Goddess of the newborn age.

**Darklit** · July 18th, 2009, 07:26 AM

Ive been working pretty hard on this- still a couple of bugs to work out in the building shes standing on and with some cleanup ill be pretty much done.

This will the first painting i've ever really finished!

Edit: I posted this lower, but i think I should explain myself better where people can see.

Gods and goddesses are composed by the needs of the time. So i figure it might be interesting to take a crack at what might be a way to conceptualize our new collective values, so every element has a specific meaning that fits with that. I define "new" values as those created more recently in man's history. So this would be the newborn goddess of our age. War and sex, music and self induced disease, creativity and pain, love and hate are our challenges. We are kept in bondage by time, too much time, too little time, time for this or that. We feel connected to these things, but cannot see them for what they really are because we are too busy trying to place ourselves at the top of the world.

**WOMD** · July 18th, 2009, 07:29 AM

can we see it ?

**Darklit** · July 18th, 2009, 07:32 AM

Sorry! The .gif i posted at first looked terrible so i had to swap it out.

**WOMD** · July 18th, 2009, 07:56 AM

what's the idea ?

**Bhrandon** · July 18th, 2009, 12:49 PM

I think once you fully render this out you could be proud of yourself, the right leg and right arm look pretty solid. If you get the same kind of detail and finish on the rest it will be nice, and not to mention that this will be your first painting to finish definitely be proud.

however,

(and dont let this stop your finishing the project, take this as advice for which to reflect on)

the topic is muddled, too complex, and needs explanation. You have one frame, and only two ways in which to influence your viewer and impress upon them what it is that you think they should see or feel, or become aware of, and those two ways are

the image you create, and the title of your piece.

You have done it to a degree, but your larger explanation shows that there is more to the story than just what can be read from the image as it is now.

The other problem I have is that the elements within the painting are cliche and have been pieced together so many ways that it is just.... boring

there are better ways to get the point of time, war, and nuclear self destruction. Try not to put the obvious elements in, find a different avenue in which to express the ideas

**Randis** · July 18th, 2009, 03:23 PM

The idea is good tho the image is hard to read. If you don't tell then hardly anyone would know it's a goddess, the image does not explainthe content well.
It looks like some armored chick to me.

The idea of forming a god from elements of the present time would only work if old gods would represent their corresponding times. They usually do not.

here a couple of my thoughts:

Doing some image with religious influence you need a strong and understandable base as well as some historical research and some resemblance of common elements used or known by people when picturing a god, regardless of the culture.
War, sex, creativity, pain, love and hate are timeless topics.
A god need a very iconic look, not only his physical appearance but also the pose and composition of the image should suggest it.
It looks like your girl is standing on some balcony while a goddess would rather float in the skies or sit on the clouds. A god would stand above you, not on your eye level and not beneath the viewer.
A god would face his world. not showing his backside towards it.
A god would not pose for the viewer, the image of a god would be like a lucky glimpse of someone who was fortunate to witness his presence.

It's like painting Jesus, its not about the long hair, it is all the other things beside the look that make people recognize him. This is something your image is missing here.

Hope it helps you somehow.

**Darklit** · July 18th, 2009, 08:46 PM

Thanks for the replies... I see. Well, i guess at this point there isn't much i can do. Apparently nothing in it that i thought was particularly good matters. My art teacher thinks i should just start over and i don't have time for that.

i wish i understood the problem better. I honestly thought the composition was really good.

**alesoun** · July 18th, 2009, 09:03 PM

Bits of this are excellent, and you're working digitally, so you can change stuff quicker than I can. Maybe if you made the clock more important by making it bigger? Maybe even HUGE? Like, maybe filling most of the space behind her?

Her belly button is way too low, though, unless you maybe link it to the clock?

I think you could probably lose the cityscape unless you really love it.

You COULD make the clockface have images like really old grandfather clocks do.

Hope it helps, because I think you have a good basic idea, and I think it's fixable.

**Darklit** · July 18th, 2009, 11:06 PM

LOL, great advice. i already just did that before i read your post!

that makes me feel a lot better about things. I guess ill keep plugging away.

**Darklit** · July 21st, 2009, 07:11 AM

Ok! did some much needed revisions and concepting for the rest of it. I think the balance is better now.

**Randis** · July 21st, 2009, 11:34 AM

i am really not so sure about the composition. You made more space but cropped and pushed the main character aside cutting 2 of her arms. The image looks busy, giving the eye no place to rest. This image now is all about this abstract clock.
Just telling you my opinion but i guess your mind is set on your own idea.
Wish you great success with the execution. cheers

**Darklit** · July 21st, 2009, 11:56 AM

Edit.

Randis: Oh, i see what you mean about the busy thing. Thanks! That helps a lot too, I should try to cut some of the detail.

Thanks for your advice, especially the original post. I think that its probable that this particular painting doesn't fit the contest very well. I'm going back to the drawing board to try something else! (I'll finish this another time.)