Lord, help me!

[Bjorn H.]

Hi, I have been monitoring this site for a couple of years, hoping to one day post something impressive enough to get a good response. But my plans were cut short by a project I got sucked into. Now I need to produce a high quality splash screen for a computer game, and I really need some help to make it better.

The image was given these restrictions, Focus on two brothers, get some nature in it, old parchment feeling and keep the cyan color through the entire image. The feeling the image wants to convey is.. err... "heartfeeldness" (if that is a word)

Here is an early sketch, if you have any suggestions in have to make it better or what to put in it please post a reply.

Thanks in advance /B

[waranghira]

I feel the pain on the big brother's wrist.
So the cyan color is supposed to be added upon painting?
The trees lack character; this is a manly game, right?

Polish up your anatomy
and make your preview smaller so we can see it easier as a whole and analyze the composition.

[kelly x]

Hi and the back guy 's head is looking strained and I don't think possible to turn like this... the front guy's neck is thick and does not look natural - the out fits are interesting -- but what is the story with the rope? I don't understand why they are both holding it? I think you could define urgency with this with the rope and their expressions maybe and head position. Good beginning could tell some kind of story - I also feel they could be more separate in the painting and you could still get the idea of brothers... seems to be upon eachother right now.

[eminkey2003]

There's a big patch of wrinkles on the taller one's left shoulder, and it looks like it's coming off of the younger one's right shoulder. Even if they were pressed together, I don't think it would wrinkle like that.

I think you should taper off the jawline of the taller one. Jawlines don't always connect to the ear. Check out this diagram I found (google search, "jawline"): http://shuttlemusic.tripod.com/siteb...ne_diagram.jpg

I'm not sure about the dust and scratches around the lines. Seems like it's just randomly thrown on. Instead, maybe you could get references for the folds and wrinkles in the clothing, and then look at some old engravings or drawings and try to emulate the rough "parchment" style.

Right now, the characters don't stand out much, nothing but outlines. I'm guessing you're going to color it, but even then, I think the super-dark, opaque trees will stand out more. Maybe some black, comic-book style shadows on the characters would make them pop. Or you could make the trees look like old ink, kind of brown and faded.

Maybe a border would work too, if the trees came out of it, and you had the game's logo on the border somewhere.

[Bjorn H.]

Thanks for the pointers, I had to start coloring it yesterday befoure i read your replyes but I will make a pass over it to try and correct the lineart.

ill try to give an update soon.