Out for a stroll (updated again)

[D.Red]

Hello again, I thought I'd have a go at some warhammer characters this time.

As a painting, erm... digital painting, I think there's still a ways to go before I can call it finished. Seeing as how you've all been so helpful in the past I figured I'd post it up and see what you thought of it so far. Does anything stand out as being way off, or does it just look like it needs finishing to you?

Cheers for taking a look.
All the best,
Duane.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v691/DRed01/outforastroleb.jpg

[Stugmeister]

Some nice work there D.Red!

My only crits would be that the jump-pack needs to be a bit more bulkier and that maybe you could add some more colour to the Nid - more hues. Oh and finally, add some Chapter heraldry to the Marine.

Otherwise I'm loving the composition and angle of the pic.

[Lord Dubu]

This might be warhammer (And it's a good WH render) but my immediate response to it was the same I got while reading John Steakly's "Armor". Good work.

[D.Red]

Wow, well that was a much nicer response than I was expecting. Thank you.

Stugmeister, thank you for your comments, you certainly know more about Warhammer than I do. I wasn’t sure about the jet pack, my ref. was pretty small for that guy. (About 4x4 mm) But I noticed that none of the guys in that gang were mounted on glass spikes, so I wasn’t sure if they could fly or if the packs were just to take some of the weight off their suits to help them move a bit faster. I think you’re right about the Nid. As for the glyphs on the marine, I have tried a few out but I haven’t really managed to settle with anything I like just yet. Thanks again for your post, you’ve been very helpful.

Thanks Lord Dubu, I don’t think I’ve had my work compared to a book before, or at least referred to in the same sentence. I did a quick search for it on Google, sounds like something I should really have read. Nice gallery by the way.

I’m going to leave this for a while now, while I try something else, hopefully I can come back to this pic in a few days with fresh eyes, (so to speak). I’ll let you know how I get on.

Thanks again for your help.
All the best,
Duane.

[robrov21]

Lord Dubu: wow, sorry about this being not on the topic of the artwork, but...

...it's awesome to hear another person that appreaciates John Steakleys Armor as much as I did. I've read that novel at least three times in the last ten years..my favorite novel easily. I need to buy a new copy, my original is hammered. The latest print has new artwork on it too.

As for the piece (sorry D.Red), it looks fanatstic. I think you could use a little more contrast with your creature, or color difference, so he stands out more against that background. The armored guy's feet don't look like he's standing on the ground, which could just be because it's unfinished.

[D.Red]

Now I REALLY want to read this book. You're quite right robrov21, the feet do need a bit of work. As for the colour choices in the back ground, I was trying to reflect the way the tyranids fight, making environments their own as they advance. It IS making it a bit tricky to make that character pop though. I'm hoping the reflective light might solve the problem.... we'll see....

Cheers,
Duane

[D.Red]

Thought I'd post the picture I did to take my mind off the first one.

What do you think?

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v691/DRed01/tank.jpg

Cheers,
Duane

[robrov21]

I love the vehicle design, very nice. I love the dark, forboding atmosphere. Makes you feel like you are hiding in a foxhole, hoping he doesn't see you as he steers the tank over the drift. Very nice. I wish I knew more about the terrain though. Like, is it sand, hard pack dirt, grass?

[Lord Dubu]

I like the Rhino. Looks great in B&W.

[dindon]

Both nice work. I don't have any suggestions really.

I've read Armor too. It's pretty good. I have a book with the work of Jim Burns, he did one of the covers for Armor. He's definitely worth checking out.

[D.Red]

Thanks everyone, here's an update on the first pic, I've done a bit more on the fore ground and added some detail to the marine, still got a lot to do on the tyranid though....

all the best,
Duane

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v691/DRed01/outforastrollc.jpg

[Elwell]

I think you could pump up the intensity of the yellow a bit.

[airrunkle]

I agree with Elwell about the yellow. The right leg is bugging me - it seems that if the hero's right arm is in that position, the right leg would be inside the arm.
You've got some interesting textures in the background. I really like that small skull on his back too!

[Justice Von Brandt]

I like it, but the right leg does seem off.

[Supervlieg]

Try lowering the contrast on the Tyranid to get more depth.

Add some shadow to the right leg of the bot to make it seem more behind the othere leg.

[D.Red]

Thanks Elwell, will do…

Cheers I hadn't noticed anything off about the right leg, I think it may need bending a bit more to lengthen it a bit. It was intended to be inside the arm, I thought it read that way, thanks for pointing that out. I think it may just need a bit more definition.

I've tried all kinds of things with the Tyranid, nothing seems to work. If I lose contrast in him, I also need to push the sky back a bit, which in turn, loses it's intensity. Seems this isn't going to be a quick fix, but needs fixing all the same.

Thanks for your comments, you've been very helpful, I'll post again when I've checked everything off the list.

In the mean time, here’s another picture I did to distract myself from being confused by the first. A sniper scout.

All the best,
Duane

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v691/DRed01/sniperscout.jpg

[Sepulverture]

That's a nice looking scout you have there man. Only things that i can really say is (personally) the blue hair dosen't work with him, and the red/blue movie theater glasses don't really fit. Also, defining the edges would help quite a bit I think. By defining the edged I mean squaring off the square edges for example. as is that sniper rifle looks kind of like an inflatable balloon toy. The winged skull insignia scrawled across the chest piece was a great touch. On his right hand (maybe i'm wrong here) terminating the finger a bit closer the the last knuckle would make it look better.

[GriNGo]

nice man! you're pieces are great, specially the first one. the sniper's "3d" glasses look kinda cheesy though. what if you leave out the glasses, or give it him just "one eye" glasses?

[D.Red]

Ha Ha, fair enough, the glasses must go. How's this look?

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v691/DRed01/sniperscoutc.jpg

I managed to sort that leg out, but after spending hours up to my eye balls in layer masks not much really changed with the tyranid. Does this look any better to you?

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v691/DRed01/outforastrolld.jpg

And here's the tank again so they're all in one place. I'm going to try submitting these to Warhammer today. Wish me luck, I know I'll need it.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v691/DRed01/tank.jpg

All the best,
Duane.

[Cloister]

I would like to comment about the tyranid. If you're not really familiar with the creature, you might have some problem to sort out íts head from the bony "wing"-like structure on its back. The right side of his head (from our point of view), sort of follows the same line as the back-protrution. I'm not sure if there are any iron-bound, or set rules on how these things should look, but perhaps the head looks a little bit too much like it's hind-part. One is bound to question: Does it really want its head to be a mirror copy of its own ass? ;)

[Moai]

Great improvement on the Tyranid piece. Moving his right leg improved the balance and strength of his pose, and putting some darker shadows on it really made the cloth hanging from his ass come forward in space. Adding some rocks and debris in the foreground helped a lot too, since before he didn't appear to be actually standing on a surface. A couple crits, though. First, I don't know what those beige squiggles on his left leg are. Second, the Tyranid's mouth looks a little cartoony. It looks a little bit too much like a smiley face with teeth, in my opinion. Also, there's a whole area on the Tyranid's left side that I'm not sure about at all. I outlined the problem areas in red here.
http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b320/metalukesurfer/outforastrolld.jpg
As for your sniper picture, I love almost everything about it. The colors are rich and pleasing, and I'm digging that scratchy texture in the background. However, there are some problems. His face is too gray, especially his eyeball. He looks like a stone statue. The shadow cast on his cape by the rifle's barrel looks rushed, as well as flat compared to the rest of the piece. Lastly, define his trigger finger a bit more, since right now it's blurring with the trigger thing on the gun (I don't know gun terms) so it looks like he has a big ol' finger wrapping all the way around the gun.
The tank, like your other two pieces, is beautiful, but it doesn't seem to be in perspective. All the lines look like they're parallel, rather than radiating out from a shared vanising point. The terrain could be much more defined as well, and the flat photoshop brushes don't really fit in with the rest of the image, which is very scratchy and gritty. Basically, the same problem as the shadow I mentioned on your sniper.
All in all, beautiful work. Just needs another pass or two to tighten things up.

[D.Red]

Please don't read this as a bump. I just wanted to write and thank you all for your comments. You have been a huge help in seeing things that I couldn't quite make out on my own. These pictures have gone to Warhammer now so I doubt I will make any more changes. I'll let you know how I get on. (If they tell me).

Cloister and Moai, thank you for your posts. I'll carry the wisdom into my next efforts.

Thanks again.
All the best,
Duane

[Sepulverture]

Well, that scout did look much better after you took away the other lens and changed their hair color!