Need a little help with this

[Mila]

Hi

Some time ago I made this very rough sketch for a client. The idea was to create a 50's / 60's look of back alley Paris, complete with a café of some sort where you would have people sitting, drinking, reading, etc. You get the idea, right?

Recently I took up work again and looked back at the sketch. There's some things wrong with it, mainly perspective.. but I feel like a total novice again when it comes to perspective. I have no idea how to work on this piece to 'fix it'.

Other than that, I feel a bit lost on how to proceed with this painting.

All thoughts are welcome!

[Tony Meijer]

Okey, I have some critique, see attached image:

[Mila]

Okey, I have some critique, see attached image:

I think I started off with a vague idea that tilted canvas would give it an interesting look.
Turns out it's a disaster.

[sykeros]

The tilted canvas makes the viewer feel disoriented--at first glance I thought it was going to be a chaos/attack/running scene with destruction all over and people running. So if that's not what you're going for, maybe the tilt isn't for this scene

You have a good range of values in the image, but the focal point is lacking. I'm confused about if I should be looking at the eiffel tower or down the street, because although the tower is a large, strong shape with high contrast against the background, all of the lines in the image are pointing down the street, away from it.

[Lane.]

It a pretty interesting image I think. The perspective may be a bit skewed in places, but overall it has a nice eerie mood. (perhaps you had a different goal though) You can get away with the distortion as along as you are consistent. Take Peleng's work for example:http://www.peleng.byethost12.com/Pel...ished_art.html

[Tony Meijer]

I think I started off with a vague idea that tilted canvas would give it an interesting look.
Turns out it's a disaster.

Nah, I like the tilted canvas, it makes the image feel dynamic in my humble opinion. I do think that you need to fix the trees and the buildings in respect to the perspective though...

[Mila]

Thanks to everyone for the feedback and help.

The sketch as of now:

[Heyriel]

Hm, tbh I'm one of the people who think the tilted canvas is too exciting for a scene that should 'just' show a street with some people chilling. Like *sykeros, I saw the preview and was like 'holyshitapocalypse!' and then...not.
What a friend of mine just said though is that the tower appears to be so close, that it's standing on the street (trace the line from tip to feet on the left side, there's a bit missing). Following that logic it would mean that the tower is standing on the houses on the right. So maybe it needs to be a bit smaller/moved to the right?
(N00b here, hit me if what I said is bs xD )

[Mila]

^ Your friend made an excellent point actually I should push it back a little, aye.

[Caelan]

I don't mind the canted frame, but I think it is too severely canted; maybe turn it back a bit. As it is now, I keep getting the sense that the tower is going to fall over. I also agree that if you are going to go that route, the mood/content of the piece needs to support that... Usually this means an intense action or chase scene like someone else said, or a horror theme. Generally it invokes a sense of uncertainty and instability.

[Mila]

Update:

[Heyriel]

Yes, I'd say that looks alot better already!

[Caelan]

Oh yeah, knocking it back with that white helped a lot!

[Mila]

Thanks everyone. I think I'm on the right direction now..

[Leonor]

Hm, tbh I'm one of the people who think the tilted canvas is too exciting for a scene that should 'just' show a street with some people chilling. Like *sykeros, I saw the preview and was like 'holyshitapocalypse!' and then...not.

This. I thought the birds were attacking the Eiffel Tower.