW :)

[The Whistler]

I'll call this finished, I ran out of time so I rushed it and it shows. Gah...

[DefiledVisions]

The Whistler.. well as Oregano says, you should have like another 24 hours.. it's not 5 pm pacific time monday, yet :)

You still have time! gogo

[skorpi]

Such a great round.


DigitallyDumbfounded: Great colors. the maiden is lying on the sand, right? I would paint a little shadow on it.
ArtFish I like her expresion and her tail. Shes under water so her hair could moving more, I think.
Senira I like how you paint the heads similar.
chaosrocks's Avatar
chaosrocks I like the similarity between tail and clothes.
KuGu I love you mermaid design.
Oregano Great pose, how she try to reach to be a human.
Max Martelli I like the maidens pose.
AlotAbitAlittle I like the left one more, pherarps you can change the angle a bit, so we see more of her face.
duckyfeets1 I like the mermaids pose.
Kreator Great painting. But in my eyes she's to agressiv.
MM Howard Thanks for the comment. I love your colors.
Daray Great work, I like the one in the middle most.
zephyri Wow, that looks great. I look forward the final pic.
townes Zephyri wrote already many good points. t's not necessary to repeat them.
Slash I don't see anything :(
Carnifex I really like the mermaid design.
sourgasm Not bad, but it's difficult to see the connection between them.
The Whistler Looks nice, perhaps you could work the waves out more.

I', still painting. For some parts I regret I hadn't work digital.

[Slash]

Skorpi: I'm not sure what you mean.. My images aren't showing up? Its hosted locally here on CA, so it should be fine, and it works for me.. try reloading the page, that might work.

Another WIP.. i think i'm happy with most of it now, so i'll start coloring before long. Thanks to everyone who have posted suggestions! <3 I changed the expression from resigned melancholy to more bitterness, regret and dispair, and i think it was the right move.. I wanted something that contrasted the happiness and wonder in the first one a little more than her previous "meh.." face.

[chaosrocks]

slash dear Im stil having trouble figuring out what the curve or slope of the beach is
her legsa look like there are kinda danglin goff a wall , whereas the water adn sand is more flat...
if its flat her leg would be out front of her and the wave would be breaking around her ass (foreshadowingthe foam disolution.) either that or if the leg is right then she might need to be sitting up on a rock or something
iono. but it looks funneh
love her expression
crx

[~baxter]

Unfortunately I'll have to withdraw my submissions from this one. Just moved and got done with school so I've been far too busy to sit down and work on my submissions =/, although Im hoping to finish them in the future at some time.

[ArtFish]

what better way to procrastinate on my ap lit homework than to work on this :]

started a background and though about how to do the human form
still needs a loooot of work obviously...

[Clochette]

So sorry to hear Petitemistress! :(
I am a control S and iteration psychotic, because of that kind of accident...
Hope you will finish it for yourself, don't leave on a save crash! ^^

[matjosh]

ok, heres my maiden form. decided not to go too serious on it, i wanted to have a little more fun here. so this is what i came up with. the final version is will only be in the finals thread. hope you like it.

http://img68.imageshack.us/img68/3918/wipssmallaf2.jpg

[DefiledVisions]

I'm not sure if I can finnish mine either, have so much left to do on it.. and even if I work all day tommorow I don't think I'll finnish. Anyway, wil have to see how it goes.

Looking good everyone.

[S.C. Watson]

For those of you how are unable to finish in time for the deadline, I'd like to mention that if you were not aware of it, we do have the CHOW Revisit & Revision (http://www.conceptart.org/forums/showthread.php?t=135842) thread! We'd love to see your entry there!

All the best,
~Oreg.

[matjosh]

Scraw, thanks for the advice, it's a really good one, but i read it a little too late :/ I've already posted my finals with a little fear of being to late.
but thanks anyway, i'll keep it in mind and maybe change my piece later on.

[Venger]

All updated see post 96.
That was fun, I enjoyed that (and learned lots too!)
Good luck everyone, lots of good entries.

http://www.conceptart.org/forums/showpost.php?p=1929405&postcount=96

Damn zephyri, I was hoping you'd get it done - I hope to see it in the CHOW revisit section.

[Max Martelli]

I think I'm just about done, just needs an overall border. Let me know if you see something I need to rethink before I submit my final.

Once again, great pieces everyone, I can't wait to see them all completed.

Thanks to everyone who gave me advice it was greatly appreciated and I wish I had the time to return the favor. I'll try next time (hopefully we don't have two comps then).

Good luck

[Flipnastywebby]

"then the little mermaid raised her lovely white arms, stood on the tips of her toes, and glided over the floor, and danced as no one yet had been able to dance"

i thought of spanish dancers, plus it was an easy choice when i was studying the exotic fishes for the mermaids body, their fins reminded me of a salsa/flamenco dresses.

first one to the finish

:pirate:

[Adele]

DefiledVisions she is getting hit by power...the evil queen's power to rip out her tounge in exchange for her land legs...MWA HAHAHAHAHA (excuse me)

I love everyones work, so cool...I really like the very fin-like Venger

CANT WAIT TO LOOK AND VOTE!

[Senira]

I finished up the values for her maiden form. I started playing with the colors, but I've yet to come up with a combination that satisfies me. I'm putting it aside until tomorrow.

[Max Martelli]

Venger. Amazing is all I have to say

Here's the final framed version.

Enjoy and good luck everyone.

[Larriva Art]

Lots of amazing work shaping up towards the finish!
I posted mine in the finals, and my works in progress are here (http://conceptart.org/forums/showpost.php?p=1932079&postcount=189).

Zenichi: Thanks, this one was done with oils on panel.
Thanks to everyone who commented or gave me a crit.

[Xaya]

I just added my work in the Final thread.

470622

[The Whistler]

The Whistler.. well as Oregano says, you should have like another 24 hours.. it's not 5 pm pacific time monday, yet :)

You still have time! gogo

Dammit! I didn't calculate it right! I'll see if I can do something more but I doubt it... DamnDamnDamn!

Thanks!

Gotta bookmark THIS USEFUL CLOCK THINGY (http://wwp.greenwichmeantime.com/time-zone/usa/pacific-time/) for the future

[Cam Sykes]

OK here's my Wips' reference and Finals. I had to rush the human-form due to running out of time.

[Slash]

Hmm.. if i remember correctly you said 5pm your time, right oreg? so that means roughly 11.5 more hours before the deadline? right?

And if the deadline is much closer, will my entry be accepted if one of the pieces is black and white?

[daestwen]

Slash, you're correct. (On both counts.) 5 pm Oreg's time, and Black and White is fine, as long as it's finished.

[Dreoilin]

Well I really thought I was gonna make it into this one but unfortunately my grandmother broke her hip this weekend :( so I've been at the hospital pretty much the whole weekend (that's where the maiden version drawing was actually done). And now I'm off to work so... here's what I've got. The finished version will just have to go into the revisit and revision thread! No time to comment on everyones now, but hopefully once poll goes up I'll have the time to sit down and do it.

[The Whistler]

So I touched it up a bit, I'll let it go now...

[Carnifex]

final as in the final thread. ran abit ouf of time,but overall i enjoyed the process.
good luck everyone!

[Senira]

Here's my final. There's some great stuff over in that thread! Congrats to everyone who participated!

[Clochette]

Do we have to post our final here too?
I've just post mine in the other thread!
Humm... So I re post here! :)

Congratulation everybody who has finished and also those who couldn't...

[Slash]

Carnifex: Clean up that background. Its sloppy and it hurts your piece. You still have time, and cleaning up the background will really boost the overall prestentation.


My maiden form is starting to look decent in color. I have to start working on a job today, so i don't have much more time to work on this. I'm still looking for crits tho, so if anyone has any opinions i'd be grateful to receive them!

[Carnifex]

thanks slash, only crit i have for you is to work that hair abit more.

[Slash]

Will do carni!

This is probably as finished as this is gonna get:

[Dan!]

beautiful work as usual everyone. Here is my attempt-
http://i134.photobucket.com/albums/q81/DECYPL/decypl_chow127.jpg
and process- description in the finals-
http://i134.photobucket.com/albums/q81/DECYPL/decypl_process_chow127.jpg

[RevoLverZ]

Guys what happened with ccsears ? I wanted to vote him in the other thread but I don`t find him.
And I don`t know but , yesterday I think I saw him posting the final piece on the voting thread ?
Now I see he`s banned. If anyone can tell me pm me. :)
Nice round everyone !

[S.C. Watson]

Guys what happened with ccsears ? I wanted to vote him in the other thread but I don`t find him.
And I don`t know but , yesterday I think I saw him posting the final piece on the voting thread ?
Now I see he`s banned. If anyone can tell me pm me. :)

I think that issue is between ccsears and the CA mods & admins. We'll leave it at that.

~Oreg.