Can I push this further?

[dolmen]

well I know theres always space for improvement. Please help me identify whats working and whats not.





All C&C welcome.

[Lhune]

I'd say you can, mostly in terms of composition and lighting/color. Everything feels very tame to me, and sort of "stretched", there's a lot of unnecessary unused space in this image. I don't have too much time to explain (and I always feel like I'm explaining it poorly) so I hope this helps;





Neat concept though.

[Enimael]

Hi,

I really like the picture. I am not too experienced myself, but there are some things that I think could use some extra-time.

I did an overpaint that hopefully explains what I mean.

First right now they are very seperated from each other, so maybe have some of the stuff that is travelling with them (black slime/ orange cloudy-things) overlap.
The knife of the guy on the left right now points to the outside of the picture, which leads the eye of the beholder out of it. Maybe work on that too. Then you are hiding his boots behind the slime and I am not sure what he stands on and if he is flying, he should maybe be in a more aerodynamic pose. ATM it seems a bit like you would avoid painting his feet.
Then you could put some more light from the dimensional rift (at least thats what I thinkg it is) on him, to show that they are in the same area and close to each other. the rocks on the right should be darker, because they are (in) the foreground.

What bugs me to most is that I can't see neither one of their faces well. So I added some glowing eyes to underline his bad intentions better.

Maybe think about adding some blueish/greenish colortones to balance the orange tone.

All in all is it a solid piece and the anatomy looks pretty good. Keep pushing this and it could be awesome.

[hziegel]

It's a nice composition and definitely interesting design. Try playing around with some other colors, like a yellow rim light, to make the shapes pop out a bit more. You can also use light to direct the eye in one area (by making one part in light and the rest in shadow). One last thing: The negative space with those rocks is really taking away some of the momentum. It creates a large, open, shapeless space between the characters that draws you down instead of up into the action. Maybe fill that negative space with some shapes that point toward your focal point, and also break up some of the emptiness.

[Logan Turner]

What everyone else has said plus the fact that the foreground dude is looking way down nowhere near the background dude.

[pixel cheetah]

Very interesting composition. It is not clear to me whether those black tentacles are attacking the white haired dude from behind or supposed to be his allies?

[dolmen]

Thank you all for your input. I have to really thank Lhune particularly, your insight really sent this up to the next level. My tonal work as usual just plain sucks.

I have made all the changes i could with the wealth of advice given. Image uploader seems to be disagreeing with me today though. Will attempt to post changes later today (or you can check out the update via my da account)

On a side note: the eyes, i understand most compositions benefit from drawing attention to sightlines. Can hand motions (i.e. The hand gripping the daggar and the other wielding black orbs) achieve the same focal tension?

[OmenSpirits]

The angle is too extreme. I found myself tilting my head to get a better grasp of the image. Little less tilt (not a lot) would help. The way it is isn't adding the dynamism that it normally would.

[Shorinji_Knight]

I have to agree with Lune's suggetions. I would also say that you should push the rendering a bit more with emphasis on the figure closer to us.

[Black Spot]

Why does the guy on the right's top leg feel as though it's coming out of his stomach and the bottom one has been severed?

I would raise the gaze of the guy on the left so he's looking directly at his opponent and then you have a connection. I don't mind the lack of faces, but there needs to be more frisson.

[Dread_Reaper]

I can't say I disagree with anything said thus far, especially about the angle of the piece and the anatomy of the background guy's leg, but for me the main issue that's killing the dynamism and scale is the inconsistency of the rendering. You've done some of the right things adding light occlusion to push things into the background and foreground, but the blurriness of the painting is frightfully consistent, which completely flattens the piece. It also makes it difficult to immediately establish distance and comparative size. My advise would be to spend some extra time actually painting the foreground and background figures into focus to really make them pop.

And of course, all the stuff that's been mentioned before. Good luck!

-Dread_Reaper

[dolmen]

Hmmm I tried to address some of the issues...not sure if I'm getting it right.



I may need more advice on focal rendering. not sure my understanding is good in this department. I look at the above paintovers and notice everything has a motion or depth to it, my work seems less immersive.

[vardoburrito]

(quick morning drops)

Values and shadows (: (Once we master this, our art will be better)

-Figure out the values on the background character. His cape is the same value as his leg
-The 'Thundercat' blade in the foreground should receive some shadows.

--- it's all in the lighting

You've got blinding lights on your pieces so work off of it. Stare at the sun for reference if you have to (and blind yourself in the process, huhuhu) - Just use a flashlight or something safe with a figurine or a stand in object.

[Elwell]

Flop it.

[OmenSpirits]

Yeah, could you flip the sucker so the focus of the pic is to the left?

[JavierP]

Hi dolmen,
This is a very interesting image for its complexity. This level of complex action and detail needs to be handled carefully, however. I would suggest establishing a clearer separation between your foreground, mid-ground, and background, with a more judicious use of your values. Right now your values are all over the place, and all the elements of the picture are competing for the viewer's attention. Choose a focal point, and then have all the other elements relate it.

Another issue is the fact that the magic effects are of a dark value, but they need to be casting light in the image. You have made your background such a light value that you no longer have the range to produce glowing magical effects. I made a rough paint to show you some ideas. I don't know what is going on in this image story-wise, but in general, if an element is not contributing to the image, it should be eliminated. Try to think in terms of making the image as clear and understandable as possible, even if we are not totally aware of why these figures are here. Hope this helps.