"The crow"

[silverslash]

assignment for my illustration class,

inspiration from the Crow movie with brandon lee, I took sarah michele gellar and turned her into the Crow, well my own version at least.

After struggling with painter for a month or so now im pretty glad with the level of proficiency im at and hope to continue getting better, please please throw harsh harsh critique at me i need it

well let me shut up, on with the show !

http://img3.photobucket.com/albums/v32/Silverslash/crowcolorsmall3done.jpg

some before shots

http://img3.photobucket.com/albums/v32/Silverslash/asdfff3.jpg

http://img3.photobucket.com/albums/v32/Silverslash/crowcolorsmall1.jpg

http://img3.photobucket.com/albums/v32/Silverslash/crowcolorsmall2.jpg


and links to the 2 reference photos i used,

http://img3.photobucket.com/albums/v32/Silverslash/9260123.jpg

http://img3.photobucket.com/albums/v32/Silverslash/199.jpg

I hope this doesnt kill my bandwith :-(

well hope u enjoy , please let me know your opinion either way :D

[Dominie_Dirtch]

http://www.bartleby.com/107/Images/small/image558.jpg

http://www.fpnotebook.com/Ort2365.jpg

The neck.

I would also suggest making your light source more clear... And working your color pallete a bit... I'm not sure about the browns. For the crow I tend to think more black and blue. Her nose appears broken, or crooked, also.

When you get to the crow itself, watch the depth of it.. The way it's blocked in now, it' looks like it's in front of her arm, I'm not sure if it's supposed to be landing on it or just flying through...?

Anyways, I look forward to more WIP's... You've got a lot of things going for this piece, keep working at it.

[CENOBITE]

Ahhh yes... the 'SCM' as it is known in certain circles... or technically the sternocleidomastoid. One thing about taking massage, is that you have to take Kinesiology which is priceless when it comes to memorising muscles. If I remember correctly the origin of the scm is the occipital ridge and the insertion is the medial superior ridge of the clavicle. dont quote me on that, tho. Its been awhile.

[Rapid_Transit]

....And silverflash, there's reference and then there's "reference." That picture of Sarah isn't a likeness, it's the same exact shot. I'm all for the learning process, but I know people who are in a rut of using photos for everything, you know, putting multiply on the old B.G. duplicate and TRACING the "mf."

Or if you did it by yourself, and you're still learning, More power to you. Just when I see the reference so closely resembles the picture etcetera, it rubs my guts the wrong way. Whatever though.-

[silverslash]

Originally posted by Rapid_Transit
....And silverflash, there's reference and then there's "reference." That picture of Sarah isn't a likeness, it's the same exact shot. I'm all for the learning process, but I know people who are in a rut of using photos for everything, you know, putting multiply on the old B.G. duplicate and TRACING the "mf."

Or if you did it by yourself, and you're still learning, More power to you. Just when I see the reference so closely resembles the picture etcetera, it rubs my guts the wrong way. Whatever though.-

..besides the fact that the above does not help me in anyway towards becoming a better artist, and besides the fact that all it does do is put out there questions towards the credibility of my artwork.
How about some honest help, so u dont like how the face resembles the reference, how about composition, color, how can i make the crow appear less flat, or the background better? is it crap? if so how do u think i could turn it into some less offensive form of waste??

I chose that picture of gellar out of a very good number of pictures of her because i thought it matched the mood i wanted to attain, i thought the expression very moody and dark and tried to replicate it. I wanted her to look like the reference, as close to it as possible
If i replicated it too closely (if there is such a thing) then i see that as a success on my ability to replicate what i see.

I did not trace.
I think were we face to face and you said what you posted that i would be offended.
However i see were your coming from Rapid_transit and maybe we can work on something together, learn from each other and maybe soothe some of your doubts towards the authenticity of my artwork.

Dominie_Dirtch: thx for the critique, i should have a revision up after u send some of that help u offered my way :)

[DanSTC]

I do not believe you traced, but I believe that you bound yourself too closely to the photo to make up for your academic shortcomings.

The point is that your image is essentially a copy without any underlying structure to it. As in, it literally looks like a drawing of a photo, and not even a good one at that.

When you use reference, you need to have that anatomy knowledge so you can make the figure or face stand out in such a way that you could conceivably draw it from a different angle if you wanted or otherwise tweak it so it "reads" like a face. This takes a LOT of study, and a LOT of drawing from life. (I'm talking years of effort here, mind you.) You can't just copy a photo without doing any studying and expect it to look good, as your eye and hand will miss out on a lot of things that you won't recognize or execute without proper training. You need to be willing to put in the time and effort of study if you want to make stuff look good.

[silverslash]

Originally posted by DanSTC
I do not believe you traced, but I believe that you bound yourself too closely to the photo to make up for your academic shortcomings.

The point is that your image is essentially a copy without any underlying structure to it. As in, it literally looks like a drawing of a photo, and not even a good one at that.


fair enough, thank you for the honest assesment.
However danstc how do u feel that the picture is lacking structure? If its not even a good picture how can i make it better?

as i stated previous my intent was to come as close to the reference as possible. both as a way of learning painter and testing myself.
what you stated is an ideal for me id love to be able achieve the level of skill your talking about, but like everyone else im working at it .