[choo]

Day of the Tentacle FINALS thread.

-Please post your final image here, along with the thumbnail template image.

-Please include your username on the thumbnail template, this is very important for the polling process!

Template found here: .PSD template
Please also make sure to attach your Final image with CGHUB’s attachment manager.

The winning entry will be added to the Anatomicae Banner, Anatomicae Gallery for all to see and it will be given a Medal for it!

Any and all participating artists who post their final image will receive an exit critique.



Thanks to all of you who participated, see you next round

[pixel-chick]

[mindbender]

No Rock Ahead

[Kismet_Knell]

[Rdhillon]

[choo]

Great guys!

The poll is going up now. Thank you for participating!

Immediately I will poke about and give a good look at your images to give you a critique. We've got some bright new faces for this challenge, and some really exciting work from some repeat offenders :3

[Kismet_Knell]

@everyone: I was wondering if you could answer a quick question for me.

I'm going to graduate from the Art Institute in Schaumburg in March for Media Arts and Animation. I have the opportunity to stay at the school after I earn my first bachelors degree to get another degree in Illustration ( a new program at the school). So my question is, do you think it would be worth it to stay there or get a job in animation and then take classes somewhere else if I still want to? I would have to take out another substantial loan to be able to stay.

I'm sorry if this isn't an appropriate place to ask this, it can be deleted if not.

[choo]

Hi Kismet-

There are infact places here on CgHub where topics like that are discussed by the community, so feel free to make a thread there on the topic, or post your question on an already existing thread that might be related to your question.

But to give my opinion on the topic:
I know of quite a few people that double-majored Animation/Illustration, or at least majored Animation with a heavy concentration on secondary credits in the Illustration department. It was very hard for them in terms of work load, but you have the advantage of having already completed your first degree!
Honestly, though, it really comes down to A) the type of work you want to pursue and B) how comfortable you are with the skillset you acquired during your first degree. I would argue that while school can be really helpful in terms of introducing you to the technical aspects of artmaking (like taking a class for a program you wouldn't normally have access to), a lot of people did and do their greatest learning after graduation. A pretty big chunk of professionals these days are self-taught, or at least taught themselves the foundations of art before learning programs/technical/production on the job.

Obviously the biggest consideration is the money you'd be investing. I suggest looking over the specifics of the curriculum that the university is providing. Are a lot of the credits in things you already took when majoring in Animation? Are there a lot of technical courses, or do they focus on foundations? What are the format of their studio courses? If a lot of it is redundant, you may want to consider leaving the degree program alone and ''cherry-picking'' individual courses or programs provided online.

[Kismet_Knell]

@Choo- Thank you for giving me your opinion. =) I will probably just finish my animation degree and attempt to get a job in character animation then get a degree for illustration from a different school. Most of my classes have been a... disappointment.... with the amount of money spent on them

[choo]

Critiques!

Pixel-Chick: It's great that you decided to participate in this challenge. It's similarly great to see just how much you have improved technically in such a short span of time and over the last few challenges.
Your offering is a surprise in terms on how much it differs from your other pieces- if not just in theme, in how you used your materials. I hope it doesn't sound like pandering but you have improved -so- much in the way you handle your brushes and the quality of your rendering. It seems to be treated in a much more confident way, especially when you compare different areas- your rendering is tight and detailed in important places, but you let things get sketchy and expressive in areas where fleshing out the form wasn't as important.
The creature itself is suitably icky and fits well with the challenge in a John Carpenter's The Thing sort've way. The reversed equine-style heads are a great touch, and despite being so minimalist you accomplished a good sense of volume and space. All things considered you did some good texture work on this, and hit a note between slimy, sticky, and scaly.

It's exciting to see your work fleshing out, keep up the great work.

Mindbender: Out of all the entrants, yours is probably the most ambitious in terms of things you decided to tackle- Atmosphere, perspective, texture, color, detail!
I'm guessing you used Painter for this, judging from those very painterly marks. It's a great tool for getting that not-digital look. It seems like you had a lot of fun using different brushes, and you hit some especially nice notes with the atmospherics of the trees, especially those in front. Taken on its own that little landscape is a great little study in and of itself.
You did a good job on the knobbly, bumpy texture of the octopus.
I like how you get a good sense of form and mass in the octopus, and there's a good start there in terms of atmospherics, like in that front tentacle rising out of the dark. I would caution you about using pure black in your pictures though. You have nice subtle tones and pastels, even some hints of deep saturation, and all those things are working to establish space and atmosphere. Pure black flattens everything and lays ontop of other tones when you look at it.
Keep up the good work. You seem to have a good handle on the use of texture and form, and a good understanding of atmospherics. Stuff like details will follow and you make more work, and you have a nice foundation to build off of.

Kismet_Knell: In certain places there is the start of some interesting lighting and illumination. That foreground tentacle, despite being the closest thing to the picture plane, has a very nice ''hot'' highlight of saturated red on the edge. While it can be considered a bit confusing (something from below is illuminating that edge as the brightest part of the image, but the underside of the headbulb and other tentacles seem unaffected), it gives the octopus a bioluminescent look. If you decide to go back and work on this image, I encourage you to check out what happens if you put that glowing edge on all the tentacles- you could use that bright red light to bring more light into the picture, and use it as practice on painting different light sources.
The top-right tentacle is painted especially well. The suckers look great, and you handled it very subtly. There's the beginning of a good sense of light filtering in from the top, as if the creature was being kept in a tank.
Good use of those deep saturated reds. Bringing in a bit more of that grey-blue would help a lot in breaking up the shapes and values, but it's cool to see you aren't afraid of using in-your-face color in deep saturations. Pairing that with the almost-abstract way you arranged the shapes of the octopus makes this image pretty eyecatching. But, like I cautioned Mindbender- try to avoid using pure black.

Rdhillion: Of all the entrants, yours has the greatest sense of scope.
It's interesting that you would choose to pick the stretched format- It works very well with your subject, in that it gives a good window that suggests an almost panoramic scale- but at the same time the objects/details are brought close enough to the viewer to avoid looking ''noodled'' or ''crystallized'' (both terms referring to using too much detail.) The octopus is great fun, and you choose a very unique way in rendering out those suckers- stylistically the bumps and bubbles exagerrate the texture, but I think it works.
Good job on establishing the foreground, middleground, and background. It is very ambitious for you to have tried to tackle that underwater atmospheric perspective, and it certain ways I think you were pretty successful. That simple highlighted band that goes diagonally across the image goes a long way in establishing the quality of light coming through the top of the water. Framing the image a certain way makes it seem as if we are at the deep bottom of the pit, looking over the octopus' shoulder straight up to the surface of the water. Even if it wasn't your intention I would definitely encourage you, in the future, to think about using those sort of ambitious perspectives. It'll kick your own butt in terms of challenging you, and always makes a more dynamic and interesting image.
I like your use of texture brushes, and remember moderation. It looks that you prefer to use brushes with the opacities set pretty low, and marks become only truly opaque in dark areas and in the details. Color-sampling from your own picture as you lay down the first pass of colors and painting with opaque, round brushes can eliminate that ''digital'' look and make forms much more cohesive.

PS: I realize that my critiques come off really jargon-y and over the top. I apologize if it makes for an annoying read and I will work on it in the future )

[Rdhillon]

Thank you so much for your critique choo.
I agree and appreciate your feedback, I went for the cinematic approach going by the descriptions given for the challenge. Perhaps I’ll limit my scoop and focus on an individual element next time round.

[Kismet_Knell]

Thanks for your critique Choo, this is only the second time painting in photo shop for me and I don't do well with colors so your feed back really helps.

[choo]

Sure thing guys, it was my pleasure.

Please keep in mind that if you want to discuss your entry/your critique/other pieces of work that you can feel free to PM me at any time to get the ball rolling.

[pixel-chick]

Hi Choo,

Thank you so much for taking the time to write a critique, it is much appreciated! These challenges are a great way to learn and interact with people, sometimes I get somewhat lazy and become a recluse, doing my artwork in my own little corner of the world instead of learning from others more. So thanks so much for these opportunities. I look forward to participating in more of these forums and looking back and seeing the improvements that I make over time.

Kismet, in regards to your question about your degree and whether to study further at the expense of getting a substantial loan, I would forgo the loan. There are wonderful books and tools out there for learning illustration, and awesome workshops online nowadays, so I would select from the best of those instead of jumping into a big loan. Looking back to when I went to college, I realize that it is my own personal study (the workshops online I've taken, the color theory and anatomy study that I've done over the past year) that have taken me so much further than the art college courses I've had.

I have worked in the video game industry for about 6 years as an artist. The company was mostly concerned about my portfolio and how well I knew the software (photoshop and 3ds max), so try not to amass more debt so you don't have to carry that albatross around.

Over the years, I've noticed that it is difficult sometimes for game studios to find good animators, so that's a great field for you to have focused on. I would recommend that you apply now at companies as an animator or continue with personal study in illustration, depending on your financial situation. You can also focus on illustration later once you're at a company for about a year or so, as they will often pay for your art classes. Really, don't concern yourself over getting a degree, in all honesty, degrees don't matter. Just focus on improving your skill whether it's via a workshop, book, tool, etc..

If you study on your own, I would highly suggest focusing on the following: color theory, human and animal anatomy, and learning the software depending on what field you wish to get into. The first two subjects are INCREDIBLY important. I am learning color theory now, and I used to poo poo anatomy, thinking I didn't need it. I feel like such a fool for thinking that because my art has improved tremendously after taking some time to study anatomy (check out scott-eaton.com). I also purchased some great anatomy models (I can recommend some if you want, just let me know. I try to hunt for the cheapest prices on them as they can be expensive otherwise). Check out www.planesofthehead.com and learntosee.com. Purchasing models such as these can be incredibly useful. They can be placed in all kinds of lighting situations.

I know how expensive the art institute is, I went there to check it out (I live in Champaign, IL, we're practically neighbors!). Save your money, and perhaps get a membership at sites like 'lynda.com' and schoolism.com, where they teach you things like lighting and illustration in addition to Photoshop, Painter, etc), and it's only like $25 or so a month.

Phew, hopefully I didn't talk your ear off. Some of that may not make sense and may not be organized well. I can clarify if need be or can be more specific about the tools and sites I'd recommend. Have fun! I'm very excited for you!

[Kismet_Knell]

@ Pixel-Chick- Thank you very much, It wasn't too much reading at all. I am definitely going to just focus on my animation for a job and then work on illustration in my spare time. Would you mind if I could add you as a contact so that you could check out and critique drawings I may post on here?