Help Me Push It Further

[Divine Oblivion]

Hey all.

I've been taking a break in between commissions to doodle and try to crap out ideas that've been floating around in my head for some time. Well, here's something that came out of the woodwork that I'm stuck on.

No where near any sort of stable ground, still very loose and sketchy, but have at it!

I appreciate any and all comments/critique you have to offer!

[Pixelestial]

Well, the eye is looking very nice so far. Everything else is still too loose to give you much direction.

From what I can see, though, you may want to use pictures of Egyptian vultures and wolf spiders as reference as you progress.

[Okcyde]

A'mihisss> I like what you have, so far. Honestly, it seems too early to give it any sort of solid critique. I agree with Soulweaver that the eye looks good.

Based on that, however, I do have a small, general crit. Virtually every single instructor/mentor/teacher I've had in art has dictated that it is best to work in "passes" of detail. While it is sometimes very easy to get carried away with one part (I, too, love to get the eyes down as soon as possible), it makes for a stronger composition if you get the entire silhouette blocked in, first. That way, you can fix potential compositional problems early on and not have to lose any work you've spent detailing. For example, after you get everything blocked in, you might decide that you want more of a 3/4 view of the head, instead of a profile angle. You'd pretty much lose all you've done to it so far. That's just an example, mind you. I like what you've got going. It would also give us critics something more to work with, if we can see the whole idea at once. Again, this is just general advice. Take it or leave it. Ultimately, it is the end result that matters, and if your process works for you and keeps you inspired, go for it!

Oh, one more thing I thought of. Your palette seems very "cool" so far. Believe it or not, the brown actually takes on a cool characteristic in this context. If this is what you want for your creature, that's perfectly fine. In that case, you may want to consider giving the background wash a warmer tone. A pale gold would really help punch it out, I think. Play around with different colors. Otherwise, the piece may acquire a bit of a washed-out feel, making it less dynamic. If you're married to the pale blue, you could alternatively warm that brown up a little. If you prefer that route and have been working on one layer, I HIGHLY suggest using the Selective Color tool in Photoshop. If you are not familiar with it, you can reach it through IMAGE > ADJUSTMENTS > SELECTIVE COLOR... Once in the tool, you could start by choosing "reds" in the drop-down menu, then dropping the CYAN slider. You can play around with your entire palette that way. I am ADDICTED to this tool, after learning about it from one of Daniel Dociu's (Tinfoil on CA) tutorials. I generally play with it once or twice throughout a painting. It almost feels like cheating, but it gets fast results.

Cheers!

[Divine Oblivion]

Thanks a bunch you two!

I guess I rushed myself a bit; I have a habit of doing so. I realized there wasn't much to work off of, critique wise, and so I've just roughly blocked in the rest of the figure. (The lumps behind him/her/it, will eventually be loops and coils of snake-like tail and body, for those confused.)

Bumped up the color some-what to more washed out neutral brown/gray, but at least it's no longer stuck on the pale gray. (More of a placeholder then anything else. )

I think I might have a fear of working without lines, as I traditionally work in a semi-cartoony stylus (Developing and changing every day!) and going outside of my comfort zone really unsettles me.

Anyway, enough with my yapping - Art!

[Sesaka Hinotama]

Beautiful creature concept so far! Love of how you did its eye.

Anatomy studies on birds and insects (or crustaceans) will help on this one. You can search up different examples to study with to find the one you're looking for. Also, look for some feather detail and study with it for the creature's body.