Chow 126 :: Scheherazade

[Cookiedough]

Woah, lots of good entries already. I updated my piece on page 2. I'll try to crit more in the future as well.

Skorpi: Very nice, how you added the sister into the bg. I"m liking the dramatic lightning, but what's the source? Adding a small foreground element, like a small lamp, could help.

Oregano: Some of your proportions seem odd. The head is a li'l too big. Overall it doesn't seem intentionally stylized or just sorta. Waiting for your update.

Glenter: Nice portrait. She seems a bit young for Scheherazade, but the expression is intense.

Ahnem Mee: Is she armed? And why? I don't understand the most rendered part of this page.

Daestwen: I'm loving this piece so far, very nice. Watch her right/ our left leg, has a bit amputee going.

Jessibean: Grrr, it's looking too good, but be careful with the colors that they don't blend together too much.

MJ Alcazar: I have a problem with her right leg/our left. The thigh seems to suggest that the leg is supposed to go another way, making the calf look odd. Problem is more in the hip/pelvic area. She needs a li'l more hair on top of her skull, cranium seems a bit small.

Red Frog: Because this was discussed on irc before; books didn't exist in Scheherazades era. For me, it's ok being an 'classic' element of storyteller, but Oregano has to decide on how 'historical accurate' he wants. Good costume though.

Adele: I love your flow and the funny way you combined storytelling to her.

Dirk van Dulmen: Great start. As a fan of this type of work, i can't wait to see what you'll do with a complete piece. It's insane amounts of work though.

PetiteMistress: Chaos already critted your book. I also mentioned what bugged me on irc, so i'm just waiting for your update.

Glory666: Good pose, but watch your proportions, some parts of her seem unintentionally bigger than others. Make sure she's not cramped up, bed seems kinda small for her.

Pixeltuner:watch the feet, i'm not sure they're in correct sync with the rest of the body. Seem a bit small, and the pants around the knee make it a bit hard to understand what's going on with the lower leg. Careful that you don't make her too washed out against those curtains, the pinks and skin are kinda close together, while the gold doesn't really stand out.

[S.C. Watson]

Okay, here's mine to date. There were a lot of sketches that I didn't keep because they were crap from the onset.

At this point, I'm ditching the digital and going old school analog. I'm just not getting the results I want with this here new fangled techno-knoledgey stuff

So, as I have time, it will be pencil from here on out, dambit *shakes cane at y'all*

Anyway, the travesty:

~Oreg.

[edit] Why, hello Jessica!

[lunarman]

Hi all. My 1st try at CHOW and here's my wip. I'm really outside my comfort zone here. I've never done any female character before
I started this yesterday. Hope to get some good feedback.

[Pixeltuner]

Hmm. I see.

It's a little odd, to be honest. Since after 1001 nights of telling these stories they end up very happily married. So I'm not sure if it's giving the tone you're looking for?

I kind of see her more as risking her own life to protect the other women in the city/country/etc, rather than being predatory. Does that make sense?

edit: Keep in mind you can do whatever you want. I'm just warning you that by changing her character that much, you miiiight be straying a little far from the brief.

Yeah that makes sense, I wasn't thinking of ultra-bloodthirsty or something like that but I wanted to do something different with it, that's all. So I might end up straying too far yes

[chaosrocks]

sketchysketchy sketchy
they said they wanted to see the ugly phases

iono Dae... their marriage was happy according to whom? maybe she was just incredibly ambitious. adn saw this as a way to get power as well as save her country. maybe she spent the rest of her life married and trying to control the murderous old bastard, you actually never get her point of view.
was she happy? was the sex good?

or maybe she truly reformed him. but i think above all, you don't get to be a good story teller, if you don't love telling stories. that part is totallyin her, not just the desperate situation.
dunno maybe Im thinking about this too much..

lunar man, you migth want to check th eproportiond of her facial features atm her eyes are at an odd angle, her mouth is tiny and her chin is rather large.

[bitethefrog]

GOOD GOD! I missed so much!
Thanks for the crits, everyone! Means a great deal... thought I'd toss in some critique too since there's some VERY pretty stuff emerging here.
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Poshspice –
I adore this idea of her… very 1920s… which is always good… she seems to relish the environment she’s in, but she can really be feisty when she wants to be, like an empress. ^.^

Pixeltuner –
There’s a gorgeous ‘lushness’ in this piece… my only concern is the bright blue of her silken clothes…

Alesoun –
Hrm… she appears to be around the teenage mark here. The idea of Scheherazade being this age is particularly inspired, in my opinion…I’m looking forward to this being finished.

Foofea –
She reminds me very much of the actress who plays Trinity in The Matrix (struggles to find the name): tough yet beautiful. I agree with some of the anatomy issues, but the idea is great. Really speaks out her character.

Icemoon -
Audrey Hepburn, by any chance??? ^.^ The red and gold work really well here… gives a really opulent feel to her…

MJ_Alcazar –
Nice idea… like ominous use of Shariyar in the mirror! Maybe she could be a little older, but otherwise nice so far. Just a little tightening up as far as anatomy is concerned.

Arthemis IX -
This reminds me a lot of Aubrey Beardsley but it’s in colour. Maybe it’s the spirals, but that’s a good thing of course. ^.^ There’s a lovely intricate feel to it. There’s something beautifully unusual about this woman…

PatriciaS –
This is going to feel VERY exotic when it’s finished. YUM.

HFix -
I love the idea of Scheherazade actually ‘playing’ even ‘acting’ the stories out; really theatrical… this’ll be a really fun piece when it’s finished.

DIMAGYAN –
The painting style you have is really retro in my opinion. Reminds me of one of my favourite artists, Barclay Shaw. Your version of Scheherazade exudes intelligence…

Kiwigarbage –
(best nickname ever by the way) She seems a very modern woman, very unusual.

Jessibean –
*faints*

Chialupa –
She seems Chinese/North Asian. Still, the costume design is really nice.

HapaxLegomenon –
Oooh…. The sketches are awesome and beautiful. Looking forward to seeing a finished version of that quite Arabian style painting.

CookieDough –
A nice translation of the traditional Arabian Nights illustration. REALLY yummy so far.

DecayingLolita –
She seems very much like a traveller; seems that she does have many a tale to tell, and can really defend herself.

Kasblue / Havoc-DM –
I’m liking the idea of her forming the stories in the air…

Tomwaits4noman –
I’m liking sketch 2 the most here. There’s almost something cat-like about her…

The Whistler –
She glows Grecian or Roman. Curious…

Redfrog -
Agree with DIMAGYAN – she looks more like a sorceress than a storyteller.

Adele –
LOVING your work; this’ll be fun!

PetiteMistress –
There’s something very mysterious but alluring about this Scheheradaze….

Oregano –
Reminds me of scene in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon… there’s a touch of orientalism in there. Nice.

Lunarman –
Her chin appears to bug me slightly, but the rest of it looks great. Loving the shadow of Shariyar.
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New WIP, based on some of the critiques...Gonna be colouring this up soon.

[iuvo]

Came up with this after tossing a few ideas around..

[mmfidler]

alright, I'm in...I was having trouble coming up with a concept (how to encompass "her" - that 's the point right? He he)

She's cunning, and very intelligent, but I also picture her as light and ethereal, as if her stories lift her away from the world and all danger.

Lets see if I can whip up a rough in the next 10 min before lunch is over. EDIT: yeah, right, that was ambitious - I'll have some WIPs tonight

[bitethefrog]

Latest progress: BTW, I'm colouring on a laptop. ^.^''

[Pixeltuner]

big re-paint. face, hair, more leg, clothes, lost the dagger, subdued background a bit, changed skintone, been pushin' and pulling all sides at once I guess. I think I've taken all your critiques in account, and it looks like I've got a better base to finish the illu from. thx all!

[alesoun]

Link that might be useful for colour choices
http://members.ozemail.com.au/~ancie...a/colours.html

[Carnifex]

some exploration sketches. (more in my sketchbook)
after some thinking,i decided to go a different route and make her a quirky girl who's possibly reenacting the stories while she tells 'em. i took this from the assumption that because she's supposedly a virgin,she can't be very old,i'm thinking 16-ish. the biggest problem will be to chose a pose for the final picture,i could go with so many...
p.s.: posh,cursed be you for owerpowering sexy- and sketchiness. so much life in there!

[polipol]

nice topic, cant help but get that character from prince of persia out of head....great progress everyone...im pretty sleepy, will try and make some c&c soon...
heres my wip, just some thumbs that were developed a bit....

[ccsears]

who knows if i'll finish or not...

trying to show (oral) storytelling visually sounded interesting. don't know if i'll pull it off or not, but my idea was to show the story peeking out from behind a veil, maybe also show it like a shadow-puppet play on the veil as she dances.

basically the figure is going to disappear behind a veil and the story will come out. right now it's drawn pretty literally just so i get the drawing right and then i'll paint semi-transparently over it. (at least that's what i hope to do.) i want to keep her hidden because the story should be the focus as per the brief.

[MJ_Alcazar]

Wow, thanks for all the crits guys! I really appreciate it. I will really try to do likewise later. Just got out of school and I've been dying to come home and do some more work on my sketch So, I'll be back on later to crit!

[chaosrocks]

a sligthly differnt thumbnail
im trying to convey that she's just "been " withthe king, he's dozing. shes messed up and trying to go on with the plan, after all she was a virgin and he was a murderous bastard.. mighta been kinda difficult. anywya shes sitting on the edge of the bed telling the story to her little sis, who has to witness all this
it says this in the text. sort ofthe part about her little sis is, and that the plan is that when the king is quite satisfied Sherry asks him if she can tell her little sis a story\, as she does everynight, and he's all sure whatever I'll probably have you killed in the morning,.....
so Sherry starts the tales....

I need ref..I know I do

[kiwigarbage]

For some reason, I kept flubbing pretty seriously with the pencil. I decided to drop the sketch, and jump to the tablet, which helped me because it gave me a different approach. As you can see, I used the lasso tool to select, move, and skew different parts of the original sketch to try to get it a bit more in proportion. I lost the original mouth beccause I tried a few different things with it, and gave up to make it similar to the original again.

Trying a new approach with the painting, more blocking in, and obliterating the original line instead of trying to preserve it which gave my pieces more of a grossly rough look!

Sooo, under the pretense of staying home from an insect allergic reaction, I've decided I should at least do something productive.

Gah! I've typed too much. On to the work!

((by the way, thanks to everyone who gave me crits! I'm so appreciative ))

[ValkyriesBard]

Here's an idea, will be updating soon with some anatomy XD Sorry I've been lurking ya'll...

[Redfrog]

Some great progressions here folks. I'm hoping as soon as I get the chance to comment on everyone's pieces. There's some fantastic variety in here.

Thanks very much for the feedback too folks. General consensus was that my last WIP made her look too much like a sorceress and I tend to agree. Have readdressed, removed the book (oops, didn't realise the historical inaccuracy there ) and have given her a more seductive dancer look. I want to try and go with an angle that she would tell her stories somewhat in a dance. I also want to backlight her so that she is somewhat mysterious, being more a vessel for the story rather than just a mere narrator.

Dimagyan - nice call. she looks way too mad. Have softened a little and will definitely refine more as i work in more facial detail. I think the pupil-less eyes don't help that cause at the moment. I certainly don't want her scary - more mysterious and a lil seductive.

The Whistler - Ha! I've put her on the treadmill to try and work off those balloon thighs you mentioned. I still want her to be somewhat voluptuous like a belly dancer but you're right in the fact she needed to put in a few hours on the cross-trainer.

Cookiedough - Her non historically correct book has vanished into the vapours and she is left to pry her trade through words and dance.

Bitethefrog - Agree as well. Hopefully this more dancer oriented direction loses the previous sorceress feel. I still want some air of magic and mystery about her but definitely don't want to end up with some female Gandalf. Making sure she waxes her upper lip on a regular basis - don't want that moustache growing in there!

[MJ_Alcazar]

Fixed her face, I'm hoping by lowering her eyes to a more natural position it also fixes the look of having no forehead and too little hair. I tried to fix both leg, I'm hoping this one looks better. I'm not really sure how to make her look older, I hope she doesn't look to young.

Anyway, on to the crits!

Redfrog - nice direction. Watch the arms, right now her lower arms are a lot longer than the upper arms.

ValkriesBard - I really love the expression on Shariyar's face. However, I think you're losing her in the picture. My eyes are drawn to him instead of her.

kiwigarbage - I love her eyes. The design of the outfit is nice, make sure that bracelet on her right arm doesn't blend into the outfit.

Pixeltuner - very good job, marked improvement from the first one and second one. She looks very strong.

iuvo - I love her expression, she looks wistful, and a bit sad.

bitethfrog - I love you're style, I like how you incorporated her sister, without taking the focus off of her. She looks protective.

lunarman - the anatomy is a bit off, and she looks as if she's floating in front of the couch instead of sitting on it. In large part because of the shadow I believe. However, I love the colors and the design.

Oregano - the legs look a bit twisted to me. But, again, I love that expression. And I like you you made the "couch" a mountain range and the stars behind, as if she's becoming part of the story. NICE!

adele - I like you're style. Watch the right hand, it's getting a little lost in the other lines around it.

petitemistress - loving the pose. neck is a little short, and watch the height of the hand, it connects to her nose a little too much.

Poshspice - almost forgot, I love the rendering of that second pose. The more I look at it, the better I like it.

DIMAGYAN - oh wow! I feel like I could reach out and touch her. I love the walking in the clouds idea. amazing work.

[alesoun]

MJ, I've always liked your work, but the placement of your eyes has always bothered me a bit because the rest of your anatomy is just so good. Now they look alive. I love watching the way you're constantly improving!

[kasblue]

sheherzade is a persian name and i really want to keep her as persian as possible. i always have trouble coloring... aarrgghh... im really trailing behind everyone here...

[alesoun]

Not sure how much help this is, kasblue; but I'm a professional storyteller. To make it work, you either look your audience right in the eyes, or you follow a gesture you make (and so does your audience)

[daestwen]

here's my update!

sorry i don't have time for comments - will try to get some in during the next couple days.

[Cam Sykes]

wip sketches

[ccsears]

daestwen another classic idea--the storytelling showing up in smoke. thinking about it halfway seriously for a second, if i was read 1001 bedtime stories, i'd probably fall halfway into a trance--the same way people stare at campfires, lavalamps, etc.

**********************

a little progress... just threw the veil on another layer as a test to see what it would look like. the fun (and tricky) stuff will be the shadows and stuff.

[Redfrog]

MJ Alcazar - Thanks for the spot on the arms!

Made a lil more progress. Hoping to knock some over late tonite!

[dirkvandulmen]

Full sketch I did last night. Thanks for the comments on my head sketch. I hope you enjoy this one. I'm gonna start a color version this weekend, hopefully I find the time to finish it... enjoy.
(Otherwise there's always the nice CHOW revise & revisit)

[The Whistler]

Redfrog and Pixelturner -both of these look much better IMO, nice progress

update pg.2

[cowboy surfer]

Here's where I am now:

The post is gone and I have started to (as read in a book recently) 'carve out the light and shade from my original image'.

I really need to research turbans some more as I feel hers is less than convincing at the moment!

I have also added the king in the background - he is an homage to an artist called Sparth who did some concept art for the prince of persia game and one of his pieces has a character like this very loosely painted in it. For the purposes of learning I have tried to somewhat recreate him in my scene (I hope that's OK and within the rules Oreg/Daest?)