Parpica - This particular creature has a great sense of sinuous movement and scale. The undulations of the creature's back end is especially good-
it looks like you dropped a subtle blur effect in there to give some atmospheric depth. You were successful in your attempt to depict the body as semi-transcluscent
while still keeping it much more substantial than a 'typical' bioluminescent seadweller.
There are certain areas where the perspective becomes a tad bit confusing, considering your use of similar tones throughout. The creature's farthest wing (flapper? fin?)
seems either to be lit from below or a bit bright in tone to indicate its falling back in the depth of field, but we still see it with as much detail as the rest of the creature.
You may find dropping a subtle blur on that wing will help in shoring up the perspective of that wing/appendage.
Sandu22- As you're a relative new-comer to CGHub, I would like to welcome you
It is great to see someone dive right in and get involved with the challenges.
It seems to me that you really took the ''demigod'' idea and ran with it, as this is most certainly the design with the most other-worldly and fantastical connotations.
Everyone has the part on which they place emphasis, and it's good to see someone come up with a creature design that -really- puts a point on its mystical powers.
You chose a very interesting color palette for the imagine, one that would wouldn't immediately identify as belonging in an underwater scene (save for the bubbles and
the use of those fish-shaped textures.) It does work, however. You started in on getting some very nice edge-lights on the top of the creature's head and shoulders, as well.
The torso/neck area confuses me a little, but I'm pretty sure its only because of the perspective- it is hard to tell if the creature's neck is see-thorough and the star-shape
is part of the inside of his chest, or if the star is a design on the base of its neck. Looking at the WIPs I'm assuming its the first one.
In the future, be mindful of bringing things up to the polish they require to read well. The arms/flippers of the creature are pretty well defined at the elbow and upper part,
but after the joints (especially on the right arm), it begins to lose its definition. You started in on some nice texture work on that left arm, however, and it wouldn't take much
work at all to get the other one to match.
Pepperwheel- Thanks for including your flavor-text on this one, I love it when artists provide a little extra information with their work )
Of all the entries, I would say this is my absolute favorite in terms of the execution. The way the creature is lit and rises murkily from the bottom
of the frame is extremely well done. You did a great job hitting all the right notes of light on those whispy tendrils, which gives a definite sense of the airy,
nebulous movement of the creature, and a great sense of the environment it inhabits (sometimes painting things in water can be quite a task.)
All in all, I would say this is very successful from a design standpoint as well. It possesses a certain ethereal beauty while, at the same time, having some
elements that give pause- the bristling smile, the sunken eyes, the torso that strongly resembles a humanoid ribcage. People have always had a strange
relationship with creatures of the sea- pictures of jellyfish are beautiful, but seeing them washed up on the shore tends to freak a lot of people out. I really
do think you hit a perfect balance between frightening and beautiful.
All in all, great offering. Good colors, an interesting design, and the introduction of some really strong indications of movement.
Starexai- Again, this is another answer to the brief which follows along perfectly with our intent- for a simple, clean presentation of light and color.
Truth be told, on my first pass of all the entries I may have overlooked the strengths of this picture. It's obvious you are not afraid of making bold decisions and choices
when it comes to color, texture, and the use of non-traditional digital brushes. There are a lot of sweet notes in this picture, where the texture and light comes together
for some very effective visuals (despite the clipping of the rightmost tentacle against the corner of the frame, that dissolving of murky light and fuzzy texture in that particular area is very nice.)
In certain places there are subtle hints of a background or middle ground, dark shapes coming out from the murk- I like to think of it as fringes of coral or rocks, getting
lit by the demigod as it passes by. I would encourage you to keep ahold of this picture as you continue to work and improve- you may like to come back at it at some point
to refine the design of the creature, and/or begin to flesh out and pick up some of those subtle textural elements in the back for a richer, more detailed piece.
This is a very good offering and shows a lot of potential. Keep up the good work.
Alola - Looking over your gallery a second time, I was actually surprised that the difference between your 'normal' fare and your offering for this challenge-
not to say it's a bad thing! It seems from your gallery that you have a good eye for editorial illustration, and have a lot of things to say when it comes to dynamic portraiture.
Of all the offerings, I think it's pretty safe to say that yours presents itself as the most benevolent-looking of the demigods. ) I think a lot of it has to do with the design of it,
which puts a nice (I don't want to say cute, but it fits) spin on cetacean anatomy. The little front flippers, rounded edges of the head and belly, and droop of the tail all work
to suggest a laid-back, relatively slow-moving creature. The use of the mottled and/or polka-dotted pattern of light and color goes towards the same effect as well. The use
of the broad band of light under the eye was a bold choice, and that general area is my favorite part of the picture in terms of the rendering and how the elements play off each other.
Keep up the good work, and thanks for entering another anatomicae challenge )
MichelleLoren- I like this entry because it takes a familiar concept that we've seen in several different ways- the siren/mermaid- but it gives us a totally new way of looking at it (literally!)
Generally speaking, this creature seems as if it would be fully sentient and intelligent- and bear with me while I try to explain why (if I'm wrong please excuse me, I tend to get weird ideas
about pictures all the time :| ). It seems to me that this is a creature which would consciously be able to alter its lighting patterns for the purpose of 'dressing' itself up or communicating.
I suppose it comes from the fact that the points of light on its face seem almost decorative, while those long tentacles are showing prehensile ability.
Er…past that, I like the way this is rendered. The melding of those deep electric blues into purple is well done, and the delicate bones are very well painted and shows you got an eye for
delicacy and detail. Part of me wishes that the brief had been altered so we could see the actual scale of your creature- it would work well as a tiny, almost nymph-like animal, or could be
blown up to humanoid proportions or even larger, and still work well on either scale.
Thanks for this offering! The more I look at it the more I like it, and I'd love to see your work in future challenges.
Virev- It was a lot of fun watching you work your way through this concept towards the final, and I think you came up with some surprisingly bold and powerful results.
The decision to keep this a two-tone picture works, and it demonstrates you have a lot of interesting thoughts you design and how to best render a scene. It's a -great- skill to have
when you can use black or deep tones to both indicate negative space -and- volume in a single piece. The work on the creatures neck, with those bright notes of blue and pink fading
into the dark, is very well done, and has a bold use of line and color that is strongly reminiscent of tattoo splash or spot graphics. The simplicity makes it so that this would be a great design
for product marketing or piece of clothing, because your sparing use of color and form still maintains itself as easily readable and clear.
I think it shows great potential and some really strong foundations to build off of. Bonus points for being patient with your process- Adhering to the prep work to get it right as you move
towards the final is honestly a good skill to have and one that many artists lack. I would be excited to see you participate in more challenges in the future.
MrBrown- This is my favorite entry of all, and the one I chose to win this challenge. It adheres perfectly to what we asked for in the brief, and is a great study of form, texture, bold color.
The use of texture is extraordinary. Everything from the thick sweep of the trailing matter at the bottom, to the ropy and visceral connective tissue and sinew at the middle,
to the elegant way the translucent dome was rendered- Everything hits the right notes. The design is is deceptively simple, but to me it conjures an almost humanoid form-
with those fronds reminiscent of arms and hands, the body of the creature having forms that echo a sternum, hipbones and clavicle, and the dome emphasizing the bulbous head beneath.
A lot of times you'll find that a monochromatic piece lacks dimension, but it works extremely well for the brief and is just viscerally appealing because of your bold use of that blood red hue.
Where you could've easily gotten chalky and murky, everything is well-defined and clear- the dome, again, showing a wonderful texture of translucence despite the sparing use of stroke and color.
I think this would be a wonderful portfolio piece for you, one that demonstrates your ability to render simply and effectively, as well as show your ability to create compelling design.
WildBrew- This is one of my personal favorites. I think you followed the brief well in terms of both what were were looking for and what you had to explore in the work-up of this piece- painting with light
to define the creature, simply and effectively.
Of all the entrants I think this is the one that demonstrates a design that would work well in any setting, fantastic to real-life- Knowing as little as we do about the life of the world's oceans, chances are pretty
good in the long run this could serve as an anatomical illustration of an existing creature ). It's great how you elegantly fused the anatomy of a glass jelly with a simpler form- it looks like what a sea-dwelling mitochondria
would evolve into. The use of sparse differing colors to define the innards and organs of the creature is an especially nice touch, one that seems to indicate you did a fair share of researching and looking for reference to make
this a believable design.
On a technical note, this is a beautiful image just from an abstract standpoint. There's great subtlety and nuance in the way you constructed the glowing lines that define the creature's body. I think it shows a great understanding
of the structure of deep-sea creatures, while still putting a creative twist on it- there's just enough play with shape and proportion to give it a creative flare that is still wholly invested in being believable.
Another great entry from you, WildBrew. Every challenge you've submitted to so far as been a great one, and a lot of that has to do with the creativity you bring to the table.
Writing more as you read! Check back if you don't see your name. )
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My thanks to you Choo!
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