Lyra and Iorek finished as acrylic

[Chris Bennett]

Here is the acrylic painting of 'Lyra Rides the Bear' that I promised to post up for those who wanted to see it. I posted this on the other thread showing the photoshop version which has been moved to.
http://www.conceptart.org/forums/sho...d.php?t=110436
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[Micaiah Nelson]

aww, I love it its cute.

[Alday.J]

Great energy in the brushstrokes AND the picture still readable. Excellent.
I have a doubt with the moon in the BG without be able to point what exactly, maybe that's just me.
Thanks for posting the update, and tolerate my bad english !
Peace.
J.

[Mr. Visions]

I think its gorgeous. I saw the digital one (the link isn't working for some reason), and as I remember it was quite nice as well. I love the under-painting showing through, the warms in this are lovely. The background in the one bothers me slightly, as I feel the moon doesn't carry the same quality as the handling in foreground. If you made it more luminous or with softer edges? Also, can you post the digital one in this thread so we can see the comparison? Great stuff Chris, I love seeing your work -

- Visions

[ice red kid]

Wow! .... and what a difference!
I've also seen your photoshop version, but this one is way.. way... way better.
I especially like the detail shots.
I think you will be able to work with photoshop when you use it more, but for now your traditional skills are much better.
Nice work!

[ArtistDaniel_Ross]

How long did it take for you to make this?

[Chris Bennett]

Micaiah: Thanks, cute is not something you see around here too often!

Alday: Yeah, I feel much more at home with a real brush - drawing on screen feels like staring into a goldfish bowl and telling the fish what to do....I'll crack it though one day! You have a point about the moon - it's to do with the night sky being a flat uniform texture - I didn't want to 'texturise' the night sky because this seemed a cop out - just can't figure out what to do.

Mr Visions: I think I have sorted the link out but will put the digital image below this post for you. Interesting you picked up on the underpainting since one of the things I enjoy the sense of in analogue painting is the physicality of the layers going on top of each other - like blood behind the cheeks. The softer sdges on the moon suggestion of yours may do the trick. Thankyou for your heartfelt response - it means a great deal.

ice red kid: Great name! I've been so close to this image over the last couple of days that I haven'y been able to trust my powers of judgement - I have been holding my breath posting this! Your full on encouragement has really charged up my batteries! Many many thanks for taking the trouble!

ArtistDaniel Ross: It's difficult to say. I reckon I spent a day getting it all in place. I then spent time on it in a series of sessions that got ever shorter - lets say about four sessions starting with one about 3 hours on and off till the final one that was a half hour's painting when I walked into the studio, it caught my eye and I thought ah! I know what this needs! All together I'd say about 1 hours over a period of a week. Other things were worked on at the same time. It's really tricky because the meat of the painting doesn't take very long at all - I can work very quickly and fluently. The real problem is the problem solving bit of bringing things together so that they work as a whole and give the thing some sort of 'presense'. This can be no time at all or take ages until I am satisfied - or as satisfied as is practical for us 'paying for the roof over our heads' mortals

Here's the original digital:
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[ICH]

Great work Chris, I was waiting for this post! I love the bear texture around the child's hand, and her head works really good! I admire your analogue skills, the way you create dinamism whit brushstrokes and your use of colours.
How big is that painting?

[davi]

i really enjoy the style of the traditional piece. I have a small critique though; The background makes the characters look insanely isolated in a land without detail.

[Chris Bennett]

ICH: Thanks ICh, I guess I try to have a constant sense that the brushstrokes are always making something, whether it is raw matter and volume or space itself. I wouldn't say the marks are deliberately expressive in themselves in the way that someone like, say, Egon Sheile's are. I guess they are expressive because I am trying to make each one really count in its role of 'making something happen' in terms of building the world I'm trying to make in the painting.
I also used a very restricted palette in this:
Yellow Ochre
Burnt Sienna
Ultramarine Blue
Titanium White
Mars Black
(All acrylic)
The painting is 45cm x 45cm and is gessoed panel.

davi: I did think about pushing the snowy landscape a little bit further but couldn't see a dramatic reason for doing it. They are in the Artic so the isolation thing is intentional. It's a bit like seasoning in cooking; some people want a little more detail here and there, others don't - it's tricky getting it right. But I take your point. I'm always interested by how things come across to people so many thanks for your observations and I'm glad you like it generally.

[Seedling]

Squeeee! It's lovely, Chris!

The moon isn't casting the shadow, but maybe nobody will notice.

[agreeable]

I love this Chris and all your painting.

It is also great to see a 'more traditional or realistic (?) or British' vision of The Northern Lights as opposed to the Hollywood version we are about to be bombarded with.

Thanks Chris.

[Chris Bennett]

Seedling: They will now! Glad you liked it Michelle - it means a lot.

agreeable: Thanks - you are too kind. Interesting that you pick up on the British thing. It wasn't intentional of course. It's a bit like Alice in Wonderland (I really should say Alice's Adventures in Wonderland) or Winnie the Pooh in that they are somehow expressive of a British take on things that is impossible to pin down - the books do it anyway!
I feel that with the Pulman books you cannot use 'off the shelf' fantasy cliche's without it looking lame. Also, the deamon thing is a very literary idea and unless there is some lateral thinking by the people making the movies the deamons are just going to be 'talking animals' and look silly.

[bhanu]

Man i am really liking the direction you are heading in , reallye beautiful stuff meng..

[Majora]

perfectly has I imagined in the book

[Muttonhead]

Nice piece. I love your handling of paint. It has a very loose, yet deliberate look to it. The soft edges definitelly give it a very children's book quality. Extra points for real paint!

-SAM

[Chris Bennett]

bhanu: Many thanks bhanu, it's been a real help getting this kind of feedback since it toughens up my conviction about where I should be heading - I just hope I stumble across your threads when they are up so I can be of similar service. Thanks again.

Majora: What more could I hope for! Many thanks!

Muttonhead: That is an interesting observation of yours Sam. It often seems to me that the paint can do much more interestting things than I can in terms of how it can suggest possibilities of realising form or even discovering and suggesting new formal ideas. It's a sort of shorthand equivalent of Leonardo Da Vinci staring at an old, stained wall for inspiration. I'm always aware, however, of not being seduced by possibilities of the brushmarks that have nothing to do with what I am trying to get across in the piece - thats where the deliberate bit comes in I guess!
By the way, I took a look a your website: you have some amazing work there and I've popped it onto my favourites so I can have a proper look when I've got more time. You also have a marvelous, natural and sophisticated colour sense that I am very envious of.
Many thanks.

[lewiston]

whao... incredible how much richer the acrylic painting is... Beautiful piece. And great progression from the digital drawing. chapeau!

[Chris Bennett]

lewiston: Thanks - I notice from your sketchbook that you are about to start digital painting - Took a look at your site as well; you have some very powerful pieces there that are completely on top of the game.

[Dizon]

The girl's pose is lovely, but there's something off about the bear.

[Chris Bennett]

patdzon: Many thanks. Regarding the bear being off you are probably refering to the animal's front right leg. It's always a balance between the demands of the 2D design and movement and the 'realism' of the 3D imagining. That leg bothered me a bit at the end, but I simply could not imagine a way of putting it right that would not involve a complete repaint - I change something and that means something else must change.....and then something else and so on. Deciding to do something about it can involve a week's struggle, all done with other stuff queing up outside the door......

[poise]

hey Chris,
ok I like the acrylic one much better. I would say the photoshop was more of a study now, haha. Really lovely, you captures the spirit of Lyra rideing the polar bear to a T. !!