Rookie's time!(some nudity)

[Rookie1]

Hey guys, here's a 26 italian guy. I work most in the comics, here's my illustration for the upcoming webcomics Wide Awake!
Pencil,Acrilic, copic markers and lots of photoshop!

[Bergulf]

Good stuff. Is she going to face off against all those monsters in the nude? Seems somewhat impractical yet I trust that she knows what she is doing.

I think you did a great job rendering the body. I would be cautious about adding black outlines in work like this but I think it looks good here.

Perhaps the face is a bit small. Also I think it would be beneficial to have more of the left arm showing. Having it end at the elbow like that looks a bit weird.

[dashinvaine]

The demonic beings look one dimentional. They seem to occupy the flat surface of some upright liquid face, which the woman is stepping into. The lighter blue area around her outline gives this imprssion, it looks like ripples on water. I'm not sure if this is what you're going for. None of the beasts seem to be actually there, nor to represent any threat to her. Her pose and introspective expression don't suggest that she is aware of them, let alone about to confront them. She doesn't look like she's been fighting or expects to be fighting any time soon. This makes the bloody weapon seem out of place. There is no clear narrative, and the figure and the background don't match tonally or reflect conceptually. However if you are not after literal narrative here, but merely wish to create an eerie mood then that is not a problem.

The woman's anatomy seems quite well done. The head is slightly small, but within the bounds of possibility. Is the round occult symbol a photoshop brush? I would think twice of having it overlapping the figure like that, although it does contribute to the idea that she is stepping into some mystical realm.

[Hexokinase]

The rendering is nicely done. I'll have to agree with the above critique regarding the flattened background. I think the main problem is easily the outline treatment you've given the figure.

A more important (although somewhat minor) critique has to be about your light source. It seems you've stuck with one light source, and that light fall directly on her rear. We can see the forms of the rest of the figure due to bouncelight (unless I am gravely mistaken). That bouncelight is the result of the primary light source hitting the surrounding environment and bouncing back onto the shaded regions of the figure, and back into the viewer's eye. I am somewhat bothered by the fact that the temperature of the main light source and the bounce light are identical. I feel that you could get some really interesting effects with a temperature shift for the bounce light. If you really wanted to incorporate the figure into the environment, the bouncelight would be very cool. Alternatively, you could make the portal of souls act as a direct, second light source if you so choose.

[Rookie1]

Hey guys, thank you for all the useful comments!
This piece is basically a promo piece, a classic pin up of "nice girls vs ugly monsters" all the story concernead about nightmares so here's the meaning of the cloudy background!

[Frank Stockton]

Most of the comments here make me scratch my head... especially the one about the one-dimensional background and lack of narrative. It's obvious to me (and should be to everyone else out there) that this isn't a narrative illustration, but a pinup/cover type thing.

Most of those comments assumed something other than a graphic image, which is what we have here.

If I was to comment on anything, I would agree with some of the anatomical criticisms. The head is too small, the left elbow looks a bit odd... mostly the anatomy and pose could be cleaned up a bit -- simplified -- especially on her torso. Her build is a bit too masculine for my taste, and the pose could be more dramatic (i.e. more contra posto), but over all it's a strong piece.


best,

frank

[Phuzion]

I'm with Stockton on this one. Sometimes folks like to be a little tough on the New Guy. When it comes down to it, I don't think most people actually care THAT much about narrative But definitely check the anatomy a little more in the future. But my main crit would really just be on technique... since you've used "a lot of photoshop" in this image, you might push some of the effects just a little further. The red eyes of the beasts, for instance, could have a little more of a glowing quality, which digital achieves so well either with a simple Color Dodge brush/layer in Photoshop, or the beloved Glow Brush in Painter. Really, since this IS about sex and special fx, you might as well push it a little bit, you know?

Keep on keepin' on! I'm diggin' it so far.

Cheers,
~d

[Rookie1]

@Frank, Phuzion Thank you guys, you are very kind!