ChoW#287 :: The Thing Under The Bed

[Rist]

Here is my latest. Football Sock Monster

[Obstfelder]

Rist: Looks cool with the knitted texture. is that going to be a mane on his back?

[Rist]

Rist: Looks cool with the knitted texture. is that going to be a mane on his back?

Its more like fraying thats been going on.

I'm just wondering if the blurred effect is a looking good or bad? Any pointers?

I'm also looking to add some extras so it becomes more of a character.

[Obstfelder]

I think the bluring is going to work well for the background. It will help the character look the right size. But maybe not blur the character itself so much? Paint the character sharp and add the bluring effect last is what I usually do.

[Rist]

I think the bluring is going to work well for the background. It will help the character look the right size. But maybe not blur the character itself so much? Paint the character sharp and add the bluring effect last is what I usually do.

I think i like the blur on the creature. With enough retouching it could look like smelly heat shimmers lol

[TheLuvableNerd]

Have to jump in on this one!
As a kid I always wished I would have something living under my bed lol, the thought of some fun critter fascinated me.
So this critter would be more from my childhood and somewhat now since the things under my bed havent changed much haha
I usually have drawing supplies under my bed, as a kid lots of crayons I even had a giant glowing crayon nightlight next to my bed
trading cards, sneakers, colorful striped socks.
So with all that here's my WIP for Garf!


He shows up every night, Little Monsters style haha. He's so big the bed would rest on the center of his belly.
I'm thinking he grows his mane in for the winter when its cold, and sheds it for the summer

[mcreation]

first wip just trying some really crazy things hehe

[Tamarin]

He is a hunter gatherer who subsists on the unique ecosystem found under the bed. Habitat is destroyed once a year in the human ritual of spring cleaning. It is best for him to find an under bed environment supported by friendly non-cleaning humans.

He also discovered theory of relativity.

[panama66]

First time posting. I've been lurking for a while so here goes.

[Noamos]

First chow and been thinking about this with reference from monsters inc and little monsters movies and haven't really come up a really good idea but here's a sketch I did last night, it was a underground bboy monster, doesn't look like much of monster and don't know if I will go this route. Maybe I'm over thinking it but I want to finish it.

[Stinkfist]

[Ian Barker]

arms crawling out from uder the bed, up the walls and holding the head

[Sushy]

update on mine...
If you have any tips, please let me know.

[L.A. KARKERA]

Sushy - Your work is looking quite solid so far. Your thing under bed has a positive aspect which goes well with all colorful things, such as teddy bear and hello kitty toys under the bed. In order to improve your painting, my suggestions are: 1) add more shadow under the thing on the floor because the purple spot under her feet is distracting so if you spread it out, it would be less distracting and more balanced. 2) her curled tail looks a little bit murked together so if you add shadows underneath her tail so the spiral circle part of her tail would look balanced and clean instead of being mashed together. Keep it up!

Noamos - Go for it. It'll be a good practice for you to finish it and keep your drawing, developing, and painting routines steady.

mcreation - Welcome. Your WIP idea is looking nicely. Keep it up.

TheLuvableNerd - Love your outlines and concept art of Garf. Very clean and crisp as well as innovative. Can't wait to see the rendering part of it.

Rist - I gotta admit that smelly sock as the thing under bed would be the last thing I ever think of, which is very clever and effective as the thing. I like the blurred effect in the background as well as the detailed texture of scales on the sock and rug on the floor. My two cents are to remove gray as shadow from your sock and add more color to make the sock look quite sharper (because gray as shadow doesn't compliment very well in contrast with the rug so perhaps darker red or purple to make it stand out).

__________________________________________

Here are just some WIPs of the thing under the bed. I wanted to do something different instead of making it scary-looking like many others had done. The thing under the bed is more of like a guardian willing to defend the underneath ecosystem of the bed from crawling out and terrorize the sleeper. The thing is composed of many broken toys that had been left discarded and to be buried under dust under the bed but that didn't stop the thing from collecting broken parts and put them together, striving for the only one goal: to protect the sleeper that once loved them from the brutal world of nightmares lurking under the bed.

[Aonegamer]

WIP:

[Obstfelder]

Liffey: Great warped perspective. Looking forward to seeing you develop that.

Sushy: I think it's looking great, but there are always some details that could be tweaked if you want:

Consider adding a lightsource slightly to the back on the right side of the character. That way you get a rimlight that will bring out the face and the shape of the ball.

I think you should consider moving the meringue (is that what it is?) by the front paws away from the outline of the character. It makes some awkward negative space just under the face.

In addition you could push the values on the main character a little (maybe just use a levels adjustment in Photoshop) so that it has a little more range than the background. Just to put the focus more on the character, if you know what I mean?

[Obstfelder]

Working on some thumbnails.

I haven't quite decided how to frame the scene yet, but I'm liking the static look of the first of these two. I'm imagining that the monster and the child in the bed are at a stalemate, with neither wanting to move before the other.

Makes me think of the way I sometimes woke in the middle of the night when I was a kid, and was scared to move because I was sure something scary was out there and would hear me.

[Ian Barker]

Obstfelder: The perspective on the second one makes it much more dramatic and engaging.

Sushy: I wouldn't know it's under a bed just from looking at the pic, make you could show bed legs in the scene and darken certain areas of it, just as examples

[Ian Barker]

Here's some more work on mine:

[jsn]

Cool topic!

Undadabedfeef!

[Pixeltuner]

updaaateeeee on my new pet.

[tamirespp]

Here`s my try!
That's the thingy that makes my back hurts. Ugh...

[panama66]

I feel like the drawing is a bit muddy. Any advice as to how I fix it?

[Obstfelder]

Liffey: Really cool monster, and great composition, but why have you put so much focus on the lamp? My eyes go to that almost before I look at the two characters. (oh, and I see what you mean about the perspective. It showcases the character more too, of course, wich is an important point here)

panama66: Try adding a second lighsource from the right and some specular highlights on the skin. It looks like it should be a wet monster, but you only have higlights on the ridge on his back right now.

[Aonegamer]

I feel like the drawing is a bit muddy. Any advice as to how I fix it?

1.this thread is not for discussion, indeed you can use other related threads.
2. If you mean bgcolor looks dull (technically speaking de-saturated) you need to study color theory.

No offense in thoughts but a suggestion.

[Obstfelder]

1.this thread is not for discussion, indeed you can use other related threads.

It isn't? I thought that was the entire point of having the WIP thread. So that we can help each other out.

[Aonegamer]

It isn't? I thought that was the entire point of having the WIP thread. So that we can help each other out.

Ok , cool, No issue.
But doubts can be cleared with a sketch book or mentoring thread. This thread is more specific to art.
Then why do we have 2 thread for same task ?

Discussion ends from my end.
Appreciate your concern.

[Obstfelder]

Ah I see your point, but this thread is for discussing the current character challenge, and the mentoring and sketchbook is for private projects I think.

No worries

[Pixeltuner]

The wip thread is for comments, crits and suggestions indeed

And like Obstfelder said: Introduce some light and colour on the right. The shadow looks a bit too abrupt. Also, look into some 'translucency' or 'subsurface scattering' for the ridge. It looks like a balloon right now, and fins or ridges don't work that way

[nofu]

panama66, even though the character design doesn't make much sense for an indoorsy thing, the face just cracks me up, I love it.