Three Billy Goats Gruff

[Abigail the Strong]

Ok, I sent it in to the contest, but I still want crits. So Tear it apart. It was done in oil pastels. Keep that in mind.

[daveneale]

I used to know the story, but cant for the life of me recall what it is anymore. Im not a pastel fan (rahter, I suck at using them), but as for a general crit: it seems kind of muddy, dont know what the colour choices are for pastels, but mabe use brighter colours or at least use brights in areas, and then take the darks a lot deeper to get a better contrast, as it is there isnt much contrast. Another thing is that cutting off one of the goats makes your eye fall of the page (here I think more planning of your composition would have helped). I think the main thing Id say is that next time plan the picture with a fore/middle and background, but also make these 3 parts of the image interlink (rather than just putting them one on top of the other). Use a vanishing point and make areas of interest for the viewer.

[FishPirate]

What stands out most for me is the lack of tone. Everything is a very similar value, so the eye is not guided around the painting, and has nowhere to rest.

[alesoun]

Major points for me, Abigail, is that your goat is bigger than the troll, If you had darker values at the front of the pic, that would make the background, well, fade into the background. The goat (?) on the right hand side could do with a bit more definition, but I do like the way you've handled the colours.

[Killer Napkins]

alot of the tones and colors seemed really washed out and there isnt much contrast like some people have been saying... try to get soem more saturated colors with those pastels.. definately some darker areas.. good luck