Critique, please.

[PugnaciousTurtle]

Heya, fellas. Not much to say about this really...go nuts, I guess.

http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e95/Stride11/Blue-Knight-Olympics.jpg

Okay, so there it is. I have a lot of trouble with backgrounds, so it'd be really cool if I could get a ton of advice on that. Also, another thing I really have trouble with is changing the camera view, like, instead of looking at something straight on, you get a view from 3/4ths top down...so if you all could give me advice on that too, that'd be great. Other then that, go ahead and gimme what you can on this one.

Critique away!

[romance]

I'm having a hard time reading the ground. It looks as if the blue character is actually floating, try putting a shadow underneath the character and his opponents.

The Olympic symbol on the ground is too skewed as well, not to mention it draws the eye away from the action, I say remove it.

The arm across the blue characters chest is getting lost. Make the chest area under the arm a bit darker so the arm pops out. That glow just isn't doing enough.

The silhouette of the crowd is too dark. Like the symbol on the ground, it draws the eye away from the action. Reduce the crowd value somewhere in between what it is now and what the background color is.

Hope this helps.

[AdamDillabo]

cool idea. i wonder if thats how things will be. im not a big fan of the fish eye view it would look more natural if it were the opisite like there in an arena

[Bai Fan]

It looks to me that the background wall(?) is dictating the perspective of the piece, and that is what is making it read as low and right in front of the bot. It might work a bit better for you if you were to almost completely flatten out the top of the wall and curve out more the bottom.

I would also shrink down the green lower half and move it down a bit so it looks more like below the blue bot and not just a few steps behind. Choosing a light source to show shadows and adding a bit of textures (ground at least) might help to define the space a bit better too.

[Ryn]

I think the "olympic 2-76' text is far too bright. It's drawing attention away from the robots. You should make it a lighter shade of grey, or something that will blend better with the blue.

[PugnaciousTurtle]

Okay, thanks alot peoples. Much, much appreciated!

[theshunzun]

Personally, I think that there just arent enough variations in value and light to give the illo depth. It most likely has to do with the fish-eye perspective thing. You should try to make the gray in the far background darker, and perhaps add some more shadows to the characters in front, b/c right now everything looks flat. Experiment and see what happens.

[jorgezevallos]

not enough detail for the subject matter of technology and machinery and the environment is too abstract

[egerie]

Define your light source(s) and stick with it. It'll help you establish the space, especially the change between the ground and a wall.
For future pieces, establish your perspective FIRST. A fisheye effect can be difficult to achieve as the distortion needs to be consistent not only with the background but also with the characters... or else they don't seem to be on the "same plane of existence" :)

The rings on the ground are really showing a major problem with the perspective... Anyhow, you can still work on this but be bold with light. Try to get some references from either public venues that have a more show approach compared to the brightly, even lit current sports competition. This seems to be what you're going for in terms of subject anyway..

[PugnaciousTurtle]

I agree with everything you all are saying, especially as far as defining the light sources and stuff goes. Also didnt know about the fish eyed thing. Thanks alot.

[Bai Fan]

Can't wait for an update!