E.O.W Round #182: Death's Lobby

[Vulgar`]

E.O.W Round #182: Death's Lobby
http://i39.photobucket.com/albums/e181/chaosrocks/EOW2.jpg

TOPIC = Death's Lobby
suggested by Pixeltuner

Brief:

Sounds of a cloak rustling gently in the wind... or dead silence. Is the afterlife everything it was hyped up to be and more?

Welcome to Death's lobby...




- Please specify which image is final in this thread! I will post your finals in the Voting Thread myself.



DEADLINE: Friday, February 17, 2012

[Pixeltuner]

Yay, my topic ^_^ I'm so in of course.

[tehmeh]

Sounds great, count me in

[Incinerated]

I'm gonna sit this one out, I however look forward to see what you guys come up with :)

[Pixeltuner]

First rough idea, nothing fancy. I've spent most my day creating new custom 'tech' brushes, and for this one I specifically wanted a 'hi-tech-ribcage' feel I y'all catch my drift a bit..

[Duman]

Interesting.
I guess I just have a question or two.
How literal of a lobby does this need to be? Are we talking about the definite interior of a building, or can lobbies exist outside?

[Rob Powell]

Nice one! Great oppurtunity to create a darker, more macabre image!

[Rano]

this is a very interesting topic, i'm in !
I did not have enough free time to the last EoW... i'll do my best to do something this time :)

@PixelTuner interesting shape and brushes :) with a very nice rendering style. Hope to see what you gonna do next :)

[MatejaPetkovic]

might be fun, will try it

M

[Pixeltuner]

Interesting.
I guess I just have a question or two.
How literal of a lobby does this need to be? Are we talking about the definite interior of a building, or can lobbies exist outside?

Whatever you want I guess. It's kind of a 'waiting room' for the afterlife but that can be an outside square in front of a big gate as well.

edit: And, if you read for instant Pratchett's description of Death's House: Things are bigger on the inside then they are on the outside... Just a thought. Be playful :)

[snippet]

Sounds awesome. :)
Although- I keep of thinking of elevator music playing.

[Corrick]

An outside lobby? That's generally called a courtyard or patio...

Also, a WIP. You just go and wait I guess...

http://williamwerk.com/art/deathlobbysm2.jpg

Update

http://williamwerk.com/art/deathlobby3.jpg

[Vulgar`]

Personally I'm a supporter of the all encompassing statement 'It's all up to your interpretation'

[monkeybread]

An initial thumb....it's not particularly original but I have wanted an excuse to try my hand at gothic architecture. I might do a few more thumbs.

oh if you were wondering the idea in this one is that there are multiple death's (like clones) that go around gathering the dead and escorting them onwards. They work in pairs. that's what the big couples are in the image :)

Corrick I like the scale so far...will be interested to see how you get the idea of it being a waiting area for the afterlife :)

http://fc08.deviantart.net/fs70/f/2012/034/8/e/death__s_lobby_wip1_by_bigbwana-d4okfmx.jpg

[0Hayes]

Really enjoying this one so far

Updated with some more detail

[Duman]

I have been having some trouble getting interesting environments lately. I think I could use a little help. So I started at the very basic b/w thumbnails.
Right now I think 4 and 8 are my favorites, leaning towards 8.
Anyway, any advice through this creative endeavor would be much appreciated.
Good luck everyone.
Stupid image attachment.
http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c268/Duman123/EOW182.jpg

[monkeybread]

Duman From those I seem to prefer 2 and 6. I liked 8 but not sure if this was because it was totally different from the others.
That brings me to idea generation, and the first thing I noticed is that you are using very similar shapes for almost all the thumbs (giant ribs, doorway, skulls etc) so it's not really 8 different ideas but a few different views on couple of ideas. I don't know if this would help but you could decide to force yourself to use some different shape motifs in your thumbs before you start (like triangles, or ovals), and see what else comes up?

Here's another thumb from me....I'm probably leaning more to something more like this than the last one, though not happy with the comp yet

http://fc06.deviantart.net/fs70/f/2012/035/f/b/eow181_death__s_lobby__thumb2_by_bigbwana-d4ooz21.jpg

[UmpaArt]

The bubble in that first painting is a symbol for humanity.
It is a dutch painting.
It was a common expression in the 17th century that "humans are like bubbles".
Which is of course commenting on mortality and the fragility of our lives.

AND NOW YOU KNOW. Woot for art history. :P

(Not that you didn't know before. I just love seeing old paintings and knowing what they are and stuff so I get excited. :P )

[Duman]

monkeybread- That is some sound advice, but due to the rather specific nature of the topic I thought running with a theme or motif would be wise. It is death after all, prominently featuring bone and death like symbols makes sense to me. I will definitely keep that in mind for next time.
As for your piece, I feel like I want to see a hint or two at where all the people are eventually going to end up. It's looking really atmospheric and creepy.

0Hayes- No real crits from me at this point. The green is looking awesome.

Corrick- Your rending and lighting are really nice right now. I just wish there was a slightly more spectral quality to it. Right now it looks like it could be a hallway from the future.

[0Hayes]

Cheers Duman, I'm liking number 8 as it is a bit different, can't wait to see more!

Anyway, heres my final.. at least for the time being:

[unruhe]

Again a fun topic, and inspiring pieces posted.

This will be my starting point sketch...wanted an abstract approach to this topic based on energy and circular forms and made several sketches around this concept. All is happening inside a dying persons mind just before energy is sucked into white or black circular forms.

Vulgar: Are these kind of abstract pieces allowed to be submitted?

[Jarkuzy]

wip
not happy with it, but at least i'm trying (:

[Vulgar`]

unruhe - Completely fine.

[Luis Gama]

Hi guys!

Cool topic.
I think ill have a go at this one also. Been tinking of tunels connecting to an hourglass as symbol of time and rebirth or reencarnation. Doing some thumbs on paper.

Laters!

[Trespasser]

Just a sketch; photo reference used

[unruhe]

Ok good to know Vulgar.

Update on the abstract piece. Staying in B&W.

[Vyse]

Aaaah, grrrreat round! I´m in!

Promising entries so far, going to be a big one again!
Corrick, blurr your eyes - how about turning the bright line in the back, which are now the seats, into a faaar distance? So that this wall does not touch the ground, but becomes a 12ft high ceiling back there? The room would continue very far to the back tlike this, making it even more massive.... know what i mean? But very nice concept...!

Monkeybread, maybe zoom out a bit, i would like to see more of the enviro and structure :)

[Pixeltuner]

Woop. Another slightly more developed brainfart.

[Vyse]

~yoink

http://s14.directupload.net/images/120207/m2wdfpw5.jpg

[Duman]

This is what I got so far. I'm really not sold on the hands yet. I have a few other ideas but I wanted to see what everyone else thought before I scrapped it.

[mordecaidesign]

Is this my first EOW that I'm taking part in? Not sure. Anyway:


Started by doing some stuff in the sketchbook. Trying to find some compositions. My method for working in my sketchbook is: Make mistakes in the sketchbook so I don't have to when I sit down to actually work.
http://mordecaidesign.com/artdump/eow_lobby_sketchbook.png

Then I did some random thumbs, I've been meaning to do some anyway (This is great fodder for compositions for months methinks)
http://mordecaidesign.com/artdump/eow_lobby_thumbs.png

Based off the thumbs I've come up with A and B

A
http://mordecaidesign.com/artdump/eow_lobby_a.png
B
http://mordecaidesign.com/artdump/eow_lobby_b.png

Good luck to everyone. Lovin what I'm seeing so far!

[monkeybread]

Duman : I like the silhouette of death and the hands...maybe too handy? How about throwing in a couple of cheeks...of the face variety? :) Also I think the image might be a lot more powerful without the thingies on the side, or at least putting them into a bit of shadow maybe?

mordecaidesign holy thumbs Batman! I'm always so precious with my thumbs, I need to really whip them out like this!!! I like both, but think A tips B slightly, though I don't have a sense of the enviro design in terms of the whole death theme yet.

Speaking of which I was hoping to get some help and wondered what people thought between these? I'm teetering between 1 and 4 but not convinced either way.
1 is kinda gothic-y medieval bone cathedral etc
4 is more contemporary, though I would need to death it up a bit more. Note the idea is that this is the waiting hall before being summoned down into the pit or up the stairs into the light kinda thing...

http://fc03.deviantart.net/fs70/i/2012/038/a/e/eow_181__thumbs3_by_bigbwana-d4oxjtr.jpg

[Luis Gama]

Beautiful stuff guys! Love how the theme is pushing everyone.

Heres my concept. Still dunno in wich direction i wanna go...experimenting and having fun.

[Pixeltuner]

Mordecaidesign: Good man, you inspired me to go back to the drawingboard and blast out a batch of random thumbnails as well. Just to explore composition and not go with my first or second idea (which I generally do a bit too often)

I have couple of faves, but not sure yet.

[mordecaidesign]

Like Monkeybread said: holy thumbnails batman! Good stuff in here @pixeltuner

Keep these for use in further projects.

Can't wait to see what you come up with!

[Pixeltuner]

Another batch of thumbs, and one of those last ones developed into something.
It's actually one of the simplest but I felt I could do something with it storywise.

[Luis Gama]

You went nuts with the thumbs, good job!

I like the one you developed, think has great potential but atm is kinda tight, maybe expand the right part.
Also design wise having letters on top of each other is normaly a bad idea, its way better to just write sideways. :)
Keep up!

[Pixeltuner]

You went nuts with the thumbs, good job!

I like the one you developed, think has great potential but atm is kinda tight, maybe expand the right part.
Also design wise having letters on top of each other is normaly a bad idea, its way better to just write sideways. :)
Keep up!

Thx! I'll keep the letters on top of each other though, it's a reference to those crappy neon motel signs. ;)

[monkeybread]

holy crap-oly you guys suck. I'm shall now post....one...bill-yion thumbnails...dun dun dunnnn :D
Awesome work pixeltuner. There are quite a few gems in there. Luis Gama has a point about it being "tight". Compositionally this works, but the sign is taking up a lot of focus especially if you suck at deciphering backwards letters like me! If that's your goal this is fine, but I guess leaves less to go around for the surrounding environment. I could imagine seeing more environment or a larger tower or something if the canvas was extended as Luis suggests.

[Pixeltuner]

holy crap-oly you guys suck. I'm shall now post....one...bill-yion thumbnails...dun dun dunnnn :D
Awesome work pixeltuner. There are quite a few gems in there. Luis Gama has a point about it being "tight". Compositionally this works, but the sign is taking up a lot of focus especially if you suck at deciphering backwards letters like me! If that's your goal this is fine, but I guess leaves less to go around for the surrounding environment. I could imagine seeing more environment or a larger tower or something if the canvas was extended as Luis suggests.

I might make the sign a tad smaller or widen the canvas, or both. I'll just experiment. :)

And yeah, I think have quite enough thumbs to entertain myself the coming time. :D

[snippet]

Well, it's a start.

[Razorleaf]

Just kicking out some ideas. I wasn't sure if "Death" was an actual entity or a place, so I chose to mockup places where those who met death waited. I might try doing some concepts for Death's (an entity) lobby (waiting room).

[Duman]

monkeybread-I might go with the first one. It's mostly based on personal preference, but that seems to fit the topic the most to my eyes.

Luis Gama- I'm really digging the colors I'm seeing in that piece. Looking forward to seeing where it goes.

Pixeltuner- A pretty cool concept. It will be interesting to see how you deal with the massive crowd and the style of the little control room. Love the huge amount of thumbs. What kind of brushes are you using for them?



Updated image, still not sure of the hand idea. Might try to do a variation with wailing faces if I have time.
I would love to know how to improve this, so thoughts and critiques are more than welcome.

[mordecaidesign]

Didn't have much time to work on this tonight. Less than 45 minutes I think?

I think the hardest part is interpreting the thumbnail and not adding too much or removing too much from it.

http://mordecaidesign.com/artdump/eow_lobby_update1.png

Still trying to stay loose.

[Pixeltuner]

Duman: Thanks! just some custom 'tech' brushes I made myself for the most part, a soft round white set so screen for the haze, and some regular flat brushes for ground planes etc.

And considering your piece: It might be a good idea to detail the statues a bit more, right now it's a bit unclear what they are. It also might be a good idea to introduce a second a bit more complementary colour in the foreground, just to break things out of the green a bit.

[Vyse]

next wip

http://s1.directupload.net/images/120208/569fv5le.jpg

[BHCS]

Bashing ideas around. Messing with colours and composition, wish me luck D:
This is going to take a lot of time...

[Luis Gama]

Hi guys, here´s my entry, was kinda quick but decided for the speed and mood, had fun!

[Vyse]

Very cool, Luis Gama! =D

http://s1.directupload.net/images/120209/fw4ffplz.jpg

[BHCS]

Welp this is going terribly.

Back to studies...

[MartinC]

Here is my WIP so far.

Up :angel: or down :devil:?

[Callergi]

Here are my attempts. This turned out to be kind of a difficult subject for me and things got even harder as great wips kept on being posted on the thread. So, nice job :)
Couldn't get out of the idea of the clock and the judgement. Even tried Alchemy which turned out to be great but only for future use.


http://i1135.photobucket.com/albums/m634/Calergi/deathslobby_sketch-1.jpghttp://i1135.photobucket.com/albums/m634/Calergi/deathslobby02.jpg
http://i1135.photobucket.com/albums/m634/Calergi/Alechemy_thumpnails.jpg


Finally settled on something - the "big death" is meant to be a big statue and a "machine for judgement", impersonal and automatic, weights deeds, and punishes or rewards.
This is a lobby as the place through which afterlife is entered.

http://i1135.photobucket.com/albums/m634/Calergi/Deaths_lobby_v03a-1.jpg
http://i1135.photobucket.com/albums/m634/Calergi/Deaths_lobby_Wip01-1.jpg

[mordecaidesign]

http://mordecaidesign.com/artdump/eow_lobby_update2.png

hmmmm. a little dark.

Adding some blues tonight

[Incinerated]

this is shaping up to be a good round

Vyse- that birdie thingy you're leading our eye too has a really tiny visual cloud, might detract from the image... digging it so far tho.

Callergi- carefull about loosing to much to blur. Color wise its abit generic but i guess it'll work, I really liked the initial sketch.

mordecaidesign- a bit dark as you say, visually it works very well ... not sure how you'll incorporate a lobby feel in this... Looking forward to see what you'll do.

MartinC- looks interesting, a little scratchy do to all the thin lines tho.

BHCS- keep at it dude, the perspective shows promise

Luis Gama- an interestering view on the subject, the hour glas' shape gets a little lost right where it intersects with the courseway, well executed.

Duman- those statue thingies on the sides should be removed or detailed as well as the rest of the image... That said I like your stuff so far.

Pixeltuner- 28# looks nice, you should finish it.

I'm gonna crit the rest of ya if I have time later

[Duman]

I'm seeing some pretty awesome work out there. A lot of interesting takes on the topic.

mordecaidesign- The environment uses a lot of interesting shapes. However, I'm having trouble seeing the "waiting room" aspect of it. That could be cleared up with more definition, but I just thought you should know.

Callergi- Some really cool thumb designs. The environment is also looking great, some really nice colors, angle and design choice. One minor critique is that Death's face is looking...not menacing enough. Maybe the face should be more shrouded under the hood. Have some smoke pour out of his mouth!

MartinC- I'm digging the color transitions and the violent shapes.

BHCS- I also like the colors in this piece. Some unique choices for the topic. Right now I think the piece could use a little definition so we know exactly what we're looking at.



Vyse- I am really digging the colors at work here, and the overall design is sweet. Over the edges of the pit, however, are structures that look a lot like cannons. I'm not really digging those...


Here is another update. Got rid of the statues. I think the idea was cool, but I don't have the time to take them where they would need to go in order to fit in. I keep fighting with myself on how minimalistic I want this room to look. Any thoughts?

[Luis Gama]

Duman, your concept is looking good, from a technical point of view..i think that if you lighten up the value of the hands it would help the idea of a material standing between them and the viewer...and add scratches like you did in the corners etc. Good job!

[mordecaidesign]

http://mordecaidesign.com/artdump/eow_lobby_update3.png

still plugin away at it

[Vyse]

Callergi, Duman - very awesome, like ´em!!

Here´s my final now:
http://s14.directupload.net/images/120210/9p6r5o8e.jpg


... btw, in what part of this world is February 17th a Sunday?? :P

[TFsean]

Hi guys here is my FINAL.
"Death's Lobby is a neutral, lonely place. You face death at the end, alone, where your fate is decided."

Everybodys submissions are sick, very dynamic compositions, very moody stuff

[AdrianNagorski]

Wish i had time to do this one.

here's a thought tho:
Death (act of dieing ) is mainly portrait as being cruel or evil and sad, i noticed that in the Bible it rather says
that we should be happy for those that pass from this world for they are no longer tormented,
thru all the nonsense we all face in this world the trails and tribulations.
i sort of think deaths lobby might be a siren place waiting upon the coming day of judgment.

That being said it sucks to die, you cant make lovely art and my initial thought on this topic was something dark and gritty as well.

anyways keep rocking guys!!!

[silarvalla]

I'm going to have to work fast on this one!


here are some really basic overall layouts i've hashed out,
i'm liking the third one personally,
flesh them out a bit more tomorrow

i'm tempted to do something black and glittery,
like a volcanic wasteland of some kind but its my first idea so
i should mull it over a bit more probably.
the one thing i do like is the idea of a road of some kind,
souls headed towards deaths gate, i like that image.

whatcha think?

[MartinC]

done an hour of detailing, but don't see any noticeable deference, so it's finished :confident

Thanks for the crit Incinerated, I'm trying to go for an unpleasant feeling in the peace.

FINAL

[messioddt]

Here is my first sketch. The two arches by the statue will go to heaven or hell. I still need to work out the light and dark of the place.

[albino-Z]

I decided to stop drooling over mordecaidesign's and PixelTuner's thumb rampage and try this round. Currently attempting to overcome my latest hard edge addiction and add some textured softer mid-tones for a change.

Vyse, Luis Gama and MartinC are rocking it.

[Duman]

I'm calling this my tentative final. Some great work this week, I'm impressed.

[neilpa77]

Here's my initial ideas, all based around a portal / mirror of destiny type thing...i'm thinking 3 is my favourite at mo (spent a little more time on it so far) please let me know what you guys think. Entries so far have all been incredible and very inspirational :)

1421213

[KentaWolf]

My starting inspiration was a doctor's waiting room, and I wanted a lone, simple metal chair. I also wanted something "off" about the image, so that led to the skull reflection in the tile. Also a little humor in the "LIFE" magazine on the chair.

[Bertling]

My starting inspiration was a doctor's waiting room, and I wanted a lone, simple metal chair. I also wanted something "off" about the image, so that led to the skull reflection in the tile. Also a little humor in the "LIFE" magazine on the chair.

That's awesome. One thing that's a little off though is the perspective. You might want to raise the point of view a little bit so it looks like the viewer is sitting on a chair as opposed to on the floor.

I'm going for a similar concept, where the imagery of death is very grounded in realism and people's mundane lives.

[mordecaidesign]

http://www.mordecaidesign.com/artdump/eow_lobby_final.png

This is my final. This was a great EOW. Can't wait to take part in the next one.

[neilpa77]

Just noticed the deadline says Sunday 17th Feb, which does'nt actually exist!! Can someone please confirm if its Friday 17th or Sunday 19th Feb.

Thanks :)

[Vulgar`]

It's Friday the 17th, my bad.

[monsi]

Hey peoples! I'm embarking on a mission to learn how to paint landscapes from imagination, and I reckon participating in the EoW's is a great way to make that happen ! So hopefully will be completing the brief most weeks!

Don't have much time right now, so I got this out this arvo. I'll call this the final unless I get more time to tweak.


so, Final !

1422022

[Trespasser]

My first idea was to paint an endless corridor with old and rusty walls, dim lights and somewhat abandoned and depressive look, but then I decided to go for a more classical hall-with-a-gate concept.
The idea seems very unclear from this picture, but these insects represent souls of the dead (:

[albino-Z]

monsi: I love the design especially at the upper part. I think that the cold hue of the silhouettes is a bit too blue for the overall scheme but I like the way they are rendered (radial gradients?). Also love the color variation of the structures at the back. I think that the whole picture needed a bit more "air" at the bottom but that could be me.

trespasser: very cool enviro concept, only thing that bugs me is the hard edges of the light cone. The columns seem to be better rendered in the thumbs(?)

mordecaidesign: The palette you used is one of my favorites. I also like your composition, looks very intentional. I would like a bit more detail and contrast on your focals. The eye moves easily around the picture but when it stops there is no detail candy. :( Nice use of atmospheric perspective and color aberration.

Duman: those hands are creepy! Using 2 point perspective instead of 1 and color variation would offer more punch. Also, I think that the reflection of the chair should not be the exact image flipped vertically, but should show a bit of the chair's underside. I really like the idea of a soul "aquarium"!

KentaWolf : Love the idea and the hint of humor. Looking forward to seeing the finished piece!

Bringing some textures into play. One or two spots that still bug me but its coming to an end I guess.

[Pixeltuner]

I think this will be my final. Went a different route yet again from one of the thumbs. Maybe some tweaking here and there, spotted a nasty tangent. :P

EDIT: updated image with tweaks.

[messioddt]

Here is an update. I fixed some of the perspective problems and am starting to get the mood. I hope that I have enough time to finish this. There is a lot of good art going on here.

[Kino_PuA]

Albino I have to say that is SUPER beautiful!

[monsi]

Albino- Thanks for the feedback, and I'm loving your image! I'm wondering what you mean by a bit more 'air' though?

[Trespasser]

Thank you for the feedback, Albino-Z! Much appreciated. I tried to follow your advice (:

A small update, I made some minor changes which probably no one would notice — blurred the edges of the cone, changed lighting on columns, refined some details.

There is a LOT of things that I don't like about this image, but I think it's my final:

[neilpa77]

Here's my final image(s)!

I am unable to choose between the two compostions below as my final image...Vulgar, would you mind me leaving that decision in your hands?

The concept is Death waiting as his hourglass counts down to the arrival of the recently deceased, as there spirits enter his lobby (via a portal) they surround his thrown to await there fate.

1424424

1424427

[albino-Z]

Albino- Thanks for the feedback, and I'm loving your image! I'm wondering what you mean by a bit more 'air' though?

Hey monsi, I meant a bit more space below the horizon line which would equal a slightly higher eye-level.

[Stinkfist]

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ViNei1ZyFcE/Tz3xUMkAnpI/AAAAAAAAAOw/dxUuQQ0axGg/s1600/DeathsLobby.jpg

[snippet]

Some of these are really breath-taking. Ah, I think I will just give up and watch this round. :hugsmile:

[unruhe]

Another round that is just inspirational....from the thumbnails to the more developed ones, all sparkled with imagination and having fun.

This is my final....took away some bits and added some other bits to finish this abstract approach to the theme. Its all about having fun and I had quite alot of it...so thanks for the interesting theme.

[lordarka]

Not at the level of finish I would have liked, but I've had this concept rattling around in my head, and saw this EoW as a great opportunity to get an initial drawing out. This is my final submission, WIPs available on request.

Everyone else, great work!

Arka C.

[N3rv4]

This topic looked super fun

This is my WIP and would love to get any feedback. The basic premise is that this place is very unnerving, nonsensical to humans. You're put here to wander around for eternity in endless walkways.

[albino-Z]

My final:

A good host always tidies up before a visit.

[KentaWolf]

That's awesome. One thing that's a little off though is the perspective. You might want to raise the point of view a little bit so it looks like the viewer is sitting on a chair as opposed to on the floor.

Hi Berling! I wanted the perspective to be really low, as it always gives the feel of inferiority and vulnerability. I really didn't mean for it to be a perspective of a person towards the door, if that comes across that makes me :<

I adjusted the levels of the final image, as I realized on different monitors some subtle shading I ached over washed out, much to my dismay! Other tweaks like the further shadowing of the doors, etc.

I did want the final image to be black and white from the beginning, because I wanted the place to feel really sterile.