Innsmouth Bride (what more can I do?)

[Ito Saith Webb]

Ya another Lovecraft piece you all know I am nut about it. Anyways it is based on the whole story how the deep ones would often breed with the human worshipers and sometime non worshipers.

I really want to know if I could push this more, refined or if there is anything that could be added but not take away from the piece. I am using two light sources one from a unseen moon and lamps on the pier one of which is beyond your peripheral vision.

[ChaoticKnight]

Well if you really wanted to make the piece "pop" you could pay more attention to light and shadow. How powerful are those lamps behind them? If theyre particularly strong, her hair could turn an intense bright color (close to white), also, there could be a lot more reddish orange color in the areas where her skin is thinnest. Depending on the light, I would think a bit more of the creature would be in shadow, as well as a lot more of the dock up in the sky. I would think at night, even with the lamps, it wouldn't be that bright. This might help make it more creepy and lovecraftian.

Also, just a nitpicky thing, if they're walking on just sand, would we see a reflection? especially at night?

Hope this makes sense/helps.
Keep going!

[Ito Saith Webb]

Thanks I think you are right about the light. The light sources are not suppose to have a large range or be super powerful so I think I will play up the darkness a bit. The sand isn't that dry sand it's suppose to be the wet kind with that thin film of water over it and I will have to admit water is not my strong point. Any tips in that area would really help.

[tripperfunster]

At first glance, I thought the heel of her foot was his testicles!

You might want to tweak that a bit.

The entire pic looks a tad fuzzy on my computer, but my hubby might have turned down the res for quicker uploads. If not, perhaps some harder brushes might help define things a bit.l

[Ito Saith Webb]

Small update. Increased the shadows a bit more and exposed more of the ankle so it didn't look so much like umm a pair.

[ChaoticKnight]

It looks a lot better, but I also stand by my statement that she needs more red in her skin tone, and the light should be affecting her hair a bit more. Heres an example: In these pics, you see how the backlighting causes the hair to brighten in some spots and the skin to become redder? Hard to explain I know. Also, put some saturated yellow spots in those lights, itll help them pop even more.
Hope this helps!

Pictures googled from: http://jenniferechols.files.wordpres...11/backlit.jpg
http://upholds.blogspot.com/2007/06/...-courtney.html

[RoboBobo]

Two things to watch out for...

Her left butt cheek will not hang that low past her right one. Lift it a little and it'll stay pretty hidden at that angle.

I would completely redo the face because the structure is off and it's hard to tell what sex she is. Yea it's a naked female, but her face makes her look like a he-she.

Keep going on this!

[Liik]

I think a lot of the malice is lost due to the very profiley set up. Changing out camera to help your "story" along can do wonders. A flat side, back, or front shot can flatten things a lot.

[tjdrussell]

you gotta love hot chicks and monsters

[Ito Saith Webb]

Well I did more work on this and I even tried doing a little nighty on her I kind of like it both with and without but not sure which is best to go with. Anyways I think I am near my limit of what I can do to this and it might be time to move on. Still open to any suggestion though.

[Radio24]

I feel the shirt gives the piece a bit more narrative then the naked women.

[tripperfunster]

I agree! Half naked is always more interesting (and sexier) than totally nude.

thanks for tweaking his package for me!

[MJ_Alcazar]

I like the nightgown on her. It lets me see the whole story of her being stolen from her bed or something. I'm liking it.

[Dread_Reaper]

Okay, time to begin the crit....

First, the light sources. The chick has huge highlights on her chest and face, like there is a lantern right in front of her face, yet the only visible lantern is quite a bit behind her on that dock (although if the piece were flat, it would be right on her head almost). Here is this light coming from? Also, there is this obviously bright light on the fish man, which I can only assume is the moon or something? It is REALLY bright, and seems to be coming from directly in front of him. Despite this, there is no cast shadow from either light source on either figure. These issues are killing the realism and perspective.

Also, the reflections. There are crystaline reflections on the water as the waves come in, showing no evidnce of the obvious ripples you've drawn, and then the sand on the beach also carries a reflection, but sand itself doesn't reflect things like a mirror. I could assume that there is a very shallow amount of water on the sand reflecting it, but it still shows no evidence of reacting to the ripples you've drawn. Find some references and such to determine how the reflections out actually act, because these are quite off.

There are issues with the composition as a whole that I find very glaring as well, mostly owing from that you chose to do a eye-level profile view of the scene, robbing it of a lot of its drama. However, since you are already into the rendering, I would say perhaps just keep this in mind for your next piece, unless you want to start back from stratch with a new sketch. I would recommend for your next piece doing some quick sketches to see which has the feel you're really looking for.

The best advice I can give is three things... First, envision the scene as a three dimensional plane, so things like lights and shadows are easier to render. The whole piece looks very flat, and the light reacts as such. Second, references. References, references, references. That will especially help with the reflections aspect, and the waves, etc. Third, sketch the scene before you start rendering it, so you can see what looks good, makes the whole process easier.

Best of luck to you! Hope this helps!

-Dread_Reaper