Chow 127 :: The Little Mermaid

[daestwen]

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

ROUND #127 :: Hans Christian Andersen's 'The Little Mermaid'

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DESCRIPTION

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Little_Mermaid

Hans Christian Andersen's 'The Little Mermaid'.

Please keep in mind that this is *not* the Disney version, and I don't want to see anything even remotely related to it.

We need Two Character Designs for this: her mermaid form, and her maiden form. You may want to do this more as a straight-forward, orthographic design, but you are not required to.

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:right: FOLLOW THE TOPIC.

:right: POST YOUR FINAL IN THE FINALS THREAD.


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

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

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

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DEADLINE
SUNDAY, September 21th, 2008
The way the deadline works: if deadline is on a Sunday and your image is posted on that Sunday 23:59 your local time it's a good entry.
In fact - as long there is Sunday somewhere on the planet your entry is ok. I will make the poll sometimes Monday evening my time (GMT - 8 ) yet I'll have a look at the last entries.
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POST YOUR FINALS IN THE FINALS THREAD!

Remember to include your nickname in the filename.

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

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BE PROFESSIONAL - only finished and good quality entries will be taken to the poll. Oregano and Daestwen (yay!) will make the selection.

[daestwen]

Please review these helpful reminders if you have not done so already.

:right:ON GETTING TO POLL (http://www.conceptart.org/forums/showpost.php?p=1891823&postcount=15)
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:right:NEW ROUND RULE: WIPS PLEASE! (http://www.conceptart.org/forums/showpost.php?p=1910999&postcount=27)
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:right:SUBMISSION FORMAT REMINDER (http://www.conceptart.org/forums/showpost.php?p=1911002&postcount=28)

[Pseudocognition]

Awwwesoooome.

[MJ_Alcazar]

What a wonderful story! I'm going to go see if I can get my hands on it and read the real version. This sounds fun!

EDIT: found it, if anyone wants to take a look

http://hca.gilead.org.il/li_merma.html

[DecayingLolita]

I am totally in, awesome subject!

[skorpi]

I loved the story as child. Wonderful topic.

[bitethefrog]

I REALLY want to do another CHOW, as it was just a massive creative surge and a massive confidence boost in all my creative work, but I just can't do it this week... I'm moving back to Cardiff tomorrow and it's pretty much university work until Christmas, so... RAHHHHH!

[ArtFish]

i actually gasped in glee when i saw this topic.
-sketches-

[petitemistress]

In! <3

[DefiledVisions]

I won't say a thing until I've delivered a sketch.. til then, great topic. Thanks!

[zephyri]

Aw man.. great topic.. I've always wanted to do a non-disney version, more in keeping with the original folklore tale as told by HCA. Might have to crowbar in some time for this one!

Okay some initial sketches for the mermaid half of her.

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Okay and a final sketch/linework based on the small thumb in the middle where she's brushing her hair. Wanted to stick with something in keeping with the tale that wouldn't look a million miles out in an old edition Hans Christian Anderson book. There's also a hint of nouveau border, which is how I intend to link the two images. Now all I gotta do is finish!

465741

Okay.. not a chance in hell I'll finish this for tomorrow, but I am going to finish it. Just about to transfer it to board and watercolour it in a Mucha kind of flat colour style. Had to flip both drawings, which is a pain, but it doesn't look too bad.

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[DSAzeppelin]

hopefully I have time this week to contribute to CHOW...I entered my first 2 weeks ago but have been swamped for the last 2 competitions...wanting to get back into it!

[Stephan_R]

Great stuff, can't wait to see the entries!

In.

[Pixeltuner]

cool, probably won't finish this as well.. but certainly can shove in some sketches/wips
oh btw, what's the policy on the boobfactor in this one since in mermaid-form she is essentially naked?

[Rustveld]

I am so in!

[Senira]

This was one of my favorite fairy tales growing up. The look of horror on my friends' faces when I related to them the REAL ending of Ariel's cheery little tale was priceless.

[Supervlieg]

Im in! > wip

http://www.bolman.nl/cgtalk/chow127.jpg

[daestwen]

cool, probably won't finish this as well.. but certainly can shove in some sketches/wips
oh btw, what's the policy on the boobfactor in this one since in mermaid-form she is essentially naked?

Hypothetically essentially naked, not necessarily. ;)

But I'll leave it up to everyone's discretion.

[Max Martelli]

Very interesting topic, I'm definitely in.

[Slash]

Booooobs!











(i'm in!)

[Aly Fell]

moi aussi!

That's a fab sketch Supervlieg! I'd watch where her body joins the tail, the angle is very abrupt.

Although, I'm unlikely to finish this one as I really want to complete Scheherazade first. First roughs: some mermaidy type poses, including one of her clenching her feet in agony, (playing with feet positions here) as we have to do two for this.

Edit: More sketchy madness... Argh... can't stop! The two poses of 'Mermaid' and 'earth bound' Ariel, plus I thought Ariel being taken by the daughters of the air. And also a pin-up mermaid! Bleh...

[zephyri]

Love the colours on that sketch supervlieg! turquoise and red/orange is always a great combo.

And Posh, damn you, you're always so quick and bloody good! I like all of them, though the one where she's grabbing her feet is perhaps a tad over dramatic for the elegance of the way the tale describes it originally.. the posture brings to mind a young girl who's scraped her knee rather than the unenviable agony of walking on daggers. I think I prefer the last version of the mermaid. love the subtle melancholy of the thing.

[Adele]

niiiiice!

[Clochette]

I think I'll try to make my first entry for this subject... Very interesting. :)

[Hideyoshi]

I have the feeling that this is gonna spawn an enormous amount of (slick!) entries!
Heck, I can't get Ian McCaigs wonderful sketches out of my head which he did for his storytelling DVDs, retelling this classic Andersen tale with space mermaids...
:)
But I don't think I will actually try this...

[MJ_Alcazar]

http://i279.photobucket.com/albums/kk153/Seloh_Eft/scan0018-2.jpg

http://i279.photobucket.com/albums/kk153/Seloh_Eft/scan0016-2.jpg

Obviously, I haven't found a reference for what I was going for. Just sketched this so I'd have a little better idea of what I was doing for the maiden.

Poshspice - lovely sketches
Supervlieg - I'm loving the color scheme

EDIT: Added a sec pic, this one of the mermaid.

[JessiBean]

Oooo... hopefully my life hasn't been swept completely away and I will have power and shit soon so I can play...

Awesome sketches so far, Posh :D

[MJ_Alcazar]

Oh hi Jessibean! I'm glad you're still here. :)

[alesoun]

I'm only going to play if I have time to do trad. gimp crashed on me 3 times today. Pencil, paper and paint don't DO that!

[Slash]

Inspired by the copenhagen harbor sculpture. Just blocking in the body for now, gonna work more on the design tomorrow. I wanna give her fishie features.

Nice sketches Aly!

[DIMAGYAN]

comments:

Supervlieg:great work!

Poshspice:great characters! love the gestures, especialy in the one she is human.

MJ_Alcazar:very nice! that is a very nice figure and face.keep working.lot of improvment.

Slash:good work. in the story she has 15 years old,no? i say this because your mermaid look a bit mature(if im wrong about the age, ignore my comment!)nice figure anyway.

some sketches to feel the character.
trying a variation for the mermaid

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edit 1

working a bit more on the mermaid...not sure about the direction im going(afraid to make a sort of fashion mermaid)im planning to do a concept more than an ilustration. this drawing is very irritating to my eyes at this moment(not a good sign)

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edit 2

working on the human version...nothing original or good...this chow is coming very bad for me...ah anyway...

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edit 3

working some more on the maiden...not too sure about the direction im going...

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cheers

[~baxter]

Hm, Intersting topic. :D

I'm also taking a stab at this one. Going to go for a more playful route on the mermaid, then perhaps darken the tone for the maiden.

Heres the wip on the mermaid so far:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v228/TheSolemnHypnotic/Chow127_Baxter-E_WIP1.jpg

Dimagyan: Nice concept! I was hoping someone would go the direction you are with yours! Looking forward to seeing the final :)

[Slash]

You're right dimagyan, she was 15. But thats not gonna stop me from bending the brief a little and paint some juicy boobage! ;) I'm sure the fish features i plan for her won't fit the brief as described by H.C. Andersen, but i'm just out to have some fun on this one.

[Adele]

well...i was enjoying doodling this at work...ripping her tongue out... suppose to be doing my own stuff....but REALLY suppose to be doing some work I just got given....but couldnt resist having a go at the mermaid.

I'll see if I can do this challenge but I doubt it...weekend busy and week full on...so I might just do this down the track or whenever...have fun everyone.

daestwen here is one character that I would love everyone to interpret Countess Erzsebeth Bathory! Have we done a twisted Alice in Wonderland as a character yet? Or She-Ra but full-on dark styles. :D

[daestwen]

Adele: A better place for your suggestions would be the CHOW suggestion thread. I read it too, you know! ;)

[MJ_Alcazar]

Adele - I like your lines, the sketch as a lot of emotion in it too.

Baxter-E - love the pose!

DIMAGYAN - wow, love the direction, and the sketches are beautiful.

Slash - I love the pose, but like DIMAGYAN said, maybe make her a little younger.

Update on pg.1 Would love feedback.
I'm getting one of my auras, hopefully it's nothing. However, I may have to sit this one out if it does turn out to be bad. :( If something does happen, I'd like to wish everyone luck in advance!

[vineris]

I don't know if I'll have time to finish, but I had fun looking at weird sea creatures.

I decided that wearing high heels would probably feel like walking on knives to someone who didn't even *have* feet last week. :) Also, dealing with sunburn -- a thing you don't have to do in the depths of the ocean.

[WTFsteph]

just some sketches trying to figure out how i want the mermaid version to look in the water.

[maguinness]

first time out. too good to pass up. hope this works, i'm not that web savy.

Poshspice: i love the sketches, can't wait for more.
Slash: great concept. my mind went there first, but i figured someone else would do it.

here's my thoughts for the mermaid part. maiden tomorrow.

not quite happy with face, but after all it is a WIP

http://maguinness.deviantart.com/art/little-mermaid-98084740
http://maguinness.deviantart.com/art/little-mermaid-2-98084875

[Adele]

WTFsteph I know that its only early stages, but i feel her face is a bit too young for the breasts she has...her face there is more child-like than teen. I know some girls develop early, but she looks a bit too close to 10 ???? Otherwise keep up the progress.

maguinness I like the direction your going and the progress on the body...I know you said you are not happy with the face...try and keep the femininity to her face and body.

vineris I like the character (the mermaid) and period of clothing you have chosen.

DIMAGYAN I like the more aquatic direction you are going with...go fins!

Poshspice As everyone else, nice sketches...Id love to see something dynamic in the mermaid poses...you did a great thing with the Harlequin pose...and in alot of your rough sketches. With this character in water, its a great environment to show dynamic poses...more animated...just a thought :) Otherwise, looking forward to the progress.

[Aly Fell]

Adele - I agree, but I don't see The Little Mermaid in the same dramatic context as Harley. TLM is dramatic in a 'woe is me, my feet are a tad sore and I'm such a victim' sort of way, where as Harley hurts people. But I'll see where it goes... :) I could do a 'Free Willy' sort of thing I 'spose...

Zephyri - I have overdone it a bit! ;)

MJAlcazar - Cheers! You're rocking again! On the second one, right now I'm a bit confused as to where the mermaid and the rock join, but I'm sure that's just because there's not colour yet. ANd watch her proportions on the standing one, check the head to body ratio.

Slash - Boobs! Looking very nice indeed. Careful not to make her to 'pin-up', but then again... why not! A bit of an Elvgren vibe might be fun!

DIMAGYAN – She’s fab! Great sketches. Remember she has to pass as human as well.

Baxter-E – Interesting idea with the shoal of fish. The anatomy on her far shoulder is off; looking a bit sloping right now. The composition is exciting too, but something suggests it might look more dynamic if the fish are going from bottom to top in perspective rather than this way.

Adele – I gotta say I’d love Bathory too! However, your sketch is full of life! Ahh blue ColourErase pencils... memories...

Vineris – What a great approach! 1920’s, and some lateral thinking with the concept too. Is this the beginnings of a final image, or character concept ideas?

WTFsteph – Tons of personality in these. Really feel like she’s moving around. :)

Maguinness – Nice sketches. Careful with the tilting back of the head. It works better on the right of the two sketch piece rather than in the one you’re shading. If in doubt find a bit of reference. As you say though... WIP! :)

[DIMAGYAN]

Slash:he, fair enough! waiting to see the fish parts you will add.

Poshspice:thanks! i was thinking in a big dramatic transformation from mermaid to human. trying something diferent for the mermaid, maybe is too dramatic...too much fish? i have to think on this a bit more. thanks for the advice.

some comments:

Baxter:nice work! i like the fishes idea.watch the rigth shoulder.

Adele:good work and design.

vineris:nice concepts. i like the direction you are going with both characters.

WTFsteph:very nice characters.she looks a bit younger, thou.

maguinness:nice sketches, the second is the best one.as poshspice said, watch the tilt of the head.

[Hexokinase]

Pussed out of the last CHOW - it ended up being a lot more difficult than I had anticipated. Hopefully that won't happen again.

465090

Here's mine so far. The design isn't really that original. I decided to omit the nose for her mermaid form (for practical reasons). A few minutes later I realized that 'Fish Police' had already utilized that nose-less design :shrug:

Supervlieg - The palette and stylized anatomy are working nicely. Her face has a very serene grace to it. Watch out for her left cheekbone - it seems a bit too defined. Also, the tip of the nose could be shifted to our right a bit, and a little more pronounced.

Poshspice - Always a fan of your work. For the mermaid thumbs, the 2nd and 3rd work best IMO. With the human thumb, having both legs bent seems to communicate the pain better than having one leg extended - the straight leg makes the pose too 'graceful'...it seems like she's posing for a photo.

MJ Alcazar - With the human piece, the nose and lips don't align with the rest of the face - they should be further to our right and angled a bit closer to a 3/4 view. The head seems a little large for the body and the cheekbones make her seem a lot older than 15. Looking at the legs, she seems oddly off balance in a way. Be sure to draw in the legs, then add the dress later to ensure the anatomy's correct. As of now, the feet don't seem to be on the floor's plane. I think they should be angled so that we see less of the top, and more of the front. Be sure to get references for the feet and hands. The mermaid's design looks pretty good. Pay closer attention to the shape of her right elbow, right deltoid, and right armpit. Also, I think her second ear-fin should be visible from this angle.

Slash - The face and pose are looking great - really pretty. Her mouth might be a tad too low and her jaw a bit too masculine. Her arms look a bit too long as well. Also, the shadow cast by her torso should continue vertically down the 'hips and hit the rock (since her shoulders are closer to us than the 'hips', and the light source is from above).

DIMAGYAN - I'm really liking the hair-fin concept. The face on the center left in the first attachment is much better than the rest - I think it would look great the finished illustration. In the last post, I'm personally not a fan of the amount of contrast between her face and the rest of the head. That frame makes me think 'face-paint', I dunno... I didn't notice before, but my concept also features the darker arms and tail that you've used - sorry about that :S

Baxter-E - Looking good so far. The curvature of her spine seems a bit much IMO. Perhaps pushing the end of the tail further into the background would help (a helical curve seems like less strain than a planar-C curve). The school of fish is working well IMO- great addition of depth really.

Adele - An action scene, that's great :). It adds a whole new level of interest to the piece. Her face is bothering me though - the features seem too demon/vampire-like. Particularly, the pointed ear, thick eyebrows, heavily defined lower eyelid, and fangs together bring about that vampire feeling I'm having. Hope you have time to finish this.

vineris - Both mermaid designs have their ups and downs. The first seems more unique from the waist up. The second has a really great fish half though, and exudes a much stronger feeling of character. Perhaps some hybrid between the two would work best IMO. The human design takes great consideration into the transition from sea to land-life.

WTFsteph - The top and right designs work best IMO (though the bottom one also has a certain charm to it). Watch out for your forearms and wrists - there are some inaccuracies that don't sit well with me. Also, all designs (except the top) the torso feels very gelatinous. Watch out for your ribcages.

maguinness - I'm loving the interaction with the water surface - especially the hair. The second face showed more potential than the third IMO. With all 3, the shape of the chin and interaction with the neck seems problematic. Since you're not happy with the face, why not search for some references to get you going.

Sorry if I forgot anyone :bashful:

[ikuru]

Here are a couple of pics of the little mermaid statue in denmark.
http://bloggbilder.aftonbladet.se/images/4161/img_479883925b3af.jpg
http://www1.vasteras.se/ormen/Copenhagenresan/Fredagen/kerstin%207.JPG

[WTFsteph]

thanks for the crits.
I think i managed to make her look in her teens this time. Still playing around with he hands.

Also included some sketches for the human form. Playing around with the idea of it being when she finds out her prince married the princess.
Might try some dancing poses.

[DecayingLolita]

just done some sketches, this one is going to be hard because so many are going to look the same.

http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b274/Lucretia_the_fallen/mermaid.jpg

http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b274/Lucretia_the_fallen/mermaid3.jpg

Not like I don't have a slight plot-twist in mind.

[monotony]

this is a great topic. I will try to enter this week as well.
just rough sketch so far.
465133

great sketches everyone.

Posh, I like the third one best just in case you're collecting votes or something :D . great sketches anyway.

Supervlieg, very nice start. I love the colors.

Havoc, nice and different design. the face looks good.

[The Whistler]

Nice topic :) I'll see if i can do it and actually finish this time...

And, Posh, stop doing that, you're depressing me ;) So far I like the third and the last sketch, lovely back shot :)

[Slash]

Decayinglolita: when the shoulder is raised like that, it pulls the breast upwards with it. I'd recommend having the breasts follow the shoulder angle more.

[zenichi]

did some sketches, not around scanner. update later.

some ideas and concepts:-
popular media's influence, first thought came to mind... abe sapient...
(edit 1: zephyri, haha, i'm sure the influence of popular media is strong, just that the image is not too appealing, but i cant seems to shake it off, hope i'm not too weird to prefer a abe sapient look-a-like mermaid... gulp)
465243

want to show the two forms together like a card's picture...

one with her free spirited and longing for surface world, doing a back flip like a dolphin... and some ref from women's diving!


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the maiden form will be drowning (in sea of love?) trying to reach for the dagger...
edit1:
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the dagger is in the centre... hmmm a bit out of place...
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[Cup_of_Tea?]

Decaying Lolita - nice start

WTFSteph - much better now, very cute

Adele - scary! Can;t wait to see it coloured.

Baxter E - you have great composition and movement

Poshspice - your ariel is so lovely, I wasnt to give her a cuddle

MJ Alcazar - I see such improvement in your work every week. You are really mastering the costumes and characters. Keep it up!

Here is my attempt. I will spend a little more time on it tonight.

[zenichi]

did some sketches, not around scanner. update later.

some ideas and concepts:-
popular media's influence, first thought came to mind... abe sapient...
465243

want to show the two forms together like a card's picture...

one with her free spirited and longing for surface world, doing a back flip like a dolphin... and some ref from women's diving!

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the maiden form will be drowning (in sea of love?) trying to reach for the dagger...

[Foofea]

Looks like I can't join in - I have a 3500 word assignment to complete by next Wednesday :( though I have been doodling at work and will scan my sketches

All looking good so far

Decaying lolita - i look forward to the plot twst ;)

maguinness - I've had to change the pose - I wanted to do something similar :p

Posh - wow - again

and everyone else great stuff

[zephyri]

Updated my first post with some sketches: POST 11 Sketch update (http://www.conceptart.org/forums/showpost.php?p=1927439&postcount=11)

MJAlcazar: I love the emotion you've managed to get into her female form.. I think perhaps the leg that's not bent could do with being a tad longer. The mermaid is looking good too, nice work on the torso. Watch the arm around the elbow area... the way the forms overlap is a bit 'squidgey' for want of a better word.

Slash: nice work so far.. body is looking nicely solid, I'd love to see some kind of hint of the fin part of her tail curling up behind her.

Dimagyan: The most unusual looking mermaid so far.. the facial sketch where she has her eyes downcast gives a lovely sense of character.

Baxter E: great lines in that sketch, reinforces the fun feeling, and you could have some fun with the colours in it too.

Adele: your mermaid is looking very fierce at the moment.. might not be totally in keeping with the HCA version of the tale, but I like the style a lot.

Vineris: love the lionfish influences on the mermaid design, and the idea of going for a 30's maiden is certainly interesting though she looks a little happy in the middle sketch.

WTFsteph: Love the character in these sketches, so cute! And no mistaking the fact she's young either which is great. Of the maiden sketches I like the one with her eyes closed at the top best.. it's the most serenely elegant of the lot. Accepting of the fate she's condemned herself to.

maguinness: love the posture of her.. I think you're right about the face.. perhaps the whole silhouette is a bit flat along the edge.. like the nose would perhaps poke out more than you have it there? might help to look up some ref at this point as Posh says.. thats a really tough angle to work out in your head. Nice to see the oysters in there too.

Havoc: Love the attitude she has as a mermaid.. it'd be wonderful to see that countered by the uncertainty and pain she endures as a maiden.

Decaying lolita: Lovely lines in the sketch so far I adore the curviness you've got into her lower half. and the muted blues are looking great so far.

Monotony: Great idea to show them side by side like that.. damn, wish I'd thought of that! I think you could push their body language a little more to show the differences in the two states of being for her... how unnatural having legs might feel to her after being so fluid with a tail for so long etc etc.

Zenichi: glad I wasn't the only one who thought of Abe Sapien straight off the bat.

And Posh: not necessarily over done, just a tweak to the lean of the body and the arch of the head would solve it. I really like the bottom half with her legs tucked in.

[DefiledVisions]

my sketch.. Want something like this, the two versions of her watching each other, longing for something...

Beautiful sketches Zephyri :)

[bitjockey]

Hello all. I've never done a CHOW before but I just couldn't resist this topic.

So here's what I got while I was doodling yesterday trying to come up with a design. Still both very much subject to change.

http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b73/resident_bishounen/chowMermaid_01.jpg

[DecayingLolita]

http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b274/Lucretia_the_fallen/mermaid5-1.jpg

Slash: Yea, I noticed that when i started to colour, thanks for mentioning it :D

Cup of Tea: Nice dynamic angle there.

Foofea: pity about the assignment, maybe next time eh.

Zephyri: yea my 2 main things were the curves and the colours... colours aren't quite what I had in mind just yet though... that's going to take another pass.

Defiled visions: I really like the idea of both in one picture.

Posh: you're still a machine!

[dirkvandulmen]

Cool topic! Here's my quick sketch... started this one digital, gonna climb in my pencil also and make a graphic inked pencil version of her. I'm gonna try and post my process for this one. Enjoy.

[KleeWyck]

my pencil musings so far... can't think beyond the generic mermaid unfortunately.

[The Whistler]

Joining the fun. Sea and stormy sky should go behind, I'll work in the details on the mermaid form and the clothing later

EDIT> Here's progress on the mermaid form, I'm making her a red lionfish, the flowers in her hair are mermaid roses...

EDIT> something how BG should look like...

EDIT> Rendering...

[Slash]

Progress..

[ccsears]

this is (supposed to be) the mermaid after she has drunken the sea witch's potion which turns her into a human...

a good chance to do a "figure-as-landscape-approach";

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[Clochette]

Character test...
You guys get some very good sketches already!

Thanks for the photo ref.

[tmyohlaing]

Some sketches.

[mairuku]

Wow these are looking fantastic! These are so inspirational. I definitely want to get started on a character design as well...

[Carnifex]

sketches...have to work out good poses and a colourscheme.

slash - damn you got your proportions down! did you use reference? i feel like i could grasp out to her.
clochette - love the vibes i get from these pics. the one with her washing her hair (?) is especially funny.

edit: i highly recommend taking a look at this thread (http://www.conceptart.org/forums/showthread.php?t=100743). possibly my main inspiration so far.

[katinki]

hello chow people!
this is my first try at participating at chow... lett me know if i do something wrong!

i tried to make the mermaid form wild, fishy and free (since the describtion of rites of passages with attatching oysters etc) versus the maiden form biedermeier-y / bourgeois as a reference to andersen's own time and his moralizing tale.
both are rather boring plain views on the character i didn't dare to try doing full blown illustrations this time, i hope that's ok, too.
still much work ahead of me...


carnifex i like your mermaid design! very fantastical! the maiden version is interesting but looks a bit elvish or so not like a real human. dunno if that's a prob. and thank you for the great link - that's beautiful!

tmyohlaing nice flowing sketches! i think there is a problem with the head of the one to the right.

clochette great style! so much fun to look at!

ccsears that looks truly like figure as a landscape! i look forward to see this finished!

slash wow - that's pretty realistic! and i like the fish elements you included. something bothers me about the light on her left boob.

the whistler i love how you incorporate both versions in one piece - this solution looks beautiful!

[Hexokinase]

Update :teeth:

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The human form is only a thumb for now. Not too sure if I'll commit to the pose. Her legs below the knees will be stained red, and the swords are intended as graphical symbols, rather than literal swords. Her skin will be pale - almost sickly pale.

[mcmatz]

Project Gutenberg "The Mermaid" with Edmund Dulac color illustrations available here. (http://www.gutenberg.org/files/17860/17860-h/17860-h.htm) It's down the page a bit.

This is great, I have the Dulac's work, all the great stuff here and Donato's "The Golden Rose" all swirling in my head.

How am I supposed to summon up any originality!!!!
(gently sobs onto her wacom...)

--Madeline

[Slash]

More progress.. Starting the colors, still very rough, the fish tail is close to how i want it tho, colorwise.

Carni: yeah, i've used reference, but i've taken some liberties with it, using it only as a base for the anatomy, pose and lighting.

Thanks to everyone who have commented! I appreciate it greatly. I will take the time to give feedback later.

[petitemistress]

Alright crit and update tiems!

zephyri - DOOD. i. am. in LOVE with how much subtlety and character your mermaid sketches have!!! JALEOUS!! :D <3 the thoughtful mermaid inthe borrom right corner ees mai faaave!

Supervlieg very nice choice of colors and stylisation! im looking forward to your update!

Poshspice - second sketch is so win, I weep. 5th also, so im glad you're going with that one :D stop being so awsm dammit!! >< :P

MJ_Alcazar - good start! on the mermaid sketch, i cant really tell where she ends and the reef starts! and watch those faces! ^^

Slash - you has a gorgeous <3 but i do second robert on the ear! she looks so real and happy, ct wait to see wut happens with the human form! also looking fwd to colors on that one!

DIMAGYAN - very interesting design overall, but tbh the plain ol' tail kinda ruins it. make some of the design flow, and some of it rigid, its more interesting, look at goldfish! (for the fin on her haid for examply) its a biot too rigid right now... (i might suffer from the reverse of your problem ;P)

Baxter-E - not too fond of the way those arms attach to the torso/shoulder, have you reffed your pose?

Adele - so dynamic! love the expression! pers preference: id make those arms longer...

Vineris - love the original design and 50's feel! push it moar! :D it needs some fleshing out, but its still the design phase im guessing, so ill wait for further updates...

WTFSteph - im gonna tread on Slash's turf here and say watch how you're attaching the boobs to the torso! and the shoulder/hips ratio as well! lovely adorable faces, tho <3 also "human" form looks like an alltogether diffrent person, mind the likeness!

maguinness - love the torso, not so much the face... lighting will be very interesting in this, looking fwd to it! I would curve the tail more tho like in your first sketch... so fluid! <3

Havoc-DM - noice design dude! she doesnt look as innocent as Andersen described tho? just throwing it out there :D

DecayingLolita - idk aboutthat green on the bottom bu im loving how pale she is... <3 nice contrast


monotony - like the composition! (cross) mermaid's shoulders are a bit broad tho, methinks?

zenichi - i liked the mermaid sketch with a bit of perspective (in the second to last page) more than the pose you chose... awr well :(

Cup_of_Tea? - the hair needs more volume away from the cranium, idk if im being clear at all lol... also the transition between body/fishtail seems a bit... harsh/off? im not too sre on this one...

DefiledVisions - i am LOVING this loose sketch!! cant wait to see where you take it!

bitjockey - good start, ill hold comments till you update with more! :D

dirkvandulmen - nice! yellow/green contrast = <3! but wheres the innocence? ;-;

KleeWyck torso seems a bit... long and masculine? on this mermaid. ._.
the composition is a good idea tho!

The Whistler - nice composition! :D one thing tho: there is no weight in that mermaid: her ass doesnt seem to be affected or leaning on the rock at all!

ccsears - original! waiting to see where you take it! :D

Clochette - <3 <3 <3 :heart: I LOVE THEM!! so playful and adorable!! faves: one furthest up and the one all the way down :D

tmyohlaing - i like your sketching style a lot! my fav is the one in the middle, tho id bend her more!

Carnifex - love the mermaid design!! and the maiden's face! :D

katinki - smthg is def off about that mermaid's torso... lovely clothes thumbnails!

mcmatz - JUST DO EET!! :D

PHEW

and now for my lousy update: heads up: haet the face, will change it. :D also the thing on her head is a little lantern like those lantern fishies, since well she lives in te deepest cornes of the sea, girl needs her flashlight, right? ;)
sketch can be found in my sb :D

[fuuryoku]

Okees, here's a drawing of her Merform. We'll see if I get a human version and a paint out by the deadline. Love the topic though. :)

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[ccsears]

more chow wip... pretty much only using a "square chalk" brush in painter on this. did the drawing with "dirty marker" though. basically trying to keep layering to an absolute minimum and paint as directly as possible.

it looks a little too pink right now, but that should be easy to fix. probably a calibration thing with my screens.

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[iuvo]

If you search for "underwater" or Mermaid" on flickr.com, there are lots of pictures of people swimming underwater for inspiration for colours and poses..

Here's what I got so far..

My inspiration came from these quotes:

..the youngest was the prettiest of them all; her skin was as clear and delicate as a rose-leaf, and her eyes as blue as the deepest sea; but, like all the others, she had no feet, and her body ended in a fish’s tail.

One arranged her flower-bed into the form of a whale (...) but that of the youngest was round like the sun, and contained flowers as red as his rays at sunset (...) she cared for nothing but her pretty red flowers, like the sun, excepting a beautiful marble statue. It was the representation of a handsome boy, carved out of pure white stone...

(...) but she had no clothes, so she wrapped herself in her long, thick hair.

[LA-Fairy]

What wonderful sketches and ideas!

I totally want to enter this, I have two questions though.
Can the mermaid piece and human piece be in one canvas, or does it have to be two singles?
And what is the size of the canvas for our entry? I looked through the info and couldn't find anything.

Thanks in advance.

[monotony]

wow there will be lots of entries once again.

ccsears - wow this will be a great one. think the format of it is very good.

clochette - aww adorable. the one with hands in her hair and with legs and tail variation is specially cute.

slash - youor coloring on the tail is very nice. looks a bit to saturated on the face maybe. cool design on the arms as well!

petite - thanks. your ideas are great. the lantern and the long tail are great.

katinki - wow, faces and hair on you figures look great.

fuuryoku - great sketch. the tail is so different. nice

zephyri - thanks for the tips! I will try to work on the bodylanguage, definately a good idea. and your sketches look awesome already.

ok wip no.2
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[Clochette]

I am not at all a specialist of CHOW but I think we have to make one single picture, maybe you can split in in 2 if you need... ?
And no idea about the size, the rules tell "not too big not too small", try to see the others pic to have an idea. (I think not exceed a screen size...)

Edit : Monotony, Petite and Carniflex : Thank you so much for the feed back guys! ^^

[Supervlieg]

Thanks for the feedback so far guys, keep it coming!

Ive added the second pose/char to the composition. I didnt even realize we had to do the second pose untill I saw posh' sketches. So thanks for that. Id like to weld the two poses together in a sort of dreamlike state. Like the mermaid is almost seeing her future while she holds the potion.

http://www.bolman.nl/cgtalk/chow127_2.jpg

[Supervlieg]

zephyri: great sketches, love the big one, i really dig the style and expression.

Poshspice: love the composition on the top right and bottom left of the four pics. I really love the loose style of your lines. And the catch of the day is my fave, but probably a bit out there for this theme. Im not to sure about the girl sitting by the water. She looks a bit too much like a girl who's just sitting there, she's doesnt really have the regal grace about her posture that the mermaid pics have. If that makes any sense at all ;)

Slash: Looks great. Maybe the colors are a bit to saturated now, but Im sure you'll get round to that.

dimagyan: Nice, I like the different approach. I would like to see how that translates to the "human" version

baxter-e: nice one. I like the composition with the fish. The tail of the mermaid seems a bit flat though.

Adele: Great style! Update with colors please :)

vineris: Nice design, maybe its a good idea to bring over some details from the mermaid to the human. Like making the pattern return on the clothes.

WTFsteph: I prefer the top left one of your first batch. I also like how she shared the expression with your avatar ;). The second update kinda lost the playfullness of the first one. And I think its mainly in the pose.

maguinness: I like the pose, and your right about the face. I think moving her right eye a bit to the left and down will help. Im not sure about the position of the right hand. It almost looks like her arm is bend a bit too far.

Havoc-DM: Thanks for the tips. I love the pose on the mermaid. Although I would have to say she looks very mean with that expression. The human version is perhaps a bit boyish. Could be the angry look again ;)

Decayinglolita: Nice update on the colors. Any plans for the human yet?

monotony: The face of the mermaid is very manly right now. Try rounding out her jaw to make her more feminin. Also the feet of the human are maybe a bit big. I would love to see the colors!

Zenichi: I like the more extreme pose best (bottom picture). Maybe you can make it even more extreme.

Cup of tea: Nice pose, but need to see more!

DefiledVisions: Nice composition. Now lets see more!

bitjockey: need to see more!

dirkvandulmen: Goed begin, leuke stijl. Ben benieuwd naar het vervolg!

Kleewyck: Good start. Perhaps the face of the mermaid could be more feminin

The whistler: need to see more!

ccsears: Nice pose, I like the horizontal approach!

clochette: I love the two little mermaid on the right side. Theyre so posh!

tmyohlaing: I like the top-middle and right ones best. There the most dynamic. Perhaps the middle one is the most gracious of the two. Especially since she's royalty and all.

Carnifex: Nice different approach. Maybe the mermaid could be a bit more handsome, her face is perhaps a bit "fishy".

katinki: Nice start, gotta love the red hair ;). I love how she seems very grounded in her time. Maybe the mermaid pose can be a bit more extreme

petitemistress: Nice start. I think you can do a bit more with such a long tail. It kinda begs to be more curly. right now its maybe a bit too static.

fuuryoku: Nice job on the tail. The left arm doesnt really seem to be involved with the movement though. Those eyes are a bit scary!

iuvo: Nice colors. I really like it from the torso up, the rest of her body needs more work. Her tail-area seems folded and her fin needs a bir of work on the shape. Im not to sure about the guy in the background. Maybe you can merge him a bit more into the background.

[DHTenshi]

Here's my try, can I use clamshell's or something to use on top of her breast?,
because they do that in the disney version, and I wanna make it to the poll :P
Hope i have time for this one

Posh's sketches own, they look so natural.
Slash's WIP seems pretty realistic and cool.
I really like Katinki's style.

Not much time for crits, but who could want my crits anyways :P

[JessiBean]

So... gonna TRY to finish this week, barring any more natural disasters...
Sketches for now, more soon... feeling very Waterhousey this week.

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Edit - some greyscale painting, still noodling. Comments and such soon...

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[~baxter]

Thanks for the C&C everyone. :)

Posh: Good call on the swap on the fish. Definitely looks better than the original setup. :D

petitemistress: Unfortunatly no, started this one w/o ref after searching for a bit.

Not much to said other than whats beens already said, diggin a lot of the entries!

Got a bit exicted about color and got ahead of myself throwing in some color and values before cleaning up all the linework. :X

[Jason Strutz]

some initial sketches, flowy fin cuffs, removed the waist, put in some gills. ill add something more finished up later, as well as more human versions.

[ccsears]

checked to see what a reflection would look like... i kind of like it. need to save doing this for last though.

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more work.

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more work. i need a boob model, haha. very difficult to do a pose like this from imagination halfway decently. gravity affects flesh in ways that are hard to visualize unless you've just drawn a bunch of similar poses. i just did a pose similar to this from a slightly different angle, but she was wearing a bikini which supports things differently.

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whatever. back to work.

[Hexokinase]

Quick update I'm playing around with. Tried making her less sinister, but I'm not sure which version I like better. Also not sure if I'll keep the two 'x'ed arms in version B.

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[DidiHer]

Hi..
I have been watching and enjoying this forum for over a year...
I will try to get involved now... :D

So this is my first sketch... not so good but.. still in progress...

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Great Sketches so far!!

[zephyri]

Posh: now you're just showing off... eheheh. Love the two greyed in pics. And the pin up is classic posh - you should do that anyway!

Defiled Visions: the rough ahs some nice promise.. Love the idea of having them almost interacting through the water, very fitting!

bitjockey: the mermaid's looking unique at the moment.. would be great to see it done bigger and really fleshed out with details. Liking the skirt design on the right too. Watch your proportions on the human figure though, she's looking a little big-headed!


Decaying Lolita: I really like the coolness of it and her paleness offset by that... defintiely makes her feel more ethereal.

dirkvandulmen: interesting style, and I really love the colour combo of that mucky orange with the greens of her hair and the water. Only nitpick I'd have with it is she doesn't look that young and innocent, but these things are open to interpretation!

Kleewyck: eheh nothing wrong with cliches and yours isn't looking THAT cliche... like the 'ears and the way you've got more texture on her torso too, and that mass of curly hair is definitely unique!

Whistler... Love the composition... can't wait to see it fleshed out!

Slash: really loving those bright clours on her, and the personality you've given her in the face. I just adore those ears, they're awesome!

CCSears: Really loving your approach to this and the colours are gorgeous. Are you using any ref thus far? How are you gonna tackle the human version of her?

Clochette: great personality in her! I adore the second one in on the top where she's bending over, that facial expression is just so cute!

tmyohlaing: Liking the bottom one on the rock so far... she has a great sense of being lost in thought, but the one on the right could be more unusual.

Carni: Thanks for that link.. I'd been hunting for the artist who'd done that carousel piece forever! The mermaid is looking neat so far.. unmistakably fishy.. and I really like how you've incorporated her same kind of silhouette into her human form too.

Katinki: Beautiful linework and continuity between the two figures with the hair. Can't wait to see that done a little more.

Havoc: Still digging the mermaid! The human version doesn't really seem to have much correlation with her fishy counterpart though. Still just a thumb though, so see where you take it!

Petitemistress: Thank you! Eheh the angler fish thing crossed my mind once or twice, nice to see someone went with it. Her fin deisng is pretty meat too... not so mad on the hair at the minute though, would love to see a little more refinement in that.

fuuryoku: she\s got quite the charm about her.. love the more aquatic features but not being too alien and the eel tail is a great touch!

iuvo: Lovely colours on that sketch so far... and she has a nice innocence about her with the facial expression. I'd maybe think about looking at a little ref for her body as her boobs seem to be very high and very perky in comparison with the length of her torso. Her hair's gorgeous though, great job on making it seem thick.

Supervlieg: Nice way of getting the two images to connect and having her clinging to a tree for support actually works surprisingly well!


DHTenshi: Love the close up version of her thinking... thats really nice! and the more triabl aspect of her markings in an unusual take on it too.

Jessi: Man I love your sketches. And you do interaction better than any artist I know... every time you intertwine bodies it looks enviably natural. Any plans to finish the last Chow, cause I absolutely adored the direction you were going with that piece.

Jason Strutz: nice sketches so far... really liking the bottom right, her hair is brilliant!

man.. *dies* commenting takes a looong time.
I've update my own sketches back on page 1 for anyone curious.

[ccsears]

hopefully i'll get this done this week. i'm lucky enough to have a lot of dead time on my hands. spraypainting a small figure and literally waiting for paint to dry gives me time to spend on this.

zephyri... glad you reminded me since i didn't pay too much attention to the brief. i accidently overlooked the fine print and jump into the story. (but i was a good boy and did read the story synopsis.) i had tossed about ideas of showing her mid-transformation, but i think it will probably be suggested by her reflection in the thin layer of water on the sand.

i'm sure everyone will have different opinions on her design... you know, whether to have pointy ears turn to human ears, how to give her a new costume, etc. for what little my opinion may be worth, i prefer to show her in a dramatic moment, lying unconscious on the beach with an empty vial. from my perspective it's more evocative.

i'm deliberately not looking at stuff i like right now--alma-tadema, waterhouse, the romantics, etc. i've got a vague mental image of the palette they use, and i want to explore it and make my own mistakes with those ideas.

i'm using no reference for this. (i might take a shot or two of my hands since those are always tricky). i did draw a similar pose about 2 weeks ago at a life drawing session in downtown LA, but it was from a higher, more 3/4 angle and she was wearing a gorilla mask and a bikini (don't ask...it's a long story...). occasionally i'll pose for myself just to figure out which forms overlap each other and maybe a little gesture or some weight-bearing issues, but mostly it's for ideas rather than literal reference. i'm going through a phase where i'd rather work from imagination and a composition perspective as much as possible.

anyway. i don't want to carry on and on any further about my own crap. suffice it to say that i wanted to do something painterly because i didn't enjoy working so "tight" in black and white and then trying to "colorize" my work like i did last week. i work better if i manage to stay loose--which is pretty tricky these days.

[zephyri]

Thanks for the indepth reply, always great to hear how other work. I only asked of ref as you have a great handle on the anatomy so far, should have guessed there'd be life drawing involved. Having her human version as a reflection would be a brilliant way to incorporate it, not to mention all the subtle symbolism you'd get from that. And I struggle myself with exactly how to redesign the idea.. especially when it's such a classic as this, so nice to hear some thoughts on that too.

[alesoun]

Meh! If I didn't like you all so much I'd hate you all for your abilities!
ccsears? Gorilla mask and bikini?

I'm asking! You telling?

[Hexokinase]

Meh! If I didn't like you all so much I'd hate you all for your abilities!
ccsears? Gorilla mask and bikini?

I'm asking! You telling?

They're really great. You can see his studies in chris' sketchbook (http://www.conceptart.org/forums/showthread.php?t=100297&page=20).

[alesoun]

I LOVE it! I had this horrible image of Sea Monkeys! lol!

[ccsears]

the short version is...

a friend of mine in Wisconsin who doesn't draw but hangs out on teh internets way too much sent me a link to an article for this gallery that's sponsoring life drawing at a certain bar on saturday afternoons. the twist is that the girls would be wearing various gorilla and monkey masks. to me, that sounded kind of fun, but what sealed the deal was the suggestion that Shepard Fairey occasionally DJ's at the bar during the week.

(for those who don't know... Shepard Fairey is the artist responsible for the world-wide OBEY street art campaign... i'm sure you've seen them in your neck of the woods too--those Andre the Giant images.)

anyway, something kinda corny sounded like a good way to blow off some stress. and, besides, i'm a poor and struggling schmuck of an artist these days so the opportunity to do some drawing and get in a group show sounded good to me. i can't say i dig everyone's work there, but it's nice to be in a more laid-back, less academic vibe. 25$ for too much neo-classical revival can be a bit of a turn-off for me at times...especially when it's handled the wrong way. (but i'm a moody bastard, so that's along rant that has no place here) the junk that i did is in my SB thread over the last 3-4 weeks or so. i'm hoping to get a painting out of those drawings in time for the group show in november.

turns out the bar is a pretty seedy mexican dive bar during most days, but artists and punk rock afficionados hijack it various nights, and that sounds cool to me.

i don't want to advertise it too much because it's pretty low key and i like it that way. if you're in LA and of legal bar age, you can probably put the pieces together here and figure it out.

[chaosrocks]

i made a mirmayde.. doesn't feel much lik e"this" mirmaid

but
i haz made a mayde

[Dreoilin]

I actually have something to post!! (and at the beginning of the week no less). It's not real original, but my goal is strictly to actually finish this one. (it's been waaaay too long since I've managed to do that much).

Also, awesome work so far everyone- I've seen some really awesome stuff!

ETA: Thanks to everybody who gave me crits! The general consensus was that she looked like a man :\ so hopefully that's been fixed. I had been toying with the idea of trying to make her breasts look less human, or even not giving her any at all (because why does a mermaid really need breasts?) but I'm thinking now that's not a good idea.

[Venger]

Ok quick sketch - this might be one I revisit or post in the CHOW revisit section.
Work get's in the way - I do have the 'human' version but I've got to work it out properly.

Don't want her to be fully human (just to look similar) - you can see the head sketch for what I'm after.
Abe sapien/Creature from the black lagoon influenced with lots of fish too!


I've just noticed DidiHer has a similar pose - ah well can't be bothered to change it now :)

Ok got the Maid done, now to finish the Mer :)

Added close up of head - sad :(

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[DidiHer]

I've just noticed DidiHer has a similar pose - ah well can't be bothered to change it now :)

Hey ^^
The poses are similars but not the concepts... So there is no problems at all, i just post before you :P

I was looking to all the sketches... and to be a very classical theme ¡n art (mermaids) there is so much imagination going on here... i am amazed!!!.
I think this CHOW will turn out fantastic, with much to choose from.

Cheers!

[Max Martelli]

Nice sketches everybody.

Venger, I really like the concept.

I was going for something similar to this but not to the extreme that you are taking it. A little (alot) less fishy.

I can't wait to see what yours looks like finished.

Here is the process I've gone through so far for both poses, more so on the mermaid pose. The other one needs some more work.

I'll update when I have more progress.

Enjoy and good luck.

[daestwen]

Max, just a head's up (and everyone else might want to note this, too!):

Design is important this round, so a naked girl on the floor isn't going to pass. I can't even see her face! I understand if you guys want to do illustration, but i still need to *see* her. ;)

[KleeWyck]

petitemistress, you're right. i tried to make her torso elongated. i don't know but that's what i think of when i think of fish design (though that's just stereotypical). anyways thanks for pointing out the masculinity. i happen to not be very good at depicting females, so this is good practice for me. thank you!

Supervlieg, thanks! i'll try to work on the face more.

thank you zephyri! it's probably all been done before by someone somewhere but i am glad it isn't as bad as i imagined.

sorry if i missed anyone, i kinda just skimmed through the thread.
i feel rude that i am not commenting on anyone's images, but i always feel rushed and running out of time. however i will comment tomorrow when i am not so rushed.

anyhow progress
for this one i was thinking of the knife falling from the human mermaid's hands and how the knife looks like it is about to "cut" through the fish mermaid's legs... or something.
i need to work on those feet more. eheh.

[DHTenshi]

JessiBean: Love your sketches, and the greyscale is looking pretty good, giving the scene a dark feeling.

Baxter-E: I dunno, maybe I'm wrong, but I think you are painting the BG too
white, unless what you're painting for a BG isn't under the sea, then, forget it :P

Jason Strutz: really cool sketches, I wonder which one will be the lucky to be used for this one.

ccsears: Man, that looks gorgeous, and adding it the reflection makes it look really good.

Havoc-DM: That looks amazingly cool! I dunno, I like both of them, it's up to
you, as it has always been :P. I love the design, not with human face, and more fishy :P.

DidiHer: Nice one, although isn't her a little too mature? She is like 15 years old (at least that's what I understood of the article in Wikipedia), but meh
it's your drawing not mine ;)

chaosrocks: I like the design, wanna see the finished one.

f o x: Cool sketch, but doesn't it look a little too... manly? The chest is too big, and made in a manly way, dunno how to explain it... u_u

Venger: The most un-human design o.o, I really like it, but I like her to be more
human thou

Max Martelli: Great movement on the mermaid form, and about the other one
well, you heard daestwen

Well, my 1st WIP, lemme know what you think C&C always welcome! and appreciated!

[Aly Fell]

Posh: now you're just showing off... eheheh. Love the two greyed in pics. And the pin up is classic posh - you should do that anyway!

Heh! I will. I just got a head of steam up after work yesterday, about 3 coffee's in a row helped!

Yours is looking stunning BTW. I'm getting a real art nouveau feel with the flourishes on the hair. Those two little leaves on the top of her head look a bit like ears... maybe smalleren (!) them a bit.

[Vorace]

it will be a kickass round! already some awesome works

it's almost 3 am here... but I could not resist the boob-call haha

fast sketch before sleep : trash/punk/weirdo mermaid

[ccsears]

since there needs to be two designs, i'm probably leaning towards doing this...

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i kind of preferred the more extreme wide shot, but this could work out decently. she falls asleep drinking the sea witch's potion and dreams of marrying the prince.

[JessiBean]

ccsears - I might recommend rethinking your color scheme on the mermaid - those are Ariel colors, don't seem right in a logical sense (Ariel's carpet never matched her drapes, which is silly for a mermaid, I think, and always kinda bugged me anyway) She can be just as hot and have a scale/skin color theme going that isn't green + redhead.
:teeth:

[ccsears]

jessibean i'm not sure what carpet matching the drapes means...
unless... oh, wait...
really?
you've seen Ariel's "carpet?"

in my defense, i am trying to use red (actually it would be more like alizarin crimson in this case) and green (again, probably more like viridian) deliberately because that's the palette i'm interested in exploring at the moment. with that kind of limited complementary palette you can get a very interesting range of colors, fleshtones, accents, etc. most of the rest of my image could be painted traditionally with maybe a little yellow ochre, white and black. in fact, i think it would be fun to paint this picture with that palette.

furthermore, an acquaintance of mine, Shelly Wan, also used the same color scheme... i could

(apologies, shelly, for dragging your awesome work through this...)
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an interesting side note, i've seen shelly do some underpaintings in crimson during a few sunday morning painting sessions, and they kind of lend a warm red glow throughout her paintings. i like them a lot. she has a small gallery at the top of the CA.org page, but you should check out her blog

http://shellywan.blogspot.com

as i've said in earlier posts, i'm taking a very illustration-ish approach to this one. i.e. you can write a sentence about the image ("the mermaid princess drank the sea witch's potion and fell asleep on the beach, dreaming of marrying the prince.") it is a "classic" or "generic" color scheme depending on how you look at it.

[tomwaits4noman]

another great chow gone till Sunday so will be skipping this one
don't have time to look through every piece so the of the ones I've seen....

zephyri love the designs especially the first one the far left image it has a nice balance of human and mermaid


Supervlieg love the facial detail and loosen of the piece so far, the only thing is you could push the hour glass figure might make it a bit cartoony though

Posh great sketches, I really like the 5th one, the subtle expression the pose. for some reason I think it works best when she is facing right.

MJ I think the pose is a bit stiff on the mermaid, remember if the arm is supporting her weight then it will be slightly bent, try drawing the action using arches and curves then building up the form, - but that said your progress with each chow is great, always enjoy seeing your final pieces


Slash nice start the only thing is for the length of her tail the water seems too swallow, imo having her at sea would be more dramatic

DIMAGYAN nice sketches like the way you blended fish and human

Baxter-E nice though watch the lower arm, the way it joins to the body is very stiff

Adele she looks like a were maid, very cool.....


second Elizabeth Bathrory - would be great for October or Halloween,
I think a dark Alice in wonderland has gotten a bit cliche with the computer game, Tim Burton doing a version and Jan Svankjamer's Alice - that version is well worth seeing

vineris nice sketches like the 1920's twist

WTFsteph love the sketches but she seems very young for a body like that.... Its Ellen Page vibe all over again

maguinness very cool may curve the tail

Havoc-DM love the facial expression arms seem a little stiff at moment

DecayingLolita very nice design and colours

monotony the anatomy on the mermaid seems off she looks like she is leaning forward but its not clear its squashing the body a bit, look for some photo reference for the poses

zenichi nice sketches looking forward to your wip

Cup_of_Tea? nice sketch but I think you need to work on build up the form and structure before you flesh out the image

the arm need us is a bit chunky it should curver more to meet the hand also you need to reference pose especially around the stomach area it would follow the arch of the rib cage

DefiledVisions like the mermaid sketch the inside arm seems a little long though imo

bitjockey nice mermaid design

dirkvandulmen cool really like the design

KleeWyck like the sketches

The Whistler looking forward to seeing more sketches and wip

[DecayingLolita]

http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b274/Lucretia_the_fallen/mermaid6.jpg

this is hurting...hand cramps lol. somehow it looks a bit off to me with the colours. But everyone draws mermaids with red hair. Also her arm has gone wonky, grr.

http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b274/Lucretia_the_fallen/mermaid7.jpg

[The Whistler]

Thanks a lot for the crits guys, you're being really helpful i pushing me forward to finish :)

update post 60 (http://www.conceptart.org/forums/showpost.php?p=1928734&postcount=60)

[DigitallyDumbfounded]

I love love LOVE this topic. Does anyone know that old er, Czech (?) movie based on the story?
I watched that when I was 9 or so and it really left a strong impression. And still makes me cry. So I was fiddling with showing her on the ship, about to jump of and transforming into sea foam and dying and... ah, so sad. But I couldn't make the composition work and so here we go with the mermaid version, swimming up to the surface. Have trouble with her hand. :(

Anyway. Didn't want to bump the #125 thread so I'll thank everyone for their crits here. I know I need to polish my pieces more. I have problems with that and it makes me feel pretty stupid. D: It's jsut that I keep blending and it still looks bad.

Okay,
crits:

Chaosrocks: Wheee! Great dynamic pose. and you think you don't progress... Tsk. Her neck seems too long and probably you could tilt her head a little, so we see the underside of her chin more.

Fox: Hey, nice angle and foreshortening. Just looks a little male?

Venger: Oh, I like showing the transformation

Max Martelli:On your first concept I like the bigger tale better. The shadow on her shoulder makes it look flat and the transition to her arm hard to read.

Kleewyck: I like this. I just wonder if the clothes are supposed to look modern. Well they do to me. But the expressionis heartbreaking.

DHTenshi: sweet colors! Her tale looks real big on the upper part right now.

Vorace: Woohoo. ...er. Cool design. She just reminds me a little more of dragon than mermaid actually. :3

ccesars: Very smooth style. Like the idea with the "mirror".

DecayingLolita: Watch out for her neck there, maybe the hair is obscuring a little too much of it to show the transition properly. At first I thought she was looking backwards over her shoulder (like, with her back turned towards us).
Sorry, I can't really point out what's wrong, might also be the angle of her shoulder. Hope that helps. :)



Update. Now has sinking ship. Might change the hand again because I don't really want to include the prince, so she now reaches out to nothing. Bleh.

[DidiHer]

DidiHer: Nice one, although isn't her a little too mature? She is like 15 years old (at least that's what I understood of the article in Wikipedia), but meh
it's your drawing not mine ;)


I dont have any THANKS buton. So Thank you DHTenshi!!! You have an excellent point there. I will try to make her younguer in the painting proces, and i will have that in mind for the human sketch. :D

Cheers!

[daestwen]

as i've said in earlier posts, i'm taking a very illustration-ish approach to this one. i.e. you can write a sentence about the image ("the mermaid princess drank the sea witch's potion and fell asleep on the beach, dreaming of marrying the prince.") it is a "classic" or "generic" color scheme depending on how you look at it.

And this is fair.

However,

In the Brief it does say to lean away from the Disney version, and right now the only thing that is different (for your image) is the style. I'm pretty sure Ariel even had a pink dress!

Even putting a little colour variation in the fish-tail would solve this for you.

Most fish aren't just one colour anyway!


But to make this clear, these are the designs I'm not looking for, and if your's is too close, you have a chance to get cut:

[Cup_of_Tea?]

Hey, I just spent my lunch break trying to tidy up the mermaid sketch; what do you think? better?
And I started my girl sketch.
Trying to go for a melancholy feel. I know I have a few anatomical issues still to iron out, and I could do with some detailing for the story, but I'll sort this and start the colouring over the next couple of days.

And I need to make girl look more like mermaid....or mermaid look more fish-like

[Senira]

I guess I'm the only one who decided to be boring and do a turnaround. But I need a couple of these for my portfolio, so what the hey.

EDIT: Here's my start of the values for the turnaround. It needs more shadows, definitely. I have a tendency to avoid extreme darks at this stage, which is bad, because the contrast is completely off when I start pulling in highlights.

chlochette-- Hopefully her face is a bit easier to understand now. I'm not sure if I like the pointiness to her cheekbones, though. It looked interesting in the sketch, but I think it might be making her look elderly. And, yes, the spiky things are all shells. Goose Barnacles to be exact, but basically the same thing. :)

I'm trying to work some of Flaviano Armentaro's (http://flavianoarmentaro.blogspot.com/) style into this, because I love love love his stuff. It's difficult, though, because in my mind I keep seeing the final product as a Rackham-style watercolor. Oh decisions, decisions.

[daestwen]

I count eels as fish. ;)

[Commander Obvious]

Ok quick sketch - this might be one I revisit or post in the CHOW revisit section.
Work get's in the way - I do have the 'human' version but I've got to work it out properly.

Don't want her to be fully human (just to look similar) - you can see the head sketch for what I'm after.
Abe sapien/Creature from the black lagoon influenced with lots of fish too!


I've just noticed DidiHer has a similar pose - ah well can't be bothered to change it now :)


465895

Holy crap dude, you're killin me with that concept! I love the way you've tied the shapes of the anatomy on the mermaid version with the shapes of the hair on the human version. Fantastic! You've picked an iconic monster-design and tied it to an even more iconic story very well. Kudos!

[vineris]

Thanks for the input, everyone! I re-read the story and I think I might have to go with a more wistful attitude for the little flapper mermaid.

zephyri - lovely pose with the art-deco influence, but I wish you'd gone with one of the less generic faces in your original sketch. I liked both the wide one, which gave her a very fairy-esque feel and the one on the bottom-right which has a nice just-out-of-childhood look.

Poshspice - I like the silhouetted mermaid (and all the sketches are lovely!) but the maiden doesn't look like anything special. That catch-of-the-day pinup looks more interesting, although I'm not sure that face would fit the theme.

MJ Alcazar - I like the designs! You may want to watch how you shade faces -- emphasizing the cheeks and cheekbones ages a character a lot more than you'd expect. Maybe get some references for the mermaid's bent arm?

Dimagyan - Interesting concept! I like the greyscale version. I think the dark, thin lips and emphasized cheekbones make her look older, though.

Adele - I love your stylized characters. Going with the tongue-ripping is pretty different! Those shoulders and neck make her look like she works out.

WTFsteph - cute and well-drawn. Could use some more specific elements.

maguinness - love the body and the shading on it. The face could use some work -- I think it's partly the large staring eyes and partly the strong jawline. That's and awkward angle to make pretty, though.

Havoc-DM - I love the mermaid form. I think I like the sinister pose better overall, but maybe I'd soften the shading around the eyes a bit to tone the expression down. I'm not sure the symbolic daggers are working out.

Decayinglolita - Nice, Elfquest-y sort of design. That pose looks a bit awkward, with her face turned so far over.

monotony - a little too masculine. The chin is a little too long and angular, and the mermaid's shoulders seem too wide. There's something up with the anatomy on the girl, too. I think her arms seem too long, because when you fold your arms they fall just below the breasts or pectorals. Here there's actually a ton of space between where her breasts end and her elbow bends, but the breasts aren't placed unusually high.

Cup of Tea - interesting angle. I don't think the crosshatching is working here. It seems too mechanical. The face on the maid needs a bit more work, the lips are looking awfully flat right now. I like that far foot, that turned out well.

Defiledvisions - I like the movement in the mermaid sketch. Very lively linework.

Bitjockey - not a bad start. Don't forget to use reference!

dirkvandulmen - I love this. The colours on that tail are great! But that long angular face makes her look like she's 50.

KleeWyck - I like the ear-fins and foofy hair. Putting her nose and mouth so near the chin makes her look a bit too horse-faced. I like the human version on page 4.

The Whistler - yay! More lion-fish! I thought everyone would want to have a lion-fish mermaid. The faces look pretty plain and undefined, but I assume you'll be changing that.

ccsears - This is lovely. I wouldn't crop it quite so much, actually. Or give her human version a more sleek, less frothy dress. Not all wedding gowns have to have hoopskirts!

Clochette - Beautifully cute and stylized!

tmyohlaing - good start. I'm not sure the neck would bend that far back on the sketch on the far right.

Carnifex - very interesting design! I like how the head shape turns into a hat.

katinki - nice sketches, good designs. I'd move the off-shoulder neckline up to the shoulders, it looks like her elbows are the only thing that's keeping it from falling to her waist.

Slash - lovely! Beautiful lighting, great personality. Her hands look small to me. You've made the body and face larger than in your reference, but I think you've kept the hands about the same size.

Petitemistress - I like the deep-sea fish concept! The hair looks a bit too much like a solid mass right now, and her eyes seem tilted too far towards the horizontal.

fuuryoku - Very interesting design! The hands are nicely done.

iuvo - nice lighting! I like the intensity in her face. I think there's something off with her shoulders. Too much slope? Maybe too much of the far shoulder showing? I can't quite tell. You should define the boy statue more or leave it out completely.

Supervlieg - I like the colours. You'll have to smooth out her face a bit, I think -- she looks like a starved supermodel right now. I'm not sure what to think of the girl form yet.

DHTenshi - cute and playful sketches! The lips look off in the partly-coloured version and the eyes don't seem to match up with the angle of the face.

JessiBean - absolutely lovely, I can see the Waterhouse influence. I thought the parted lips on the sketch worked quite well. Is the guy's head a bit on the smallish side?

Baxter-E - Nice, playful pose. Is it just me or does her neck seem either too thick or improperly placed?

DidiHer - Good start! What are her hands doing? Are they supporting her weight or holding on to the rock? Either way, a more purposeful pose for them would be better.

chaosrocks - the cape-y fins are interesting. The anatomy seems off. Her head seems small and too far away from the body, and I think her left breast would be lifted up and flattened much more by the raised arm.

fox - good start! I like the fishy face. The breasts look a bit too round and solid.

Venger - creative, but creepy. :) I like the maid's face.

Max Martelli - good face and pose for the mermaid in the first two sketches, but I think it lost something in refinement.

Vorace - cool mermaid! I'm not so sure about the human bit. Plus, she hardly seems like the sort of person to die of a broken heart.

Digitallydumbfounded - good start, but I think I need to see more before I can comment.

Heesh. That was a bit of writing. I hope I didn't list some people twice and give conflicting crits. :P

[guggemmaneuver]

csears>>> in terms of concept, it seems like the non-mermaid figure may work better laying on top. this gives the "ground" / floor / reflective surface a more literal connection to water. the figure gets more weighted down by gravity, while the mermaid incantation is under. just a thought.

all>>> awesome work! keep going!

i have a great idea for this challenge :)

m

[DidiHer]

DidiHer - Good start! What are her hands doing? Are they supporting her weight or holding on to the rock? Either way, a more purposeful pose for them would be better.

I dont know what are they doing :S Seriusly talking, they are supporting her weight, i strugle with them for like an hour last night.... nothing good came out! But i still have hope they will look like hands when i finish it. I need serius practice about that.

Thanks for your comment. When i have the number of post required, i will start thanking posts ^^

Cheers!

[vineris]

I dont know what are they doing :S Seriusly talking, they are supporting her weight, i strugle with them for like an hour last night.... nothing good came out! But i still have hope they will look like hands when i finish it. I need serius practice about that.


If you have a digital camera with a timer, lean on your hands and take a picture. Even if you don't, using a mirror and doing one hand at a time will be useful.

[C0mBineD]

meermaids should have human bottoms and fish heads

[cowboy surfer]

With legs (still working on the fishy bit!):

[ArtFish]

a bunch of sketches...i think i though of a good concept finally but i have to sketch it out still haha but i figured id entertain with these for now

[Lalilulelo]

I'll tell you right now Jessibean's prolly got this one wrapped up, in plain english. But I'm gonna give it a go as well, haven't done a Chow in so long.

[The Whistler]

Oh vineris I didn't see you were doing a lionfish too, will mine be a problem then? Hope not since the designs are fairly different...

[MM Howard]

I don't know if my result is going to come out as good as everyone else, but I'm sure gonna try. This is such an awesome idea. I agree Laliluleo partially, I see a couple of possible winners besides Jessi already. I want to give feedback, but maybe when I post an update of my WIP so I could really take the time to look at everyone's pieces.

Anyway, here is a sketch for the idea a bit. A little plain compared to what I plan on doing, but its a start:

[Daray]

Well, lovely entries here, so much so, that I very nearly didn't want to submit this piece. Some of you people really scare me off from posting at times, purely because you are too good and then we always know whos wins already.

So anyway, I've tried to make mine a little art noveau'ish but still with my own style in there. Hope its ok. Will be panicing with colours, as I so awesomely do... *whimper* Going to try out some texture type ones. Mucha is being a big inspiration lately, I just cant seem to nail it though.

This needs some work still, some anatomy issues here and there. And for once I may cover up her boobs with something cutesy like shells or stars... I'm not sure yet ;)

466542

[Lalilulelo]

Liking that linework, Daray.

[Carnifex]

thumbnail exploration...i'm in the dilemma whether to go more for storytelling or character-show-off. which thumbnails speak to you?

jessi - heh,her face reminds me alittle of yours. maybe put groove as the prince ;) ? seriously though,maybe she should look alittle more like she's pulling him up again? i mean,it's really beautiful,but it looks more like she already found him dead at the bottom of the sea. :bashful:
vineris - funnily enough,my first thoughts were also to go 20s style :D

[Niva.]

since there needs to be two designs, i'm probably leaning towards doing this...

466073

i kind of preferred the more extreme wide shot, but this could work out decently. she falls asleep drinking the sea witch's potion and dreams of marrying the prince.

This is really good work and a great idea, I think it's a bit dark but rather than bringing up the levels of the entire piece just work on the highlights some more. Great job!

[vineris]

Oh vineris I didn't see you were doing a lionfish too, will mine be a problem then? Hope not since the designs are fairly different...

I won't be using the lionfish design -- and even if I was, I don't think it would be a problem. I mean, people's ideas are just going to be coincidentally similar sometimes. :)

I just mentioned it because I think lionfish are cool, and I was sure that everyone would want to have a lionfish mermaid.

[ccsears]

vineris, n1va thanks. i agree with you about the dress, but it was just a quick 1/2 hour re-doodle to see what some things would look like reflected, what certain brushstrokes would look like, and what kinds of layer settings would give what i wanted. the dress will probably be different and the cropping will probably be different too. the highlights will be there, but not until i get the rest of the image worked out a bit more.

[The Whistler]

I won't be using the lionfish design -- and even if I was, I don't think it would be a problem. I mean, people's ideas are just going to be coincidentally similar sometimes. :)

I just mentioned it because I think lionfish are cool, and I was sure that everyone would want to have a lionfish mermaid.


Ah ok then :)

Too bad you won't be using the design though, looks neat

[DigitallyDumbfounded]

Ok. First color sketch. The drawing for the maiden form is killing me. Argh!


Uhm, I don't know if this has been answered before, but if we have two seperate pieces, should we put them into one picture for the final? Or post both seperately? I'm guessing one file, no?

[DHTenshi]

DidiHer, My pleasure, I'm glad my comment helped you n_n.

Zephyri, man, I didn't see your sketch before, so I didn't say anything... I love it! Now I know how hard to win a CHOW is lol.

Lalilulelo (nice name lol, althou, I wanna know what it means, I heard it in MGS2,
but still don't know what it is) Love your mermaid, and I don't have any crits
or complaints for yours :P

I know I "forgot" lots of ppl, but I just don't have time right now! gtg to school in a while.



DHTenshi - cute and playful sketches! The lips look off in the partly-coloured version and the eyes don't seem to match up with the angle of the face.


I changed it, and I now I think looks a lot better, although, it was a small edit, but I haven't made any change to the lips, I forgot lol, on next update
what do you think now?

Here's another WIP, I promise this is my last post for updating my entry.

[ccsears]

it means　ラリルレロ　part of the japanese alphabet.

[Senira]

Updated mine here. (http://www.conceptart.org/forums/showpost.php?p=1930048&postcount=114)

I'm usually too nervous to give comments or crits, but I'll put up a few for the ones that caught my eye.

Daray--I think the angle of her gills on (our) left side is odd. For the way she's leaning forward, they should wrap down around her torso instead of cutting up and across. Also, I think her shoulder need to be raised more; right now, they're too close to her breasts.

I'm liking the composition, though. It'll be nice to see it colored. :)

Clochette-- I like those thumbnails! The one on the bottom and the one on the top left have the most personality, I think. If you keep going in the direction of your thumbs, I think your final design is going to be really fun.

Havoc DM-- I think the image of her mermaid form is striking; she's got a mischievous glint in her eye, but I can still see the potential she has in that form to become the figure portrayed in her maiden form. Even if you don't commit to the image of her as a maiden, you did a nice job maintaining continuity between them.

Didiher-- Be careful of her shoulders; they're a little too wide for her frame right now, and they look a bit mannish.

Venger-- Her mermaid form terrifies me. This is not a bad thing.

Vorace-- Very punk! It's true that maiden doesn't have to mean dainty. I suppose my only crit is that her tail makes me think dragon more than it does fish, but the context it's in still makes it work.
___

Those are all the ones that popped out at me. Looking good, everyone!

[Lalilulelo]

DHTenshi, it's part of the japanese alphabet, from which all their phonemes and morphemes are based; words, etc..

[LA-Fairy]

Here is part 1 from my design... just sketched it...
LOL, seeing it on the screen, I see 20 things I need to change right now, torso wider, inside hand bigger, inside breast bigger.. LOL... I hope I can finish it...

So excited my first Cow!

[Lalilulelo]

LA-Fairy, you'll save yourself at least a couple headaches if you use some reference pics and not just draw out of your head. Less time spent back-pedaling you know?

[Hexokinase]

Best attempt so far on the maiden form so far. It began as a paintover of my mermaid painting (I was having issues with getting the likeness correct). I want to have some of her major scales still attached, and others falling off with some raw skin underneath. Again, I'm not sure if I'll commit to this one.

466745

[cowboy surfer]

Here she is then, on land with legs... scared, vulnerable, naked.

Gone for a very different syle... any opinions?

[DefiledVisions]

Daray thats beautiful.. Art Nouveau inspired ?

[LA-Fairy]

LA-Fairy, you'll save yourself at least a couple headaches if you use some reference pics and not just draw out of your head. Less time spent back-pedaling you know?
I started working with stock images, just recently, for reference and body proportions. Something I got to get used to and just incorperate. *Runs off to deviantart for stock..* Thanks fo reminding me to get reference!

[Adele]

This is so awesome, there are going to be so many entries...my plans got canceled this weekend so I can jump back in.

Thanks for the notes peeps. Here is an update and also her human form...she is seeing the pain she feels when she walks...Im sure you can see that...and her love is calling her to come over...OH! ITS SO TRAGIC!!!

I have just added some base colour...not sure where im going with it yet...I love doing red hair on women...but cant with this because of stuuupid Ariel ;) Ive also attached some colour influences I may use.

Everyones looks soooo awesome.....Poshspice...come on man...stick a Free Willy Whale in there...do it...DO IT!!!!!! :D I love the sky sisters sketch.

[KleeWyck]

tomwaits4noman thank you!

thanks DigitallyDumbfounded. i didn't have much in mind when drawing the clothes, i just wanted something simple.

vineris thanks! yes her face could use some work, i plan to work on it later today. gives me a reason to procrastinate on my homework. hehe.


Adele: love the knives coming out of the ground. really great. makes me cringe just thinking about the mermaid's pain.
cowboy surfer: maybe it's just me but it's hard to look at your image. the colors are clashing and it bugs my eyes. maybe pick a more subdued blue for the background? i like the green lips and elf ears though.
Lalilulelo: love your colors. making the mermaid's body red is a neat decision.
Daray: i love how yours looks like a tapestry depicting the mermaid's story.


more progress, just a rough idea of how i want the colors. i need to put a bit of white on the fish mermaid's face so as to make a stronger visual link between the two.

[Clochette]

Let's go!

Zephiri : (first post) Beautiful lines and full of grace. I like the Art nouveau inspiration . Can't wait colors!
Supervlieg : (first post) Nice start, I like her expression. (second) Nice! She looks so pathetic and sad in her human version, fits very well to the story.
Poshpiece : Wooh! Beautiful! You are ultra fast! I really like those faces, the last one make me think to a pinup poster, really cute and fresh.
MJ Alcazar : I think you should re work some anatomy on her : head is may too big, and she has strong shoulders / neck / hands, she doesn't really looks like 15 years old... But the gesture is interesting.
Slash : (first post) Boobs! Haha Beautiful one, we can imagine she looks at the earth, she really seems envious and attracted. Great one. (second post) : nice!
Dimagyan : Nice design, I like the crest idea. The fish version is better than human version. Maybe you could imagine a hair cut which reminds the fish head design, cause we don't recognize her. Good work btw.
Baxter E : Very playful one, she looks good. Maybe the neck and right shoulder could be better.
Adele : (first) Cool design, she is impressive. (second) : Cool! I like your sketches!
Vineris : Cool! The charleston young lady is a good idea for her human version.
WTFsteph : Cute! She looks really young!
Maguiness : Great pose, nice lines!
Havoc DM : (first) Wow! She looks hot! Love the body expression (second) She looks much older in the water, but it gives the human version a fragile feeling, not so bad! Nice colors! (third) : She looks older, more like her fish version. Good!
DecayingLolita : (first post) I don't really understand how her hips and beginning of tail are following... Maybe you could review it. (second post) : I understand better! ^^ But her tail is still curious.
Monotony : (first) Nice, I like how you draw them on the same frame, but not one stands next to the other, interesting composition. My crit : their shoulders are really too strong. They are larger than her hips, it gives a masculine feeling. (second) idem, the sea one is really masculine.
Zenichi : Interesting poses, but some of them are a bit frightening to me... Maybe you wanted it?
Cup of tea : (cool nickname) I like the composition, curious to see it with colors. (second) Can't recognize her!
Defiled visions : Oh nice sketches! Very dynamic!
Bitjockey : your pic is small ! I think you can improve anatomy on her.
Dirkvandulmen : Nice design, very cartoony.
LeeWyck : Good design for the fishy one, maybe her hips could be larger.
The Whistler : Nice one! They have good poses, and the human one really looks melancholic.
ccsears : (first pose) Love the format ! (second) I like the colors. (last, with the reflection) Really like your picture, the reflection idea is just great!
tmyohlaing : A little small, I'd like to see it better. My fav is the left one.
Carnifex : Oh I love her face, really interesting one!
Katinki : Cool! very good start!
Petite Mistress : Original design, and nice expression, keep it up!
Fuuryoku : Aaah! She looks like an eel ! Interesting!
Iuvo : She looks kind. I think she has an eye bigger than the other.
DHTenshi : (first) Nice design. (second) her neck and face features have to be review I think, but I like the colors.
JessiBean : Oooh! Beautiful one! Like the shadows and pose, and expression!
Jason Strutz : Too smaaaall , my eyes are bad or what?! XD Looks good but small!
Didiher : Good sketch! Hands are strange.
Chaosrocks : Cool design, but is she swimming up to the top? Her pose and hair direction are contradictory.
F o x : She looks like a male... You could change some anatomy parts to make her more feminine.
Venger : Oh good! Yours is the one where the fish and human version are the most logical. The morphing is really good.
Max Martelli : Good pose and concept on the fish one, agree with Daestwen about the human one.
Vorace : Wooh! Looks good! Violent one! :D
DigitallyDumbfounded : She looks old. Maybe the hair, and her skin seems trashed...
Senira : You could add some details to her face, I don't really understand the features. I like her back, with shells?
Cowboy surfer : Her eyes are too close one to the other.
ArtFish : nice stuff.
Lalilulelo : (first) Beautiful pose and sketch! (second) cool! (third) mega cool! XD
MM Howard : Her head is bigger and seems to have been "stick" on the rest of the body. But cute!
Daray : Beautiful lines and composition, looks like a tarot card!
LA Fairy : You should use anatomy models, and ref, she has many structure problems! Keep going!

My sea creature wip, I'll start the human version tomorrow! :P

[Adele]

nice design Clochette, I always like to see different styles up here that go more towards the illlustration toonish side.

[Crrristian]

I'm determined to complete this for my first CHOW, but unluckily for me, I decide to join when we have to do 2 design. Oh, well.

I'm trying to mix things up and go for a more 'scene girl' little mermaid, after all she's 15, and the youngest of seven, meaning she's gotta be a wild child. Still haven't gotten the human form started so I better get my butt into gear.

This is what I got so far...
(she's holding onto the statue, just incase it's hard to tell.

[purb36]

adele, if you're going to use the pic of ariel and the prince calling her over, maybe you should put those knives going back towards him as well, that way there's more of a barrier to her actually crossing over to HIM. g'luck to everybody here; these are fun to watch. :)

[ArtFish]

hm i don't know if ill be able to finish...with school and such in the way especially since im not far past the sketch stage
but ill try! and that is what the revision thread is for (currently trying to finish my old amaterasu as well ;])

[MJ_Alcazar]

Unfortunately, I'm going to have to drop out of this round. I can't think this week. :( But, barring any more seizures, I'll be back next week to hopefully keep improving. And thank you everyone for the crits. I'll definitely apply them when I am able to think again.

The Whistler - I love how you combined the two forms, they're looking good so far. Keep at it!

Jessibean - I love it! Her expression is wonderful.

DecayingLolita - I'm loving her so far, I think the shadows on her left side are a little off. But, that could be just me.

CupofTea? - I'm loving her mermaid form, she looks like she's flowing. The human form has some porportion problems (i.e. her right arm looks too big)

zenichi - I'm loving her designs, they're beautiful.

poshspice - lovely sketches, can't wait to see which way you go.

Daray - lines are wonderful!

Lalilulelo - I hope i got your name right. I love your mermaid, she's beautiful.

clochette - love your style! :)

[Lalilulelo]

Thanks for the responses! Been at it all day (with a short break to play Street Fighter and Guilty Gear). I'm moving onto her human form before I break this one over my knee.

[DidiHer]

First thanks to Senira and Clochette for the comments...
I am trying to fix all the problems :P

Lalilulelo: Your Mermaid is beautifull, great colors!
Daray: I really like your sketch, i cant wait to see it finished.

Here, final sketchiiiieee and some colors..

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Cheers!

[Adele]

nah, i dont think im putting the prince in there...it was just a little doodle at the time....my original thumbnail did have the knifes going back to him.

you know what they say about great minds...

[avefenix]

First chow. I drew this a couple days ago but have been very busy so I am posting today. The drawing has a few things off, but it's only a rough and the small details I end up fixing when coloring.

http://i431.photobucket.com/albums/qq39/avefenix_bucket/chow_127_0_lines.jpg

[JSpayde]

Well, heres my take... tried to ditch the usual red hair, green tail mermaid so I went with a blue skin, shrimp tailed mermaid. Still rendering it out but its getting there. Going to take a break though, could use some fresh eyes. I'm sure there a bunch of things wrong with my take, all of which I hope someone will point out, I really want to improve this.

[Lalilulelo]

JSpayde,
You're trying to get into detail and you haven't even worked out your light source yet. There's a slew of other issues with her anatomy, and her hair looks like a puffy hat rather than hair. You're shooting for lots of detail -I see it in lots of little parts of the mermaid, but the overall foundation and structure isn't there dude.

Your priority should be proportion and shape first, above all else, then details. Without the first one though, you can render the whole thing to high heaven and it'll still come up short. And look up a hair tutorial if you can find one or maybe someone up here can refer you to one.

Study from references as much as possible, and above all else, keep drawing!

[ccsears]

Clochette Thanks.

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[Daray]

Daray thats beautiful.. Art Nouveau inspired ?

Indeed, and thank you very much. Lovely to hear so, you just made my morning :D I'm trying to go for a style lately thats very illustrative and art noveau-ish, although I want to keep my own style in there. :)

[Daray]

Unfortunately, I'm going to have to drop out of this round. I can't think this week. :( But, barring any more seizures, I'll be back next week to hopefully keep improving. And thank you everyone for the crits. I'll definitely apply them when I am able to think again.

I hope you feel better soon and can re-join us. You're ever such an inspiration, you work hard here, and it doesn't go unnoticed. Each week you improve greatly on the last!

[katinki]

here is an update on mine too. started painting the mermaid form - the maiden will follow later today.
thanks to petitemistress, supervlieg, and vineris for the critiques! they helped a lot!

i'll write comments later. so many beautiful pictures!

[Ramariel]

Heres the WIP I have so far. What a fun ChoW!

update: added some ghostly islands in the background. hopeing the island will add depth as well as kind of be a metaphor for how she feels.

[Aly Fell]

Ramariel - Looks cool, but might it not be better the other way around. Ariel the mermaid looking down at the human version of herself. Otherwise how did the human Ariel get onto a rock out in the sea?

[Ramariel]

Ramariel - Looks cool, but might it not be better the other way around. Ariel the mermaid looking down at the human version of herself. Otherwise how did the human Ariel get onto a rock out in the sea?

I toyed with both ideas and I think both could be explained. Perhaps this is the point in the story where she is heartbroken and longs to be a mermaid again? Perhaps she swam out into the bay in desperation, only to be stranded on this lonely rock from exhaustion? I think the isolation is more profound if she is human, because now she is trapped in between worlds, between land and sea.

This aside, if the piece is still confusing (i.e.how did she get on that rock as a human?), then I would consider switching the two. Maybe its more thought provoking to see a human stranded on tiny rock in the ocean? Im definatly interested in feedback on this issue. Thanks for bringing it to my attention :)

[Jazz]

Amazing work, everyone!! I wanted to try this one, but I don't know if I can now. :( Don't even have the right tools. Might just draw something out anyway. :) I had one idea. ^_^

Ramariel, that's a lovely and gloomy scene all in one!! No matter which version of her is on top! What strikes me strange is that her reflection seems "taller" to me than the real deal!

Katinki, your mermaid's really coming along!! Love the bead things in her hair!! :D Hmmm...wonder what intriguing thing she's looking at. :)

ccsears, she looks beautiful!! And weakened, poor thing. :( I love the details you put in! ...I wonder if some of the underside of her chin (phew! hard to say that) needs more shadow? Or at least that side of her neck facing the ground?

JSpayde, I agree with Lali up there. Your mermaid looks more pieced together, with details more worked out than the initial form. You should be able to find some refs and tutorials in the...References and Inspiration section and Tips and Tutorials section (if I wrote those even half correctly), just to name a couple places here! But yeah, search for, at least some different references to help you out with your idea! :)

avefenix, I like the line work you made! Now, the ladies look potentially very beautiful! :D The mermaid, however, looks like she's in a mermaid suit. You'll probably need to rework her tail so that it sits (or flops, I guess) more like a fish, and not two legs under a skirt. :) For the human version, her legs, especially below her knee, look like they'll be shorter in proportion to her body. She has a longer upper-half to me.

Oy, I can't write more till maybe another work break! Great work, guys!! ;_; I'm envious!

[ZyklonB]

Hya everyone! this is my first CHOW :) just a quick sketch for now ( for inspiration I guess just the topic ). All the best guys!

[zephyri]

Just running through here on my lunchbreak, on my way to doodle some maiden versions, but had to stop and say that Katini, the fishy part of your mermaid is beyond stunning... absolutely gorgeous use of minimal brushstrokes. I think I hate you. And Zyklon.. one of my favourite designs fo rhte mermaid so far.. gorgeous gorgeous.

[DidiHer]

Good Morning (here in Argentina)
Very good updates every one!

Katinki: Your concept is very good, i really like the deep dark ambient it has.
Ramariel: Good choice of colors! I love the idea.
ccsears: She is turning out so beautifull!! but i see her a little bit "plastic". i suppose is still in process.
ZyklonB: Amazing pose! very powerfull!

Any way, i am not a good source of constructive critique, becouse i am just starting to learn tecniques, and i really suck at painting :D

Cheers!

[The Whistler]

updated post 60 (http://www.conceptart.org/forums/showpost.php?p=1928734&postcount=60)

ccsears - I absolutely love it, looks awesome :)

ZyklonB - a good way to blow people away with your first post :) I love it, can't wait to see the whole thing

[avefenix]

Thanks JazzW, I think you're right, I'll go ahead and rework that.

[Mrianna]

Why do I find all the cool subjects half way through the week/when they are done? bah...

Well, I have an idea I'll see if I can whip something up to post tonight...

[ccsears]

couldn't find a SB thread for MJ_Alcazar so i'll say it here:

get well soon!

my mom (she was partially paralyzed by a stroke she suffered a few years ago) sent me this a while back for inspiration...

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in case you can't see it, this was typed on paper with an old-school typewriter by a person with cerebral palsy. he recently passed away. Paul Smith (http://paulsmithfoundation.org/main_biography.html)

[petitemistress]

thank you Vineris and Zephyri, i ended up changing not only the hair, but the head as well!
Also SuperVlieg i read the comment about doing smthg with the tail way too late, and since im already a slow ass ..person? im gonna have to keep it as such forthis one, still got a maiden (and work ;-; ) to do!

my update so far: (i know im so slow...)

EDIT: omg great posts so far guys! this is gonna be one HELL of a round! *ees excited* :D

[JessiBean]

Zephyri - I love the elaborate and refined linework on your mermaid there, and since you are going for a storybook feel, maybe do something Rackham-ish in the rendering? Curious to see your human version, too.
Poshspice - I really dig the pinup you added at the end, she has lots of sass, but I think my favorite of your sketches as pertains to this chow is her human form with the bleeding feet. I wonder about the hand at her head, though... maybe it would be a little more natural for her to be hugging her knees or wiping her cheek with that hand? Looking forward to the rendering.
MJ_Alcazar - so sorry to hear about the health issues, and such a shame you can't finish the round. Feel better! We will be waiting anxiously for your safe return.
Slash - Nice progress... watch her hand on the left - it's looking a little small, and maybe consider toning down the saturation in the sky, it looks a little off with the murkiness of the water. Interested to see what your human version looks like.
Dimagyan - I quite like the fishy feel your mermaid has, and the human version is coming along well, though those shadows seem really harsh and every shadow is the same value and every highlight is the same. Perhaps this is because you're still working, but some softening and focus of light would help her out, I think. Keep rolling.
Baxter-E - something about her neck/shoulders/arms seems off. I see where you are going with the perspective and some forshortening, but check with a reference, because she has shoulders that are too narrow and arms that art too short for the thickness of her neck. Her expression, however, is charming.
Vineris - I like your exploration here, and the way your mermaid is based on an exotic fish. I quite like your second iteration on the human version. Looking forward to more.
WTFSteph - awesome character exploration. I'm curious to see how this develops.
maguinness - definitely go back and check proportions, her face and head seem large compared to her body, and the proportion of eyes to nose to mouth is odd - prolly because that is a tough angle. Reference is your friend! I actually think you handled the proportions a little better in the 2nd sketch in the 1st image. Keep working at it.
zenichi - I see where you are going with your piece, but as it is, it looks kind of cobbled together, see if there is a way you can make the forms if the mermaid and princess interact better - possibly via the inclusion of a background.
DefiledVisions - love the expressiveness of your gestures, curious to see how this develops in the rendering.
KleeWyck - I know the mermaid creature is what you are going for here, but I think she's not really looking... feminine? The festures and body shape on your creature is really masculine at the moment... I do love the fishy details, tho.

All I have time for ATM...
A little more frome me, and more comments later!

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[Slash]

More spitshine.. Colors are closing in on what i want them to be i think.. Thanks to everyone who have commented. I've read every suggestion, and i'm in the process of incorporating all of them. (well, most anyways. ;) )

[ccsears]

slash i think yours is great so far. i like the design and the eagerness/happiness of the mermaid. the forearm fins are a nice touch too.

i'd be kind of careful with some of the clouds in the background, right now, they have too much of a "parallel" feel... example is near the elbow on the left side of the image, the cloud line and her arm are parallel. but you can also feel that strong diagonal pull from lower left to upper right throughout the picture. now you just have to find a way to balance that against something.

also think about ways to have the foreground figure overlap the background--right now the clouds just kind of feel like they go uniformly around her.

i like the warm colors in the water in the foreground water, but i'm not sure about the beach. kinda makes the water seem almost too shallow.

i wrestle with it every time, and i know you aren't finished yet, but try to find a way to get complementary shapes in the background. variety in unity, blah blah blah. i think you know what i mean.

[Carnifex]

starting on final.

to-do list:
everything.

[artiphats]

first sketch, plenty to tweak and fix but it's a start :)

[LA-Fairy]

All of your sketches/wips are inspiring and intimidating.. LOL...
I got the some of the colors down now, and I changed the way I color completely. I just blurred and softened the pencil work and then colored that. Never done that before..LOL.. The tail will hopefully be iridescent when I am done.. I just have trouble with the end of the tail..I can't find a reference of what I want. I found some stock which fitted the pose I had and worked over my body....
Needless to say, I am going to spend wee hours on this tomorow! LOL

[Clochette]

Progress...
I think the sea one is over, the other one not yet, and now I have to mix them in the same picture... :P

[Senira]

Update on mine. I'm toying around with giving her tentacle hair, but it's not reading as well in the other views. I also tried increasing the shadows to give the whole image a bit more contrast; not sure if it worked or not.

I'm going to try and finish this one tonight so that I can start working on her maiden form. I'm still not sure if I'm happy with her mermaid design...it doesn't feel all that exciting to me at the moment.

clochette-- I love her maiden form! The hairstyle is great, very Roccoco. Even the design of her outfit has a 18th century French feel. It makes me want to start signing "Rock me Amadeus." :)

Zyklon-- Looking good! My only suggestion would be watch out for the angle of the mountain; it leads to her face, which is nice, but because it's level with her eyes there's a visual stop there while you try and figure out what she's looking at. It may work fine in the color version, depending on the scheme you use, but I just wanted to point it out.

jessibean-- At the moment, I lose the fingers of her forehand in the water; when I first saw this in grayscale, I thought she was snapping his neck. Other than that, though, it's looking fantastic.

[JessiBean]

Carnifex - the pose on this new one is MUCH improved, and flows much more nicely... I would, however, suggest a smoother, more gracefu, smoothl swoop to the mermaid, the points in the curve kind of detract from the gracefulness of the serpentine tail. And the girl's dress would make more sense being up like that showing her feet if she was holding it or something.

A little paintover to better explain...
Keep going, this is quite an improvement!


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[Claudio Grassi]

Ghurk! Y am aaallwayss late for these things..oh well..I guess Ill just post some thumbs and wips..doubt Ill be able to even finish one version..but here goes :)

WIP
http://i210.photobucket.com/albums/bb304/TenGuKu/chow127s-wip1.jpg

THUMBS
http://i210.photobucket.com/albums/bb304/TenGuKu/chow127thumbs.jpg

:ilaekae: Can someone please tell me how to "thank" people's posts??? thank ^_^

[Fractalbot]

This is just a quick sketch... and only the mermaid half I'm afraid, but would love some feedback!


http://fractalbot.com/conceptartorg/mermaid_sketch2.jpg

[Supervlieg]

Quick update

http://www.bolman.nl/cgtalk/chow127_3.jpg

[Cup_of_Tea?]

I don't have much time to do anything but post, but I will pop on tomorrow lunchtime and add some more chat.

wip

[ccsears]

fractalbot since you asked... notice how the arm and the tail perfectly mirror each other diagonally? and the diagonal is very close to being 45 degrees?

do NOT repeat proportions or shapes unless it is done intentionally for a good reason. there are rhythmic and textural instances where you should repeat things, but most good art has variety within unity within variety within unity...that kind of thing. if the spacing between the fingers is too similar to the spacing between the tail-spines, it has a tendency to flatten the image and make it more like a diagram.

to fix this, my first suggestion is to move the tail.

some artists use a limited kind of flatness to their advantage because they want to control the illusion of depth in their pictures. shelly wan's image a few pages back is a good example. it is not flat, but it is not super-deep either. she's doing that on purpose, like mucha and other people. it happens in heavily graphic-design-y images, tarot cards, etc.

**the absolutely most basic tool to create depth in an image is "overlaps." you can draw too overlapping flat shapes on a sheet of paper and immediately create a limited kind of depth. no lighting, no shading, no nothing...just overlapping flat shapes.

so...the rest of my suggestion is to show the other arm. why not do a pin-up type of pose where her hands are on top of each other and she's propping herself up? then you can have the tail trail off all snakey-like. maybe change the image format and make it wider instead of taller.

it is very easy to fall into a compositional trap where you divide proportions in half and then in half again, etc. or where you use 45 deg angles or 90 deg angles, or where you use parallel outlines. the reason is just that the mind likes organizational simplicity. it's easy to look at a person's height and figure out where the middle is--all humans are sensitive to it, not just artists. it's much, much harder to tell if he's 6 or 6.5 heads tall. before i turn on the auto-pilot and kind of zone out into rendering, i really try to do a gut-check on the composition of the image.

i'm not gonna give any advice about feature design, fins, gills, scales, or whatever--that's what your own imagination and personality is for. but as far as solid image-making goes, this is pretty important stuff.

please don't take it like i'm picking on you or singling you out (this time at least), but i see a lot of character design pictures that could be made a lot better by simply making a few better composition choices. i'm just trying to put the ideas out there on the forum since i think they can help.

not the difference between good and bad today perhaps, but maybe someday the difference between good and great.

as a further example, you can go look at JessiBean's image on the previous page. the exact center of the right hand side maiden image is right where the forearm and dress cross. this puts her figure on the right side of the image, off-center. to counter-balance this, she has the dress flowing to the lower left. right now that line looks a wee bit horizontal, but this is an early stage and those are minor corrections she will probably make before going into rendering. and in for the left hand mermaid image, the fishy ear and the ray of light are parallel. but, like i was saying, these are adjustments she will probably make in the course of painting it.

my point is just that even experienced artists have to work really hard to get a good composition no matter what. even with good artists who can reliably draw the figure, render, etc, at the drop of a hat, composition will be a deciding factor between their good and their best work.

just be glad you're doing it digitally fractalbot...it's really frustrating (and expensive) to catch your own composition mistakes while you're painting on canvas.

[Larriva Art]

Late(perhaps too late) to start, but I'll do it for me anyway.

The work of Herbert Draper was greatly inspirational to me. He was genuinely in love with the sea.
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To make the wet fishy shine, I took her out of the water, and to make the fabric flow I put it in the water.
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I wish I had the attention span to comment individually, but I'll just say there's some really great work coming along here.

edit: update 9/19
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rough background and turned the fin back into the image.

update 9/20
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more work on the lower half.

[katinki]

update time for me, too! still not finished, the skin colour sucks and i just realized that i have absolutley no idea with the maiden form's background...

and thanks to JazzW, zephiry and DidiHer for the nice comments! but critiques are also highly appreciated!



vampirehungerstrike i love that draper piece! and your underwater version is great, looks like wet painted on glass.

cup of tea? looks nice, i like how sad the maiden is. perhaps you should work on their similarity more, atm the mermaid looks a lot older.

supervlieg your stylized mermaid (and the colours!) are just gorgeous! i'm not sure what she's doing with her right hand?

fractalbot she certainly has charcter! i find her a bit scary. but that would be also an interesting direction to take... and i don't understand if the part behind her head is her tail or right arm.

KuGu great! she looks really royal, like a warrior princess with that helmet design! i look forward to see her other form!

Senira that's an really interesting take on the mermaid! very un-humanoid! she looks very, very sad! (which fits the story)

Clochette I just love it! they make me smile! and the candy colours fit so well!

LA-Fairy the head-body relation still looks off to me... for interesting tails you could look up some tropical fish.

artiphats a medusa mermaid! cool!

carnifex i like the turquoise/brown colour choice. and listen to jessibeand advice!

[Claudio Grassi]

I gotta hand it to you guys...Looking back on all the posts, I am both impressed and inspired :perv:
Ill be back tomorrow to crit..Its 2am almost here in italy and I need to go to bed ^_^
Here's a quick update of my crap.

http://i210.photobucket.com/albums/bb304/TenGuKu/chow127s-wip2.jpg

[matjosh]

Hi everyone! this is my first time in these weekly activities.
so here are my wips. hope you like 'em.

http://img515.imageshack.us/img515/8254/compwipssmallestht6.jpg

bigger view of the latest wip.:
http://img515.imageshack.us/img515/4708/merm11newlocks1stripesszw2.jpg

hope i'll have the time tomorrow to do the second part of this, the maiden form.

[Niva.]

Hey guys, there are some excellent entries, I might participate too. Here's a quick hack at the mermaid form.

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matjosh: That's awesome, I love the bulky body and the potion. The only thing I think you should add to that piece is more bubbles or something to make it look a bit more "underwater."

Kugu: Looks like a gladiator merwoman! Similar to matjosh's piece you should make it look watery and add some shadows through the water and on her along with some highlights.

Supervlieg: Awesome forms, I really like how you've handled the scales on her hip in the fish form, flesh it out and add more details now.

Fractalbot: That's one scary mermaid! EEEK! Proportion wise I think her hand is too big, work on the colors.

Jessibean: That looks a lot like Disney's version of the mermaid which might disqualify you, read the brief... Otherwise the work is top notch! I really like it.

More later!

[ccsears]

some more details to finish and then i've gotta composite the two images together and blah blah blah...

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matjosh i like the pose and the way you're lighting it. although be careful... like i posted in fractalbot's crit a few posts earlier... you've got the arms almost bent at right angles with very strong verticals and horizontals. notice the first twirl of hair going around her waist too... it's also almost perfectly horizontal there. it's a composition choice for you to make, could work for you or against you. but, i really really wish the big "axe-blade"-looking hair shape wasn't there so the swirling hair shapes were better silhouetted and more visible. i think it would help with the motif you're using.

[chaosrocks]

chris
I don't know why butyour image is totally reminding me of this

http://www.artmagick.com/images/content/segantini/hi/segantini2.jpg

for no particularly good reason except the recumbant pose and the glowing colors

I thought the original green and red hair was quite beautiful. and certainly not the provenance of Disney. glad to see you've kept it.

[The Nozomi]

Probably won't get to finals but. Uhm. Rough ROUGH sketch of maiden

[Vorace]

some cool stuff on these page! I especially like Jessi Bean's, ccsears' and, of course, Poshspice :)

thanks for the ones that took the time to crit my work
I changed the face to make her look more sad/melancolic
tryed some fast colors
I think I will start over with a new sketch for the human version... erh if I have time :medusachow:

[MM Howard]

Here’s my final sketch for my entry, not perfect, but going to paint it tomorrow :P
And now for the extra long post of critiques! Get ready, it’s a long read and I tried to cover everybody. If I miss anyone, I’m sorry.

zephyr: Your sketches are always so clean! I love, love, love the bigger sketch. You’re final sketch for the mermaid has such great detail. I think it would be great with just a good color palette and flat shading.
Supervlieg: The maiden’s emotion shows greatly in this one. Everything about it is captivating.
Poshspice: Highly anticipating the final. Went through your sketchbook and I want to steal your talent.
MJ_Alcazar: I hope you feel better, its too bad you had to drop out. Other than that, your sketches are really creative. Get well soon!
Slash: I think I missed your maiden form, but the mermaid is great. Great pose, and great idea to grab inspiration from the statue.
DIMAGYAN: Maiden sketch is looking beautiful. I’d say it is original, especially your mermaid sketch.
Baxter-E: Beautiful movement! The composition really caught me.
Adele:I can see this mermaid in an animated series! The style has such a nice flow. Its so awesome.
vineris: AWESOME! 1920’s influence in your sketches is such a great creative approach. Definitely one of my favorites. I think someone already mentioned it, but be careful with the design on the mermaid. Less can be more.
WTFSteph: I didn’t see her looking too young in the beginning, but there is an improvement with the newer ones. The expressions are excellent, especially the very top right one.
maguinness: You kind of lost it when you shaded in the hair, which is why I think the face didn’t come out like you wanted in the sketch. But like you said, it’s a WIP and its very beautiful.
Havor-DM: Another ones of my favorites. The concept is just greatly dark, like Vorace’s.
DecayingLolita: Very lovely. The color scheme is very eye-catching. I agree with what zephyr said about her presence in the illustration.
monotony: Very great concept. Can’t wait to see what you come up with for the finals. Simple, but tells the story beautifully.
The Whistler: The maiden is coming out very beautiful. Be aware of the right hand on the mermaid’s face. Keep the length of the fingers in mind when you’re painting.
zenichi: I love you for posting those references, even though I didn’t use them. It made me go and look for my own. The bottom sketch actually fits with the story great, since it was her mermaid sisters who gave her the dagger. I don’t think you should scrap it.
Cup_of_Tea: I love the perspective on your piece for the mermaid. It’s coming out looking very engaging.
JessiBean: You already know how awesome you are. I say the best thing about yours is the illustration of her saving him.
Jason Strutz: Very nice sketches and great concepts. I love how most of her body in one of the sketches is a fish.
DefiledVisions: The composition of this one is beyond beautiful and so is the sketch. I can’t imagine what its going to look like when its finished.
bitjockey: I couldn’t resist it either! The bottom concept on left corner is very appealing. Seeing your mermaid sketch, I’m looking forward to what you’re going to come up with. Good luck with CHOW!
dirkvandulmen: This is awesome. Where is the maiden sketch? Post it now!
Kleewyck:I’m really liking the design behind this one. Definitely one of the most original if not the most.
ccsears: The only thing I saw similar was the color scheme for the mermaid. I have to say, yours caught my eye the most. The emotion, the pose, and coloring is breathtaking in both mermaid and maiden form. Very beautiful job.
Clochette: Thank you for the critique Clochette. I still had a problem with it on the final sketch, but it wasn’t completely off this time. On your maiden form, watch out for that foot on the ground when you clean up. Other than that, I’d say your design is one of the most originals. The magazine is classic.
tmyohlaing: Beautiful sketches. Keep on posting, excited to see what came out of them.
Carnifex: That thread you pointed out was beyond awesome! Thank you! Your thumbnails are very inspiring and great. I can’t wait for your final piece
katinki: What more can I say but absolutely brilliant. Simple, yet beautiful. The work on the fin is especially lovely.

*Pause* Holy shit, four more pages to go!

Petitemistress: I love the design you came up with for her! You add an originality that no one else could come up with. Great job.
furryoku: Her face is extremely cute. I definitely see her spirit in this sketch.
iuvo: You captured her beautifully.
chaosrocks: Very nice sketch. The hairstyle is my favorite part. Don’t lose it!
fox: Another very original mermaid sketch. You pretty much fixed the problems you had before, but I would make the face just a tiny bit rounder.
Venger: The transformation concept sketches are so great. I love the mermaid, definitely beautiful and is probably the “real” mermaid.
Max Mertilli: You definitely took an concept that has been done over and over again and made it your own. You made it look so easy and its not. Beautiful job.
DHTenshi: The WIP is looking great. I especially love the lighting.
Vorace: Love It! LOVE IT! She is smoking hot in mermaid form!
DigitallyDumbfounded: Her tail is so beautifully massive! It makes her more fish than human, which is so great. Your WIP is coming along nicely.
Senira: This is so original! I could never have come up with a design like that. Her facial design is beautiful. This has me waiting for what you plan to do for the maiden!
cowboy_surfer: Its almost psychedelic in way. The background really makes this stand out. Its looking great.
ArtFish: Your sketches are really nice and the concept is beautiful. I especially love her dress in maiden form. Flirty yet innocent.
Lalilulelo: The mermaid came out so gorgeous. There’s something about it that tries to convince that this character actually assists. Beautiful.
Daray: I love composition so much. It’s the store in one picture and that is incredibly difficult to do. You pulled it off!
LA-Fairy: Don’t be so intimidated! The Ying Yang idea looks really cute. I would suggest, however, working a bit on the anatomy, possibly looking at some swimming references.
Crristian: Color scheme is fantastic and her hair just screams hippy/valley girl mermaid. Very awesome.
DidiHer: Very lovely. The concept of the jewelry came out looking beautiful.
avefenix: Simple yet lovely sketches. Maiden’s costume design came out the best in this piece.
JSpayde: Take your time. Do a sketch, do the lineart or foundation, then do the painting. Other than that, she looks like oriental version of the Little Mermaid. Very pretty color ideas, but still…slow down.
Ramariel: I love the paint of the face the most. It came out very beautiful.
ZyklonB: This sketch is absolutely gorgeous! Her head design is just so inspiring.
Fractalbot: You may want to work on the arm and hand a little bit. Other than that, I think ccsears covered it all. It’s a very nice piece.
VampireHungerStrike: This style of painting beautifully illustrates the story. This is definitely one I could see in a republished book of the story.
Kugu: Awesome head gear and beautiful painting.
matjosh: Beautiful expression and movement in this piece. Subtle, but gets to the point.
n1va: Very great profile. It’ll be nice to see what you come up with for this.
The Nozomi: You still got Friday and Saturday. Great start on it.

Everyone did a great job. Again, if I missed anyone at all, I apologize. Good luck guys!

Edit: That jellyfish at the bottom looks oddly familiar, but it wasn't intentional.

[Lalilulelo]

Looking good guys, here's my human half of ariel...

[Max Martelli]

Everyone's been doing an amazing job with this CHOW. It's been very pleasurable just to sit back and look at all the ideas that have come in.

Here are some updates on my mermaid and a new idea for my maiden.

[laterDays]

Here are my WIPs so far. I think the mermaid one is almost about done, not sure if I will do more to it. The human one needs lot more work tho. Please crit. thanks!

[Fractalbot]

Thanks ccsears! Definitely not falling on deaf ears. I'll post another stage soon, other than that everyone's is looking great.
Laterdaysvery original. love the costume idea!

[Carnifex]

laterdays - i'd smoothen the transition from human to fish form...it looks more like she's being eaten by a fish right now,might be because it's about twice the size her hip would actually be...maybe make it thinner? also you could place some more rocky texture on her upper arms to go with the tail,to unify the whole thing bit more. the idea is really nice though,also with the human form. good costumes.

[Daray]

small update with some colours for me, or at least just laying down some basic ones. Going to try and stay minimal with them for this round, I keep trying to over complicate things when I dont have that paitence/skill to do a good job :)

468002

[DecayingLolita]

Wow. laterdays those costumes aer really in my taste :D But I have forced myself to stay simple because of the subject... but still I like!

Thiiiink my meermayde is all finished, and I haven't even started on the human :(

http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b274/Lucretia_the_fallen/mermaidfinished.jpg

http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b274/Lucretia_the_fallen/girl2.jpg

I wanted to have her dancing... you know "she danced for the prince even though her feet felt like she was walking on blades" But... I dont' know how easy it would be to understand or convey pained dancing... I'm so hopeless at this moment

[DidiHer]

Hi!!
I am not having to much time to dedicate to this piece... Between work and after work :P
I will continue working on it, but i dont think to reach deadline. It will go to my sketchbook for sure, when i create it :D
Anyway, i just want to say that i am very happy to start participating, becouse it was great practice for me, and the feedback is amazing.
I get critics and comments and they help a lot.

LaterDays: That is just gorgeus, but in the maiden version, maybe you should show a little more Legs.
Lalilulelo: The pose is beautifull, but i give to you the same coment i receibe, she is looking a little bit mature for the original character.
matjosh: really nice escene. I really like the dinamycs of her hands.

So, that is all i got, not much a tecnic or proportion critic, becouse i am not good at it, yet :D

I cant wait to see the finals!

Cheers!

[chaosrocks]

laterdays your costuming and styling is unique and quite beautiful. not entirely logical or functional but I find that really doesn't matter. i hope you can intergrate these into one.

[Cup_of_Tea?]

Hey! everyone's work is looking good. A lot of competition hehe.

Decayinglolita - looking good, I am loving the detailing as usual. the scales and potion bottle are looking very good.

Laterdays- phew - what an imagination! you ever thought about a career in couture fashion?

Max Martelli - I can't really see what's going on with your maiden, you need to open her up a bit. I'd like to see her face.

Lalilulelo - love the couloring, just watch you maidens feet. the toes shouldn't be as pointy as that. plus i think your mermaid's boobs look a bit fake. unless thats what you are looking for, it would be better to move the nipples a little down and out.

Matjosh - great shape and fantastic colouring too.

clochette - i love love love :)

slash - i really like it, but it somehow looks as though she is a girl with a mermaids costume on. It might be because the the blue is so vivid, against very real skin tone. Maybe this could be blended a little, or he skin tone made a little blue-er?

katinki - thanks, I know that my maiden looks younger. the funny thing is that both of the pictures are "self portraits", since I used myself as reference. I think the mermaid looks older because of the angle of her head. i have a very strong bone structure, which means that her/my jawline is quite hard... maybe making her look older? ah, i dont know, I will play about with it.

I could do with some help in developing my pencil lines into the drawing. Can someone help?
At the moment, I darken my lines using contrast/brightness and then change the layer to overlay. I also have a second copy in which I select the white background colour and delete it, leaving only the black drawing lines. Both of these layers are on top of my colour layers. It still looks very pixelated and rough. Any advice? Or maybe I should go to another forum for this?
Thanks guys, I have been really enjoying this one.

[Slash]

Thanks to everyone who have offered their feedback! It's much appreciated!

Cup of tea: yeah, i thought about that.. i tried different skin tones, varying from pale white to a blueish hue, and i figured i just needed something warm in the picture since it was entirely blue dominated. I wrapped my head around how to integrate the fish features into her more, but i guess i gave up and copped out. :P

Finally started the sketch for the maiden form.. There's still some issues, like with the leg, but its starting to look like what i want. Crits are welcomed!

[Cam Sykes]

WIP

Heaps of great entries so far, really happy about this week.

Reworked the body and pose, cos I was just digging my hole deeper. Spent another 10 hours on this today. I'm really happy with the result. Now I gotta start the Human form.

[The Nozomi]

Annnnd the mermaid.
The maiden will be inked tonight. Fweee~

Thank you MM Howard!

Also: What the--? Photobucket deleted the mermaiden picture stating it violated terms of use. Huh? I've seen SO MUCH WORSE on PB then... the mermaiden.

[Slash]

photobucket deletes images in a seemingly arbitrary fashion.. sometimes boobs can stay for months, sometimes too much cleavage will be deleted within hours... Just use conceptart.org's attachment manager and you won't have any problems.

[vineris]

Mermaid form WIP. Trying out a different painting process. I think I'll have to fix the hemline on the shirt, add more highlight to the headband and lighten up the background a bit.

[DigitallyDumbfounded]

Clochette: Thank you for the crit. She has some structure in her face, I guess the lines are irritating right now. I'll take care of that in the further coloring and tone them down. Lovely take on the teenage mermaid. ;P.
Crit would be that her hips seem really wide in the human version. But it fits with your style so it's not all that distracting. Love the colors.

Senira: Lovely take on the face. I actually think the tentacles look good, probably just give them more contrast.

Kugu: The second on the left is such agreat pose.

VampireHungerStrike: The maiden form is gorgeous!! I think the mermaids pose in comparison looks a little stiff.The tail forms an almost triangular shape wich I think takes away from the fow.

MMHoward. Thank you! :D Your mermaid form is super sweet and the tail loos great. On her human form her right ( our left) cheek is very exagerated and I think, looking at the mermaid form, her chin could be smaller.

Lalilulelo: Beautiful. Only crit would be that her left foot looks a wee bit massive.

And...
WOOHOOO! My doorbell just rang and the friendly UPS man gave me my new Intuos3 A4. :D :D :D

So, uhm, yeah. Here's my Maiden form and I will crit more later.

.. wheeee! (oh my, it's so big!)

[DefiledVisions]

Thanks everyone for your kind words. I'll drop by and leave a comment on you when I have time.

This is what I've got so far.. I don't know what to do haha.. and my computer doesn't make it much better. I'm working in prinst size.. and well.. my PC can't keep up with my moves, it ruins my flow totaly when I have to wait 5 seconds for a brushstroke to show up. But my main problem right now is that I don't really know how to build up an image. Ccsears is an inspiration.

Hopefully I'll finnish it, and it'll turn out good.

*update*

I feel the flow overtaking me. I feel like I'm loosing character a bit here, I'll have to really nail the characters.. cause at the moment I'm going for a very.. un-realistic background - faery-tale'ish .. I'm going to make it into a print and give it to my mom as a birthday present, since I .. didn't have one for her lol. Thats why I'm adding elements that really don't make any logic sense, but act more like eye candy - like the shapes in the rock, the curvy vines etc - Art Nouveau inspired.

[Ramariel]

Still widdleing away at it. drawing the kimono drapery was a challenge. I think the figure in the reflection needs some serious anatomy correction; she just feels wonky to me =/

[Claudio Grassi]

Katinki: Thank you, Im just gonna get started on that..hope to make it to the final :| I really like your human version a lot, and the underarm fins are so cool I was gonna snake them and put them on my version too, but decided against suck blatant plagery XD

Matjosh: Looooove the expression, almost as if she's lacking air....great rendering and colors!

Vampirehungerstrike: Your human version's pose is poetry! cant wait to see it finished!

n1va: Hehehehe, yeah, she does..she looks nothing like a 15 year old..unless...mermaids look like that at 15? Well, y'know..she's got tha "swimmer's" body :3 anyhow thanks for the crit!

MM Howard: Thank you! I was trying to do the nautilus thing on her head, but the spiral conche was hard to work in w her hair so I went with a mexican clamshell :) thank you! Great detail on your Wips, the face matches perfectly, the only thing is I would have switched their hairdo's :)

Laterdays: Holy smokes! like some else mentioned, the dress isn't very functional, but maaaaan, if it isn't the coolest!!!!

DigitallyDumbfounded: Thanks :) I went with the last one cuz I wanted to contrast a sort of strength between her in her natural environment and weakness in her "human" form..but thats easier said than done :)

A special THANKS to Clochette for the pm :) Love your versions XD

Heres where Im stopping with the mermaid form..gonna try the other one now!

http://i210.photobucket.com/albums/bb304/TenGuKu/Chow127s-wip3.jpg

[DefiledVisions]

KuGu I like the vibrant colours, allthough I think some subtle yellow could help it alot! :) also she comes out masculine to me.. don't know if it's intended - not that there's anything wrong with strong well-built chicks... don'get get me wrong here :P

[zulu]

lots of people on this one!, thats cool, heres my progress with the mermaid form, hope to make the other half on time, cheers to everyone!

[matjosh]

OK, heres a little update. thanks for the crits everyone, especialy ccsears. That was really helpfull, appreciate it alot. Did what i could, some things still waiting to be done.
i added a little space on top, and played with the hair some more, but i have a nasty feeling i overdid it a little.. tell me what you think?

http://img77.imageshack.us/img77/4411/merm15smallrl9.jpg

[DigitallyDumbfounded]

KuGu: Ah, I see. Now the strength part definetly shows. :3 Sweet rendering style!

Defiled Visions: I know your pain. ;P But I start with a lower res and blow the thing up once my background is laid out. Here I started with 2000 and went up to 3000. Makes a world of difference for my laptop and doesn't hurt the image.
Your mermaid looks real good. The yellow lights are alittle irritating. Maybe one would be enough?

And Update. Messed up the face. The whole water thing is challenging! Hair is also ind of iffy. I don't know if I'll go back to the more solid shape of the drawing. Will try.

But I heart my new Intuos. :sungod:

Update
Ok. Now with dark hair. Does this look better?

[matjosh]

Senira I like the design,it's one of the more interesting overall, not too carried away, looks just right. And the middle sketch of the three looks best in my opinion.
Supervlieg Like the style, and the wet hair of the maiden looks great, probably my favourite part of the whole thing o_o beautiful.
ccsears your work seems to be by far the best yet in my opinion. But i kinda liked your first maiden dress design a bit more. maybe 'cuz of the earlier color worked better.
Vorace looks awesome, but at the same time, kinda too evil for the innocent little mermaid ;D
Ramariel nicely done so far, one thing that doesn't look right is that the background seems to be foggy, and the main figure drops out, i recommend a little less contrast, maybe put a fog over it too after rendering.

[kiwigarbage]

I'm thinking this is a bit too close to plagiarism for me.

[zulu]

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.

[ArtFish]

I started laying in the colors for the mermaid form
still don't know if ill be able to finish on time but im trying to do something...haha

and i really need to fix that shoulder...eh ill get there :]

[skorpi]

So many great work in progress here. Thats very inspiring.

I think I make this one traditional with wathercolor.
First sketches and rough drawing.

[Xaya]

Hi everybody, some good competition here.

Well i started quite late so i don´t know if get the paintings done till Sunday... we will see.

So here a some more or less rough concepts...

I want to focus in the mermaid painting, the destiny for the "upper world"
In the maiden painting, the situation when she recognized that the prince doesn´t love her... and can´t go back to her world.

[DefiledVisions]

updates at http://conceptart.org/forums/showpost.php?p=1932961&postcount=215

Sorry for those I skiped. my mind started hurting after page 4. I will be sure to leave you all a comment before this contest is over :)

I wrote this chronologically.. so after page 4 I havn't seen your updates. *oops forgot to add the first comments*



Zephyri - Awesomeness! one of my absolute favs here. I love it and can't wait to see where to bring this!

Supervlieg - Love the contrast between her red hair and the turqoise background. And your updates are really great!

Poshspice - Beautiful sketches Posh. Love the pin-up last one ;)

MJ_Alcazar - Good sketches, allthough there are some anatomical issues, especially on the mermaid. Her arms are a bit out of proportion.

Slash - Beautiful sketch.and Beautiful update!

Dimagyan - Interesting mermaid concept! I like the human update aswell, allthough she is very static. Almost like frozen in time. If you give her a facial expression it'll help the piece. Also I get the feeling she's standing just below a very strong light. Don't know if that's what you're aiming for, anyway looking forward to your updates!

Baxter-E - Nice sketch! lots of movement. Allthough I like your first sketch more than the second :)

Adele - nice design, allthough it looks like she's geting shot or hit by some kind of power hehe.


Vineris - nice sketch, really looks old fashion.

WTFsteph - These are very nice. A playful, young and curios mermaid. Cheers. Also like the updates, get a bit disney feeling from it - probably because of the style.

Maguinness - Great sketch, I think the waving hand is fun, looking forward to how you unfold this.

Havoc-DM - looking good, a get a more sinister feeling from this girl. I liek - nice updates aswell. The symbolic swords are intersting.

DecayingLolita - Beautiful mermaid, lots of movement!

Monotony - Nice sketch, allthough I think it would be better if you have the mermaid version also look towards us - keep posting!

Zenichi - looking good, allthough I agree with you about the dagger, a bit out of place. Why would she be reaching for it anyway when she allready tossed it away :)

Cup_of_Tea - nice sketch.

bitjockey - welcome on board!

Dirkvandulmen - One of the more intersting mermaids I've seen so far. Show more!

KleeWyck - nice sketches, I like the end of her tail, with those small fins. And I like the progress, especially how they interact with each other!

The Whistler - looking good, I like the way you have positioned them - Only thing the bothers me a bit is that there's no interaction between them.. it feels like they dont belong together. Or maybe thats just me

CCsears - One of my favs here, lovley over-all. Inspiring aswell!

Clochette - Loveley style. Very cute :)

Tmyohlaing - Nice sketches. I like the one where she's leaning on the rock the most.

Carnifex - Cool! one of the more intersting mermaids, not the .. 'normal' :) I liek.

Katinki - These are very nice and clean. Love her dress.

PetiteMistress - Thank you! You piece is coming along niceley.

fuuryoku - Again, one of the more interesting mermaids in here! Love the shape of her body - very eel-like.

iuvo - they're beautiful, especially like your colours.

DHTenshi - Looking good, I really like the thoughtful one to the right.

JesseBean - Beautiful work - I'm really looking forward to your piece.

Jason Strutz - keep em coming - I like the mermaid to the bottom right, allthough I think her fish body is a bit too thick.. more slim and you have my vote! :D haha joke - keep it coming!

Chaosrocks - like like like! I get a very middle-eastern feel form her, could be the dot in the forehead? it's nice.

Fox - Another more interesting mermaid! haha I love this thread :D this one's great - but I think she still looks like a man. The chin is too flat.

Venger - Really cool, Hellboy inspired? I'd not want to take a swim with this lady ;)

Max Martelli - Cool sketch. waiting to see more!

DHTenshi - Nice sketch, waiting to see where you push this :)

Vorace - I'm in love, seriously.. so sexy! one of my favs! all thos spikes are a plus in my book ;)

DigitallyDumbfounded - Nice sketch, I like the huge tailfins.

Senira - Interesting design, looking forward to see the updates.

Xaya - Beautiful, beautiful.. really like it !

my hand hurts, and those I missed, I have my eyes on you ;)

[kiwigarbage]

I decided to go traditional with this one, hence the strange coloring. I probably should have taken this shot somewhere that my lighting wasn't yellow.

Anyway, the idea is that human Ariel is remembering back to when she took the potion. Mermaid Ariel is daydreaming about being a human...

Hope you like! I'm going to try my best to have a finished product, considering mermaids are about my favorite things to draw EVER! XD I love this CHOW.

[laterDays]

Fractalbot - Thanks!

Carnifex - I agree, I think I will slim her bottom. At least it isn't as bad now as it was before though, she seriously looked monstrous hehe.

DecayingLolita - Thanks for the comment! I wanted to stay simple too, but I found myself stuck someplace with nothing to do for a few hours yesterday ... :)

DidiHer - Yea I think I'll bring out the legs more.

Chaosocks - I'll try my best!

Cup of Tea? - Maybe haha.

Ramariel - Beautifully simple image, I love the dualism.

KuGu - Thanks man!By the way, awesome take on the mermaid and great earpiece design.

Matjosh - Great style! I would personally place the focal point of the piece a little lower, but that is just me.

Xaya - looks like those renderings will be awesome in the end! Keep it up!

[Claudio Grassi]

DefiledVisions: Thanks, Could you expand on that a bit? Im not very good at color theory, so I would really apreciate your input in a little more detail :) As for the musculature..yeh, Im a big fan of Frank Cho and Adam Hughes, and I love they way they draw their strong gals..unfortunately I applied that here but I repeat, she's a swimmer..end of story :D bwahahahaha

Xaya: Hot diggetty dog! Nice skillz! XD tho, and Im not complainin, she looks like she just came out of silent hill 4 :P cant wait for the finished version!

Ok I need a little help, Im torn between top-left, middle-right, and bottom-left....any thoughts?

http://i210.photobucket.com/albums/bb304/TenGuKu/chow127thumbs2.jpg

[LA-Fairy]

LA-Fairy the head-body relation still looks off to me... for interesting tails you could look up some tropical fish.

She looks so stiff... right. Maybe I can work on the anatomy after I have the tail done, tomorow. I just found a pic of a goldfish, which works. ^^
Hi everyone! this is my first time in these weekly activities.

Me too, and yours just looks fantastic, how long did that take you?


LA-Fairy: Don’t be so intimidated! The Ying Yang idea looks really cute. I would suggest, however, working a bit on the anatomy, possibly looking at some swimming references.

Thanks!
Maybe I can add more curves to get her more... normal? LOL... Maybe I can manage to tweek the anatomy a bit and the tail before my boyfriend picks me up.

laterDays, your mermaid looks beautiful!

[cowboy surfer]

I could do with some help in developing my pencil lines into the drawing. Can someone help?
At the moment, I darken my lines using contrast/brightness and then change the layer to overlay. I also have a second copy in which I select the white background colour and delete it, leaving only the black drawing lines. Both of these layers are on top of my colour layers. It still looks very pixelated and rough. Any advice? Or maybe I should go to another forum for this?
Thanks guys, I have been really enjoying this one.

Hope this will prove helpful, its how I usually tranfer my pencils once they are scanned in (usualy 300 dpi).

From the select menu choose All to select the whole image
Cntrl C (shortcut for copy)
Click the Quick Mask Mode (the icon bellow the foreground and background colours, its a small grey rectangular box with a white circle in it)
Cntrl V (shortcut for paste)
Click back to standard mode (the white rectangular box next to quick mask mode)
Shift Cntrl and I (shortcut for invert selection)
Create a new layer
Shift and F5 (shortcut for fill) (making sure your foreground colour is black)
Cntrl D to deselect the selection
Hide your background scan and add a layer filled with white under the new line layer
You should now have a realy accurate and less pixelated line above a white background
You can now paint it underneath if you want to keep the line showing or over the top if you dont!

Anyway hope that is some help.

[Slash]

More turdpolish! I'm starting to feel pretty good about this, its contrasting the mood from the first one nicely. I've also managed to repeat some of the design statements from the fish version, like her sleeves, the wrinkles in her dress imitating the stripes of her tail, the dress fanned out around her like the fins on the fish version and finally i plan on doing some stuff with the foam around her foot to hint at a tail shape.. but i don't know about that last idea, i'm gonna have to do some more tests..

[Max Martelli]

Fabulous work all around everyone. I'd go through them all one by one but there isn't enough time in the day and I've some mermaid(en) to work on.

Here's an update on my maiden sketch.

Let me know what you think.

[DefiledVisions]

KuGu yea, what I meant was it's so blue.. and the ocean is greenish, so adding some yellow/green tones to the brighter parts of the water would give more feel to water I think, I don't know, I think :P

But it's a good piece so don't go ruining it by adding lots of green on the same layers as your colour haha.

[Jason Strutz]

painting start tonite!
I can never start a painting until friday. Why? Agg

[Clochette]

Great work everybody! ^^

I've changed some parts of my maiden.
Think that's over now, I'm now working on the composition with these 2 frames...

[Claudio Grassi]

Adjustment layers to the rescuueeee!! Thank you for all the help DefiledVisions, This is what I could do playing around with some adjustment layers...I see what you mean about it being too blue..after I did this minor change I noticed how more relaxed my eye was while viewing the image..still theres something about the first one, I think it's the way the lower ack faded in the blue of the image only highlighting her shoulders..oh well...I shall ponder which version to post, but your advice will go towards my next piece nonetheless :) - thank you.

http://i210.photobucket.com/albums/bb304/TenGuKu/Chow127s-wip3.jpghttp://i210.photobucket.com/albums/bb304/TenGuKu/Chow127s-wip4.jpg

[Clochette]

Indeed, the green one is much better! The first is almost purple, doesn't really fits with the ocean hues. :)

[vineris]

More crits!

Senira - Interesting design, lots of emotion in that expression. I'd make the canvas a bit bigger, it's kind of awkward looking at her squished in there.
cowboysurfer - Appealing overall. Her head looks small to me, though, and it feels like the bottom of her face indicates the face is tilted up, but the top of it looks straight-on.
Artfish - I like the tailfin design! Her shoulders seem broad to me and the arms don't really look like they're foreshortened. If you haven't used reference for them you probably should.
Lalilulelo - Very nice! Good colour choices and interesting angle on the mermaid. The maiden is just gorgeous!
MM Howard - Cute face and breasts on the mermaid! That raised armpit still needs work. The maiden's face could use more work. The wide mouth, button nose and strong chin make her look boyish.
Daray - All the curves are so pretty! Watch how the heads attach to the necks, it doesn't look right. I like what you're doing with the colours!
DHTenshi - Looks better, although the lack of lips still looks weird and the shadow on the cheekbones makes them look awfully sharp for a face that's essntially round.
LA Fairy - The mermaid's left breast (to our right) seems too small. The feet on the maiden could use some work too. The expression on the maiden's face is nice and intense.
Adele - the human version is great! I like the knives. Too bad you're doing something else.
Clochette - the mermaid is fabulous! I love the magazine, it's a great touch. I don't like the maiden form quite as much. I love her face and expression, but there's something about the restof her body that bugs me. Maybe it's that the upper arms are too long, or the torso is a bit on the plain side or the bottom leg doesn't quite work.
Crrristian - very interesting face. She's pretty stiffly posed, though. The hair is perfectly still, she's mostly straight up & down... there's no sense of movement.
avefenix - I like the regency costume. The torsos seem awfully long.
JSpayde - I like the style, it's got almost a Chinese ink painting feel to it. I'd give the hair more strands, it looks like a solid mass right now. Her head looks small compared to her shoulders.
katinki - the coloured mermaid is nice! I like the different colours in her tail.
Ramariel - Good concept! I like the koi/asian influence. The rendering on her face and hair is nicely done. The lighting on her doesn't seem consistent with the background.
ZyklonB - good pose and lots of nice detail!
petitemistress - the hair looks much better in this newer version.
Jessibean, Slash - looking good!
artiphats - cool design! Those eels look good. The mouth could use some work, I think.
fractalbot - it's kind of weird not seeing her other arm. The pose makes sense, but I'd loosen it up and give it a more distinct silhouette.
Vampirehungerstrike - I like the feel of the drowning maiden picture. Very classic.
KuGu - even with the muscled back, that's beautiful.
matjosh - love the lighting and the profile.
n1va - hair and hands need work, but otherwise looks pretty good.
LaterDays - beautiful, and the designs are wonderfully unique. The legs on the maiden form could stand out from the shadow a bit more.

More later!

[Slash]

KuGu: I like the green one too! I'd suggest introducing some variation to the darker parts of your value range tho, the darks reads a little flat. Maybe give her a weak secondary light source from below to help pop the forms more.

[Scraw]

Here's mine for this week. Mer-form (?) is getting really close to done, the belegged version is just a sketch still. Trying to get my anatomy a bit more solid this week, doing some more moody, exciting lighting. They are composed as part of a single large image, but I wanted to do smaller cuts for this so people could spot anatomical issues easier.

Crits for other peoples:

KuGu - Definitely the greenish version. Looks much more ocean-y. Loving the defined musculature in the arms, she looks buff! The hair looks kinda fuzzy, might could do with some more defining around the edges? Nice shapes on it though. Also, I'd say to go with the top-left pose. The other ones feel a little too playful for the (original)story.

Matjosh - Really nice atmospheric piece, cool composition. Might want to pull some of that yellow-green into the torso area, and some of that cool-green into the tail. The color separation is a bit jarring.

Clochette- Awesome colors. Maybe try tightening up the light/shadow shapes on the torso and legs?

Max Martelli- I think the hair shape is a little off. With the angle of her head I'd think there would be less mass on the (our) left side of her head, than on the right.

Slash- That's looking awesome. I love the cloth rendering and the perspective is really fun. Also... those things behind her remind me of headcrabs for some reason. SHIT! She's gonna be a zombie!

KiwiGarbage Cool concept, I might add in some elements to make the scene a bit more ethereal, so people realize they aren't supposed to take the scene completely literally. Also, human-form ariel seems like she's leaning a bit to our left, though that also might be from the angle of the picture in the shot.

[Claudio Grassi]

Clochette: Nice, you got my first "Thanks" evar! :)

vineris: Glad you like it all muscle-y and stuff :P Im strugling with the concept of strong beauty and trying not to cross the line..thank you.

Slash: Thank you, Im glad that Im getting closer to a better picture, I will try the whole secondary light thing, but I dont know what will happen, the wierd thing is that on my monitor the darks have plenty of tones, but Ill see how I can make the figupre pop a little more. :)

Scraw: Thank you! The fuzzy hair was intentional to try to give it a sense of that underwater movement..maybe its not working, ill look into it :) as far as the "human" pose...I went with the attached :( the one you pointed out was my very first choice, but, and I may be wrong, I thought that doing a "concept" piece was more about describing the character's look than emotion, so I went with the middle of the road..hope to pull it off..thank you for your input :) As far as yours go, I really love the shark-look to the mermaid..I dont know, but it makes sense...what brushes do you use? I like the effect but I cant seem to get it in my pics...

heres human-maid ¬_¬ Im going reeeeaaally scholastic on this one, and I gotta do some minor clothes-bits and what not..gotta hurry gotta hurry gotta hurry..just getting to the poll would be a victory :]

http://i210.photobucket.com/albums/bb304/TenGuKu/Chow127sb-wip1.jpg

[Clochette]

Thanks for the feed back guys! I'll try to fix it up tomorrow because tonight I can't stand watching mermaids anymore! Haha!
I've tried to anticipate my work for that chow because I'll have no much time for me this week end, but we'll see... Even if I can't apply all your suggestions I'm already happy to have enter that great competition!
I really enjoyed painting those mermaids, and share with you, very useful for me! :)

Good luck to each of you! ^-^

[alesoun]

Breasts are just a tad too high, Kugu. (Sorry)

[Claudio Grassi]

lol! :D no need to apologize..thanks for pointing it out...they were indeed too high :]

[Senira]

Thanks for the great critiques everyone! I'm about ready to wrap up work on her mermaid form, or at the very least put it aside so that I can focus on her maiden form.

I decided to keep the tentacles, though they're not reading as well as I hoped at the back angle. I'm still trying to decide if they make her look too busy in the back or not, since the barnacles are also a big focus back there. Hm...

Looking at it now, I realize that I too have fallen into the Disney pit-- I was going for a sewery, slimy look to her, since eels are hardly the most beautiful creatures in the sea, and yet here I find myself in the red/green color scheme. I guess it's my fault for blasting "Under the Sea" while working on this stage.

I'll post more crits tomorrow, when I update with her maiden form.

[ArtFish]

Thanks vineris ya the shoulders need work...plan on doing that tomorrow :]

[Max Martelli]

Updated maiden.

I'm gonna scrap the background and stick to the same vibe the mermaid has.

I'm fooling around with figure orientations. This is mostly so that when the two pieces are put together they won't look just thrown together.

I want the figure facing a different way than the mermaid is.

The pose that I seem to be attracted to is the upside down one. It's much more different than one would expect and I seem to like the way the figure looks in this orientation. I also think the swoop of her hair can play off of the swoop of the mermaids hair when put together with it. The only thing I'm worried about is that it's a much more nonconventional pose (when you see a figure you don't expect it to be upside down) but I think that this is part of it's appeal.

I've posted my last update of the mermaid so you can see its orientation to compare with that of the maiden.

Tell me what you think looks good, I'd love the feedback.