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05-22-2012, 04:07 PM
Excellent challenge this round, guys.
Please note:
The preview/thumbnail formatting cannot be changed or altered besides the addition of your own font. When you stretch, shrink, or otherwise alter the base image it can cause formatting issues when the poll goes up, and usually that means I have to redo the thumbnail. Also, the poll formatting seems to have an issue with off-site links like Photobucket, so its best to use our uploader for both your thumbnail and final image. No worries for this round, but please keep it in mind for the future!
You can check this post later for your exit critiques, which I will hopefully be able to get around to this challenge.
MarcSampson- Dashing!
As I said with other folks, I think this is a great addition to your gallery. It shows off a lot of your strengths. The pose is very good for a lot of different reasons- the broad flare of his elbows, cock of the head, and broadly-placed feet all go a long way in showing us his personality. This is a very functional knight in terms of his armor design, but you still get a bit of pomp and circumstance in his pose.
It's the little details that give the design its humor- there's something funny about that thick cloister of his head-guard topped by a single ruff of pink feather. Same goes with the pommel of his sword and the fantastic twizzles of his moustache. It works into the pose and, again, strengthens the personality conveyed- He is extraordinarily manly and seems to take himself very seriously, but still is willing to show off the devices of his house (I'm not entirely sure if the feathers are meant to tie into the 'Pink Partridge' sigil information in the brief, but it works well regardless.)
I like the design of the armor- it's utilitarian to be sure, but it works. There's a lot nice brushwork going on in the ruff of fur about his collar and in the beaten metal of his breastplate. Moving forward, I definitely think you should continue to experiment with dynamic posing. Seek references that challenge your ability to draw people in a variety of ways, which will extend to challenging you to work hard on how to convincingly design clothes, armor, and props that convincingly follow your underlying anatomy.
A solid entry all around.
Yulcha- I think this entry is a great addition to your gallery and shows a lot of technical strengths.
You've got a very good sense of form and proportion in this figure. His armor is pretty well done, and has the start of some very interesting form and detail- I especially like the flip-edged pauldron and the layers of his arm-guard and glove. Of all our knightly entries I think yours is one that is the most steadfast in its believability- This is a lord fully vested in the hard realities of his world, and couldn't be farther from the knight in shining armor ideal- but there's still a very strong, stoic personality in place, helped along by his simple posing.
The bird of prey is especially well done from a technical standpoint, and has some very nice texture work.
I was going to say I had a gripe with the utilization of the most important part of the brief: the pink. Under further consideration, though, I think it is relatively successful in its own ways- The subtle adornments are sparing, yes, but its a nice foil to his very realistic and staid armor choices. Part of me wonders if the picture would benefit or suffer from the use of a more saturated color in place of those deep purples and ashen pinks, but it may be a worthy experiment to go in and see for yourself.
All in all I think this is a good entry, if not a more staid approach for a brief that encouraged you to go outside the box with your color choices. I think it shows you are technically improving as an artist with each piece. Keep at it!
nylelevi - I took a look at your gallery- please upload more work! I think this is an interesting departure from your earlier paintings, and shows a great sense that as an artist you are willing to try different methods and approaches to making images.
This Ser is definitely one of the most beefcake, which definitely draws our attention considering your thorough use of fuchsia and pink in his armor design. It would've been easy to fudge it by sticking only to the use of the color as an accent to his decidedly utilitarian armor, but I can definitely appreciate that you took the leap of giving him that bright, eye-catching cloak- This is a guy that whole-heartedly embraces his house colors, which makes for a interesting foil to that heroic pose and knightly, strong form.
The figure itself is compositionally cohesive- He forms a pyramid with that broad-stanced pose and flaring cloak, which is mirrored by the triangular details on the front of his draping and the sword, the downward curve of his pauldrons, and the tapering block of his head and neck. It brings him together nicely, but I wonder if you could go even further by bringing in those triangular shapes to his breastplate in place of those strong horizontal lines.
Moving forward, consider how your characters and objects are arranged and what you can do to make things more compositionally cohesive. The use of flat geometric shapes immediately draw the eye, and we move from the general to the specific- The arrangement of the horse and his flank drape is actually the first thing that draws the eye, if only because you placed an outlined geometric shape right next to your main point of interest- the character.
ianessom - This entry is my favorite in terms of its delicacy of rendering and fantastical armor design.
Your style is a real treat. I believe this is one of the strongest in terms of armor design, in the fact that it is so cohesive, and plays off the figure well- He is literally the quintessential Shining White Knight! The way the armor is constructed is great- there is a lot of subtle experimentation with shapes and forms in the individual armor pieces that immediately draws the eye- the molded fronts of his boots and greaves, for example. The sectioning and layering is especially successful on his sword. The use of that chainmail texture goes a long way in breaking up the broad planes of his over-armor and, ironically, gives the eye a place of compositional 'rest'- It gives his armor a bit of realistic flare without detracting from the subtlety of the molded metal forms. Without it I don't think the delicate scroll-work on his breastplate would be as effective or as well-balanced.
He has a strong sense of personality, too, with that upturned chin and heroic pose. Very lordly.
Moving forward, continue your experimentation with costume, proportion, and form. I think you have a gift for thinking critically about costume design in new ways, and I'm excited to see more work from you.
mariofernandes - I think there's a lot of really good technical things in this piece.
Of all our entries, this is definitely the one with the most to say in terms of light and texture. There are some very beautiful passages where the implementation of light, color, and texture comes together beautifully- That strong crystalline highlight on the front of his breastplate, for example. His face and hair is loosely done, but it fits very, very well.
Often with such highly textured pieces you get a sort've homogenization effect- meaning, the use of texture brushes thoroughout actually flattens the image and doesn't take into effect the appearance of diferent materials. It's obvious in this piece, however, that you are thinking hard about painterly ways to convey all of your materials, and the little spots of detail here and there go a long way in catching the eye and showing your thought process- For example, the difference between the gold of his and the horse's armor and the feathery fabric texture of the back end of the horse's caparison.
Moving forward, keep experimenting with your textures. Practice and experience will give you better understanding of the delicate balance these sort've pictures have to maintain betewen generalization and being overworked. When you get a chance, check out the concept art and renders for ArenaNet's GuildWars2- That particular IP has an artstyle similar to this, with the same bold texture and colorwork. Thank you for the entry!
Phantom-Seraph - This would be my favorite entry in terms of how simply, yet effectively, you demonstrated the personality of the character. There isn't a lot of bodily gestures that have an immediate 'read' in terms of giving a very clear view of character personality. For obvious reasons, most of us opt for the ''standing there lookin' awesome'' approach...But with one simple gesture you gave your knight the strongest personality of the set.
The body has a good, clear read, and in places your attention to details and how things fit together is very good- Especially on the greaves, knee-guards, and boots, which are the most successful part of his armor design. Of course the face is good stuff too- love the 5'oclock shadow.
The use of the pink/fuchsia is subtle, but so was the brief. We gave you an opportunity to explore different options in driving home the 'Fuchsia Knight' concept, with the inclusion of the house sigil. The use of the color is a good start, but I think it would've benefited by the inclusion of either the sigil of his house, or some subtle pink tones brought into his armor proper- A simple pictogram on his breastplate, or maybe of a few of those gold trimmings being picked out in pink instead.
My only blanket criticism is the use of that harsh black border around him. The quality of your rendering is almost cell-shade in quality, so the use of such a huge span of black cut so close to the figure dominates him, and cuts caustrophobically close, flattening the planes of his armor. A simple grey gradient would free up the picture plane and would showcase the concept much better.
lys- Watching you work up this painting was great fun- Thank you for the entry!
There is a lot of interesting ideas at work here, and it comes together for an offering that has the most inate wit and a very strong personality. It is also very technically accomplished- The metal of his armor playing off the cool pinks, the reflective surface and texture, that cold clear light coming from the top left- all of it is very well done, and lends the greatest sense of actual knightly armor. The rendering of his face is my personal favorite- there's a huge amount of conveyed personality in that 'lordly' chin and the sly half-smile, and his perfectly coifed curls. I think it goes a long way in reinforcing the classical 'knight's temperment' that was outlined in the brief
The use of that cool salmon color is spot-on, and a bold choice- hot pinks and fuchsia you can get away with sparingly, and that particular hue isn't particularly 'manly'- but it works, and its certainly an eye-catching addition to any character portfolio. Hold onto this one, because it spotlights a lot of your artistic strengths- crisp rendering, cohesive design choices, a mix of whimsy and realism.
One suggestion- you may want to try a low-opacity color layer that slightly intensifies the blonde color of his curls, just to experiment with whether or not it helps in solidifying your focal point of the face. Give it a try!
PTimm - Looking at this, I get a strong sense that you have a hell of a time with this illustration- your enthusiasm for the brief makes this entry the most fun and fanciful. I'm really happy to see someone totally run with the brief and kick their concept up to 11. You can't help but fall in love with the exuberence of the design and the character.
It's also one of the most technically accomplished of all the entries, and the most eye-catching. It's not often you see any sort of character concept that incorporates such a bold color throughout- and a concept that still remains cohesive despite the use of such a high-saturation tone is probably even rarer.
The armor is gorgeously rendered, with effective use of layering, metal texture, and of course that beautifully obnoxious pink. Technically speaking, there's a lot at play here- motion, dramatic foreshortening, texture, even strong graphic design (the banner is an awesome touch.) Altogether this gives a cohesive sense of our Ser at his most heroic and dashing, and in sum makes this one of my absolute favorites. It's a great addition to your gallery.
Last edited by choo; 05-28-2012 at 06:04 AM.
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CharacterFORGE 2D #28 :: Fuchsia Knight :: FINALS
Thank you. I'll be sure to post more stuff!
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