Chow 180:: The STEAMPUNK HAREM

[Pixeltuner]

Cl0aked: I understand because I struggle with that as well, but the beauty of anatomy is that is something you can practice outside of these challenges so that you know beforehand that a pose looks correct without having to ask here

[thegrayslayer]

Some of these pieces are really taking shape, is looking like being a strong set for the final!

~ Slayer

[thespirals]

costume sketch

[oddy]

here's my wip. im trying to finish it tonight but right now im abit worried if im actually miss the main idea by illustrate the harem with sultan... english not my first language, so i might missunderstood the concept.

comments / critique / suggestions very much appreciated.

[Aly Fell]

This will be my first time participating, I wanted to ask is it alright to use a reference for the figure, or must it be totally from the imagination?

Reference is not and never has been a problem. Just don't follow it religiously. Reference is just that, 'reference'. You can't get a pose right, a hand position, an expression, some lighting etc. But think of it as the 'skeleton' to elements of your image upon which you dress the cloth of your imagination.

[Monika Gruszka]

qick update before i go to school. Zilrion, as you suggested, I tried to make it look more steampunk thank you

[MasterPete]

@Oddy: I like how your work's shaping up. Nice sultan! I think you might want to push it into more steampunk direction. Not very obvious at the moment. (Geez, I might have to say the same to my own work...)

Here's my WIP. Any comments are awesomely appreciated.

[Random Stranger]

Unsure of this atm, not enough steampunk, not enough harem, haha, any ideas?

[Clockwork Bunny]

Lots of great ideas coming out and lovely images being made -

I tried to give feed back to everyone but got confused -so I've picked a couple hope it helps


Pixeltuner - so glad you stuck with the first pose! looking very painterly looking good.
Tommoy - loving the flow and movement.
MattB- nice pose and the colouring gives it atmosphere.
CromsonShape - nice sketch at the mo - looking forward to it growing.
Grimwood- like the drama in the image - the features on the lower part of the face look distorted slightly compared to the top.
Irraeufer- lower prt of the body look smaller than the top and the boobs are skewed, like the face so far
PxelSlayer - love the face and pose - the hips are slightly too over, I'd hurt my back lay like that!
Lakka - looking good needs more steam!
Posh & Jessie Bean - damn you your both too good

Cheers to all those who've critted my piece - ll taken on board and hopefully improved.

[thegrayslayer]

Random: The bird-cage is a nice idea, I imagine it brassed-up and maybe more mechanical in the detailing (which may help push the Steampunk theme). The way you dress the background with suitable fabrics / tiles / whatever may be enough to ground the character in a harem?

[Artofinca]

Poshspice - ah man i love your style and lines.

Pixeltuner - nice going

rumpenstiltzkin - like the pose

thespirals - good costumes and composition

soon i will post few sketches

[Pixeltuner]

I'm glad you all like it, I was almost ready to throw my Mac out of the window last night. Looks kind of better now after letting it rest but still some things sticking out like a sore thumb.

[Clockwork Bunny]

quick update.

trying to mix Arabian design with cogs to give that Steam Punk feel. Feedback very welcome...

2 background ideas- the second seemed too busy....

[rumpenstiltzkin]

thank you Artofinca

thespirals: wow nice, love how their costumes coming along and esp the headpieces

oddy: nice, love that waterpipe

uff well heres my try for colors, if its anything im good at, its not colors
so any crits is helpful
and dont know if im gonna have her mech-arms to have another color or the same as the skin hmm...

[DecayingLolita]

Hey all o/
I'm sort of back...
This probably won't get finished in time for entering, but since I'm a bit of a Steampunk girl I just scribbled something for fun.



I really like some of these - although there is a little Gratuitous random Clock going on.

[gerezon]

rumpenstiltzkin Love the design. The foot that leans on her leg seems awfully small, and since her head is tilted forwards I dont think we would be seeing that much of her neck. Regarding the color, I think you should go with a warmer tone for her body, that gray tone makes her look flat, and maybe some gold/metal for the arms?
Random Stranger: Dig the bird cage idea and I agree with thegrayslayer, some fabrics in the background and some more mechanical parts on the cage would be nice!
thespirals I think the pose and costume is great, and I can see you added some cogs and stuff but I think it needs more of that stuff to make it more steam punk.

Heres a sketch from me. My idea is that the Sultan has constructed these walking mechanical beds so he doesn’t have to run to each of the girls but can have them safely escorted by the machine. All new girls get a mask painfully attached to their face, the Sultan does not wish to see their faces, it makes them less human and therefor okay to not treat them as one. Let me know if you think its worth while proceeding

[Tommoy]

This is going to be a great round again!. Although I prefer drawing above reading and writing I think its fun getting comments so with the dictionary by my side I'll try to do my share. Here goes

oddy: Looking fine, lovely detailing and storytelling, the many different colors are not making it easy to focus.
Matt_B: sweet pose but difficult without good reference, specially her right leg needs attention. Her face looks gorgeous the headpiece look like she is wearing earphones. The background looks interesting with good steampunk elements but the pile of pillows and cloths looks too much like a ehm pile. Maybe stupid but pillows under a cloth don't make sense.
Jessibean: somehow the first drawing appeals the most to me. Besides being one of the best drawings yet there are some issues on the body. Like Matt_B said she's missing a leg, but the other leg seems a little small for the rest of the body.
mongeldesigns: nice sketch, and steampunk all over. Her leftarm in perspective should be shorter but I can't find too much else at this moment.
Rhen: It's fun. About reference, using it is essential. Although tracing a photo is not intended.
ferstenger: sweet mood! Hope you can finish it.
Zilrion: nice figure although not looking very oriental yet. The hard red, green and yellow distract a little.
Grimwood: no easy perspective but looking very alive (for the time being). There are a few issues in her anatomy, her neck seems too long, the left and most nearby boob is smaller then the other one and the right arm looks a bit strange coming from behind her back.
Shogo: interesting approach, if she is wearing the thing on her back you'd better suggest it's not too heavy. I would lose the chains. At this point her face looks a bit 'evil stepmother' and the hands are a little out of proportion. Body looks great specially the legpart.
Monika Gruszka: I think there is too much open space on the leftside, the zeppelin in the back is a nice touch.
Reymus: nice approach with the extra arms. Don't know about the hard red on her face. Anatomically there are a few things like the elbows are positioned wrong I think, looking at the picture they should be more to the right, and make sure its obvious her rightarm is a little bit in front of the left one. Also I wonder where the two mechanical arms start from.
rumpenstiltzkin: lovely sketch, but is she dancing or doing yoga, I think dancing suits better for a harem. Anatomy looks solid.
Carnifex: I know the problem, choosing between a COW or a CHOW. You can only do both if you don't need sleep. Cant say much about the sketch, other then that the colors don't seem very complementary yet.
Saleem: good sketch, you could crop it a bit and position her a little out of the centre. I love the small steampunk details in her arm.
thespirals: hi, background looks nice, the curl in the back of the front figure looks a bit stretched but I guess its from photo reference so it should be right. Costumes are looking fantastic.
navate: I like it a lot, nice pose and a lot of drama in the face. The steampunk element seems a little under lighted yet. Is she holding a flashlight?
zephyri: great one, beautiful face and neckpiece. Nice foreshortening on the arm. I agree with navate the leg seems positioned wrong, I think it should be a bit higher.
PxelSlayer: lovely sketch, very little wrong with it. I only noticed the leftarm coming out of her hair at a second glance.
nimbusnacho: I know what you mean about changing the pose all the time. I think this one is a good 'dancing for the sultan' pose. Her left arm and specially the hand look too big in proportion.
Pixelturner: great skintones but your struggle on the anatomy is obvious. I know how difficult it is to paint a face in this angle, maybe you should use a photo.
cl0aked: the figure looks okay, the pose however reminds me more of catwalk in Paris.
odiolitos: yes, Victorian elements are fine but the more important things, harem and steampunk should dominate.
Arthemis IX: great pic sofar. The topview is a nice touch although I'm not certain if it benefits the sphere you may want to create. But maybe she is in a harem of a giant
fluorine: very nice drawing but this looks more like someone who owns a harem. A pity cos the bird is going to look cool.
kittymeow84: it looks like a pretty standard pose so I don't think it should be difficult finding a reference photo. The legs look okay already.
Jason snair: looks promising!
vineris: nice sketch but I'm missing the steampunk, is he standing in a window or is she going to hula hoep?
Majortom: I have the feeling the colors don't match very well. The pose looks okay.
Lakka: looks like she is in some surrealistic landscape. Sweet face but not very oriental. And a bit more steampunk would be nice.
Poshspice: beautiful like always, great subtle detailing on the steampunk elements and I like the emotion, is her master coming to get her. Face is the one of a dreamgirl, almost too perfect.
crimson_shape: it's readable, the girl looks nice, what happens on the right is not so clear.
Sorknes: Nice painting. She looks a little small, maybe some feet would help. Could be a girl from a harem, but she looks more like a gipsy girl.
Ikjhgfdsa: lovely drawing but I think she looks too much like a female marine officer, not someone out of a harem. The neck and cheek line are not very feminine and there's something wobbly around the hips.
LaurenR: Nice sketch, specially around the face. The lower part of the body doesn't seem to fit with the upper side.
Irrlaeufer: the face has enough character, anatomically there are a few problems, starting with the breasts they should be positioned more to the right I think. Her left arm looks strange.
CKLamb: amazing sketch, everythink is in it, the harem and steampunk aspects but she also looks emotional and sexy at the same time. I love it.
Clockwork Bunny: Looks good but not very steampunk yet imo. I should limit the use of airbrush as well. For the background there are numerous possibilities, look at the provided reference material or you could go steampunk in the background to balance the lack of it in the character.
deadhead16mb: great sketches, remind me of Rembrandt. I'm very curious what this is going to look like when its finished.
Uziel: nice overall view, I don't know if you are supposed to be focussing on one person though. I do know you're not making it easy on yourself with five bodies to paint.
Dimagyan: sketch looks great but you need to focus on one character.
DecayingLolita: sweet sketch, it would be a shame not finishing it.
gerezon: cool structure, this could turn out very nice.

Damn, commenting took longer then the painting.
Hope I didn't forget or offend anyone.

Here's mine, I need to search some reference for the body.

[Matt_B]

Thanks for the crit, Tommoy. Quick thoughts about yours. It's developing nicely but, yea, getting some reference to nail down those proportions will help. The way the cloth is going over her calves is making them look huge. Something about it seems a bit static despite her appearance to be in movement. Perhaps everything's a bit dead-on centered in the the perspective. Can't quite put my finger on it...

[Kan Muftić]

It would be nice to see more of seducing and mystical sexuality in the images, guys.

[Pixeltuner]

I would be nice to see me get my drawing act together... but you're right. Get those creativity juices flowinnnnn-ah

[vineris]

Some progress:



I plan to address the steampunk issue with gears. Really big ones.

Some really nice pics by everyone.


Legs to long?

[Shehaub]

This is a fun topic. I don't do these very often, but this is the beginning of my thought process. I had to do a lot of research since I didn't really know what steampunk was. Still not sure how I am going to create the costume.

There are some really fantastic sketches so far. It will be very interesting to see what the final results will be on these.

Mitze I think the forearm is too short. I could be wrong.

[gerezon]

got some more work into it. Guess I fell in love with IDW last week

gonna do the bg first then drop her in.

[dwinbotp]

great topic, equalling stunning stuff from everyone participating.
I'll try to keep up and not make mine too boring

[odiolitos]

I know some brass and bolts don't make it steampunk, but hey, we're getting there... Any suggestions on the steampunkification of the harem?

[MJ_Alcazar]

Some really beautiful work here guys. I wish I had the time to talk about all of them.

I haven't participated in one of these in a long time. But I FINALLY have a computer and a scanner again. Yay!

So, hopefully I'll be able to finish this week's.

[DecayingLolita]

mmm orangy

Gerezon, that bed idea is great

Clockwork Bunny, Hiiii o/ I like the costume but it needs more steampunking. Then again I guess mine has too much, hard to say

[thesaint]

Yay great round, there are amazing drawings and great characters here! I'm going to participate in this one, and since I'm very far from my tablet I'll have to go traditional with my watercolor (wich in fact is a good thing since I need some traditional training)

Just one doubt, can I make a construct? (I imagined some kind of steam-powered or clockwork female slave)

Great CHOW everyone!

[H4WK]

Hi, I'm a first timer. Lots of great looking stuff in here so far. I'm getting the ball rolling with some head study sketches. I've started some body/costume sketches and hopefully will get them scanned tonight. Feedback welcome.