Chow 128 :: VOTING :: The Clockwork Heart

[S.C. Watson]

FINALS ONLY
-=ROUND 128=-
-= THE CLOCKWORK HEART =-
an IDW/CHOW cross-over event

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http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii293/chowarchive/CHOW-LINES/CHOW-LINES-MEDUSA.jpg
NOT SURE ABOUT THE GUIDELINES? CLICK HERE! (http://www.conceptart.org/forums/showthread.php?t=117390)
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DESCRIPTION
"The creaking of floorboards and the sound of heavy footsteps in the hall dragged the boys mind back into the damp and dark living room he had been playing in. Someone was at the door. The boy glanced at the clock to check the time, but the clock had stopped working ever since his dad had thrown it against the wall years ago. The doorknob squeaked. The boy dragged the wooden locomotive, which missed a wheel since he could remember having it, back with him into the shade as he hastily crept back to his corner, a hiding spot behind the desk. A tin soldier was left behind in the middle of the bare floor but the boy did not dare leave his hiding place to go back and retrieve it. The door creaked and then slammed shut. The footsteps came closer, then suddenly stopped. The boy peeked around the desk and caught sight of a large silhouette of a man in the doorway, framed by the light coming from the hall. The figure turned its head towards the boy. Not daring to move, the boy stared wide-eyed back at the man. Daddy was home.

Without showing any sign of acknowledging his son, the man grunted and slowly took another step. With every step the man took, he seemed to slow down and become more and more unsteady. Finally he reached a flimsy wooden chair and sank down on it with a deep sigh, making it almost collapse under a weight is was never build for. The man’s breathing had become louder and heavier all the way towards the chair. With a tired sweep of his arm he took off his hat. Slowly he started to unbutton his heavy coat, and what at first was a faint ticking at the edge of hearing since he had entered now became the steady tick-tock like a clock. It seemed to come from inside the man’s clothes. The boy knew what was coming, but he remained hidden still.

The father kept unbuttoning several layers of clothes, until he came to a leather chest piece held together by several belts. The ticking became louder. The boy dreaded this moment worse than any other time of the day, even worse than facing the other kids at school. With each belt that was unbuckled, the ticking seemed to become more aggressive and present. Finally, the leather chest piece came loose. The boy closed his eyes, but his mind could picture every detail of what he did not want to see. Roughly where the man’s heart should have been, a metal contraption was buried in his chest that ticked with the deafening punctuality of a clock. Moving parts where visible inside it, gears and flywheels and springs, all moving to the same beat. The boy opened his eyes, preparing for what was to come.

The man fumbled with the clamps that kept the contraption in place, then grabbed the clockwork heart with both hands and with a grunt of effort he pulled it out and slammed it on the table next to him. It kept on ticking, but now the table acted like an amplifier. The boy wanted to clasp his hands over his ears to keep the sound out, but knew it would only make his father angrier. Slowly he got up on his feet, dropping the toy train. With an impatient gesture his daddy motioned him to come closer. This movement seemed to cost him a lot of willpower, as his eyes rolled up to show only white for a moment and he gasped for breath. A hoarse whisper came out of his mouth: “rewind it, son…before mom comes home...”

NOTES:
The main character is the father. You may illustrate the son and the mother if you wish, but they are not necessary.

If you plan on participating in IDW as well, the Clockwork Heart must be included in a sidebar and be fully illustrated.



It may be easier to do an Ortho view of the Father for this round.
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ACCEPTANCE TO POLL WILL BE BASED ON THREE CRITERIA:
1: DID THE ARTIST FOLLOW THE BRIEF? (allowance for creative takes will be made).
2: IS THE PIECE ARTISTICALLY SOUND? (Is the illustration "finished?" - did the artist pay attention to anatomy, perspective, other fundamentals?).
3: IS THIS ILLUSTRATION THE BEST ONE?

--------------------

SUBMITTING YOUR ENTRY:
1: You must submit ONE full sized image.
2: Make sure your name and CHOW # are EASILY READABLE on your entry.
3: Use the Standard format (Below);

http://i73.photobucket.com/albums/i222/ChowPics/frame.jpg
:right: PLACE THE IMAGE IN A FRAME WITH YOUR NAME/TOPIC
:right: SAVE YOUR FILE IN THE FOLLOWING FORMAT:
Chow##_Nickname
example: "CHOW#100_Oregano.jpg"

THE REST IS EASY:
1: No comments before poll is set. They WILL be deleted with utmost malice and petty grumbling.
2: Sit back and enjoy the show. BYOPC (Bring your own popcorn)
3: Good luck to all.

[S.C. Watson]

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)
-------------------------
: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)

[tomwaits4noman]

WIP posted in original thread HERE > (http://www.conceptart.org/forums/showthread.php?t=137485)

Away for most of weekend so posting now, sadly no time to do the full design of heart in IDW :(

[Claudio Grassi]

My final :)

Lorenzo Ferrari was diagnosed at an early age with what the greatest medical minds of the time called "Cor Pigmeus". He was informed that his heart would not grow to support his adult frame and that he would consequently die not long after his eighteenth birthday.
Determined not to fade away due to the imperfections of his body, Lorenzo turned all his attention to the wonders of modern mechanics.
Combining relentless research and study with his natural talent for engineering, he was soon able to create a most remarkable contraption, a Clockwork Heart.
It didn't take much for Lorenzo to convince the doctors to implant his fantastic creation into his chest to replace his own failing organ. Under the pretense of Lorenzo's only chance of survival the doctors agreed to operate. However, more than an interest in Lorenzo's well being, they secretly reveled at the idea of indulging their scientific curiosity. The operation was a success.
But Lorenzo's new lease on life came at a high cost. Every day, once a day, he would have to remove his precious heart, to wind it back up to live for one more day, or to die trying.

http://i210.photobucket.com/albums/bb304/TenGuKu/chow128-KuGu.jpg

Im Adding my IDW final in here cuz I dont see a thread for it over there yet :) I added the two separate internal "valves" for directing blood flow better...:bs:

http://i210.photobucket.com/albums/bb304/TenGuKu/IDW78-KuGu.jpg

http://i210.photobucket.com/albums/bb304/TenGuKu/chow-128-wips-small1.jpg


I pretty much hit the ground running on this one, created the original rough in painter, but then went into PS to refine it. I pictured a man that "needed" a mechanical heart to sustain him, and I immediately pictured a gaunt sunken, sickly face, from there I just went with the whole steampunk vibe.
His hair and pose are a bit of a Phil Hale knock off ( a bad one). I tried to give the character an instability that hopefully makes the viewer uncomfortable, as I imagine the character feels. I decided also to just focus on the character rather than on the scene. What I mean is, I wanted to describe him, the father and his world rather than depict a moment from the brief..I hope that's cool. Anyhow this is what I came up with, thanks to everyone from the posts that chimed in, it always helps to get fresh perspectives..good luck to everyone! :)

[townes]

thanks zephyri for the feedback on my last Chow! thank you very very much :)
i would love to drop you a PM with my WIP to have an opinion, unfortunately the internet cafe is about 1 hour away which means that i am not able to go to the internet very often. (once or twice a week)

anyway, here is my entry for the newest Chow - i tried to portray the father after the "Daddy was here." line.

http://img216.imageshack.us/img216/5780/3daddyax7.jpg

[flashrabbit]

Final

http://i126.photobucket.com/albums/p97/DkJunior/CHOW128_flashrabbit.jpg

And here is my WIP (http://www.conceptart.org/forums/showpost.php?p=1939571&postcount=54)

[MarkWinters]

Here's mine. Good luck everyone!

http://markwintersart.com/images/posts/chow128_markwinters.jpg

http://markwintersart.com/images/posts/chow128_markwinters_wip.jpg

[ArtAdonis]

A few minutes to spare, I think? good luck everyone, some excellent imagery!

http://www.artadonis.com/Uploads/CHOW/CHOW128_ArtAdonis_Character.jpg

http://www.artadonis.com/Uploads/CHOW/CHOW128_ArtAdonis_Heart.jpg

[amaliax]

...and we're done. A million thanks to everyone who commented through my slow, arduous process (especially max martelli and kugu, because I had not thanked them in the wip thread yet).

So, first I read the brief. Then I thought, No, I won't do this, it's clockwork. What do I know about clockwork? Nothing. Then I thought, well I'll just duck in the library quick and take a look. Once I got a handle on that, it was inevitable. It turned out to be a lot of fun. I also researched artificial hearts, actual hearts, old-fashioned clothing, and a host of other things I'm not usually interested in. So I count this as a massive success! I learned a lot. :D

The heart tickles me. I could make that work! ...maybe.

Fantastic entries, everybody!

[DigitallyDumbfounded]

Ok made some last minute changes had nasty PS issues. Grrr.
I wanted to show a more emotinal father and also tried to give him some other abnormities. I got some inspiration from baroque furniture, hence the twirly chair and table.
476850


And my Wips
476846
I got some inspiration from baroque furniture, hence the twirly chair and table.

[vantrum]

I saw this challenge tonight (sunday) and wanted to have a go! I love what I see from everyone else! I wish I had more time to develop this one.... oh well.

[MJ_Alcazar]

I had to fight with Photobucket for awhile, but finally it let me on, and then FINALLY it let me save it in the correct format. ::sigh::
Ok, I immediately had an idea for the guy as soon as I read the story. Great job with the imagery Yoitisi!
I'm really proud of this piece, it's probably the best guy I've drawn so far. I had fun looking up period clothes, practices, and how exactly hearts work. I kind of started off as he had some kind of heart disease with plaque building up in his arteries and he had to have his heart replaced. That's why I drew him a bit chunkier. I thought it fit the story well. But, then it just sort of took off, I thought the other prothesis fit well with him.Thank you so much guys for all the help that you gave me on this piece.

Here's the WIPS http://conceptart.org/forums/showpost.php?p=1938776&postcount=35 and http://conceptart.org/forums/showpost.php?p=1941993&postcount=80 and http://conceptart.org/forums/showpost.php?p=1944373&postcount=100

http://i279.photobucket.com/albums/kk153/Seloh_Eft/chow128_MJ_Alcazar.jpg
http://i279.photobucket.com/albums/kk153/Seloh_Eft/IDW79_MJ_Alcazar.jpg

[Max Martelli]

Here's the final. I'm including the IDW final as well just so you can see my design for the heart.

WIP thumbnails are under both designs.

Good job everyone and good luck.

[The Whistler]

PROGRESS THREAD (http://www.conceptart.org/forums/showpost.php?p=1938137&postcount=23)

And my final, no time to fix up the heart more for IDW unfortunately...

[Pixeltuner]

Here's my final. I have a fairly straight process on this one. While was reading the story I immediately got the idea of a large bearded blacksmith type of father with slightly exaggerated features like his son would see him. I went for the more 'electric' chest and make him sport a rubberish glove to make him able to touch the machinery.

[Dan!]

wooooo
http://i134.photobucket.com/albums/q81/DECYPL/chow128_decypl.jpg
http://i134.photobucket.com/albums/q81/DECYPL/chow128_decyplProcess.jpg

[timothee]

I didn't really have enough time to finish what I wanted to do with the character, but here it is anyway.

[Larriva Art]

Decided to give it a go. Started work on it on Saturday, so it's not as finished as I'd like.

I couldn't help but think of Daniel Day Lewis' character from "There Will Be Blood," when conceiving this chow.

Oils on Panel, 11" x 14"
477629

477628

[AlotAbitAlittle]

Damn the Atlanta Gas Crisis - Just got home - Hope I am in time.

The Schematics:

1. Front View
2. Back View
3. Side View
4. Case/Holder that is strapped to chest.
5. Protective Leather cover.

The Mechanics:

This is basically a victorian pacemaker. The ideas is that the clock is rigged to create short electrical pulses using small amounts of neodymium (naturally found magnet) to react with copper coil causing a magnetic field which then produces an electrical current that is conducted with copper wire to come out of the clock via a cord. Theoretically there is a cord with small electrodes attached to the heart around the left and right atrium that comes out of the body. The cord from the clock and the cord from the heart are detachable for winding purposes.

6. Base/Gear box of "heartwork clock" This is the area that all of the magic happens (see above.)
7. Pressure gauge to maintain a constant pulse - and some gear to keep i all connected.
8. Coil Storage - Three are needed to extend the time between winding.
9. Coil and heartbeat control.

Flow Direction:

From mechanic drawing #8 the coil gradually unwinds passing through numerous storage spindles. From there the coil passes through the pressure gauge where little levers determine the pressure and adjust the heartbeat control gear (marked with an "h" - once was a faucet knob). It then goes into the time meter - which has a glass face allowing you to see the time left until rewind (also visible with the leather protective cover in the heart emblem). The coil is then taken into the gear box and the magnetic charge is applied. The coil is them comes out of the base in mechanic drawing #1 and it can be attached to the cord in the heart.


It was fun to plan all of this out! CC's are welcome!!!!!!!

[S.C. Watson]

No entries past this mark.

~Oreg.

[S.C. Watson]

GENERAL NOTES:

Didn’t follow CHOW format (3/4 of character not visible).
vantrum – Nicely done illustration, but CHOW submission format calls for a minimum ¾ of the character to be visible.

Off Topic/Brief

No WIPS

Incorrect naming format (NEEDS TO BE CHOW000 YOURNAMEHERE)

Failed quality check (sloppy/rushed/unfinished artwork and/or insufficient artistic quality)

Good, but just not quite there

Too much style, not enough focus

Almost made it, but... we had reservations

Anatomical Issues

Almost didn’t go, but we had less than fifty entries:

[MJ_Alcazar]

Ok, may be busy for the rest of the week, so I'll try to give everyone crits now. I loved how different the directions were with keeping with the central theme. Good work everyone.

The ones that really stood out to me were:

Kugu - I love his unbalanced look, and he really looked sick enough to need this heart. Awesome work on him.

MarkWinters - I love how he's pondering the heart, and the sense of melancholy I get from the drawing. He looks great.

ArtAdonis - splendid work, I loved the direction you took and the expression is amazing.

Others that got my vote:

Amaliax - You worked hard on this, and I love the period look he has.

Decypl - I love the look on his face, and the details that you added.

The Whistler - He looks so tired, I think there could have been a more depth feeling to him, but all in all, he looks good. :)

Pixeltuner - I loved the exageratted features from the child's perspective. He looks great. The pose could have been a little more dynamic, I think. But, you did a great job.

Others

Townes - Great work, but I would have really liked to see him better. It could be just my monitor, but all I see is a silhouette.

alotabitalittle - Great drawing, but his movements were too strong for me. He didn't seem to need the heart to my eye.

Digitallydumbfounded - I liked your take. I think it just didn't seem dark enough for me, maybe like, not enough difference between shadow and light. Good job though.

tomwaits4noman - Again, for me, the movement didn't fit the character enough. However, now that I'm thinking about it and looking over yours, I think you did that as more of a exageratted motions for the kid's eyes.

Max Martelli - I actually really liked yours and thought you worked really hard on it. Maybe play around with the shadows a bit more is all I can see. I was really close to voting for you.

Vampire Hunger Strike - I always love your drawings and this one is no exception. However, it seems more like an illustration than a character to me, and I really cannot tell you why at the moment. I'll probably regret not voting for you later. :)

flashrabbit - another one that I have no clue why I didn't vote for. Yours looked really great, I liked how you went for an older looking guy than most. He seems very tired. Great job.

Timothee - the thing that bugged me about yours when I was looking at it, is that the leather piece was around his waist and not his chest. I'm quite embarrassed about it, but I can see now that it was on his chest and you drew it falling away from it. This could be just that I'm insane, but I think some more folds in his clothing to suggest that would've helped. :)

[Wiggers]

Surprised to see so few entries, some lovely art though!

Voted for artadonis, Kugu(great heart design) vampirehungerstrike and Mark Winters

[Pixeltuner]

vote for kugu and flashrabbit. The first one because of the nice toolbox and the last one because he looks like Gordon Freeman :D

[The Whistler]

KuGu (awesome belt) and MarkWinters (fav this round) get my votes this time, would've voted for Pixeltuner too but didn't only because the brief said it was clockwork and not electricity :(

[flashrabbit]

Voted!

And now for some comments.

townes: It's a bit dark, but the mood really works!

Max Martelli: I think you should try to smooth out some places and not try to have as strong black lines.
It almost makes it look like different parts.

Pixeltuner: Heavy. I hope he remembers which hand that has the rubber glove on ;P Nice texture on the jacket.

The Whistler: Then hand resting on the leg looks a little weird and the finger closest looks like an thumb?
Also the head needs to be a little higher at the front.

ArtAdonis: Love it. Looks like a strong brusque fellow, I can see him using the heart container as an ashtray ;O

timothee: I would like to see it finished some time :) The eyes are diffrent sizes.
Also the hand that opens the lid could be more defined.

VampireHungerStrike: It's always nice with tradional stuff here :) Nice light.
The shoes look too big for him.

tomwaits4noman: Again, it's to dark to see (or maybe it's my screen ;I )

DigitallyDumbfounded: The open eye needs to be bit lower down and the shirt is a little too much creased.

amaliax: He looks very helpless with the heart out like that, almost like he's frozen in time.
I like that you have the heart in color and the husband in monochrome.

KuGu: Nice :) Cant say I'm a fan of the stylized hair and the pants look a little flat.
I think it´s because there is alot of details in the picture except those parts.

MJ_Alcazar: Cute toy soldier. I like how he sits on the chair.
The head looks kinda flat or maybe its the chin, I dont' know. And the hand looks a little swollen.
Question, why does he have one shoe/sock off?

AlotAbitAlittle: Love the expression on his face, looks painful to get to the heart. Nicely rendered :)

DECYPL: I think it might be a little much pattern on the vest with the wallpaper there also.
Might have worked better with an different pattern or less? Nice detail to show the kid reaching out from under the table.

MarkWinters: Very nice. Might look even better with some texture thrown in there.
Fun shakespearean pose. He looks very calm for an man without a heart ;P

[S.C. Watson]

Okay, there seems to have been some legitimate confusion on when the deadline actually was (thank you Oregano for being as clear as mud :er: )

If you've pm'd me, or if your piece is done, shoot me a pm with a link to it and I'll post it in the poll.

I'll keep this option open until noon today (Tuesday).

[Jazz]

Oregano, I already voted. Am I stuck if there are new entries to vote for?? :(

[S.C. Watson]

Oregano, I already voted. Am I stuck if there are new entries to vote for?? :(

No - if we get new entries, and you wish to vote for one or more of them, just pm me your votes and I will add them.

~Oreg.

[PuppyKitten]

Oregano, you are the best. Thank you!

Here's my entry. I didn't get it as polished as I planned because I gave up last night, but I did the best I can at 7am while trying to get ready for work.


Here are some WIPs: http://img54.imageshack.us/my.php?image=wippish1hm9.jpg

[S.C. Watson]

Okay PK, you're in. I gave you five comp votes (other late entries will get the same).
---------
IF YOU HAVE ALREADY VOTED, AND WOULD LIKE TO ADJUST YOUR VOTE TO REFLECT THE ADDITION OF LATE ENTRIES - PM ME!

~Oreg.

[yoitisi]

The poll for the IDW part of this cross-over event is up too: IDW #79: Clockwork Heart - an IDW/CHOW cross-over event- Voting (http://www.conceptart.org/forums/showthread.php?t=138096) :)

[DigitallyDumbfounded]

Ok. Voted.
Since it's such a small round I limited my votes to 3 people (and because it's my lucky number, so thereyou go...). But despite small there are so many great works here! So I went more with my gut feeling than quality alone.

I voted for KuGU: Love the design and expression.

Alotabotalittle: Spontaneous vote. :) I love the expression much and the heart design too.

MJAlcazar: I really think you hit the spot for the brief and your composition looks good. And thanks for your comment!! I agree, I don't know why that didn't occur earlier to me. I think someone pointed it out already in the WIP thread that I need more darks but somehow I plainly forgot about it. :S Probably too focused on details...

And for more crits:
Townes: It's really dark, wich is sad because what I can see looks really interesting. Also I'd have loved to see his jacket open and the actual heart. :)

MaxMartelli:Overall I think you could have added in more details to define the character but I like the solemn expression.

Pixeltuner: Looking good and I like the character design in general but he actually does look a little like a steampunk cyborg warrior type, wich is cool, but probably doesn't quite convey the inner torment. Eh, but that's of course what I read from the story anyway. ;P

TheWhistler: I like this a lot. One thing I find a little irritating is the metall plate, I'm getting the impression it's curved inwards but that would press into his chest, if that makes sense. :)

ArtAdonis: This is cool. Almost got my vote. :^^: And I think the beard/perspective thing works really well now.

Timothee: I like the design but his expression is a bit empty. Also I think his eyes are not really on the same height. :)

Vampirehungerstrike: Beautiful. I like your traditional works a lot. But, maybe because of the pants, his legs seem really long. :)

Flashrabbit: Also almost voted for this. I really like the brushtroke quality a lot. I was wondering a little about the blue bouncelights on the left side of the coat. I mean, it doesn't hurt but I was wondering where they come from. ANd thanks for your crit! I'll put the eye down and probably put this up in the critique center. :)

Tomwaits4noman: Like I said, I like this but you mentioned you didn't have more time for this. :( Would have liked to see it more worked out.

Amaliax: Looks good. :) I think you have a good star here and his heart is very convincing.

Decpyl: Agree with the texture comment but it's really moody. :)

MarkWinters: Ah, I like this too much. Almost voted but, ... :X I guess there's no good excuse. I love your heart design.

PuppyKitten: Hey! I was wondering where you had gone to. :^^:
Good to see you back. I like him but I think he looks a bit boyish. Maybe the rounded cheeks and soft nose do that. I like your style in general and it's a bit more challenging to do older, harder characters in that, I think. Er, yeah. :3

Hope I didn't forget anyone. Like I said, small round but great entries! Sad StepahnR didn't post, same goes for Poshspice. :O And also, I'd have loved to see more people in the WIP thread, some entries popped up real late, wich is good but it felt kinda lonely. :S

[laterDays]

Hey guys! Here is the stuffs I had finished last night!

478670

478671

First I did some head sketches to get the look of the man...
478674

I tried one composition, but I didn't like it
478675
scrapped it, then moved on...

Here are sketches of the man's costume
478676

Then I moved on to developing the heart. Here are some sketches.
478677

Finally I went on to design the composition and worked the heck out of it...
478678
478679

[MJ_Alcazar]

Wow guys, the late entries that were added look awesome!

flashrabbit - thank you! The hand was purposeful, I figured if he had a mechanical heart, he'd have edema and probably a lot of other difficulties. Hmmmm, I'll have to work on my faces, try to make them, and the rest of my drawings less flat, thanks for pointing that out. Oh, and to answer your question. It was inspired because I had spent 8 hrs in my Nursing Class, and then came home, I got off one shoe and decided it was too much of an effort and started studying. And this pose popped in my head. :)

[Flipnastywebby]

ok ladies and gents, this round was a tough one because of the double assignment. i understand that the subject is not something that is typically illustrated. It called for a lot of research and imagination. That being said I was really impressed at the amount of entries, that was until I watched Iron Man. A good chunk of the designs are bastardized heart mechanisms that powered Tony Starks heart and kept the shrapnel out of his thump thump. Mostly would be flashrabbit ans MarkWinters. Sorry guys but the elements I see in your work are just too close to the designs in that movie.

Alotabitalittle recreated a heart out of a clock, and magnets. In fact that was the only one I thought had any chance of working in real life, so it was the only one I voted for.

MarkWinters, I know I slammed you in this post but yours was rendered very well. It was very hard for to say this on the thread but I felt it was justified. I also did not submit my work because I saw Iron Man and was reminded, " crap thats where that Idea came from!" so out of principle I left mine out.

laterdays I didnt vote for your because you got 5 free votes. Just consider one of those from me. :pirate: And dude, your process is very inspiring. do you have a walk through on how you work set up anywhere? or possibly what bushes you use?