ChoW #208 :: Marie Antoinette

[Martheart]

http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii293/chowarchive/CHOW_Headerimage/QUEENOFCHOW_logo.jpg



ROUND #208:: Marie Antoinette



DESCRIPTION


Marie Antoinette



Marie Antoinette was the famous and extravagant French queen, almost a fashion icon in her own time. She lived a life of extreme wealth outside of Paris in Versailles, which was like a golden cage to her. During her reign the people of France were suffering, she met her sad fate at the guillotine during the French revolution.

Design Marie Antoinette!

- Marie Antoinette was very fashionable, and wore many beautiful dresses. Go wild in your design!
- Stick to the historical setting.
- In her life she has seen both extreme wealth as imprisonment and execution. It is up to you how you want to portray her.

Lots of information and pictures:

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


Good Luck!


PLEASE NOTE THE RULES AND THE DEADLINE TIME

---------------------------------------------------------
DEADLINE:
SUNDAY, August 8th, 2010


Deadline is Sunday, at 9:00 pm (GMT +1).


---------------------------------------------------------
THE RULES
If you do not stick to these 6 simple rules, you will not be added to the poll.
---------------------------------------------------------

:right: 1) FOLLOW THE TOPIC.
It's about designing the character of the topic. The environment or side characters are far less important.

:right:2) SHOW AT LEAST ¾ OF YOUR DESIGN.
This is not an illustration contest, but a design contest. Show your whole design!

:right:3) POST YOUR FINAL IN THE FINALS THREAD.

:right:4) INCLUDE WIPS WITH YOUR FINAL.
Show your work in progress and post (links to) this in the finals thread!

:right:5) SAVE YOUR FILES IN THE FOLLOWING FORMAT. Chow##_Nickname
example: "CHOW#100_Oblio.jpg" ;)
No final.jpgs please!


:right:6) PLACE THE IMAGE IN A FRAME WITH YOUR NAME/TOPIC

http://i73.photobucket.com/albums/i222/ChowPics/frame.jpg
(you can add CA logo, etc).



About quality - as general rule: if your shapes and values are not decent - you are out. Watch proportions, perspective etc. we need perfectly readable shapes and coherent, consistent values.

_____________

BE PROFESSIONAL - only finished and good quality entries will be taken to the poll. Icemoon and Arthemis IX will make the selection.
Please review these helpful reminders if you have not done so already.

:right:ON GETTING TO POLL (http://www.conceptart.org/forums/showpost.php?p=1891823&postcount=15)
-------------------------
:right:NEW ROUND RULE: WIPS PLEASE! (http://www.conceptart.org/forums/showpost.php?p=1910999&postcount=27)
-------------------------
:right:SUBMISSION FORMAT REMINDER (http://www.conceptart.org/forums/showpost.php?p=1911002&postcount=28)



PLEASE REMEMBER TO WRITE YOUR COPYRIGHT INFORMATION UNDER THE IMAGE IN THE FINAL BURNING THREAD SO I DON'T HAVE TO HUNT YOU DOWN LATER!

[HolyMane]

baw pretty nice theme i like historic stuff! not sure if i'll enter though

[dkiearth]

here is my first idea because i want to make it holding her head i will make a canvas around the picture cause otherwise it will look like a zombie and not like a historic figure.

[rumpenstiltzkin]

lovely theme yet again, and a big cheer for the new queen! :D

[JanJager]

Nice topic. Lots of drama and costume. Cant resist.
dkiearth
A decapitated rococo queen very Marie Antoinette

[Shogo]

Here's two sketches thats im thinking on, im leaning more towards the standing upright marie, with the hands trying to grab her and the guillotine blade in the back, that one is definitley more illustrative i think.

but of course I would love any input on what people like or think needs to be changed!


and JanJager, very very very nice start, ridiculously fast and good.

[LA-Fairy]

AWESOME!
I had the pleasure of going to versailles, it was amazing!
Can't wait to see what you guys come up with!

[Senira]

Just some sketches; I'm working out a pose for her. It's going to be a busy week for me, but I'm aiming to have two versions of the queen, one pre and one post dethroning. I'll at least get the pre-dethroning done. I'm going for the spoiled and impatient interpretation of her character.

1032116

Edit: And here's my pre-dethroning pose. Any comments/crit appreciated.
1032131

[Frozensceptre]

I have some free time to join in again :). Here is the start of my sketches.

http://i74.photobucket.com/albums/i271/DAP1228/M_A_Sketch.jpg

[VoxInaudita]

It was interesting reading about Marie Antoinette. In the spirit of her cloistered, very formal and restrictive life as royalty, I'm portraying her as a fine jewelled porcelain automaton, or "Fancy Robot". Here's an early pose. Having trouble deciding what she's doing with her hand.

JanJager: The hair scaffolding idea is very cute.

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4098/4852954086_51b6a708c2_b_d.jpg

[xLouisax]

OH MY GOD! I almost got a nosebleed reading this chow! I can't wait I really wanna do this one and can't wait to see what everybody comes up with!!

[zepheenia]

Ooooooooo! I've always just adored CHOW from afar, but I couldn't resist this one, pretty hair, ridiculous dresses and cake were just too hard to resist haha.

Just a sketch so far....I don't do too well with digital painting so this will be a big learning curve. Please be gentle...... :S

http://i479.photobucket.com/albums/rr155/smeiklej/marie.png

[Malakuko]

Hmm not sure if this ones my cup of tea. All the more reason to give it a try!

[invinciblewombat]

def outside of my comfort zone, should be challenging, here's an initial sketch

[xLouisax]

http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u43/louisasasa/mariesketches.jpg

Nice work everybody!

I'm not too sure about my sketches, do we actually have to do full body poses? If so i def cant do the right-hand idea!

[Shogo]

going with the second option, feels more concept-ish.

[fdisk]

Kind of forced myself to work on this one and it shows; but better something than nothing, I'm not going to get better at this just sitting around waiting for an art miracle.

1032702

[dkiearth]

here is mine so far it still needs a lot of work especially the face and to add a canvas around to look like a wall picture.


JanJager i really like your overall idea cant wait to see it finished.

[Frozensceptre]

an update, I'm really having fun with this.

http://i74.photobucket.com/albums/i271/DAP1228/M_A_Sketch2.jpg

[Senira]

fdisk-- It took me a few seconds to recognize Marie on the horse. There's a lot happening in the dress pattern-wise, and that combined with the even values is causing her head to get lost in the visual clutter. I'd suggest toning down the dress pattern and working her head a bit more to make it stand out.

As for the dress itself, I thought the folds were melons at first. If you make the billows in the fabric less segmented and integrate it better with the lace at the bottom of the dress, the whole thing will read much more clearly.

And now that I look at it longer, I think the horse's back leg facing us is too close to the foreground. It doesn't seem in line with the fore leg.

--
Here's my update. That's some serious hair.

1032768
I'm still kind of iffy on the color scheme. My plan is to use a warm bg/cool foreground for this version of her, then flip it for the pre-execution version of her. I'm not sure if what I've picked for this version is working well, though. Hm.

Here's my sketch for her pre-execution version.
1032785

[Thélema]

My first attempt at Chow =)
http://s2.subirimagenes.com/otros/previo/thump_4904821mara-antonieta-copia.jpg (http://www.subirimagenes.com/otros-maraantonietacopia-4904821.html)
http://s3.subirimagenes.com:81/otros/previo/thump_4904818mara-antonieta-2.jpg (http://www.subirimagenes.com/otros-maraantonieta2-4904818.html)

[super skoda]

Hi there! Here are some preliminary sketches I did trying to work out the pose. I'm going to go with the least dramatic of the three. Mostly because it makes for a kind of funny image and it also shows off the dress a bit more. I'm going to go for traditional media on this one, pencil and watercolor, I think.

[gpalmer]

JanJager: Lovely beginning, very evocative and great composition. Her dress looks like it might be about to suddenly head south, however!
Senira: I love her expression, and that's a wonderful take on the over-the-top court wigs.

Initial sketch for my attempt. I'd like to actually keep it reasonably historically accurate but am trying to avoid just painting another portrait. The hair is a little old-fashioned for the dress, but most people don't recognize Marie Antoinette without the big hair, so I am debating. Also, I must look at some actual 18th century furniture.

[MasterTroglodyte]

My wife is a history buff; from a book she has about the french revolution: "When it was time for [Marie Antoinette] to be bound to the plank [of the guillotine], she looked up at the statue of Liberty [not our New York model, mind you], which had been erected in the Place de la Revolution [now the Place de la Concord] in commemoration of the events of 10 August, and uttered her famous apostrophe, 'Oh Liberty, what crimes are committed in your name.'"

[jenny7332]

This is my first CHOW, i'm so excited :tihi:. I was wondering at what size and resolution you guys paint at?

dkiearth: I love your idea! I hadn't even thought about picturing her after her death. Also, I really enjoy the whisps of fabric around her elbows.

zepheenia: I love her expression, her mischief with those sweets makes me giggle.

http://ahb.me/d90

Painting all that fabric is going to ware me out.

[Kahboom]

They called her L'Autrichienne - The Austrian woman, also a pun on "dog". And if I remember right, her last words were to the executioner - something like "sorry I stepped on your foot". Been a while since I've taken part here, but it's time to buckle down! I have to fix that left arm...

http://i.imgur.com/V3MSRh.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/BuwXfh.jpg

[delightful_piffle]

Senira: I love how cartoony yours looks, and her hair! I wish I could see some texture in her hair like the trees.

Super Skoda: I want a more eerie ghostly feel about it, so I wish her arms were dangling at her sides instead of it feeling like her head JUST got chopped off. She wouldn't be standing if it had been. But I think the idea is great.

Master Troglodyte: I like the idea and the composition but the left side seems a little longer than it needs to be.

Jenny7332: I use the length of my computer screen and then crop it down later.

Wow, it looks like a lot of people are drawing her death. Well I have to admit that mine is also related to her beheading. She'll be holding a black ribbon around her neck and a gothic frilly dress. Trying to follow my inspiration: Hilary Knight. I'm having a hard time with the perspective on her legs on top of the glass table that will have her delicious pastries and wine.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v475/moonspirit50/mariebydelightfulpiffle.jpg

[dawnusllaw]

Don't think I'll be able to finish, but I've never tried an historical figure before, so here goes:

[jenny7332]

Does it matter if you post short links? (doesn't hold the file name in the link)

Also, do all the WIPs have to be saved as CHOW##_username because then you can't save the progression in the WIPs.
http://ahb.me/dcm

[VoxInaudita]

This one is a pretty great learning experience about fabrics.. man, her dresses were intimidating.

Jenny7332: I'm not sure what you mean about short links, but the WIPs can have any filename you like. It's just the final that needs to have the strict naming format. Also, great work on her face.

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4114/4856445781_cd0ea5c6cf_b.jpg

[rodriguez]

Not sure i'll have time this week

First sketch

1033192

1033334

1033457

[Thélema]

Crits and comments are very appreciated :3

It's obviusly unfinished. She'll be holding some kind of pastry in her hand, and I will add the diamond necklace that made her infamous in France. I'll add more detail to the dress and some background too I guess.

[LA-Fairy]

1033208
Here is what I have right now.

[Kahboom]

http://imgur.com/sZG5g.png

Up next - laying in some values and tightening the drawing a bit. Also, fancy wallpaper! Yay!

[rumpenstiltzkin]

well ima gonna try get something done for this, silly vacation made me slacking to much x)
prolly go for something like the bottom left...

ok cant make it work so heres a link (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v610/ebba/antoinette1.jpg) to it :/

some interesting and nice ideas going on already guys! :)

[ActonArt]

I thought I'd give this a shot. :)

1033260

[Kahboom]

Rumpenstiltzkin - I can't see your file, either. I'd recommend using imgur.com to host stuff if you're having issues - easy and free.

[JuliaMango]

Hello, I am new and this is my first attempt.


Hope this works!



Nice to meet everybody! Great work here so far.

[Nele Klumpe]

I'm in :D (If I can manage to finish...)

1033412

[fedde]

I'm going for her being fashionable and wearing fancy dresses. Here's an attempt to make her more model-like showcasing on a catwalk, or something..

[keith eager]

Here's Marie striking a cute pose. Having the drawing set early should really free me up to explore costume styles.

Keep up the good work everybody! A comment in general: Watch proportions( make sure that she's tall enough), draw through with solid structure, try not to let the pose be too symmetrical, avoid twinning in the costume especially.

I'm not immune to any of these problems, so please crit. me!

[artina]

Hey everyone,

I haven't participated in one of these since May. This is my take on Marie Antoinette. I took advantage of the free time I've had at work to take this to final. I tried a new painting method on this one. I hope you like it. Good luck to all.

http://i307.photobucket.com/albums/nn301/artinaart/marieantoinetteWIP.jpg
http://i307.photobucket.com/albums/nn301/artinaart/Chow208_Artina.jpg

[Senira]

artina-- She's a bit mannish in the face. I think it might be a combination of the eyebrows being a touch too low and the neck being thick.

kahboom-- I like this one so far! I can tell you're going for a more classical look with the painting; I can't wait to see it finished.

Is she flipping us off?

--
And here's her pre-execution version. That's a waste of a perfectly good tomato.

[Fractalbot]

Hi guys here's mine. Only done a few of these contests, and looking to improve! I chose to do Marie in front of an organ/clavier (?) apparently she liked to play music. Will post more later. : )

http://fractalbot.com/conceptartorg/CHOW/208_Marie/wip1.jpg

http://fractalbot.com/conceptartorg/CHOW/208_Marie/wip2.jpg

[Angelsway257]

So here is my Marie. She is tired and thinner now but still bright eyed and beautiful. She is dressed in her best, but they are raggedy now. Her hands are gloved in silk but at this point she is already arrested.

[SArch]

I'm not sure if I'm going to get this done in time for the due date, but I figured I'd do it for fun anyway. I shuffled through some poses/roughs--I wanted my version of Marie Antoinette to be more playful/frivolous, and I knew I wanted to do something with her gambling problem. Decided not to have her reclining though. With the way I wanted her to be leaning it would have been murder to paint the fabric. I realize I need to fix her arms before I go any further on my WIP at the bottom but I think I almost have the pose I want her in for the final.

[drobyazko]

saw this yesterday and had to draw something. marie younger and older when in power i guess? started with the first and showed mom who told me that she hadda have huge poofy dress and hair =P so there's the result of the second.
doubt i'll finish in time, but if i do, i'm going to go with the first one.
http://i600.photobucket.com/albums/tt81/mistresshawky/marieantoinetes.jpg

[delightful_piffle]

Angelsway257: Love the detail on the face, you just reminded me that I wanted to do a more detailed face too.

Sarch: I kind of still like the first one, that was the idea I was going towards in my drawing but I couldn't get the perspective right so I turned the table into a tree . . . yeah.

Wanted to post the line art with the color because I felt bad about loosing so much detail when I colored it.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v475/moonspirit50/marielinebydelightfulpiffle.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v475/moonspirit50/mariecolorbydelightfulpiffl.jpg

[Jager]

janjager great as always, lots of soft shadows, perhaps find some hard edge shadows to contrast with
Shogo nice sketches, I sense the peoples hate towards her
invinciblewombat looks very promising
delightful_piffle beautiful drawing, love that "curvy" composition
dawnusllaw beautiful character and rendering, hope you will finish it
jenny7332 looks great , you really captured a emotional expression
fedde love that walk :)

[mairuku]

uh guys, i suck at making interesting pictures. and grayscale.

please critique. :( i think i'll do a couple more thumbnails

1033671

NO..I'M SCRAPPING THIS. AHH MY EYES. I will update with a new one later.

[MasterTroglodyte]

mairuku - not being "there" yet I can only say that I feel like the figure's solid enough; the real distraction is the composition. Try moving your character over so that it's just left of the middle, instead of getting cut-off. I love the light from the window, the mirror, etc. but there's a lot of real estate not being used effectively here.

Now here's my mess!

[mairuku]

OK this feels better.
the values are still wonky but it feels more interesting / better composition than the last??? i hope..
wondering if I should put a cake on her bed too? haha

mastertrogdolyte - Thank you so so much for your input, I figured the composition was god awful...hence why I restarted. WHAT A MESS IT WAS!! Too much weird negative space and it was off-balance and cut off like you said. thanks! :)

1033698

and some progress of blocking in color
1033714

feel confused on what colours i should incorporate other than these...

[keith eager]

OK, here's my first pass blocking in big costume shapes. More tightening, designing, rendering, color adjusting to come with the next pass.

I'm going with a Disco Antoinette here. Looking to push spacey haute couture, while still keeping Marie recognizably herself.

Let me know what you guys think!

[zepheenia]

Ok..so here's some WIP....

I originally had her in the blue dress, but then noticed everyone else had put her in blue as well. I think there's a reason for that, it seems to work better, what do you think?

http://i479.photobucket.com/albums/rr155/smeiklej/marie1.png http://i479.photobucket.com/albums/rr155/smeiklej/marie2.png

[samothrace]

Entering in my first CHOW! Hopefully I don't embarrass myself too much!

Since it's Marie Antoinette, I figure she should be holding cake right? I went with an less attractive take on M.A. I'm starting to get into all the ridiculous doily and bow stuff.

*Edit-I totally re-painted the most of the details on her dress and changed the color of it to something more saturated. I'm really interested to see how everyone handles the details on her dress.*

Oops, I think I posted too late for the final burning. What a shame.
Well, here's the final version.

[zepheenia]

I'm having far too much fun with feathers and bows to get this finished on time......

http://i479.photobucket.com/albums/rr155/smeiklej/marieclose.png

[Senira]

I was advised in another thread to integrate my characters into the background better, but I'm stymied when it comes to standalone characters like this. Other than the tones being warmer for royal Marie and cooler for pre-execution Marie, I didn't really have a specific plan for the background. I'm wondering if they look too slapped on now.

1033930

And here's a doodle, just for fun. I was testing different expressions/poses for her last night and decided to take this one a little further and slap together a fake magazine cover in InDesign. Ignore the terrible typography.

1033934

[SArch]

delightful_piffle: Your Marie is so pretty! I actually think I like the tree better than a table with your design. The organic shape just seems to go better with it I guess.

zepheena, the yellow dress looks nice. The blue pops out better against the tablecloth in your wip though.

I'm kind of intimidated by the Maries coming along, I'm not even going to lie. :tihi: That said, I made progress on my Marie. I think I'm going to try to push the values in her skintone more because I feel like that is because lost right now. Also tried trial runs for lace/ruffled material on her dress on her collar and torso. If anyone has any crit, please feel free to give it.

[xLouisax]

http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u43/louisasasa/marieantoinette3.jpg

I love this chow! I've added detail and also drawn more of her person in. I've never painted with grayscale before so this is all new to me, but shortly I will be adding colour :)

Mairuku yours is wonderful, loving the tits ^_^, but the composition makes me feel a little chlostrophobic. How would it look if the canvas was a little higher and less wide?

[Kahboom]

http://imgur.com/216kV.png
The folds in the dress are giving me fits.

Senira I love the sun in her headdress - her husband was the sun king after all. Is there symbolic significance to the moon, also? (other than that the moon is traditionally a symbol for women?) Oh, and yes - she is flipping us the royal bird. ;)
delightful_piffle I love the red choker - it is a neat little piece of visual foreshadowing.

[Brashen]

My first time entering Chow...

Hopefully will finish this.

[LA-Fairy]

1034257
here is my edit.

[Shogo]

update, tons more to do but i think i can finish!

[jenny7332]

My first time entering Chow...

Hopefully will finish this.

No content to update I just wanted to say quickly that you (brashen)need to encorporate 3/4 of your character as per the rules- just an early reminder: I'd hate to see your piece eliminated because of such a small reason.

Also Lovely tonal range there!

[prepsage]

well it's been awhile... almost done. maybe a bit of tweaking any recommendations would be welcome.

http://a.imageshack.us/img821/5285/chow208prepsage.jpg

[AlotAbitAlittle]

Here is my ROUGH initial idea... revolutionary era head-in-a-jar science room twisted (the ship hairpiece finally sets sail in the preserving fluid..yay!) I still need to work out the perspective. CC's welcome.

[mairuku]

getting lots of feedback on composition. Thanks, xLouisax, for pointing out the compositional issues. boyfriend suggested closing off the composition with the fork pointing "out" of the piece by letting the curtain come down. i think it's much more pleasing on the eye.

composition is a tough thing to learn
lots of things to do with this still but here is some progress

still need some critique so dish it out at me!!
1034415

[heavy liquid]

Here's my rough of Marie hunting on horseback. I love the idea of 16 year old Marie defying both her mother and advisors by donning breeches and riding like a man after enthusiastically taking to the sport. And even though it pissed her mother off, she hung the portrait of Marie dressed in hunting gear in the her private quarters, because it best captured her spirit dressed "as an Amazon".

There's still a lot I'm not happy with and things I need to tighten up and tweak, but oh well. Dunno if I'll finish... we'll see.

http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m212/heavyliquid/Videogame%20stuff/marie06adjMedium.jpg

[zepheenia]

I knew I wouldn't get this finished...and tonight was my last chance before it closes. No where near happy with it yet....her arm is totally wrong ha.

Thought I'd post what I have anyway....I like the idea of Marie pretending to listen to the witty remarks of others while the only thing on her mind is cake...

http://i479.photobucket.com/albums/rr155/smeiklej/mariewip-1.jpg

[Arisun]

first time trying out a CHOW. hopefully posting my line work first will keep me motivated to finish! I'm loving what everyone's doing with this. Here's what I have so far... She went through a lot in her life, I thought I'd try her contemplative, looking out the window (not yet drawn in)...also cropping is in the works!

http://alicecarroll.net/files/illustrations/marie.png?1281016474

UPDATE: done! ish... I won't be able to do anymore before the deadline. background's a bit blah, and I had to adjust the seat so she looked like she's sitting on it more... still not amazing, but anyway I'm just happy and sort of amazed I 'finished' it in time. Thanks again for the comments!

http://alicecarroll.net/files/illustrations/caged.jpg?1281185782

[Nele Klumpe]

A few Crits/comments on Marie-Antoinettes posted on this page :)


Brashen: I really like this approach! Great expression
LA-Fairy: She looks really elegant. Did you get some reference for her pose? Her anatomy could use some work. (Her ribcage seems a little too wide compared to her arms, and I also feel like there's something wrong about how she turns her neck)
Shogo: Those hands look creepy! I'm not quite sure though from where you look at her. Are we supposed to see her from below? Then maybe check her dress, those layers are pretty good to use as reference points for perspective. (Like grids somehow)
prepsage: The cat looks really cool, lover the expression! I also like her pose a lot. The texture is a little overdone in my opinion, though. Maybe just show a little pattern here and there and lower the opacity in places that are not of much interest, like the bottom of her dress?
AlotAbitAlittle: That's a great idea, a little scary, but cool!
mairuku: I really like the colours you used for her skin! Looks promising so far :D
heavy_liquid: I like the different approach. SO many draw pretty dresses. Looking forward to seeing this finished!
zepheenia: I love her expression, and her hair looks pretty exciting as well!
Arisun: Great work on the folds and detail! Looks like a lot of work. I also love how you drew her face. I'd really like to see this one finished!

And I managed to work on it a little more as well :D Holidays are great!

1034567

UPDATE added some color! Outlining first makes painting so much easier!
1034616

Reeeeeeeeendering:
1035486
Geez, I'm tired now!

[curiouslucious]

First time posting!
Just an idea, not sure if I'll be able to get anything done by the deadline!

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4079/4863518746_b903ddc9b5.jpg

thoughts?

[xLouisax]

http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u43/louisasasa/marieantoinette4.jpg

Here's my full greyscale image. I edited the bow on the back of her dress and added cake @@

I've just started painting colour in a 'colour' layer over the top and its really hard! The colours all come out really wierd. I don't suppose anybody could give me any tips? ^_^'

Mairuku lookin' good!

[AlotAbitAlittle]

Just a few comments for now...more to come later.

mairuku: That is looking great! The curtains definitely help frame the figure. Perhaps by bringing the curtain on the right side to create a 1/2 to 2/3 relationship you can bring a little asymmetric interest and also help bring focus to the face.

Arisun: Beautiful line work.

zepheenia: The bow on the front of the dress looks slightly out of perspective. I think turning it in with the torso twist (align with center line) will bring a little more depth.

Brashen: Beautiful emotion so far.

[prepsage]

xLouisax: Your greyscale is a bit too uniform. There's not too many contrasts which will make it seem flat. Personally I don't mess with color layers too much and use the greyscale as a multiply layer and put down base coats of color underneath. Then move to a layer above for additional colors. I think it's kind of a bad method though.. Do a google search of greyscale to color, there's a few tutorials that come up.

AvisNocturna: Looking good! And thanks.. touching up patterns now.

mairuku: Try googling "reclining venus". There's typically an asymmetry in the bg to bring attention to the focus of the image.

No more time to crit for now.

[Feil Magnus]

Few crits:

xLouisax - nice one, the conection between head and body seems weird though, as if the neck was a rotationg device providing simple rotation to the head, nice values.

AvisNocturna - very nice lines, colors are very nice as well as values of the bottom part of the dress, values for the top part need some more work but i'm sure you'll correct that. (very nice hands)

Arisun - very clean work love the details on the hair, her right forearm is a bit weird.

Zepheenia - nice storytelling and design, maybe you could push values a bit more, it looks a bit flat here and there

Heavy liquid - the horse's body is fine, its head and neck are less convincing, ref is your friend. Some of your lines are very nice ( especially on the horse) but here and there some others are a bit more "lazy".

Mairuku - head and hair are very smooth and clean, colors are nice too, the highlight on the breast might not be needed as it should be in the shadow, it distract the attention form the face which expression is very nice. Concernig the fork it's a good idea to close off the composition with the curtain, i suggest you try having the fork go the other way (bottome left to upper right) just to check.

Prepsage - how did you do such a texture on the dress? it's stunning.

Shogo - love the concept, don't forget to put some focus on poor Marie-antoinette, for now the focus is on those nice creepy hands

La-fairy - watch out proportions and anatomy, don't be afraid to use ref if you're not comfortable with th epose (right arm is off)

Barshen - impressive work, i love the composition, and lines and values.Chack out her nostril and of course beware of the 3/4 rule.

[prepsage]

Feil Magnus: Textured patterns are pretty easy if you want to do it a lazy way and it won't be under heavy scrutiny. I picked a design from my library that I thought would go well with the dress. Cloned the hell out of it (you could probably make a brush as well..damn you hindsight) on it's own layer. Erase or mask away whatever is not necessary. Kept it dark and set the layer to multiply. Made a copy of that layer and invert it (so whatever is dark is now light) and change it to overlay. Shift that layer by one or two pixels and it'll look like it's a raised pattern...theoretically...

I'm sure there's a better tutorial out there with some visuals though..

[rodriguez]

Did a bit more to mine

1034795

[curiouslucious]

More developed idea. Can't seem to get the angle of her head/face right. HELP!!

http://conceptart.org/forums/picture.php?albumid=3835&pictureid=22153

[Refschaufscheik]

Are we allowed to submit a previous chow piece if it didn't make it to the poll it was made for? My Monarch of Music was basically based on Marie Antoinette - and I would love to get another chance. It got cut because it was in the 3/4 greyzone. I thought the costume could be counted in as part of the figure...

[ashton]

[QUOTE=curiouslucious;2826697]More developed idea. Can't seem to get the angle of her head/face right. HELP!!

draw lots of thumbnails first.

nail down the key points. is she fighting or sad?

draw the whole figure, hips first. part of this challenge is doing drapery but you need to draw her figure (legs) first.
http://i356.photobucket.com/albums/oo7/ashtonsimmonds/help.jpg

[Shogo]

minor update to marie

[gpalmer]

More work done - didn't want to post this progress pic as I am having a fight with the facial features, but them's the rules. At least I finally got the colors right!

[ashton]

http://i356.photobucket.com/albums/oo7/ashtonsimmonds/ashton_women_02.jpg

[Feil Magnus]

might not go further for this one (work untill monday)

[curiouslucious]

[QUOTE=curiouslucious;2826697]More developed idea. Can't seem to get the angle of her head/face right. HELP!!

draw lots of thumbnails first.

nail down the key points. is she fighting or sad?

draw the whole figure, hips first. part of this challenge is doing drapery but you need to draw her figure (legs) first.
http://i356.photobucket.com/albums/oo7/ashtonsimmonds/help.jpg


Thanks Ashton!!
Those guides are very helpful. Also thanks for the heads up, first time CHOWing so still a bit rusty on the rules!

I'm kind of going for a more 'proud' look - where her status is still aparent despite her circumstances.

[samothrace]

It looks like there are a few first time CHOW'ers here. I'm glad I'm not the only one!

AvisNocturna Love the line art right now, I'm looking forward to seeing your's with full color!

Ashton You've got a dramatic pose there, but the anatomy isn't quite lining up, specifically the neck and legs/hips.

http://i356.photobucket.com/albums/oo7/ashtonsimmonds/ashton_women_02.jpg

[Brashen]

Thank you guys for the comments and thank you Jenny for the reminder.

I do have crits for all you guys but I'll post 'em when I get back home from work.

Lunch break progress:

[ArtbyWard]

brashen, that's looking good, loving her expression. But please make sure to show more of the entire character (3/4 from the knees up) :)

The FINAL BURNING (http://conceptart.org/forums/showthread.php?t=193727) thread is up :)

[keith eager]

More putzing: She deserves to have some pink in there to keep her company.

[Xaya]

Long long time no see! So here´s my progress, still lot to do, adding story elements, adding full figure, expression etc.

[Xaya]

So i guess i have working setting, gesture (which relates to her end) and composition...

[AlotAbitAlittle]

Updated Sketch :: Not sure what else will be going on the table....

Edit 1:: Worked through a little more perspective issues. (Brashen - I took another look and I think it was the curtains and head /tank---THANK YOU!) Put some base levels down...time to rock this (Yay!)

Edit 2:: Some color started...lots more to do...

[keith eager]

Xaya: Looking really nice, I dig it.

Here's more Marie. I took her back to her time a little bit. Still glitzy, but a glitzy ball, not disco.

Good luck finishing everybody!

Cheers,
Keith

[gpalmer]

Tiiicking along. Repainted eyes, began rendering accursed couch, fixed bodice shape. Traded out the really tall hair for a 1770s style that doesn't make her look quite so Bride of Frankenstein. Exciting new placeholder background.

[C.Abarca]

Edit: added color progression...kinda funky but continuously fixing xD

I dunno if im able to still but here's some progress shots i started...im a bit new to this but seemed like alot of fun...i know this isn't showing entirely 3/4 i believe...but it's because of my screencap. (in actuality it's longer)
Hope you guys dig, lovely concepts all up in this joint...just loving being in this environment :)

[JanJager]

Brashen
Great. Perhaps make her eyes a bigger to give her a more feminine look.
samothrace
Nice take. Why not add some rococo details.
Feil Magnus
Nice light and costume perhaps add some hard shadows. Maybe you can work a bit on the cone shape of the dress. Now it looks a bit like a flat surface. Perhaps this is on purpose.
gpalmer
Nice perhaps working in some shadows.
Shogo
Great Very strong picture. Perhaps having some differences in tone and value between the hands nearest Marie Antoinette the hands nearest the viewer.
rodriguez
Great costume. Maybe her arms seem a bit powerful for a female character. I like the window in the background but perhaps the big contrasts in the background takes over a bit.
xLouisax
Lovely picture. I like that the focus is on her face and hair.
C.Abarca
Coming along fine.
keith eager
Great
Xaya
Beautiful Can hardly take my eyes from hers.
AlotAbitAlittle
Good A bit morbid. Looking forward to see it finished
AvisNocturna
Very nice. Great expression, colours and rendering.
vArisun
Great line work
zepheenia
Very cute Marie Antoinette
heavy liquid
Good start. Maybe she looks like she´s sits a bit on the back part of the horse.
mairuku
Beautiful. I would focus to work on the shadows on the sheet under her.
Jager
Very nice. Looking forward to see it finished.
Sorry for not critting al

[JanJager]

Some updates

[Nephilie]

Xaya: It's cool to see how you develop your idea. I love her face and the hint to Marie's end
AlotAbitAlittle: this is going to be macabre, but I like it how you do an entire scene
keith eager: I don't know how you go on with colours, because the contrast can be a problem. But I like Marie's self-confident expression
gpalmer: Interesting that you do her so thoughtful. I like the colours of the dress and maybe you can do some more shadows, especially on the skin
C.Abarca: I'm looking forward to see this piece finished. I love the hairstyle
JanJager. I love the expressions of the characters! Cool thing

Here's my actual progress.1035860

[Brashen]

IceMoon: Thanks!! Damn I still need to show more of her ahhhh!!

JanJager: Thanks. I tried making her eyes bigger but she sort of lost the expression I was going for.


CRITS

@LA-Fairy: Be careful of her pose. Is her body in 3/4 position or in profile? Because her arms are in profile yet you can still see the left breast?. Also try adding more value to you colours. Understand where your light-source is and play with the shadows and highlights.

@Shogo: Nice composition all in all but mind you show a bit more of her. Try elongating the canvas, it should give of a nice view.

@prepsage: Watch out there mate, would her body really be able to bend like that? Nice colours all in all but try to add a secondary light so that she doesn't appear so flat.

@AlotAbitAlittle: Watch out for your perspective. Let's see more!!

@mairuku: Goof colour choice. You may have to get reference for the pose tho, she's feeling quite stiff. Is she lying on the bed or is she propped up on her elbow, it's hard to read your intentions.

@heavy liquid: Nice idea looking forward to seeing more.

@zepheenia: Like the style, but also be wary of your perspective.

@Arisun: NIce work so far. But I repeat what I said to the other guys, watch out with your perspective. Also she seems to be to heavily detailed. Don't let the rest of the image suffer in comparison.

@AvisNocturna: I really like where this one is heading. But also you've got perspective problems. These are accentuating the fact that she looks like she is one with the divan. It's as if they are all on one plane. Her body needs to be bets more. You can also use more tonal value to help you their.

@curiouslucious: Need to see more before judging.

@xLouisax: Too dark, you need more light as we cant make out anything in the background.

@rodriguez: You should probably redevelop the idea. Start with the basic forms and then add the clothes on later. There are too many problems with the image that include proportions, perspective, lighting and composition.

@gpalmer: The pose is nice, but her anatomy could use a bit more work. Again she looks flat against the couch. Watch out for your colours and their gradients. You have a direct light source so a lot of the image is going to be in a near black shadow. Look at Caravaggio's work to understand chiaroscuro.

@ashton: You've already gotten help with the your perspective. Tho you may want to switch to an easier pose or get some reference.

@keith eager: Need to see more of where this is heading. I like the colour choice but be careful not to get too carried away with the purple's saturation.

[AlotAbitAlittle]

Brashen Yeah, the perspective has been the hardest for this one. I mapped out most things. I think the head is a little off. Where are you seeing the perspective issues? I could use a little help.

[xLouisax]

http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u43/louisasasa/marieantoinette6.jpg

Omg I've found painting over grayscale reaaally challenging but what can I say, tis a learning experience! I've still got a few things to do to mine, I'm guna tweak and paint over a few things and add more definate lighting.

Alotabitalittle: Wow, I thought ur last composition wasn't too bad but your new composition is much better! Can't wait to see what you do with it!

Xaya: I love her dress I can't wait to see it finished!

[B u r l]

http://i.imagehost.org/0716/marie.jpg

[Xaya]

Almost....

[CrookedHorn]

need to work out the dress and take a look at some reference but its coming along.

XAYA: wow, i have enjoyed watching you piece progress :rocker:

[jenny7332]

Woo an update.
B u r l: I like your ideam it seems many people have painted her skinny so a nice, interesting change. I know it's a WIP but you might want to consider placing in a single light source or a general direction of light so your shading is more uniform.

xLouisax: You have some really nice detail there! The background colour puts me off slightly, it doesn't really mesh with the blue you have

[Nephilie]

xLouisax: I like the small wrinkles of the dress on her arm and waist. I think you can do some deeper shadows and more highlights to give your picture more contrast

B u r l: really cool idea. I ask myself sometimes if Antoinette wasn't fat because she had eaten to much sweets, this seems to be the answer! I love the exaggerations you used

CrookedHorn: funny idea, even if it's going to be very uncomfortable for Marie. I'm looking forward to see the next step

jenny7332 : nice combination with the swan! Maybe you can show more clear where the light comes from, I'm not sure at moment

[AlotAbitAlittle]

Nephilie: I like the texture you are bringing in (fox & feathers). I tend to look at the window first since it is on a straight view. Perhaps tilting the wall/window could also help to bring the focus to the character. (Also, making it less bright will help too).

JanJager: Looking great! Love the pink coming through.

C.Abarac: Great stroke developing there.

CrookenHorn: I look forward to seeing the colors you bring in. Awesome idea.

Xaya: I like the tense emotion coming from yours.

[Xaya]

Damn... i wanna finish this thing!!!

Changed a lot, new face and expression, didn´t liked the last one.
Catched some reference to get a better skintone... paler!

The "thinking expression" shows more story. I darkened the left side to gain more drama and to make the blossom relief at the wall some kind of dangerous looking.

Ok 1 or 2 hours more work then i give up...

[Carnifex]

not participating this week,but gotta say xaya,i'm exited to see the finish on this. amazing!

[gpalmer]

Still going...
One of these days I'll remember to work early enough not to be right up against deadline.
But depth is happening. Working from most boring to least boring, so the skin and hair are next. Will go back and fix the sofa if time allows.

It looks like I also need to jigger my color settings. These jpgs are coming out significantly more washed-out than the main document.

[Brashen]

A couple of paintovers for the peeps and a little update on my stuff.

@AlotAbitAlittle: You seem to have too many 'vanishing points chosen' as I've shown each object you've drawn has it's own perspective. Choose one and stick to it. Hope this has helped.

[mairuku]

uhh i somehow totally changed my colours and fudged this whole thing up.
thanks for the critique thus far guys...it's helped a lot.

but WOww i feel like i haven't done a serious piece in forever and i'm so frustrated.

all this is making me realize is that i have an enormous amount to study ):
i hate something about this so much! Or maybe i'm staring at it too long? maybe i'm tired from working two jobs

BLEH

and ...finished i guess ): next time i'll use ref for the pose...she does look stiff ):

[rodriguez]

Thanks JanJager and Brashen, think i'll just stick with my idea and see how it goes, not really got enough time to redevelop it even if i wanted to, so hopefully it'll work itself out :teeth:

1036352

[xLouisax]

http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u43/louisasasa/marieantoinetteWIP.jpg

http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u43/louisasasa/CHOW208_xlouisax.jpg

Omg, i've found using colour over greyscale SO hard! And I can't work on this anymore as I've run out of time and have to go to work! But chow is a learning experience right, so at least I've learnt a bit about this method ^_^'

I'm planning on repainting this so I can retrace my steps and hopefully make a better final piece. :)

Thanks everyone for all the advice! xx

[CrookedHorn]

cutting this one close.......

[AlotAbitAlittle]

This is as far as I got...

[blackrobin]

too late to made it to the burning thread,
go go ChoW :yayca:

[Frozensceptre]

I was too sick to get to my computer as much as I wanted and I wasn't able to finish in time. here is as far as a got on my piece.

http://i74.photobucket.com/albums/i271/DAP1228/Chow208_FrozenSceptre.jpg