Champion of Venus --WIP

[ummo]

http://home.ucwphilly.rr.com/pmostardi/venus_wip.jpg

hello all,
i have been working on this guy for a while and am enjoying it, but i have some beefs with it. I know this is a work in progress but i am loosing bearing on what parts of this area look finished to me and what needs more work.
i was hoping you folks could tell me what bothers you about this image.
Anything and eveything please.

[hyphen]

only things that i see that are troublesome to the eye are the sky and the skull. the clouds seem to close and they look like orange smoke coming out. maybe push them back a little bit. and the skull, i assume, is supposed to be floating, but you don't really get that idea at first glance. it just seems like an oversized skull on the rocks. try finding a solution to making it more clear that it's floating.

and lastly, this isn't too big of a deal, but the figure seems a slight bit flat. you *might* wanna add more depth to him. hope that helps you out :)

[tyboogie]

is he dropping th eskull? the anatomy is off--the hand on our left is flat and the fingers could be better --and the black "wings" are a little hard to read---the red tracers are kinda cool--but because hes so stiff it doesnt read as movement--if his position was in mid stride or in the middle of a movement that would read better. i think that the skeleton/ribcage at the bottom is the best rendered part of this piece--you were probably not worried about it and just did it from instinct--and it feels more free and confident ( looser but more form) just my thoughts----ty

[ummo]

thanks for the replies.
I agree with your comments but i am not sure how to remedy those problems, like making the skull look like its falling. I am hoping that most of the problems can be fixed by messing with the colors and values. Originally i planned this image to be much darker but between adding details and atmospheric effects i fear much of it has become washed out. Maybe giving the skull more detail and brightening it up will seperate it from the cliff?
Also is it apparent that he is at the bottom of a gorge and that the sky isnt just a plume of smoke rising from the distance?

Oh well ...off to find some good references :D