ChoW#221 :: Sun Wukong - The Monkey King

[Martheart]

http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii293/chowarchive/CHOW_Headerimage/QUEENOFCHOW_logo-2.jpg



ROUND #221 :: Sun Wukong – The Monkey King



DESCRIPTION


Sun Wukong – The Monkey King

Now this is a very interesting character from the Chinese epic novel “Journey to the West”. The novel tells the story of The Monkey King accompanying a monk on an epic journey to India. Sun Wukong is incredibly strong and has the power to transform himself into 72 different creatures and objects; however when he turns himself in to a human form, he’s not able to hide his monkey tail! The myth of the Monkey King inspired many movies, tv-shows and manga like the 2008 movie “The Forbidden Kingdom” and ofcourse the manga and anime “Dragonball”. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Journey_to_the_West_in_popular_culture)

Now it’s time this character inspires you!

Design Sun Wukong, The Monkey King!


Think of his attributes, like his monkey tail (when in human form) and his staff.
Setting can be anything, but make him recognizable as the Monkey King!


Some inspiration and information:


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sun_Wukong
http://www.china-on-site.com/monkey.php

Good luck!


PLEASE NOTE THE RULES AND THE DEADLINE TIME

---------------------------------------------------------
DEADLINE:
SUNDAY, November 14th, 2010


Deadline is Sunday, at 9:00 pm (GMT +1).
Check your timezone (http://wwp.greenwichmeantime.com/)


---------------------------------------------------------
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!

[Pixeltuner]

Enslaved - Odyssey To The West? Big game, just released, same inspiration :p Anyhoot, I think I'll take a pass on this one. I'll probably get tainted by the game and I don't really like re-doing existing characters.

[SleepingIn]

I love the Monkey King, but every time he's brought up in any context I can't help but think of Dragon Ball.

[MittyMandi]

I will try my best not to draw goku. D8

[teapo]

ooOoOoo... this will be interesting :3

[lancer_idenoure]

oh god yes! im doin this for suuurree!!!!

[MittyMandi]

Here's what I got so far - any tips or crits would be greatly appreciated :)

[SaintLConcept]

WOHOOOOO!!!
@mitty mandy, the one on my right hand is my fave, maybe add a little bling2 lol

[Vaejoun]

My first thought was king louie from the djunglebook. But regarding the briefing there has to be a tail and orangs dont habe one.

The other thing that came to my mind:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yr5ZWYRaAyw

I will try do do something, but quicker than last time.

[Vaejoun]

@Arthur:
Going for the demon aspect huh ? Quiet thrilling and wild. And I like the depth effect in the bg.

Heres my first impression on him.
From what I read Wukong is neither kind nor wise. He appears to be greedy and impatient, just like a child.
So I will give him a look that shows his immaturity.

Going in order:
1. Getting refs
2. Planning the layout
3. paint !

First start.

[sone_one]

MittyMandi cuties :) i like the second from the left best.

Arthur 'Two Sheds' nice one! dont forget his tail ;).

Vaejoun good direction, i simply adore the lower right corner one!

heres my wip...
http://attachments.conceptart.org/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=1097672&d=1289236505

[Ruri]

Awesome theme!

[BAMeyer]

here my start on da monchee chee

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[Angelsway257]

Yes. I'm doing one!

[Urötskidoji]

This sounds really cool! Sketches will be coming up soon.

[fudoki]

Going for a cross between Zhang Fei (from Dynasty Warriors fame), Iroh (from legend of Aang) and gorilla type ape stewing for a fight.

i know i need to sort out the left leg, but you get the idea of the concept.

[Urötskidoji]

I´ve decided to depict Sun in one of his human forms, wearing the trophies
he aquired from defeating the three sea dragons in the story.
Really cool story, gotto read the whole one someday!

First sketch:
http://i55.tinypic.com/153ppnk.jpg

[Jason Snair]

Here's a little sketch to get going.

[JanJager]

Jason SnairI
I like the pose and perspective.
Urötskidoji
God idea with the trophies
fudoki
Works well Perhaps adjust his right leg a bit.
BAMeyer
Nice take
Ruri
Interesting outfit. Maybe have some of his arms or legs go toward the viewer.
sone_one
Great start. I like his pose and outfit.
Vaejoun
Lovely sketches.
Arthur 'Two Shed
Great Looks almost finished except from his feet's.
MittyMandi
I like the fourth best.

[Carnifex]

hmm,i'm thinking of giving him something like a samurai armor,but i'm not sure that fits...? i mean it's china after all... what do you think?

[Cameli]

Awesome thread!

Heres an early sketch!

[SaintLConcept]

@carnifex, WOW i think that is a great idea, but make sure he holds a staff not samurai lol
@cameli,it looked great man..ur inspired from the india lores? lol
@janjager, the pose doesnt seem too strong to me, monkey king is a god of war too u know
@jason snair, maybe extend the canvas a bit to get the whole staff
@urotskidoji, i think u should give him monkey face
@fudoki,...a fat monkey king....*speechless*
@bameyer, that looked more like a gorilla lol
@vaejoun, the one in right corner, AWESOME!
@arthur2sheds , that is sweet lol
@sone one, looking good, but the squat pose seem a little bit weird
@ ruri, more sun wu kong less dragon ball ? lol
here's mine still figuring the whole figure, but definitely going full armor XD

[arsieiuni]

Best portrayal of the Monkey King I've seen to date was in the Forbidden Kingdom ... Jet Li and Jackie Chan movie. Great movie... Jet Li nailed the attitude and the appearance was perfect.

Remember! He's the HANDSOME Monkey king! :)

Also, I loved the art for Enslaved BEFORE they redid it to make him beefier for the Western Audience. I curse the Western World's desire for BULKY men and that they consider more slender designs to be too gay or effeminate. :(
The first design made him look more appropriate to the martial arts background in my opinion.

Can't wait to see what everyone comes up with on this! :)

[CrookedHorn]

arsieiuni:: awesome movie by the way....i cant find my copy


here is my first WIP. for the pose i thought spider man and this is what came about.

[Vaejoun]

@Bameyer: The Nose looks more like from a cat than an ape, getting some refs would help.
@Jason: I like it, keep it up
@Cameli: Nice godly feeling and great start on the feet.
@Artforall: The nose, ears and the sharp feet make him look like a catman. Apes have other feet and noses. I would suggest to chosse a monkey you like and getting refs.

Thanks for all the nice comments, I was unsure about that pose because you cant see much of his front, but now I started it.
I wanted to give him something disrespectful, sitting on a budda head but the scale didnt work, he would be too small on the picture.

[Thole]

Vaejoun: Looks very promising :D
CrookedHorn: Seems we had somewhat the same idea about the staff :)
BAMeyer: You should count the toes

[Vaejoun]

@Thole
I dont see a picture

1st try on colors, I still need a better method figuring out colors and bringing it in. This is just way too sloppy. And I wanted a more realistic lightning, but somehow it always end up like this ^^°

[Thole]

Here is my WIP, please tell me what you think!

Edit: Tried to reupload my picture, can you see it now?

Guess two pics are better than none -_-'

http://attachments.conceptart.org/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=1098285&stc=1&d=1289310892

[totengraber]

Here's what I have so far.
I'm still learning how to use Painter and my anatomy skills still need some work.

[monotony]

Mittymandi, very cute ideas! I like the second to the lefts head best and the short dress of the right one. very nice stylisation.

Arthur Two Sheds, great start! I got nothing more to say than the tail that been mentioned. love the colors.

Vaejoun, nice sketch, man I really like the pose and style this will have! and I don't think you need to worry too much about orangs not having a tail. you're not drawing the animal but a mythological monkeyman figure that might resemble an orang-utan. and have a tail.
or am I bending the rules here because mine looks a lot like a gorilla? :)
oh and I just saw the colors: really good for a first color pass, and unexpected as well. maybe that his dress the background and the stump he's sitting on have a very similar tone is a bit overwhelming.

sone one, really like the fierce warrior features in yours. looks like this will be a great entry.

Ruri, good start. I would make sure to make it look more dynamic though. the pose itself offers a lot of movement, maybe you could increase the feel by not having the front arm and leg go too parallel and getting some curves and folds in the very stiff coat.

BAMeyer, I like the pose a lot. Maybe add a bit more cloths and/or embolishment to seperate him from any other monkey(men) and make him more king.

fudoki, cool combinations of influences! I'm going for a gorillaescue one myself :). and I like the facial hair!

Urötskidoji, good seeing a more human character. I guess the will be loads of monkeys this time :). looking forward to more!

Jason Snair, lovely start, dude. his expression and pose look great. and the beard is a good touch as well!

JanJager, really good combination of human and monkey! looking forward to where you will go with it.

Cameli, great sketch already. I love the blue and red combo. Tiny thing about the composition that's bugging me is that both his cape and hair are cut on their tipy by the frame. I would personally either extend the canvas or enlarge the cape and make it really cover more of the bg and go out of the frame.

Art4all, I like the lean and tall figure for a change here. and the headdress is really intriguing already. I agree on the catlike look though, maybe work on the monkeyfeatures a bit more.

CrookedHorn, the pose is great. and his face is cool as well. Now I want to see where you go with the colors.

Thole, I still can't see yours. You can edit it in using the attachment manager. just hit edit on your post, go advanced and click the paperclip icon to upload your picture to this site.

totengraber, good start and thinking about the anatomy underneath his cloths does definately help. If you plan on adding a background I would put in the basic colors you have in mind soon. this will affect you character differently than a plain brown/grey.



Had almost the complete day off yesterday so I got a lot of painting done already and now really want to finish this.
I don't know if I'm straying away too far from the myth but I went in a more old and wise gorillatype. he's in his later less jumpy days here.
started with pretty random shapes and used a lot of crazy brushes that I usually don't even notice in my set.
Once I saw something in there it helped me to get down the figure pretty quickly and come up with shapes I wouldn't otherwise.
It does take a while to clean up though :) . tell me what you think.
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1098274

[sone_one]

JanJager thanks man. i like this prankster look in yours.

Art4All good point, thank you alot. made me go back to draw more poses :). take care not to make yours look more like a lion than a monkey.

Vaejoun loving everything about it.

monotony lovely patterns, im not sure about his head yet though. great entry and thank you :).

heres some more poses... not sure which one i shall pick yet.. opinions?

1098288

[Vaejoun]

@Monotony: YOu pulled that out in one day ? Amazing.
It has a lot of what I am trying to do, more painterly and realistic.
Not much to crit... Maybe try to improve the face some more...

@sone_one:
You do amazing sketches, wishe mine would be that nice.

[totengraber]

monotony Thanks for the feedback. I will definitely look at working on the background soon.

Looks like a couple of people had the same idea I did with his pose. If I have time, I might do something different.

[Cameli]

@Vaejoun: Love the stance, composition and attitude, as for the colors for the background try to use colors that are close to each other in the color scheme and with gradient, it ll look more natural,and also use the lighter colors to highlight a point of interest like his head
@thole:Nice stance but i think his right hand is short
@monotony:Yeah i want to make the canvas bigger and make the top of the staff visible, to make his cape bigger is a good idea!Thnx for the crits!
On ur pic i love the mood and the colors but i think his face is a little bit off
and i also like the glowing eyes in the first sketches they pop out the face

Awesome stuff till now cant w8 for more!
and sorry for my english

[Urötskidoji]

I just realized that Sun Wukong is in the Orion manga by Masamune Shirow. He
fights the main character(dont remember his name right now), really good manga if you havn´t read it:
http://ec1.images-amazon.com/images/P/1569715726.01._SS500_SCLZZZZZZZ_V1056520492_.jpg
(Couldn´t find any pic with Sun Wukong in Orion on the net :/)

[IDP]

I've been following the CHOW section for a while now and finally decided to take the plunge and have a go myself. Here's my effort so far.

1098321

[Urötskidoji]

Sone_one, I really digg your armor!

I think one of the main focuses for my Monkey king will be his face, I think
I got the general layout of the body finnished in my mind, but ofcourse that can change too.

Here´s some rough sketches of his on going face:
http://i53.tinypic.com/289wh0m.jpg

[UCT]

GARETH BALE!

[BAMeyer]

Some progress it isnt the greatest and its super messy but o well I might finish it later.

1098447

[Ruri]

MittyMandi: I like the second guy best.
Arthur 'Two Sheds': Pretty intense.
Vaejoun: Cool. Maybe the peach should be golden and or glowing?
sone_one: I like the detail on the armor. I'd go with the pose where he's sitting on the rock. Feels more monkey-like.
BAMeyer: Nice composition.
fudoki: Cool beard.
Urötskidoji: I think your faces combine human and monkey characteristics really well.
Jason Snair: Really nice loose quality of line.
JanJager: I like his expression. His legs seem a little thick compared to the rest of him.
Cameli: AWESOME.
Art4All: Cool head thing.
CrookedHorn: Really great pose, lovely lines.
Thole: Interesting design, cool pose.
totengraber: Seems like a good start.
monotony: Awesome everything, I especially like your choice of colours.
IDP: That's a great pose and angle, but maybe think about adding something that would make the design a little bit more unique?

Thanks for the comments. Unfortunately, my tablet has stopped working, so looks like I'll be missing the deadline. Here's where I got to:

[snootchy]

wonderful progress everyone! will get to individual crits after work today...

some lunch doodles for this week's chow, still trying to find the right pose...

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1098458

[fudoki]

quick update, have sured up the lines (somewhat) and will colour etc now.

[sone_one]

Vaejoun thank you.. i think the same everytime i see yours ;).

Urötskidoji thanks. id go with the face from the lower left with the hairstyle from the upper left.

Ruri well thank you, i chose the left one because reading the story on the comic link he appeared more like a bully to me always picking up fights without need. your action is great, but im missing the monkey part kinda :).

worked some more on it... i ditched the ape-pauldron because it beeing the armor of the dragon king, and the tribal paint aint final yet... ill keep designing while i go probably. id like to hear your opinions though, if something needs a change.

1098535

[TheAlchemy]

http://cs10407.vkontakte.ru/u45770173/115118915/y_e21d2a8a.jpg

[Ninsta]

I decided to take a different style approach with this chow, I'm always trying out different styles, I'm yet to find one that I like the outcome of, but yeah lol, Some awsome stuff thus far everyone, props :) I'm still working on what i wanna do with his armor, just a roughie first

http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h126/video_game_gal/TheMonkeyKing.png

[Carnifex]

sone_one - damn,turning out really good.
monotony - i like the slightly more greenish colours of the lower right sketch.

sketch for mine.

[SaintLConcept]

awesome works so far guys,
so i took vaejoun comment seriously so i took a ref of a barbary monkey, thanks for the tip and i've come up with my final sketch and gonna paint it later

[MasterTroglodyte]

Wow! sone_one!!! Wow. Wow. I'm so envious!!! How. is. that. possible. I'm both disgusted and awed at the lovely colors, clean lines, design, structure, and so on. Wow.

[snootchy]

MittyMandi: nice start, like the second design on the left the best with the drapery fabric u can get some nice dynamic flows, think the pose is a bit static, maybe add a bit more dynamic pose
Arthur 'Two Sheds': really digging the perspective and hues, the placement of the tail looks a bit off
Vaejoun: I like the playfulness theme ur going with, like bottom pose the best, a bit static but the slight angle u got the post in makes it a bit dynamic, i actually like the color scheme u've got going right now, it kind of adds to that playfulness
sone one: dig the expression, and the tribal paint is looking good
Ruri: like the wildness to the pose, think some tightening up of the anatomy could help if this is the final pose ur going for
BAMeyer: really like the pose and perspective, will u be adding any clothing/armor to him? looks a bit too primate now without any kind of outfit
fudoki: looking good, like the attitude of how he's trying to be fool hardy into getting into a fight
urotskidoji: i like the portrait on the right side the best
Jason Snair: like the pose and perspective, also the expression capture in the face, bit sly and arrogant
JanJager: i like the playfulness u've captured along with the expression
Cameli: great start, luv that wrath/rage in his expression
Art4All: the updated sketch looks a lot better, just a note on the pose, it looks a bit off of how both knees are bending out, that hind leg should bare the weight so should be slightly more perpendicular to combat the slope
CrookedHorn: really dig the pose, great idea incorporating spiderman'ess
Thole: gesture looks good, some work with the anatomy will help sell the sketch
totengraber: great start, think the way he's holding the staff is a bit like he's about to spear a fish, might look a bit better resting on his shoulder or in another dynamic pose
monotony: looking great so far, like the idea of an aged version of the character, the outfit is awesome definitely my fav so far
IDP: glad ur partaking like the expression u've captured
TheAlchemy: cool start, is that a mask coming off?
Ninsta: looking good so far, pose is a bit static though
Carnifex: like initial sketch, maybe a bit more facial expression, like how the attire is turning out

[SaintLConcept]

so i put in some colors and try to fix the pose a bit more , which one is better guys, i'm thinkin #1...

[PokketMowse]

http://img183.imageshack.us/img183/5645/monkeyking.jpg

I really liked all the entries here so far. I tried to go for less noble/fierce and slightly more modern take on my monkey king and his mischief-making prankster persona, so...here he is stealing noodles.

[ekobor]

I don't know what the general consensus on pixel art is around here, but that's how I felt like playing with this (My first ChoW >.>)
If that is not appropriate, no worries, I'll just take it to Pixel Joint for help~

http://img44.imageshack.us/img44/5736/suspectanatomy.png

The anatomy is still suspect, and it is certainly not pixel-perfect, but I'm going to pick it up again tomorrow!
(I thought it would be prudent to include his phoenix-feather cap, golden chain-mail and cloud-jumping boots, if I was going to show him with Ruyi Jingu Bang)

{E} Just realized my pose is pretty much the exact same as Thole's >.< Hope that isn't bad?

[CrookedHorn]

thank you for all the great comments! :bow:


changing gears and rocking this pose. i think ill be up all night having fun with this. i found a link on line to watch the forbidden kingdom in decent quality and its played through .... 3 times now hehe.

be back tomorrow with some updates. really amazing stuff and i plan to try and add any advice i can muster.

keep it up peoples!

[SaintLConcept]

so i'm starting to add some values in, any other thing to fix before i hit the final render?

[teapo]

ooooOOO... everyone's entry is so good :D I sketched up something before going to bed and I'm wondering if I will even be able to work on it later on :U Darn school. okay that is all :|

[CrookedHorn]

rock the color splash!
granted not to sure yet these are the colors i want.



work in about 4 hours ....whoops :$


honestly, artistic creation is just more entertaining than tech support

crits for all posts tomorrow after the grind.

great work everyone keep it up!

[Mincx]

A quick sketch I did last night whilst trying to get to sleep with a sugar rush. Brain was all over the place. Gonna make him a bit more human around the face too I think, and change the position of his left arm.

[Vaejoun]

@Pokketmowse:
I like the comicstile you went for.
@soneone: This looks amazing. I like the animal approach on this one, the "beard" gives a nice feel to it. Only thing to mention is the sheep head on the armor. Dunno, why didnt you make a monkey pattern or something chinese.
@Crooked Horn: Freaky, I like the way how this remebers me of an ink painting.

Mine is done so far, I think.

Looking back, I think I started with the details too early. I should have planned the bg before, so that it doesnt give me so many problems later.
But I start to get the feeling how to work faster. I will try to work more from the shapes the next time instead of the line.

Well and the values... not perfect, but kinda happy for now. Maybe I should do some studys of the old masters to get it better. ^^

Crits and advices welcome as always.

[snootchy]

wow the updates are looking great all!

another quick one idea for pose, got the day off from the grind tomorrow so will hash out a working pose tonight or tomorrow hopefully...

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[Urötskidoji]

Nice art everyone, this CHOW is really a fun one!

Sone_one, I think you should go with the pose you have at the moment, maybe some contrasting colors on the armor?

Carnifex, you get that armor to feel very ancient asian! Nice.

Vaejon, really like your color scheme!

Gah, got so many things to do this week, moving and schoolwork! Wish I had more time to work on this.

[SaintLConcept]

@vaejoun, i think u missed a spot on the back... not sure but it looked like u missed that area

[Carnifex]

Art4All - don't use pure white and black for highlights and shadows- go for warm highlights (red/yellow) and cool shadows (blue/green/purple) (or vice versa,if you like).
here's a tutorial that might help you (i like to throw this one around very often):
http://www.itchstudios.com/psg/art_tut.htm

[Pate5]

Testing pose. Do you see any minor errors with the pose or anatomy?

[Quinn Simoes]

Really cool designs from everybody!

Here's my wip:

[UCT]

nice quinn.

[fudoki]

here's a tutorial that might help you (i like to throw this one around very often):
http://www.itchstudios.com/psg/art_tut.htm

just wanted to say thanks for this post. that tutorial is so helpful. it's really helping me learn.

[Urötskidoji]

So here´s what I´ve managed so far:
http://i55.tinypic.com/34dmxit.jpg

Tried to come up with a colorscheme:
http://i52.tinypic.com/2n0u52f.jpg

Im not really sure about the colors, what do you think?

Thumbs up on the tutorials!

[Sakuranym]

so i'm starting to add some values in, any other thing to fix before i hit the final render?

Are you shading with just black-white like your dots up there?

You should really try shading with color. They way you are doing it right now really flattens your piece. Try opposite colors-red/green, orange/blue and other variants to get a more rounded color pallete and piece! Color theory is challenging but it pays off in the end :)

[CrookedHorn]

snootchy:: i just perused your blog...im stealing your brushes, they are sick man!

vaejoun::really liking this piece, and i really dig the peach in his mouth

will give indepth crits later tonight after i leave work.

[emerging]

been creaturing all this time.. haven't done a CHOW in ages. So many great entries already i feel like i suck once again haha

here is my first wip

[SGoodson]

Wow, really nice work everyone. just a little sketch i did, needs work and suggestions.

[JRamz75]

http://img257.imageshack.us/img257/3547/chow221jramz75.jpg (http://img257.imageshack.us/i/chow221jramz75.jpg/)

Uploaded with ImageShack.us (http://imageshack.us)

[AndreRuben]

this is the rough sketch for my pose, to give you an idea of what i'm aiming at.

i have already started the detailed lines-only version. I'm drawing him more older, with a big wrapped beard under his chin and some overall improvments. I'll share it when i get it into photoshop.

[emerging]

another update. i think wont make the shadows as blakc though

[emerging]

and again lol i think im going to stick to this palette

[ThreeNineteen]

Still working on the last chow (so probably won't get to this one!) Some comments from this page:


Emerging---that is looking great!

JRamz75---I would try to find some reference for that front hand. It is difficult to decipher what it is doing.

Quinn ---Love that glow you have. IMO - the cut off near the knee is a little close to a joint, that is all I can say...you rock.

Snootchy---Beautiful brush work and palette.

Urötskidoji---Very confident pose. Some green could help to compliment the orange...?...just food for thought...

[Smolin]

I'ma toss my monkey in the ring. Sun Wukong struck me as a real show-off and a smart ass, so I tried to convey some of that in pose & face. I've really only worked out the pose & main clothing forms and started a bit on establishing values, so the plan is to bring it up quite a bit still. I've got to refine the hands & feet & face, and design the armor, and figure out the background. (Genius idea to leave that out -- my professors would've flogged me.)

[Niva.]

Just sketching, don't really intend to finish this.

But the topic inspired me I guess.

Coincidentally this is my first painting with CS5 which I just upgraded to last night. Had some issues with pressure sensitivity but it appears an older wacom driver fixed the problem (though it was only showing up in PS).

1099581

About 20 mins of sketching. It occurs to me he looks nothing like a monkey, I guess it's just the tail.

[Seablossom]

I haven't done any paintings in years. I need to get my chops back so I'm jumping in! Of all things, I pick a subject I'm not familiar with, and male to boot. Please be kind! :)

Haven't worked on the costume yet.

Everyone's is looking amazing!

http://i53.tinypic.com/2rh9s3q.jpg

[PokketMowse]

http://img268.imageshack.us/img268/5645/monkeyking.jpg

Got some flats done, still trying to get the cloud-trail to a path I like.

[emerging]

my friend who is chinese just bitched at me for putting the sign on my hero which is two totally different religions haha.. gona replace it with some more gold armor design

[Vaejoun]

@emerging: Feeling bad already ? I know what you mean ^^
But I am always looking forward for your works and after this CHOW, I think I improved a little and can understand better how you do yours.

Keep up the WIPS, its good to see this step by step, I am curious how this looks when you pump in the focal point and saturations.



I Did some more adjsutments.
Not quite as I want it but I cant figure out whats wrong... a flaw in the values ? Or too much bruchstrokes maybe...saturation ? Dunno.

[snootchy]

CrookedHorn: haha cool man glad u dig, i actually just updated a new mini tutorial on brush use (http://snootchy.blogspot.com/?zx=3ad48fe24e844ce8) and the newest brushes i'm using currently (keep trying to minimize the set to make it easier)! Also the previous brush set were not all mine, from various other sets just fyi. Here's the only brushes I'm currently using for this chow if you're interested or anyone else, CHOW_monkey_set (http://www.mediafire.com/?j9ass5cx3o7ldu3).

ThreeNineteen: Thanks, still trucking along with the pose haven't really thought about color scheme yet, are you doing this chow?

It occurs to me he looks nothing like a monkey, I guess it's just the tail.
I thoughts so too before i saw all these monkey rad sketches, figure I'm gonna just try to incorporate some human traits mixed with the monkey.

starting to heat up in here some really great development, keep pushing em fellas!

still mucking around with different pose ideas, starting to get a clearer idea of what i'm shooting for, next step to look for some refs and lighting schemes...

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[UCT]

as 'king of the no shows', Im getting fed up of how I approached this and might start again/sulk.

[Carnifex]

vaejoun - throw a colour adjustment layer on top and start playing around with it. or throw one colour on an overlay layer. right now the colours aren't quite working together,you need to unify them more. the connection between upper and lower arm seems abit weird aswell,where's the elbow?

edit: progress on mine. not quite happy with the colours yet.

[xLouisax]

Omg guys these are all looking really awesome.

Vaejoun That's looking awesome. I can't quite put my finger on what looks off with it tho either, for some reason I keep looking at the sky, so maybe it could be a different hue or less saturated? I dunno! :p

[AndreRuben]

Vaejoun thumbs up! great monkey mood!

finished traditional lines.. let me know what would you change.. i know somethings are a bit off and i will try to correct them on the digital version.

[monotony]

great updates everyone!
and thanks for the comments on mine.

when you said the face looked off and needed work I figured it might just look too unusual and not enough monkey/ape-ish.
so i repainted it and am currently detailing the whole thing up.
any better?

edit: seeing it here, I think I'll tone down the purple in the light parts of his fur a bit.

[CrookedHorn]

Vaejoun:: some helpful tips, i would flip your canvas and create a grey scale layer. this way you can check your values and see if the midtone/highlights patterns vibrate too much creating a visual confusion.
i personally really enjoy how your piece is turning out. i think some rim lighting might help in some of the darker areas of the piece. the grey scale image of your piece will help with this, it will reveal if the values of your figure and your background are too similar. the rim lighting can pop you figure off your background while still making the piece look cohesive.


hope this was helpful

[Vaejoun]

@Monotony:
I think some warm and more saturated brown in the eyes would be nice.

@Crooked Horn:
Thx a lot. Strangely I didnt see this when I mirrored the pic, but when I tilted it by 90° it became more clear.

So I did a lot of value tweaking, color adjustments and some painting over.
The yellow was really starting to get disturbing, so I replaced it by a red color.

I hope I get it in my head this time, that I reall dont start detailing before the pic is totally clear... Before that, just stay rough. And I will do some color and value studies, this is bothering me pretty much.

[Cameli]

So heres some more wip! Lovely entries till now!

[MasterTroglodyte]

Vaejoun — You and me both!!! I always jump into the details!!! Bah! Anwyay, I think you've done wonders on your monkeyking. Mine hasn't left the doghouse... Anyway I love how vibrant your colors are!

[SeanMcHaney]

Ok, so I feel really out classed by the rest of you, but here is my attempt where I am at now.

[Paolo13]

Well...my usual start...

[Mincx]

Changed my idea a little, let's see how this one goes

[SeanMcHaney]

Here is a quick tonal study, any suggestions you can offer would be great.

[ThreeNineteen]

snootchy I am thinking about joining in, still working on the pin up from the last chow.

[Carnifex]

seanmchaney - since your working in photoshop (assumingly),i'd first and foremost say scale down the image before you post it. around 800px length should do. as for the pic itself, think carefully about where you want your light to come from,and how every form is affected by it. i posted a link to a tutorial earlier in this thread that should help you aswell. good luck!

[LJS]

well...I ll give it a try.
Here is my start.
http://ljsabourin.com/Blog/wp-content/uploads/Monkeyking01.jpg

[Mincx]

A little more. Need to sort out the weird shadow and his necklace

[Carnifex]

progress...

[fudoki]

so much more to do... but now have basic colours and shapes down.

have an idea for the background just need to get some time to do it...

[JanJager]

Great entries so far.
Trying to put some warrior good into mine
Thanks for the advise Art4All

[Mincx]

Nearly there now. Crits appreciated!

[Paolo13]

Ooo looking all good!!! This is all for tonight. A lot to do, but I will try to finish it tomorow after work.

[sone_one]

carnifex thank you man, looking forward to your final

MasterTroglodyte uhm ...thank you :bashful:

snootchy thank you, i like yours aswell :).

CrookedHorn love the direction your new one is heading

Vaejoun thank you. well its supposed to be a dragon skull no ram, i hope is more obvious in this step (ive never drawn dragons seriously, quite clueless about ones skull). really like yours... the only thing thats bugging me is his head beeing cut off. (and i liked the yellow shirt better)

Urötskidoji thanks. if you feel like it, i would rethink the pose as its quite stiff now, overall i like it though.

Quinn Simoes nice o.0

emerging lovely! colors are looking a little monochromatic right now, especially the skin, but its great anyway, and the armor is rad! :)

PokketMowse i like this one alot!

Paolo13 might be the usual start, but its the usual quality aswell... admire your work.

Mincx cute lemur. i would add some more accessories and maybe 2-3 lemurs peeking around those rocks, since those are hardcore-herd-animals. and right now you got 2 pretty bad tangents where the mountain line touches his tail and the tail touches his head. i would lower the horizon putting the mountains at about the height of his crotch and make the arch of his tail larger (for example, please take it with a grain of salt ;)). good work.


heres an update on mine. after recieving some nice feedback from a friend, i changed his stance. and i hope the skull is more dragonesque now.. going to add scales around it to emphazise that more.

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[LJS]

http://ljsabourin.com/Blog/wp-content/uploads/Monkeyking04-copy.jpg
Sone_One: Superb rendering so far...the paterns on his head are looking sweet... There is something strange with the forearm holding the fruit and the red drapery looks a bit stiff.

Vaejoun: I think I prefered the yellow version. Beautifull job.

[MCL!on]

hi, nice work everyone!

here are some wip images..
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[jordyskateboardy]

Hi all,

The description just gave me such a brilliant smile that i just couldnt resist painting this character. Entries looking awesome so far!

[MCL!on]

final..

1099901

[PieMonster]

Wip sketch, lots of really cool pieces here!

[emerging]

some more progress. introducing a little more color. I do agree that it was desaturated too much. Any tips would be appreciated!

[CrookedHorn]

emerging:: man that armor is siiiiiiiiiiick!

[Carnifex]

sone_one: agree with slj,i think it might be too long,and you've got some unfortunate lining up with his shoulder plate and the hand there.
emerging - i'd pull his left foot forward abit,right now both feet being on the same hight makes him look unstable.

[Niva.]

Emerging your character, armor, clothing and the overall colors/atmosphere is awesome. I'm also thinking he looks a tad unstable though. I think there's an issue with the legs, especially his right leg, the lower portion looks very short from the knee down. Hope this helps.

MC!on: Awesome work dude, very classy looking and I like the style.

Vaejoun: Love the new update, it's definitely for the better.

PieMonster: Great looking guy, not sure about the small twig he's standing on though.

Arthur: Great motion in your piece, love the focus you've got going on with the details on his face/head.

JanJager: Incredible looking artwork, colors are working so well right now... wish I could do that. I say detail it out and it's ready to go.

[emerging]

carnifex and niva thanks guys just wondering if you guys are talking about the same leg? and if so i am still confused which one it is lol - the one that's stretching out? or the one that's bent in the knee?

[Carnifex]

i'm talking about the one that's outstretched,and he's talking 'bout the other. n' he's right,it's abit too short as a whole,or possibly attaching too low.

[emerging]

i'm talking about the one that's outstretched,and he's talking 'bout the other. n' he's right,it's abit too short as a whole,or possibly attaching too low.

Ohh i was going for the baggy pants so the crotch area does not nearly go up to his actual crotch.. anything i can do to portray it better?

[Niva.]

Ohh i was going for the baggy pants so the crotch area does not nearly go up to his actual crotch.. anything i can do to portray it better?

I see about the pants, it's going to be hard to do that given the aromor, perhaps emphasize exactly where the knee is and drape the armor on the other side of that leg? You've put a lot of work into it at this stage so that would kind of suck.

[Carnifex]

hmm,thought so. his knee is higher up,so maybe have the folds go more directly in that direction?

[SaintLConcept]

@monotony, u have some great details on your piece, great one
@emerging, i'm getting tired to say this to you... but that is wicked!! lol
@carnifex,thanks a lot for the useful tips and links, i always have trouble to bring life to my piece cause of my dull colours, will try to improve it more
@sakuranym, thanks for the advice , is that why your piece are always colourful, btw got any tips on some great colour theory tutorials? thanks


i think i'm done , not sure if its looking good or not, any tips could be useful, maybe i can still tweak a bit tonight maybe not lol

[fdisk]

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[Carnifex]

art4all - well,it's still alittle flat right now,because you have two lightsources coming from either side of the picture,but you're shading the figure as if they were both coming from behind. think more about the forms and how the light wraps around them. the environment is gonna need some light aswell,to tie in correctly.

[snootchy]

art4all: carnifex hit it on the money in terms of crit, also i think the character is a bit small for a chow, maybe a zoom in a tad more to the character

threenineteen: u totally should, cool though ur still working up the last one, i totally should have avoided submitting on that last one haha, did it in last minute haste

crazy good turn out for this chow and so many great entries developing, keep up the hardwork peeps!

update on some more ideas, i'm most likely leaning towards the second sketch, like the perspective although i see the foreshortened hind leg and arm giving me mucho trouble...

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[SeanMcHaney]

Ok here is where I am at so far. I am not the greatest when it comes to digital coloring so I hope you will forgive me if it is not up to snuff. Any comments and critiques are welcome, I am here to get better!

[SwitchbladeArchitect]

hey fellas,

looking good I am going for a more contemporary version of the monkey king-

streetpunk-metalhead with some magic.....

[reginanegra]

Sean well the main thing that jumps out at me is there is something wrong with his thigh muscles... actually it looks like i am looking at his butt....if you want to portray him anatomicaly correct (and manly:P) there should be a bulge at the crotch.

[Kafka Dreams]

I didn't think I'd have time to participate this week, but we only had a half day today and I was able to crack out some ideas and come up with a line drawing.

Before I start coloring it, I could use any criticism.

I'm going for the mischevious monkey running amok in heaven. Wanted a cartoony feel to it.

Any suggestions?

[Carnifex]

switchbladearchitect - i can't help but think that he looks like solid snake,if he was a monkey...:)

[Kafka Dreams]

SeanMcHaney I agree about the oddly shaped thigh muscles and lack of a package, but it also looks like the proportions in his face are off. His mouth looks out of line with his nose.

I'm not real big on the way his right arm gets cut off by the edge of the paper. It gives him a very unbalanced feel.

When coloring pay attention to the fact that you are rendering a three dimensional form. A lot of your shading is inconsistent, especially on the arms and chest.

[MasterTroglodyte]

Here's my WIP... I've been wrestling w/ another something this whole week but tried to start over.. We'll see if I can get it done, eh?

[LJS]

Nice work everyone. Such a rough competition. It's awesome!

So I'm getting near the final desing. Time for a setup then rendering.
Sorry if I offend anyone with this more 'caricaturale' version of monkey king.
But I can't help it!

http://ljsabourin.com/Blog/wp-content/uploads/Monkeyking05-copy.jpg

[Carnifex]

ljs - i like it,but i'd change the hand he's standing on to really being flat on the ground,or all fingers outstretched for support. while this pose is somewhat possible (albeit usually with two hands), like this it just looks to fantastical and unstable.

[AndreRuben]

Art4all your character's pose is awesome!

heres my wip

[LJS]

I agree with you Carnifex. A standard human wouldn't stand a second in this position. The way you propose it is what i did in early versions. But I assume the fact that he's a caricature. I guess I'll have to make it clear with the setup I'm going for. By the way...isn't he supposed to be supernatural. I guess a semi god could do that. I putted him in this position to gave him a more clownesque character. He's moking everyone...like a real monkey expression.

[Martheart]

Finals thread is up people! (http://conceptart.org/forums/showthread.php?t=200597) Post your awesome work with wips there :)

[LJS]

Quick mins color setup...i'll try something else...
more to come
http://ljsabourin.com/Blog/wp-content/uploads/Monkeyking08-copy.jpg

[CrookedHorn]

might need to redraw the form and re sculpt. at least i found my colors. might help to have a back ground too....


LJS:: loving the colors! and the pine freshener is a nice accessory piece

[LJS]

Another quick mins color

A more trad way
http://ljsabourin.com/Blog/wp-content/uploads/Monkeyking09-copy.jpg
So which one will it be?

[Paolo13]

At work one of the other artist was not to happy about my cropping, so I decided to enlarge the canavas but to concentrate on the right side, becouse of time problems, I will then try to finish the wole pice and put it on my sketchbook later.

edit. small update....what did I put myself in

[emerging]

im thinking if i should make the bg this color instead which one you like more guys?

[Paolo13]

@ Emerging> the second one makes more sense, the yelowish light that is even reflected on the costume. Did you get to understand the leg problem? (sry bad english)

[LJS]

Emerging: I prefer the more green-greyish one. Will you depict a dramatic scenery?...we need some blood...fire...people running everywhere...a war...;)

WIP working on the background.
http://ljsabourin.com/Blog/wp-content/uploads/Monkeyking10-copy.jpg

[emerging]

thanks Paolo and LJS. My idea was to make it a sky so i would render the clouds and stuff since monkey king traveled on a cloud. Technically i could make the brownish background look like a sky too but this is the look i am going for (see below).

[Koh]

I'm really impressed with everyone's concepts so far!

This will probably be the first chow I'll ever finish, haha, I'm really having fun.

What I'm working on so far.

http://dw.threelitegraphics.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/illustration5.jpg

[Paolo13]

Emerging: i did not understand it was the sky, then the first one mekes perfect sense. I tought it was some sort of rocky background with a small opening on the top.! LOL

[emerging]

Paolo yeah haha thanks its cuz i havent worked on the bg at all yet so it just looked like some abstract colors here is another version - what if i make a combo of two colors?

[Nightblue]

Don't really have the time but it's such a fun topic :| will see how far I get this time. Kicking it off with a lunch sketch.

[caanan02]

Well, this is my second version of this. I did a complete version - with progress layout and all, but I'm diggin the new direction. So here's what I have so far. hopefully I can knock it out in time. Anyway, enjoy what have so far.

http://img152.imageshack.us/img152/1695/screenshot20101112at657.png

[IDP]

So many quality entries.

Finally got round to putting some detail into mine but still got a lot to do.

1100525

[emerging]

doing final touches now I love chow because there are just so many people who are so talented! I feed off of that inspiration in a positive way! haha

[ENBE]

Really enjoying the work guys, might jump on the band wagon a try and get something out in time. Inspiring.

[Kafka Dreams]

Not sure if I'll finish in time. Here are the colors I'm working on for the monkey. Lord and lady haven't gotten a start on yet.

[PokketMowse]

http://img180.imageshack.us/img180/5645/monkeyking.jpg

Noodle Thief Monkey King.

[SeanMcHaney]

no update for today, I will try and work on it more tomorrow I had classes all day today. I just wanted to say that you guys and gals are truely awe inspireing with your work.

[snootchy]

great updates all, will get to crits after work tomorrow if i get some time but looks like everyone's on a great track!

bout midnight here and got to get back to work, oy vey and have to work a double tomorrow hopefully be able pick this up again and finish on sunday, till then keep up the hardwork

bit of revision on older sketch and the three side by side, deciding which route to go...

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1100597

[ekobor]

Where I'm at:

http://img691.imageshack.us/img691/7921/sdfkjgbsk.png

[Vaejoun]

@Caanan: Nice shot, would like to see more, though this special lightsituation might get kina uncomfortable, because he is totally in the shadow.

@IDP: A little more contrast maybe, other than that its a nice work
@emerging: Amazing job on the armor
@Kafka Dreams: Its easier to get an overall idea first. Try to bring down the whole picture before you start detailing (which I should do more often as well ^^) This will prevent you from painting a piece and THEN realizing that it totally doesnt work with the big or another character...
@Pokketmowse: Love the noodel idea ^^, only thing to crit:The white wind path of the cloud stands out a little too much, especially behind him. Reduce the contrast on that part to move it more into the bg.
@Snootchy: I prefer the 2nd in the line, strong contrast and a nice and dynamic shape. I like it.

Mine: Finally finnished after working waaaaaaaaaay too long on this one. I totally need to get things done quicker.

http://www.conceptart.org/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=1100656&stc=1&d=1289644103

[Koh]

Not sure if I'm feeling my background, but it's simple.

http://dw.threelitegraphics.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/illustration5color.jpg

Still some stuff I'd like to change, I might blend the colors in and maybe change the face before this is done.

[ekobor]

As done as I am doing for this sketch group thingie...
http://img339.imageshack.us/img339/7921/sdfkjgbsk.png

Moving it over to Pixel Joint for more pixel-based critique.

Thank you for the idea~

[TheAlchemy]

I hope I have time to finish

http://cs10250.vkontakte.ru/u45770173/115118915/y_f7220b94.jpg

[PokketMowse]

http://img251.imageshack.us/img251/2045/monkeykingg.jpg

Lightened up the cloud trail a bit, is that better?

[Maurice D]

Well, this is the sketch I did for the monkey king contest, this is my first entry.

know it's a little late, but tell me what you think.

[Paolo13]

I can not put to much time into this one, busy week end, but I will work on it a bit more and post on the final what I have.

[emerging]

amazing work guys! finally finished mine lol hope to join next one again!

[MasterTroglodyte]

Ack! Couldn't finish... but then it's been a while since I did that... still, I think I'll finish this for my portfolio... Critique if you want to... Great work all around!

[Seablossom]

There's just no way I'm getting this done in time for tomorrow... But I was hoping for some feedback. It was almost painful how long it took! So rusty!

I am floored by the work here!

http://i56.tinypic.com/2e0tk3q.jpg

[Smolin]

Here's my latest update. There's still a lot I want to do to this monkey before I can get it off my back. :blah: Feedback is always appreciated!

MasterTroglodyte: I like what I can see of the design so far, but it's really dark.
Snootchy: All three of those are great. The middle one seems the most novel to me -- it doesn't match my mental image of Sun Wukong, but maybe that's a good thing.
Emerging and Vaejoun: Just awesome, awesome stuff.
IDP, also coming along awesomeliciously -- looking forward to seeing you finish it up.
PokketMowse, yours holds a special place in my heart -- a really great comedic representation.

[Onnophris]

First time Chow for me:) was fun. Started it Friday night, finished it as much as I could Saturday night... I'll try and start earlier next time so I can get some input.

Started with this
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Ended up with this
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[CrookedHorn]

yeah not gonna be able to make the deadline, gotta love working on sundays.

anyway, everyone did a great job this week and there are some really amazing pieces that been created for this CHOW.

good luck to everyone in the polls.

[Seablossom]

So this is how far I got. Any feedback?

Good luck on the polls everyone!

http://i54.tinypic.com/14wceg4.jpg

[AndreRuben]

doing this every week is turning out to be a solid practice method!
thanks all of you guys who keep making me want to come and check the Chow threads everytime i grab a computer with internet!

here's my final

[Paolo13]

The final thread has some solid entrys..can not pick my favourite yet but I must say good work to all.

Ciao

[ianthegeek]

I think attempting to start and finish in one day was a little ambitious. Especially considering how much peace and quiet I don't get on this sacred day:) But I would like some crits on what I have so far if that's ok.

And good luck to those that did finish.

[snootchy]

really great round everyone, liked all the concepts!

ran outta time, only got an hour more to work on this, here's final...

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[Mincx]

@sone_one: Didn't have chance to get back to you before the submission but thanks for the advice! Didn't have enough time to add the other lemurs but I lowered the mountains and heightened his tail and it looks a lot better. Thanks! :)