Chow 141 :: The Ghosts of Christmas

[daestwen]

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

ROUND #141 :: The Ghosts of Christmas

DESCRIPTION

This is a two-week Chow for the holidays! Because you have some extra time, you are asked to do three characters this year. For those of you familiar with Dicken's the Christmas Carol, you'll recognize all three: The Ghost of Christmas Past, the Ghost of Christmas Present, the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come.

Please feel free to go wild with these designs - you don't need to stay exactly true to the description in the novel, just to the spirit! There have been plenty awesome designs of these characters over the years, so take a look for some inspiration!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ghost_of_Christmas_Past
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ghost_of_Christmas_Present
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ghost_of_Christmas_Yet_to_Come

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

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DEADLINE
SUNDAY, JANUARY 4TH, 2008
Deadline is Sunday, at 11:59 pm Eastern Standard Time (GMT -5).
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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).


POST YOUR FINALS IN THE FINALS THREAD!
Remember to include your nickname in the file name.

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.

_____________

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)

[spaztastic]

Sweet... I can't wait to start

[capnpyro]

Some how every week your theme fits in exactly with what I wanted to draw in my free time next, great idea, can't wait to see entries.

[Mock]

Yessss. I hope I have time for this one.

[shannanigan]

Hooray for 2 weeks... because this is an awesome theme I'd hate to miss it.
Something to ponder and rough sketch while I'm snowed in with my parents back in Michigan next week... 2000 miles away from my Wacom. LOL!

[spaztastic]

are we allowed to use outrageous themes? like completely off topic but still using the designated characters? Cause I'd love to use the theme in my head...

[shannanigan]

I ran across this website: http://www.cedmagic.com/featured/christmas-carol/christmas-carol.html

It has photos of all the Characters of Christmas Carol from all the different movie incarnations. Even the Muppets. LOL! Though it was rather helpful... to see what has already been done.

[Aly Fell]

If no-one has ever seen the Richard Williams version of A Christmas Carol then do so. Williams was responsible for Roger Rabbit amongst other things and this, although very short, is the best animated version. The Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come is very scary as are the children he hides beneath his cloak; Want and Ignorance. But although I love Alastair Sims version of Scrooge, The Muppet Christmas Carol has to be my favourite!

You can see the whol Dick Williams version on Google Video. I don't kbow how to embed Google vids, but the link is here:

>>A CHRISTMAS CAROL (http://video.google.co.uk/videoplay?docid=-8817517652455175582&ei=jkRPSejOEoHaiAL5-LTICw&hl=en)<<

[shannanigan]

But although I love Alastair Sims version of Scrooge, The Muppet Christmas Carol has to be my favourite!

For live action the 1984 version with George C. Scott is my favorite...
Have you seen the Mr. Magoo animated version? The Marley ghost in that cartoon is my favorite design of that character ever.

[Pixeltuner]

This makes me want to see the Blackadder Christmas special again. It's the best thing being aired at Christmas each year next to The Muppets' one. :)

[Aly Fell]

For live action the 1984 version with George C. Scott is my favorite...
Have you seen the Mr. Magoo animated version? The Marley ghost in that cartoon is my favorite design of that character ever.

I have seen the George C.Scott one and it too is good, but never the Mr Magoo one. I shall seek it out! :)

[daestwen]

The Muppet Christmas Carol has to be my favourite!

Quoted for TRUTH.

spaztastic: Ahm, I can't really say as I have no idea what theme is in your head! The best bet is to sketch it and show it here so we can see if you've gone far from the point or not.

[Mock]

Just a sketch of the Ghost of Christmas Yet To Come.

I have a fabric fetish. I can't help myself. =/

[kelly x]

Posh, Merry Christmas and don't for get Tim Burton?? But I'll have to agree Muppets Rock my World and Tiny Tim as a wee frog is sweet!! Ha... K

[Aly Fell]

Posh, Merry Christmas and don't for get Tim Burton?? But I'll have to agree Muppets Rock my World and Tiny Tim as a wee frog is sweet!! Ha... K

Of course! And Happy Christmas to you too and everyone else. As Tiny Tim would say: "God bless us, everyone!" ;)

[Sorknes]

First time I ever heard about A Christmas Carol was when watching the Disney version with Scrooge McDuck as Scrooge, I think. (Mickey family as the Tiny Tim family I think? Goofy as the ghost....)

Later on I saw the Muppets version, of course, and then some different takes on it. The tale isn't that lodged in popular culture here, I guess.

I think it took a couple of years before I realised that Scrooge McDuck had actually been named after Ebenezer Scrooge, I thought he was just the only one that kept his "real" name. :P (Donald Duck and the Carl Barks characters around him being the main Disney figures around here, not Mickey Mouse....)

[MJ_Alcazar]

Here's my take of Christmas Present. I have some ideas on the others.
I'm doing this one as a self-portrait.
EDIT: added a take of Christmas Past. Wanted to at least get the designs of the other two down before I go into one, otherwise, I'll forget.

[spaztastic]

Daestwen: Thank you I will post it today. I have the pencil sketch but no scanner so I will have to make a new on painter. will be posted soon.

[Venger]

Kermit the Frog: If you please Mr. Scrooge, it's gotten colder and the bookkeeping staff would like an extra shovel full of coal for the fire.
Rat #1: All of your pens have turned to inkcicles.
Rat #2: Our assets are frozen.
Ebenezer Scrooge: How would the bookkeeping staff like to be suddenly... UNEMPLOYED?
Rats: [singing] HEAT WAVE. This is my island in the sun.

I love that movie!

[CCThrom]

I love this idea for ChOW! I will try it if I can.

I've always been a big fan of the 'Carol' ghosts... have to admit though that as cool as they are, it's really Marley that is my favorite. And Mr Magoo's Marley is definitely one of the best ever. There was a TV musical version of the story that came out in the 80's I think... just called "Scrooge" (no, NOT "Scrooged") and in my mind that is one of the best adaptations in general... not least of which because of incredible acting. Stay away from the recent one with Kelsey Grammar though.

[duckyfeets1]

Kermit the Frog: If you please Mr. Scrooge, it's gotten colder and the bookkeeping staff would like an extra shovel full of coal for the fire.
Rat #1: All of your pens have turned to inkcicles.
Rat #2: Our assets are frozen.
Ebenezer Scrooge: How would the bookkeeping staff like to be suddenly... UNEMPLOYED?
Rats: [singing] HEAT WAVE. This is my island in the sun.

I love that movie!


I love how you can quote it! :-D


This topic is way bril Daestwen! I cant wait to see everyones interpretations

[spaztastic]

so here is my concept of Christmas past-present-and future.....it has somewhat of moral message to it put in a humorous light... I am titling it "What happens on new years"

[spaztastic]

so I hope this idea is okay to use for this CHOW?

[vaughany_boy]

Great topic. This is gonna be sweet

Sketching christmas yet to come:

[a la bapsi]

great topic.
and great short, posh. ;D it's a real masterpiece.

let's see if i can actually take this one to finish. `_`

[Nibras]

daestwen
You think we could do a combo of all three? together as one?
Is that alloweed or do we have to stick to one in particular

thanks

[daestwen]

lilnebo: You have to do all three, and they kind of need to be separate designs, but you can illustrate them together.

[PuppyKitten]

they kind of need to be separate designs, but you can illustrate them together.

Hey Dae, how've you been? :)

Would you mind clarifying this for me a tad? They KIND OF need to be separate, or they DO need to be separate?

I was interested in drawing all three characters interacting in just a single illustration (each with their own costume and personality and 3/4 showing, of course).

Is this okay, or not?

[Venger]

I love how you can quote it! :-D


While I can remember bits of it the joys of the internet also help

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0104940/quotes

[daestwen]

Hey Dae, how've you been? :)

Would you mind clarifying this for me a tad? They KIND OF need to be separate, or they DO need to be separate?

I was interested in drawing all three characters interacting in just a single illustration (each with their own costume and personality and 3/4 showing, of course).

Is this okay, or not?


Puppy! :D Good to see you.

This sounds fine. I just mean i don't want to see 3-in-1 ghosts, but three ghosts in the same illustration is fine by me!

[PuppyKitten]

Oh, I get it now. I guess my misunderstanding originated with lilnebo's question then.

Thanks for clarifying.

[Jason Snair]

Haven't done a CHOW in months....look's like this is the perfect time to start up again.

Love the topic. Mickey's Christmas Carol was always a favorite growing up. The George C. Scott version actually scared me a kid. And I've always loved Scrooged with Bill Murray.

Time to Draw!

[alesoun]

Oooh, I loved the mad fairy Christmas Past from Scrooged, and the Christmas Present from Edward Woodward's Christmas Carol (although mine seems to end up looking like Alan Davies right now). Think my Yet To Be is gonna end up looking totally silly, but, hey ho, I'm having fun messing about with them!

[spaztastic]

SO since we need to do three separate scenes I am gonna redo my original idea... oh well I came up with a better one anyhoo.

[daestwen]

SO since we need to do three separate scenes I am gonna redo my original idea... oh well I came up with a better one anyhoo.

Man, people are totally misunderstanding me today! Please re-read what I said. (I will copy it here for clarity.)

"I just mean i don't want to see 3-in-1 ghosts, but three ghosts in the same illustration is fine by me!"


By 3-in-1 I mean i don't want ONE character that is supposed to represent ALL THREE.

Am I making sense yet? :/

[Pixeltuner]

This was my idea as well, let the 3 ghosts pose as a gang of some sorts :)

oh, and for clarification: Three seperate ghosts, one gang :p

[Sentinel.]

Haha, damn! :D MJ Alcazar, our images are pretty similar! I'll have to change mine up some XD

My sketch for the ghost of Christmas Past - I'm going for a pretty literal interpretation.

Edit: Quick color update. I've come to realize I have zero restraint when it comes to color. I need to figure out how to tone it down so everything I do doesn't look like technicolor threw up all over it :D ... and I just realized I forgot to give him ears
Edit 2: Did a rough sketch for Christmas Present at work last night. Not too keen on this one :/ I'm not sure where I'm going with it. Eyes are a little too close together too :bashful:

[r.mccabe]

My rough sketch; after looking at MJ Alcazar's and Sentinel 13's I think I should do a larger more detailed version. Going with more of a contemporary style. I really cant help but think Ive left it far too simple after looking at Alcazar's and Sentinel's, great job guys. Lol I'm already learning from this.

Edit: Working into the colours now. Still deciding on how strong she shall glow.

[Sentinel.]

r.mccabe - Simple isn't bad at all, but the details in the costume can convey a lot about the character and help tell a story. For example, the three bells on my ghost's sash are meant to represent the three ghosts who visit Scrooge (since they each visit him at the chiming of the clock). With each succeeding ghost there will be one less bell at their waists. Now that's probably kind of lame, but I like it and I think it makes the design a little more interesting. :bashful: Try and think of details that will make the design entirely yours.

[spaztastic]

Man, people are totally misunderstanding me today! Please re-read what I said. (I will copy it here for clarity.)

"I just mean i don't want to see 3-in-1 ghosts, but three ghosts in the same illustration is fine by me!"


By 3-in-1 I mean i don't want ONE character that is supposed to represent ALL THREE.

Am I making sense yet? :/
Clarification understood. I still am gonna change mine...make it a tad more serious. Thank you for the clarification Daestwen much appreciated.

[MJ_Alcazar]

Mock - very scary looking. I like how you stilll did the one hand to keep it in character. :)

vaughany boy - nice start, reminds me of a great dead tree blowing in the wind.

Sentinel13 - Yours is a lot better done than mine. :) I love the three bells and the belt is a nice touch.

r.mccabe - like sentinel said, simple isn't neccessarily bad. Sometimes just something small brings out the character. And, don't forget about expression and pose, those really help too!

[MJ_Alcazar]

Hey, quick question. When I'm digitally painting something, how do I keep all of my lines? I inked this and was going to go into color, but I wasn't sure how to keep the lines in it unmarred. Do I just keep the color on another layer, and everytime I go over the line, erase? It seems like there should be an easier way. Any suggestions would be welcome.

EDIT: started with color.

[Sentinel.]

MJ: I'm in no way an expert on Photoshop, but here's what I know -you've got a couple of options. Assuming you use photoshop, you can:
1. Make a layer above your line art and simply turn the mode to multiply, which is fine if you really only use one layer, or
2. Copy your lineart onto a new layer by dragging your background layer onto the new layer icon, and turning it's mode to multiply and erasing the original background layer. This way you can keep it on top and make as many layers as you feel like underneath it, while your lineart stays pristine.

[Evergrey]

Wow, this sounds awesome ^^ I might give it a try, if I find some time, and if I dare to =P Great topic! :)

[Daray]

Edit: Quick color update. I've come to realize I have zero restraint when it comes to color. I need to figure out how to tone it down so everything I do doesn't look like technicolor threw up all over it :D ... and I just realized I forgot to give him ears

You may share some with me *eager nod* and then you will be able to have restraint and I will be able to colour without frustration! :D

[humboldt squid]

Here's the preliminary design of my ghost of christmas past, I"m trying to incorporate pre-christian elements into the design to reflect the origins of the holiday (the antlers come strait out of Celtic mythology, and are going to be holding a halo since they look kinda like hands). I don't like the big empty space of the robe though I'll have to figure something out to liven it up. There's also not much beyond what you can see in the screenshot the robe just reaches to the ground, which is also boring :/

[Mock]

About an hour of coloring between packing things up. Values are wonky, but I'm just playing with designs and color schemes right now.

[Ilaekae]

I've got a 1-in-10 chance of getting this done, but it's something I've always wanted to do--redesign the three ghosts. Nice idea...

[Mock]

Big fat update now that I have a compositional idea. I know the stick figure proportions are horribly off, but they're only placeholders. Still not done with Yet To Come yet, but yeah. The two smaller figures on the left will be the two children featured as part of the Ghost of Christmas Present.

[duckyfeets1]

Sentinel13: I really like the concept so far. And tbh, I rather like your self-described technicolor barf coloring technique.... but if youre still off about it, you could always just put it in photoshop and mute the colors down by adding a toplayer with a haze to it (normally a cream haze works well at a very low opacity). But deng.... you had the same idea about the blue tint to the skin as I did. Time to rework the scheme on my end.

r.mccabe: Dont worry about simple too much, imo. Simple can easily be just as shocking as elaborate. The difference is that with a simpler design, the character often has to have more of a life about it (kinda like, an attitude maybe is what Im attempting to say?) in order to be convincing. So posture and expressions become important.

MJ_Alacazer: Ooo... pretty! She reminds me of Esmerelda from Hunchback of Notre Dame with the coloring. And I like the way shes facing now much more as well. Her eyes seem to land on you. Also, now that youve scanned the line into the comp, maybe see if you can soften the outline up a bit? See if you can just fuzz it out around the chin and such (smudge tool does wonders for that), since it seems harsh in those areas.

humboldt squid: Cool interpretation! I cant wait to see how it turns out! Are you going to follow the theme of periods with your other ghosts as well?

Mock: I hate you. You ghost already looks awesome and creepy. I cannot wait for the others to come out.


My past so far. I cant decide what he/she is going to wear yet. But I know Im going to attempt to go for the androgenous look like Dickens described.

[vaughany_boy]

http://img186.imageshack.us/img186/4230/futurewip2ms1.jpg
Starting to have a play with a little colour

Nice line art Sentinel13, got a real theatrical otherworldly quality

[Young'un]

Started Christmas past and future.

C&C please!

[Sentinel.]

MJ: I love the deep greens you have going so far! The only real crit I have at this stage would be the hand she has reaching out to the viewer. It seems a little larger than the position of her arm would make it seem - to be as big as it is I think her entire arm would be pointing more straight out at the viewer. From how you have her upper arm relaxed at ther side, her hand is still going to be pretty close to her body, so the size wouldn't be quite that different. It could be that the hand is looking bigger because it's surrounded by the the white fur though :D

Daray: I live to color, which is why I can't help myself. If I'm ever online and you need a color suggestion feel free to pm me! Gotta share that color love XD

Duckyfeets: Don't feel obligated to change your whole color scheme because of me, blue goes great with the whole idea of a ghost. If we thought of it more people probably have, but each idea/image is going to be so unique it won't matter if they all have blue tinted skin. Plus the shades of blue could be different, the lighting etc. No worries. :)

Mock: Damn.. looking awesomely sinsiter! I'm enjoying the way you have them arranged too, and the cloudy, ominous background. Definitely excited to see this progress.

Humbolt Squid: What an awesome take on the topic! Since you're pulling details from a Celtic background, maybe you could incorporate some celtic knotwork into the robe? I think a trinity knot would be really fitting for this week's theme: http://www.whats-your-sign.com/celtic-symbol-for-trinity.html

r.mccabe: I like your additions :D One thing to watch out for is proportion - her forearm seems a little too long for her body, which makes her lower half look a little shorter than it would be relative to her torso. The general rule of thumb I use with arms is that the elbow is positioned at about mid waist, and the wrist at about where the legs attatch to the pelvis.

vaughany_boy: I definitely feel the same vibe that MJ did - that kind of old, black twisted tree. The way you've laid in the skeleton under the cloak reminds me of xrays too :D

Edit: Young'un: Took so long typing this up I didn't see your post until my screen refreshed! Right now it's a little hard to give good c&c only because you're so early into it. It's not clear what direction you're heading in just yet. The one thing that stands out to me now is that unless you have something in mind for that large black area at the bottom, it'll be distracting when you're done and lead the eye away from the ghosts. But again, I don't know what you're planning. Keep us posted on your progress :D

[kelly x]

This is a good one and I don't really think I can do it, I'll be traveling around for the holidays but here's some sketch blobs for now... Mock yours looks good to me.
Mine are women even "scrooge" = I'll read it again... I almost want to do kermit (I have lust for Kermit, he's hot):sungod: I find CHOW difficult and fun, thanks.

[vaughany_boy]

The way you've laid in the skeleton under the cloak reminds me of xrays too :D

ah, I'm glad you can read that a little bit, that's what I had in mind :)


http://img72.imageshack.us/img72/6200/futurewip3jd1.jpg

[MJ_Alcazar]

Sentinel13 - Thank you, I noticed that after I had colored it. I think I may have to redraw that hand and see if I can overlay it on what I have so far or something.
btw I'm really loving the colors on yours.

Mock - yours is coming along quite nicely. Can't wait to see the way you do the others!

Young'un - I'll wait to comment when you have some more progress.

humboldt squid - Loving the direction you're taking.

r.mccabe - I agree with Sentinel about the arms being too long. I think actually it's the forearms on your drawing that may be the culprit. The length should be what Sentinel said, and also the forearm and upper arm should be the same length. :) Like the additions too.

duckyfeets1 - thanks for the advice, I'll do that!
I'll wait to comment when you have some more done. :) Liking the colors though.

[Sentinel.]

You don't have to redraw, you could use the transform tool to change the size of it. :D Using the rectangular marquee tool in PS, select the hand. I usually copy and paste it into a new layer. Then go up to Edit - Transform - Scale. If you hold down the shift key while dragging the corner in or out it'll keep the proportion exactly the same.

[Phurtura Brazier]

I would love to enter this! But I can'r even get my gallery to upload properly, let alone post a thread in finals :<

[r.mccabe]

Mock Wow! That would definitely scare me straight.

vaughany_boy Looking really good. I think if you added little folds in the cloth where the x-ray effect would be weaker you could get a stronger sense for the x-ray.

Sentinel13 Great style, I love how its carried through with the colours. Thank you for your advice, it is very helpful.

MJ_Alcazar Looking good! You lost so much when you coloured it though. I think you should go over it with a small brush and redraw the detail lines from your sketch with shades of your base colour.

kelly x I hope you find time to do this, your girls are always so captivating.

duckyfeets1 I see what you mean about simple yet expressive. Your pose is very appealing; but I think the head is a bit to big, neck is too small, and the forearm is too thick.

Chow is awesome!

[duckyfeets1]

dooldeedoo..... Couldnt sleep last night, so I drew instead. And now Im a bit loopy from the lack of sleep. So I bet more than anything Ill end up redrawing half of this.

But general idea. Decided to put my it in a transperant toga. I think Ill add in some details with stitching along the folds. Dunno about the rest of the details just yet tho. I know I want to add snow around her somehow. Maybe in her jewlery?

I noticed the proprtions too r.mccabe around 4 this morning. Ill def make sure I go through with the transform tool in a bit to fix that.

The black back is just so I can see right now. All three will end up being positioned together at the end.

[MJ_Alcazar]

Couldn't find a transform tool in GIMP ( It's basically like Photoshop, just missing things.) However, I DID find the IWarp button. Now, I need to know if I shrunk it too much. I'm too close to it. :)
duckyfeet1 - looking good!
EDIT: I also, FINALLY came up with a design for Christmas Yet to Come. I'm still working on it.
EDIT 2: I think I'm finished with Christmas Present. We'll see how I like it after Christmas.

[Mock]

Snuck in another hour or so between Christmas preparations. I think I'm going to get all of the figures scribbled in in this style, and then go back and use the days after Christmas to refine things. Thanks for the comments so far, guys!

[IIKII]

Here's mine ghost of past.

548066

[vaughany_boy]

http://img300.imageshack.us/img300/7690/futurewip6be2.jpg

[buffichar]

Okay i'm doing alot of things i don't do but this is an exercise in fun so i'm going for it. Research done so far. Read bit from wikipedia, took a look at a few links from the google search engine and then went to getty images to get a feel for things. made this sheet. You probably can't read my notes but it's just things from those sites.
skecthing now based on the pose. Ideally i want the 3 ghosts to interact with each other. But for now i'm going to stuff myself with some food just posting this cuz it will bug me otherwise.

Edit: New image of sketch. Dunno what i'm feeling now. I really wanted my noodle people but then i remembered the ghost of christmas yet to come and it has fingers so i had to shift alot from what i was thinking. I have 2 sketches now this and the one in my sketchbook trying to figure out how each ghost is different. they have different feelings i'm trying to pin down. A bit wierd is not a visual style. (sigh!)
Thanks for your suggestion Dau Dau.

[spaztastic]

Man my mind is drawing a complete blank as to what I should do......

[DauDau]

Buffichar, you want them to interact, so my 2 cents is, that the three ghosts will feel more like they interact, if they look at each other. Or they could simply be looking at the same point, to show a joint focus. Um... so to speak.

I've been doodling a bit, but won't join the challenge unless, I feel I have something, that I can finish.

[Greeneyed girl]

here's what i got so far, hopefully i'll be ambitious/not lazy enough to finish (i'd give it about 50/50 odds.
from left to right. future, present, past. i wanted to make the future feel more undefined not solid, i think i might darken her up. the present very voluptuous, vibrant, and very warm cause she's living in the now. and as for the past, i wanted that to be very solid and unyielding. any suggestions on the whole, of a specific ghost greatly appreciated.
xmas love and cheer to you all.
http://i369.photobucket.com/albums/oo133/sketchpocket/xmasghost.jpg

[spaztastic]

Greeneyed girl. I really like the Idea so far.

[RayTwicket]

i went with the idea of the three ghosts getting together to get their annual Christmas card picture taken.....i decided to take a goofier approach, any ideas or crits would be appreciated

mj: your is looking good, i like the idea you're going with for the mummy ghost there.

greeneyedgirl: looks like you're off to a good start too, i like the pose of you christmas past?(far left)alot

mock: looking great, can't wait to see the last ghost:)

IIKII: lookin badass

sentinel13: really good start, i like you ghost of the present alot, lookin foward to the third, can't wait to see them coloured

[buffichar]

Man my mind is drawing a complete blank as to what I should do......

might sound silly but what do you feel like doing. I looked at loads of pictures and thought aha! might like to do that. Not a requirement and ight not work for you but it's all about what you feel like doing. Funny enough but my mind is kind of stuck on the muppet christmas carol. Might be kermit ( sigh) i love that frog.

[spaztastic]

might sound silly but what do you feel like doing. I looked at loads of pictures and thought aha! might like to do that. Not a requirement and ight not work for you but it's all about what you feel like doing. Funny enough but my mind is kind of stuck on the muppet christmas carol. Might be kermit ( sigh) i love that frog.

Thanks for the advice...my first instinct is on the first page... I kinda wanted to do something more serious though. But I can't get that Idea out of my head. Maybe I should just finish it and see what else pops into my head. Oh mine is the one of the three Ghosts all drunk....kinda like a cabo/vegas theme going on.

[Greeneyed girl]

RayTwicket- i love your idea, really cute and funny.
and i guess i should edit my past and future ghost some more cause they're reading as opposite

[spaztastic]

buffichar... I think you should do the muppets that would be so cute. Kermit as Christmas past..Miss Piggy as Christmas present...and who was the blue one again....dang well anyway he should be Christmas future. that would be awesome.

[SOUTHERN]

I've been struggling to get something down on paper for this one. Everything I thumbnailed turned into Santa or a Scroogesque character that did nothing for me. I'm still not clear on all the characters backgrounds but they can evolve now as I color the piece.

http://www.southerngfx.co.uk/uploads2008/img127.jpg http://www.southerngfx.co.uk/uploads2008/img128.jpg

http://www.southerngfx.co.uk/uploads2008/img130.jpg http://www.southerngfx.co.uk/uploads2008/img129.jpg

[shannanigan]

i went with the idea of the three ghosts getting together to get their annual Christmas card picture taken.....i decided to take a goofier approach, any ideas or crits would be appreciated



I'm glad I'm not the only one... I'm all about goofy. :D

I love that your Past is a Caveman and Future looks to be a Robot?
I think thats a really great idea!

[shannanigan]

Thanks for the advice...my first instinct is on the first page... I kinda wanted to do something more serious though. But I can't get that Idea out of my head. Maybe I should just finish it and see what else pops into my head. Oh mine is the one of the three Ghosts all drunk....kinda like a cabo/vegas theme going on.


I think you should go with your original idea, you've obviously settled on it in your mind! There are going to be plenty of serious entries... join me on the lighter side and have some fun with it. ;)


So here is what I've got so far. Sorry for the totally crap image but I am visiting my parents and they are heathens.... no scanner or decent image program. :nohope:

I'm going for a Toony Victorian'ish style... I think Past and Present are headed in a good direction. Past with his Fire hair and Chops with the Candle Snuffer Hat... and I decided Present would be a giantess (I need to make her a little bigger) and flirting with Past. Then there is Future, obviously annoyed with the others. LOL! But I don't want to draw him in that darn Cloak. I'm going to research some 1800's Mortician clothing.... but I like the top corner face. Hes going to be more Emaciated instead of skull/reaper I think.

[Sorknes]

Sooo... I thought I'd have a go at the first one, even though I won't be able to finish even if we have another week... Wanted to play around with symmetry.

Somewhere along the road I forgot about the candle thing though. *lol*

[Crowsrock]

This is my work in progress on the "Ghost of Christmas Past".

[Amaranthe]

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My first WIP for the Christmas Past ghost...

[Mock]

Scribbled in the last ghost. Using the background to add in the flame crown thing later on.

This will also mark my first full image with no references. Whoooo.

[MJ_Alcazar]

Mock - looking good! Christmas Presents neck seems just a tad too thin to me. Or that could be the cloak that's throwing me.

Amaranthe - good start.

Crowsrock - I'm liking it, I think that his torso may be too long though.

Sorknes - looking good.

[buffichar]

MJ Alcazar: Woah Loving what you're doing. DOn't know where you're going but i'm loving how you're getting there.

Mock: Ooh very nice. I wasn't sure what you were doing but it's coming along very well. Very creepy and cheeky at the same time. How do you do that?

Amaranthe: You've just reminded me that mine don't look ghosty enough. So thanks.

Crowsrock: I dunno why but you're looks really long to me. I always have that problem and spend ages agonising over it later. You might want to flesh him out abit unless that's what you are going for.

SOUTHERN: Love your placement. Not sure who is who but loving it.

Okay now let it be said. Just because i didn't mention you by name doesn't mean i didn't like your work. So far everyone's work is really appealing in different delicious ways.

[ozzymaru]

ho! ho! ho! just got back and wow! what a surprise! definitely gonna go for it. btw Daest- the deadline say 4th jan "2008". shouldn't it be 2009? anyways, great work from everybody!

[MJ_Alcazar]

Ok, still working on this. :) If I'm going to get all three done, I'm going to have to start coloring the others, and working their flaws out, so, I think I'll finish this while I'm working on those too.

[kelly x]

MJ_Alcazar so much better on the face!!
These are going well and I have not one thing done at all maybe someday soon??

[shannanigan]

ho! ho! ho! just got back and wow! what a surprise! definitely gonna go for it. btw Daest- the deadline say 4th jan "2008". shouldn't it be 2009? anyways, great work from everybody!


Nah... just give it to Christmas Past they'll take care of it for you. LOL! :D

[DauDau]

Southern, the short guy under the coat. Is that one of the little ones under the coat of "Christmas Present"?

I'm really enjoying everyone's work. My own doodles aren't ready to be shown yet. Heh. :)

[spaztastic]

oh wow this CHOW of mine needs soooooo much work...please forgive the obvious flaws I don't have anytime to work in depth on it today. this was just a quick color block to see where I wanted everything. trust me it will look better...well I hope it will look better. Oh, am I allowed to post this in the Crit section? for help and advice.

[alesoun]

Spaztastic that's uncomfortably close to the Bettie image you did. Maybe you could rethink the pose of Christmases past and present?
The party idea is great, but we're expected to use new images for each chow.....

[SOUTHERN]

Southern, the short guy under the coat. Is that one of the little ones under the coat of "Christmas Present"?

DauDau; Well, he was. However, drawing in the middle of the night with no real end in mind he ended up under the Cloak of the `Cyborg Priest Ghost of Futures yet to come`. A damn fine reason to stop drawing at insane times of the night I think. The whole piece is so far off the mark I'm begining to wonder whether I'll finish it. The Ghost of Xmas past is now a 1940's Bomber Pilot with a Caveman/Monkey Body and an TV Ariel sticking out of his head. Not really the kind of Ghost that would be able to help you share childhood memories is he!!! lol

SOUTHERN: Love your placement. Not sure who is who but loving it.

Buffichar: Yep, struggled with that bit myself but finally went for the past, present and future in that order. Not following any rules really :)

[Pragmatist]

Okay so for 2009 I have promised myself to draw more, post more, start a sketchbook, and do more of these challenges. Oh yeah and run more.

Here is a wip of mine. Im definatly not going for a serious version.

[spaztastic]

alesoun. Thanks for the tip. I was kinda still in Bettie mode when I thought of this. I can fix it though. I will probably make her standing/falling holding onto him so it's still adds that bit of comedy, but is different. hmm back to the drawing board...literally. he

[spaztastic]

so I changed up the pose...
i hope it works better. I don't want to lose any of the movement i had in the first version. so any crits would be helpful.

[Tommoy]

I just started doodling, havent done my homework yet.

http://i156.photobucket.com/albums/t19/Tommoy/Past1k.jpg

[DauDau]

DauDau; Well, he was. However, drawing in the middle of the night with no real end in mind he ended up under the Cloak of the `Cyborg Priest Ghost of Futures yet to come`. A damn fine reason to stop drawing at insane times of the night I think. The whole piece is so far off the mark I'm begining to wonder whether I'll finish it. The Ghost of Xmas past is now a 1940's Bomber Pilot with a Caveman/Monkey Body and an TV Ariel sticking out of his head. Not really the kind of Ghost that would be able to help you share childhood memories is he!!! lol



If a new version of Scrooge includes a backstory in the 1940's as a pilot himself, and his life after the war had been in an old University, studying cavemen and/or monkeys, it would make sense. I rather like, that you have so much imagination. Please don't put it down.

[shannanigan]

Just a little cleaner rough draft. I changed my Future Ghost... still needs work but I'm liking this better than the other one that was more traditional.

I'm still in the Parental Scanner Free Zone so the quality of the image isn't good. But you get the idea.... :D

[shannanigan]

so I changed up the pose...
i hope it works better. I don't want to lose any of the movement i had in the first version. so any crits would be helpful.


The one thing that is bothering me (for lack of a better word) is the blank space on the left. The composition is little off... you know what I mean?

I wonder if you could adjust the pose of the female so her right arm swings into that space and her left his behind him grabbing his shoulder. I appologize for the crap attemp below, this is just to show what I was thinking, obviously my proportions are not to be followed. :D As I mentioned before my folks have no art program... so this is with a mouse and MS Paint. *Eeewww.... I feel soiled. LOL!*

[Crowsrock]

Here is the next stage of my WIP. I tried to adjust the too log torso, but I think I have to go over it once again.

buffychar, MJ_Alcazar: thanks for pointing out. When I read your crits I saw it myself immediately. :)

[spaztastic]

The one thing that is bothering me (for lack of a better word) is the blank space on the left. The composition is little off... you know what I mean?

I wonder if you could adjust the pose of the female so her right arm swings into that space and her left his behind him grabbing his shoulder. I appologize for the crap attemp below, this is just to show what I was thinking, obviously my proportions are not to be followed. :D As I mentioned before my folks have no art program... so this is with a mouse and MS Paint. *Eeewww.... I feel soiled. LOL!*

Thanks Shannangin that was bothering me also. Does this pose look better overall than the first? I will adjust her pose to make it fluid and better. I might not finish this CHOW my computer is a vista OS and is locking me out of everything... i have to do a scrub...reinstall and then work on this some more. yuck I hate vista...

[Amaranthe]

Worked on my Christmas Past Ghost for a bit and redid her pose and design.

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[Jeremy Hoffman]

Merry Christmas everybody!!
Oke oke, i'm too late! But i'm not too late to enter this challange :-)

Here is my first sketch. Still got a few cool ideas to add to this sketch.
I've got a few days off from work, so there's enough time for me to finish this challenge this time.... at least i'll try ;-)

[MJ_Alcazar]

Looking great guys.

So, I started working on Christmas Past. Not sure about the colors.

[bitethefrog]

Consider me in, if I have time that is!

Yes, I'm back for a while and I've already being researching:
Is anyone aware of the film Scrooged (1988)? (http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=RK_xRPs2QqI)I'm thinking something similar, like modern eqivalents of the ghosts. Of course, I'm not thinking as cheesy as 'Scrooged' though. I have a theory that in each Scrooge that appears on Earth, the ghosts have to adapt too, right? Keeping up with the Joneses sort of thing.

I won't say anymore... it'll spoil the fun!

[petitemistress]

MJ, You never cease to surprise me! a true example of where hard work can get us to... you're awesome!! :cheerleader:
(dont mean for anyone to feel excluded, but seriously, when i first saw MJ's work in chow and seeing it now. damn. I wish I evolved that fast!!)

[Daray]

lol yeah... MJ you're actually really good with colours, Im impressed. Blow my colours away easily lol :D Nice work! Your hard work is paying off :)

[Daniela Blanco]

I've been out for some days.....and what a great surpise here......there are a lot of awesomw work here......

Here is my sketch............the idea was to make a little more scary version of each character.......also make them look like if they were in that old Christmas illustration style........the clothes.....and the hatch that is yet to come.....will show that....I hope
I have an book from my childhood full of this kind of illustrations........all of them with the theme "Christmas".........
I'm not sure about the future ghost..........he doesn't look like part of the same "group"...........Any ideas??
And just for clarifying.....the "thing" that must be on present ghost are the 2 children: ignorance and want...they will seem more like 2 little dolls....:p
And there will be chains where it should be the feet of past ghost...
Hope to finish it.........

[MJ_Alcazar]

Thanks Daray, Petitemistress. That means a lot. :)

And, Daray, I always like the colors you do, so just go crazy with them. :)

[Adele]

shannanigan your future ghost's face looks ALOT like the skeleton from the Super Ted animated series if you have ever seen it :D

[MJ_Alcazar]

Okay, need advice on this. In the book, I'm pretty sure Christmas Present used his torch to spread joy wherever he went. I was my present's fan for the same thing. Only, I wasn't sure that would come across real well without something falling off of it. Sooo, I decided to let the fan glow from behind. If it's too much. Please let me know. It might have read just fine the way it was. :)

[alesoun]

Spaztastic, I just hoped I saved you some time. I like the party/vegas showgirl idea!

MJ, it's not too much. Xmas present had a cornucopia (horn of plenty). Promises coming from the fan fits with that.....

[shannanigan]

shannanigan your future ghost's face looks ALOT like the skeleton from the Super Ted animated series if you have ever seen it


No I haven't, I'm gonna google it... Sounds like something I should like! :D



EDIT: I just looked it up.... I can see a resemblance. Its funny though, I was expecting SuperTed to be some geeky guy with glasses... not a Teddy Bear. LOL!

[spaztastic]

ok so i missed this...are we supposed to include the little want and ignorance characters in the pic?.....

[IIKII]

Here's my wip for ghost of present and future.

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[humboldt squid]

I hate noses and skin tones >:I

[SOUTHERN]

Storia -The Ghost of Xmas past takes the unrepentant back to the 1940's and shows them how things used to be before the vast majority of the Western World had consumer electronics. Back to a time when popular entertainment came from either radio or religion or simple interation with another soul.

Oggi -The Ghost of Xmas present tells it how it is with the masses shackled to the TV or TFT being controlled by advertising and mass marketing. Religion is dead and morales are little more than burning embers. There is a light inside of everyone but whether that light can escape is a future no-one yet foresees.

Il Futuro - The Ghost of things yet to come is the most oppressive is so many ways. Religions resurge created by the media and are distributed digitally. Information is free but vague and the creatures we have become don't really look anymore. We are scared, fat , lazy, bored, de-sensitised, weak, lonley, tired and above all else we simply don't care.

Can we change our ways before this future vision becomes our reality? Or are the Ghosts in the wrong order? The Creature we have become is already wired to all three Ghosts which makes us assume that we already know our past and future and just maybe our nightmare is already here all around us and maybe we just don't care. Not even if three Ghosts take the time to show us.

http://www.southerngfx.co.uk/uploads2008/img132.jpg

[DauDau]

Southern, I really like the idea, and the WIP.

I hope to show my own WIP soon. It keeps being in odd stages, that I don't want to show, yet.

[Crowsrock]

Here is my try on the Ghost of Christmas Present.

[Daniela Blanco]

Amaranthe: this one is really better.........great mood....

Jeremy Hoffman: the skecth is already awesome..........looking forward to see it finished

MJ Alcazr: the Christmas Past is beautiful..........the colors are great.....and I specialy like her pose.....she is sweet...And the Christmas Present is really great too......that's not to much glow.....you should increase this glow indeed.....(in my opinion)...

IIKII: I like your idea...the composition is really great....but I do have to make some critics.....her legs seem a little wierd for me....don't know what was your intention....so I can not help much about that......but I think you should make the lower part of her leg appear in some way behind her body....hope I've helped...And the çhristmas Future is really great...

Humboldt Squid: it's going great......I really don't see any problem with her nose and skin.....just keep doing what your doing...

Southern: awesome work......awesome concept.....awesome idea.......:teeth: ......I loved it...

[spaztastic]

Southern....FRIGGEN AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! that's really all I can say, I love the meaning it is told very beautifully. this is defiantly one of my faves so far.

[MJ_Alcazar]

Some more work on Christmas Past and made the glow a little tiny bit stronger on Christmas Present.

Southern - loving it! Wonderful interpretation.

[vaughany_boy]

southern: Beatiful work. The red and blue light is haunting
MJ: the glow on the past ghosts head is nice and the eyes are suitably creepy. The fan on the present one does look a bit odd to me atm though


My Ghost of Yet to come
http://img218.imageshack.us/img218/9119/futurecopybg3.jpg

And rough WIP of where I'm going with Ghost of Past:
http://img218.imageshack.us/img218/9364/pastwip1fv7.jpg
I'm having trouble resolving anatomy issues with it :(
Advice would be welcomed

I wanna link all three together with the backgrounds, all scenes being at different points going down the same street

[DauDau]

MJ Alcazar, I like the idea behind your fan, but how about adding some star sparkles, so it looks more like stardust? As it is now, it reminds me a little of the way some people paint a perfume scent, or heat.

Vaughany boy, I'm not sure what the anatomy issues are. You mean the second one, right? I can see that the shadows in the knee area on right hand upper leg/knee, can be a little tricky, but it's a minor thing. The anatomy looks good to me. Lower arms and lower legs are a little long, but that's creative license, I think.

Unless it's the whole setup, that you are having problems with. It's a difficult interaction to create.

[alesoun]

Spaztastic, I felt bad pointing out the similarities, but I'd have felt worse if you'd spent the next 6 days working on that image and somebody else had pointed it out on the last day.

550886
What I've got so far; any strange marks are caused by a) the paper being too big for the scanner, b) erasor marks, or c) my head hitting the paper when I sneeze....

I'm not really happy with her left arm, but I need somebody with a fresh eye to tell me what's wrong before I start painting.

[buffichar]

okay i've put some colour on it. You might not realise this but i did so cringing. I really don't feel comfortable with colour but i'm not being precious about it (image from lord of the rings flashes in my head) The only thing i was obsessiong about was making the ghost of christmas past look neither male nor female. Literal I know but painful...anyway had fun doing this. Anything jumps out at you let me know.

[DauDau]

Alesoun, you asked for help with the left arm. I tried to work out, what it might be. This is a suggestion. Not sure if it helps.

[ViDA]

Sketching sketching. First color pass.

[r.mccabe]

wow lots of good work going on now. And after some holiday fun I finished the Ghost of Christmas past. Now for the next two. If only I didn't need to read Moll Flanders. . .

[PuppyKitten]

So far these are all looking really great and creative!

I think I may be at a disadvantage since I am not familiar with the story itself. It was by Dickens, right? I never cared for him. Long-winded and patronizing in my opinion.

But I still think I got the gist of it. I want to post for some crits but I'm a little too chicken to post my WIP right now. :(

Anyway:

alesoun, MJ Alcazar, ViDA, and buffichar, I'm loving what I'm seeing. So much character in all of them!

[spaztastic]

alesoun hey no worries it was crit well worth listening to. I am liking this version better anyway. So thank you for the heads up, I would have hated working on it for 6 days and then having that pointed out also.

[Jeremy Hoffman]

Here's a quick update of my sketch... I hope to do some more work tomorrow...

[scottmcd]

IIKII: The angle and pose on Xmas present are great. The legs though... they just stop. Try have them turning to mist, or fade out, or simply finish them out. They look crossed, but if they are then they couldn't really be extending up behind her. If you can find some of the Promethea artwork that has her floating above the battlefield in WWI.

http://www.enjolrasworld.com/Annotations/Alan%20Moore/Promethea/5-No%20Man%27s%20Land.htm

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a320/pippi303/Promethea3.jpg

I hope you keep going with it - it's a good one.

[IIKII]

thks for the cc. My friend pointed out the legs too when i showed him. Here's the present & the past.

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[DauDau]

Vida, wow, I'm impressed.

Jeremy Hoffman, I like where you're going with it. A lot of fun and great work.

IIKII, especially the top one with the female, is really beautiful in the colors, the flow, and an interesting idea.

[Daniela Blanco]

Here is my wip.......now I'm going to make some hatch with ink to define better the shapes.....and give it the old look....
It can be great......but also can ruin my drawing....:[
Does someone has any advice???

My scanner is really awful......makes it looks a lot worse than it is.....I'll try to fix that on the final piece...

[Jeremy Hoffman]

Now i can start with filling it up.... in grey and after that in color.
Background is still open, not sure what i'm going to do with that (but it must be in Dickens Christmas spirit!). And probably litlle things will be added.

[paradoxba]

Here is mine.Im going for a little horror here :)
Im thinking the ghost could be some kind of psychical unconscious creation of the person's mind.
The past is a kid figure,with an enormous stone floating ,with the past written on it with shining letters or symbols.

The present is an disfigured man,with an eye that counts time and sees all.And he has no eyes on the face,or he is just blind.

The future,some kind of a fallen angel,with the hand of destiny,and a little grim riper elements.
Hope ill finish in time.
Happy New Year :D

http://i102.photobucket.com/albums/m98/paradoxba/ghoust.jpg

[DauDau]

Okay, I've been meddling without posting any WIP's and while being n00b, so... I'm posting my idea now. As you can see, I've worked on the idea, blocked out w. skincolor on all three, and started to add clothes on two of them. Very much a WIP and I apologize for the idea not being obvious, in this WIP.

The idea is, that it's for a new film version. A romantic comedy, where a bachelor goes to sleep and three of his exes appear in the roles of scary Christmas ghosts. The past, the present and the future (death), if he continues at the rate he is going now.

Yes, I started sketching while the pin up challenge was still lingering in my mind. Sorry.

As you can see, the black death is furthest along, right now. So I posted that in a relatively bigger version. Not sure I can upload these anywhere else, so I'm attaching them. Hope it's okay.

Thoughts, crit, etc. is welcome.

[duckyfeets1]

So, apparently my old laptop chose this time to crash on me. Yay. But I did have enough saved up (thank you Santa!) to get a new one.

Which means I get to start over! Uber yay. So its gonna be a cartoon now. Since I wont have time to finish a proper drawing most likely.


I'll comment in a bit. Tho whats down so far looks fab! I love all the humor in this round right now.

[MJ_Alcazar]

Ok, did some work on Present's fan. Did the star thing as someone mentioned, if it stilll looks just out of place and weird. I'll just drop the whole shiny thing. :) And some work on her dress.
Worked on Christmas Past some more.
And the sketch I need to color of Christmas Yet to Come.

[MJ_Alcazar]

bufficher - I'm loving the way you set them up, and the character coming out is awesome. I think the way christmas present is leaning on that leg is a little off. I can't really say what it is as of yet though. It just seem wrong somehow. (I know that's not much help, but I thought if I just pointed it out, you could maybe see what it was. :) )

Jeremy Hoffman - loving the personality in your piece. They look great so far.

IKII - looking good so far. The legs were bothering me, but looks like you fixed them. :) I'm loving the colors for Present.

daniealablanca -ink is one of those things that can look great, but you can't go back. Just go ahead with confidence. Can't promise that nothing will go wrong, just that sometimes confidence in your strokes is all you can do. Also, with the scanner. If it's anything like mine, you have to adjust the lightness and darkness, usually just taking down the highlights helps to bring it into focus.

ViDA - looking great.

I have to go, will try to get more crits later!

[buffichar]

bufficher - I'm loving the way you set them up, and the character coming out is awesome. I think the way christmas present is leaning on that leg is a little off. I can't really say what it is as of yet though. It just seem wrong somehow. (I know that's not much help, but I thought if I just pointed it out, you could maybe see what it was. )

Thanks. There is something off but i couldn't pin point where it was. I just thought his whole pose was wrong but i couldn't find where it was. I think his knee is too high up. That and there isn't enough ass on his right (our left)

Thanks. it was bugging me and i left it alone to look at it later.

[spaztastic]

So, apparently my old laptop chose this time to crash on me. Yay. But I did have enough saved up (thank you Santa!) to get a new one.

Which means I get to start over! Uber yay. So its gonna be a cartoon now. Since I wont have time to finish a proper drawing most likely.


I'll comment in a bit. Tho whats down so far looks fab! I love all the humor in this round right now.

hehe I know the feeling, this is the week that VISTA decided to show it's true colors.... damn OS is locking me out of everything and I'm the admin on my computer. I have thus dubbed a sh#ty day a VISTA day. hope that makes ya feel a little better ducky.

[Pragmatist]

Whew really hoping I get this finished on time. I keep having to stay late at work though.
Anyways here's my progress so far.

[JessiBean]

DauDau - a thought occurred to me after thinking over your concept a while: perhaps reordering them would make more sense. As you want to add a twist and make it a "bachelor's worst nightmare" perhaps christmas past (bachelor's past) should be your sexy temptress who catches the man, the christmas present (bachelor's present) stays the housewife and screaming kids, and the bachelor's future is something saggy and wrinkly and evil.

Just a thought.

[duckyfeets1]

hehe I know the feeling, this is the week that VISTA decided to show it's true colors.... damn OS is locking me out of everything and I'm the admin on my computer. I have thus dubbed a sh#ty day a VISTA day. hope that makes ya feel a little better ducky.

That sux, Spaz. Seriously. And yeah. I figured it would happen eventually. My Mac was old and overloaded with all my old art stuffs. So it was way lucky it chose to die when I had money still.

Thankfully the comp is working now tho, ya?


Also, quick question. Is it ok to illustrate the ghosts in their own world? As in, the picture ends up being a parable instead of an illustration of the novel?

[DauDau]

DauDau - a thought occurred to me after thinking over your concept a while: perhaps reordering them would make more sense. As you want to add a twist and make it a "bachelor's worst nightmare" perhaps christmas past (bachelor's past) should be your sexy temptress who catches the man, the christmas present (bachelor's present) stays the housewife and screaming kids, and the bachelor's future is something saggy and wrinkly and evil.

Just a thought.

That's a good idea. It is funny and will be easy to figure out by the viewer, without any explanation. I'll be pressed for time, but I am considering it. Thank you. :)

[bitethefrog]

Hello... here's some of my current WIPs and notes for this.

As my previous post described, I'm trying to translate the three ghosts into more modern equivalents. Some of my ideas for this are as follows:

The Ghost of Christmas Past: It is because of the Ghost's actual job to document past events as they were, how they were and when they were, that I began to picture the Ghost as an androgynous newsreader-sort. While I was sketching this idea, the ghost ended up appearing quite feminine. She's quite a gentle, non-aggressive sort, but speaks in a very official, matter-of-fact tone.

The Ghost of Christmas Present: Haven't started doodling this guy yet, but I picture this ghost as being very humble, being a victim of the credit crunch, yet he is consistently optimistic despite his problems. I see him almost as tramp-like or an old supermarket store Santa.

The Ghost of Christmas Yet To Come: The one character I'm having trouble with. At first, I'd pictured him as a reality TV show judge (almost Simon Cowell) or even a tabloid newspaper editor, but I've recently been doodling him as a 'hoodie' with a camera. Through his camera he portrays his opinion of the chosen's life in his own eyes.

I've attached my current doodle, but I'll post up my other ideas too. Currently planning to record my process on this doodle first, so when I finish recording it, I'll add a link to it.

Any feedback will be greatfully received!!!

[prepsage]

WIP
http://img214.imageshack.us/img214/9824/ghosts3er4.jpg

[alesoun]

Wip so far. Im trying for a Christmas card feel, with the Ghost of Christmas Yet To Come making bunny ears behind Christmas Present.

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[bitethefrog]

Hey, again! The Newsreader (Ghost of Christmas Past) is finished! Started this at about 2.00pm and finished it at about 5.00pm. Where has 3 hours of my life gone?????

[spaztastic]

Hey shannanigan and alesoun is this pose for Christmas past any better? I couldn't find a leaning pose I really liked so I switched it to more of a drunk cancan pose. tell me if it looks ok. I know I have to get my butt in gear and color and all that, I just want to make sure the foundation is better so I am not having as many little oddities/proportional problems in this one.

[ex_machina]

Here's a couple of sketches for past & future. Please, let me know what you think.

Past:
http://i42.tinypic.com/svqe6g.jpg

Future:
http://i39.tinypic.com/a2urt5.jpg

Hoping to get some color laid down over the rest of the break.

Thanks.

[DauDau]

MJ Alcazar, I really like the star thing, but the ambiance still seems a little odd to me. It's only my 2 cents, though. You are creating some really sweet figures.

As for the idea of changing the characters, that was a really good idea (Thank you JessiBean), but I'm worried about the time, so I'm sticking to the original idea, in the hope of finishing. With New Years, I'm not going to be able to finish, otherwise.

Happy New Year everybody.

[MJ_Alcazar]

DauDau - thanks. Something is really off to me about the whole fan thing too. I'm thinking I might just get rid of the glow on the fan, and maybe do something else to help it read better. hmmmm.

spaztastic - I'm liking that pose better. It doesn't read drunk to me atm, but it does read party girl.

Ok, some work on Chritmas Yet to Come.

[kelly x]

these are looking so good!!
Happy New Year!!

[shannanigan]

Hooray for being back home with my scanner and Wacom tablet... LOL!
Here is my WIP of the three Ghosts... the lines are done.

Everyone's entries are looking fantastic! Hope you all have a Happy New Year!!

[duckyfeets1]

Spaz, if you take her center of gravity and have her collapse about it a bit in the knees, I think the drunk would read better. Thats just what I notice about college. That and faces give it away.

[shannanigan]

Hey shannanigan and alesoun is this pose for Christmas past any better?

I do, it definitely fills in the space more and the outfit could help fill it in more as well... but what happened to the floor guy? :O

I think once you add in the details and facial expressions the "drunkness" will be more evident. ;)

[spaztastic]

Spaz, if you take her center of gravity and have her collapse about it a bit in the knees, I think the drunk would read better. Thats just what I notice about college. That and faces give it away.

I will fiddle around with that. I am using a stock photo for her pose so I might need a little help as to how to make that whole drop in the knees happen.

[spaztastic]

I do, it definitely fills in the space more and the outfit could help fill it in more as well... but what happened to the floor guy? :O

I think once you add in the details and facial expressions the "drunkness" will be more evident. ;)

Christmas future is still there... he just kinda got smushed in between the layers when I made this a Jpeg...he's still in the riff format though... yeah I think I am gonna make him holding the candle snuff and using that as his barf can...not sure still....just a thought. Hey are we supposed to add the little kids to the pic? cause I need to sketch them in if were supposed to.

[shannanigan]

yeah I think I am gonna make him holding the candle snuff and using that as his barf can...not sure still....just a thought. Hey are we supposed to add the little kids to the pic? cause I need to sketch them in if were supposed to.


Haha! I like the vomit in the candle snuffer idea.... thats hilarious! :D

No you don't have to add the kids... its not one of the requirements. Besides kids at the Casino getting trampled by drunks is probably not the best idea. LOL!

[duckyfeets1]

Wip. Lemme know if the idea isnt ok for the ChOW.

Concept: Past handing the Present to the Future.

[Crowsrock]

Happy New Year to all of you!
Here my nearly finished work on Ghost of Christmas Present and a WIP of the Ghost of Christmas Future.

[vaughany_boy]

I'm moving in this sort of direction (apologies for the excessively wide image)

http://img387.imageshack.us/img387/349/layouttrial2copydb4.jpg

So moving down the street it moves through the stages of the story
I'll play around with the background, I don't want it to take the focus away from the characters

[DauDau]

Second WIP. Not much progress. Getting nervous now. Deadline soon.

EDIT: Worked on concept a bit. Made divorced woman less cute.

EDIT 2: Changed the idea a little. He hasn't dated all of them. They are just three women in his life. It is not even close to finished and turning into a bit of a nightmare.

The one in the middle is trying to trick him into marriage. She has already been divorced from someone else. Underneath her happy jolly exterior, is a nasty, mean woman, that I'm trying to bring out. The skeletons are coming back. It's a temporary removal.

[bitethefrog]

Hey, everybody!

Bad news I'm afraid: I've only just realised how much work I've given myself. Instead of taking on one CHOW, I'm literally taking three... and because of the concept I'm taking, I've gotta say I won't be able to finish them all. If anyone's interested, I will be posting up the finals on my portfolio site.


Looking forward to seeing the finals, though! Good luck, everyone!

[JessiBean]

duckyfeets - I think you may be missing the point on this one, it's not a figurative narrative on time passing so much as a character competition to design and best get across the idea of 3 ghosts for the past, present and future. having your present and future characters obscured and/or turned away from the viewer makes it very difficult to convey the character. Also, if this is your intended composition, it is very heavy on the left side with a large heavily weighted figure of death, and kind of stiff with the other too jutting into him at a straight angle. Experiment with better flow and arrangement. Also, since you seem to be sticking with the story's description of the characters in a traditional sense, re-read the description about christmas present - he was not a small child.

crowsrock - you have a nice beginning on the christmas present ghost, but the color seems to be fighting itself, there is no sense of where the light comes from and so your characters seem flattened out, as does the background, because everything is recieving the same lighting as everything else. (I took this into PS and desauturated it, and all the darks are one value, all the lights are one value, try working in more of a range, which is helped by choosing a lightsource) Also, the boy's arm looks off, it has lumpy muscles, but he is supposed to be emaciated. For your christmas future, consider turning him around, this is about character, that is hard to show from someone's back, and he seems to lack volume under the robes. Consider what would be under there holding the cloth up and how the light would affect those shapes.

[PuppyKitten]

Spaz, you're really impressing me with your new poses, btw. I think you did a great job on them and fixed all of the anatomy errors I was picking up in the earlier versions.

bitethefrog, I'm sorry to hear you bit off more than you have time to chew. I'm sort of in the same boat. I hope you'll stick around for voting and participate in the next Chow if you have time. :) Let us know when you get your final finally finished.

[Jeremy Hoffman]

Happy New Year everybody!!
For now a quick new post for 2009.... hope to finish it upcoming weekend! Still got a lot to do.

[DauDau]

Jeremy Hoffman - *rofl* That little pompom thing on the top of the grim reapers cape is GREAT! Really good idea, and I love those little details.

I'm sorry I haven't critted everybody. Too emerged in fretting over my own.

[buffichar]

jeremy hoffman. Now that's why I love black and white

duckyfeets1 : I really liked the way you draw. You too shannanigan
So far i'm waiting for yours MJ_Alcazar. Liking your colours. Does it make sense to say I can taste it. and yes it tastes good.

[shannanigan]

Thanks Buffichar!

EDIT: Decided I don't like Past Ghosts feet... well the position of them anyway. So I'm setting this back to to the smaller partial color-up until I work out those darn feet. :D

[spaztastic]

looks good shannangin

[scorge]

These are looking awesome guys! Jeremy Hoffman, Southern and Prepsage my favorites so far. I'll try to put together some comments later.
Internet access has been on the fritz for so long now (since the Countess)that I haven't been able to post any wips.:S
Until now!
I'm just about finished, but I wanted to see what you all might suggest before I throw it into the burning thread.
Thanks in advance for comments and thanks again to all those who gave me some on the last CHOW.

[duckyfeets1]

Break time = Crit time!

MJ: Dude.... theyre coming along just beautifully! I stalked here for a while, and the progress that youve made is really amazing. Kudos man! As for the glow on the fan, I agree with either change it or trash it. I really did like the fan before. Maybe you can just give her an all-over glow instead?

Pragmatist: Awesome concept. I really like your past, but theres something about the smile on your present that seems a bit off? Maybe its just that its so wide?

prepsage: Very cool stylization you have there.

DauDau: Love the concept. Id say on your present even maybe go and sex her out a little or something? Since all of your characters seem to have that vibe, and divorcees are very over-the-top and such.

Jeremy Hoffman: Not gonna lie... the details in yours just makes me giggle.

Shannanigan: Very true to the spirit of the book. My fav aspect has to be the children peeping out from under present's skirt. As for her feet, thats gonna be a hard one to reposition with the amount of stuff thats down there.

Scorge: Im liking the colors, but I get a little confused with the multiple arms on future. I dunno. Is there any way you can make them mesh in with the body a little?



Mine is changed since I was off. I just saw American Pie, and decided to place them in that party, sort of like, depicting them in their off time. So we shall see. Ill post the wip once I finish up the line art.

EDIT:

Wip

[DauDau]

Duckyfeets, yeah, I was in the pin up mode when I started this. Not sure what "sex her OUT" means? You mean, make her really ragged, over the top? I'm a bit torn. She seems to beg for that... A reverse make-over.

I really like your new idea, with the ghosts telling stories.

[IIKII]

ghost of future. Still a wip. Feeling alot of emptiness around it but will do something about it.

553454

[Pixeltuner]

Jeremy! Happy new year bro, be sure to finish this because it looks awesome. You should make this a Christmas card for next year! :D
See you on monday!

[Crowsrock]

Next stage of my work in progress. I tried to improve the Ghost of Christmas Present and rearanged the Ghost of Christmas Future.

[spaztastic]

here's an update on what I have so far. If there are any anatomical problems please let me know...I was up until 4 am this morning working on this.... I most likely missed a crap load...trying to get a more realistic feel to the skin...less flat as I have had many people tell me that I have a problem with depth perception... I hope they look more depthishsssss... still need to work on future, he's gonna be a little harder seeing as I am gonna have him kinda half skin and half bones, and his skin is gonna look sickly and kinda clammy. Well see.

[vaughany_boy]

haha, that expression on the girl's face is great, spaz.

My WIP:
http://img152.imageshack.us/img152/7709/finaltrialwip1qz9.jpg
(The ghost of christmas present is still a very rough sketch, mostly just to get the overall layout sorted)

[Mock]

Last WIP before I go back and do all of the little details for the final

[spaztastic]

it's looking sweet Mock!!

[FunkdaFide]

Long time since I've participated in one of these. Glad to have some time finally to jump back in.

Crowsrock: It's good that you toned down your backgrounds, they were really bright and saturated and it was taking away from the characters. The background of your Christmas future ghost could use a bit more softening.

MJ Alcazar: The flat coloured backgrounds seem a bit too saturated, you may want to make them less punchy.

Mock: Nice, very epic. However, your warm colour scheme isn't really giving me a Christmas vibe.

ex machina: Those sketches are uber dark. It's incredibly difficult to make out the figures, but what I can see looks pretty good.

Tommoy: Really diggin' the sketch. You may want to look at the female on the left. She kinda looks as if she's sticking out of the middle guys' arm like a handpuppet.

Southern: Lovely, very polished. Christmas past seems to be a little undersized. His portion of the canvas seems a tad empty, especially above his head.

Spaztastic: Great job on the faces. Not sure if this is just preliminary layout issues, but christmas future looks like he is snacking on the girls foot. You may want to rough in some of the background to bring the rest of the picture into the same range of finish as the characters.

That's all the critiquing I can muster. Here is my attempt, turning into a bit of a chore at this point. I think I went a little bit overboard, but it's too late to worry about that now. Compositionally, very boring, I know. Loosely based on the descriptions from the books. What I am most concerned with are the colours and brightness. I'm sure my monitors are not calibrated properly and I don't want this to come across as too dark or oversaturated so any input in that respect would be extremely helpful.

Great job guys, can't wait to see the final pieces!

[duckyfeets1]

Duckyfeets, yeah, I was in the pin up mode when I started this. Not sure what "sex her OUT" means? You mean, make her really ragged, over the top? I'm a bit torn. She seems to beg for that... A reverse make-over.


Like, hike up the boobs, lower the top. Really exaggerate her body language, especially since she has that hourglass thing going for her. Man, I almost wish you lived in the OC. We have a ton of these chicks walking around all the time. They dress worse than the 20 yr olds.

Cleavage, slit in the dress, with a tight hug all over. That sort of thing.


O and Spaz? That face just cracked me up. I dunno if its drunk. But it is brilliant.

[DauDau]

Like, hike up the boobs, lower the top. Really exaggerate her body language, especially since she has that hourglass thing going for her. Man, I almost wish you lived in the OC. We have a ton of these chicks walking around all the time. They dress worse than the 20 yr olds.

Cleavage, slit in the dress, with a tight hug all over. That sort of thing.


Thank you. You're a bit of a life-saver. I have been working on that woman most of the day, and felt stuck. What you describe, I can do :)

I agree about Spaz, btw. Those are some great faces.

Look forward to the finished works from all of you guys. So much is turning out really wonderful.

[PuppyKitten]

Spaz, those faces are hilarious. I just busted out laughing at work and my coworkers must thing I'm crazy.


Duckyfeets, you live in the OC too? The people here dress ridiculously sometimes, don't they? The 10 year olds dress like they're 20, and the 50 year olds dress like they're 20.

[shannanigan]

Duckyfeets, you live in the OC too? The people here dress ridiculously sometimes, don't they? The 10 year olds dress like they're 20, and the 50 year olds dress like they're 20.


It doesn't get much better a County up from you guys either.... and can someone explain to me why women wear fur-lined boots in California? Especially in the summer... its crazy! LOL!


Spaz, those faces are hilarious... Really fabulous job!

I feel weird critiquing since I'm so new and I don't really know squat... :D But I will say they are all looking awesome and I can't wait to see the final images!

[PuppyKitten]

It doesn't get much better a County up from you guys either.... and can someone explain to me why women wear fur-lined boots in California? Especially in the summer... its crazy! LOL!

Gosh, I bet those things stink at the end of the day, yeah? And you're right L.A. is pretty bad too. But walking down the street in LA always gives you lots of ideas for really weird character designs. Haha.

[spaztastic]

It doesn't get much better a County up from you guys either.... and can someone explain to me why women wear fur-lined boots in California? Especially in the summer... its crazy! LOL!


HA that's why I left Cali... aside from getting the one fingered California hello every where I drove I got tired of seeing 50 year cleavage.... and not just the front kind...*shudders at the memories of the 500LB woman in spandex*..... need I say more. Although it's not much better here in KY...think people with no teeth dressing that way... I think that explains it pretty much.

[duckyfeets1]

Ok. Uggs are comfy thank you very much! But yeah... they do stink if you dont wear socks with them. At least I have an excuse for using them since Im a swimmer.

But yeah, Puppy. Im OC born and raised. I even attended the high school they modeled the show off of. Tho Im not sure if thats something to be proud of. Lol.

[DauDau]

Seriously doubt, that I will have time to finish all three. This is my updated WIP. I need to give her really tacky jewelry and ... basically finish stuff that isn't working.

The goal is, that she should be xmassy, but tacky and mean, and trying to get her claws in the hero.

EDIT: After reading you guys replies.... I haven't made her nearly tacky enough. lol. Okay... well, tomorrow's another day.

EDIT2: Fixed her face a bit. Tried to make her meaner.

[MJ_Alcazar]

Ok here's another WIP of my three. My computer is starting to act up on me. So, hopefully it's a "just for tonight thing" and it won't last. ::fingers crossed::
Past - worked on everything. Funkdafide, tried to follow your advice and changed up the backgrounds. Hopefully I didn't make the problem even worse.
Present - changed the background and lost the glowing fan, I tried about 20 different things on it, and finally decided the first one was the best.
Future - worked on some thing and changed the background up.

I'll get some crits up later.

[FunkdaFide]

DauDau: Maybe you should have put her right hand on her hip. It would give her a bit more attitude than just having her spare hand floating in the air with nothing to do. At the moment she doesn't come across as very sinister or caniving, more ditzy than anything. Not sure if you have time for that change, but something to think about.

MJ: Those backgrounds are a huge improvement.



This is all the effort I can put into this one. If anybody sees any blatant issues let me know, otherwise this puppy is as finished as it's going to get.

[spaztastic]

so here's my update...damn I am like the slowest person here... I am really hoping I can finish it on time, it's turning out to be really good. I probably won't do much for the BG seeing as I suck at those anyway. I will try to make it look decent, if only for the challenge I will try at least that much...so if any one has any thoughts feel free to share. I don't bark...hehehehehe...

[spaztastic]

oh I am changing his robe to a t-shirt that looks like a robe same idea as the tuxedo shirt... "It shows he wants to dress up but at the same time be casual"..

[ex_machina]

Thanks for the feedback, FunkdaFide. You're absolutely right. They are pretty dreary. Here's one with (a little) color. Hopefully it's easier see what this one is :D

http://i41.tinypic.com/9h001f.jpg

umm...anyone have any good brush, or blending techniques? Thanks.

Also, Sentinel13: Please finish. I think your sketches are beautiful & your colors are an inspiration ... plus, we could all use more McCoy.

[spaztastic]

umm...anyone have any good brush, or blending techniques? Thanks.

Do you use painter or photoshop? If you use painter I have tons of brushes you can use, i think I have all the zip files saved. I don't know how to make the brushes so I ended up finding a bunch online that work great. Well shoot me a PM if you have painter and are interested.

[Pixeltuner]

Happy new year folks. I finally decided to chip in as well because I had done a sketch before the holidays, and made 'working ones ass off' a 2009 resolution. :D

[Jeremy Hoffman]

Heyhey Pixeltuner,

Good to see you here! And there he is with a good looking creation!
Well done and a happy Newyear to you! See you monday!

[Kaizer]

Pixeltuner, I love his yo-yo. That made me laugh.

[PuppyKitten]

Pixeltuner, that looks great! Especially the future ghost.

[Mock]

Pixeltuner, I love that image. I love it like cake.

Due to a drinking/poker challenge to commence tonight (and the impending hangover tomorrow), I rushed a finish for this one. I know, my priorities are all messed up, but free vodka and poker is always a good idea.

[r.mccabe]

Mock, the dress is beautiful. Great stuff.

Christmas future is done, the Present will come tomorrow. I'm not sure, does posting WIP hear count for the final?

Edit: thanks MJ, I lightened the background so everyone can see.

Edit 2: The wing was dependent on the background so I tweaked it.

Edit 3:Stayed up way to late changing it, it was so boring.

[MJ_Alcazar]

r.mccabe - if you link your post in the final thread, then yes. I'm having trouble seeing your final. It might just be my monitor, but I think you might need to lighten the background a bit.

Mock - it's beautiful! Only crit, if you have time. Where her dress cinches seems a little flat. It's not rounding to the figure like it should.

Pixeltuner - I love your piece! I think it's cool that you had past looking behind, and future looking off the other direction with present staring at us. :)
Is this your final. Because there are about four or five little strokes right near present's belt that stick out to me. Just a small thing though.

Funkdafide - your image is beautiful, nothing too blatant pops out at me.

More crits later. I keep trying to pull up my picture of Christmas Present, but so far it's not working. If I've lost all that work I think I'm going to cry.

[duckyfeets1]

Wip again. Ill finish this tonight. Im off on vaca tomorrow morning.

[spaztastic]

great gobs of stuff... I am not nearly done.... sure hope I can finish on time.

[ex_machina]

Do you use painter or photoshop?

I'm using photoshop. Can't really afford painter right now. Thanks though. Maybe I'll try to find some online. I was mostly wondering how people blended their stuff, since the blur tool isn't really my favorite.

[PuppyKitten]

I'm using photoshop. Can't really afford painter right now. Thanks though. Maybe I'll try to find some online. I was mostly wondering how people blended their stuff, since the blur tool isn't really my favorite.


Agreed, the blur tool is not very useful for blending. The best technique in photoshop is to do it the old fashioned way. By laying two colors against each other and using a brush to slowly fill in the gradation (easiest with color picking and a slightly lower opacity brush). For example: To shade red into blue you would color the red and the blue. Then put purple in between them. Then reddish purple between the purple and red, and blueish purple on the other side. Repeat until the smoothness of the transition suits your needs. Sometimes a softer brush helps, but I prefer a hard round standard photoshop brush.

Spaz, Future's face looks GREAT. Love the colors. human faces are definitely one of your strong suits as far as I'm concerned.

[spaztastic]

I'm using photoshop. Can't really afford painter right now. Thanks though. Maybe I'll try to find some online. I was mostly wondering how people blended their stuff, since the blur tool isn't really my favorite.

Check Ebay for painter I was able to get my version for 50 bucks. you can always find a good deal on there.

[Pixeltuner]

PuppyKitten, Mock, Jeremy, Kaizer: Thx :)

MJ Alcazar: Thank you, and it's almost final. Still some minor tweaks here and there to do.

[MJ_Alcazar]

Ok, my computer is still doing crazy things. BUT, I managed to get the three images pulled up and I framed them. If you guys see anything I need to fix, please tell me. I've been up trying to get the images to come up at all, so I may have missed a lot that I can still do. And, I'm probably going to keep working on them anyway.

[Jeremy Hoffman]

Had to do a quick color fill in, so i'm not so happy with that result.

[DauDau]

I won't have time to finish, b/c there's way too much to do. These two are the furthest along, so I'm showing you how far I've gotten, and then I'll upload the finished ones in my sketch book, one day.

When I started out with my romantic comedy idea, I was still very much in the pin up mode, and I regretted that, later. In other words: I know it's corny as he**. Sorry.

However, there is a lot of wonderful work posted here, and I look forward to seeing the FINAL BURNING.

My wips. :)

[JessiBean]

Just drawings for now. So slooooooow...

555857 555856 555855

[Nightblue]

Wow, amazing stuff. Love the line quality in yours Jessi, especially the first one. The pose and the stripes on her arms are very eye-grabbing. Jeremy Hoffman, sweet style! The three characters fit very nicely into your composition. MJ, it's been cool watching you progress. The characters turned out very nicely with a good air of realism. I love the expressions of the first two.

Won't be taking part in this round, but I'll get back to CHOWing once I'm back in the US :) Happy new year guys!

[Mock]

Holy balls, Jessibean. That's just beyond fantastic work thus far. Loving the linework.

[alesoun]

Meh! I screwed up on the colouring. I can fix it; but it'll take time, so it'll end up in my sketchbook.

Elegant linework, Jessibean; I love it!

Good luck to everyone who finishes their image.

[MJ_Alcazar]

I'm sorry you didn't make it alesoun!
Jessibean - beautiful linework!
Nightblue - thank you! Have a nice trip!

Just a little reminder. Naming your final pieces. It's on the front page of this and the Final Burning thread. Chow###_yourname.jpg (ex. Chow141_MJAlcazar.jpg )

(bold added by daestwen, thanks mj)

[daestwen]

Just a gentle reminder, folks, deadline is midnight tonight - which is about 3 hours away.

It'll likely run a little over that, but.

[ex_machina]

Ran out of time :( Hope to be able to dedicate more time on the next one. Thanks for all the great feedback y'all.

[Ilaekae]

Not gonna make it. I've got all three 60% finished but nowhere near enough to post. I'll post 'em when I finish...

[PuppyKitten]

Illy! I didn't know you were participating. Are you sure you don't have time to finish? Daestwen hasn't closed the Final Burning thread yet.

I haven't seen anything by you in kind of a long time, so I'm really itching to see your designs now...

[spaztastic]

Illy! I didn't know you were participating. Are you sure you don't have time to finish? Daestwen hasn't closed the Final Burning thread yet.

I haven't seen anything by you in kind of a long time, so I'm really itching to see your designs now...

I second that. Oh and puppykitten I LOVE your CHOW. it was beautiful, even if you think it is unfinished, I love the mood and everything. very dreamy.

[daestwen]

Boys and girls, just a reminder since it's a new rule, but please type out your copyright info in the final burning thread, or pm it to me, just in case you win! I need to know that stuff. :P

[DauDau]

I second that. Oh and puppykitten I LOVE your CHOW. it was beautiful, even if you think it is unfinished, I love the mood and everything. very dreamy.

Absolutely agree, that puppykittens entry is wonderful as it is. In fact, I think it would be a pity to add a lot of bows and stuff. Very impressed with it.

Also, I hope that nerve will be okay soon.

[Ilaekae]

Like what has come in so far. I decided last minute to go pure vector to see if I could pull it off. Blaerf...looks good so far, but it takes forever. (And you think YOU'RE slow, Jessi'?) :P

I have to quit to finish Roxie's challenge and the POW! before I totally embarrass myself, but will finish them after the 11th and post someplace appropriate...