Check my art

[Renier van der West]

Hi to all! This is my first post. I love this site and finally decided that it is time to post my stuff. All crits and comments are welcome since I’m still a newbe and only started working on my wacom a few weeks ago. Please don’t go gentle on me at all, I can take it… really . Thank.

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For some reason these people (black smudges at bottom) have been isolated from society for some time and finally made their way to a huge industrialized city. I should have made the people more detailed but I got lazy so I went to bed and woke up uninterested.

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He killed the king in cold blood and came back to look onto his act one last time as to be certain that he really did it.

The king was planning to start a war with no real cause to bring glory onto himself. The priest knew this and was certain that the outcome would spell death for innocent people. The only way for him to stop this was to kill the king himself; this would prevent the war from starting but at his own cost. It would mean death by hanging and an even worst punishment after death if the ends really don’t justify the means. He decided to go thru with it anyway and risk his soul, after all, a man should try to better the world, a man who’d do less is none. (inspired by Kingdom of heaven)

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A worker taking a walk in the early morning looking at the factory were he works, thou there is no need to go there since the whole planet is being abandoned. The company he works for found a richer planet and all the inhabitants of this planet (workers) have to find their own way back home.

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A person exploring a tunnel system made by something of an unknown origin.

That’s it for now, I’ll post more later if people seem interested. Thanks!!!

[jabberwookie]

big on tunnels eh? very cool drawings. i really like your use of warm colours. the sunrise/sunset thing is something i've always been atracted to.

my only suggestion is to fine tune your perspective, its pretty good but could be better. and push the renders further. these still have a roughness about them that gives a sense of incompleteness, not style.

but really nice overall. thanks for sharing.

[Renier van der West]

Thanks for the advise! I do love the whole inside a tunnel feel, it make one feel so small

[demented]

Cool shit dude. I love the priest and the king pic. the colours have been used brilliantly. Your stuff on the wacom look 127943 times better than the stuff with the mouse - which are already really good. post your new stuff as you finish them. expect more detailed comment later.

(kom maak `n draai by my - ek het quake 4. kom maybe na hotel? hoe kan ek jou kontak? met die nommer wat j vir my ge-SMS het?)

[Gilead]

It's really cool that you have a story idea to go with these images. They definately convey a feeling of something happening when you look at them, not just some guy standing by a building or whatever.
You could do a lot more with visual symbolism to make your pictures tell the stories themselves without us neccesarily needing the explanation.

1. It would tell the story more if the figures had just crested a hill and are getting their first look at the city from more of a distance. One of them could be down on one knee with his arms outsreached, another pointing etc. It's cliche' for a good reason: it works.

2. The priest has already killed and has misgivings about his actions. The sword should now droop unaggresively to the floor pointing guiltily towards the blood drops. He should have a "what have I done?" kind of expression on his face somewhat like your avatar.
Also a crown lying on the floor by the king's head shows that he was a king and not just some guy. If it is upside down and or broken it makes us think of a fallen king not just a crown sitting there.

3. In this case the enclosed tunnel robs you of the mood you wish to convey. It's too secure and cosey. The scene needs to be outdoors, vast and empty. The figure looking at the factory from some distance while ships are flying away.

4. He's too much in the center to give much feeling of mystery. Placing the figure off to the side with this vast tunnel streaching out in front of him suggests more of a journey or adventure that is about to begin. Also shining the flashlight on the ground says "watch your step" while shining it up high on the walls says "what is this place?"

But even the way they are they all have good storytelling qualities even if the particulars are not obvious.
Nice work.

[Renier van der West]

Demented – thanks! Looking forward to your own Wacom works

Gilead – Thanks for the advise! I should really try to approach projects with that kind of insight. My ideas mostly evolve into something deferent than what I started with. You are so right about the spotlight thing!