C.O.W. #227. Islandback - Wips Thread

[Si_Swe]

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For more info and details about the rules go here:

http://www.concepyart.org/forums/showthread.php?t=110879


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ROUND #227: Islandback

topic:

ROUND#227, Islandback



Hey folks, it's me again and it's time to think about moving habitats. For this 2-weeker, think, the Atlas of creatures. Carrying the weight of a world, or at least the weight of some terrain on their shoulders... back... shell? Whatever they happen to have. Anyway, the focus this week is a creature that is either so massive that it carries an small island of terrain on it's back, or a creature which has otherwise evolved in such a way that a habitat has formed atop it. What kind of habitat it holds is for you to decide, but it must hold some form of life, be that plant, animal, fungus or a whole ecosystem. The world is your oyster to create, but create it quick, before it wanders off...

Round Requirements:
- The creature must have a clearly defined "back"

- The creature must carry or host some form of terrain on their back

- The terrain on the creature's back must support life

Deadline:

September 7th, 9:00pm PST (GMT -8 )

finals go here... http://conceptart.org/forums/showthread.php?t=226785

[luherc]

I finally caught one of these at the beginning! Can't wait to try it out.

So you mentioned shell, but I'm curious as to if a hermit crab shell counts as a clearly defined back? I'm not sure if I'm going that direction yet.

[Si_Swe]

A hermit crab's shell is, yes, technically a creature's back.

[RayTwicket]

awesome topic, I'm gonna try to do this one, there's a hurricane coming this weekend so I should have some time to sit in front of the computer.

[hekatoncheir]

So uh, hey guys.

This is definitely my entry. No doubt about it. <cough>

http://img.pokemondb.net/artwork/torterra.jpg


In all seriousness, I'm loving this week's creature. :bounce:

[Grimstitch]

here's what I've got so far - before I go any farther, does an enclosed space settlement fit the topic well enough, Si Swe?

[Barefoot]

I'm not great at showing scale, so what I might do is an animal that allows itself to be used as a 'base' for bees, the bees get to pollinate more stuff and the creature gets free delicious honey, num num.

[DaN-MaN]

My idea for now...
I'll post updates :)

[sevira]

couldn't believe that this topic has never been covered in previous rounds
I mean this is some sort of classic, the huge whale/turtle/whatever with a habitat on its back
just think about the discworld (http://www.allmystery.de/i/t1CfVHC_Paul_Kidby_-_Disque_Monde_-_The_Great_A_.jpg) by Terry Pratchett, the whale/fish with an island on its back (http://bestiary.ca/beastimage/img4459.jpg) (which actually goes back to the medieval times) or as a more recent example the lion-turtle (http://images.wikia.com/avatar/images/a/a3/Lion_turtle.png)from the series Avatar



since there is only little room for creativity this time I decided to focus more on the artwork and keep the concept generic and simple
(seems as if this is the only thing that matters in here anyway, yes I'm whiny again)

trying to focus on details to enhance the size and a good focal point this time

Edit: update

[ColdDegree]

*sigh* sorry for being inactive :L school started so i gotta start studying and everything i'll try to paint during freetime
btw sevira uber awesome so far <:

[jPerols]

Ah, I've been thinking for a while that I would attend a C.O.W but never had the time. But hopefully I'll be able to finish this one.

Started on this a while ago, just to get the feel of it.

http://i226.photobucket.com/albums/dd34/KnifeSalesman/islandback.jpg

[Si_Swe]

Grimstitch - I need a little more definition to really tell what's going on there, but it looks like it's probably fine.

[TheAlmightyPillock]

Can the terrain be man made? I was thinking of a city built on the back of some gaint creatue?

[sevira]

@jPerols
sweet creature
it almost looks like a younger version of mine
or at least they are related

don't know how far you are by now but I would try to correct the stone on its back and align it vertical
right now it's almost looking like its falling off

[Emil_J.]

@ jPerols: cool design, read really well.

@ sevira: I like it. Right now the focal point is the front leg, perhaps you could add some more focus to the head by making the leg darker and the head lighter.

Here is what i'm working on at the moment. Im going for an ape like creature. hmmm my only concern is that it might be too human, though i will try to make it as least human as possible.

[Rob Powell]

cool stuff so far...
not a lot of time so here's what I'm working with, will add island-y stuff to it's back later on...
1309508

[Grimstitch]

update - quite a bit happier with this version

[Si_Swe]

Fumble - Right now your proportions and pose are far too humanoid. You'll need to really push the ape-qualities further in order the piece to qualify.

Grimstich - Okay, I can see a bit better what's going on now, this is acceptable.

[sevira]

... write a really long post
somehow browser crashes...
everything lost...
fuckit...


@Fumble
you were right, thx


to everyone: focal point now on the creatures head?
have been working much too long on it and think I'm too used to it right now

next steps will be jungle, trees and trying to bring back some texture to the creature
then I will think about some details like a village or something made by man to put near the trees above its head

here the update

[Noun]

The leg still stands out to me... I think it's because the light values on the leg are such a contrast to the deep shadow of the underbelly.

The lightness of the head makes less of a contrast with the surrounding sky (also light). So maybe the sky can get darker near the head to create a stronger value contrast, or maybe you make the leg darker so its value range is closer to that of the underbelly. Or you could make the small details more noticeable on the head and make the leg more loose so to speak.

It's not all bad though, in terms of composition the curve of the leg draws my eye towards the jungle on his back. Keep it up, looks great :confident

[Verehin]

Cool topic! Im in =)

Si_Swe
My badge looks "little" weird =D

[Si_Swe]

Sorry about that, Verehin, forgot to set your user title to the html-reading setting.

[Gorromog]

This is a large zeppelin like creature. It provides save nesting grounds for birds on a small patch of forest on its back. The birds in return feed it with anything they can find from the forests and jungles it flies over.

[sevira]

trees...
y u so mean to me Щ (ﾟДﾟ)Щ

@noun
better now?
darker sky and I expanded the jungle on it's back and kept the trees over its head in the shadow to create a contrast that should be stronger than that of the leg and the underbelly

@verehin
can't wait to see what you come up with this time

@everyone else
nice ideas, excited to see the progress

anyway, some minor and some major fixes,
going for some texture now to start with coloring it soon

I'm really unhappy with the upper part (sky + trees) suggestions how to fix it?
hit me with your crit pls

[Si_Swe]

sevira - A few suggestions for the overall piece:
- Render the trees the way you are at the bottom. You seem to be rendering the trees on the creature's back in a different way, let the foliage form the same way you're forming it on the ground.
- Get the birds higher up, and add more of 'em. They will help create activity in the upper reaches, and will give the trees more believability.
- More atmosphere. The creature should be high enough that those trees are going to have less contrast than the canopy below, particularly lighten up the tone of the shadowed areas up there.
- Finally, get the perspective correct (either atmospherically or form-wise) on the creature itself. The creature seems to stretch much further on it's underside than the actual back of the creature does. This would be remedies by one of a few solutions: foreshorten the underside of the torso more so it and the treeline are more cohesive; lighten up the back legs (see how the shadow is darker than the trees around it, but the tones up close show the creature as being lighter than the trees? it doesn't make sense) to push them further into the background; or bring the legs further foreward to correct the torso length as well as removing the awkward shadow vs. trees tonal war.

Hope that helps.

[lkjhgfdsa]

giant mudcrabesque

[Ricardo Robles]

This round i´m in again :)
Seems there will be amazing entries, you´re killing it guys.
Sevira, Si Swe gave you some very valuable solutions, specially concerning the perspective. You have to force the botom view much more. Also the size of the trees is bothering me, they make the creature looks like it´s not much big, but maybe you were looking for that. Also the head/face is a bit unclear for me, dunno if it´s looking sideways or it just has one frontal eye. I´m confused with that nose/shoulder.. anyways the design looks interesting!
lkjhgfdsa, I like where you go with it, it looks really giant and the shape is interesting. Maybe you need to force the perspective a bit more, and perhaps it will be needing stronger legs to hold that weight. looking forward to see the pincers!
jperols I like it a lot, and i believe that sloping rock gives a nice movement sense!
Rob Powell nice one, maybe a more generic concept but let´s see where it takes you.
Gorromog the idea looks super, I can imagine that fat flying fish moving the fins slowly while floating:D

I´ll probably go with some kind of extraterrestrial-futuristic thing, let´s see if i can post some wips.

[Rob Powell]

sevira: looks neat so far, not much I can really add that hasn't been said before, fix the comp/focus a bit and fix some of those perspective issues

DaN-MaN: add some more creature underwater, if you notice on many bouyant object they tend to have a majority of their mass under water (unless its completely full of air or paper thin), don't forget to reference

Fumble: basically what Si said, also try to incorporate that island feel to it a bit better, although it is still early yet

jperols: cool idea, I like the anklyosaur like design, I think the rock looks fine on his back, but maybe give him some more support there so it gives him a better center of gravity

Grimstitch: cool space colony idea, still early but try to add some interest to the colony on the back, perhaps giving it some large structures or whatnot, or a large biosphere or something or other

Gorromog: this idea has a lot of potential so it'll be interesting to see where you take this

lkjhgfdsa: I like how you portrayed the creature's scale here, and all the birds really adds extra life to the picture as well, try adding some larger legs on the sides on the creature just above the other legs, it would give it more support and add some extra balance, because all that weight would easlity make him topple over

update/where I'm at...I originally had some trees in there, but took em out simply because they looked like crap, having some issues giving it that underwater-feel, will have to hunt for some useful references, actually I've been referring to the Buoy Cow topic quite a bit, since a lot of those creature would be in the same situation as mine floating on the water surface, I think I got an idea on how to fix this, still messing with the idea of having the ship in there or not, may put behind so it doens't take away the focus so much...always open to suggestions, though
1310674

[Grimstitch]

unless anyone has any serious crits, I think I'm about done with mine.

decided against making him live in space - instead he swims in the atmosphere.

[sevira]

big thanks Si_Swe
(and to the others as well of course)

re rendered the trees, added some birds, tried to fix the perspective by getting rid of some contrast
even though I don't think I will be able to fix everything
I already learned my lesson not to jump in on the details before the rough values are right

oh and Ricardo, damn you :D
after I read your crit I started to see the nose as a shoulder
and it was supposed to be looking sideways
should be a bit better now I think

@lkjhgfdsa
somehow I think the front should be be bit nearer to the viewer
looks a bit flat to me right now

@Rob
I really hope you plan to add small fish like you did on the deep sea monster, you did a great job with them and I think they would work much better than the whales or a ship

@Grimstitch
lovely how your creature really improves over each step
but I wouldn't call it finished if I were you, there is still enough time until deadline to add some details

[Grimstitch]

Ha, thanks for not letting me off easy sevira - will see what I can do!

[Leoneart]

Very interresting challenge and great job everyone !

[Stimpy]

Hi all iv not posted on here in ages!

been spending alot of time over at CGHUB. Anyway heres were im going with is topic.

http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn50/stimpy_2008/worldcreaturecolossus2.jpg

http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn50/stimpy_2008/worldcreaturecolossus2.jpg

[N3rv4]

Idea caught my eye, here's a rough. I was thinking Super evolved land jellyfish with an arid ecosystem on its back. I'd love to hear any comments/questions/criticisms.

[luherc]

Please forgive the stamped on trees in the foreground. I want to finish the creature before I clean up the background, if I have time to anyway. The idea was that it basically vacuums everything up with it's mouth, including any trees, dirt, seeds, critters not fast enough to get away, and then those things eventually merges into it's shell.

There will be more stuff on the back.

http://i54.tinypic.com/2qn2gw9.jpg

[lkjhgfdsa]

sigh...

[Rob Powell]

grimstitch: have to be honest I'm a little dissapointed that you didn't stick with the space colony, because it was a unique idea, but this works just as well, you should def keep working on this and keep adding more details to it, perhaps add a little life on it's back, like some herds of animals or flocks of birds and stuff, or maybe it raises it's young on it's back in that lake? there's an idea...man I gotta save these ideas for my own stuff, lol

sevira: do not worry the fish will be included;) your creature's turning out pretty good, the head and shoulder still look joined, but perhaps adding a tincy little bit of rim lighting on the far shoulder to give it a little form and depth, because I can just see it poking out there but at first glance it isn't too obvious that it is part of it's shoulder

Stimpy: some exceptional rendering, add some king of a gradient to get rid of all that blackness in the background, something to give it more of a cosmic spacey feel, also it doesn't really look like a creature at the moment more than it doesn some kind of celestial structure, give it some eyes, that should fix that(but not big eyes because that would look rather odd, but maybe some small eyes dotted along it's head), and make those tentacle-y thingies at the front more lively to show that there's some life in that thing.

N3rv4: interesting start, though I'm not getting a jellyfish vibe from it but it still works as a feasible creature with stuff on it's back, interesting to see what you'll do with it

luherc: i'll forgive you, just don't do it again, lol. atm the composition is a little wonky, small things like this can fix it easily take the tree at the top and tilt it in the opposite direction, composition kinda works a little like a halfpipe, with the eyes being the skater you get these large curves and your eyes like to scope back and forth through these curves, add some foreground elements in the bottom right corner it'll once again improve the composition and also improve depth in the image.

lkjhgfdsa: just keep rockin dude!:)

[foofoo]

Hi. Always wanted to somethig like this, so decided join to in for this round.
Here are some wips. Just more polishing if i have the time.

1311921
1311922
1311924

@lkjhgfdsa - liking your concept. I think the underside could use more shadow, so that it looks more like the underside. Just nit picking :P.

[Grimstitch]

Rob Powell, thanks for all the ideas. Changed it mainly for aesthetic reasons, and I was starting to feel like people would think it didn't fit the topic well enough if it was in space (and then Stimpy has had that idea too, so it's just as well). I like the idea to add animals etc., but not sure the scale of my guy will really allow it. I mean, those are mountains on his back - you aren't supposed to be able to make out anything too small. Might add some snowy peaks or something.

[ryansumo]

Hey all, got a bunch of WIPS here. Trying to go for something a little less massive, but enough to hold a small farming community on its back. Explored different ideas in the first batch of WIPS, including a floating creature whose feces were harvested to generate electricity and motion. Decided to go for the snail concept (number4) and recreate a tiny farming village that's created rice terraces on its massive shell. I'm having difficulty developing that idea further, and I'm not sure which thumbnail to go with in my second batch of WIPs. ANy thoughts would definitely help!

[ryansumo]

Hm, my second batch of WIPS didn't upload, let me try that again.

[jPerols]

Great job everyone.

Started some rendering before the colours:

http://i226.photobucket.com/albums/dd34/KnifeSalesman/islandback3.jpg

[Grimstitch]

ryansumo gotta say - like #2 images best in both of those posts.

N3rv4 - yeah those legs don't say jellyfish to me either - how about some really strong, trunk-like wavy tentacles instead? and can't help but point out that your overall shape is really similar to lkjhgfdsa's, so you might want to do something to make yours stand out.

luherc agree with rob about the composition, but it's a sound idea. if you have them on separate layers, perhaps clear out your background until you have your creature design a little more finalized. make him the focus, and then work out a complimentary background later.

as for mine - better with birds?

[Tarsier]

If I have time I might do this... here's a first idea...

[sevira]

sweet heaven this round is getting stronger and stronger
since I have nothing really new to show and feel somehow stuck I will just give some crit

also, Verehin, where is your creature? :D

@FooFoo
as you have proven last round you really have a hand for light
and your concept is far better this time :P
just try to push that sand vs. rock contrast a bit more, maybe by paying the sand that is running/falling from its mouth a bit more attention

@Ryansumo
love them all
in terms of composition #1 of the first image is my favorite
this would look awesome as a night scene with the moon as a lightsource from behind with a cold white blueish light and a warm lightsource hanging from that fishing rod
excited how you will manage all the details since your concept is pretty much based on them

@jperols
stone looks better now imo
not much else to say because your rendering is awesome so far, just make sure you don't miss the deadline ;)

@Grimstitch
see, another improvement ;P

@Tarsier
welcome ;)
the legs and the head aren't really fitting if you ask me

[luherc]

Thanks for the crit! I tried to maneuver the tree about, but I had already started tweaking and painting on top of it almost immediately after posting. I definitely saw what you meant though. Next time I won't procrastinate so much so I can get the crit earlier in the process.

Unfortunately, I probably won't have time to finish this now, but I'm glad I participated anyway. I've been dying for crits all summer now that I graduated.

Ryansumo: My vote is on the #2 snail. I like the angle, frontal view isn't something I see much in an animal shaped like that.

Grimstitch: Better with birds. Gives a nice contrast with another animal and makes it look more lively.

Tarsier: It does look a little awkward. If you wanted a comically huge land mass i have a few suggestions. You can shrink the legs to match the neck, makes it look like the creatures wearing a giant piece of armor. You could enlarge the head with the tiny neck, but I'd make the neck short and almost not visible. Or thickening the neck to match the body and stick that tiny face at the end of it.

http://i54.tinypic.com/2rqhk7p.jpg

[AboutaDirk]

This is a gargantuan creature with rock-like skin, that likes to sleep -preferably partially submerged in lakes- for literally aeons. This particular one ended up crashing into a huge subterranean lake, and decided to sleep there for the past few hundred years. Waking up just now and finding a settlement built on its back, he decides to get his move on and find a quieter place to hibernate.

Dunno if he's too pleased about being woken up. Possibly the excavators dug a wee bit too deep!

[Lege1]

Really wanted to at least start something. As you all can see it's really rough at this point...I am just diving in to this and having fun with it. We'll see if I can make it to finals.....:yayca:

[yongs]

@jPerols - hey i like your man, looking awesome.
@Grimstitch - i kinda like the birds, puts life into it.
@Tarsier - the head's a little too small man imo. but good start!
@luherc - he kinda looks like he is squashed by the weight, maybe could help him up a little to show that he can actually sustain the weight. but its a pity u can't have time to finish it. nice so far :)
@AboutaDirk - show us more!
@Lege1 - nice start! keep them coming! btw the right foot's looking slightly awkward..maybe its the acute angle near the ankle? (man that rhymed lol)

Okay here's mine…crates r welcomed! he looks kinda weird imo…is it the pose?
1312615

[Kobe Sek Yong Kai]

idea base on walrus with tropical island, trying to create more friendly creature that you would like to stay on "it's island", let it bring you around... fallen coconut tree
become a living place...

[jPerols]

And some color. It doesn't look as big as I want it so I'll have to push that further.

http://i226.photobucket.com/albums/dd34/KnifeSalesman/islandback5.jpg

[Si_Swe]

Man, people are finishing fast. You realize you have a week left, right?

JPerols - Atmospheric perspective applied to the creature and something to more readily identify scale (a man-made structure or figure) should do the trick.
Lege1 - You can totally make it to the finals, you have until the 7th. You may want to define that foreground a bit more, it blends easily into the mid-ground.
Kobe Sek Yong Kai - Good start but the actual creature is really difficult to discern. I can't really see it's design much.

[sevira]

somehow I think I'm not the only one who didn't read the "2weeker" and "deadline 7th..."
totally thought this was a normal 1 week cow

[Verehin]

sevira
haha) tnx for attension, but now I have just ruff lines >.>
Like ur creature!

jPerols
Cool perspective and rendering!

[foofoo]

An update!

@jperols - Really nice rendering!
@kobe - finish it up! :P

1312830

Thanks for the suggestion sevira :). Really nice works coming along, gj ppl!

[ryansumo]

jPerols: That's looking pretty damn good to me!

I'm very unhappy with this, and I may just scrap the snail idea altogether. I feel like none of the nice shapes i found in my thumbnails are coming together. It could just be all my visual elements are so scattered, but if anyone has crits I'd sure appreciate them.

[Rob Powell]

foofoo: a more interesting concept this time, I like the dragons you added in there, shows this guy lives in a more fantasy world.

ryansumo: some really cool thumbnails you've got here. 3 is basically the first thing that came to my mind when I saw this topic, the snails are cool too reminds me of Dr. Dolittle (the original), and that bloated fih is pretty cool too.

jperols: brilliant rendering so far. Eager to see this finished.

Grimstitch: I like the birds. and I nice way to show them with them getting lost in the creature's scale.

Tarsier: the small head just isn't working with that huge bulky body. And play around with the values a bit as well, cuz atm the shell has almost the same tone as the background which makes it's overall silhoette a little hard to make out at first.

luherc: looking good, try to push the form a bit more on the creature's skin a bit, it looks very flat down there.

AboutaDirk: still a bit rough atm, but I have a hard time seeing that islandback/terrainon the back on your creature

Lege1: Good start, there are some anatomy issues that need to be addressed at this stage, I'd also recommend not putting a lot of detail oon the guy, and make him super dark to push him way forward to give the creature that extra scale

yongs: his head look very awkward, I believe it supposed to be turned sideways but the neck doesn't show that, use some reference images to try and fix that

Kobe Sek Yong Kai: Nice start, you seem to have a nice stylistic way of painting too, so I will look forward to seeing this finished

1 week left? missed that in the brief...but I'm already finished so what the heck am I gonna do for a week?
.
.
.
oh well here's some detail shots of my final image
1312867

[Grimstitch]

I know there's a week left, but I'm getting totally sick of looking at this thing! :)

rob powell your creature looks oddly likeable and friendly!

jperols for scale, maybe a tiny ship there on the water?

[J-Sun]

Awesome Work guys!
:yayca:


Here's Mine:

[Lege1]

Yongs: Thanx man! I am trying to put something together here =) Yeah I re-evaluated that right foot hope it looks better in the new post mosdef. Nice rhyme by the way!

Si Swe: Mosdef dude, I am trying to make it, lol. Been so caught up with work, I am sure you know how it can get. Good call on the foreground thing, I am definitely looking over that now. Thanx much!

Rob Powell: I am looking over the anatomy now and I hope I have been able to clean it up more than what I had previously. I am taking the dude out all together for now, I might put him back in but that other one looked retarded to me. Thanks on the crit =)

***I'll see if I can get a chance to post some crits too....just trying to make the entry on this one for now....

[lkjhgfdsa]

@ jPerols - The horn is intersecting with the line of the rock formation in the background - if I my suggest either extending it slightly past the edge line or receding it back just slightly? I know that having lines stop on top of each other like that was considered a ‘no no’ at uni and in animation as it flattens objects together and can reduce depth of field.

[Verehin]

Roams through dying , burned-out lands, looking for signs of life.

[ryansumo]

I feel a bit frustrated with this, I'm not sure if it's visually interesting at all and if I should just scrap it. :|

[Lege1]

RyanSumo: If you're having any doubts about your concept or illustrative layout, you should definitely try re-evaluating both. Have you tried the thumbnail approach? This is often a very good way to get a lot of ideas down quickly and gives you an opportunity to pick and choose what you'd like to move further forward with. Thumbnailing digitally is cool but I think it's more effective to actually go the traditional route with this. I like using pieces of 8x11" computer paper and a mechanical pencil to get out ideas. Once down you can either re-draw it nicely or just scan, or take a digital photo to get the work back into the computer. Moral of the story is don't settle for less. Also, I see you have a turtle like creature so it may be good to reference turtles or some reptilian species to better detail out the construction of your creature.....just suggestions

[Mydrim]

http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6082/6106114502_109f58d93a_b.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/mydrim/6106114502/)

[N3rv4]

started coloring. Took the advice and tried to make it more jellyfish-y and make it stand out. Comments/concerns/crits welcome as always!

[hekatoncheir]

verehin: I love your lines, can't wait to see where this one is headed!

ryansumo :I think it's got interesting details, but I loved your thumbnails way more man, to be honest. Though, if you want to keep this one instead of scrapping it, I' want to mention that the people should be smaller. Cause otherwise, they look too big for the houses. Also, you've got like two different types/time period of houses on the turtle. You might want to research more on the huts/grassy/farmer type of home. Tipis, etc.


mydrim: very interesting creature! I feel like you need to solidify the joints on the limbs because they just look like columns. Stiff joints are painful and immobilize. :< . Also, try playing with the size of the people to get a sense of receding depth.


N3rv4 : I feel like stretching out the canvas a little more (above of it, and to the left) would help the composition. Because the jellyfish is crowding the screen and you get more of a good underneath shot versus its back. If you just make the canvas a little larger, you can add more things to the back. Otherwise, looking forward to the rendering!

:bounce:

[RayTwicket]

Some nice stuff going on in here, so many different ideas going on, it's great. This is what I'm working on.

[ryansumo]

RayTwicket - Looking pretty good so far!

Thanks for the crits guys. Decided to just redo the whole thing and go back to one of my original thumbnails, with some tweaks. Here's what I got so far.

[sevira]

this is exactly what I had in mind ryan :D
lovely composition and it bears a lot of potential with the warm/cold contrast

there are just a few things in terms of composition and perspective I think that need to be fixed before you start

to prevent a textwall I just did a quick paintover

excited to see your progress :>

Edit:
okay, maybe some explanations:

try to fix the line between the lightsources since this is where the viewer will be looking at
in your version there is nothing of interest on that line

the perspective on the turtle was wrong, the right side shouldn't be visible

aligned the mountain a bit differently due to the perspective fix and aligned all the houses and the statue vertically

hope this helps :)

[HapaxLegomenon]

I need to finish one of these. Awesome stuff so far, I know I'm late in the game but I'm getting into this one.

I think I'm gonna go with the sketch on the top, it has a more readable shape and I think a rain forest in the middle of a no where would be interesting.

[ryansumo]

Sevira, thanks for the crits and the paintover! Unfortunately I saw them only after working o the image some more. :| You made some important points though and I'll see if I can make some fixes without sacrificing too much time.

Another update on this piece. I'm working out the values in a dark green color and I feel like I'm getting close to done here. I'd appreciate any crits on the lighting. Please keep in mind that I'm going to be using two light sources, but I'm establishing values based on lighting from the moon first because that will be dominant and then painting over with light from the lantern. I experimented a little with that and I'm attaching that image here as well.

Moonlight
http://i62.photobucket.com/albums/h100/endlessthirteen/wip6.png
w/lantern
http://i62.photobucket.com/albums/h100/endlessthirteen/wip6b.png

[sevira]

"your perspective was wrong" was wrong as I see now,
didn't get the frontal view at first, sry ^^

maybe I can help you this time ;>
/activate ultra-know-it-all-mode

try to think about what colors would be visible when using the moon and a warm (fire?!) lightsource

quote wikipedia "so the full moon is about 500,000 times fainter than the sun. (...) The color of moonlight, particularly near full moon, appears bluish to the human eye compared to most artificial light sources."

also fire generally emits red light

so from this logic there can't be yellow or green colors in your image
green always needs a strong yellow or white lightsource

what I want to say is I think you don't need the green and the yellowish color at the mountain
try to keep everything orange/blue and it will look much better

[Grimstitch]

I had another idea, so I went ahead and sketched it up for fun. living reef - for reals.

[emerging]

jPerols - good stuff! i just dont quite know why you chose to align the horizon line. It is honestly pretty boring that way. I like how it is slanted in your sketch!

[ColdDegree]

N3rv4: interesting design remember that the color should be less saturated as it goes higher up

RayTwicket: pretty good rendering on the face kiu

ryansumo like the design and great lighting dont forget the reflection in the water :0

Grimstitch i like the concept that it is underwater and the island itself also is. im liking it :]

anyways heres just a quick compo i did

[RayTwicket]

Servia yours is looking good, looking forward to seeing it when you get it coloured. I like how you took care of the trees on it's back.
lkjhgfdsa nice, reminds me of district 9 or something and that's a good thing :)
Stimpy nice take on the topic, looking forward to seeing how you finish this one :)
Rob Powell you creature has some great personality, I like it
Kobe Sek Yong Kai looking really good so far, grat colours and style goin on there. Looking forward to seeing your final piece too.
Grimstitch Very unique approach, I'd like to see some more definition in places but I like the birds(they seem like a common feature this round :) ) ... PS I really like you coral reef idea, nice and original and now you can have fish instead of birds
yongs good place to start, I think it's eye closets to view might be a bit smaller than it should be compared to the other, maybe that is what's bothering you....maybe :)
jPerols Nice work, love the progression, the face looks awesome.
FooFoo Nice texture work there, right now to me, the back terrain on your creature kind of blends into the background and it's hard to distinguish
Verehin Nice lines, how's it coming along?
ryansumo's Avatar
ryansumo Nice thumbs, I'm surprised you're the only one to pick a turtle type creature, it's looking really good, another one I'm really looking forward to seeing when it's done.

OK that's it for now, nice work everyone. Sorry to those of you I missed, kinda ran out of steam at the end there, it takes a while to critique so many

Here's where I'm at now, coming along slowly but surely

[ryansumo]

Thanks for the crits and compliments folks, especially Sevira!

There's been quite a bit of progress on this piece I wanted to post it. Bunch of concerns here. I'm not sure I'll have enough time to really put to kind of polish I think it deserves before the Wednesday deadline. I'm not sure if the colors are working, and it's proving more difficult to work up from a monochrome image (as opposed to grayscale) than I originally thought. I'm not sure what to do with the clouds, or if I should even have them there. What I do like is the water. I'm quite happy about how I got the movement of the waves, and I love the details on the turtle's face. Now we have to see what bits and pieces to work on and what to just ignore.

Made some adjustments as per Sevira's suggestion as to places of interest between the moon and the lantern, so I moved the one house on the bottom right and just got rid of the house on the left.

Anyway let me know what you all think!

http://i62.photobucket.com/albums/h100/endlessthirteen/wip7.png

[sevira]

always happy to help :>

it might be a bit unfair to help in such a selective way but what can I say, I just liked your idea


also: imo it looks far more realistic/better on the fields now and really nice in general, looking forward to see it finished

as I'm lacking time:

keep the good work up guys,
train harder,
sleep less,
and see you on the voting/the next topic :)

[ozymandias+]

Damn, missed this week almost, still gonna give this a try.... Anyway, this looks like the commander card from Magic the Gathering... http://media.wizards.com/images/magic/daily/wallpapers/wp_animarsoulofelements_1280x960.jpg
Don't know if i can post links like this..

Sorry if i cant, admin..

[Stinkfist]

I've never done one of these. I dunno where to begin.

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-htYU4SvI7Lc/TmUniQFUiLI/AAAAAAAAACc/KuqV16H5YMo/s1600/COW_227.jpg

[darkreaver]

wanted to do a thing.

it's a siphonophore/man-o-war megafauna. from above it looks like an iceberg. from below, towering structures nestle amongst the tentacles. upside-down towers =D

http://darkreaver.com/crap/siphonophore02.jpg

[Mörtn]

here are my wip's. had spent many hours. still have to darken some more areas.

http://www.conceptart.org/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=1316527&stc=1&d=1315273163
http://www.conceptart.org/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=1316531&stc=1&d=1315273219
http://www.conceptart.org/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=1316536&stc=1&d=1315273373
http://www.conceptart.org/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=1316537&stc=1&d=1315273438

[Grimstitch]

ryansumo looking good. Maybe you could try curving the shape of your "shoreline" out just slightly to show where the upper part of his front flippers are, and your moon and lantern light should probably be reflecting across the water towards us. check out this photo (courtesy of Google) as a reference to see what I mean.
http://static.panoramio.com/photos/original/10063648.jpg

[ryansumo]

grimstitch, thanks for the crits an the photo. I'm definitely gonna need to work more on the reflections. This is what I have so far, after looking at crits from other boards and incorporating the ones that made the most sense. I think tomorrow will be focused on fixing the lantern highlights and maybe adding some detail to lead up to the mountain top. I'm exhausted!

http://i62.photobucket.com/albums/h100/endlessthirteen/wip8.jpg

[Lege1]

This is most likely going to be my final entry for this weeks COW. Almost didn't get to finish but glad I did cause I learned a lot. :yayca:

[RayTwicket]

things got really busy for me and I won't be making the deadline :(....good luck everyone. Nice work all around.

[ryansumo]

Raytwicket, that's too bad, your creature was shaping up pretty quite nicely!

I'm calling this done. Man, I had no idea what I wa in for when I tried to do this. I thought it would be a simple thing, without thinking of all the different textures I had to paint as well as the multiple lighting sources, I was just asking for trouble! I think I'll stick to something much easier next time to give myself a bit of a break. Thanks for all the crits, and good luck everyone!

[Lhune]

Absolutely stunning works from everyone so far!

I'll see if I can squeeze this in; a concept sketch for what I've dubbed a Seawalker. Enormous, dinosauric-like creatures that walk the depths of the sea. Because they almost never fully submerge and because they feed on forests along the shores, birds nest on it's back, carrying seeds from the plants they ate on land with them, which then start to grow and multiply on the creature's back. Eventually, they may carry whole forests with them including small animals that may live there, such as reptiles, birds and even rodents and small monkeys.


Edit: Oh, great. The deadline was today. Guess I missed it, then :(. I won't have time to finish it tonight.

[ozymandias+]

Workin on this, its like a giant prehistoric stingray. It has domes on its back to carry its offsprings and nurture them till adulthood. Its mating season comes only once every 3-4 centuries and hence the domes are not only occupied by its baby/ies but also by small fish and coral reefs.

Comments n crits pls. Thank u.

Pic2 Update

[Si_Swe]

Just a reminder that this one is due today, in about 4 and a half hours. If you've got a final image that you haven't posted, get to it.

(lark is a bit busy tonight, so I'll be posting the new topic in his stead, though it will be one of his topics.

[J-Sun]

Amazing Stuff Guys! :yayca:


I was able to add a little more to mine:

[Grimstitch]

damn! was really hoping to get my living reef idea to the final, because as a concept, I liked it much better, but it's just not working out. Going to go with the sky shark after all.

[Si_Swe]

An hour and a half left...

[Si_Swe]

Putting the poll up in about 5.

[lkjhgfdsa]

skin o ma teeth