Creative Corpse

[The S Man]

I usually draw buildings and other inanimate objects, but recently I'm trying my hand at characters.

The concept is of, well... that zombies could actually be cool again. In a very misty, ghostly atmosphere.

It seemed like a good idea at the time.

Had to do some major image shrinkage to get this attached. Constructive crit appreciated. And I do plan on removing the big glowy dots, even though I'll probably think they're cool again the next time I get drunk.

Everybody should love big glowy dots.

[shiNIN]

nothing bad with big glowy dots when they're where they belong
I think simple kind white glowy dots usually don't suit a zombie, but I dunno what was your intention...

the picture is horribly tiny, I don't see the face... and have only vague ideas about the whole thing. I don't know the restriction for png attachments, but what's the problem with a high quality jpeg here?

I like your idea. I wish for brighter eyes, but maybe it's just the size of the pic. the guitar is a tiny bit too big, new for this good-looking zombie, but it may be just me
bigger image, please

[The S Man]

The glowy dots were supposed to help support the ethereal, misty quality of the pic, as well as provide small points of interest in a background that is just various gray shades. To help the eyes of the viewer wander around the pic, while at the same time making sure the 'will o wisps' don't overwhelm the central point of the piece. Unless the info I gathered is completely wrong, will o wisps (also known as corpse candles) usually appear in very boggy areas. That, and I just discovered the glow brush in Painter.

It all started with a comment a friend of mine made that most of those in metal bands look half-dead already...

The problem I had with jpeg it that I wanted the portion of the pic that had the title on it to be transparent. I also don't like the degeneration usually caused by repeatedly saving jpegs. For now though, I'll switch it over to jpeg for a bigger size in a few minutes. It's not like this is going directly into my portfolio just yet.

I see what you mean about the guitar. It's not just you, something about it had been bugging me, but I wasn't sure exactly what until your comment. It is too bulky.

[The S Man]

Updated pic.

[shiNIN]

oh, shiny eyes, I like them
png vs jpeg: it was about transparency, I understand... but if you wish for crits, seeing the picture properly has bigger priority than a transparent title, I think it's good that you avoid saving your pictures repeatedly in jpeg, I do the same, jpeg is only the last step before I upload my pictures.
yeah, glowy dots give ethereal feeling. I was a bit unsure, maybe I watched too anime or anything, but glowing dots give me the impression of some relaxing, feelingful, nice atmosphere, and a not very interesting one. in their current state they aren't corpse candles for me, they're so white like the snow, they're too pure for this corpse. it's my impression, they may be okay for others, I dunno...
I think the zombie should be better rendered for such a cute idea. his left arm looks like he has something above his skin, not decent zombie flash and skin, I know it's not so easy... but I totally dig his face, hair, his suggestive eyes...
about the composition (I'm really bad at composition, I just noticed something, I have no idea what could be done about it): I like this crop, I have nothing against it aesthetically, but it doesn't work really well, I fear... when I look at the picture, my eye fall on his bare chest, not so exciting, try to wander... the eyes are shiny and we people like faces, but the guitar is nearer, bigger, a sharp dark area... so it requires time till the viewer makes eye contact with the zombie.

[The S Man]

Thank you for the critiques and taking the time to respond. I was hoping for more from other people, but I'll take what I can get and will consider what you said.

Right now I am working on redesigning the guitar to something more organic and corpse-like. While I was initially fond of the contrast between organic object against an inorganic one, it isn't working as well as I thought it would. With the darker background added I'm also going to redefine the arms. While intentional blurriness may have worked with gray mist, it doesn't anymore with another layer of black added in.

[MCM]

This image lacks a certain amount of sharp edge. It seems way too airbrushed to me.. Add some definition to it by sharpening your edges or adding a black outline.

[waranghira]

A Black Strat with very heavy gauge strings?

...cool

[The S Man]

Progress so far:

Still a looong way to go. Probably needs another layer of detail. >.>

[waranghira]

Progress so far:

Still a looong way to go. Probably needs another layer of detail. >.>

why did you deviate from the strat?
and it looks like its a 6 string bass now because of the width of the neck.

ok for a critique:
your rendition is so blurry muddy messy.

[The S Man]

In an earlier post I explained why the change in guitars. I don't think I'll be finishing this pic, since I've already started on another one.

The final, perfect version:

[waranghira]

Omg! Brilliant Nipples!

[Dread_Reaper]

No, no, no! No fucking way.

Did you actually just throw a bloody lens flare over this thing and call it finished? Come on man, this piece has some potential, at least as a learning experience for you! Don't just throw some shitty after-effect on there and call it quits! Come on, be the artist you know you are!

Try working a background into it, work on establishing a consistent light source, and brush up the rendering. You can do this!

-Dread_Reaper

[The S Man]

The lens-flare was meant as a joke. A way to vent some of the frustration in a silly way. More than likely I will continue to work on this, just not right now. While some seriousness is good in an artist, one also has to know not to become too serious.

Truthfully, I love the atmospheric mistiness and blurriness of the first render I posted, it was never meant to be hyper real or detailed. I find creating hyper real images boring--that is something everybody does, which I usually reserve for landscape paintings.

[Dread_Reaper]

The lens-flare was meant as a joke. A way to vent some of the frustration in a silly way.

Whew, okay! Wow, so glad about that, I thought you were serious. That's the fuck of the internet, you can never get sarcasm. By all means, take some time off it if you want you, that's a smart choice sometimes. And I know you've got your blurry style going on, but there is a point there it looks unfinished, style or otherwise. That being said, I like this piece a lot, and am so glad you were kidding!

-Dread_Reaper