Burning plains

[NightmareGK13]

another speedpainting i feel that needs some point outs
a battle takes place here right in the beginning of my book


also i started my sketchbook if you wanna take look: http://www.conceptart.org/forums/sho...76#post1954276

[~KJK~]

i think the ground needs more hue variation, 'cause it looks quite monochromatic, even with the reds reflecting on it. You also should blend the mountains in the background more to give it more realisitc feel

[NightmareGK13]

i think the ground needs more hue variation, 'cause it looks quite monochromatic, even with the reds reflecting on it. You also should blend the mountains in the background more to give it more realisitc feel

hm okay okay ill try adding some variations to the ground

do you have any help tip to blend in the mountains?

[~KJK~]

you could try using a color of lighter value on the background, and use some of it on the mountains, i think itll help

[Duman]

Two words. Lightning/explosions. Lightning coupled with lava and dark planets always looks nice. The trick is to not exaggerate them. I also believe the lava fissure explosions should be more pronounced. Larger and with more smaller globs being sprayed. Ash and soot in the air can also have an incredible effect when done correctly. Cool speed paint!

[NightmareGK13]

you could try using a color of lighter value on the background, and use some of it on the mountains, i think itll help

hmm okay will do

i'll post an update later on

Two words. Lightning/explosions. Lightning coupled with lava and dark planets always looks nice. The trick is to not exaggerate them. I also believe the lava fissure explosions should be more pronounced. Larger and with more smaller globs being sprayed. Ash and soot in the air can also have an incredible effect when done correctly. Cool speed paint!

hey thank you very much for that
well i guess that if the characters on the bottom corner would be more visible youd see that the explosions are quite prominent
though of course i can accentuate them even further ^^ im just thinking that it might stop being so realistic i dunno XD

hmm that ash thing idea is pretty neat
got any idea on how can i make them?

[Kroevyn]

Everything seems too uniform, for example, all the mountains are pointing upwards and are a similar height, and the lava is coming out of the cracks at exactly the same angle.

You've made a good start, but it has the potential to be much more interesting & dynamic, keep going

P.S. here is a pic of Mount Doom from LotR for inspiration/reference

[NightmareGK13]

Everything seems too uniform, for example, all the mountains are pointing upwards and are a similar height, and the lava is coming out of the cracks at exactly the same angle.

You've made a good start, but it has the potential to be much more interesting & dynamic, keep going

P.S. here is a pic of Mount Doom from LotR for inspiration/reference

thanks for the heads up
you got any tips to help me improve it?

and thanks as well for the photo ref

[Kroevyn]

^ Well, mainly you just need to break up the uniformity - change the direction of the surrounding mountains & clouds, vary the sizes/shapes of the lava etc.

I did a veeery quick paintover; I've made the mountains & clouds more slanted so that they lead the eye towards to volcano. Also, the uh.. bits of lava (lol sorry no idea what they are called) are all different sizes, and on an angle rather than going straight up - diagonals help create a sense of movement and drama within an image.

I hope that helps/makes sense XD

[NightmareGK13]

^ Well, mainly you just need to break up the uniformity - change the direction of the surrounding mountains & clouds, vary the sizes/shapes of the lava etc.

I did a veeery quick paintover; I've made the mountains & clouds more slanted so that they lead the eye towards to volcano. Also, the uh.. bits of lava (lol sorry no idea what they are called) are all different sizes, and on an angle rather than going straight up - diagonals help create a sense of movement and drama within an image.

I hope that helps/makes sense XD

yep that made perfect sense
it is hard now however (curse me for not using layers in this pic XD) but yeah i get your idea and will try that on future paintings thank you very much

[SweetPea]

i agree with all the things aforementioned... id especially like to see more of an explosion coming out of the top of the volcano itself... its very cool speedpainting!

[NightmareGK13]

i agree with all the things aforementioned... id especially like to see more of an explosion coming out of the top of the volcano itself... its very cool speedpainting!

ah yeah i see what ya mean
well my first view of it is that i didnt want it erupting as in explosion like i wanted it just settling down when the magma starts to overflow
but its a nice idea
thanks buddy

[Duman]

That wind idea is very cool, I would really try to incorporate that. I might also make those specks you call people in the corner more prominent if you want them to be noticed. You would paint the ash the same way you would paint snow. I would grab a small airbrush, and paint tiny flecks of orange and red all over. Don't make them distracting though.

[NightmareGK13]

That wind idea is very cool, I would really try to incorporate that. I might also make those specks you call people in the corner more prominent if you want them to be noticed. You would paint the ash the same way you would paint snow. I would grab a small airbrush, and paint tiny flecks of orange and red all over. Don't make them distracting though.

yeah i thought so too
i'll do my best to incorporate it
since im not home atm ill post and update tomorrow

[SweetPea]

o wow are those the people in the lower lefthand? on the rock formation? if they are then yea definately make them a good bit more noticable... i had to search to find them! =)
if you wanted to make it more like magma overflowing, then id put some of it kinda oozing out if you will from the top opening as opposed to just from the sides... but id definately keep the ones on the side there... theyre really nice.

[NightmareGK13]

o wow are those the people in the lower lefthand? on the rock formation? if they are then yea definately make them a good bit more noticable... i had to search to find them! =)
if you wanted to make it more like magma overflowing, then id put some of it kinda oozing out if you will from the top opening as opposed to just from the sides... but id definately keep the ones on the side there... theyre really nice.

yeah i will i really need to re do this but thing is not really onto reviewing due to the mistake of making only one layer

yeah i get your idea thank you very much you guys are really helping me improve a whole lot thank you all

[DigitallyDumbfounded]

Hey Nightmare.
Don't be afraid of color.
Also your general gradation from foregound to background doesn't help to create depth her.
Meaning, all your darks on every plane are...real dark. ;P
I did a crumy overpaint to demonstrate how you can use color to make things more interesting.
You had the right idea with the greenish clouds. Complemetaries make things pop out. Now I actually also threw in some purples to contrast with the yellow and also because like this your red/yellow focal area stands out more.
Like this you actually can warm up some areas more but the volcano stays the warmest.
YOu're also way desaturated almost everywhere.
Try and not be so uniform about the distribution of those qualities.
Make some areas more saturated, some areas brighter, warmer, yadda yadda... you get the point.
All of that help to make one area stand out and draw focus. But make sure there is a dynamic established by those properties throughout the painting to lead the viewers eye around.

For example, the fire coming out of the volcano can very well be (and actually is in real life) fairly white in it's center.
Like that you make that fire have "a higher priority" than the lava on the ground.

And having just one layer is no excuse. :!
keepworking on things like that and don't be hesistant to start over. that's sometimes easier than fixing things.

Oh, also, what Kroevyn said.
If you throw the colrs here together with that contrast and crisp edges, you should be well on your way.