Chow #012 VOTING: LADY ISABELLE FREDRICKSON

[S.C. Watson]

Lady Isabelle Fredrickson

Historical Fiction*
Lady Isabelle Fredrickson. Mid to late 1800's. Character is the wife of one Lord Fredrickson, Lich hunter & Master of the Occult, who is not far from a Lich himself, having been cursed by one when he was younger. She knows his secret, and has sworn an oath of secrecy, though she would die before revealing her husband's curse.

Lady Fredrickson often accompanies her husband on his exploits, taking them across Europe and to many exotic locales, including Egypt, and the Far East, and lands unknown.

Beuatiful, elegant, educated and poised. She is Lady Isabella Fredrickson.
________________________
vctr
http://www.filelodge.com/files/hdd6/138723/chow-004.gif

Corrick
http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b51/Corrick/isabelle4_flat.jpg

Jason C-M
http://www.cheeseman-meyer.com/art/sketchbook/New/LadyFredrickson07.jpg

SeanSutter
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y191/TheIronShoes/LadyIsabelleFredricksonColor.jpg

llothcat
http://www.llothcat.com/lady.jpg

Dominus
http://img457.imageshack.us/img457/2058/chowisabelle2yv.jpg

DazWatford
http://img333.imageshack.us/img333/4590/dazimageshackchow12lif7tw.jpg

masque
http://www.metrocast.net/~chipartist/ImagePost/IsabelleChOWweb.jpg

depleteD
http://people.uleth.ca/~andrew.melnychukosee/portolio/ladylichcoplor.jpg

Chuck,mate.
http://img362.imageshack.us/img362/3139/victorian1tw.jpg

Barts
http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y67/Barts_22/Isabelle.jpg

walnut
http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a117/walberg/isabella_fredericksondone.jpg

Main Loop
http://www.remtek.net/0/mainloop/default/images/19/152.jpg

Jelter
http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c250/benjelter/LadyIsabelleFredricksonsmall.jpg

hurricane
http://www.bjornhurri.com/sb/06/Jan/le_queen_done.jpg

Djehuti
http://home.comcast.net/~samsausum/Fredricksonfinal.jpg

darth massacre
http://www.massivebias.com/sketchbook/isabelle.jpg

sve
http://home.comcast.net/~elazutkin/Images/ChOW2.jpg

bumskee
http://home.exetel.com.au/bumskee/con/chow_9_1.jpg

Define.
http://www.woodfellow.ca/LadyFredericton2.bmp

[S.C. Watson]

Miran
http://img496.imageshack.us/img496/3518/ladyisabellefredrickson1jx.jpg

young paddy1
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v19/youngpaddy1/ladyisabella.jpg

endregan
http://www.visiblesurface.com/painting/endreganladyf.jpg

central
http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d87/pataka/chow.gif

pandorablood
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v460/pandorablood/lady.jpg

Carnifex
http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b363/siansaar/y-lady2.jpg

smot
http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c42/smot_1975/conceptArt/Lady-Isabelle-Fredrickson.jpg

Chingwa
http://www.popgirl.net/public/chow_012.jpg

[romance]

Shweet! First Vote!

I voted Bumskee 'cause not only does it look so damn good, it's also exactly the way I imagined her.

Main Loop gets my runner up

[CaptainInsano]

It was tough decision between Bumbskee and Mainloop. Went with Mainloop! Simply gorgeous.

[Victor B]

I had to vote for mainloop he really steped it up from his previous chow entries!
great entries all around thou'!

[bumskee]

hurricane and main loop for me, ended up going with main loop. :) awsome job, other ones were Djehti, chingwa, masque, jelter and chuckmate.

[darth massacre]

Yaaaarrr....Mainloop, Chuck, Bumskee and Djehuti were my main choices. Ended up going for Djehuti. Great round, and the next round is gonna be a killer.

[brokk]

voted for Main Loop, other favorites were the ones by bumskee, Corrick, Jason C-M, DazWatford, hurricane, Chingwa (you have no idea -how much- the face of your entry looks like my aunt), and walnut.

Excellent work everyone!

[Main Loop]

man, so many good entries.. one of the best turnouts for a a ChOW so far..

i thought id go ahead and try and critique em all, they all deserve a little attention :teeth:

vctr - i dunno, seems rushed.. proportions and structure are off in the bodies, the guy in the back (im assuming lord frederickson) didnt really have to be there.. i think the composition isnt helping too much, i doubt you needed all that empty space.. i like the handling of the dress though..

corrick - i really like the background and the design of the piece, it took me a whie to read it was a skull that she was getting handed.. proportions are off, too much space between the eyes and the ears, also the forearms dont match in size.. looks like she has only four fingers holding the book

jason c-m - very nice handling of the lady, the rest of it pulls it down, perspective is off, we see too much of the ground plane, and its not fading off into darkness convincingly, i like the idea of the story, but i dont think they had pliers like that back then.. or maybe they did i dunno..

seansutter - lovin the style.. i probably wouldnta cropped the arm off like that, it woulda been interesting to have her doing something meaningful with that arm.. i dont quite read what that book is resting on, maybe fixing the perspective will help..

llothcat - pretty cool, just needs more work on the background.. the zombielike guy back there is just too goofy looking to go with the description.. i like that you made her older than most everyone else..

dominus - one of the better ones.. i like the original costume alot, sorta fetishistic.. the skin rendering is the weakest part.. its all one color, and the highlights just feel like individual spotlights all over her..

dazwatford - one of my favorite ones, very unique take on the subject.. i really like how you did the folds.. the face culd use some work in the structure.. its a hard angle to do out of your head.. idve searched for some reference to get it right

masque - another good one, one of the rare ones where i like the bg more than the figure.. the figure isnt bad, i just think you couldve elaborated more on her..

depleteD - pretty nice.. main problem is proportions, heads too big, and hands too small.. nice take on the subject as well

chuckmate - you have a nice style, no real flaws, its just my preference that i wish the eyes were a bit closer together..

barts - not bad for a sketch, im not a big fan of the dark nose thing, she doesnt read as victorian, thats the main prob to me.. also it doesnt quite look like she's gripping the umbrella..

walnut - nice sense of staging, im liking the monochromatic approach.. i didnt get the fabric in the back though.. it almost looked like super mario hills back there.. some pattern woulda helped..

main loop - hey whats a cirt without a self crit? someone mentioned that they werent really into the paisley.. neither am i really, i shoulda toned it down, made it a more sublte brown and added some variation to the values.. feels a little pasted on.. never was too satisfied with the flowers on the hat either..

jelter, awesome idea.. i think the cheek bones are a little too defined, tone down the light/dark separation.. the skeleton dude could use a bit of work, not sure if hes really doing anything for you back there..

hurricane - one of my favorites, i like the exotic look to her.. still feels a bit too sketchy in parts, like the drapery on the closer arm, and the hand is also unfinished looking.. i like the bird too..

djehuti - this was my favorite one.. the background handling, the quality of the other character, i get a real sense of the atmospere even thought is basically orange, a little yellow and a little purple, thats what sold it to me.. and i still get the focal point.. superb.. i just wish you didnt get lazy in certain areas.. the light part of the dress especially.. the little w's for the patern just dont work for me...

darth massacre - solid.. all it needs is some more color variation.. her face is a bit plastic looking as well..

sve - really nice.. she really looks like an 18th century woman as well.. someone william merrit chase woulda painted or something.. values get muddy in areas, especially the eyes..

bumskee - my second favorite.. the background detail is nice.. i just dont quite get where she's at.. the color temperatures are slightly inconsistent.. the colors on her are chalkier and cooler on her, even though (im assuming) they are lit by the same source.. where exactly is she? study djehuti's, its got what yours is lacking.. if yours two combined, oh man, what a tour de force that woulda been..

define - i love the decorative treatment.. i woulda maybe not went with such pastel colors on her, it competes too much withthe strong black.. she needs stronger values on her anyway..

miran - nice style.. get rid of that wierd texture in the back, you dont need it..

youngpaddy1 - hmm looks lie a movie star or something.. not bad.. idve made the sleeves fit tighter on her, goes more with the period and just looks better..

endregan - its ok, background and story are good, you just need more figure drawing mileage..

central - looks lie a fashion illustration.. not bad, you also just need more figure drawing practice

padorablood - beautiful face, the hand and arms are really hurting it though.. i love the brushwork, its just missing all sense of structure underneath it all..

carnifex - not bad, idve suggested that you started with the body underneath and added clothes over it, sort of the 'manequin' approach.. looks good, just needs more structre..

smot - same as carnifex, also the proportions are slightly off, i like the color pallete though

chingwa - really nice, the dress is feeling a bit wooden though.. sorta stiff.. did you use ny reference for it? the rest of it is pretty good...


that was a lot of typing.. my god, my arms are sore.. sorry if it felt like i was just fault finding, i didnt go enough into what you coulda done to fix those problems, but it was like 30 crits there, id be here all night.. good luck to all

[Chuck,mate.]

vote goes to Djehuti.
though she`s not really answering the description,
and the gentleman beside her kinda ruins it for her -
she`s the only one here that actually HAVE character.
which is a bit worrisome since this is
the "Character of the week"
activity.

[Dominus]

dominus - one of the better ones.. i like the original costume alot, sorta fetishistic.. the skin rendering is the weakest part.. its all one color, and the highlights just feel like individual spotlights all over her..

i agree, thanx for the crits! hope i`ll do better next time ( on mr. leech ;) )

my vote goes to bumskee.

[asoir]

Mos' definitely Djehuti, great style!

[Uziel]

Love your work main loop and Hurricane but bumskee got my vote.

[walnut]

It went between Djehuti and Main Loop for me, but i ended up choosing Djehuti's. Basically because i found his entry fitted the brief better. A hard choice to make, i loved the way Main did the clothing.

nice sense of staging, im liking the monochromatic approach.. i didnt get the fabric in the back though.. it almost looked like super mario hills back there.. some pattern woulda helped..

Thanks for the crit man. I tried to imitate those old victorian photographs where you had the person posing in front of a trompe l'oeil bg, but yes i guess i may have oversimplified the hills. At least i might land a job with Nintendo now? :)

[Miran]

Let’s see…

Vctr, your style perfectly suits the subject. It reminds me of some old painting. Kind of spooky. I guess the darker portion could’ve been reduced a bit and characters shifted towards the centre however I ‘m aware of the dark presence behind the whole concept so it’s cool.

Corrick, I’ve decided to vote for your work :). It has it all! The overall picture depicts the interior of some oriental mansion full of servants (just to denote main characters’ traveling around the world) who are gazing at the mysterious couple from the distance just to join us as witnesses of this bizarre moment where Mr. Fredrickson hands a blindfolded skull to his scholastic wife interrupting her writing. The blindfolded skull is actually the element that caught my attention. There’s so much mysticism in this moment.


Jason C-M, nicely rendered. I like the alchemist toolkit; nice touch. Mr. Fredrickson’s is depicted in a really horrific state which was too much for me I guess however I like how you expressed the devotion of Mrs. Fredrickson who puts up with all this (though with a necessarily bitter aftertaste) like a caring and loving wife she is.

SeanSutter, I really love your work and I almost decided to go with it. Basically, you had an idea similar to mine. I like the background details ;). I’m not sure whether it’s on purpose or not but the box in her lap is an interesting element. She doesn’t open it to see what’s inside but rather she’s about to allow us to see the contents ourselves as if whole background story is about to jump at us from this “Pandora’s box”.

llothcat, I liked your pic, especially the weird look on her face (Figures! Who wouldn’t go nuts with a cursed husband).
Now, I’m not sure if someone already commented similarly on this exact picture but she reminds me of my new aunt which completely ruined it for me (has nothing to do with the quality of your pic, trust me). Go figure it out, ha?! :D

Dominus, nice dark approach. However, she would be more suited to be an occultist than her husband is based on her attire. Her makeup looks smeared which, I guess, nicely expresses the grief for her husband’s terrible fate.

DazWatford, LOVIN’ YOUR STYLE! Everything’s there except… Well, I guess a book in her hands would be a nice detail especially if it was something occult (since there’s not too much room for anything mystical on a camel’s back).
I was totally late to join in but I had something like this in mind for one of the previous COWs featuring that steampunk Dragon Slayer chick.

masque, excellent work! I guess no one had this idea of Mr. Fredrickson being some kind of cursed knight. I’m not sure if you meant it to be like this but the crucifix and beads she clutches with her hands as an object of faith stands in the total opposition with her husband’s weapon which forms inverted cruciform of the dark side he has fallen to.

depleteD, nicely rendered. I guess the proportions are bit off but I like the mood and the secret in her hands, whether this is her husband’s dark past or what’s left from her joy. She covers her face with bandana to as a token of shame caused by her husband’s dark craftsmanship.

Chuck, mate., I like your cheerful approach to this dark theme. I think someone should hire you to illustrate covers for Harry Potter books. Your style would blend in perfectly.

Barts, honestly I taught it was manga at first glance. You’ve managed to depict he essence-a tender and gentle, young woman, exactly as most of us initially imagined her.

walnut, you’ve had a strange approach to this… Although she’s trying to appear joyful and dazzling she cannot seem to conceal the pain that’s troubles her young soul. Despite her personal innocence she generously accepts to live with her husband’s curse as if it was her own blessing.

Main Loop, this is probably one of the best works in this forum. What can I say… It’s perfect! The only thing I’ve had a problem with is this accidental pattern on a lace in her right hand which appears like a moustache at first glance.
But seriously, this is a masterpiece!

Jelter, man this is some spooky interpretation! The overall atmosphere gives me the creeps. Whatever the case he doesn’t seem to be particularly jealous husband when he lets his “dark companions” touch all over his wife!

hurricane, I was convinced that I’ll vote for your work (until I unexpectedly changed my mind :D). Great painting! And I think I’m the only one here who had no problem with her cleavage! I mean, it’s a piece of cloth and in reality cloth shifts depending of the movement. So let’s be real, if you saw the cleavage “off the axis” in some photo what would you say? For me it’s a slight imperfection which only benefits the realism of the picture.

Djehuti, something about your style reminds me of Chuck,mate’s work. Characters perfectly blend in with the background and the entire picture tells the whole for itself. Truly wonderful.

darth massacre, I love it! I like his hand on her shoulder. I was planning to draw similar “monster hands” around her upper arms and a pair of horrific eyes behind her glowing over her shoulder. Though Mr. Fredrickson is not visible entirely if I should cast an actor based on your art I’d definitely have Jeremy Brett in mind (if he’s still in the business :)).

sve, nice work. Was this painted digitally? Her face is strange, though… Almost like some B&W photos from 50s or 60s. I always think people (especially women) had strange features back then.

bumskee, amazing details on clothing. You really made an effort on this (or was it effortless ;) ?). Why is she so pissed off and at whom?

Define, I’d think of this as the wood block print where some Japanese artist tried to capture Lady Fredrickson’s tender beauty during one of her journey’s.

Miran, you definitely blew this one since it got almost no attention :D. Main Loop, thank you for your comment and the weird texture was supposed to compensate for the dark background and mist I didn’t get to finish.

young paddy 1, LOL this one is definitely not a gentle cookie! I guess this version would be something like Victorian occult Bonnie and Clyde. Nice work though.

Endregan. I love your casual style. And I always wondered who left Addams’ that beautiful house.

Central, interesting. I’d say one of the few non-digitals here (Or am I wrong :-O).

pandorablood, now this woman looks real! And again a clutch of beads?! People stop visiting these boards or we’re turn into a single collective consciousness. With a bit less cloth it’d make a nice pinup ;) .

Carnifex, another interesting style. Nice touch on the makeup-tear and ankh-walking staff.

smot, nice work. I guess her expression shows just how much she suffers. I think it’d be nice if she would be walking in the rain to slightly exaggerate the drama.

Chingwa, definitely one of the best entries. The confused look on her face is priceless. I’m confused about the situation though… Has she just killed her husband to end their mutual misfortune or has she just warded of his assailants?

[pandorablood]

Thanks Main Loop and Miran for the critic. I Definitely need to work on the arms and hands more....Anatomy is my weak point right now :\

It is just my crappy Internet connection or is bumskee's image not showing up? I tired reloading the page several times and nothing shows up......

Main loop, Corrick's and Jelter are my fav's but I would love to see bumskee's so I can decide whom to vote for!

[Chuck,mate.]

Let’s see…

Chuck, mate., I like your cheerful approach to this dark theme. I think someone should hire you to illustrate covers for Harry Potter books. Your style would blend in perfectly.




i`m not sure that`s a compliment. but thanks anyway.

:)

(5 hours of hand breaking CG painting -
0 votes and a harry potter cover book
art recommendation. yeah.. i`m a happy camper, wearing my huge happy-hat.)

[masque]

Miran -- great C&C, thanks for taking the time!

in response to your comments on my contribution, yes, the religious symbolism was absolutely intentional and intended exactly as you perceived. glad someone saw it as such, i thought maybe it was too obvious & melodramatic.

the more i thought about Isabelle, the more i felt she was much more than a 19th century fashion mannequin. deeply Catholic, of Spanish parentage (though my son says Italian), she has used her faith to sustain the one she loves despite her abhorrence for the methods he has chosen to battle evil, which, as you mention, are drawing him ever closer to their dark world.

hence the Rosary and also her rather austere garb (compared to what many others portrayed), which echoes both a nun's habit and the "plain and simple" cut of Calvinist and Shaker attire. interestingly, the Empire-style velvet gown is based on a lush portrait by Ingres (http://www.metmuseum.org/explore/Ingres/Ingres/HTML/el_ingres_c35f.htm), though his is much more alluring ;)

thanks for the kind words. glad you like my approach.

[noche]

jelter, because of a both fresh and rotten result

[darth massacre]

Thanks for the crit Mainloop and Miran. Appreciate the effort.

Mine didn't really turn out the way it looked on the sketch. The more I painted her face the more she looked like Kristanna Loken (at least to me) and I wasn't even using her face as a ref at the time. Wierd.

I'll talk about some others that caught my attention.

Jason C-M - One of the funniest....probably due to both Lady Isabelle's expression and the way it was played out. I dunno if the guy clutching on her skirt is Lord Fredrickson (I hope not, we have a new ChOW to correct that!) but it was still funny. It would be REALLY funny if the guy is really Lord Fredrickson.

DazWatford - This piece was really solid on ideas. I guess the focus is on Lady Isabelle but I'd have loved to see more background (and more camel). I mean, hell, I want to know whether they're in egypt or kenya!!

Masque - Scratching my head with yours dude. I like the how it was played out in general but I'm left wondering if they could be more affectionate if they weren't back to back.

Chuck - This is another piece that made me smile. I can't say much else. But she looks like a kickass Lady Isabelle without the need to show how kickass she was. Really wanted to vote for you too.

Mainloop - Dude you really smacked a lot of people on the head with this week's entry. The lace did it for me! And I like how she safekeeps her husband's soul.

Jelter - I'd have love to see a bigger scan. If there were multiple votes you'd get one from me. 2 reasons. Firstly I totally dig the way Lord Fredrickson was done in contrast to Lady Isabelle. 2nd reason, its done in watercolors!!! I think all artists using traditional for weekly activities should get 1.5 votes per click :P

Hurricane - Love it, except for her slight clevage problem :P And love the bird. Funnily we're doing orinthology this semester.

Djehuti - Got my vote. Because I thought the 2 figures compliment each other. That and she has the character to fit the bill. Though I'm not so sure her hand could go so high up his arm unless it had an extra articulation point.

Sveta - Prolly the only one that captured the poise of a 19th century lady....pretty bad situation when you consider the amount of entries we got for this one HAW HAW HAW HAW

Bumskee - I really wanted to vote for you dude. I really loooooooove the colors and there's nothing much to say about it because it'll be nitpicking an otherwise flawless piece. But I just had to ask....what's pissing her off?

Define - 2 words - Too Pink - :teeth: Naw I'm kidding. I had a hunch you were gonna do it in flat colors after seeing your sketch. Prolly suits the Art Noveau style if you were going for it.

YP1 - Kate eh? :D

Chingwa - C'mon, Lord Fredrickson isn't a pushover!! The lighting on this one was really nice. How the light pierces the trees and hit the wall. Some issues with the Lord's feet, I am in no position to crit further because I too wouldn't be able to do a better job. But damn your entry made it a teensy bit harder to vote.

That was a tough vote. Good thing Romance, Posh and Rascar didn't jump into the open barfight (technically that's what it was :D )

Edit/Add: PARKERD!! WHERE'S YOUR FINAL!!! :teeth:

[Jason C-M]

I gave the vote to main loop, because I feel he hit the elegance and sophistication, with a heavy air of mystery.

I was torn about Chuckmate's. I love the painting, but it just feels too happy-go-lucky (withered hand or no) for the character description. We're I voting without looking at the char description, he probably would have been my choice, though.

As an aside, I feel like an idiot, but Chuck I don't really follow your statement "she`s the only one here that actually HAVE character. which is a bit worrisome since this is the "Character of the week" activity." As I'm kinda new to CHOW and character design as a whole, would you be willing to spell this out for me?

[Victor B]

Thanks to Mainloop and Miran for the in deph crits. Mainloop hit it right on the head it was rushed! I will try to do better next time, Miran thanks I tried to go for that but obviously it was rushed perhaps I can do a better job next time.

[endregan]

Main - thanks for the crit. I know what you mean, especially with the females I really have to draw it up. I only pencilled this one but we'll see if Ill bust out the paints next time. Im really going back to the basics and trying to focus on linework and form and all that jazz. I really liked the amount of detail you put into yours btw.

miran - thanks for the crit as well. Hey whats this about the Adamms house? Maybe I did something subconsiously and didnt even realize it haha.

A lot of quality works this time. I would crit but main went over a lot of things already really. I hope we get this much attention to the character of the week in the future. These are fun.

[Alday.J]

Hi, ladies and gentlemen ! I think that CHOW ill be a pleasure to comment, so many great entries here. Bravo ! My english is not perfect, so feel free to forgive me for my C+C.

@ vctr: Nice mood on that pic. I guess the shadow behind her is Lord F. I like the way you play with her scarf. Maybe too much empty space on the left ? Cheers, dude.

@ Corrick: He ! He ! Remember me lot of orientalist artists, with the fantastic touch. Nice done. She fits quite well to the description.

@ Jason C-M: :x You made a giant step since I check the first step in your SB. It's impressive, really. Very good entry here.

@ SeanSutter: If the smoke who go away from the box is an important element, you have to show it more ! It's hard to see for me.

@ llothcat: Nice mood, remember me some ol' english movie. Guess the guy in the left side is Lord F.

@ Dominus: Superb, can't crit ! The font is very good too.

@ DazWatford: I like this one, wow ! Elegant and precise, from the lines to the colors. Bravo !

@ masque: Good idea to reveal her by put her in red dress on a cold blue background. The stance of the character is very good. No crits.

@ depleteD: Nice render, even if the head is too big. The big empty space on the right doesn't work for me.

@ Chuck,mate.: Hi, dude ! I like the mood of this one... refreshing. Nice colors and textures, clear lines (as always with you). Nice shot, man !

@ Barts: Play more with values. Draw a full character could be fine, too. She's cute but I don't know if it fits to the character's description.

@ walnut: Remember me some photos of Sarah Bernard took by Mucha for his theatre posters. Nice mood here. Elegant. Love the egyptian objects dispatched here and there.

@ Main Loop: Rhaaaa ! Lovely ! Can't crit and close to have my vote.

@ Jelter: Nice idea with the arms !

@ hurricane: I'm simply speechless.

@ Djehuti: I think something's wrong with Lord F's shoulder, but can't say what exactly. Aside that, it's very good ! Maybe a little more work on the background. Tones and shadows are very well done.

@ darth massacre: I like that idea and Lord F. is freaky ! It creates a good contraste with the main character. Maybe a little somthing, like texture ? My two cents.

@ sve: Nice, Sveta ! But if you start to texture the left lower part of your pic, why don't you did the same on the full background ? Just asking. Very elegant entry.

@ bumskee: :x I love you ! (but you know that allready, don't ya ?)

@ Define.: Looks like the good ol' posters from Mucha (and so many others). Good idea to play with it.

@ Miran: Even if you don't have the time to put colors on it, take a look at artists like Mike Mignola or Frank Miller. They have found a great way to suggest a scene and/or character in black and white. Just a suggestion.

@ young paddy1: Darker values ! And that's all for the crits ! Your stance is very very good and I found her attractive. Nice stuff, man.

@ endregan: The idea is nice but I think your pic can be more clean. Paid attention to values, your pic look "flat".

@ central: Variation of size with your lines will give your stuff more effective and elegant.

@ pandorablood: Superb ! No crits, I like the mood of it ! ;)

@ Carnifex: You character need some more expression.

@ smot: Same crit.

@ Chingwa: Damn ! Another great entrie here. Probably the one who fits the most to the devotion of that character to her husband ! Superb ! :)

Hard to find a winner here. My favorites are Chingwa, Hurricane, bumskee, Main Loop and Chuck Mate ! But i like also the entries of Young Paddy 51, Pandorablood, DazWatford and Walnut. In a general way, I found a thing: most of you integrate Lord F. to your entries, but you all hide him, by shadows, stance or playing with the point of view. That's a very good thing, I think.
At last my vote goes to Hurricane !
But it was a real pain to made a decision. Congrats, everyone, tons of good stuff.
Cheers.
J.

[Interceptor]

My picks Were Bumskee and Young Paddy 1. I still have'nt voted yet.

[neoknocker]

Hurricane, Great work.

[hurricane]

i voted for pandorablood, i liked the feeling it had !

bumskee, mainloop walnut great !!!

thanks for the critique and comments guys and gals !!

<3 <3 !

[Define.]

I went for Main Loop. I love everything about her; her mysterious look, the colours used and the clothing. The umbrella's a good addition as well. Chuck,mate was a close runner-up.


This Chow for me was yet another practise round, since I'm still learning how to use my god forsaken Paint Shop program. There's still plenty of things I don't know about it, and that frustrates me. Not to mention that everytime I start a piece I have to rush through the end. Thanks for the C&C's guys, very much appreciated!

[styler]

I went for mainloop. I really liked hurricane and bumskee's also.

[Beastmaster Fred]

Djehuti got my vote. The painting really feels like it´s naturally telling us a story and it´s rendered very nicely (although there are parts of the pic that feels rushed and uninspired) in a great style.

[Corrick]

Voted for Main Loop. Incredible rendering, exquisite texturing, very nice.

Other favorites were Chingwa, Jelter, Djehuti and Bumskee.

Main Loop, Miran, Alday j., thanks for the critiques. This was a kickass round and an insanely hard vote, everyone did an outstanding job with this topic.

[sve]

Hello to all. First of all thank you for presenting your version of this character and special thanks for sharing your impressions. Very nice of you. I appreciate it a lot.
I'll try to give mine, although I ask before head don't take too close to your heart if you don't agree.

vctr I really like the sense of quiet horror I feel when I look at your image. I don't know what it's going on, but it has a feel of some unpleasant events. So the painting is very moody, and I like it a lot. Your character looks like a strange mix of English never been married unhappy old maid and (you would be surprised) a gypsy. Yeah, I know, kind of hard to combine those two opposites in one person, but in my opinion, you did it. I'm not sure it fits the description about educated and beautiful. I might be wrong. I really like this very strong subconscious effect in your piece. I can imagine some very intriguing story happening with this character.

Corrick I like your entry very much from the first sight. I really like that first sketch. It has the nice story about a person from the other culture, country, mindset in foreign to her surrounding. I thought is you will work more I would vote for you. Unfortunately. Later the character lost the historical aspect. Her face looks very contemporary, very sensual and emancipated. I doubt that well mannered, strictly brought uptight married woman of reign of queen Victoria would allow yourself to bend her back that much . They were sitting very straight at the edge of the chair and even being 70 years old they never allowed their back touch the back of the chair.
This young lady fits more to next centre, young emancipe. Her very sensual, passionate face tells me the same. It's a woman who found out the taste of freedom. I have doubt she will keep the secret of her husband to herself. :). Overall, I like your entry a lot.

Jason C-M Very attractive character, it's alive and very likeable person, in my opinion. I love very many things in your entry starting from colors, expression of her face, her costume, the story behind the picture. it does have a feeling of very late 18 centre. I'm not sore about her being an chemist. It was possible I guess, but being a lady meant you are belong to an idle class, working for living was disgrace. Victorian married woman was a part of propriety of the husband. A very beautiful part, a nice gem to his collection of material possessions. So Ii see your character differently, as someone born in not a noble class. Nevertheless, your character is very interesting one. I enjoy it. :)

SeanSutter Very nice Victorian atmosphere in your image, I mean the books. dark fabric wallpaper, outfit of your heroine, the box she is holding. I agree with your interpretation, It was a time when material things were soul and very strong characterisation of their owner. ( it's even more so, because each thing was hand-made very often or had an unique design, was cherished and inherited from past generation.)
I like your choice of color too. Her face and pose didn't tell me much about her, and I think it's very important in a any portrait, even if you chose a stylisation.

llothcat Very cool, that's a lady all right. Could be old maid to though. Really like the malicious atmosphere in your work. This poisonous green color of her dress, half dead face and drakness add a lot to this feeling. Geez she really looks like a murderer. I have a strong association with a famous women-poisoners ( it'was more then enough of those in england with all those interesting stories about huge heritage and sudden death of heirs. Sometimes when I see very dark BG, I think the artist trying to hide something from a viewer ( know it from my own bad tendency ;)). In your case, the darkness works, adds a lot and really doesn't look like way to hide flaws. I have a trouble to believe she is beautiful though. Looks like Cinderella stepmother too. :)

Dominus OMG, that's a lot of sex-appeal for uptight close minded British lady. She would be a pariah among her class . She has my sympathy though. :). But I could imagine her from a half a century before or in our time. Or I could see her in some Spanish carnival messing with some young fellow. Very cool personality nevertheless.

DazWatford I'm very fond of your interpretation and execution. Very enjoyable image, I love everything about, a sunny day, an illusion of a slow motion and slight swinging of a camel (a very cool hint on her traveling a lot, even exactly traveling to some Arabian country, Egypt, only you and Corrick used this information, that's awesome), her traveling outfit, all these awesome details, humorous approach, her face, very precise juicy expression on her face, enjoying life. So i love everything, I just have a trouble to believe this woman has some difficulties in her life and a very dark secret to keep. And again she feels too emancipe for me.

masque Very interesting story and an interaction between those two characters. You showed a lot how tragically different those two people are, how unavoidable the horrible events in their lives are. Man face being in the BG look more interesting for spectator though. I wish you added more details and hints to main character. And I would put her to earlier Medieval times. Colors add so much to a very right in my opinion interpretation of her and her husband characters. I see it as slow growing danger to existence of these two.


depleteD I love how you did her naked shoulders, tattoo and a dress. Unfortunately her face doesn't give a lot of clues, and it should in portrait , as i see it. Ans she really looks like someone from the century before, when the noble class was not that uptight, but pretty wild actually. I can see her as being swept by some pirates and kept by them for ransom or something.
Head is too big, really distracts from the painting.

Chuck,mate. She is very nice lady, but I don't read any gruesome details in her face, pose or surroundings ( s was offered by the description). I would say she lived a very comfortable, pleasant life, had a lot of children and relatives and her main concern to have enough jam to her five-o-clock. Chemical attributes look out of place, IMHO. I want to end on a good note, and say I love your COW and will vote for you. :).

Barts, pretty good interpretation of lady Isabelle tragic character, but the outfit was very popular in Napoleon rule, around 1812.

walnut Lovely fragile lady Isabelle, really likeable character, she makes me feel a compassion to her. Like a white beautiful swan. A lot of information in her pose, face and modest aura. I like her. Fits description almost perfectly. Not sure if she is educated beyond church and kitchen though.
Really like how you did the textures of her beautiful shawl. that's a very nice detail from this time period.

Main Loop I see your character as a lovely seductive charming young woman, passionate woman, capable to make man heart beats faster. Maybe a bit troubled woman, who doesn't know her heart well and will meet a lot of drama on her way. You put a lot of details about her character in her face, gesture, pose, outfit, colors, accessories, so it makes it easier for me.
I see her as confused woman because of some nervousness about her, her hiding under the lace, her slipping away pose, kind of escaping. Her small hands and perfect outfit (especially fresh, best quality gloves, very important for showinga good breeding and belonging to her class), all this tells a lot about her aristocratic roots.
Dark BG with pattern is very good hint to the Victorian epoch.

What didn't work for me is that I didn't feel a harmony in her figure, too many sharp angles, a bit awkward. The BG and the character don't connect. in my opinion, and , btw, BG has a sharper outlines in its pattern than the closer to spectators figure of the lady.
I love how much human features you gave her, she is a real person with very definite personality. Some execution specifics effected my decision to vote. I hope you will not take my opinion close to your heart. I love how you painted her gloves, shirt and skirt.

Jelter Very nice interpretation of the character, strict mother and loyal wife. Very respectful member of the society. Very proud and probably self-righteous. I think she would feel utter disgust and shame being obliged to be married to her not totally impeccable husband. I think your character is all about appearance, so you put a lot of emphasise in her outfit ( which is perfect and truthful). Her face has a bit arrogant expression on her face, she is not likeable, but certainly strong character who is capable stay on her own grounds being married to hubby like that :). I had trouble with her being beautiful though.
looked again, do you see her as a moving force behind her husband dark business?

hurricane. Your character amazed me with her originality and beauty. It's an alive person with very strong, I would say, powerful personality. She has a lot of feminine charm about her. Very strong, independent female character, I met people like her, so I'm smitten with the truthfulness and brightness of your lady. Posture,the expression of her face ( very confident, experienced, with a slight hint of contempt to human race, as I see it), how you did her hands ( you gave her very energetic, active hands, btw), her hair, her saturated definite colors ( that suggest that she is a mature independent thinking person too), all this led me to one unified interpretation of the character. It's totally different from mine, but nevertheless i love it.
I voted for you.
I have some notes though. I do think that you used the dark BG to hide some flaws in her figure. Her outfit is more of a fantasy creation and anyway it defines her as someone from Medieval centuries. She might be well educated for this period of time, but i have doubts about her being competent enough for 1850-1900.
But I really like the personality of your character and the awesome lace on her dress. In most features she is a very good match to description.

OK. I make a break here.

[Main Loop]

i`m not sure that`s a compliment. but thanks anyway.

:)

(5 hours of hand breaking CG painting -
0 votes and a harry potter cover book
art recommendation. yeah.. i`m a happy camper, wearing my huge happy-hat.)

haha.. a little bitter? chill out.. havent you won one of these before already anyway?

[central]

amazing stuff people, cant wait for the next one.

well it was a close one between bumskee and mainloop but my vote goes to mainloop for his attention to detail, although there's nothing i can crit about bumskee, but all the little things that mainloop's worked on added up for me.

@corrick : nice pic was watchin urs from the start, like the shadin uv done.

@dazwatford: think u had the most imaginative settin by far, all the others were more or less the same.

@depleteD : ur WIPs REALLY ARE WIPs (with all the little comments and arrows all over the place, its like a building schematic), but ur finished work really came out great.

@Djehuti : love ur style, really enjoyed lookin at urs.

well thanx for the crits really appreciate all those who took time off. got a lot to improve on that's for sure, but that's the fun part. a journey is only as good as the road u tread.

than-ya-whad ( thank you )

[Rascar Capac]

Went with Jelter - very different...original

[sve]

Djehuti I like how you depict this strange couple, he looks so dark and sick and she is youthful and energetic. She looks very loyal and very devoted to her husband (carrying the book with a occult symbol). And pretty confident.
Very interesting choice of the colors, they suggest expectations of a wonderful future, a pleasant state of mind. So I guess this young lady contends that her husband is on a right way. I really like how different in age, attitude and state of minds those two characters are. The Lord Fredrickson looks all fed up and no good for further battles. The only thing I can add the outfit of young lady doesn't really looks Victorian. Those square padded shoulders were invented much later, around 1930-1940 years. In the 18th century the charming round sloping shoulders were considered beautiful.

darth massacre I feel sorry that such a beautiful luxurious woman is bound up to live with the half dead individual. Her pose is very confident though, free from any heavy feeling. s She is not hiding from eye contact, and I think she will come out of her life mess unharmed, victorious. She looks like a panther before jump, very well put together and pragmatic. The only note she doesn't look like someone from the 18 century. I doubt they could stain the fabric in this artificial colors then . In the 18th centuries the pigments were mostly natural, from minerals and plants, so the colors were more natural looking too.

Sve :) a lot could be better, skills are lacking terribly. Just to answer some questions. I wanted to show a woman of middle of 18th century, brought grown to be a good devoted wife and well mannered mistress of the house, so very well suited for domestic life, sweet, charming, educated, with proper for a lady posture and manners, hopefully goodlooking, with some sadness in her face (well, because of the dark secret of her hubby). I wanted to catch in the image the charm of the portraits of the 18th century. I wanted to give the illusion of oil or pastel. I wanted to give the Lady Isabelle a sweet nature. It's actually more like a drawing in wacom, totally digital. Yep, should thought out more many things, including BG.
Thank you Main Loop, Julien, darth massacre, Miran for giving your thought to me, I appreciate it hugely, very grateful, very sweet of you.

bumskee I already wrote in your thread about my impression. I think you did a tremendous job with fashion and textures. She looks like very thin, proper, decent, well put together British woman from the end of 18th century. Feel of fabric is amazing. A lot of beauty in this image. But her face is the weakest feature, You don't tell much about her inner world. As I already told she is very introvert, looks almost mentally ill to me actually. She could be very nicely educated or illiterate for all I know. Not much I can dig up about her character. And maybe you are right. Maybe she didn't have her own soul, but was just a reflection of Lord Fredrickson, very domineering person.

Define. She looks like a fairy tale character, a dreamy, sleepy beauty. For this bending kind of posture she would be probably beaten up with an umbrella by her aristocratic mother. But I like her gentle figure. She looks out of this would and I agree it's a possible interpretation of the character. I just think that description was asking for certain historical character in certain time period.

Miran beautiful ink lines. Very good illustration for a book. Her costume, the hat and her face are very truthful. I like the style very much, very fast and bold. She looks very independent thinking, would be great for depicting some suffragist, member of early feminist organisation. :) And maybe you are right in this interpretation.
I wish I could see all the image at once, without moving the bars. I like her face a lot. I would love to see you draw surrounding her atmosphere with the same beautiful lines. Without this the image looks unfinished, suddenly left in the middle of drawing.

young paddy1, OMG, she is a very tough looking woman. I think Lord Fredrickson is no more, died from a shooting wound and left her a very wealthy woman after long years of unhappy marriage. She looks utterly fed up. I think their plans for future were polar opposite and she lost all her other ways to persuade him.

endregan I like your interpretation very much and the style you chose too. Very interesting two characters, husband and wife. He is all in occultism, weapons and books and she is trying to give their life more normal appearance. Very funny, as I see it. I like this cartons style very much.

central I really don't see this lady as someone from 18th century. Her outfit, colors and general cheerful attitude tells me it's closer to 1920th years.

pandorablood Very beautiful Lady Isabelle. I like her face a lot, very involving face and persistent. I like her pose. I wish you put more time and efforts in this. Looks like a great portrait. She looks a bit obsessed, fanatical.

Carnifex I think her outfit is very truthful, she does have a nice posture, but you really didn't give many clues about her character. The interpretation can go any possible way.

smot she looks very serious, devoted to some ideas, she is apparently obsessed about. I really like these calm, subtle colors and style in which you drew her. The costume though makes me think about Medieval times.

Chingwa. That' s a very beautiful, well thought out illustration. I love very many things about your entry. Very interesting characters, both , husband and wife. She is like a brave loyal spirit fighting to the end, very likeable personality. And her husband, degrading, dark, sick, disgusting looking individual, her dark secret, her sad thoughts, the source of grief and mess in her life. He is lucky to have her on his side.
It's even more striking comparing how fragile and feminine her thin figure is. And how improper she dressed to meet the enemy. I see a fear and horror in her round frozen in their movement eyes, it's probably her first sin, a first murder to save her husband. A little brave woman in tragic tough condition.
I love the colors, details, lighting and composition very much.

The only note is that she is dressed in the outfit fashionable around 1812 year. The same goes to pattern on the wall of the house and the pitcher. Exactly around this time neoclassicism ( Greek style hairdo, fashion, architecture) were very proper, popular.
So thank you very much dor the pleasure i have going through your interprtation, I hope you wil take it just like one person opinion, nothing much.
Sveta

[central]

take about goin down to the wire. mainloop and bumskee better start askin any and every life-form on the site,able enuf to select the button next to their name and press vote, to do it now!!!!
neways both u guys have done INCREDIBLE work, i guess the final result will just be down to people's personal taste rather than skill, at least that's how i c it.

[fes]

My vote went to MainLoop this time, because it was skillfully done and as I imagined the character would be. I also admired Bumskee's but felt the face let her down. I loved the facial expression/emotion in Chingwa's (and it was also well done)and considered voting for that, but Mainloops costume and rendering won!

[voraz]

Voted Corrick. Also liked a lot the ones from Main Loop, Hurricane, Bumskee and Djehuti.
really nice stuff.
Fil

[Jason C-M]

I dunno if the guy clutching on her skirt is Lord Fredrickson.
It wasn't supposed to be, and I was pretty surprised when Miran thought it was. Thanks for the thumbs up!

Sve, thanks for the comments -- I hadn't intended on her being a chemist, just a pragmatic and intelligent lady who knows everything relevant to lich hunting.

Alday, Miran, Mainloop, thanks also -- I'll take a good look at the perspective/etc. I hope to make time to make this into a more finished piece.

[Fozzybar]

voted for DazWatford
it looks like a snapshot from a movie or something, like there is a story going on and we can see a small part of it...i like it and it makes me want to know more, that's enough for getting my vote...oh and of course the style and illustration is great ;)
This line from the description fits perfectly and that says all:
"Beuatiful, elegant, educated and poised. She is Lady Isabella Fredrickson."

[Jelter]

I voted for bumskee because i thought it was the most evil looking which was the feeling I got from the description. Main Loop's was also really good, but although it's easy to tell what is in front of her face, i feel like it could have been handled a little differently because that area gets kind of busy. Thanks for the feedback main loop, sve, miran,and Alday J. I think you were right about the background guy, he gave me a lot of shit while i painted it. i guess hes cursed.

[Main Loop]

thans for critting.. haha, yeah it does look like a moustache doesnt it? you guys are right, i coulda done it a little different.. very good point about the bg, sve, i cshoulda brought the sharpness down a notch..what do you mean about the sharp angles? do u think you can clarify that some?

[Zergaloth]

There's a lot of ladies, but there are few real Isabelle Fredericksons.

Jelter - you got my vote. You've got her, you've got an original idea and it's not bloody digital for once.

Walnut - you definitely got her, but you messed up that dress where it reaches the ground. Too bad, really.

Hurricane - Wow. It's just that I decided not to vote anything digital this time. Maybe a little more light behind the bird, a little less open space behind her back and a facelift. (there's really something about the face, the lips, the nose... I don't know)

Will do more later. Excellent round.

[sve]

To Main Loop

I'm kind of regretting already that i said it, but anyway... I mean, look at her elbow, her waist, folds on her sleeve, shoulders line, all this has a lot of sharp angles and broken with no beginning and no ends lines. I'm actually starting to think that it was a conscious decision from you, it adds to nervousness, speed of happening, in my opinion. But at first sight I just saw it as not very well thought out figure. Your image does show very alive person, though.
Sveta
If you're feeling like saying more about flaws in my image I would apreciate it a lot.

[Chingwa]

This was a hard decision.... came down to these three for me:

Corrick: A nice scene and I love the exotic feel to the whole picture. Lady Isabelle is obviously well travelled and mysteriously macabre, however I found myself wishing for more detail in the rendering

hurricane: You would have got my vote for the raven alone... such a beautiful rendering job! However there are a few issues that do glare at me like the thickness of her neck and the breast alignment (ahem... did I just say that?). I love the fact that there is only a suggestion of certain elements, like her hand, it shows a nice sensitivity to the overall mood of the "portrait". The main reason I didn't go with your entry is because Lady Frederickson, to me, feels more exotic than her situation and I don't understand anything about her background story from the picture. Beautifully done though!

Jelter: This had an excellent mood... extremely macabre and creepy. Lady Isabelle is older, wiser, and looks like her experience and burden weigh her down somewhat. I love how you placed Lord Frederickson off to her side, almost as if he is always weighing on her thoughts whether he is there or not. I do wish there was some background to the painting, but I think overall it works here without it. This got my vote. Great Job.



And to those who commented on mine:
Main Loop: Thanks for the crit. Her dress does look a little stiff to me too. I used reference but I just did not translate the billowiness of it well in my painting.

Brok3n Spirit: Your Aunt huh.... Hmmmm.... uhh.. hmmmmm..... heheheh.

Miran: Thanks a lot. I'm really happy with how her face came out. Of course, she is protecting him from the unseen demon before her... but I can see how it isn't precisely clear that she didn't just slice off part of his arm herself (I'm she would like to do so...)

Darth Massacre: No, Lord Frederickson isn't a pushover.... but he isn't immortal. He get's hangnails like the rest of us, and occasionally a big bad Lich can get the best of him. (especially when he has a hangnail... man those things can be distracting). Thanks for your comments!

Alday J.: Her devotion to him was exactl what I was going for most. I'm glad to know it came through in the final painting!

sve: WOW Thanks for taking such an interest in my entry to comment as you did. I really feel my painting gave you insight into the character and that makes the work all worthwhile. I do understand what you mean about the time period. My intention was to show them in a foreign place... thus the background has specific Motif's that they themselves do not. I do see now how I errored a bit in her dress choice, which gives me something to be more attentive to in future paintings. Thanks so much!

And an especial thank you thus far to Endregan, Englishduke, and Maddog4never for voting for my entry. Anyone else wanna vote for me??? There still time to catch up to those posers MainLoop and Bumskee... not all is yet lost!!!! :D

[SeanSutter]

Wow,
Thanks for the crits, they are all really helpful!

As far as my voting i have to say
Chingwa, Bumskee, DazWatford,Djehuti and Hurricane You guys did an incredible job. I really like where you took these. Its so awesome to see the different ways people take the drawing depending on what the got out of a simple peragraph.
I think you guys really captured the character to most for me. GREAT WORK!
But when it comes down to one Id say Hurricane is my favorite,
Her age is great, the colors are awesome, and Ravens are my favorite animal.
"Awesome stuff" to everyone!!!!
weeeeeeeee

[walnut]

Miran - Waw, i hadn't even seen that! I did want to make her sad and unhappy (she has good reason after all) but you seem to be reading more into it. It's an interesting observation however, and it's very appreciated.
Alday J. - I think know what pics you're talking about. They were probably subliminally stuck in my mind though i didn't use them as direct reference. Which sounds stupid now since i have some Mucha books lying around here. D'oh.
sve - Thanks for the comment and i'm glad you liked it.
Zergaloth - Thnaks. As for the dress i was doing that on the fly so yeah there is still some room for improvement there.

[walnut]

Oops. Double post. Must be the forum behaving badly.

[DazWatford]

Howdy all,

I’m fairly new here, so I still feel a little guilty posting with no art attached, but I wanted to acknowledge some of you guys :D

@FozzyBar: Thanks for the kind words and the Vote. You’re nearly exactly right, while I didn’t plan a specific story, I did put a lot of thought in to how to portray this character, and extrapolated a kind of “history” for her. With the image I was trying to show her in a previous “adventure” that would hint at where she’s from and the sort of person she is. A bit like the opening 10 mins of “Raiders of the Lost Ark”, if you follow my parallel?

@ Sve: Thanks and you’re actually bang on with a couple of your “critisms”

“I just have a trouble to believe this woman has some difficulties in her life and a very dark secret to keep. And again she feels too emancipated for me.”

I actually imagined her as an eternal optimist (possibly even a little in denial) waking up every morning believing that THIS is the day they remove her husband’s curse (a counter-balance to her husband, who wakes up every evening wondering if it’s the night his wife will have to destroy him.) I also wanted to make her quite independent looking (yup, I know we’re a little ahead of feminism here ;) ) as I’d envisioned a situation where her husband is “weaker” during daylight, so she often has to do some of the adventuring. Although this is not out of any wish of hers to be emancipated, more out of her desire to be a dutiful and loyal wife. I tried to draw her going on a perilous adventure, but with the same expression as if she were planning a Dinner Party, or visualising which Evening Gown to wear.

@ Main Loop: Thanks and Good skills yourself.
Please take this in the good sprit that it’s intended, but I really wish you hadn’t used that “Paisley Fill” in your background of yours, I feel it spoils what is an other wise incredible piece of work.

Also, thanks to bRØk3n_sPiRiT, Miran, Darth Massacre, Alday J, Central and Sean Sutter for general kind words and faving :D

It was a really tough call, considering the number of high quality entries, but if I had to pick one element of all the entries that I MOST wished I possessed myself, it would be Sean Sutter’s lines. While I agree that his line weight could use some variation, I found the actual placement of his lines wonderful. Incredibly relaxed and confident. So that’s where my vote went.

Thanks again

[Icey]

not wxactly my ideea of a lich hunter's wife, but... vote goes to main loop! :)