Eow 94 The sky train express POLL vote plz

[chaosrocks]

EOW 94 The Skytrain Express

Brief
the not-to-distant future
The fuel crisis has culminated in the crash of the airline industry. A new form of intercontinental travel has been invented. It uses NO Fossil fuel. it transformes the face of the landscape.. as the tracks crisscross the continent.
NOTE: This is an environment NOT an IDW. its about what the world looks like, not how spiffy and shiny you can make a futuristic train. Although the train is definately part of it.

REQUIRED
Train
tracks
sky

Ponder points:
what powers the train?
what are the tracks made of?
how does it stay in the sky?


DUE september 15
good job all on the last round

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[tsujni]

[pokepetter]

[robmorfin]

Skytrain 3000SXG has just flown through on its way to New Arizona, arrival set to 1320 hours sharp.

[ALH]

Based on the technology used by rollercoasters in the theme parks of yore, the sky train express is not for those with a fear of heights. Its journey is powered by the forces of gravity and momentum, achieved by the occasional rise to the top of an incredible series of delicate looking, towering spires.

Each strut of the vast track network is fitted with a series of wind turbines, ensuring that all maintenance and running of this vital mode of transport is 100% natural and carbon-free.

[gunnarsson]

tried to get some feeling of cold and wet air

[Trashy]

[llothcat]

[peetsbeets]

The new skytrains rely on inertia and propulsion to get them from one station to the next.

[artiphats]

[Fjooner]

Got in late, so had to rush it a bit.

[Max Challie]

I can't believe I made it on time!

[longshao]

[Hideyoshi]

[chaosrocks]

alright here you go vote please

[Mr_S_14]

For me it was between Longshao and Trashy;
Trashy for the excelllent use of size and scale in the painting, great pipetrains.

Longshoa for use of all the required elements sky, train, and track. though there was nothing in the painting that especially stood out by itself,the strength of all of it together got my vote.

[longshao]

thanx mr_s_14.

voted for hideyoshi. the piece stands out clearly. lovely colors and good composition. not much crits at all my only would be wanting to see how this train system is set up and supported. is it floating around or set on supprots?

[Trashy]

Guys...awesome round! I'll try to get everyone here. Also, thanks Mr_S_14

tsujni- I've seen your work around and I think you got a unique style. I think the biggest thing that hurts this piece is there is no real depth or that much of perspective. Overall it comes off flat and the values could be pushed more. Just think about maybe getting some thumbnails down before committing to the direction you want to head in. Hope that maybe helps.

pokepetter Watch out with using the solid whites and blacks in the piece. Those can often flatten out the overall values. I think you could use some brushes with less opacity and softer brushes. The clouds come off harsh in some spots. I think the view is there but it needs some tweaking in a couple spots and more refining.

robmorfin-I think you got the depth down but I'm not sure on the values though. In b&w it seemed to get muddy. I think it just needs more working in those parts and messing around in the composition maybe.

ALH-You got the concept down and thats a cool idea for the piece I think. I really like the idea of the wind turbines, you can do a lot with that. One thing that throws me off is there doesn't seem to be any real focal points established. I'm not sure but this might of been better if you expanded maybe the width on the piece...it just looks squashed to some extent in it's current state.

gunnarsson In terms of getting that cold and wet air feeling you established that very well in this. I don't think it comes off fully as a sky train but maybe more of really cool roller coaster ride. I think it might have to do with that curve in the track. Water looks pretty solid but the shadow I think is off. Still neat image though.

Me-Alright, I think I got the scale, colors and the depth. I do think in terms of reflections there are parts in the water that need work. Couple spots are off. I'm not really sure if they come off as exactly trains on the rails. I think I could of added more to that to cover the brief.

llothcat- You got down all the building blocks and composition but overall the piece needs a jolt of life to it. I think this piece really would of benefited if you got the train in there, or some ships just to add some more life to it.

peetsbeets - The sky image is pretty good but it feels like it needs more. I think this would of been cool in you could see the train station in the horizon to popped this piece out more. The potential is there, it just needs to be pushed further.

artiphats- I dig the swampland look from the piece. You got some neat things happening here. Just need to push some spots. one thing that got me was you got a train in the background that has a nice glow to it however that glow is missing in the train in the front. Just little things like that and maybe pushing the depth more in the background and values.

Fjooner-Pretty much what you said. Just slightly rushed but as it is it's pretty good.

Max Challie-Is that watercolor...looks like it. Train on right looks good. The bottom section could use work and parts of it get muddy in some spots. One thing you could try doing with the next watercolor is getting the brushes wet and try messing with colors colors that you think you wouldn't normally use. One thing is to be pretty loose with watercolors sometimes. That sky looks really good and I think that's because it has more of that looseness to it. Um...hope I'm making some sense.

longshao-Nice man those colors are great. Left side it top notch and solid. The train track in the front looks like it could of used more work. It doesn't look like the train is sitting right on the track. If you fix that up you got yourself one fine looking piece.

Hideyoshi-Dude, you always kick butt but this one in particular I think you nailed. Truth be told and I think this might be just a preference but I think this pummels the crap out of the "level 5" piece you did recently. I think you just took this a step further and really covered the brief. Nice work!

[Valerij V.]

My vote goes to Hideyoshi. There is something in his art that is great. I like architecture of the train station. Also colors and deep fell of this image is great.

Next one i liked a lot is Trashy's work. There is a lot of valuable comments so won't write a lot. Just liked it.
And last on for me is longshao's. Like the warm colors and sense of peace.
Too bad there is only one vote available.

[Hideyoshi]

close call, I went with longshao. But could have given the vote to either Trashy or fjooner as well, really.
longhshao's was simply more refined as a whole.

Thanks very much for votes and comments!!

[ALH]

Trashy
One thing that throws me off is there doesn't seem to be any real focal points established. I'm not sure but this might of been better if you expanded maybe the width on the piece...it just looks squashed to some extent in it's current state.

Thanks for that trashy. I was pondering the lack of focal points myself when i looked at it the next day after submitting to the burning- It works better as chunks of itself than as a whole. I was having so much fun playing about with clouds and light that i lost my way a bit. My focus was meant to be the tall tower-like structures which made the track system work, but the two on there atm are pushed so far back you'd easily miss them.


This was a really hard one to vote for! I think everyone did well

Hideyoshis work is like..so much in another world compared to the rest that it felt wrong to vote for it. The other ones which stood out to me were Tsujni,Gunnarson and Peetsbeets.

Tsjuni- Could do with a little more work to it- it is very flat- but i do like the minimalist approach, as well as the highly bizarre metal structure which reminds me a bit of a garlic press or some kind of fancy hole puncher. This really made me wonder what the world outside of this image would be like, and how these bizarre structures move or sound.

Pokepetter- I cant really tell whats going on. I like the sky, and the vibrant green landscape, but the bright centre kind of smells of lens flare, something that bright should cast some funky shadows down on the platform but atm its just flat. Its easier for me to believe that the train section is a backlit painted mural than an event happening in front of my eyes- it would be interesting to see this adapted to a mural actually, would be a very different take on the idea. The abstractness and bright colours of the landscape would work well as a ' come ride the skytrain!' mural advertisement

Robmorphin- I like the idea of playing with contrails as tracks, and the muted mountains are rather nice, but this doesnt really have much going on, it needs another layer just to keep the eyes busy. Perhaps some highlights on the rails would make them more interesting to look at, or some degridation where they recede into the background?

Me- I wish i'd spent another day on it personally, the one i lost to reformatting was the killer in terms of getting this done in time for the burn. I rushed it at the end to make it into the thread too, which didnt do me any favours. Like Trashy said- the lack of a defined focal point is a problem. Personall i find it kinda makes your eyes dash all over, instead of being drawn in. I lost my way a bit - but hopefully have learnt my lesson.

Gunnarsson- i really like the rainy, grey totally wet and moody atmosphere. You said thats what you were going for, and you did a good job. I can feel the drizzle just looking at it. My problem with this one is that the tracks and train seem a bit like an add- on, theres no supporting structures on the track itself which show its purpose, theres no sense that this was something 'built', its more like a surreal shape you'd see in a dream.


Trashy- I really dont like the colours in this one, theres something offputting about them. It does give an otherworldy feel, but I think the blue and the orange kinda fight each other instead of working together. The double pastel is not really a sky/sea combo you'd see in nature. I like the immense scale of these tracks, and the little peek above the atmosphere. The flying vehicles are a nice touch, but they kinda negate the brief description that the sky train was a replacement for flying x_x!

llothcat- I think this has potential, but is incredibly bare atm. It kinda looks like the buildings have stood empty for a while, mabes theyve just been built but noones moved in yet- theres no real evidence that this place has been used. That gives this a certain kind of slightly creepy atmosphere, which does work, but i dont know if it works with the brief. I think you said you didnt have time to work on it further though, which would explain it.

Peetsbeets- I like this one, but i think it might be because im an absolute sucker for sky blue. The simplicity of the idea is rather nice, but that kind of bugs me in a way since the train on the right seems almost TOO simple. This does help draw the eye to the small central ship/station, but if that is the focus then the amount of white at the side seems like a bit of a waste.

Artiphats- I like the structures a lot, the trains kinda remind me of bugs scuttling along twigs . The overall image comes off as kinda flat though- i think if you cropped out the swamp at the bottom this would work better, suggesting more of a 'through the canopies' theme. The trees at the front could do with a tad more desaturation too, which i think would help with the depth since the colours kinda dominate more than they should.

Fjooner- I wish this was a bigger thumb, id love to see those stations in a bit more detail.The colours are nice, and i like the design - very fantasy- but the size makes it hard to say much else, which is a shame .

Max Challie- Hmmmm, traditional. Kinda makes it hard to say things since i know how much scanning/photos nuke traditional work. Its a little flat, especially around the base of the left structure. Making the front foliage a little darker would help push things back a bit.

Longshao- I like the architecture . The mood of the lighting is really nice too and i love the detail inside the station . This pic kinda reminds me of Middlesbrough bus station for some reason, the sky especially. I'm not sure about the tracks in the centre/front- the harsh angle of the bend seems very unnatural for such a relatively straight looking train, and in terms of station/track design it doesnt make much sense to have a junction so close to the station- usually that kind of thing is a couple of metres past the area passengers would stand at. I'd imagine there would be a lot of accidents the way it is at the moment!

Hideyoshi- Yeah..wow @_@. I knew from the initial thumbs of the environment below the structure this was going to be epic. Its alive, i can imagine the trains zipping past, the noise of people in the terminals, the wind, the creaking of the structure. Theres a big sense of the height of this structure too - you certainly cant deny that this is a sky train. I love the cheeky little moon at the top too

[Beelow]

Hideyoshi got my vote. Execellent scale, design, composition, Mood and colors as well as the execution. You don't slack when it comes to environments. Close second was Longshao. I like the colors, composition and design in yours.

Trashy- I think with yours, it was just too simple for me. Although there were elements in there that showed the scale of the piece, I think it was still a bit boring and just too literal. Colors are everywhere and just not making sense and the lighting just look too unnatural. I think your textures are good; you know how to make things look like what they are suppose to be. Clouds are clouds, and water is water. I think you should try to figure your composition and design and set your mood before you start going into color and textures. I think you may be getting to anxious and rushing into a painting before you have those things that I have previously mentioned established first. I think you will have better results if you really work the planning and spend the most time there then execute. Better planning causes for a better painting. I hope this is not crude of a crit. I think you have the chops, just think you are missing out on some things that are really important in your work. Remember having a good foundation to build on is first. There is a process of making cake. Tools, ingredients, making the batter, cooking the cake, icing on top. Think of painting in terms of that. It's not a bad piece, though. Questions that I want to ask. Why are those tubes larger than the city and are they the only 2 that runs around the planet? Couple things that came up when I look at this image again.

[Max Challie]

Thank you Trashy and ALH! You critique is much appreciated.

[robmorfin]

Voted for Hideyoshi simply because it's out of this world, great piece.

2nd-artiphats
3rd-trashy

Thanks ALH and trashy for the Crits.