:: battle plan *Color*

[Kress]

Finally get to do something I want to do for school. Crits more than welcome, especially since I haven't started coloring. I was thinking digital definitely, but maybe painting some with oil first to get that natural feel - then zooming in on a scan of it. Kinda' confused on how to start...
You guys are welcome to color it if you please.
:confused:

http://www.dropship1.com/art/hecatonshire.jpg

[usagi yojimbo]

cant see it, red x

[tyboogie]

nice drawing Kress--i would do some thumbnail sketches( small sketches to figure out composition, colors, etc.) of your piece before you get to this point so your not winging it. you have pretty complicated drawing w/ lots of detail so you migth not want to go too complex with colors and BG details--also--wherever you want the focus to be could determine your color choics too. do some thunmbnails the GO FOR IT!!!---ty

[I.was.ink]

Oh my gosh! I feel like I have to go draw right now. This is incredible, this is a huge inspiration.

Please post more!:eek: :eek: :eek:

[Kress]

tyboogie - right on, I'll remember that about color as focal area definer. I did jump into this drawing, did I get ahead of myself? The end result will tell. Good sh*t for the reminder to back up and sketch.

iwas- get your draw on foolio.

ps: ty- I just wanted to present the character, no bigtime BG plans, just some color to fit him well, do you know what I mean? Tailor the painting to fit the sketch, cuz that's where the life is. Am I wrong?

[tyboogie]

no my friend, wrong you are not...post the progress--ty

[Kress]

right on ty
*minor* upate: getting the drawing ready and threw the bear in...
http://www.dropship1.com/art/hecMini.jpg

[Hunger_Artist]

heheh. Interesting.

I dont know what the properties of the legs are exactly, but if they're supposed to be in a loose fabric or amorphous they seem right..

[Zonk]

Hey that's cool!
What exactly did you use to draw this one?
Pencils? or any special markers/pens?

[Kress]

I did this with my trusty mechanical pencil. Thanks for compliments, appreciated.
update coming soon - I've decided to trash this drawing and put him on a hillside with trees and flowers and such...

[Hunger_Artist]

Now that I look at it, this reminds me of the trash-robot design in the animated "metropolis"...

[Kress]

I decided to change it around and put him crouching on a hill, with trees and flowers and grass and stuff. The composition won't end up like this - just finished him is all.
I think there will be a city in the bground too... Crits welcome.

http://www.dropship1.com/art/emobot.jpg

[MindCandyMan]

totally totally totally awesome.

[sin]

i love it! perfection!

[rimwalker]

I love that design. A whole lot.

Nice job on rendering the forms and values.

[soupface]

looks incredible. very creative arms, and the tilt of its head is very expressive.

this theme may be over used, but, how about having it discover the bear in the debris of a ruined house in some sort of ruined, post-apocalyptic city?
yeah, yeah, i know: cliché...

[foster]

ha! (i exclaim with great joy and awe) nice drawings!

jon

[davi]

those are great!

[Kress]

Hey - thanks a LOT all. The encouragement is much appreciated (thanks for diminishing my frustration!)
Here's the plan... I still need to fix some detail in the background (grass, city, etc.) and, of course, figure out the colors/values.

http://www.dropship1.com/art/emobotComp.jpg

ps: Still don't know whether to do this is in oil or digitally... thoughts?

[R_M]

You got to be kidding me!
it keeps getting better and better... got nuthin to say, exept that I can't come up with any usefull critics. I'll just hang around and watch the WIP, very very inspiring.

From a selfish point of view I would go digital if I were you. That is how I work, and that is the method I can learn the most from. Regardless of what you choose, I can't wait to see how you work at coloring this suker.

[MindCandyMan]

Bust out the oils kress...if you run into problems you can always go digital...I would love to see you tear this piece up on a canvas. This looks fantastic.

[Android]

what a rad drawing, I would recomend digital so you can keep the linework, it will de faster and you will have more options at your disposal, I would like to see this in oils, but it seems like there are too many intricate deatils that are best suited for a pixel brush. good luck,

[tyboogie]

i like this figure/pose better--and the fact hat hes looking at the bear( like hes curious to his new discovery) just added alot of storytelling to your piece--i like the setting too--my advice would be that when you paint it make the city really impressionistic because theres alot going on with the figure/ foreground--and thats the focus point. looking forward to seeing some color---ty

[Kress]

Hey thanks all for the support. Glad you like it :P
ty - I hear you, I'm definitely going to keep whatever's in the bground suggestive.

I decided to go digital because the people that advised me to do so were right. There are too many details in this to do it in oil under three feet, and there are WAY more options and room for going back and forth as well as color editing/selection (think of how many pools of color would have been mixed for this - that's time I don't have!) It's quicker, cleaner, etc... Hear hear for PS 7's brush engine!
Here's the first color layer. I've never painted outdoor scenes before, come to think of it, I've never really painted/colored any scenes before. It's a lot of fun when it works.
Lots of stuff left to do. Details and modeling here and there. Have to bring the bear out somehow. To say nothing of the background. And the town I think will turn into some sort of village, maybe some windmills?
The next color layer will be "over" the pencils... Hope you likey:

http://www.dropship1.com/art/emobotComp2.jpg

[Landmate]

awesome, feels very california ^^

[davi]

These reminds me ALOT of a Todd Kidd piece in Spectrum, psge 50. Not saying you stole anything, just looks very very simliar.

[Kress]

Hey Davi, it's funny - those War of the World images were a some of the pieces that recently inspired me to paint scenery. I'm not surprised you're reminded of them :P

More color: hope you can see the difference. Approaching the end.

http://www.dropship1.com/art/emobotComp3.jpg

[donkeyslayer]

holy crap. i really like that. i love that i can see how the drawing progressed into the finished piece. that is really great.

[R_M]

Kress,just keep them comming!
the way you did the trees shadow on the ground is so cool and simple!
You mentioned that you wanted the teddy to stand out more, why don't you make it blu, or some other unrealistic color (but more childlike)?

[rimwalker]

It was just so much fun watching this picture develop, I love it when people post their progressions like that. I love the final. The melancholy looking cyborg set in a vibrant pastoral setting is a clever contrast.

[Tedsuo]

That is totally sweet! I think more dappled lighting on the mech would look cool, and the atmospheric perspective on that darker grove of trees in the background could be pushed more... but whatever, it's rocking.

[pibb991]

very nice. my only crit would be that it seems the figure blends into the background a bit too much. it gets a bit lost in the shadows- the colors on the figure are very similar to the background and a lot of detail is lost in the right arm

[jilted_one]

:bow:
Yo i saw the first timewhen you had just one image but man i have to say things can only get better.

[Kress]

Thanks all-
I think I'm done for now. There are plenty of things that need work: the wierd spot where the bear was lying, the town looks like rocks, the hill is big and empty, ETC... :hmm:
But I'm tired of this, it'd be nice to get on with my life. I'll come back to it, sometime... later.

http://www.dropship1.com/art/emobotComplete3.jpg

[sin]

that is FUCKING amazing!! i love how the file name's emobot ... ::hehe::

[tyboogie]

hey Kress i think it turned out pretty damn cool---you mentioned all the problem areas---and that patch of grass between the bear and the bot that is just flat color


anyways man good shit dude--look forward to more----ty

[john blood]

very nice. If I had to criticize it I would say that you should enhance the sense of depth in the figure itself. All of the elements in the composition appear to be the same distance from the viewer. The initial mockup had the benefit of the right arm in the foreground overlapping the body and I would have enhanced this by increasing its size, line weight and emphasizing how it overlaps the body. In the final version the right arm is pulled back, flattening the figure.

[Kress]

sin - thanks holmes.

ty - It definitely does not look perfect, but I think that blades of grass right there would look too busy. I got your invite to dsg, thanks. Sorry I didn't get back to you, been kinda' busy, and drunk.

john - I think the shading/rendering on the guy take care of the problem you mentioned. I will keep it in mind though, thanks. I really like it when things look structural a dn 3d.

:chug:

[Hardcore]

Man what an awesome picture I love bio tech ...this just makes you wondor what's going on...like some distant travel from earth's future came back in time and is admiring the simplicty of life ...neat pic man !! :chug:

[R_M]

About time you posted an update Kress! :D

I know how you feel, and why you are tired, I am in the same situation with a pice of mine right now.
But hang in there, and finish it, it is worth it. it is an amazing picture you've got here, and it would be a shame if you didn't finish it.

The background is muc better with a village instead of a city, much more in tune with the rest of the pic.

[MindCandyMan]

Kress you totally rock this could easily be a magic card illustration. Awesome stuff man.

[KayCustomz]

:eek: