Muttonhead's Newborn

[Muttonhead]

Here is the pencil drawing for my entry.

[FalyneVarger]

This is an awesome illustration. I love all of the details you put into your pencils. I'm just having a little bit of trouble understanding the connection to "newborn". Is this a freshly created monster?

[Randis]

yay i like that! cool monster

[AhChu]

holy cow,that is some insane sketching there, killer pic will be waiting eagerly for the next stage

[NoriRoll]

wow this can even be final the draftsmanship is so good! looking forward

[Bhrandon]

wow incredible penciling really really nice.

I dont know how it connects to newborn either, but who cares, this is incredible.

[ROBOT_TANK]

the architecture looks awesome, nice detail. I love the creature as well, the tentacles seem a bit too short, but it makes sense being a newborn creature. This is my fav image so far, good work..

[pearlyking]

cracking piece of drawing!

[Cryptcrawler]

I love that creature and composition.
This is phenomenal, congratulations on winning!
Hee hee.

[riotorange]

That is really beautiful pencil work.Nice.Very Very exceptional pencil skills.
My crit thoughts so far:
1. the creature looks as tho he has flopped down onto this building, yet the bricks/pieces flying up by his head don't look like they used to belong where his head is now, they kind of look like they are random pieces that are flying up and out from his head. i think maybe move them down,change their angles, or move them forward to the right.. if you get what i mean, so they look like they were pushed from their spot by his face ( if that was what you were meaning)

2. i dont know if you want the building to look like it is leaning from his weight, but it does.Which is really good, i think. However, some of the front where it is still rather straight should be popping off,cracking,creaking, at the face of the building, from the strain, don't you think?

[comixnut]

Far out dude! very cool pencils. I cannot wait to see this thing popping out with some values either in grayscale or colour.

[Justice Von Brandt]

very nice :D

[Artboy]

Muttonhead, that's incredible pencil work. Strong Composition!

[Nickillus]

Wonderful work Muttonhead. Superb pencil control, with great drawing underneath. It has the WOW factor for me.

[Muttonhead]

Nickillus - Thanks a bunch!

Artboy - Thanks! I owe a debt of gratitude to the inventor of the .3 lead pencil

Justice Von Brandt - Danke Schon

comixnut - Color is planned, indeed. What I am wrestling with now is whether to ink this up with pen, then do color, or just go straight to color with the pencil.

riotorange - Thanks man. The idea was that he actually appeared there, or maybe even grew from a small thing into a big thing in that place, so he therefore displaced parts of the building as he grew. I love your ideas about the strain on the building, and I will try to incorporate those.

Cryptcrawler - Haha, well there are a lot of great entries so far, so I have my work cut out for me, but thanks for the vote of confidence! I just liked the concept for this contest and was inspired!

pearlyking - Many thanks!

ROBOT_TANK - Thanks man!

Bhrandon - Thanks. See my answer to FaylneVarger below.

NoriRoll - Thank you! Yeah, I love the look of pencil drawings, especially those of Beksinski, Alan Lee and John Howe, they seem like finished pieces to me too!

AhChu - Thank you!

R a n d i s - Thanks!

FalyneVarger - OK, so the idea is that (and I realize this is perhaps too subtle ATM, I have a plan for making it clearer) the little dudes on the walkway (which are hard to see at this DPI), have summoned their God, which they think is going to look like the little statue guy (note the multiple eyes and arms), but instead of a kindly looking ocotopus-man, they get this, which is their God's true form. I figured it is "newly born unto the Earth", which maybe is a stretch, but I wanted to do something other than an actual baby. He is new to THIS world, which is a birth of sorts, no? :P

-Muttonhead

[smokenmirrors]

looks great mang! love the detail! cant wait to see the finish! :)

[TheDirtSyndicate]

goddamn... i should just give up now. that is just fucking killer.
you've got my vote already man.
damn.

[riotorange]

riotorange - Thanks man. The idea was that he actually appeared there, or maybe even grew from a small thing into a big thing in that place, so he therefore displaced parts of the building as he grew. I love your ideas about the strain on the building, and I will try to incorporate those.

-Muttonhead

Ahhhh now that i know he grew there, those pieces on his head make more sense. i thought it was action,like they were getting pushed or knocked about.

Those poor misguided worshipers. LOL

*waits excited-ly for updates*

[LillyCat]

I am crazy about this drawing. So many wonderful details. Everytime I come back to look at this I see something new. I love the little figures on the stairs that are somehow attacking/helping the monster.

I have to say the really amazing part with this is the fact that the statue and the monster are mirror images of each other. Not sure if it was made after this people the statue is of and something went wrong but it really has a nice twist to it and would love to hear your story behind it ^^

[Baron Impossible]

I'm always impressed by your linework but this IMO is your best to date. It almost doesn't need colour but I'm sure you'll do a cracking job. One thing, you say that he grew in the building - I think it would be better if he had just fallen straight down from the heavens in response to a prayer. You could have some of the little guys gathered round the statue, going Oh shit, what have we done!? I just think the idea of that thing suddenly falling from the sky is pretty funny, but that's just me :)

BTW - This would make a great cover!

[Dorkthrone]

The draftsmanship is just unbelievable. I seriously cannot critique this.

[harris-ejaz]

oh holy fuck.

[Muttonhead]

SmokenMirrors - Thanks!

DirtSyndicate - Thank you!

riotorange - thanks man, I have a few ideas of how I could make the image a little clearer on what is going on. Thanks!

LillyCat - Yep, the statue is deliberate. It represents what the followers of this God THINK their God looks like, but in fact, the reality is much more horrifying.... not to mention way bigger. I am flattered you like the piece!

Baron - Yeah, that would perhaps be funnier/make more sense.... lemme think about it. You are too kind sir. Thanks a bunch!

ninjacat - Thank you!

Harris-ejaz - Well, that's putting it mildly I suppose! :) Thanks!

OK, here is an update. Quick underlay of colors... lemme know what you think of the color scheme:

[Studio Colrouphobia]

Lovely work. Would love to see the castle/palace in a complementary colour, like a greenish tone... Not sure that is possible to do proper but I think it would "pop" the painting..

[TheDirtSyndicate]

goddamn... wow man. this is gonna be KILLER
i cant wait to see it finished! great color palette man. i love the light coming up from the cracks in the ground, brilliant.

[TheDirtSyndicate]

Lovely work. Would love to see the castle/palace in a complementary colour, like a greenish tone... Not sure that is possible to do proper but I think it would "pop" the painting..

i see lots of green in the castle. its all in the shadows.

[Chris Bennett]

This is great work. A real inner vision informs everything you do - the surface style and colour are wonderful, but what really makes your stuff stand out is that inner vision thing.
I can't wait to see this on the Finally Finished section. Wonderful work.

[Vaejoun]

Great drawing man.
Now you have a tuff thing to do on the color, so that you dont just overpaint all of the nice drawing.

Looking forward to see more.
If the color becomes as great as the first picture than its devinately one of my favos.

[Studio Colrouphobia]

i see lots of green in the castle. its all in the shadows.

Yeah, I was talking about in the castle colours, not shadows ;)

[Wilbur]

This is just fantastic. I didn't get it at first but having read your explanation I love the concept as much as the drawing. You might be able to really send your point home if you color the statue more or less the same as the monster (even if it's faded and worn looking).

I'm inspired.

[miycko]

that's some really great pencil work & i like your choice of colours, great work, waiting to see more

[Baron Impossible]

Being honest, I'm not keen on those colours. As well as obscuring that wonderful line art it seems to be the wrong mood for what's really a light-hearted piece. I'd be tempted to try a more natural combination, reminiscent of a sunny day, with bluey shadows and more saturated orangy sunlight.

[Murgen]

Hmmm I was really enjoying the piece as black and white, or rather just a line drawing.

Looking forward to see where you are going with the coloring. As it stands now, and I know it's just a quick color pass, the color has completely overwhelmed the intricate drawing.

[Muttonhead]

Colrouphobia - Thanks for the suggestion!

Dirt Syndicate - Thanks man! Your design work is killer! If I rode skateboards, I would definitely hire you to do mine. Using one of your images form your website as my desktop BG right now actually. :)

Chris - You flatter me too much! Thanks a lot man.

Vaejoun - Thanks, I will do my best not to disappoint!

Wilbur - that's a thought, I may try that on the next pass. Thanks!

miycko - Thank you kindly!

Baron - You can't trick me that easily... in this arena we are rivals, are we not, so why should I trust anything you suggest?? ;) Haha, well, we'll see.

Murgen - Thanks for the warning... what do you think of the new direction?

Here is another attempt at a possible color pallette. Still just quickly laying in base colors, so don't worry about details and sloppiness. I usually do this first to get a start with how I want the overall color scheme to feel before getting to the nitty gritty.

[TheDirtSyndicate]

haha, awesome man. thanks
what image is it?
i've actually got a TON of bkg images i've created throught the years that i dont have online anywhere. i used to design shit when i was bored and the easiest aspect ratio to remember and work at was my desktop aspect ratio. these days its not as easy with all the new displays... hd, cinema, etc.
anyway, thanks. i like where you're guy is headed there... maybe looking a bit too pale, but im assuming thats just an early stage in your process....
take a look at my entry when you get a chance man, finished it up on sunday, i'd love to hear your thoughts.
:D

[McLean]

Hey Sean, I think this is looking great so far. I know its early in your process, so everything I'm about to say is either something you've considered, or something that will be irrelevant by the time you're done.

But I'm going to give it a go anyway.

First thing that I notice is how none of the colors really seem to influence the surrounding colors. There are none of the cools below found in the sky, none of the warm sky in the creature, none of the cools in the creature in the castle. To me it feels a little disjointed at this stage. So I took the liberty of goofing around with it in photoshop and seeing what happens. They aren't radically different from your last study, but they might make you think of something you hadn't considered before.... or not. I know you got this under control buddy.

[Randis]

man, this is going to be a hell of a pic! Looks awesome!!!
Great job!

Tho, i am not sure about the colors...
Looking at the building it seems to be a sunrise or evening setting (always a great mood) but the colors of that monster don't fit, he looks like he is under water. you have some clash of warm and cold colors here. And there is this glow around the one tentacle, it looks like ... stink? but very cartoony kinda...

I'd picture the monster in a very pale color, like a ripe fat maggot, skin thinm blue veins showing. something like that....

[Huey Yeng]

Looks awesome Muttonhead. Maybe some moody clouds here and there to enhance the atmosphere.

[GriNGo]

lookin amazing muttonhead!

[Baron Impossible]

Oh yeah, and - and - I think it needs some serious lens flare and a couple of Poser people pasted in the foreground and a metallic filter to emboss everything! ;)

Don't get me wrong, it looks great, I just think it could look better with sunnier colours. If you're going down this path, though, I'd strongly suggest lighting the little statue as a secondary focus, in a similar way to the big fella, thereby connecting them story-wise. After all, the icon plays a big part in the story (which is why I suggested have the people gather round it) and the way you've made it an anthopomorphic (!) version of of the big fella is inspired; you don't want to lose that connection.

[Leighton]

This drawing is fantastic. When I first saw it I was reminded a little of Charles Laughton in Hunchback of Notre Dame - maybe if it was remade by Guillermo del Toro.

Can't really comment too much on the color version (because what I know about color theory isn't worth knowing), but the pencil version alone looks like a winner.

[Nickillus]

Having had a good trawl round your excellent website full of strong drawing and bold colour, I know you can pull this into an image I'll feel compelled to download and dribble on, Muttonhead. That's not good news for my monitor of course.

I know what the guys mean when they say about the colour not really being needed over such a superb drawing, but once you get it under more control it should look fantastic. I'm finding it hard to imagine it finished too at present with such bold, colourful swathes flowing around.
I like Baron's suggestion about picking out the statue to explain the message more. That would be a good move in my opinion. He nows his stuff that bloke doesn't he?

[WOMD]

nice job dude. i like the idea very much. the piece is trully amazing. soft bubble forms and flesh combined with architecture..there is contrast.nice job on the sketch. for the colors now.. you should think about the aerial perspective. the first thing i thought when i saw your piece was "maaaaan that's huge...it is really far in the background." at the moment the monster is being pulled to the top with all those intensive colors. and the six-armed statue is being pushed back. you should think about lightning the statue more. i saw your works. i think this will end up beautiful. good luck :)

[diissar]

hi Muttonhead,excellent work man,keep it up!!!

[Muttonhead]

Thank you thank you everyone! Yes, the statue will definitely have to be lit to make sure it is read clearly. Here is another color pallette pass, I think I am going to start working in this direction, keeping all of the comments in mind.

[ArneSReismueller]

damn, this is cool! how long did you draw on that church-building?

[WOMD]

wow ! I definitely love the second one. waiting to see how will this work out. keep working man . I wish you best of luck :)

[Muttonhead]

Woah, been a little slow going this week. Lots goin on.

Anyways, here is some progress. Thanks for all the great feedback!

[Cryptcrawler]

Great job on this mutton, hee hee I really like this creature.
Love the color choices you made, that cool value in the upper left really helps him sink into that church even more, since it goes from cool to warm like that, it really helped the illusion of him crushing that architecture.

Sweet work, looking forward to more.

[Ghostbrush]

really great work Mutton, the pencil sketch is adorable, really crisp and clean, easy to read, hope all is well and that finish this piece, its pretty damn epic!

[WOMD]

Wonderful work, man! Maybe put some flower bouquets infront of that statue :) but honestly I think we have a winner !

[Steve99]

Arghh... I want to kill you! It's an amazing and strong image!

[sketcheth]

Wow that's a beaut...what's most impressive to me is really the original pencilling...that's some fine draftsmanship! Quite the color palette, I like! Kind of reminds a little bit of the end of Watchmen.

[Artofinca]

stunning artpiece

[Dromer]

Wow, that really blew my mind. I love your Lovecraftian style from this pic and your blog. Chaotic but very clean. I'm speechless, and I want to throw the towel in the ring.

[Seaport]

Great stuff, love the pencils and the last updates ace, especially that middle tentacle

[Joshua.Crawford]

Aw man!! Your in this?? That sucks :p.Good to see you again.Still amazing with the sketches I see.

[DeadInTheAttic]

Really impressive. I wonder what this will look like at the end.
But obviously one of my favorites ;)

I'd go for some other colours, but that's subjective. I'd make it look more sepia, brownish; keep the lines as good as possible and making it look like an epic, ancient painting, a bit desatured and so on. For your drawing really is superb.

[Josif]

impressive and complex work... so many details and grand architecture. great visual impact in rounded bio form combined with impeccable straight line of architecture

[artina]

I love the pencilwork. Truly amazing. Not too crazy about the colors. I guess I imagined it more subdued and lighter.

[Beelow]

Nice work and nice idea! I love the line drawing! I want to watch you develop the color pallete. I am not really to fond of the color pallete at the moment. I think it probably because the building is gold. It's still roughed in it looks like so I will let you paint on. I am waiting for the finale.

[Muttonhead]

More progress on this guy. I think I am almost done. I know the color scheme doesn't appear to appeal to all, but I think I will take my chances on this one. Thanks for the feedback everyone!

[master.mind]

Great! I was one of those who didn`t like your colours first but now it looks convincing. Only the guy in the foreground could be a bit darker or just catching some of the greenish colour from your "baby" ;) ..but hey, just my two cents worth...
good luck

[Leighton]

I really like the colours now. Its amazing how you haven't allowed the colouring to overwhelm the pencil line. Its been vervy instructive to see your progress on this. It a beautiful piece - if that an appropriate description of that little fella.

[WOMD]

Hey nice job man ! i truly like the mood. :) Nice values on that monster !

[kRaven]

Love the changes you made to those running people. Adds to the slight irony of the piece.

[calyx]

As always, your lineart was already top notch, and it amazes me how you brought that which is already so wicked, to another level with your colors.

I also really like how your image unmistakably tells a story with all the movement going on. Great stuff!