WIP - Darkstalkers Pin-up

[Audio C5005]

I need some guidance, I'm at where I feel, like, I'm lost and searching for... something to make this illustration "pop". It just feels very simple and plain to me. What I want is to have Talbain (The werewolf of Darkstalkers.) to slightly fade in from the background, like, emerging from the fog and look as menacing as possible, but not to steal the spotlight away from BB Hood (Another Darkstalkers character.). What I want more than anything to make everything stand out. Any help is appreciated, thank you!

[Hexokinase]

What I want is to have Talbain to slightly fade in from the background, like, emerging from the fog and look as menacing as possible, but not to steal the spotlight away from BB Hood

Have you done any thumbnails to plan out the composition? Any value or color studies? You say you want the female character to be the main focus, but she takes up so little space on the canvas. There's a lot of emptiness, and a really large wolf. Have you tried any tighter cropping? Have to tried having the wolf close to the girl? These are all things that should have been experimented in the thumbnail stage. You should not be painting in any details until you know your composition works, your values work, your colors work, and your major forms read well.

[Mosegrodd]

I really like it! In my opinion the wolf looks a bit undefined compared to the girl. Also perhaps it's head is a little flat maybe? And it's hands could use a little more contrast. That's my little contribution anyways. Good luck! I'll be following this thread

[Audio C5005]

Have you done any thumbnails to plan out the composition? Any value or color studies? You say you want the female character to be the main focus, but she takes up so little space on the canvas. There's a lot of emptiness, and a really large wolf. Have you tried any tighter cropping? Have to tried having the wolf close to the girl? These are all things that should have been experimented in the thumbnail stage. You should not be painting in any details until you know your composition works, your values work, your colors work, and your major forms read well.

Here's the rough concept

At first I started with the girl, the wolf was totally unplanned. So, yeah, I originally intended to work just on the girl and eventually add some accessories, but then I got the big, bad wolf idea and just went with it on the spot.

I do have the figures on different layers in case I need to make some drastic changes.

What I want out of the wolf, besides looking like a total monster, I want him to slowly fade from the background and look murky, and revealing the claws like he's reaching for her. I want to exaggerate his body size. Like a big blurred figure about to be revealed, but with a few detailed hints.

And I totally understand there's a lot of space between them, I was thinking of shorting the gap, but I was afraid I might make the wolf look less of a giant than what I intended or probably he'll be more distracting.

I'm gonna fiddle around with it, though. Thanks.

[Audio C5005]

I really like it! In my opinion the wolf looks a bit undefined compared to the girl. Also perhaps it's head is a little flat maybe? And it's hands could use a little more contrast. That's my little contribution anyways. Good luck! I'll be following this thread

I feel like I could fit more contrast to his hands.

[TinyBird]

At first I started with the girl, the wolf was totally unplanned. So, yeah, I originally intended to work just on the girl and eventually add some accessories, but then I got the big, bad wolf idea and just went with it on the spot.

It really would have been better to stop a bit an do some thumbs to think the position of the wolf and tweaks for the girl (speaking of which, what is she doing with her other arm? Throwing something away?). Also get a ref for the wolf. You've done the girl realistic enough that if you stylize the wolf too much, it starts to look off, like a giant plush toy stalking someone.

[Audio C5005]

It really would have been better to stop a bit an do some thumbs to think the position of the wolf and tweaks for the girl (speaking of which, what is she doing with her other arm? Throwing something away?). Also get a ref for the wolf. You've done the girl realistic enough that if you stylize the wolf too much, it starts to look off, like a giant plush toy stalking someone.

The hand of the girl was suppose to be holding a weapon like a Mac10 or a short barrel shotgun - I haven't decided. I thought it would look stupid and unnecessary for her to be pointing a gun while looking away. But I left the option there just in case. Anyway, violence is part of her nature and I wanted to display that.
example:


and I've used this as a reference for Talbain (Werewolf).


These are just characters from the Darkstalkers series. So, I should approach the wolf with a more realistic look?

It looks like what REALLY needs to happen is: Do another thumbnail, leave the girl, step away from the wolf, rework on positioning this beast to better fit in the composition. The wolf is the problem... pretty much, right?

[TinyBird]

These are just characters from the Darkstalkers series. So, I should approach the wolf with a more realistic look?

Like I said, you've done the girl much more realistically than she's depicted in the game, so if you leave the wolf all cartoony and anatomically incorrect (currently the wolf's face in the pic doesn't really even look like Talbain) it's very likely going to look awkward.

[Lhune]

Well it pretty much looks exactly like you made it; separate elements forced together into one image which you're trying to get to work together. Chances are small that they will; I'd definitely start over with the wolf and go with what TinyBird suggested.

What I think is weakening this piece the most though is the lack of environment and story. That's not to say you should add an entire background, but there isn't even a hint at a ground plane; all the characters are simply floating about. In your example image (the first) there's a whole lot going on and she looks quite menacing. Everything in that piece is made to exaggerate her characteristics (although I don't really like the way she is falling over backwards), in your piece you are trying to force her into a certain position for the purpose of being sexy and then loosely adding stuff to make her look "violent" anyway (a random gun). How about making that trait obvious while still making her look sexy? She could be leaning on a giant gun, just for example.