Cliffdwell Town

[Caelan]

Hey guys! I just finished this environment piece up today... I tried a few new things in it, and I think it call came together fairly well on the whole!

Just looking for any general feedback on it, anything I may have missed or that could use improving?



Thanks!

[Caelan]

Made some adjustments based on feedback in class. I'm still not 100% happy with the grass on the far side of the path but I'll tackle that another day.

[InfernoKing]

It needs work.

Compositionally, are we supposed to be focus on the wagon or the actual structures? Given the title I would assume the latter.

the colors in the foreground and background are more or less the same.
The scale of elements like the grass and buildings, and rockface are not consistent with the perspective.
For instance, we know the cliff to the left is in front of the wagon, but the buildings are basically the same scale as that wagon.
Next the round stones at the base of the cliffs are the same size in the foreground as they are in the background.
The grass and stones are the same size from immediate foreground right up to that road, so rather than looking a great distance away it feels like a few feet, and that the wagon is 4" tall, which then makes the builds really small by comparison.

And can you include a version with the the perspective elements mapped? vanishing points, horizon and lines.

[arenhaus]

You kind of missed the lighting. Where is your light source? Where do the shadows fall?

[Marcky Marq]

I feel like it is lacking direction, my eyes dart around the piece and dont really have a chance to land on anything. More negative space maybe showing a bit more sky is a way to fix that but right now with your very nice rendering on the rocks it feels a hair to busy.

Hope this helps!

[Lightship69]

Sorry but the rock looks un-natural and unconvincing, I think its the repetition of shape and the regular nature of it, it needs texture and more thought on how it occurred as a natural formation.
I also have to agree with my mate "arenhaus" and wonder how the light gets into that valley and where the shadows are going to be.

I will stress again for the record that this is just my opinion and feel free to ignore me, I will not be offended or stressed.

all the best with the image

[Star Eater]

I would lay off the grass brush.

[Caelan]

Hey guys, thanks a bunch for all the specific critique! Right now I am in serious crunch time with the end of the semester fast encroaching, but I will come back in a month or so and get back to working on this one. But I just wanted to make a quick post so you don't think I've not appreciated the feedback

[Caelan]

Hey folks,
Looks like it turned out to be way longer than I anticipated before I've gotten back around to this piece. I'm preparing my portfolio for the end of March, though, so I'm seeing if I can't salvage this one.

Here it is with perspective lines, as requested; I've gotten slightly better at perspective since this project but still have a lot of trouble with knowing how to handle it when it comes to landscapes and organic environments, and figuring out just how far apart to place vanishing points from one another.

I will tackle improving the grass, lighting, and rock textures, but I'd like to crack the perspective first to save having to re-do other elements. What do you think would be the best solution for resolving that issue presently? Increase the size of the cart?

[cfhd]

To be honest, I think the buildings themselves need to be completely reworked. Right now they don't seem to belong in the piece at all and kind of look cartoony compared to the rocks. I would start fresh with the buildings all together and try and get them working with the perspective grid you included. You may want to vary the shapes a bit as well instead of just haveing really basic rectangles try putting some arches into the design or some curved surfaces. In such a fantasy style of rock landscape I would expect the buildings to be more interesting.

[Velocity Kendall]

To be fair, the buildings in the mesa verde do look just like this, or did.. and they were all over the place in terms ofvanishing points..

[cfhd]

The vanishing points may be slightly off in reality but still I think the buildings in the painting need to be reworked a bit. Right now they just don't look like they belong there to me. This is obviously just my humble opinion tho. So take it with a grain of salt.

[Caelan]

Okay, I've redesigned them somewhat here (haven't gotten around to the back yet), though I still need to rough the shapes up a bit so they fit in with the style more. I'm also working on figuring out how to change up the rocks a good deal. In addition I've pulled the cart back slightly as a quick temporary shift on the scale.

[cfhd]

Ya dude, that's like night and day for me. The foreground buildings look much better now. Keep it up.

[Caelan]

Thanks!

Still working on this when I get the chance. I've been messing around with it for about 6 hours so far today; It's been so long since I really had my head into painting (been drawing for the last couple months) that it's going kinda slow. It's just a matter of keeping at it, though.

Any further crit is much appreciated. I think the rocks are much better, so far.

[Aqualeot]

Google "Turkish cave houses" for some cool inspiration

[fxEVo]

When you look up to that high cliff, should consider about the 3rd perspective point.

[Caelan]

Okay, I'll work that in. It should be more severe on the closer cliff, right...?

Sorry for the basic question, I am still working all the tricks of perspective into my brain.

[cfhd]

I don't know if all those other little openings above the buildings are working for you to be honest. I like where you are going with the buildings in the distance tho.

[Caelan]

Thanks for the feedback. I still kind of like the idea of them, so I'm leaving most of them in for now, but I've taken out a couple above the nearer cliff and I think it looks a little better.

[Velocity Kendall]

wow love the buildings! nice light on them.
reminds me a bit of http://www.wall321.com/thumbnails/de...l321.com_8.jpg

[Caelan]

Thanks!

I've been working on this on and off for the past month or two... I feel it is 'done' short of any minor edits from critique here. Thinking about some texture on the back buildings but I don't know if that would make them look too in focus. Also considering blurring the further bg slightly anyway.

[DinaCardillo]

I love the way this is turning out!

The rocks on the foreground have the same level of detail that the ones in the background right now, and it's quite a contrast with the buildings which are nicely defined. I would put more details in the foreground.

Also I don't like the grass. I mean, if that in the foreground is still our regular backyard grass, then the mountains switch from being monumental to just meh. I don't have the knowledge to explain exactly why, but somehow the grass size in the foreground breaks the picture for me.

[Caelan]

In my mind the grass is larger, more like rough dry grass that would go up to at least your knees. But I'm not sure how to better convey that. Any ideas?

[misterdistant]

Hey,
Love the buildings!

Your foreground and background are of the same value which makes it hard (for me) to differentiate them, try expanding your value range maybe?
Quick paintover, hope it helps a bit

[DinaCardillo]

In my mind the grass is larger, more like rough dry grass that would go up to at least your knees. But I'm not sure how to better convey that. Any ideas?

Maybe throw a little beetle or a small flower in the foreground grass? As a viewer, that foreground grass distracts me from the main picture because I kept wondering how tall it really was... maybe that could help? Or maybe it's just me and I'm not smart enough to figure out how tall some grass is haha!

Little grass, I'm watching you!