Team Chow III: Doomsday Dream Clan

[Niva.]

Doomsday Dream Clan is making a return to the Team Chow III. Here are our members:

Clanlord - returning to DDC, hails from Bulgaria
Headhunter - new DDC member, professional artist from Bulgaria
Niva - returning to DDC, originally from Bulgaria, currently lives in Houston

Last time we had a lot of organizational problems and we started late, this time we're not going to start late and we have big motivation to represent in this challenge (ie. kick ass and take names, those fruity loveboys are going down.)

More to come soon.

[clanlord]

Hello guys! It looks like we are starting again!

We are still in the process of planning the positions which each of us will occupy during the work over the stuff. Again we will show some very serious stuff which will be spectacularly developed as we got a new guy joining us

Headhunter. He is a fresh out selection and his talent is enormous: gathered through years of education in human anatomy and painting he is the spine of the team. Here are some of his finished works released here in CA:

http://conceptart.org/forums/showthread.php?t=123367
http://conceptart.org/forums/showthread.php?t=156526

Some advertising material for the team. Expect some pretty amazing stuff soon!

[0zz0]

heya i remember the name form the past contest, i really like the name so if you guy are looking for a dutch member plz tell me :P...
im dutch...

[clanlord]

0zz0 - We already made a team and we do not need any new members. Thank you for the offer we really appreciate it.

Hello guys I managed to do a second logo also I have more ideas tomorrow I will try to fill them in here so you can see them.

[Niva.]

Oh yeah, I like that last one, good design George!

I'm going to set up an FTP for us over the weekend, actually you should already have access G but I'll send you info again.

[clanlord]

OK I think this is the best and hopefully the last variant because I think I made some progress in the symbolism, details, clearness of design and attractiveness.

[Headhunter]

Oh yeah, I like that last one, good design George!

Agree! I prefer to be cleaner for easily placing.

[clanlord]

Here are some more logos!

[clanlord]

Another ones!

[Niva.]

Hey Clanlord, thanks a lot for putting these together. Personally I like the last one the best, I used it to make an announcement on my site about our team here: http://www.eternalseven.com/?p=609

I've set up ftp accounts for both of you so that we can share our big psd files throughout the challenge. Let me know if you have problems accessing the account, we will need it to transfer files.

As far as the work goes, I really want to take about a week at the start where we only do concepts. This is what was missing last time with our team Clanlord, we had no time to pick and choose which characters we will push and except for the babies you came up with all the other characters.

Once the first phase is done, conceptualizing our characters, we will enter the detailed drawing phase. Where we will create our initial sketches of our final characters and environments. Then during the 3rd week I want to have most of the artwork finished so that we can concentrate on touching up our entries in the last week, doing the necessary writing for our characters and if we have time to do something extra.

Week 1 - conceptualizing with solid ideas on what we want to do by end of week
Week 2 - detailed first drafts by end of week 2
Week 3 - mostly finished artwork
Week 4 - finishing touches and writing, any extra work beyond challenge requirements that we can put together for our final entry.

I want all 3 of us to be involved in every phase of the challenge. Our limitation right now is that Clanlord doesn't do much Photoshop work but this is why these challenges come around, so we can push ourselves forward. If things don't work out in this regard Clanlord can work on finishing touches, his crazy fonts and initial drafts for the writing as the challenge wraps up.

Let me know what you guys think. These are of course suggestions, we will all do what we can. I think the first 2 phases are the most crucial and it's very important we get through them ahead of the curve because if we fall behind we won't do well.

[Niva.]

Wow looks like we missed the topic announcement guys:

http://conceptart.org/forums/showthread.php?t=177363

I've not read up on it at all, just saw it. Please take the time to read and make suggestions on what we want to work on.

[Niva.]

Clanlrod, I just spoke with Headhunter and he's off to celebrate the new year but should be back on the 1st of January. It's up to th two of us to choose the tarots we want to work.

I think we should do 1 high arcana and 5 lessers. I was going to suggest we do the Queen of Pentacles and the High Priestess (high arcana)

I've already requested those since they are available slots and it seems almost all cards are already requested. Really sucks that we missed the signup so far but I thought they said it won't be announced until the 1st of January and was busy doing other things.

Anyways, waiting for your response Clanlord.

[Niva.]

Just some reference info on pentacle as a symbol:


Found these through Bing Image search:
http://www.moonlightmysteries.com/statuary/details/pentacle01.jpg

http://www.clairemulkieran.com/images/pentacle.jpg

http://images.elfwood.com/fanq/j/c/jcontreras2/dw_pentacle.jpg

Wikipedia article on Pentacle:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pentacle

[Niva.]

Hello guys, just letting you know that I made the request for:


High Priestess (high arcana)
Four of Wands
Two of Wands
Ace of Cups
Queen of Pentacles
King of Pentacles


Extra: The Fool (high arcana)

We are not to start drawing until Jan 1st. Just gather reference materials and inspiration.

Please let me know if you want to change some of the cards selected and I'll work with Daestwen to get us reassignments.

[clanlord]

So OK Nick!

I think I understood everything. I think your choices are suitable for our team. I fully agree with you. OK if it is I will send you some initial information as a start so we can continue our work! This site is very important because it is in bulgarian so this will make the job even easier.http://www.taroastro.com/

We have for now 6 tarot cards in which are included one high arcana. If I am write and teams of 3 must draw 6 tarots.
So if we have to draw 6 characters in tarot cards (because we are three members in a team) we have chosen these:

* High Priestess (high arcana)
* Four of Wands
* Two of Wands
* Ace of Cups
* Queen of Pentacles
* King of Pentacles

[clanlord]

And here are some descriptions which are very important to read before starting to draw:

THE HIGH PRIESTESS
http://www.aeclectic.net/tarot/learn/meanings/highpriestess.shtml

TWO OF WANDS
http://www.learntarot.com/w2.htm

FOUR OF WANDS
http://www.biddytarot.com/card.php?id=75&name=Four%20of%20Wands

THE QUEEN OF PENTACLES
http://www.biddytarot.com/card.php?id=56&name=Queen%20of%20Pentacles

THE KING OF PENTACLES
http://www.biddytarot.com/card.php?id=57&name=King%20of%20Pentacles

ACE OF CUPS
http://www.tarotteachings.com/ace-of-cups-tarot-card-meaning.html


RULES

1. Your team will choose TWO CARDS per person to illustrate. So, a 2 person team needs 4, a 4 person team 8, etc. This is the minimum requirement, you may choose more.
2. You may only take major arcana for half your cards, please choose Lesser Arcana (The Suits) for at least half. Bonus points for those who do mostly Lesser Arcana!
3. You will post your choices in this thread. I will allow 4 teams per card. First come, first serve. If we get all the cards covered by at least four teams each, I will then be open to letting you pick cards that are already full. We want to make sure to get a full deck!
4. Please make sure that your files can be sized down to 9 cm by 15.5 cm (or 3.543 x 6.1 inches) at 300 dpi. I'm exploring the option of seeing if we can get it printed, so please make sure your work is print-quality, or please write "OPT OUT OF PRINT" when you submit your work so I know you're not interested in having your cards printed as part of your deck.
5. PLEASE DO NOT START DRAWING UNTIL JANUARY FIRST! Right now is the time to get everyone's cards assigned and start brainstorming, but please don't start drawing as it's unfair for the other teams.
6. That's it, Have Fun!


TEAM PLAN

Week 1 - conceptualizing with solid ideas on what we want to do by end of week
Week 2 - detailed first drafts by end of week 2
Week 3 - mostly finished artwork
Week 4 - finishing touches and writing, any extra work beyond challenge requirements that we can put together for our final entry.

[Niva.]

Hey Clanlord,
Thanks for posting those reference cards, they're definitely worth thinking about.

I had an idea about the high priestess card. I wanted to picture her on a hill overlooking an army stretching into the distance. I wanted to give her a light aspect, though the card could change upon the draw to a dark aspect for example, symbolizing that the dark forces would have the blessing of the gods in a conflict the tarot draw is foretelling.

Also for the Four of Wands, I wanted to draw a four eyed character holding a wand.

The King of Pentacles I thought about picturing as a crowned mage on a dragon?

[Niva.]

OK guys, here are some of my ideas.

I don't particularly like the four eyed monster yet, Headhunter said he'll do some busts too and I'll try to get a couple more done tonight.

Post your ideas here guys. We will pick the best ones before we start really fleshing them out.

I had an idea about Ace of Cups: Remember Atlas holding the globe? A titan type figure holding a huge chalice. I'll try to sketch it tonight.

[Niva.]

Hey guys, here is the next bust of the four eyed guy, different eye arrangement.

870464

Also a couple inspiration type images for the Ace of Cups, just searching for Atlas in Bing:

http://www.allsculptures.com/prodimages/pt/xP7322.jpg

http://www.nap.edu/books/0309074339/xhtml/images/p2000bd4fg196001.jpg

I'm thinking along these lines but having him hold a huge challice. Let me know what you guys think?

[Headhunter]

I think you should try to sketch Atlas with the cup, but still have no idea how should look like the ace of cups. Leave it like a last and final picture.

some sketches
http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b387/MikeyPetrov/DomsdayDreamClan/01FourOfWands.jpg

[Niva.]

Yes, I promise more sketching. I'm having real trouble getting started. I hope this is not a bad sign of how things will fall out by the end.

Really like your sketches: Especially middle one on the right - looks freaky as hell. They're all good tho.

[Headhunter]

Don't worry! Try sketching more poses and composiotions for now without any concept work. It will help us to use them as a templates also.

[jozulus]

wohoow!

this headhunter sketch is awesome! I like the lady and the helmet. Really nice design, but composition doesnt fit for a card, yet (but holy cow, thats just a first skecth, i must check out, what will happenin' here, later)

good luck!

[Niva.]

OK guys here are a couple of other sketches, the idea about the Ace and also a version of the queen. Right now she looks more like a witch girl than a queen though...

So no, I don't like my own sketch but whatever :)

871385


Even though the Ace is a quick sketch I kind of like this idea.

871386

I was thinking of making the cup full of lava which is pouring down from above and spilling over and around him. On the bridge at his feet there would be trees and people for scale?

[Niva.]

OK guys here is another hack at the Ace of Cups. Headhunter suggested I make him one with the cup, not sure how well this succeeded.

We need much more sketches this week so we can make some choices.

872178

[Niva.]

Different hack at two of wands.

872205

[Headhunter]

Niva, why don't you try with playing with the meaning of these:

two of wands -
having personal power
commanding attention and respect
directing those around you
holding the world in your hands
wielding influence
calling the shots
having authority
swaying others to your position
being able to achieve your goals
being bold
daring to do what you want
taking a risk
gambling events will go your way
confronting the situation head-on
taking the initiative
speaking your mind
facing fear directly
taking the bull by the horns
seizing the day
showing originality
doing what no one else has done
creating your own style
being a pioneer
taking a different approach
inventing something new
diverging from the crowd
marching to a different drummer

Try to visualize one of these in your head and what kind of picture you like to present.

[Headhunter]

Finally sketched some of the ideas I have which are for two of wands and queen of pentacles:


http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b387/MikeyPetrov/DomsdayDreamClan/02_03.jpg

[Niva.]

o_O

I like the outfit on the queen, not sure about the critter below.

Thinking about this more it would be nice if we do female versions of half of the characters? High Priestess, Queen of Pentacles and either Two or Four of wands would be our females.

Clanlord hasn't posted much yet, really need to get rolling on this stuff though. The more we have the better.

[Niva.]

Headhunter, your style has motivated me to try something different with the King.

873049

Imma have a couple rought days at work coming up so don't expect much until the weekend. This weekend though I'll make at least one more take on each one tho, that's my goal... see how it works out tho :)

[clanlord]

Now this is the mood in which we must go on! :) - G

[Niva.]

Please draw but don't go crazy on the size or the details right now.

There is a bad thing about the dragon idea. Remember that these are supposed to be cards, therefore the final image size will be small. If we make a big dragon the king will disappear in the design of the card... it will instead look like the dragon of pentacles with a small figure on the top which may/not be recognizable as a king.

At this stage I'm all for trying different ideas.

One of the things which came to mind earlier today is to perhaps include a theme in all of our cards which would in some way or another symbolize torture. The Ace of cups already looks chained in the designs I had. We could make the other figures for our cards mutilated and piereced/bound in some ways?

For example, the two of wands could be pierced by two spears through the chest. The king and queen of pentacles could be crucified?

Anyways, keep the discussion here and lets see the designs.

I think after discussing with Headhunter we will also use week 2 for ideas before we get working on the detailed pieces. Remember that we have plenty of time still and both headhunter and I can whip out detailed works quickly at this stage.

[Janos]

Headhunter your work is really impressive. Love your sketches. How long do you take for one of 'em? And do you render it out in black and white before colouring?

[Niva.]

Hey guys,
I have signed us up for one extra: "The Fool"

Here are some tarot images of the character:

875047 http://www.kimwatersart.net/images/tarot%20images/TheFool.1.gif http://th07.deviantart.net/fs8/300W/i/2005/294/d/2/Tarot_0__The_Fool_by_poisondlo.jpg

http://www.teasetarot.com/images/The%20FOOL%20web.jpg http://www.nachtkabarett.com/ihvh/img/tarot_fool.jpg http://images.epilogue.net/users/lisahunt/the_fool_cd.jpg

Test description 1 from source of image: This goes double for the psychic world and highway driving, where people who are too sure of themselves are the most dangerous.

Description from 2nd source: With his possessions in a small bundle at the end of a stick, the fool travels to places unknown. So busy with daydreaming, he may just fall over the cliff. A small dog is either warning him or jaunting along with him. Fool is the card of infinite possibilities. He’s on his way to a new beginning but stop daydreaming and fantasizing and watch your step, lest you fall and end up looking the fool.






Also another example of a Priestess card:
http://www.kimwatersart.net/images/tarot%20images/ThePriestess.1.gif

[Rambozo]

Headhunter : sick dude. Specially diggin' the first batch of sketches, they all have sweet elements to 'em :)

[Headhunter]

Headhunter your work is really impressive. Love your sketches. How long do you take for one of 'em? And do you render it out in black and white before colouring?

Thanks mate! I don't know about the time but it's approximately 30-45 minutes. About the rendering it's not always b&w in first stage, it depends on how i feel in the moment.

Headhunter : sick dude. Specially diggin' the first batch of sketches, they all have sweet elements to 'em :)

Thanks! Just sketching basic ideas, i don't need to say it all with the first sketch.

[Tommoy]

Great work from you guys. Niva, you have a point when suggesting a dragon could draw away attention from the main character being an ace, King or whatever. There are enough existing cards however with a character and animal combination that work fine so it should be possible. I think you're safe as long as the main focus is on the character.

[Headhunter]

http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b387/MikeyPetrov/DomsdayDreamClan/04.jpg

[clanlord]

Hello teamates and people who look at our works and comment! It is very useful, thank you!

Nick I went to details and I messed up some legs and lenghts of chests. I spent this day drawing King Of Pentacles on a dragon and I think The King may disappear if we draw the dragon in full size. I do like the idea about turtured characters but I am not too sure if the cards won't lose their aim. Because there are certain elements that we must take care of.

Ace Of Cups - The Ace of Cups shows is a symbol of possibility in the area of deep feelings, intimacy, attunement, compassion and love. In readings, it shows that a seed of emotional awareness has been planted in your life although you may not yet recognize it. When the seed sprouts, it could take almost any form. It might be an attraction, strong feeling, intuitive knowing, or sympathetic reaction. On the outside, it could be an offer, gift, opportunity, encounter or synchronistic event.

I would recommend you guys we start arranging some serious ideas. I like a lot Miro's variant of Four Of Wands - the wings, the the wands. The idea behind each one of them must be emphasised on the meaning of each card. If we draw each card "tirtured" where is the aim of Ace Of Cups or High Priestess. I also think that we should do 3 (King Of Pentacles, Four Of Wands, Two Of Wands) male and 3 (Ace Of Cups, High Priestess, Queen Of Pentacles) female characters.

Anyway here is my idea about the King. If you have something in mind we can develop the idea or leave it. Don't worry I can make other drawings :).

[0zz0]

Wow great work here, you guy rock!

GL !!

[Niva.]

Hey guys, I've been sick since Friday night and finding it real hard to push. I had such grand plans for this weekend and now it's almost over.

Tommoy: Thanks a lot man, actually I think it was the discussion in your thread that got me thinking that the dragon is not such a good idea for a major figure like the King. We'll see where we go from here.

I've a couple of other ideas for the two of wands. Here are the drafts:

875471

More later hopefully!

[Niva.]

Daymn Clanlord, that's an awesome drawing!

Not sure that we can use it though... The dragon is too small compared to the figure imo. Also the character does not look like a King.

We need sketches, many, quick ones. It really is a shame you made this awesomely detailed drawing at this stage.

Here are a couple I just put together for the Fool and the High Priestess.

The Fool:

876054

I wanted to make our fool not so foolish looking, but rather an imposing and twisted looking figure. I guess kind of inspiread by the Joker from Batman? So from the examples I gave above I guess the darkest one is the one I liked the best. I was thinking of making him look like a god on top of a hill with a painted sky behind him. Not sure about the chains yet but I through them in there because I'm really starting to get this theme going about chains and torture.

The Priestess:

876055

Speaking of torture, I decided to go for a dark version here again. More like the high priestess of suicide and self mutilation. She's stabbing herself with two cross type swords.

[Niva.]

Ok here's an update to the Fool.

876080

[clanlord]

Thank you Nick!

No problem your sketches have some good ideas we will work on them more and push forward your ideas. I particularly like what Headhunter did with King Of Pentacles. Actually my initial idea lost during the process of the drawing and it came up totally different. Anyway let's look on the drawing like something which is done only for inspiration. We will not include it because I am not satisfied with it too :).
But I insist that we must take care of what is written about the cards in the main sources which I pointed out in the first page and use it. The character and all elements behind each must clearly symbolise a certain thought.

I will try to share my ideas about your characters here with quick sketches as soon as I finish with my obligitory work from school.

Keep drawing guys! :) - G

[Niva.]

Clanlord I've been reading a bit into the links you posted earlier. While I do think following what these links say it is probably ok to skip some of the aspects related to the info given there.

I've been talking to Headhunter about this. For example I'm not sure that the Four of Wands must actually have 4 wands shown in the picture. That being said if we can make a four arm woman holding 4 wands look good I'm all for it. Maybe the wands can be placed in the ground the character could be in the middle?

For the King I really like the dragon Headhunter painted, it seems to work.

One of the things we might consider is to do the dragon bounded similar to how Ring Wyrms were "collared" in Final Fantasy XII. Here are some images:

http://images1.wikia.nocookie.net/finalfantasy/images/thumb/9/9d/Tiamat_(FFXII).PNG/200px-Tiamat_(FFXII).PNG http://twobrothersandasister.com/wp-content/images/games/ff12/mob/13.jpg

We can perhaps make the collar have a pentacle pattern within?

Then again, it could get really crowded...

Here is another push I made on the Priestess, colored her using the quick and dirty method but I spent more time on it then I should've.

877057

I think the only card design we've settled to has been the Ace of Cups. Clanlord if you can make 3 sketches of him then we can pick the best one for you to detail then I can start painting him perhaps?

Also Miro said he likes the Fool's design. Maybe you guys can post some variations of him? I kind of like the composition, was thinking of making the background full of chains, making it a hell type environment. He's not foolish at all though ... more like sinister evil.

[Headhunter]

Niva, I'll try to work over your fool's sketch. He needs to fit in the composition little bit more.

[Niva.]

OK, not sure you want it but I put the Fool Draft file on the ftp site. I still feel like ass but I think I'm getting a bit better now.

[clanlord]

Hello team-mates!

I am very happy actually because such artist like Miro gave such success and brought to our team people's attention with these initial sketches. The ideas, compositions and symbolism is just stunning at that stage of development. Nick, I think we should seriously consider helping him with some extra tips and ideas about four of wands digital WIP and other designs. I think they are very solid and we must try to built ideas over them. I feel so small before Miro that every idea in my mind I create I feel it totally meaningless and stupid.

Fast recoveryNick! We need you!

However, I will try to present my idea in a different way so you can think over it moreseriously. I will try to update soon!

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

The King of Pentacles
Картата олицетворява храбростта и интелектуалната сила. Успех свързан с математиката. Инстикт за това кое е реално и кое не е.Радост от живота. Рядко значи и нетърпение.
Male


The Queen of Pentacles
Картата олицетворява трезвата мисъл, реализмът и свободата. Засилване на влечението на материалните ценности. Нужна е мярка.
Female


Ace of Cups
Картата е предшественик на изключителен шанс. Себереализация. Означава радост успех, любов към близките дори и еротична любов. За успеха е необходимо да се потрудим.
Female


Two of Wands
Картата смимволизира два персонажа. Едният е господарят, а другия страдащия човек. За да се измъкнем от тази ситуация трябва да сме почтени.
Male


Four of Wands
Картата разкрива период на спокойствие и мир. Излизане от оковите. Общуване. Развлечения. Радост. Връзка с другите хора.
Male


The High Priestess (High Arcana)
Тази карта олицетворява всички неосъзнати сили. Висшата жрица държи кючът към подсъзнанието. Тук логиката е по добре да се забрави и да се помисли за невъзможното, свръхестественото. Добре е да последваме своите мечти и да им се отдадем напълно, така ще се чувстваме най-добре.
Female


The Fool (High Arcana)
Картата символизира откритост, безгрижна игра, радост от малките детайли в живота.Също може да означава лекомислие, наивност. Друго значение на Глупака е хитър човек.
Male

[Headhunter]

http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b387/MikeyPetrov/DomsdayDreamClan/05_FoolSketch.jpg - just made some changes over Niva's sketch

[clanlord]

Very nice Miro. Just the difference made me feel out of my boots of joy. You have really made it quick. Here are even faster sketches of designs and ideas. I am amazed how easy it is to draw small thumbnails like these. The ideas come up very quickly. I want to hear your opinion and then I will start doing the final sketch on which you are going to paint.

[Niva.]

Ok great updates guys.

Headhunter you're correct, your composition works much better imo. I do like the chain theme going on I had earlier though. I'd rather make him in a hellish type environment with chains and hooks hanging in the background, maybe stick one in the foreground too.

Clanlord thanks a bunch for finally doing some thumbs! This is what we need to visualize the different ideas and choose the best. The angle on the ace doesn't seem to work, I'd like to see the whole cup. Also not sure about the arms splitting. The High Priestess take is interesting, but I can't get enough of the image to really understand what's going on. The King looks like a badass knight, this is in a better direction than the previous version which was an emaciated priest type character on the dragon you posted above but perhaps too far in the armor direction. I do like the thumbnail though. The queen of pentacles is a neat layout, again not graspin enough image details though.

The two of wands is a great direction I think, not sure how it will fit in the fianl required image size though, we'd either have to chop the wands a bit or make the main figure really small. Hope I coverd all of them.

Here is another take on the Four of Wands based on the direction Miro took earlier. I made her eyes sown shut, as well as a huge cut across her torso which has been sown shut too. While this composition is really symmetric I think it does work for the type of image we're trying to get to. It has the four eyes and the four wands and arms.

878777

I don't think the image shows enough detail to understand where I'm trying to go with it so I might stab a color version again.

Finally I'm feeling a bit better though the forecast of activities does not look too good. I might have to travel this weekend.

Ultimately I think we should make our final selections this weekend though. Maybe Friday if it's good for you guys?

I think we've settled on the Fool though as shown in the last image by Miro. Clanlord if you're looking to draw a full one start there. I also want to see more variations for the Ace of Cups from you then we can give some direction which one to blow up and detail.

[Niva.]

OK that sketch above was really horrible, this idea actually works IMO.

Right now the head is too small.

Also we can consider turning the head in profile to break up the symmetry?


878849

[kingkostas]

Some really great ideas and compositions in here mates.These things can become killers.
Keep up the good work :)

[Headhunter]

Not sure why you want it so bad to be in hellish environment. Try over this one.

http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b387/MikeyPetrov/DomsdayDreamClan/05_FoolSketch1.jpg

[clanlord]

kingkostas - Thank you very much for your frank comment.

Nick!
I think my only aim by doing these was to nail down the main direction and not to take care about detailed armors but yes, they could have been better - sorry. When doing these a lot of ideas came to my head and just for seconds I drew all of them. The reason they are so small is that they are showing the main direction and silhuette of composition. The elemenst are in my head. Now I see how easy and convenient it is to do such thumbnail concepst and this is with your help Nick and Miro :)

I like a lot Miro's design of Four Of Wands and The Fool. After all you gave the idea about the fool Miro just changed him a bit - making him more organic and adding some extra shading and elements - I think the design is neat and we must continue to improve it on both cards. I will do several more concepts on Ace Of Cups and I will post soon. What do you think about The King Miro? If you say you like it I will start doing the final sketch this weekend of the queen and the king. I lead both the designs in some particular similarities. Do you think it is a good idea if they have helmets instead of uncovered face? - G0

PS. - I managed to do some changes on the logo. Hope you will like it :) !

[EpicKey]

damn guys :x youre doing a great job ! keep it up!!!! :D

[Swordhand]

Looking sick guys! I really like headhunter's old two of wands idea with the the monk. Clanlord's ace of cups thumb looks really great too.

[Niva.]

To the folks visiting here and leaving comments and crits, thanks a bunch guys!

Clanlord, I like the new Ace sketch, I just want to make sure he's bulkier in the final, make the cup bigger too. IMO the character should carry mass.

Headhunter: I've been thinking of our theme, this is why I want the darker environments. At this stage the only sold theme I've been pushing has been one of chain and perhaps torture. We haven't talked about themes yet but I think our compositions are coming together finally. Do you guys have ideas for themes? I know clanlord's art lends itself to dark ritualistic themes so it will fit with what I have in mind. I also want to make the Fool a strong character, which is perhaps a drastic deviation from the traditional depiction and interpretations shown in the tarots shown above where he really symbolizes naivete and aloofness. In my version of this tarot universe the Fool would be the only unbound card, rather the ruler of this twisted universe. The one who controls the chains and destinies of all others. This is both symbilic and ironic, a twisted child of a god ruling the universe.

Anyways, it's just an idea.

I think we need to all get together and talk on Friday/Saturday and make decisions on what to start pushing. Cheers guys, I'm real proud of how it's coming along. This has been very educational already for me.

[clanlord]

Ace Of cups!

[Niva.]

Greetings friends, we've got two weeks left.

Per Miro's request I tried merging the 4 of wands. I really don't like how it's turning out but I spent so much time on this I might as well post it here and see what you guys think?

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Clanlord: Another neat drawing but this is not fitting my vision of the titan. This can be used but I'd have to warp it and seriously modify it. The sketch you made was much better and I'd rather work from that one if I'm doing a paintover. Not sure why you added the extra arm, it doesn't seem to fit.

[Niva.]

Here is another take on the king. I think I'll make the dragon's head bigger. No wings.

I used that darksiders horseman as a motivation for this one Miro :)

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[clanlord]

Ok guys this weekend we have to make the big push. I see the other teams had already painted and finished with the design overlay. Miro said that my king of pentacles variant was too stiff. I am not sure if you like the armor anyway. If you tell me you like it I will start drawing it. Despite I am very busy this week I will give my shot for the king if you say so. And it will happen very spectacular. Otherwise I like a lot Miro's variant of The King because it is more dynamic and the piece has less to work on.

We haven't started the high priestess. My idea is to put her on a throne made of white carved wood. Some linen cloth coming from her back will embrace the throne from both sides. I am up to doing this!

Ace Of Cups titan like character! Hope you will like it guys.

[Niva.]

Oooh this last one is interesting, I'm going to have to think about this a bit but I like this last design Clanlord.

[Arish]

Oooh I love that last ace of cups! But all the work coming out of this team is really nice...

[Niva.]

Hey guys,
Sorry I fell off but I've been super busy with work and this will continue until the weekend so don't expect many updates.

Headhunter do you want me to paint the last Ace of Cups as drawn by Clanlord? I think I can make it work with some alterations.

Clanlord can you please draw the Fool as positioned in the last sketch by Headhunter? We need to get really cracking.

I want to see sketches of the High Priestess and the King of Pentacles. I really am uncertain of the aromor. From the sketches you made clanlord I like the one where he seems to be floating. Obviously no dragon but if we can't make the dragon work then that's fine.

[Niva.]

Clanlord never mind about the Fool, I'll work from the sketch Miro made already.

[Headhunter]

Some progress of two of wands:

http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b387/MikeyPetrov/DomsdayDreamClan/02TwoOfWands_WIP1.jpg

[Niva.]

I like the horn and halo idea Headhunter, great use of that concept sketch.

[clanlord]

I think we should develop these ideas! Nick I will gather ideas about The King Of pentacles from your sketches. They have very interesting ideas that can be developed.

[clanlord]

Hello team-mates!

I love the idea about Two Of Wands and we will put some other details. I managed to do The High Priestess high arcana card and I proposed to Miro that I am going to work on the dinal layout view of the cards. I hope you consider this sketch and soon start painting. Sorry I am in such burden with my ignorance at painting. I am in dumps because of this. But I will try to do my best for the designs of cards if you let me.

To sum up aour works till this moment because we don't have too much time. We have Two Of Wands . Miro's final idea about the division of a man to good and evil is nice. I think the both wands must have distunguishing elements and if Miro can understand me he can changes the horn into other model because I think this kind of model for horns is already used in lots of designs I particularly like the male-goat type of horns. Anyway our second piece is Ace Of Cups the final sketch I did. I am so happy that I managed to make my first card up to your demands. And it turned almost successful. I hope you will like The High Priestess, my last piece that turned apt also. Nick gave the initial idea about The Fool and Miro turned it into spectacular piece (this is the one I like the most). Four Of Wands is Miro's first and very attracive piece. I agree with the design. The King Of Pentacles & The Queen of Pentacles. I will start doing the design of The Queen using Nick's ideas on the first page because I think they are interesting. This weekend and I will manage to make a sketch of the king.

George

[Niva.]

Clanlord you've made another great drawing which I'm not sure we can use. I like her but I don't know...

I will paint your Ace later today but expect significant changes.

I've asked you repeatedly to make many sketches before committing to big detailed drawings and since I have to paint them it is frustrating. I'm trying real hard to preserve your art because it's good but it goes against me so it is hard. I hope you'll understand my friend.

Also Clanlord: Do NOT draw the Queen. We've decided to use Headhunter's rendition of the queen from the first page. She is great and he'll only change the creature on the bottom to something else. You should see updates here soon. I expect Headhunter will finish the Two and the Queen while I hack out the Fool and the Ace.

Anyways here is the first hack at colors on the Fool. I made great progress today on a few fronts. I still like my idea with the fiery environment and the chains better but I'll defer to Headhunter on this one.

[clanlord]

Hello!

Nick I think we will be finally on one opinion. Here is the King - a fast sketch. I am not working on The Queen. So Miro told me he likes the idea and It is reasonable to have a variety of atmospheres in our works. Anyway hope you will like the last one. If you want from me to make more I will do my best :) . - G

[Niva.]

Here are my updates to the Fool

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And to the Ace of Cups

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Actually this is a color test and environment test, right now I'm working on blocking the figure out this coloring and environment attempt took about 15 mins to put together though. I'm also unsure about the lean/angle of the cup.

[Niva.]

Wanted to try another layout with the King, making him look a bit more in tune with the Queen.

[clanlord]

Whoa Nick. Very good view. Yu gave me idea about the king. I will try a new one. Expect an update tomorrow! I am looking forward to see Ace Of Cups you painted it really cool. - G

[Niva.]

Ok man, looking forward to seeing it.

I'm posting a value sculpt of the Ace, like I said I'm still torturing myself with this. Not sure how well the environment works too. I wanted to make it epic but I don't seem to be good enough or perhaps the time constraint is grinding me down.

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Also Headhunter has an absolutely SICK update to the Queen, I think she's going to be our best card based on what I've seen so far. He fixed the critter and the whole drawing looks awesome.

[Niva.]

Hey guys I posted the required high res of the Ace of Cups to the FTP.

Miro if you can do more magic to him by all means but I'm done with him for now. Hope you guys are pleased because I'm not too happy with it. Alas this is the extent of my skill at this stage it seems. Anyways here's a smaller sized version.

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I'm not sure where to go from here. I can try working some more on my variant of the Four of Wands.

Clanlord I'm also uncertain of the High Priestess. We seem to have slacked on that one and have had very little success in the concepting for it. I liked my drawing with the suicide queen but she's definitely NOT a high priestess. Your drawing Clanlord looks bookish and too standard to me. I wanted to see something real cool jump out but I'm not getting any good ideas. If nothing comes to mind I might try to paint over yours just to see how it comes after I place some values on it. I'll wait for Headhunter to give some direction or maybe suggest some ideas.

[Headhunter]

http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b387/MikeyPetrov/DomsdayDreamClan/03copy.jpg

[Niva.]

Well I love that Queen, great job man.

Headhunter can you please ftp over high res files for the Four of Wands, and Clanlord you for the Priestess and the King.

I'll start working the Four of Wands tomorrow night, sorry but I got slammed at work today and didn't get anything done.

Realistically we have 4 of the 7 cards in almost finished states. Outstanding are still the King the Priestess and the Four. I feel I can definitely push the Four, I won't change anything from the original sketch Headhunter made other than refining it.

Headhunter once you're done with the Two of Wands please hack away at a Priestess concept. If you're too busy I can paint the drawing Clanlord made.

[Headhunter]

Final touches on all of my pictures I'll make on sunday:

http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b387/MikeyPetrov/DomsdayDreamClan/02TwoOfWands.jpg

[Niva.]

Never mind

[clanlord]

WOW!

Pity for me I am making compliments for my team like making dividents to myself because I am part of this! I am very sorry for the delay team-mates I had no internet during the last few days. I will start doing the layout of the cards!

Оцветяването на Миро, не толкова полирано и лъскаво както го прави Ник, е просто впечатляващо - създава усещането за една призрачна атмосфера. Не е възможно да дам критика поради липсата на качества у самия себе си, само мога да добавя наколко идеи към Two Of Wands: татуировката на мъжа може да бъде малко по видима и по интересна - като например да имитира трайбъл мотиви, но в същия момент да има някаква физическа магия, която излиза от нея. Това са само идеи естествено. Същото искам да добавя за ореала от едната страна и за дяволския рог от другата страна, все още съм за модела, който прилича на коза и е извит назад в спирала.

Ник, би ми се искало да поработиш с малко повече цветове и прилив на контрасти. Според мен окото, което е в средата на челото трябва да блести и от него да излизат лъчи. Можеш да направиш няколко светещи искри излизащи от бокала. Примерно: на земята да расте лотуса и около него да е озарено от бледа светлина и самото растение да е напът да бъде докоснато от бял гълъб - всичко това обгърнато със зеленина, докато в по-горната част виждаме как атмосферата става мрачна и демоничка със преобладаване от студени цветове и само блестящите искри излизащи от лавата в тъмнината. Добави малко отенъци на кожата, тя няма само два цвята. Окото найстинам и се иска да е по отворено и да се набляга на него като на символ на светлината.

Ъплоудвам за да ви покажа какво имам в предвид! - G

[Headhunter]

I've just put some more color and light into it:

http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b387/MikeyPetrov/DomsdayDreamClan/Acecopy.jpg

[Headhunter]

what do you think about these borders?

http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b387/MikeyPetrov/DomsdayDreamClan/DDClanBorders01.jpg

[clanlord]

Great great! My card layout sucked a lot! Miro I will wait you at 8 o'clock online. Here is the King. I hope you will like him this time.

[Niva.]

Great updates guys,
Agreed on the layout.

Thanks for taking the time to provide some words of advice, I was going to actually go back to the Ace and these updates you provided are giving great ideas.

I'm going to contact the admin today to see if we can dump the High Priestess card, this will only require us to finish the King and the Four of Wands which I think is doable to a good degree of success. Hopefully they let us do it, we had the extra card of the Fool which will take the place of the Priestess.

[Nike]

wow guys - your stuff is insane in a really good way! :)

[Iridyse]

Fantastic work guys!! Great designs.

[Headhunter]

Fantastic work guys!! Great designs.

Thanks, your team work is also great!

[Niva.]

Ok guys I'm going for it, my main problem is the cloth, I'm really not good at doing cloth. I might need some finishing help on this one yet again just so we awesomesauce it.

I've not heard from the admin yet if we can indeed dump the High Priestess.

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So after Headhunter the squibble I had in the earlier sketch a toy instead of a dragon I felt obligated to work on the dragon some more.

[Niva.]

Headhunter I keep looking at that Ace and maybe I won't touch it, it's epic now.

Then again, maybe motivation will strike to tweak it just a bit more.

[Niva.]

Coming along now!

http://www.eternalseven.com/images/2010/DDC/King--of-Pentacles-WIP.gif

[clanlord]

Ok Nick here is the deal!

The dragon had finally turned out great. The main problem here is the both feet - they look too big compared to the upper parts of the leg. Furthermore there are some issues with the foreshortening of the upper part of the legs - I think they are too short. Get the upper part of the body higher and the arms will place in their natural poses. See what I mean!

[Headhunter]

I've just found some time in work paint over your king. Let me know what you think.

http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b387/MikeyPetrov/DomsdayDreamClan/KingOfPentaclescopy_Miro.jpg - it's on your ftp

[jozulus]

i would take headhunters visual advises. it really creates the focus of the card and the composition became stronger too, + some bonus tiny design stuff . nice teamwork here!

[clanlord]

Wow! Miro you killed me with that one! Now that is the look of the king. I feel like I want to paint it. It is so cool!

Here is the High Priestess. I don't feel like I am going to finish it successful because Miro told me that I must diminish the black patterns and desaturate it, which I did but in small amount! Anyway I tried to reduce them but I know that you both will conclude that it is not finished so If you can touch it a bit Nick it would be great. Feel free to adjust it. - G

[Niva.]

That I think is real good Clanlord, very big step forward for you to get some digital painting done! I don't care how we finish but we got some good teamwork going during this challenge and I've certainly learned a lot.

I'll make some adjustments to the King based on Headhunter's work, also thanks for your suggestions too Clanlord. I'm confident I can get a decent version of the king moved forward I have some other ideas about it which are not shown here yet.

[Niva.]

Hello guys,

I made some of the updates suggested for the king, outright used the legs Headhunter made as well as readjusting the composition as suggested. I'm going to push this one farther and will work on the armor/cloth more tomorrow but I hope to have it mostly finished by tomorrow.

892199

[clanlord]

Now it is better! I like it Nick! Here is an update of what I did yesterday. I will work more on it if you say so!:mod:

[clanlord]

I think that The dragon must have eyes but the King must not have because the queen too has no eyes and logistically we can consider it right to put eyes on their companions. Nick I like more Miro's variant of the upper part of body!

[Niva.]

OK Daestwen replied saying we don't have to finish the High Priestess. That being said I made the request before the last updates by you Joro. Can you please upload the most recent version of your Priestess to the FTP and Miro or I will try to touch it up before the deadline. Right now the biggest problem is the super saturated colors, otherwise it's not too bad at all. Cheers, I'm going to have more updates to the King for you. Clanlord I understand you like the Headhunter drawing better but I'm still working on the clothes/armor as I said in my last post. I made some updates to them but dumped them, I also ended up losing about 2 hours worth of work because computer crashed and Photoshop corruped my most recent PSD, thankfully I had a backup so only 2 hours got lost :(

Kinda sucks for that to happen right at the end though.

OK more later, only 1.5 days to the deadline.

[Headhunter]

We will do great for the dead line, just be positive ;). I need to sleep more because of the vodka and the parties, but otherwise we will be OK with everything.

[Niva.]

Haaahahaha Miro, vodka i kifli ne se mixirat brato!

Here is a colorization on the King, I'm feeling burned out on it after spending so long. Glad to have pushed one of my own works to a more completed state though. Thanks for the encouragement Headhunter, I wouldn't have done it w/o you pushing me.

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Clanlord I'll see what I can do about the High Priestess tonight. No promises my friend by I will try.

[Niva.]

Ok guys the final burning thread is up.

http://conceptart.org/forums/showthread.php?t=180120

My suggestion is to post all of our finished images here first before posting them in the other thread. Miro you're in charge of wrapping these up and you have the border design also.

If there's something you need help with I'll be online tomorrow most of the day unless my internets go down again. I've had lots of problems with my Uverse service lately. Sucks cause my neighbors have it and none of them have the problems I'm having.

Last day folks!

PS. I took a stab at the Priestess but it sucked balls.

[clanlord]

Nice catch on the King!
Sorry Nick but I am unable to send you the large file of the priestess. I also think that the painting I did is really novice and it doesn't even come closer to yours so if we include that card it would be funny because it is too saturated. I will try to do my best to improve it untill this day at midnight. I have no access to the FTP account. - G

[Artofinca]

Iaki neshta pi4ove!!!
Bravo!

[Headhunter]

http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b387/MikeyPetrov/DomsdayDreamClan/FourOfWands1WIP.jpg

[Headhunter]

Here he is, the fool:
http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b387/MikeyPetrov/DomsdayDreamClan/TheFool.jpg

[Niva.]

Man I bow down before your skill Headhunter, this has been incredible to see the subtle changes that you've made to these works to make them stand out so much more. We couldn't have done these w/o your aid and persistance, rather unfair to be on the same team with you.

Cheers man.

Oh by the way I'm so glad you removed the extra arms from the 4 of Wands, it's the one thing about that card I couldn't get over and you've found the perfect solution. Clearly it's the 4 of wands, and she doesn't look like a total freak. I'm real happy.

Clanlord your card does look good, I'm proud of what you've done man, similar to how I pushed my King you've also pushed one of your works towards a completed stage. Over the next week I might take a stab at developing your priestess to see if I can make her fit your vision and also to make it look better. I'll leave the decision as to what we include in the finals to Headhunter but the main goal here is to improve and I think you took a huge step forward with that High Priestess card man.

[Headhunter]

Need the King to finish with all:

http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b387/MikeyPetrov/DomsdayDreamClan/CardsAll_small.jpg

[Niva.]

Ok guys, our final entry can be found here:

http://conceptart.org/forums/showthread.php?p=2617383&posted=1#post2617383

Great great stuff guys, I'm real happy about the finished results.

[clanlord]

WOW! I like them a lot! OK Guys I think that was the final! I don't know how to thank you both for doing so much work. I pulled you backwards with that "painting" skill I have. But they really turned out very interesting and full of colors, patterns and curious forms. It was my honour to be with you Headhunter & you N1va in one team!

[clanlord]

Hope you guys doing well after all this?!?!

[Headhunter]

Hope you guys doing well after all this?!?!

Same shit, drinking vodka and bad taste for women!

[Niva.]

LOL Headhunter!

I'm a bit burned out so I'm going to take a few days off from art and try to concentrate on the rest of my life.

Clanlord if it's ok with you I still want to paint your High Priestess, at least to try. Also I've been thinking of pushing the version I created as well when we concepted but I'll probably end up calling it the "Two of Swords". Also still thinking about the idea I had for the Fool's card and perhaps will end up pushing that one at some point.

Either way it was an honor for me as well. We had great team work. Despite the long time we took with the concepting I think it paid off in the end looking at our finished results. Also another thing which is evident from our cards is they all tend to flow together whereas other teams' finished results look to be done by different people and don't show the same unity like ours do.

I also learned a lot in this challenge, watching the whole process from the inside was very educational for me. Cheers and thanks to both of you, maybe we do it again for Team CHOW 4 and hopefully we can be even better then!

[Niva.]

Forum seems like it's about to puke, lost one of my replies then posted the above twice! BOOO!

[clanlord]

I am glad to hear about that Nick. I wish to Miro more luck with the women and to be more careful with the amount of alcohol :) !

Yes of course Nick. Your painting skills are remarkable and it is great to see another character of mine painted by you! Your painting skills knub out when you have more time and when you find the right time to do it. And it is proved to be so. So again thank you guys. I will be offline for some time in these weeks because it is getting pretty toughy in school. Anyway I wish you both nice times till maybe the next time when CA announce a contest! - G

[arttorney]

Two of Swords is one of the missing cards, so if you do that one, Niva, then definitely tell Daestwen about it. You guys are great, by the way.

[Niva.]

Arttorney thanks for the info and the props, I'm definitely going to push that card at some point. I'm not sure my idea is so great in terms of mass appeal but I like it enough to want to push it so it'll probably come down to that :)