Chow 146 :: Queen Titania

[Ionic]

Hmmmm... I'm hearing a LOT of crits on my image... I hate finishing early... so I'm probably gonna scrap it and start over. I was gonna fix the tangent of the pixies feet and the tree... the tree and flowers in general... and the sky has a radical hue shift that doesn't sit right with me... but I'm getting comments like not queeny enough... someone went off on the entire color scheme... soooo I'll have to deem this image a failure... hopefully I have time to start a new one.

thanks for the honesty guys :D

and about the name stuff... my name is "John"... my pseudonym or rather my pen name is "ionic"

[shannanigan]

soooo I'll have to deem this image a failure... hopefully I have time to start a new one.


I disagree... I really like your image. I think the woman is beautiful and I don't see anything wrong with the trees.

A lot of the comments are personal points of view... especially when it comes to design or visions of what a fairy queen should look like. I'm getting the "Not Queeny enough" not "Fairy" enough as well... but so what! This is what I had in my mind and my inspiration for the topic, not what everyone else here thinks it should be so I'm sticking to it. And so should you.... :)

[masque]

Masque - Looking good. I think the breasts are sitting too high on the chest though.Thanks, mon ami! 100% spot on -- I wanted them high (foreshortening, bandeau, character aspect, etc.) but not that high. Good to have new eyes on her. Corrected & updated on p.7.

@ the ironically Ionic Mr. JohnGrello ;) -- I agree with Shennanigan, you have a lovely work there and if it suits you, says what you want it to say, then it's exactly right. Nowhere near a "failure" just because some folks have opinions or bring up technical points -- just possible paths to a stronger image, but you gotta make the choices in the end.

[Ionic]

shannanigan: I totally agree with your stance on it... unfortunately this is kind of a competition. And just like a job... we have to cater to the wants of the people viewing the work. Does me no good to enjoy my work if the intention of the work isn't being met for why it was created :D ANYWAYS... thank you shannanigan... I probably won't have time to start another one... so I'll do my best to salvage it... just feels like I missed the mark by a lot.

masque: Beautiful... I just have to point out one thing. there seems to be a strong light source on the clouds... and a strong one on the moon... and those light sources seem to be going in different directions.... just the first thing that caught my eye. other than that I really like the soft simpl-exity of it.... yup I just made up that word... felt good too.

[shannanigan]

shannanigan: I totally agree with your stance on it... unfortunately this is kind of a competition. And just like a job... we have to cater to the wants of the people viewing the work.


I knew that would be the response... ;)

Generally though with a job you have discussed expectations with the client and you have one or 2 contact points. You don't have 30 different people with 30 different opinions giving you 30 different things to change at 30 different points in the project. If that is the work you are getting... run away... FAST!!! Because that means you are in Product design like me with 7 bosses... TPS reports anyone? LOL!

I don't look at these CHOWs that way since I have zero chance of winning with my drawing style here... so I just do my thing and try to have fun. :D

[wassermelone]

shannanigan: I totally agree with your stance on it... unfortunately this is kind of a competition. And just like a job... we have to cater to the wants of the people viewing the work. Does me no good to enjoy my work if the intention of the work isn't being met for why it was created :D ANYWAYS... thank you shannanigan... I probably won't have time to start another one... so I'll do my best to salvage it... just feels like I missed the mark by a lot.

Its a rather informal competition. Theres no prize other than respect, and you already have mine and probably everyone elses.

And while, I agree, if going by the prompt, I think she looks a little too human, its still a beautiful image.

[guastaferro]

John - im with Shannanigan on this one. I've actually been looking at your piece trying to work some of your techniques into mine. To me its a complete success and one of my favorites by far. I love the variety of colors that you used, and to me, they dont seem to distract, but rather add interest to the piece. I keep looking around your composition finding new things i like

Honestly i think the crits have been pretty rough on your piece. It seems that others were being overly critical because of the level you are at, and it could be that im just not trained well enough to see the problems.
Remember, we are all your "viewers", and here is one viewer who says its great how it is!

[masque]

those light sources seem to be going in different directions... Yeah, but since this is fantasy and magical and she's gorgeous and all that stuff you're not supposed to notice (ha!). :D Actually it was a conscious decision to cheat the lighting for the sake of design -- the same observation can apply to the figure as well, but I'm more interested in a thematic statement than a wholly naturalistic image.

...since I have zero chance of winning with my drawing style here... so I just do my thing and try to have fun. :DOh, my, another nattering nabob of negativism ;). I like your "style" a huge amount, it's gotten my vote every time (well, that's only two times, since I've been away a while :P) and will again. But I'm glad you have the "fun" attitude, it so often seems to be missing in the weeklies.

[daestwen]

John: Titania is also someone who is a part played on a stage by human actors in costumes, so... Also, Titania herself was said to have a more human-like appearance anyway, so i dunno about the 'not faerie enough' comments, unless anyone here has actually *seen* a faerie...

As for the not 'queenly' enough, that's totally a matter of opinion, and we'll see that come out in the polls. But if you try to please *everyone* in this competition, it just ain't gonna work.

Really, the only one you for sure need to please is me, and I don't see any problems here.... :P

[guastaferro]

daestwen, you jumped in right as i was in my second thought, which curiously involved you :)
My thought was, how on earth is she more human looking than many of these on here? It seems to be a trap we are falling in (myself included as i gave a similar crit to daestwen) to decide the parameters of this character. Is she too human? Is she not queenly enough? No, because that is the Titania that you invisioned

[shannanigan]

Oh, my, another nattering nabob of negativism ;). I like your "style" a huge amount, it's gotten my vote every time (well, that's only two times, since I've been away a while :P) and will again. But I'm glad you have the "fun" attitude, it so often seems to be missing in the weeklies.


Isn't it AMAZING how I can be positive and Negative at the same time? I've worked really hard at honing that particular personality trait. LOL!

Thank you Sir... I much appreciate your support! :D


Really, the only one you for sure need to please is me, and I don't see any problems here.... :P

Oh crap. . . . . Hahaha!

[riotorange]

darn it alesoun.. i drew up a "donkey love" (PG people... PG) image last nite b/c no one here had gone that.....route. LOL. now i gotta think up something else.

[wassermelone]

daestwen, you jumped in right as i was in my second thought, which curiously involved you :)
My thought was, how on earth is she more human looking than many of these on here? It seems to be a trap we are falling in (myself included as i gave a similar crit to daestwen) to decide the parameters of this character. Is she too human? Is she not queenly enough? No, because that is the Titania that you invisioned

Ill agree with this to some extent as I had a similar problem with the last challenge. My villain was not villainous enough in a lot of people's eyes. Personally I thought it was... but. BUT. On the other hand, this is a concept art forum and a character design sub forum and a task with a topic and not a fine art board. Concept art is intended for consumption, and even if its as personal as an image as can be, some of the success will be dependent on what people think when they see it. I love the image, but my first thought is "Human wearing fairy wings". I could draw a male minotaur and personally interpret as the Queen Titania all I want, but the initial thought people would have would be, "This is a male minotaur." and it wouldn't make it to poll. The same with my villain, while it made it to poll, people were not voting for it because they thought it not villainous enough. It may not be MY opinion, but as a commercial artist and someone making art for a specific 'assignment' I have to take into account something of what people say with weight.

[masque]

... some of the success will be dependent on what people think when they see it. As with commercial assignments, it's a matter of balance between personal intent and satisfaction, and audience response and satisfaction. Is deep-sixing the image due to a writeup a balanced response? I guess it depends on the artist, but it seems a bit of a baby and bathwater situation to do so.

[wassermelone]

As with commercial assignments, it's a matter of balance between personal intent and satisfaction, and audience response and satisfaction. Is deep-sixing the image due to a writeup a balanced response? I guess it depends on the artist, but it seems a bit of a baby and bathwater situation to do so.

Oh I totally agree. I'm certainly not the one that makes the determination as to whether he should start over or not. I really don't even think he should - I think theres plenty of ways he can "fix" it if he so chooses to do so (fix in quotations because theres not really anything wrong with the image as an image on its own).

[grenogs]

i understand the reasoning why most faeries are illustrated with human/child like characteristics, but can someone please answer me this, in all the images i find of titania, why is she of human size? after all, all other faeries are shown to be realy small, and yet she's a giant. Is she just a freak of nature or Were her parents also that size, and if so then is she realy a faerie or did she actualy just steel the throne becouse she is so much stronger and bigger than the real faeries and then simply proclaim herself as the new faerie queen. And if so then who is the true and rightfull queen of the faeries? i do believe there should be some kind of investication :)

[GiantRibot]

JOHNGRELLO : there comes a point in every critical analysis of a work where you have to draw a line. we all could nitpick our work to death, or on the other hand just power through and not listen to anyone and let our work stagnate. i think a good balance has to be reached. I, personally, wouldn't scrap your peiece unless you think you can make something ten times more fucking amazing than that one is. the thing is, it's already fucking amazing. but, of course, it's your call. good luck

[daestwen]

grenogs: a lot of faeries were traditionally seen as human-sized, or at least court-style faeries were. How else would they leave human-sized babies in their wake when they stole ours?

Faeries came in thousands of shapes and styles dependent on their use in the legend they are involved in. Household faeries are always thought of as being small, since they have to run around the house without being seen, where as avalon-style faeries have usually been seen as being bigger, so that a human could be lured into a forest and have a 70-year banquet with them.

[Carnifex]

while we're at this,daestwen,would my image make it to the poll as it stands now?

[trevor]

Hey Trevor, you might wanna take into consideration, that all the images are scaled down to the same width (300px I think) for the voting. That would make your queen very hard to see.
As beautiful as the composition is like this, you could lose votes from people that don't go through the thread to look at the full sized pictures, especially when there will be that many as in this round.
\

im not too concerned i really just do these to practice and to take a break from what im drawing at work
the truth is that this is my studying
im trying to make a gret character yes
but over all i would like my painting / composition skills to improve
(and i would like to finally start selling prints) so this is a good opportunity for me to make a great character but overall for my own purposes the image is more important

wassermelone - I'm liking this a lot so far. My only quibbles are that she doesn't seem more important than the other figures design wise (compositionally, yes). They don't really seem to be minions so much as villainous companions. Shes also looking a little 80s glam

whats wrong with 80s glam? hahahah (i grew up in that hahah)
she may seem more important by the time its done (hopefully haha)
still have a lot of time left to finish her so im not too worried
but again
im going for the whole story here not just the individual
what makes her special? in my pic its the leading of an army of miniature terror hahah

[grenogs]

ahh!! that would make a lot of sence , the avalon story i hadn't hered before, thanks daestwen, and although it wasn't the reason for the question, you may have just sorted out a couple of problems in my own picture :)

[alesoun]

Riotorange, what's to stop you having a donkey in your pic as well? I don't have a monopoly on 'em! ;)

[hoshicat]

Jumping on to this really late, but sounds like too much fun. Also thought it'd be good practice for painting since I suck at it! Fixing the face on the painted version now... just thought I'd get some w.i.p.s up while I still could. :) <3

[daestwen]

Carnifex: At the moment, I'm afraid I would have to say no. :/ For one, it looks like a sketch, rather than a finished drawing. But more importantly, the anatomy is off. I would suggest doing an overlay drawing and outlining her anatomy even where you can't see it in the image. You'll notice a few things don't line up properly - her legs to hips, for example, and her shoulders don't quite work. Also her arms are much too short - her elbows should come into line with her belly button.

[Ionic]

gregnogs: Best thing I've heard all day! you really thought that one out.

daeswen: OMFG that was informative... I literally feel smarter after reading that.

ALL: Thank you for the kinds words... I feel like I just invited everyone to my first annual pity party. Someone (scrolling up was too hard) commented about the point that your getting 30 different directions which is true... early on I veered in a different direction cause someone said it look a bit D&D... so I tried to a lil less "stuff" driven... then someone commented on the pose... so I tweaked it... anyways... all I really want from doing these CHoWs is experience... I think I'm just not use to so many people taking interest in my image and actually sharing their thoughts... thanks again guys :D and gals.

[JoeX]

gregnogs: Best thing I've heard all day! you really thought that one out.

daeswen: OMFG that was informative... I literally feel smarter after reading that.

ALL: Thank you for the kinds words... I feel like I just invited everyone to my first annual pity party. Someone (scrolling up was too hard) commented about the point that your getting 30 different directions which is true... early on I veered in a different direction cause someone said it look a bit D&D... so I tried to a lil less "stuff" driven... then someone commented on the pose... so I tweaked it... anyways... all I really want from doing these CHoWs is experience... I think I'm just not use to so many people taking interest in my image and actually sharing their thoughts... thanks again guys :D and gals.


one thing I noticed - stuck out to me...

the drawing/sketch she was loose in her pose - head's at an angle...
you lost all of that "charm" as the painting progressed.

take a look again, you'll see what i mean.

I read in CHOW, that you are unhappy with this...I think there's a ton right with it and little wrong...you just lost her personality in the paint...

if you do a second attempt - work from that sketch again...don't bury what you captured in the sketch with colored pixels.

[Carnifex]

dae - ah,thanks. i'll check these things,but i'll leave this here as is...don't have the time to properly participate this week.

[LA-Fairy]

Looking at all the entries and then comparing mine, I just want to trash it. My colors look soooo stupid.

Tommoy: I love the pose and the outfit, the colors go well.
Johngrello: Great pose and expression. The wings are awesome!
Adam Schumpert: Love the vibe so far. A real Queen. ^^
Jefita: I think I like yours right now the best. The proportions of the queen look great, her outfit and head dress are fantastic. The whole scenery is beautiful, I so cannot wait to see it finished. I really like the purple tone it has right now.

Eh, I just got the new wizard in my hand.. I'm off LOL

[D@niel]

Update on my one.

[skorpi]

Zilrion I like her face and the contrst between red and green, thats promising.
D@niel Nice fingers
Tommoy I like her wings and you color palette
Nether Like your design :)
Felida Such a detailled pic, i'm impressed and courious how the finished one would look like.
GiantRibot Interesting idea to put her in a future world

Almost finished. Any critics?

[guastaferro]

D@niel - that was a quick update! Looking really nice

Skorpi - a couple notes. I think the guy needs some more work, especially with his abs, they are a bit too uniform and defined, also his abdomen would have some kind of curve to it, judging by your abs lines its as straight as a board on all axis.
The other thing is it seems like you are doing the mottled shadow look from the leaves overhead, if you are, try doing it with a hard edge brush so we know its shadow, not skin blemishes/details.
Other than that its looking good! Love the hair and the hooves, very nice details.

[Felida]

Hi Skorpi :) I love what you did with the colors! Especially in the bg but also in her skin. The characterdesign is nice, too. Her ears are so pretty. Just one thing: I won't hide her second arm in that way. Maybe you can find a way to at least show the hand.
D@niel: Wonderful rendering till now but her pose is still a little bit off. It looks like she's falling backwards.

[GiantRibot]

another update. anyone have a crit for me? no problem if everybody's too busy.

[Scotwith1T]

Thought I would try this. Went for a typical classic look. Basing her wings on Mothra from the Godzilla movies.

http://img231.imageshack.us/img231/5454/queentitanavs1.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

[Sulk-Sal]

I feel like her dress may need a bit more, but any comments crits would be greatly appreicated ^.^

[riotorange]

alesoun

oh i didn't want you to think i was taking your idea,i figured once there was a donkey..its kinda like there shouldnt be another one. i dunnno what im tryin to say anyway, its been too long of a day . :)
*goes back to the oh so thrilling job of data-entry*

[guastaferro]

Giant Robot - cool concept, very different. my one note is i think the arms could use some work where they connect to the body. While this concept is unnatural, the back ones dont look like they are connecting in any physically possible way. Its hard since there is no real reference for this kind of anatomy :P
Looking good though!

[Ionic]

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v736/Jagrello/chow_146_ionic_final_framedb.jpg

Okay folkies! this is my final... final...uh final... lol fixed all the things I personally didn't like in the image... Thank you to everyone one who has commented on my image... positive or negative... all criticism is good in my eyes... we are all here to become the best.

ooooh yeah... if you wanna see the updated process its on page 8... ENJOY :D

[FerrousJack]

D@niel, JohnGrello, Trevor: I wish i could get that painterly look you guys get. My colors just seem muddy by comparison. I probably need to get more texture in my work, too...

John - I really like your piece by the way. The design is perfectly in line with the topic, and as for losing some nebulous quality in going from sketch to finished piece, that is probably a result of getting bogged down in the details. But it doesn't detract from the finished piece. I don't think there would have been much criticism if no one had seen the original sketch.

[Jeremy Hoffman]

Just started with the color fill in. Still got a lot to do this weekend. More details etc, etc.... Like creating more perspective in the arms and to make it more like a queen!

Felida: Thanks for your tip! I prefer the thin arms, don't want to make a perfect playboy elf ;-). And you've seen it correctly. It is a crown on her arm. Now it's gone, but it's coming back :-)

Your drawing is looking good as well. I like the story it tells!

And for the rest: WOW there are so many goodlooking creations here, i don't know where to start with my comments. So i would say: MAKE IT WORK!

[dirkvandulmen]

Here's another wip. Worked on the environment .... enjoy!
Still quite some things a like to paint into....

[skorpi]

guastaferro Thank you for the critics i changed the pic a little :)

felida Thank you :) About her arm, I gave it a try but it was horrible, better I let it like it is.

GiantRibot Love the colors. I think her feets need some work.

Scotwith1T I like her facial expression, really proud.

Sulk-Sal Take a look on the anatomy, her upper part of the body should be longer and her hand ist to big

JOHNGRELLO Just love your painting

Jeremy Hoffman Great design

dirkvandulmen love the details and her wings

I dont know, if I'm able to work on mine more. So for the first my final

[Jeremy Hoffman]

Dirk go to sleep ;-)
And it's looking good. Cool details in the front!

[Dani Duck]

Here's another wip. Worked on the environment .... enjoy!
Still quite some things a like to paint into....
I would work more on the shading of Titania. Even though the lines look a lot better without being "ink" lines, they still need more work to actually become part of the drawing. It's looking great so far.

[Angel Intheuk]

Great updates on this page so far :) here's mine, just some colour and texture and a snake she has on a lead, still need to do her hands.

[guastaferro]

*update*
Think i fixed the problems with her anatomy.

http://i70.photobucket.com/albums/i85/guastaferro/CHOW146_WIP7.jpg

[grenogs]

gregnogs: Best thing I've heard all day! you really thought that one out..

i do try ;)


btw. i like the finished piece, very nice , especialy the face, realy nice detail

[ErikStorstein]

Oh my, it's 2am. I'm getting closer to getting this done! I never thought I'd get there. Feedback is very appreciated if anyone could give any :) I just found out it looks like I'm trying to hide the feet and hands.. It wasn't even intentional >_<


skorpi That's pretty sweet, I'd like to see her in movement, with those long slim legs I'm sure she'd move quite elegant. Great work, you got it very realistic! :)

[fersteger]

Man, everyone is looking good here, I want to comment but I've been at my monitor for 12 hours now and my eyes are about to pop. Maybe in the morning. But here's mine, I think I'm done, anyone see anything to crit? I've got a few hours to finish it tomorrow I think.

[T_Turrill]

JohnGrello: a little touchy feely-ness here.... hey man, i have to apologize to you and anyone else who thought my crit was too harsh...

you know how it is with a visual forum, one person sees one little flaw and then the floodgates open. it's still a wonderful piece that's amazingly crafted and it's super helpful for me and other artists here to get to see your working process. god damn that face makes me happy. :) the lighting on that upper half is rad, too.

i guess i feel bad because i'm such a nonentity here and i dont have nearly the same painting skills as you. i dont feel like it was my place to dump on your piece like that. but in art as in everything else, it's easier to give advice to others than to use it for yourself. i'm still learning,... we all are, and thats why i expect the same matter-of-fact crits in return. :P feel free to fire some back.

i've always found that it's easiest to make legitimate crits on art you like and respect. i used to do the same thing in art school and i cant bear to think of you bursting into tears and sobbing into your pillow like those kiddies did. :cry:

give a sista a fistbump. 8)

which brings me tooooo

Guastaferro: dude i like the direction those wings are going. the dusty purples are deelishuss.

ok i'm in a hurry so this is what i'm noticing, forgive the flippance:

seems like the center body line is your problem - she's segmented and all the different parts are facing different ways. mostly the torso is jutting off to the left while her legs are off to the right. i tried to sit in this position and it hurts! she's kinda slouching so her tummy needs to be a bit more pooched out. That left arm looks SUPER mannish. she's a lady! not so rippling with muscles :P the arms also seem a bit short - right now the elbows hit about on the lower ribcage, when it should be more around the top of the iliac crests. the head looks too large on her torso - youve emphasized the boobs and not given enough room for her rib structure. i fooled around with the image and pretty good results from stretching the upper chest, widening the shoulders a bit and lengthening the neck. lengthening the neck also gives you more room to tip her head down a bit and get more of a smoldering stare. plus it makes her look less squatty.
the legs however i am stumped on. i just spread her legs apart and let her be a skank LOL.

if anything, the top thing i am noticing is that the angle of the center bity of white cloth adds even more emphasis to the zig-zagginess she has goin on. i recommend bringing the piece of cloth straight down and having it be more of a vertical element that gets your eye up to the boobies quicker. ;) congratulations, youre a male!

like i said though, i love those tones and your skin colors are rockin. cant wait to see this thing amped up.

oh and here's mine! rip into as necessary:

(damn this was long)

[humboldt squid]

okay, here's my latest
http://xs136.xs.to/xs136/09064/titaniaprog6885.jpg
here's the face up close
http://xs136.xs.to/xs136/09064/tatianaface2406.jpg
and just for fun here's nick bottom
http://xs136.xs.to/xs136/09064/nickbottom468.jpg

[hunchback]

well after looking at everyone elses work i kinda feel bad
this is chow so i guess i have to add some more character...

T_Turill: holy crap i think we have a winner xD:asspat:

[Christoffer]

Alright this is my final. *sigh*
I know - it's infested with mistakes, and I did my best to correct most of them.
But I had to stop at some point, since I barely knew what I was doing half the time.
I've learned a lot from my mistakes though and hopefully that will show in future projects.

http://img91.imageshack.us/img91/532/chow146christofferjq5.jpg

[masque]

T_Turrill: Just a little rip 'cause I like so much about your Titania, mainly the very fine expression, placid but not vapid. Anyway, the left arm (pic right) is so strictly vertical that, coupled with the strong verticals in the draping of her garment, she looks pretty rigid despite the grace of the other arm's positioning. Maybe a slight angle across the torso for this arm, or more radical, hands folded across her breast -- that's sort of the expectation I get if I cover up the lower half of her.

[Sulk-Sal]

JOHNGRELLO, sweet, sweet stuff. I wish I could offer more then that.

Skorpi, Thanks for the crit! I took another look at my references and you are correct. With these corrections I'll probably work on something else a bit and come back later with fresh eyes.

I still wanna add little companions to her, but I need to start inking and all that other stuff.

I gotta saw again there is some great work here. I can't wait to see the Final Burning.

[ticktocker]

Whew there are some amazing entries here!

Here's my latest WIP, still got a long way to go though. I've repainted it about four times and I'm still not completely satisfied with it. Any comments and critiques are most appreciated!

[guastaferro]

Turrill - thanks for the awesome feelback! Is it that obvious im a male? :P
I ended up trying for a Boris Vallejo look, it seemed different than other directions so i thought id give it a shot, thus the extreme buffness and sexiness. But i can see that it can be toned back a bit to give her a more lithe feel. And if you look back to page 5 i did have her all raunchy and spread eagle :P

Man, glad you gave those crits, her anatomy is all over the place now that i look.

Crits back atcha ----> Man, having a hard time finding something that needs fixing.....nope, not much.
One slight note, if its not on your list already, you might check out the colors you are using at the top of the composition. The blue at the bottom is sooo good that the barely saturated blues and greens at the top really detract from the piece and the head starts to disappear into it. Thats all, love it so far :D

[MJ_Alcazar]

Another update.

Everytime I do something in pen I realize how much my hands actually shake! Well, pencil too, but at least I can erase. I have to say I love pen though. Looking good everyone. I will try to leave some crits tomorrow when my brain is fully functioning.

[DIMAGYAN]

thats very nice MJ Alcazar. i really like the costume and the attetion of details.the figure is pretty solid. one thing to keep in mind with inks is that if you hand start to shake is probably a good idea to make the movment in another piece of paper...even practice your lines to see the movment and direction in your head and of course in the paper.(im not good at inking thou, so my opinion has not much currency).
if you have white ink try to separate more the right hand form the cushion(is a bit unclear that area) waiting for the final

thanks for your comment, i will see what can i do to make her more royal.

[guastaferro]

Ticktocker - so far its looking good. Depending on if those leaves are your main light source, im just looking forward for more bright highlights closest to those sources.
Only critique right now is id like to see some more detail to her outfit, but thats just my preference in this case. Good start!

*edit* you might take another look at her neck, it seems tall and thick right now. maybe thin it out and bring the head down a bit.

[Vorace]

Started something! done for tonight, will work a lot on it again during week-end

a LOT of wonderful entries... kiler round!!:mod:

[peter_john]

holy pants there are a ton of entries this round...I can't keep track of them all! Keep it going though...blow it up!

fersteger - I'm digging yours. Confident and loose. It's bold.

[amaliax]

Many thanks to DIMAGYAN for the drawover. I loved it, and I tried to take your advice. Not sure I got it to work, but I tried. Thanks to everybody else that commented and pointed out errors as well.

More please? (I can't give crits, obviously...You all are amazing.)

And, like several other people have mentioned, this round is awesome.

[Ciaee]

Hi everyone! I'm new to ConceptArt.Org and this place is amazing- so many skilled artists and helpful people. Let's all work hard together!

On my entry:
I wanted to portray as closely as possible what I felt fairies were like. Here's Queen Titania and Nick Bottom('s head).

In my imagination, fairies are innocent and whimsical as well as selfish, remorseless and vengeful. They're very much like children, really. In this painting, I took some liberties with the original story and character from Shakespeare's play, and wanted to create a "fairytale gone wrong" image. I intend to keep her quite childlike and innocent-looking though, and by then end of the painting (hopefully) the whole thing will feel a little disturbing. (I've always found innocent children in horror movies/ghost stories extremely creepy and scary, and I want to put a bit of that in here.)

I recently acquired the book "FABLES: Covers by James Jean" (present from sister - best art book ever), and his work was on my mind the whole time when I was trying to create this image.

Disclaimer:
Um, I do not promote animal-cruelty? ><

[Matt Dixon]

Welcome to CA, Ciaee. That's a beautiful sketch.

[Aly Fell]

Welcome to CA, Ciaee. That's a beautiful sketch.
Seconded!

[D@niel]

Welcome to CA, Ciaee. That's a beautiful sketch.

Thirded!;)




Vorace yours is looking cool man. Lots of great work all round!:)

Update

[Matt Dixon]

D@niel - Yours catches my eye every time I look through this thread. Very nice. Latest update moves lots of things along nicely but watch that you don't overdo it - you've lost some of the separation between Titania and the background now there's a bright glow to the right of her head. I think your basic layout of values was right from the first posting, with the brightest point contained in her hair. That provided a very direct, attention-grabbing focal point which drew the viewer right to the character - my eye's now being pulled to that bright splodge between hand and face.

[ikuru]

Ciaee, that sketch is really nice to look at.

looking forward to where this is going and the finals thread in general!

[D@niel]

Thanks Matt, you are 100% correct!:)

[Marco Mazzoni]

Man, I'm really impressed by the amount of quality work this round.

I'm out of town for the next 2 weeks, so I'm going to have to call this done.

To be honest, I never really got excited by the idea of faeries appearing as miniature twinkling humans with butterfly wings, so I thought I'd play up the insect a bit more with this one.

[Physicalpariah]

Lol Dont you hate it when you know you'll be cut? haha nahh! Fantastic work everyone!
Welcome Ciaee! Great start there!

Everyone else damn fine work here. Couldnt find a better place online to learn from true masters!

[Aly Fell]

D@niel - I wasn't going to mention this as Matt just gave you a great crit, but flip the image; she looks just a little unbalanced, like she's just about to fall backward. It might be me, but I notice it everytime I look. Just a quick edit in PS...

[D@niel]

Thanks Posh, thats great advice!:):yayca:

[Ciaee]

Matt Dixon:
Thanks! That means a lot coming from you. When I first saw your WIP (color rough) for this one, I went like, "That one's getting my vote."

Poshspice:
Thank you!

D@niel:
Thank you too! On your image, I'll have to agree with Matt about getting the focal point right. Other than that, awesome image. Seeing it slowly come to life from your first WIP is fun.

ikuru:
Thank you! I'm really excited too and I hope I don't mess it up. xD

Marco Mazzoni:
That. looks. amazing.

Physicalpariah:
Thank you! :3

Thanks everyone for your encouraging words! Btw, does anyone have any idea how big Titania's supposed to be? I'm wondering if that donkey's head in my sketch is too big/small in comparison to her size.

[bleupencil]

I wasn't going to do this, preferring to just sit back and enjoy the show. But after watching this thread I can't help but feel very inspired by the work produced so far. I don't think I can compete with such amazing art, but here goes anyway... my first CHOW. I'm terrible with finishing personal stuff, please help me get through to the end D:

Some scribblings.
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Research and inspirational references. I was watching a TV show the other night and saw some Spider Monkeys on it. They have absolutely haunting and beautiful eyes which I thought might be fitting for this.

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[Aly Fell]

Btw, does anyone have any idea how big Titania's supposed to be? I'm wondering if that donkey's head in my sketch is too big/small in comparison to her size.

She doesn't have to be any size particularly. Because this is your interpretation you can do what you like with the character. As she would have been played by an actor in Shakespeare she could be human size, but fairies are traditionally smaller, so it's up to you! :)

[davidherd]

An intimidating amount of quality stuff so far, here is my first very doodley wip just to declare my interest.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3479/3257930576_6a37bfeced.jpg

Posh: I really like the pose of the left option on page 1. Top quality work as always.
Nutter: Love your style and the light is delicious. It's nice to see your process as well, thank you for that.
T-Turrill: Very beautiful sketches on page 3.
Trevor: Love the composition and regal expression in her pose. Nice 'paint handling' also.
Matt_Dixon: Beautiful work, the colour version on page 3 is oustanding, inspirational even. Great use of light.

Great stuff ladies and gents! I'm snowed off work today so I'm off to throw myself into this.

[Nether]

Angel Intheuk Thanks for noting about the chin. It really was too pronounced, I had just become blind to my own work. I toned it down to make her more elegant.

Felida Thank you for the compliment. Since you were wondering, I'll be doing a more abstract art nouveau style background, mainly because of limited time. As for colors see below. I'm working by painting on opposite colors (green over red and so forth).

Here's a coloring WIP.

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[Artofinca]

Thanks for the feedback!
here is ze wip from today

[yoitisi]

Adding my stuff to the pile..12 pages in a single normal round..what happened in here? :D

Tried a couple of lame sketches until I hit something I liked, so now I might actually finish it while I'm at it. Needs lots of work, specially the lighting and colors, but I'm having fun with it so far. Think I'll continue in black and white for a bit.

Edit: Started working in grayscale for a bit. Going to add a whole bunch of gobelins, gnomes and satyrs to the background.

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[D@niel]

Looks good yoitsi!!

I think that its finished, not sure?

[Matt Dixon]

Looks good, D@niel. Maybe have another look at her ribcage? It suddenly feels a little bit deep to me? Might just need the bottom edge ( below the breast ) softening off a bit?

Two other suggestions -

The shape of her hair is very elegant, but the simplicity of the s-curve you have there is giving me a sensation of speed. Almost like she's just whipped around to look towards us, if you know what I mean? Not sure if that suits the mood I'm getting from the rest of the piece. I wonder how it would look with more 'float' to the hair? Same basic shape, but with a few more kinks and curls.

The other is the foreground. If you worked it up a little more, with increased definition and slightly brighter tones, perhaps even a few unique colours from other parts of the background, it would become more obviously a separate 'layer' in front of everything else which I think would give a better sense of depth overall and place Titania more firmly in the scene. With just some subtle overlap with the background right now, she almost appears to be floating on top of it.

Have you tried giving her pupils?

[dirkvandulmen]

D@niel

Looking nice but maybe try to stand in the pose she is in your self, feels a little weird with the knees...? just a thought... still what a great explosion of faeries!!! Keep it up, it's weekend!

[MichaelNoel]

Ugh, I might be able to get something up Sunday? Awesome character... T_T

[Sentinel.]

Good grief, there are some kickass images in here! Everybody came out of the woodwork for this one :P

So I didn't want to post another wip until I had it more or less worked out, but I need some eyes other than my own. This thing has been fighting me the whole way and I'm starting to hate it. Proportionally her hands are too large, but I'm having a hard time seeing what else is wrong. This is what I get for focusing on details too soon :D

http://i189.photobucket.com/albums/z78/sentinel13_7/sentinel13titaniawip2.jpg

[Franna]

hello. damn you guys are serious.
here's my sketch. i've been looking at this way too long. could someone please tell me if something looks off? except for the feet, cos i know they're dodgy as hell. that would be very helpful. thanks.

http://i725.photobucket.com/albums/ww252/GenusRhizopus/titania1.jpg

[masque]

Updated mine to final on p.7, with some finishing touches and color balancing.

Excellent round, kind of amazing how what could be such a cliche subject turns out such richly original work all around. 'Nother A+ daestwen! :D

[shannanigan]

So I didn't want to post another wip until I had it more or less worked out, but I need some eyes other than my own. This thing has been fighting me the whole way and I'm starting to hate it. Proportionally her hands are too large, but I'm having a hard time seeing what else is wrong. This is what I get for focusing on details too soon


I love her face and the glowing red eyes and her outfit is great! Also like that you didn't make her super skinny... which I think is the problem with the hands. Not that they are too big, but that her arms are out of proportion with the rest of her. You need to add a little meat on 'em! ;)

I really like the design of the character a lot! :D

[Vulgar`]

The round is getting grander and grander.

[JessiBean]

Sentinel13 - I think Shannanigan has a good point, the arms do need to look rounder, and possibly longer, to match her form, but I also feel like her torso got squished - she has lovelty hips and a nice bust, but her torso feels too short. The hands and the head seem to match okay, to me, it's the arms and the torso making them look off, I think. A haxxor paintover to show what I mean:

585426

Also, I ADORE this image. I wish I had made it... Can't wait to see you finish her.

[Sentinel.]

Thank you both so much, you're exactly right! I see a little PS transforming in my immediate future.

You two are life savers ;D

[daestwen]

Sentinel: Didn't you promise me feet, this round...? ;)

[Sentinel.]

Dae: I did, didn't I? Will you settle for half a leg? :bashful:

[Jefita]

I concur with the crowd. This is a really great round to watch. I love all the variety.

I wanted to give feedback, but only have so much time, so I at least hit up the last couple of pages.

T_Turrill - I agree with the other comment that the left arm makes her look to stiff. I does need a little bend or something. Otherwise, I think it looks really great.

humboldt squid - what you have looks nice, but there's not enough of it for me to really say much yet. The expression is cute, but it doesn't seem to go with a proud queen. Just my opinion though.

hunchback - I am interested to see how yours progresses. She seems rather melancholy/sad so far.

Christoffer - I like how troublesome she looks. I wish she had a little better definition though. It's hard to separate her from the background in places. I feel like she needs lines.

masque - the piece looks great. She very much fits my idea of a proud queenly fairie, and the setting and colors are wonderful too. The only thing I noticed was that she is a bit too long looking from the belly button to the knee.

Sulk-Sal - Her hand definitely looks better now. Waiting to see what it looks like all inked and such. The head dress is pretty cool.

ticktocker - I think someone else already said it, but her neck is too thick/long. Also her head/neck doesn't seem to connect to the center of torso. I like the setting and the nice glowy feel so far.

MJ_Alcazar - This is looking great. I agree with the other comment that her hand is blending into the cushion a bit too much. Maybe just darken the outline around that part.

Vorace - Love the colors and expression. Does she really have an odd number of ears?

amaliax - Very elegant. Can't wait to see what it looks like with more detailing. As is, her hair sort of looks like a hat.

Ciaee - Welcome. Looks like you are off to a nice start.

D@niel - I like all the little touches that make her not quite human, and rather wild looking. Nicely done.

Marco Mazzoni - Delightfully dark. Very Pan's Labyrinth to me.

bleupencil - I like all the elements you are pulling together. I hope you have time to finish.

davidherd - Interested to see how your sketches develop.

Nether - Your human/insect hybridization is really cool. I also really like the great woodish texture her skin has so far.

Artofinca - The fierceness of your Titania is great. I am very interested to see the rest of the picture develop. It has a rather storybook feel to me, which may be somewhat odd I suppose.

yoitisi - Love all the little doodles. Very nice start.

Sentinel13 - I am rather jealous of your picture too. It is just wonderful. I agree with the other comments about what needs tweaking.

Franna - I think she looks okay so far. You might bend her legs a bit, she looks rather stiff. I suppose that's alright if you are cyborg fairy, but I think she would look better.

My current wip. I've only just started to roughly block in the figures and the colors are kind of wonky for the skin tones. Will have to go back and tweak the background some more later too.

I'm hungry now...

[masque]

masque - the piece looks great. She very much fits my idea of a proud queenly fairie, and the setting and colors are wonderful too. The only thing I noticed was that she is a bit too long looking from the belly button to the knee.Thank you so much for the comment, and the time spent C&C'ing so many, but especially for your smart eyes (guess mine were getting a bit numb and dumb). I coulda chalked it up to faerie anatomy but that'd be a cop-out. Anyway, she looks much better with an adjustment, and that engendered a closer look and a few other edits, all to the betterment of the image. Thank you again!

[bluefooted]

So many insane entries this round!

I guess I should actually start mine ;)

[Tommoy]

Changed the leg, and made some changes in the face. I think the dark eyes work better. I understand the size doesn't matter really. The high level of entries make me want to get the best out of myself, i love it.

http://i156.photobucket.com/albums/t19/Tommoy/Chow146s4k.jpg

[D@niel]

Looks good, D@niel. Maybe have another look at her ribcage? It suddenly feels a little bit deep to me? Might just need the bottom edge ( below the breast ) softening off a bit?

Two other suggestions -

The shape of her hair is very elegant, but the simplicity of the s-curve you have there is giving me a sensation of speed. Almost like she's just whipped around to look towards us, if you know what I mean? Not sure if that suits the mood I'm getting from the rest of the piece. I wonder how it would look with more 'float' to the hair? Same basic shape, but with a few more kinks and curls.

The other is the foreground. If you worked it up a little more, with increased definition and slightly brighter tones, perhaps even a few unique colours from other parts of the background, it would become more obviously a separate 'layer' in front of everything else which I think would give a better sense of depth overall and place Titania more firmly in the scene. With just some subtle overlap with the background right now, she almost appears to be floating on top of it.

Have you tried giving her pupils?

Thanks for all the great advice Matt!! Really appreciate it man:)

[Matt Dixon]

Final image is a treat, man. The unfocused foreground elements really give Titania's face a strong pull. Nice work.

[trevor]

my god so much goodness
im really having a hard time
deciding which my favorites are
heres what little progress i have made since my last update
hopefully i can knock it out tonight and tomorrow
and a lot of you have been asking for a tutorial
and unfortunately i cant do it right now
but it WILL be coming soon and much nicer than my usual tut format
ill explain later

[T_Turrill]

those goblins and demony dudes kick ass. it's like Legend on crack.

[erinel]

here's my wip. I feel like it's hopeless to even enter, but I promised I would at least put together an entry.

The recent amounts of intense snow we've had around here inspired me
http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a133/lufiamanaelf/chowtitania.png

[dwinbotp]

here's a quick sketch and concept for mine, hope to still finish it, when's the deadline? sorry to ask:)

[Wolfentir]

I stand no chance this round, budayum. Everyones is looking awesome, heres mine though, I'm quite pleased with it

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[alesoun]

Update on mine. not finished yet......damn my lack of skills with Gimp!

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(In fact, just damn my lack of skills.....)

[dwinbotp]

update, hope to finish :(

[hoshicat]

Update.... just kind of blocking in the outfit and looking at the bg.... not much of one yet... i think i need to fix the branches, but just what i have so far.
still not used to painting grayscale! :D

[MJ_Alcazar]

Here's an update. Not sure about the colors, I'm experimenting with the airbrush in GIMP.
Thank you to everyone who managed to leave crits to people!

[shannanigan]

I stand no chance this round, budayum. Everyones is looking awesome, heres mine though, I'm quite pleased with it



I love yours.... reminds me of Art Nouveau style... sort of Aubrey Beardsley'ish. Nicely done!



Well mine is coming along, some more shading to be done but here it is so far.... with proper Fairy Dust sparkles this time. Though I think I need to downsize the quantity around the kid. :D

EDIT: Changed the wings entirely.... Thanks yoitisi for calling me out on it. ;)

[yoitisi]

Taking a break from my entry for a bit, so time for some crits 'n comments :):

Artofinca: Looking alright so far, though you might want to be careful with your composition. Most of the body of the queen is seen in side view, which makes her profile rather thin compared to the fearie lower on the hill. Also, the contrast of the queen with the hill she’s sitting on and the background is less than that of the other faerie. So, although she’s sitting on top of the hill and is clearly meant to be more important, a lot of the attention is dragged towards the less important faerie below.

D@niel: Awesome entry, I see you’ve followed Matt Dixon’s advice with your final. Still, there's something about her belly that bothers me, probably because it lacks a bit of definition.

Sentinel13: I think Jessi’s paintover already says most, but you might also want to try and make the head a bit larger.

Franna: Apart from the feet, her legs seems a bit stiff too. Overall the pose just reads a bit unnatural and fixed. Just be aware that by making a robot in human form, anatomy and proportion are still important. Also, try and play around with the frame maybe? The composition is rather heavy on the left side and pretty empty on the right (though I suspect she’s got something in her right hand?).

Jefita: As with Artofinca, I’d be careful not to make the secondary character more important than the queen itself (the human has warm colors against a cold blue bg, while the queen is cold colors against cold colors). Also, he spine makes a weird twist from hip to ribcage, maybe try to make the pose a little less extreme.

Tommoy: The dark eyes kind of work, though they make her look rather old (more a personal choice, but for some reason I would imagine a faerie queen to be eternally young :P). Also, her eyebrows are two straight lines right now and don’t really follow her expression or face I think. I like the wings though.

Trevor: Awesome entry as usual. Am curious about the tutorial thingy :). I like the way you integrated her wings with her arms, though those arms and hands seem a bit large compared to her head.

erinel: Nice start so far, though you might want to check with Daestwen if hiding her behind something like that will be enough to make it to poll.

Wolfentir: I like the style you used for your image, nice link to traditional faerie drawings. The anatomy seems to be a bit off here and there though, especially in her shoulder/neck area and the hips. The right shoulder area for example is rather massive compared to the size of her head.

Alesoun: Hehe I’d say: damn Gimp! I’ve never been able to figure that program out properly. As for your entry, it needs more contrast and sharpness. Also, I kind of miss the link with her being a faerie as opposed to a regular lady in a nice dress. The ears give some away, but apart from that it’s hard to recognize her as queen of faeries.

dwinbotp: Her boobs are huge! Her ribcage is also a little short, which makes them look even larger. Doing a sideview of your character might be slightly easier and better to show off the wings, it makes for a less interesting image in my opinion. The composition is also rather heavy on the left side this way, depending on what you do with the wings though.

Hoshicat: You might want to increase the contrast in your character and use more of the tone range. The grays in there are all rather close together, with the exception of a weird white spot on top of her knee. The branches are basically the darkest spots in your image, and they tend to distract because of that. It might also help to use some reference for the face and lighting on her body.

MJ Alcazar: It’s great to see you enter every week in Chow, you’ve made a lot of improvements while doing so :). The coloring in your current entry looks a bit washed out though, and lacks some contrast. It might pay off to throw in some darker shades here and there and put some more contrast in the important areas.

Shannanigan: That's the first one I see that includes the indian changeling :P Nice consistent style too, although for some reason it doesn't really work for me in the face. Not sure why that is though...you might also want to take another look at her wings, they really make the whole drawing look more flat than you intended I think. Maybe try to use a gradient on the grays in it.

Here's an update on my own entry, lots of work to be done still...

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[Franna]

ola ola. the finals thread looks like one of those winners' threads. here's wip numero 2. she's big, isn't she?

Fully
Automated
Ecological
Recovery and
Incubation
Engine

hahaha!
Normal faeries are human size drones. I still have to add them, but they'll be there. She coordinates and recharges them. Any comments or critique will be appreciated.

EDIT: Yoytisi- I just saw your comment after submitting this. thanks for the advice. I might still bend her legs a bit, but i'm not sure, as i need that gap behind her open like that for the smaller faeries. See, they'll be dealing with those dead trees down there. i'll definitely check it out though.

http://i725.photobucket.com/albums/ww252/GenusRhizopus/titania3.jpg

[JessiBean]

Franna - I am not sure how I feel about your character being in such an organic environment. If your fairy is a robot, why not go all out and give her a mechanical fairy world to be in (if you want to illustrate a scene, that is) The figure also seems to be leaning a little awkwardly to the left. And one last thing - if you are gonna go with linework, it could use some cleaning up as it is way too sketchy right now. But cool concept, keep working at it.

[shannanigan]

Shannanigan: That's the first one I see that includes the indian changeling :P Nice consistent style too, although for some reason it doesn't really work for me in the face. Not sure why that is though...you might also want to take another look at her wings, they really make the whole drawing look more flat than you intended I think. Maybe try to use a gradient on the grays in it.


Thanks for the feedback! Indian Changlings rock! :D

I'm not thrilled with the wings at all.... I'm hoping to get the rest done quickly so I can devote some time to reworking them. The all blue idea worked in my head but now I've done most of the rendering ... they just don't do the trick. :)

[Franna]

Franna - I am not sure how I feel about your character being in such an organic environment. If your fairy is a robot, why not go all out and give her a mechanical fairy world to be in (if you want to illustrate a scene, that is) The figure also seems to be leaning a little awkwardly to the left. And one last thing - if you are gonna go with linework, it could use some cleaning up as it is way too sketchy right now. But cool concept, keep working at it.

Thanks a lot Jessibean for your critique and attention. I'm actually not going with lineart. I'm gonna be shading her like the rest of the picture. I know, my method is all weird and topsy turvy and stuff, but it kinda works for me at the moment. i think then she would fit in more with the organic environment as well (she has to, the concept depends on it). and i'll definitely be working on her legs and pose, i've just been focusing on the background.

[alesoun]

[QUOTE=yoitisi;2119306]

b]Alesoun:[/b] Hehe I’d say: damn Gimp! I’ve never been able to figure that program out properly. As for your entry, it needs more contrast and sharpness. Also, I kind of miss the link with her being a faerie as opposed to a regular lady in a nice dress. The ears give some away, but apart from that it’s hard to recognize her as queen of faeries.

I'll second the damn Gimp!!! Maybe the bad workman blames his tools, but surely the apprentice gets to cuss at them? I'm still chipping away at it. I see your point about the contrast and sharpness. I'll work harder at it...

I guess you want wings? I still haven't decided one way or the other on that, but I'm awestruck by the wings I've seen on this thread.

[DecayingLolita]

Wow, so many amazing pictures this week, I only took acouple of hours tonight to do a scribble, and I would be embarrased to enter against most of all everyone elses :bashful:

but um, anyways it's all in the name of improvement right? :D

http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b274/Lucretia_the_fallen/titania3.jpg


I'm sorry that i can't make a comment cause i only just read through um, 12 pages tonight, but they're all hideously good. I go hide nau.

oh yea, anyone help with drawing water? I appear to havefailed...

oh and trevor.... that's the mostt awesomestpicture ever.

[anamirela]

Fabulous entries this time!
Here's my try:

[GiantRibot]

cleaning up. colors, small details. trying to get the feets right.

[Mitze]

Great pics so far. Matt, Posh, trevor, Bluefooted (No pic so far but sure it would be great), Daniel C and about five others ones i can't remember unless i go back throught 11 pages and find out there names. I am not doing that.

Work so far.

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f162/mekese2000/bigblan.jpg

[Ciaee]

The stuff just keeps getting better and better! :jawdrop:

She doesn't have to be any size particularly. Because this is your interpretation you can do what you like with the character. As she would have been played by an actor in Shakespeare she could be human size, but fairies are traditionally smaller, so it's up to you! :)
I see. Thanks! C:

Here's an update on mine. *nervous*

[guastaferro]

Nice watercolor look Ciaee, it has this storybook feel, and that contrasting with the horror works really well.

[ikuru]

Ciaee, damn... keep pushing that painting. I love it so far.

trevor, holy fucking christ dude!

[GiantRibot]

any suggestions before i go to print?

[Sulk-Sal]

Ciaee - very cool, I can't wait to see more of it!

GiantRibot - I like the take on it, but I'm having a bit of trouble with the top arms, though the shadow in the pits may just need slight adjusting.

anamirela - Love the take on it!

DecayingLolita - For water you might just really want to search for reference on the web, or set up photos in the lighting you want. I'm enjoying the depth in the painting though.

trevor - Sweet, sweet stuff.

erinel - I like where this is going, but watch her hand and where her head connects to her neck.

dwinbotp - I like the hints of something more on her body with the markings, but for some reason her chest feels a bit thick (actually not the boobs doing it), like the ribcage is too wide. Although it could also be the mass in the relation between the spine and the stomach...actually, I think your fist post looked better looking at her ribs. I think you may have built a bit too much in your transition to a semi 3/4 view.

So...the next step for me is to make a few little fairy friends (which is what should be sitting in her hand, and to Illustrator in the moon and forest. I included a crappy color thing just to give a better idea of what will be happening with the night sky and the moon. Now comes the hard part. Color :(

Also I should explain the "holes" in her wings. I found http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glass-wing_butterfly while googling for reference and thought it looked really cool, so I thought why not?

[Sekino]

Hi! This is my very first time participating. I just decided to give it a shot late last night, so I hope I'm doing this the right way :bashful:. It's awesome to see the variety and all the different styles! So I wanted to join the fun.

I think I'm done with mine (unless anyone wants to critique :)) , but I'm not sure if I'm supposed to post in the 'Finals' thread right off the bat, so I'm putting it here first. (I also forgot to save all my WIP steps after the second one; Sorry!!)

Cheers!

[Sean McClain]

here is my wip for now

[dwinbotp]

update on my piece, thanks for all those who commented on some tweaks, still working on them:)

hmmm, for some reason, i can't upload my peice, post it later:wtf:

[dwinbotp]

oops, there it is:)

[areve]

So many great entries, this round is going to be interesting :D
here's my start, a bit late but I hope I can finish it anyway

[dwinbotp]

Almost done, gonna draw lower legs & feet to complete.:)

[hungryan]

586155

Ok, here's my crappy sketch, the opposite of interesting.Being late and seeing the quality of this round, I don't have a chance, but I need to practice, so I will finish this anyway. It would be great to have a hotshot mentor, or something...
Guess the only way of learning this is by doing it. A lot.

[ikuru]

GiantRibot, work on the breast area a bit.
Darknight, try and tone down that blue, its waay yoo much atm
areve, nice to see u finally joined the fun! Im sure you'll finish in no time ;)

[Amedyr]

Hey you guys! I wasn't planning on participating, but this idea came up, so here we go. :)

First I wanted to do a classical Titania type... And then I thought "hey, what about a 'real-world' Titania?" And bam, Titania, Queen of the nerds -, er, fairies, was born.


PS: critique highly encouraged.

[Windsrock]

jaiks

[Ciaee]

Thank you, everyone!

GiantRobot:
The image is looking great. I would fix one small thing though. The core/form shadows on the breasts are a little too hard-edged, and that's making them look a little oddly-shaped. I hope that helps!

[Scotwith1T]

I'm all over the place right now. Went with a little watercolor background. Hopefully it turns out. Slowing down to paint the piece and get rid of the pencils.

http://img9.imageshack.us/img9/1787/queen1copyoa2.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

[Jeremy Hoffman]

Made some small changes, like the pose of her arms. Still got to look at her left leg, not happy with that.

[WunderDark]

I really lost confidence in my first one (it's quite easy when you compare it to all the mindblowing work around here) ,
so I decided to try and do a new one.
Better, but still some work left to do....:)
586256

[dwinbotp]

This is my first CHOW entry, it was a lot of fun to do and the faerie theme just edged me over to finally do a fairy piece. Here's some wips to show progress. Please bear with the images, not sure if they'll be clear enough to see.

Great entries and ideas from everyone! Hope to join more in the future! :)

[erinel]

here's my first CHOW. nothing else matters to me now, because I actually finished one. if I don't get into the poll cause not enough's showing or something, oh well, there's always next time!

[shannanigan]

I do not have an update... got dragged to a Chick Flick by a couple of friends last night. Not a single zombie, vampire or werewolf. Unbelievable. LOL!

I thought I'd comment on a few of the un-final entries. I don't critique very often because I suck at explaining things so if I pass you up its because I just can't figure out how to explain what I'm thinking. Here goes...


GiantRibot - I agree with the others... something off about the shading on her breasts. But I do love the apocalyptic nature of your illustration!


Sulk-Sal - I really love that wing idea... the butterflies you linked to are awesome! :D
As for the drawing, are you trying to get a "worm's eye" view? Because her legs are really long and are throwing the image off. I have no talent for dramatic foreshortening so I can't help you with it, but I think you should shorten the legs in proportion with her body and make it an eye-level view instead. Because the upper body and tree trunk don't have that extreme angle. Does that make any sense? Sorry...


Amedyr - The love Faerie Queen of the Dorks... :D Its nice to see less literal interpretations of the subject, and with a humorous edge.

Windsrock - Sometimes being in all one color family works, sometimes it doesn't. If this were my drawing, I would take the blues out of the night sky and add in some contrasting red/pink. Maybe that bright blue pedestal/flower (?) to a pink red, the petals/leaves of her dress could have pinks at the tips. Like these leaves.... http://www.hwatsangmonastery.org.au/images/content/edutalks03-Acacia%20falcata.jpg and maybe even some red/pink into the wings. Just to break out of all the blue/green you have going.


Scotwith1T - The drawing is nice, though there is something wrong with her right leg (on our left) I think the calf is too long and the foot is too small. I'd make the angle of the foot higher, bringing the ankle up to shorten the calf.Quick question about the color... is that just temporary?

EDIT: If you struggle with color palettes check out this website: http://www.colourlovers.com/ Its a user-based site so not all palettes are good, but I use it all the time for inspiration.


Jeremy Hoffman - I like the style and her "crown" a lot... but I love the angry gnomes! Especially the one at the bottom shaking his fist. Hilarious!


WunderDark - I like this one a lot better, it has a sense of action. I never would have told anyone to start over... but I think you made a good choice. Only thing, she looks like she is leaning a little far to the right. Any chance if tilting her back a bit? Not the lower part with the skirt and creeper critters.... just her body angle.

[Windsrock]

I also noticed that my colors were a bit problem. I think its better now but I'll continue with it.

[Sulk-Sal]

shannanigan, thanks for the crit. I think I'm starting to see the problem. Measuring the reference that is about the length of the body, but I think where I really goofed is in the clavicle by making it taper too much. The length of the legs could be the dress and feet since with it there really isn't a clear indication where one ends and the other begins (one being legs, other being feet). (finding reference for people sitting in dresses sucks. I need to hire a model or something.)

I think I will take your suggestion and shorten up the legs, keeping all this in mind for next time.

[Sekino]

Ciaee- I can't wait to see it finished! I love the childish/dark humour interpretation (with poor Nick Bottom's severed head! I gather she was really mad when the spell wore off :D)

DecayingLolita- I don't know if you already found good reference for water. Usually, water reflects most light around it, roughly in a mirror-image. Your water is too dark and murky so it looks like the ground. It should reflect the pinkish light at the top and the trees and figure at the bottom. Hope this helps :)

No idea how I'm going to vote. Trevor's is so awesome it is sickening (makes me think of Lilith), Matt Dixon's colours are gorgeous... And it's just getting harder as people finish up!

[plissken]

This is the first CHOW I have tried; I chose this one because I have never attempted a fairy, I thought I'd better dive in at some point!

here are the WIPs I just dived straight in after reading the brief:

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3441/3260272903_bdc248fce0.jpg http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3352/3261101220_2082df0485.jpg http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3379/3261101442_b7e2402f05.jpg http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3348/3260273203_4fd784f8bc.jpg http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3533/3261101572_befd3615a1.jpg http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3449/3261101672_1dfeb2a3c1.jpg


and here's how it ended up :bashful:

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3382/3260321523_6c3f29353f_b.jpg

I wish I had more time to refine the wings, but then I'd only overwork it!

[Windsrock]

I think it's quite ready, I'll leave it for night and take another look to morrow before posting to finals. Thank you for advices!

[MJ_Alcazar]

Tried to add some darker darks. Hope that helps my image a little.

[areve]

ikuru, how's yours coming along? ^^

here's an update:

[bluefooted]

Sketch! I'm being extra careful to save WIPs this time. Sorry for the bad scan - it doesn't fit on the bed.

586402

I think I can make the deadline :P

Update: The ink lines for the figure and background. I had to chop up my drawing to fit it on the scanner :(

586514

586515

Some further progress:

587807

And the final? Maybe:

587808

I might end up cropping it down to just the figure:

587809

[Xaya]

Well, lot of changes... and still lot to do!!!

586442

[NateShaw]

I'm really impressed by whats already out there. Almost finished and sick of looking at it, would appreciate any crits and comments!

[Xaya]

Super fast update!!!

That´s better, isn´t it?

586457

[careless]

Usually don't have time to post anymore, but I'm working on a portfolio anyway.. here's some roughs, just started today:

586478

don't really like the whole winged fairy thing, so I'm going with the older descriptions.

Xaya, it does look better, not sure about all the glow though, works in some parts but I feel it flattens out the wings because it seems like an outline.

Looks good though, love the atmosphere.

[dirkvandulmen]

Another wip. Will have another look at it tomorrow... still some work left on her.... enjoy and keep up the spirit everyone, it's almost finals day!

[ikuru]

Here's my update then...

http://www.ikuru.se/2/New2.6.jpg
http://www.ikuru.se/2/New2.7.jpg

BTW I Would Love to hear weather I should go with the nude one or the one in the dress.
Also I'd really appreciate to hear if she's suffering from any major anatomical issues... Thanks!!! :D

[Jefita]

BTW I Would Love to hear weather I should go with the nude one or the one in the dress.
Also I'd really appreciate to hear if she's suffering from any major anatomical issues... Thanks!!! :D

I think nude is fine. I like the way she is developing. I thought the vague creepiness of the picture was nice before, but now she is starting to look more in character to me. Is she going to have wings?

[grenogs]

dirkvandulmen i have to be honest, when i first saw your early wip's i wasnt to sure, but now towards the end, its realy grown on me, its actualy realy well done, with some great colours and some realy nice details within the image. :)

[doomstagg]

Fairies wear boots Yall....maybe.
My first weekly EVAR!
the chosen thumb with some development: http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3452/3259419137_15fe2be922_b.jpg

rough paint...hair color will change along with face paint:
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3304/3259419159_3575dee306_o.jpg

[daestwen]

Hey guys,

Deadline Delayed Until Monday. Again. Sorry. :/

As of next week I'm enlisting some official help. As you may or may not have noticed, Oregano requested a little break from chow, and since it's been so popular (!!) I need a little help, mostly with poll selections.

Introductions will be made next week. Thanks for your patience!

[doomstagg]

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3399/3261740331_b49a9971e4_o.jpg
Almost there...need crits.
Things I know need finishing:
finishing shadows
finishing fur cape

[Sulk-Sal]

Here's another in progress, but this time in color! Forest and stars to be added.

[davidherd]

Nice to see Bluefooted on board, your line work is an inspiration.

My aimless doodling is starting to go somewhere, I have a direction at last:

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3460/3262282597_9bfdea4a57.jpg (http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3460/3262282597_983f6b0417_o.jpg)

[Sentinel.]

Thank you so much for the notice Daestwen! I haven't had time to work on my entry until today, and I was freaking out about getting it done. Now I can relax (a little :D the competition is FIERCE).

[AUG]

Although everyone here deserves to be recognized and applauded, I only had time to comment on the last two pages. My apologies to all of those that posted their work on pages 1-12.

I'm still a novice at giving out critiques and have a limited art vocabulary so if I inadvertently offend someone, feel free to critique the critiquer.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

davidherd: That is more than an "aimless doodle". Talk about inspirational line work. Hope you finish this.

Sulk-Sal: I like the hair and other elements that you have going on around the head area. The calf area of her legs seem to be too long in relation to her upper anatomy.

doomstagg: The upper half of the figure reads well. Nice flow with the hair. Over all, the figure is crowded by the boarders of the frame.

ikuru: She seems to be too naked. Adding clothing might tell us more about the character. I like what is happening with the head area. You could add some highlights/contrast to accentuate the nice design.

dirkvandulmen: Everything looks great. Colors, movement, characters and mood. Lots of goodness to look at. The non-traditional fairy anatomy is refreshing.

careless: Thanks for providing all of the preliminary sketches. I learn a lot from looking at proscess shots. The figure in the lower left hand corner is nicely rendered.

Xaya: The green back lighting really pops the figure out from the background. The linear design on the skin is a positive addition. Possibly include a design element in the lower left corner or illuminate her lower legs to lead the viewers eye up the figure?

NateShaw: I am liking the body language of Titania. Those owls are great, too. There is a bit of a tangent happening between her right wing and the figure in the background.

bluefooted: Beautiful line work! I'm loving the details on her clothing. I don't know what else to say. All of your stuff is too good.

areve: I like the whole swirling, S-shaped design between Titania and the surrounding elements. That really moves the eye around the picture plane. I would like to see what is happening with her right hand. Maybe change the angle of her arm to reveal the hand?

MJ_Alcazar: You are a real soldier in these challenges. Week after week you post your artwork and make me feel like a first class turd for never finishing. Your tenacity is to be applauded. - I love the pose, the clothing and headdress. Her wings are sweet too. I think all of these things could be lightened/brightened up a notch to provide more contrast.

Windsrock: I'm digging the rendering that you have going on in the subjects chest, torso and lower half. The area on the right side, behind the figure, could use the same amount of attention.

plissken: The color scheme and textures are looking great. I also like the linear design work that covers the wings. My only crit would be cutting the figure off at the knee.

erinel: I would not have guessed that this is your first CHOW. Good work on the composition. I like the flow of the entire piece. It has a slightly retro feel, which I am partial to.

dwinbotp: Thanks for posting the informative WIP's. I'm here to learn and your insight into the thought process is valuable. I love the rendering and the attention to detail on Titania's anatomy. The warm and cool color contrasts make for a strong piece.

WunderDark: The creatures flowing out from under Titania's garment are positively creepy and are an attractive element in your composition. Possibly adding some mid-tones to areas throughout the picture would help define the surrounding environment.

Jeremy Hoffman: The personality that you inject into all of your characters is wonderful. Love the pissed off gnomes. I can't wait to see this finished.

Scotwith1T: I like the pose that you have chosen. Really nice rendering on the fabrics. I look forward to seeing how you work out the color scheme.

Amedyr: The whole alternative approach to the subject matter at hand is a great idea. Such a cool look on the nerds face and his body language!

hungryan: The tones of the elements in your work are are well defined. At first glance it is clear what everything is supposed to be. Still, there is a lot of symmetry throughout the composition. Moving things around a bit may keep the viewers attention longer.

darknight: Your color choices are vibrant. I am left wondering what the bright white areas mean in relation to the figure.

Sekino: I like the way you handeled the rendering of her hair. The background has a nice feel to it also. Would have liked to see her left hand grasping the outer edge of the tree or the edges of the tree picking up some of that background light.

GiantRibot: That whole background is looking great. The sky, buildings, textures and tones have a nice finish. The futuristic departure from the original tale is interesting too. I am a little confused by the configuration of the upper arms on the central figure.

Ciaee: All around beautiful image. Delicate handling of Titania's form contrasted with the severed donkey head. You should not be nervous about posting your work at all.

Mitze: All three versions are very good although I do favor the last image with the extra little guy on Titania's right.

anamirela: Great character design. Loving her stance and that crown.

DecayingLolita: That face on Titania is wonderful. As for the advice on the water, maybe pick up some of the colors from the surrounding environment and add them to the waters surface.

Franna: I do dig the futuristic turn on the traditional story. The entire figure is well done.

yoitisi: Love the composition. The little guy on the bottom really adds a lot to the piece. The main figures head and right thigh seem to be a bit out of proportion with the rest of her body.

shannanigan: Super work detailing her garment. The whole design, color choices, textures, it all works for me.

[Pixeltuner]

I (again) started from scratch this morning, and this is the result of about 6 hours of painting. Pretty simple compositionwise and all, but I just want to have something finished.

And btw, you are all a bunch of maniacs for producing such awesome stuff.
:yayca:

[Amedyr]

Shannanigan! I thought I recognized your style! I remember you from those crazy memes on DeviantArt! (I'm working on another one, btw, haha)
I really like your concept, it's nice to see some outside-the-box stuff. :)

Bluefooted - Love her outfit!

Bluefooted and doomstagg - It would be nice if you could add some detail that made her stand out as a queen, and not a regular fairy.

ikuru - I prefer the one with the dress, makes her more regal. Watch for the bracelets, make sure they don't end up looking like sports wrist warmers!

aaand here's mine, colored. Man, I flipped it on photoshop and realized how insanely crooked the whole thing was!! My eyes are not right... :dur:

I still feel there's something not quite right... Any opinions?

[DecayingLolita]

http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b274/Lucretia_the_fallen/titania9.jpg

updated a bit for my friend who wanted to see, still dunno if I'll manage to finish

[Angel Intheuk]

extended deadline...thank you :) I might have a chance at finishing...here's the colour sketch so far...

[Felida]

Extended deadline? Jippie :D
http://i44.photobucket.com/albums/f44/felida99/DigitalArtForum/CHOW146TitaniaColoStep2.jpg
I'm really not happy with this piece D:

[shannanigan]

Shannanigan! I thought I recognized your style! I remember you from those crazy memes on DeviantArt! (I'm working on another one, btw, haha)
I really like your concept, it's nice to see some outside-the-box stuff. :)

Yeah! I recognized your username from "somewhere" so I went to look at your DeviantArt Gallery and then I figured it out. Amazing how I only remember peoples Avatars. LOL!


I still feel there's something not quite right... Any opinions?

I wonder if changing her eyes to be looking over and down would help with the situation, right now she seems to be looking over and above her admirer. It would help make some sort of connection between master and servant there. ;)



I'm really not happy with this piece D:

Girl what are you smoking? That picture is great! :D

[Bugmeyer]

First time doing Cow. Still trying to punch this one up without killing it/overworking it.

Still a WIP, I'm going to try and finish this up this evening after I can clear my head a bit. I felt good about it this morning but now I'm not entirely sure I made all the right choices with it.

Feedback is more than welcome!

[Ciaee]

dwinbotp:
Yours is just.... asdfasdfasdgasga awesome.

erinel:
That's a lovely watercolor painting.

Sulk-Sal:
I love your character design. However, I feel that the perspective is slightly off. When I look at her head, it feels like a looking-up view, but when I focus on the tree trunk, it doesn't feel that way.

plissken:
I like the textures in the background, but her head feels a little too big.

Windsrock:
Maybe it's the style that you're aiming for, but it feels as if everything is hard-edged. That flattens some parts out, I think.

MJ_Alcazar:
I think that your image is missing some cast shadows. Other than that, interesting costume, and is that a ladybug? xD

areve:
Looks great so far. Nice pose.

bluefooted:
Beautiful outfit, lines, everything! Can't wait to see this finished.

NateShaw:
Her forearm (the one she's leaning on) feels a little short to me. Besides that, great body language. Gotta love those cute annoyed-looking owls. xD

Xaya:
Looks great so far. If you don't mind, I have a suggestion. Try adding some color to the light emitted from the wand. You'll notice that in real life, even with artificial lights, light is seldom ever just white. Maybe make it a little green since she already has that green glow around her? Hope that helps!

careless:
Beautiful sketches. I look forward to seeing your progress!

dirkvandulmen:
Nice, bright and colorful. Love her wings.

ikuru:
I prefer her nude. On anatomical issues, her head is a tiny touch too big. Other than that, I can't see any problems with her anatomy. Have fun with your piece- I'd love to see it done.

doomscape:
Nice gesture. I would add a few stray strands to her hair, though. They're looking a little lumpy right now.

davidherd:
That's a beautiful "aimless doodle."

Decaying Lolita:
The reflected light in the water is a little too glaring. I would suggest toning that down a little, or adding more brights to the surroundings.

Felida:
I can't really give a crit because I don't know how close you are to finishing. I'm curious to know what is going on in that painting though. :3

Bugmeyer:
Woah. Nice exaggerated perspective! (I was just listening to your WIP podcast yesterday, btw. Great stuff!)


Thanks for being so encouraging, everyone! Seeing all these crazy submissions is getting me very excited and motivated.
Here's an update. Please be merciless when giving crits. Thank you!

[Bugmeyer]

Bugmeyer:
Woah. Nice exaggerated perspective! (I was just listening to your WIP podcast yesterday, btw. Great stuff!)


Aw shit, I didn't think anyone was actually listening to those episodes... The new one will be out in the next couple days, should be much better this time around.

[Dreoilin]

I am waaaaay behind on this one. It's totally unoriginal but my main goal is just to finish it. The extended deadline might give me a chance (if I don't sleep tonight lol) I was planning to do it in watercolors- since I pretty much suck at digital.

I wish I could take the time to do some comments, but I'll have to wait till I'm done. Theres sooooo much awesome stuff happening here!

[tsujni]

Lovely work Trevor and Ciaee!

Wip 2

[Ciaee]

Aw shit, I didn't think anyone was actually listening to those episodes... The new one will be out in the next couple days, should be much better this time around.
Don't worry, I find them highly inspiring. I can't wait for the next!

Lovely work Trevor and Ciaee!

Wip 2

Thank you, tsujini! Yours really kicks ass too!

[Jeremy Hoffman]

Working on the details now and still got a long way to go. Hope i wil get some sleep tonight. Can't sleep if i do not finish this! But now, first get something to eat!

This is really a killer challange, so much good work!

[MJ_Alcazar]

Jeremy Hoffman - I love her face and the expressions of all the things around her. The crown is awesome!

fox - I don't think her legs match her body. They should be a little bigger I think.

Ciaee - Love your image. Really haunting feel to it.
And thanks for the crits! Yep, little Lady Bug fairy.

Felida - coming along nicely.

Ok, here's an update.

[Sentinel.]

Sweet, sweet entries guys! I've got far too much left on my own entry to comment like I want, but as soon as I can breathe I'll try to leave some feedback for everyone :P

Here's where I'm at right now - not a whole lot of changes, but I've hopefully fixed the proportion problems. I also changed the pose of her other arm, it was distracting before. I still have tons to do, and I have to work tonight. Hope I can get it polished before tomorrow :D but I'll be submitting either way, haha.

Edit: speaking of tomorrow, is the deadline extended to tomorrow evening or in the afternoon sometime? Just trying to get a clear idea so I don't miss the cut-off. :D

[davidherd]

More unfinished doodles, thank you for the encouragement Ciaee [your piece has a lovely natural media quality and it's way different from all the others which is great in my book, there's a lovely subtle blue reflected light/glow creeping into the left side of her face that I'd make a wee bit more of because it looks great] and thanks also to AUG.


http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3397/3263800693_9718afed3a.jpg (http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3397/3263800693_9718afed3a_b.jpg)

If I stopped checking these pages every five minutes to look at everyones else's work I might progress a bit faster, although to be fair I have spent the last two days sledging with the kids :) I foolishly checked the final burning thread already and almost gave up when I saw Ally Fell's work but that's par for the course.

[Pixeltuner]

well, this is it I guess. 10 hours of straight painting (with dinner, watching the news and coffeebreaks in between..) and I can't see straight anymore. :p

I'll be doing some crits as well, but first I need to flip through all the pages so that'll probably be saved for the finals thread...

Again, great work everybody. Daestwen can be proud. :yayca:

[Felida]

shannanigan I'm not happy, because I lack of love for the detail at the moment, and that's fatal while working on such a lineart :[
Let's call it finished, but maybe I'll find some motivation again tomorrow O__o
http://i44.photobucket.com/albums/f44/felida99/DigitalArtForum/CHOW146TitaniaColoStep3.jpg

pixeltuner: I really like your piece. Beatuiful hair and beautiful details. Just one thing: Her right arm's position looks so unsure. Maybe a more dramatical gesture would make your Titania more expressive...
davidherd: I think, you produced a really interesting sketch! But time's flying :) It's hard to find the time to draw between real life and updating this thread every few minutes *laughs*
Sentinel13: I love your painting style. Your strokes look so soft and you got an awesome feeling for light and shadow. Beautiful face, I can't wait to see your finished piece.
MJ Alcazar: The Moulin Rouge feeling in your drawing's nice :D But I'm not really sure if it was a good idea to keep the hatching strokes. Compared to the soft coloration, they look grainy.
Jeremy Hoffman: I hope you'll get some sleep. Her crown's so cool :D
tsujini: Interesting tecnique. I'm curious how the final result will look.
fox: Her legs are too tiny for the upper part of the body! You definitely won't be the only one who can't sleep tonight :] Good luck
Ciaee: Your painting stands out of the crowd. The colors are beautiful and you got an awesome style! Thanks for the comment :3
Bugmeyer: Wonderful character design.

[Pixeltuner]

Felida: thx :) And maybe tomorrow I'll look into it. I can't have an objective look anymore at the moment.

Regarding your piece, maybe you can even out the lighting scheme a little. For instance, the lighting on the outstretched arm needs to be on the fox's head as well. And I'm missing shadows as well, which doesn't necessarily fit the style but does add depth. I really like the 'illustration' look of it though :)

[doomstagg]

dramatical gesture

[tsujni]

wip 3, I think the anatomy of her neck is fundamentally fucked. However, I can't think of a way out.

[humboldt squid]

fersteger I realize it might be too late since you've already posted in the final burning thread, but I think it would really benefit from a little impressionism. It's pretty amazing as it is, but I just think some sunlight would push it over the top.

[jpedro]

great entries in this round :jawdrop:

i saw this really late, so not sure if it is still okay to at least try and get sth. done (let alone in time), but the topic is just to sweet and inspiring, so i'll post a pencil sketch and a first value block in anyways :) .


i hope you like, comments always welcome.

[MJ_Alcazar]

Thanks Felida, I was just thinking about that when you commented. I might try to get rid of the hatching marks. I might try this again on my own, keeping the hatching marks and doing something else with the way I painted.

Question for everyone, just because I'm curious, with pen and crosshatching, is it better to keep it all black and white. Or just add base colors if I do color it?

[Angel Intheuk]

My final

[Lammashta]

Wanted to try painting in acrylic since i havent done it in a while and i didnt think i could get the effect i wanted with color pencil or digital while i only have a mouse. didnt get what i wanted in paint either but its not too bad. i need more anatomy work and a wacom =P

[grenogs]

realy leaving things last minute now, had a major change here, original image of titania realy wasn't working with the whole concept, so if somethings not working, changed it :) anyway going for a more realistic approach, but may have to do some quick short cuts on this now in order to finish :(

http://i187.photobucket.com/albums/x279/grenogs/fairyprincess9.jpg

[yoitisi]

Update on mine, going to put some color on it now I think :)

587719

[Jefita]

Question for everyone, just because I'm curious, with pen and crosshatching, is it better to keep it all black and white. Or just add base colors if I do color it?

You certainly don't have too keep it all black and white, but it looks really nice sometimes. Personally I like the colors to stay softer with crosshatching. It doesn't have to be flat base color, but you should let the crosshatching do most of the shading work. Perhaps you should study other people's work that use similar techniques to see what you like.

These are a couple of examples of my own.
http://jefita.deviantart.com/art/Pixies-Practice-53509656
http://jefita.deviantart.com/art/Down-Below-ACEO-102573564

[ikuru]

Thanks for the feedback guys! :)
No time tomorrow. So prob this will be my final for now.
http://www.ikuru.se/2/Forestgirl.jpg

[Sulk-Sal]

Thanks Ciaee and AUG for the crits! Hopefully the newest change has fixed those pesky legs. If not, I'm getting a chain saw and... :p

I'm still hoping for this to be a nice portfolio piece but unless I'm able to fix it, it may just become a piece of scrap.

Well, this did teach me the importance of having my own reference and matching what I find off the net to it, not the other way around.

*edit*

BTW, Ciaee I'm loving that piece. So cute and creepy! Much fun!

[Dan!]

great stuff guys- did'nt get to post during the process-
http://i134.photobucket.com/albums/q81/DECYPL/CHOW146_Dan.png

[Jeremy Hoffman]

Hope to finish it tomorrow. Din't have as much time as i had hoped! Still have to creat the left part with the little angry dwarf (and check the colors on some other screens). So for now i've made a cut. Now get some sleep, otherwise it's going to be a hard day at work ;-) tomorrow.

[jpedro]

another progress shot following. maybe there'll be time for some colors.

thinking of using some sort of dragonfly-insect like patterns on her skin to make her look more covered in the end ;)

[Ionic]

When does the new topic go up :D

[daestwen]

When does the new topic go up :D

In fifteen minutes. :P

Paaaaatience.

[daestwen]

A FEW REMINDERS.

Please make sure the following things are included in your submission in the final burning thread. This week, I will cut you from the poll if you have forgotten any of these things, regardless of how awesome you are!


1. WIPS. Include them. Either attached, or with a link.
2. NAMING. chow146_yourname.jpg, etc. Your wips do not need to be named properly, but your main image does.
3. ATTACHMENT EDITOR. If you use img links, I won't take it to poll. Please, please, please use the attachment editor. If you don't know how, PM me.
4. COPYRIGHT INFO. I won't exclude you for leaving this out, but I will grumble very maliciously at you if you win and I have to hunt you down.


Thank you!

Also, a gently reminder to not post any comments in the final burning thread until the poll is up! Thanks!

edit:

oh, and for those that missed the original announcement, the deadline was extended to monday, so calm down. :P I'll lay down the official new deadline as NOON on monday, so you have an extra twelve hours.

[jpedro]

okay then, thanks for the info :)
some colors.

[~baxter]

Cant finish for tommorow, not without losing much needed sleep. I'll have to finish and post up in the Chow Revisit and Revision thread. :/

[Nether]

This might be a bit late, but I thought I'd post some coloring WIP shots of my Titania, if someone might want to comment on it. I've already posted my final, but I'd still like to hear if anyone has an input on this.

587985

I was amazed by the amount of great works that have appeared during the weekend to take part in the competition. It's going to be a tough one for sure. Not that winning this would matter anyhow. Just as long as everyone had fun and learned something(I know I did), this competition has served it's purpose.

[AhChu]

Here are my thumbs and some process steps, was very interesting and scary doing this as i've always put of painting girls. Was a great learning process and a good ice breaker into painting the ladies :)

Had a bugger of a time trying to work out her right hand, drove me up the wall...mind you being hung over might of had something to do with it

[Aly Fell]

Good grief! A cornucopia of Titanias! Ne'er have so many been gathered in one place at one time; could it cause a shift in the space time continuum?

[Sorknes]

With the extra hours, I might be able to finish this one....

Fairies are scary... mmkay?

[JoeX]

a million and one excuses - i simply ran out of time to complete.

I do enjoy these challenges though! Shows my weaknesses, challenges me
and the deadlines push me.

I'll keep plugging away until i can actually complete an entry...

here's my WIP (was hopeful with this one)

[tatiana]

daestwen -- I was really inspired by this topic! Maybe too much so -- I came up with an epic instead of focusing on the one character, heh. Wish I could have made the deadline, but I've also run out of time to complete the illustration as I want to...yeah, I'm a little slow and have other projects cooking. Like JoeX stated, "I do enjoy these challenges though! Shows my weaknesses, challenges me and the deadlines push me."

Anyways, I'll be finishing this up during the week and will post the progress images in my sketchbook, too (I've been neglecting that thing in a bad way in any case).

Here are some of the progress sketches....

[The Whistler]

Hey, my internet problem finally fixed for now, I come in here and see that I missed TWO awesome topics!!! Noooo!!!

Anyways, just wanted to say congrats girls and boys, this is an awesome round and seeing so many entries has made me really happy :D :yayca:

Sentinel13 - I can't stop staring at your final... She's so gorgeous! You captured the character perfectly. Kudos :)

[shannanigan]

Good grief! A cornucopia of Titanias! Ne'er have so many been gathered in one place at one time; could it cause a shift in the space time continuum?


One can only hope.... :devil:


I've been following this thread and had already been leaning towards a couple faves... then all these sneaky bastards start posting in the Final Burning that never posted in here. Why do you people insist on making things difficult for me? LOL! :D

[KonnA]

One can only hope.... :devil:


I've been following this thread and had already been leaning towards a couple faves... then all these sneaky bastards start posting in the Final Burning that never posted in here. Why do you people insist on making things difficult for me? LOL! :D

Lmao. You made me laugh. Quite a good turn out this CHOW =D

[darkly]

Great job to everyone! Always an inspiration!

Well, it doesn't look like I made the deadline, but I always enjoy participating and I learn something new every time. maybe one of these days I'll get a piece to the finals thread. Thought I'd post what I did get done just for fun.

http://img18.imageshack.us/img18/95/fairiequeentitania7vt6.jpg

[alesoun]

I wish I could've finished this, but my pc died on Saturday, and I only got it back from the shop 2 hours ago.

@"&**^%$)_+@@@@@!!!!!!!!

[tsujni]

Good grief! A cornucopia of Titanias! Ne'er have so many been gathered in one place at one time; could it cause a shift in the space time continuum?

Don't worry Posh. I've found the star fissure and with Gehn's calculations I was able to stabilize space.