Warpriest UPDATE: final painting

[dwilliams]

UPDATE 9/26-

I'm back again, this time with the final painting. I've gotten to a point where I'm not totally sure what else, if anything, I should add to the painting, so I'd thought I would post it here and get some feedback on it. Hopefully the figure in the foreground doesn't take too much attention away from the hero- I was hoping his sword would lead the eye up to the figure in white. I tried to keep this rendering a little more painterly/rough than the first one, and if anyone thinks its still over rendered I would certainly like to know.

I made the background blue because I felt the piece needed a little more cool color in it as well. Does the architecture in the distance look too rough and simple? I was trying to avoid over-rendering that as well, but I'm wondering now if it just looks unfinished.

Also, can everyone tell the hero is wearing a golden mask, and doesn't just have a shiny weird face? I was thinking about adding straps to it just in case it was too hard to tell.

Anyways thanks for stopping by. Would love to hear everyone's thoughts







I've been painting this piece for a couple of days now, and I'm starting to doubt the direction its going in.

I feel like the piece has lost a bit of the vitality that I think my value studies had, but I'm not sure why. Maybe I was following my references too closely or over rendered something, or maybe I've just been looking at it too long. I took some of the background figures out because I thought things were getting a little busy, but I'm considering putting them back in.

Some parts of the painting obviously aren't finished yet, like most of the shadows on the wall. The wall is going to have more texture/cracks in it as well. I'm also curious to know what people think of the darks. Are they too black?

I dunno. I'm interested in hearing other people's opinions on it. Like I said before, maybe its just all in my head.

[Caspia]

I can certainly tell what's going on in each, if that's any consolation.

The A seems like it might be distracted from the main focal point of the character by the dark shadow of the back of the attacker there and I think on the back part of the cover you would have to be careful how you had that body slumped so it didn't look too propped up.

B seems very good but again the shadow draws the eye, and the gap at the top is a little odd but I suppose if it's for a book cover the title would go there.

C is my favorite, personally. I like the focal character illuminated while she/he's framed by the archway. I think if you moved it a little closer to the shadow of the head and arm of the attacker so that it follows on the framing that the archway does it would look a bit better though.

[Artfix]

Hey D

I like B. I think the dutch tilt is working really well. The archway in C looks contrived but its not bad. I wouldn't bother with wrap around. That is mostly for childrens books. In sci-fi/fantasy, they like to save money it seems like so they just put a smaller version of the cover on the back or even no art at all on the back.

[dwilliams]

Thanks for the feedback everyone. I didn't know wraparounds weren't very common for sci-fi fantasy art.

[dwilliams]

Okay, so I shot my reference for the figures and started working on the composition for the figures in the piece. As it turns out the position for holding the poleaxe for the man in the very front is pretty awkward and strange looking in real life, so I ended up taking a ton of different pictures and chose a few that I liked. I've done a few different line drawings showing the positioning of the figures, and I would like to know what everyone though before I got too far along.

A



B



C



D



E



Thanks for your help!

[Raoul Duke]

It all depends on what's going on in the story.

If the naked guy is charging the hero, then use more shadow. D
If the naked guy is the hero, then use more light. E

[dwilliams]

Thanks for the reply Raoul. The guy in the front is one of the villains, charging the hero with the swords, so I suppose I'll have to put him in more shadow. And he won't be naked when I actually start drawing all the clothes/details

You don't think something like C or E would work if I put the villain figure in more shadow? I kind of liked how there was a little more action in those poses, though D is probably the closest to what I originally had in mind with my earlier thumbnails.

[Artfix]

These are nice little roughs but I recommend doing more value so you can really glean the most from them. Use the darks you intend to use, and use the lights you intend to use. This much line is just not that useful for seeing how it will look.

I liked the archway when it wasnt rounded \= I like the little design it had in the sketch. Thats just me

[dwilliams]

Thanks for stopping by Artfix. I'll put more value into C D and E so that people can better see how the composition will work.

[Raoul Duke]

I think they'd all work. I used D as an example because it's an extreme. You might want to define the motion more then the figure it's self too. When you render it I'd recommend putting more motion into your brush strokes and use the minimal ammount of definition. I can see you have an opportunity to highlight where the energy is being directed.

[dwilliams]

Here are the compositions with more detailed lights and shadows added. Hopefully people can see how things relate to each other better now.

A



B



C



D



E



Thanks in advance!

[Artfix]

Yeah these are much better. I like C the best--the attacker's posture just looks the most convincing there.

p.s. Whats the trick for typing in those letters between the images? I could never figure out how to separate my attachments to type in between!

[dwilliams]

Thanks for the input Artfix. As for the letters, after you've uploaded your pictures with the attachment manager go to the paperclip at the top of the text box and select which picture to insert, and you'll get a line of text. Just put whatever you want in between the lines of text.

[Artfix]

Oh god I hope I can remember that. Thanks man! Now get back to painting O:

[dwilliams]

Updated the first post everyone. I would appreciate anyone's feedback

[Artfix]

Hey D. Well yes I liked the painterly quality of the roughs. I don't like the 3d render looking architecture. If that's your style dont let me talk you our of your style--just my opinion.

Look closely between your fav rough or your fav things from all your roughs and compare to your current color image. What are the differences. One thing that stands out to me is the foreground enemy has a lot more light on him in color. I think its a lot more interested if he is dark and in shadow. That is one example.

[dwilliams]

I'm a serial detail-noodler, so I do think it's entirely possible I over rendered the architecture and other parts of the piece. It's something I've been trying to work on haha.

[EvilBunny]

I really like your background, it has a nice color and design with it. I can't help but feel like something's off when I look at it though. It probably has to do with the s curvey attachment to the buildings, or maybe the stairs. The thing with having something so straight and perfect like the back is that it sets the standard for the rest. The more I stare at it, the more I'm convinced it's the top part above the arc, maybe the spacing, or alignment. Anyhow, the piece is looking pretty good so far. Not sure if you're keeping the person in white completely white like that. It'll probably be a good idea to add in more details on him for interest, unless it's related to the story.

[dwilliams]

Yeah I plan on keeping the figures clothes white, but you're right its a little boring looking right now with the lack of detail on him. Does anyone else think something is off with the architecture?

[Clockwork Frog]

It seems to me that the stairs and the wall architecture are different perspectives, that along with the arch being a bit off.
But its looking really awesome, really want to see more.

[dwilliams]

What do you think is off with the perspective? I'm not sure I'm seeing it, though that could be because I've been looking at it for so long.

[Alice Herring]

have you considered adjusting the background so it's at a slight angle? Right now you have the idea of a dynamic image, but your 'camera' is set dead-on that wall - so you have a lot of parallel horizontals and verticals. You don't have a consistent single vanishing point for that bg either. Have you considered a slight up angle with three point perspective? Also, you have a tangent with the dude's sword and the fg guy's head.

One last little note: generally people like to see the changes over time, rather than just having the first image constantly updated. *g*

[dwilliams]

Yeah, after looking at the background a bit more I think a slight up angle would help the piece a lot. My reference was straight on, which is why I went with that angle, but it looks like it would be a good idea not to follow it so closely.

[Alice Herring]

can we see your reference?

[Venger]

IMO your character in white is to low in the frame.
The way I'm reading the composition, I'm been directed to the area between the domed turrets - you've even circled it with purple shadow.
This is where your hero should be if he's the focus of your painting.

[dwilliams]

Thanks for the suggestion Venger. I think I'll make the shadows less dark and move the figure up a little.

This is the reference I was using for the wall-



I liked the design of the wall, so I stuck as close as I could to the perspective in the picture, but like mentioned earlier perhaps it would be best to us an upward angle instead using similar architecture.

[Alice Herring]

perspectiiiiiiiive

p.s. pretty reference

[dwilliams]

Thank you for the diagram Rabbit. I see what I was doing wrong now.

[dwilliams]

Okay here is a revised composition study I did taking some of the advice mentioned before. I moved the figure in white up a little more and made his clothing a little more interesting, as well as adding an upward angle towards the wall. Do people think the perspective looks better and less jarring than the straight-on view?

[eleven_13]

When I look at it, i know you are wanting the focal point to be the guy in white (hero) but the posture of the man attacking him seems to break up the direction the eye should flow in. My eye goes immediately to his back, then as an afterthought goes back up to the hero. That large an area of dark jutting int the middle like that is disrupting. This is especially made evident by the light stairs under his left armpit. I would make an effort to play more with this figure, try to keep in mind the golden ratio, and work on using his form to draw the eye where you want it to go. Solid rendering skills you have there, and light and texture seems to be no issue for you as well. I would attempt to add something in the foreground, perhaps a column or something where you could enhance the shadows that dude is coming out of instead of having him stick out like a thumb. Remember that anything you want to look good in color must first look good in black and white. Try to see this image in terms of shapes, and then try to plan the composition accordingly.