IOW #3 - Journey's End

[hunchback]

couple of wips

[Disa]

nice going everyone! I was really inspired to do this one, only just found out about IOW ...

... really nice theme although it's quite hard to illustrate the end of a journey without also making it the beginning of one! anyway, I wanted to go with something a bit poetic, here are my WIPs

[Bergy68]

Amazing concepts and ideas everyone...

I've always been very hesitant to enter challenges here A: I'm really new to this digital side of art B: And just seeing some of these wips can make me change my mind easily...So I figured this time around what the hell I wanna learn more and the wips help too.

Here's my concept, (hopefully I'll finish it) In 10400bc Orion's Belt was at its lowest procession in the night sky. (closest to the horizon) In this time it is the only time when The Pyramids of the Giza Plateau lines up perfectly with Orion's Belt. Not only do the pyramids line up perfectly so does the Milky way with the Nile River. The event created a mirror reflection of the Night sky. The idea is based on what if Graham Hancock (Fingerprints of the Gods,Underworld) is correct and Man did exist before the melting of the last Ice-Age.

[AndrewRitchie]

Here's my WIP's so far. I wanted to pull off showing the destination of "journeys end" in the foreground. Allowing the face of the traveler as the focal point of the piece. I hope you get the connection between the two characters. I'll color it up for the final.

[Bergy68]

My Second wip

[Nele Klumpe]

Bergy: The challenge is not about winning something, it's about taking part in the fun and challenge yourself I'm not quite sure about your composition. It looks a little uniform and empty. Everything seems to rise in size and height from left to right, try to vary that a little to make it look a little more interesting. Also: Where is your main point of interesest? Try to guide the viewers eye toward that point.

Andrew: That's a pretty interesting story! I'm curious how you'll add color to this.

Disa: That's really pretty and cute, I like the style a lot

hunchback: Her face is soo pretty!

So, I haven't given up on my piece, just done lots of boring rendering. Still have to add some more light and work on edges, shadows, textures and more details...



And update.... Still not quite satisfied with the light...



Hm... I think I'm done oO

[Disa]

Thanks AvisNocturna! Yours is coming along great, I really like how their faces look like they've lived hard lives, it adds a lot to the story.

AndrewRitchie: hah, that is a great concept! heart wrenching ... and damn stylin' too!


I'm pretty much finished, don't have a lot more time to spend on it anyway ... but I wanted to throw it up here for the chance of maybe getting a critique, it's definitely still adjustable.

[Dreoilin]

Progress... stayed up all night again, that's the only way I get any drawing done these days. So tired now I can't think straight but gotta go get ready for work! Lot's of great stuff- wish I had time for comments!

[danlambert]

Disa as much as I love your image, it seems to say 'beginning of journey' to me more than 'end of journey'. Perhaps if there was something in the landscape, a building or castle or something that the characters could have been working towards reaching?

[NicoleWG]

Aha, what a good topic. I have just the idea in mind, I'll upload it within 3 hours.

[Disa]

thanks danlambert, you're totally right! originally I was thinking of having someone standing at the end of a cliff, maybe thinking about jumping - but the image changed while I was drawing it and now that idea doesn't really apply anymore ... I put in a cottage instead so now they're going "home".

tweaked the colours too to achieve more aerial perspective ...

[sevira]

its maybe a bit late but meh, I don't have anything else to do anyway

also: @Disa you got a lovely style there dear, really like it
@AndrewRitchie kinda reminds me of the twin paradox (its on wikipedia for those who don't know what I'm talking about) and I'm pretty sure someone made a short story about that as well (maybe Bradbury, not sure though) am I right?


on my idea, well its actually related to this lovely picture



its by Daniel Lieske and roaming the Internet for quite some time
I was always wondering, what will the boy experience on his adventure and my entry will be about how his journey will finally end

[NicoleWG]

After waaay more than 3 hours...

The entry is based off the Bible verse "“Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it."

I was debating whether to show the end of the people on the narrow road. The 1st two are WIPs for the broad road and the 3rd is the end of the journey on the narrow road. I think the end-of-the-broad-road composition is more interesting and descriptive.

[Rengin]

NicoleWG - Aah things like that make me want to read the Bible =) I agree the first two work better, but the sense of scale isn't quite there yet, I think that's because the perspective doesn't match up.
sevira - Looks great, though I don't think his legs match up that well with the seat of the throne. I liked his hand the other way around better, in your earlier sketches. Ohter than that, looks really nice =)
Disa - I'd personally try to make the colours more vibrant. The air takes up so much space but it's pretty flat compared to the rest of the image.
Dreoilin - Cool stuff! I'd personally make his face express something more like "OMG I'm being dragged down to my death!" instead of the pretty boy stare. Other than that, awesome detail and linework =)
AvisNocturna - Wow! I personally think he needs more of a rimlight around him but the rest looks awesome!
Bergy68 - You might want to add some sand dunes to the desert to make the composition and image as a whole more interesting.

Ok I really have to go now, so I'll upload my WIPs and finish commenting later tonight xD Good luck to all of you!

[danlambert]

Okay, better late than never, here's the first rough sketch.
Pretty happy with how the standing dude is looking but I'll need to get some ref for the guy on the ground for the final image, that face is very bad.

[SGoodson]

Awesome!! this is the activity ive been waiting for!

congrats Dreoilin!

AvisNocturna: the materials are looking excellent, esp on the helmet

jagder: is the "Walkin Dude" gonna hit a few golf balls off the edge? it looks like a golf bag standing next to him

Disa: awesome, has a sort of "Adventure Time" feel which is awesome, i liked the characters in the clouds as well it added a dreamy sense to the picture, maybe you could have the girl opening the cloud on the right like curtains, just my 2 cents

[sevira]

another update
as I totally failed at the fabric of his pullover I just changed it to something with less texture (I mean the boy got older anyway and the old pullover didn't fit anymore!)


@Rengin
yeah the legs were indeed wrong, so was the left arm which is why I changed that as well

on the right arm, well, I was actually standing in the bathroom testing it with a pot on my head (when all of a sudden my roommates girlfriend came in, looked at me, burst in laughter and left...) and found it really intuitive and comfortable to hold it up with my thumb

[AndrewRitchie]

Here's my piece colored.

Servia, your your right on. Thanks for the terminology. It was probably just in my head from twilight zone, or Planet of the Apes, or a something I read. I flipped the whole thing so I could add a wedding ring to her hand. I like your image. It would be great to add the end of the piece yarn tied to the post in the source image.

Disa, nice work. I think if their head were turned towards the house, it would draw the viewer's eye in that direction as well.

huchback, the contrast of her face against the column really makes her pop. The characters in background add a lot to image. Good job

[Narko]

aggghh love this thread, wish I had time to participate!
Read through everything from first post and have a few comments.
Just some thoughts from a random obeserver

Disa - really love your image as it has progressed. I feel that everything looks good from a composition POV but it is still not being sold as an 'end to a period'. You have so much story potential with your setting sun to push that thought.
At the moment it could be mistaken for a rising sun vs setting sun, which would tell 2 totally different stories.
it is probably late in the game but i feel if you pushed the contrast & saturation of some deep warm colours (of the setting suns rays/lights) and strenghtend/stretched the cast shadows you could reinforce the feeling that this is an end of a day/period/journey.

Sevira - first off, great adaptation from ref. to interpretation. Love to see this progress. Only crit would be that I feel the throne decor (at the top) overshadows that boy& his crown. they are too close in value. Some minor balancing and maybe some 'unfocus' could fix this (?)

Gregnos - cool idea with the signs - but I would rec., that you push some form of human element in the composition. (Sorry if I missed an update, I just had a system crash!) Maybe forcus on the people walking away and blur the foreground signs?

AndrewRichie - I need to spend more time looking at your work. It went from "ok i get the idea" to " whaaa... freaking genius!" the tangents, line quality, simplicity... outstanding, bold & brave So much over worked, over detailed art (me guilty!) vs this... I've really looked over your piece and the only thing that I can think of as a crit might be the line/weight of the overlapping fences. I think they are important to show depth but it is the only overly busy part of your image. I dont know how I would fix that or if it even needs fixing. Blurring would not work so maybe a softer line tone and less contrast in the back fence? - Your back fence had a lighter hue compared to the front fence which has a blue tone - normally reserved for objects in the BG - unless the foreground objects are in shade (or that is its local colour?) Anyway, love this one - You have captured the feeling and story telling potential perfectly!

Danlambert - Really dig your approach, Honest & brutal
for your kneeling char..
a) i would look at his neck vs head and spine - could be sorter and moved back a lil
b) check the proportions of his forearm vs upper arm

Dreoilin - really appreciate all your work & effort. grats on your banner. keen to see this one progress.

Avis - the first idea that caught my attention in this post. your updates just get better & better. Strong classical feel with excellent emotional appeal. Only crit would be that it might look a little too 'clean' re. rendering style... i.e. too digital (?) maybe add some more texture/noise/brushstroke?

Bergy - keep pushing it! strong foundation. looks like an excellent book cover.

Nicole - really dig your concept. (love the Bible ref.) As far as illustrating that idea I think your N#2 works best, BUT i feel that as an image, it is too much to take in quickly. ie lacks punch. your tighter crop in #3 fixes this but then the concept is not as strong. How about using some curved line vs the straight diagonals you have in place? i/e you could show a narrow path curving off/in in the foreground and a wider path curving off into the distance in the BG but still in a tighter format? maybe even at diiferent tangets to reinforce the idea that there are always other options available?

Hunchback. love your image idea, but to me this signifies the beginning of a journey. i.e. the soldier has just been knighted by the queen and is now ready to set off on his first quest. Maybe if you portrayed that same knight returning with that first quests prize, it would tell a diff. story? (I do get that to be knighted in the first place one has to endure a number of hardships, this is just my take on what I see at the moment. Your proportions/style are all A+)

Saleem - Cold, hearless, desolate...perfect the more I look at it, the more I like it. Excellent composition!

Timmi - props for that much effort Loads of story telling potential. Great details. I think it will get even better before the end.

Kitten - lol @ Gremlins? excellent concept! lets see this finished!

Gadbury - You know I dig your style if that is a crow then you get 10 bonus + even if it may sound a lil cliched. As dreolin said, I wish my 'quick sketches' could look as good as yours. What works for me...the balance of light & dark and the weight of the human form vs the weight of the unknown form. makes me ask questions. keeps me intruiged. keeps me looking at your work.

Jeremy - I am biased to your image. I have an 18month old daughter. Your image plays on those newly found overly-protective heartstrings. You even look at my baby and i will absof*****ly destroy you!
Not fair... i.e. you have done well to capture the essence of the moment!

Sean - Really like what what you have going but I feel you have the potential to really increase the tension/emotion in your piece. What abount placing the main char higher in the image? that way he is looking down n the castle walls (gives him a greater sense of power). if you remove the wingman, he will once again be the lone attacker of the stronghold (reinforce the idea of Journey's end). And as stated before, maybe add some movement to the riders body vs the dragon. (ref. some pics of horses racing?) and lastly, angle his spear down in prep. for attack. at the moment it looks like he is just sitting at a distance & observing. (which is ok but only serves to lessen the tension)

[grenogs]

Gregnos - cool idea with the signs - but I would rec., that you push some form of human element in the composition. (Sorry if I missed an update, I just had a system crash!) Maybe forcus on the people walking away and blur the foreground signs?

Thanks Narko, very much appreciate your comments. I am planning to add some of the oz figures in later, and also one very small extra figure into the image. It just doesn't show in my wips yet. Although i kind of agree with your comment about the human element, i also don't fully agree either, lol. i don't think it necessary needs any human element. "A journeys end", could possibly represent the life and destruction of the city itself, or even a totally different element .

[Bergy68]

update

[sevira]

aaand another update

that goblin herald solved a lot of problems with the composition plus hes kinda cute :>

lets see if I can finish it until deadline

was a hell lot of fun already anyway

@narko
yeah you are right of course, will fix that later

[Aksel Ludvigsen]

Good work everyone! Finals thread up.

[grenogs]

its been a busy week, another rush ending i think

[Leysan]

The end of this journey was ... unexpected.

some wips:

[danlambert]

I think this is probably the most diverse weekly challenge I've ever seen, it's fucking amazing, I love it!

Still noodling away, spreading myself a bit thin this week so I've neglected this a bit. Had to work over the top of the sketch to save time. (again, I apologise for the awfulness of the crouching dude, and also the new guy on the left! They are simply place holders.

Enough excuses for now, need to save some for the final image :p

[Kitten Poker]

There is soooo much cool stuff, it's going to be hard to pick 3 ^_^

This still needs quite a bit doing to it, havn't really done anything on lighting/shadow yet. Hoping I can get it done tommorrow, is now 2:20am and time to sleep ^_^

[AndrewRitchie]

Narko, thanks for the critique. You were dead on about the issues with the fence. It was creating patterns of lines which distracted the eye from the focal point, just too busy. Too often I think I need an element with out realizing the visual impact of it. To fix it I removes every other picket fence post, added more detail to porch fence and made sure the black lines in front didn't touched those behind. I know it's traditionally reverse, but I wanted the cooler hues on the foreground on this one. It's funny how slightly changing the image changes the composition. I ended up moving the porch rail on the left over a bit and removing the mail box. I also added a hint of a side walk behind the fence.

[Disa]

wow, thanks for the feedback everyone! you really have some valid points, and I probably did miss the mark a bit on this one but I'll definitely take your pointers with me for the next one I do! I started doing the CHOW instead and forgot about this one so yeah, it is what it is - seriously appreciate it though!

and I agree with danlambert, really diverse entries which is great!

[tobbA]

Here's a WIP just to show I didn't completely forget about this... Probably won't finish in time though ^^'

Great looking entries from everyone anyway