Chow 162 :: VOTING :: The BOGEYMAN

[HareTrinity]

Pahavasa.

Despite the frankly adorable Donnie Darko Frank-esque doggy face, the placing and texture brings up a scene in my mind.

Of hiding a cupboard, safe among the clothes, before you start to wonder if you even had anything made of the cloth type behind you...

Some brilliant monsters in this ChOW though!

[Kan Muftić]

Nice round, guys. Although this is not a character design, dwinbotp's piece looks really haunting to me.
My personal fav is gunarson's piece though.
Cheers,
Khan

[Cam Sykes]

Hey guys, great round, some really creepy shit that really brought back my childhood insecurities.

I want to brush my piece up because I like it but could really improve upon it for my portfolio.
If you guys have any feedback/tips on improving it I'd be really grateful.
Atm I'm thinking I should make the skin apear more translucent and add some vascularity, and make the skin tones more corpsish, like blues and pinks. Then also add some more indication that it is a child's room like furniture and toys around the place. Perhaps all the toys are floating around and coming to life.

[gunnarsson]

very good round I say! several entries actually had hints of some of the fears from my childhood, and that is pretty cool I think. I think thats a hard thing to do, to convey those type of feelings from an illustration like this.
Pixeltuner, your character is real creepy in that kind of way. it makes me think of the spruce woods that surrounded our very small summer-house. Its like an old man, but with troll-y moth-y qualities, just the kind of thing that one would imagine finding in those woods. great!
dwinbotp - some out of the box thinking there! and i think it works, as it is hard to have a physical character in plain view to embody the fears you have as a child, and on account of the woods beeing a scary thing at night. so yes, real good!

oh and I want to thank you for the votes, im glad people like it, it makes me very happy! and also the feedback, its very appreciated!

[churapsoy]

Voted for dwinbotp for really being creative on this one. The bogeyman really isn't something that's concrete looking for me IMHO. It's the stuff of nightmares yes, and some really excellent personifications here, very creepy!!! Inspiring work everybody! But the trees and branches entwining out the window and forming the Bogeyman, I love it!

[gerezon]

Great round!

The piece that stood out the most to me was dwinbotp. Really innovative and I like the fact that you can see more than one character in it (or maybe its just my imagination ). I wish you had removed the text though.

Thanks for the comments and the votes, it warms my heart and makes me want to work harder next time! So thanks a bunch!

[pahavasa]

Thanks for the kind words and the awesome topic! It was really worth participating. The ones that scare me the most are those from which I'm not sure what their intentions are...

I liked dwinbotp's entry and the idea in general a lot, but as I see it there's no character designing in the picture. If I've understood the rules correctly we have to create some kind of reference images, not illustrations. Please correct me if I'm wrong. Maybe I'm just being too literal on this but that's what I think.

I voted for the following:

Chupacabra, excellent brush work, the children's expressions are hilarious.
C.K. Lamb, wonderful composition, reminds me of the orthodox icons. Beautiful brush strokes. Love it.
Pixeltuner, I love how you managed to transform that goofy looking cute "monster" into a real, scary thing. Great details and focus point. Fabulous, keep up the good work!
Tommoy, the texturing of the skin is really neat, not to mention the distended torso. Eerie soft lighting and lots of interesting detail, the piece has a nice traditional looking feel to it.
Nichols, great colouring and clean work, but in some parts the edges could be a little bit softer. Less hard edges.

[{CKL}]

Maybe we should have an illustration of the week.

Anyways, I think next round I'm going to be changing up my personal voting habits. Currently, if I voted for you it was because whatever you did it caught my eye as I scrolled down quickly. If in a thumbnail you are able to snatch my attention as I am trying almost not to look at images to carefully, you've passed the good art litmus test.

Considering this is Conceptart.org and not bestillustratorintheworld.org I will be more heavily weighing ideas against each other, something I should have done more in the past. Any who, this was a damn good round I feel that almost everyone brought something they were really proud of to the table. See you next go.

[Cyr]

In most CHOWs, I find a number of entries meeting both the written criteria and what I personally want to see done with the concept in an impressive enough manner that I've always voted for more than one entry.

In this particular instance, I think one of the most important characteristics of "The Bogeyman" is the question: "Is he real? Or is he a figment of one's imagination?"

And there was only one entry that clearly showed this real/imaginary dichotomy.

So I cast my vote for: dwinbotp

[NicHolS]

In most CHOWs, I find a number of entries meeting both the written criteria and what I personally want to see done with the concept in an impressive enough manner that I've always voted for more than one entry.

In this particular instance, I think one of the most important characteristics of "The Bogeyman" is the question: "Is he real? Or is he a figment of one's imagination?"

And there was only one entry that clearly showed this real/imaginary dichotomy.

So I cast my vote for: dwinbotp

i hate to be devils advicate but you may also wonder how much of a "character" this approach is. i avoided it myself for fear of not meeting criteria for this week and would instead nominate migsta as having a far better application of this concept but still adhering to the notion of him being a character. Also contains far more personality and life.

the people this week who i think really did an excellent job in my opion are:

migsta: by far my personal fav. has so much life, personality and humor while remaining scarey and child-inspired.

tommoy : your sketch blew me away, the final colors felt a little flat but the grusome detail and fantastic anatomical details are definately very bogeyman. you got the gross factor exactly!

arthur two sheds: originally i wasnt sure if i saw him as a bogeyman but your final really turn around. the face was the perfect addition to freak me out. the doll was a great narrative touch too! bonus points for including a supporting prop!

pierrodpod: wasnt the most polished but the combination of angle and minimalistic approach really worked compare to most others. he felt bogeyman while not being just a human figure with a scarey face. a hard line to walk

paradoxba: personally i loved the idea. most original approach of the lot. the image did feel a little too unclear even tho this was also part of its charm.

supervilieg: best composition and huge amount of narrative in this piece as well as your other sketch/layout. the colors to me were way too saturated in the final version but its style is really gorgeous.

pahavsa: simple, but worked for me. wasnt the flashiest but stuck to the brief and the dog head was indeed scarey.

[KonnA]

Dwinbotp

Loved your piece, didn't vote for it. But on further reflection I should have.

[Supervlieg]

Maybe we should have an illustration of the week.

Currently, if I voted for you it was because whatever you did it caught my eye as I scrolled down quickly. If in a thumbnail you are able to snatch my attention as I am trying almost not to look at images to carefully, you've passed the good art litmus test.

Hmm good point, I actually do the same because it is quite a hassle to easily see all 50 pics in a single thread. I tend to go by thumbnails, and try to look for the full piece if it looks good. But I can imagine most people go by the thumbs and bypass the final pieces, which kinda lessens their purpose for the final presentation.

Maybe posting the names makes this a bit more even, forcing everyone to look at the full scale final pics. Also because all horizontally oriented pictures get scaled to much larger degree compared to vertically oriented pics, since the maximum width only applies for the voting thumbs.

Looking back at the winners, most of them seem to have this orientation as well. Which would also be logical since most of the characters have a humanoid form, and tend to be vertically placed in the composition. But Im not sure this is the only reason. Oh well, it was a great round can't wait to see what the next one brings on.

[Auren]

Pahavasa Your dog gives me the creeps. Seriously. Good job.
Migsta Your bogeyman and his little crony are almost cute to me because of how they're sneaking.
Tommoy Very grotesque and creepy.
Vorace To me he just gives off an i'd-big-and-dumb vibe more than creepy which is assisted by the brightness of the colors. Neat character though.
Matt Smith Nicely executed and traditional media right?
gunnarson I like the idea of a dream setting for this but I think the figures kind of get lost in the picture. Maybe if you put a red blush on the bogeyman from the red lanterns it might help?
lkjhgfdsa Creepy homeless bogeyman. Nice.
gerezon Yours has a very demented circus atmosphere. Nice idea.
Poshspice Very creepy and nightmarelike. One of my favorites though it isn't particularly menacing or maybe because of that.
dwinbotp Excellent idea but I don't see it as character design. Love the piece though.
IndigoSummers This makes me think of a bogeyman like ancient Grecians would have told to their kids.
Reymus Neat design. I like the mouths sucking in the souls.
DarkLogik Bogeyman caught in the act. The expression works nicely. I like it.
Mr. Nick Love the octopus/sea creature look. Very original.
paradoxba Neat character but a bit hard to see.
JailhouseRock Looks very animated in style. He looks like he's going to start moving. Love the simplicity.
QuinnSimoes Another of my favorites. He's a very organic looking creature.
Emerging Creepy little midget dude. Very cool.
NicholS You have a great piece. I like the angle and the perch and fiercely glowing eyes.
flow Not necessarily my idea of a bogeyman but a nasty little creature just the same. I like the light eating buggers.

There are other good pieces I just ran out of time. Good job everyone!

[daestwen]

Looking back at the winners, most of them seem to have this orientation as well. Which would also be logical since most of the characters have a humanoid form, and tend to be vertically placed in the composition. But Im not sure this is the only reason. Oh well, it was a great round can't wait to see what the next one brings on.

yes, this is an issue and when I remember to i give the horizontal pictures a different width limit, but I forgot this time! Sorry!

Unfortunately chow is just too big to go back to voting by name, and in many cases the only way of making absolutely sure that some idea of the original images is still there... this is why I harp on people about attaching, because so, so many of the images from the first 125+ rounds have been lost. At least with the thumbnails it gives a quick and general way to know what was submitted.

And enough people follow the thread through the whole week to have a good idea of each of the pictures as they are posted. :]

edit: We also have the problem that people keep changing their screen names.... You may have noticed, having a background in History, I am a little obsessive about keeping good and accurate records!

[ikuru]

voted Gunnarsson and dwinbotp,

Gunnarson, very James Jeanish, in a good way.

kewl round all!

[matejkovacic]

Tommoy - yours was my favourite - gross and great at the same time. Full of interesting
details. And also a good expression on the Boogeyman.

I voted also for Lkjhgfdsa and Pixeltuner - very scarry and it gives a feeling of filling the whole room with scarryness.

Great round! A lot to learn from!

[Matt Smith]

Crits and comments for everyone.

pahavasa-Nice piece, I like the creep factor in this, that head tilt adds so much.

Migsta- Cool creature, I want to know whats inside the bag.

Feil Magnus- I like the candle on the head, I wished you played up the lighting some more.

Tommoy-Awesome piece, I wouldn't want him in my bedroom.

Vorace--I really enjoyed your style for this piece.

gunnarsson-great piece, nice forms, just wished it was more creepy.

CamSyko-interesting piece, would be cool to see the hand with the voodoo doll with a more interesting design, right now all the fingers are in the same position.

lkjhgfdsa-really like your design. Be careful of your wrinkles they are getting a little repetitive in the sleeve.

ImaGEEnation- Try to be mindful of your lighting, right now it looks like he is being lit from a bunch of directions.

gerezon- great design, love the lighting on the head.

Poshspice- Great piece man. I think I liked your first sketch more.

dwinbotp- I love the subtlety of your piece.

CKLamb-Nice composition, almost a little too creepy. I think the girls face could use more work, looks like a man with a red wig.

IndigoSummers- real interesting design. I would like to see the values pushed a bit more to get more volume.

Reymus-really bizarre design, what influenced your for this piece? Try also thinking about your light source too, feels like he is being lit from a lot of places.

PieMonster- Dig the design and the lighting. Watch your proportions and anatomy. Left leg is looking really big.

darklogik-Nice composition. Try to think about your edges, especially if you use photos in your work, the clock needs to be more subtle same with there picture frame, edges are too sharp and taking away from the monster.

Pierropod- Cool piece. The composition is nice, but I feel there is a lot of empty space on the right. Maybe the kid could be reading a book or playing a psp that you could use to fill up that space.

mr-nick-Nice style to your piece. Looks like the type of Bogeyman that would terrorize anyone.

Carnifex- Wish you had time to finish this one, the lighting you got going in your bw's is looking nice.

paradoxba- like the look of your piece. Almost a little too subtle. Perhaps defining a few forms with the white light.

Arthur 'Two Sheds'- Nice and creepy, I like it.

JailHouseRock2- Nice style to your piece, wish you had more time to finish it up.

Phaethon- interesting design, I am curious about the wooden polls coming out of his spine.

Ostrander- If you creeped out his smile more I think this would totally work, right now he is looking too cute.

NickTrip- Like the creature design. I know he isn't human, but trying working out the anatomy a little more, I think it would make him more believable.

LogicINK- This is more the parents worst nightmare than a kids, a naked creepy man looking for children.

CarJackie-Cool idea for a bogeyman. I wish the kid was awake instead of asleep, the bogeyman doesn't seem as terrifying if he kills people while they sleep.

JaneM- Nice design. Perhaps though a more terrifying pose, he looks a little shy.

Quinn Simoes- Cool design. I would like to see darker lighting to enhance the mood more.

emerging- Really cool character, quite disturbing too.

Antropos- I like the idea of him crawling on the floor, but the red swirls behind him are confusing.

Chupacabra-Nice piece. Some of the anatomy in the torso gets too compartmentalized.

AhChu- This is a cool design, it looks like an alien bogeyman that would terrorize alien children.

Kerberos- If you play around with your values and lighting more, this would have a nice look to it.

mojokingbee- I like the way you handled the face. I think the whole image overall could use a boost of contrast.

NicHolS- Great design and composition.

|flow|- really freaky design.

Auren-Nice design, definitely one of the more human designs. The white lines for the insects confuse me, looks like someone killed a bug and the police outline its body for a crime scene.

LORD M- cool creepy alien type of design for the face, freaky.

lennon-cool design, looks like it belongs in a children's book. Only thing I can say is that its not too scary looking.

tmyohlaing-interesting character, the design for his scarf piece is quite nice.

the bee- another creepy naked man, he better watch out for Chris Hanson. I don't know if its part of the design, but the arm closest to us is looking too short.

IIKII-Really freaky design. Since you made the jaw so ridiculous, I think it would be cool if you put the head of the monster right over the top of the kid.

Pixeltuner- Really cool creature, great rendering.

flashrabbit-really interesting design, has a different look that I wouldn't expect.

Ghostbrush- A really bizarre outfit, nice intense composition.

Supervlieg- Nice illustration. The subtleties in the shadows are great.

blackcherry- Cool style and look to your piece.

sketchius- I like the idea of him being trapped in the closet. I just wished he didn't look so pathetic, but perhaps that adds to the story of the piece.

Le Eb- Cool character design. I would get rid or dull down the rock photograph texture you have for the background, it is taking away from your character.

Wow that took over 2 hours to do. I hope my feedback is helpful. Great work everyone. I don't think I missed anyone, but if I did let me know and I will comment on your piece if you like.

[Matt Smith]

Auren- yes that is traditional media, white pencil and chalk on black paper.

[Reymus]

Matt - It was actually the Freddy of Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors. I don't like this one, too much going on, less than 3 hours spent on it, and I didn't think it through at all.

I voted for Matt Smith , Mr. Nick, Lkjhgfdsa, Dwinbotp, and one that stood out to me was Flashrabbit's, very haunting.

[Wingedchime]

These 3 are ones that really caught my attention.

chupacabra: I think this must be one of my favorites, it looks like something out of creatures to beware of manual. The birds and terrified kids are a great touch.

gunnarsson: I found yours most creepy and also very striking. I love the atmosphere, painterly rendering and the selective colors you used.

dwinbotp: I like the concept quite a lot, and I'm happy to see that you made it to the poll, even though the figure is so obscured in the image. The image has a great atmosphere, and a storybook feel to it - I love it!

[Vulgar`]

My vote went to Antropos - its just sadistic as hell and if I looked in the dictionary to find this picture next to the definition of "Boogeyman" I would've never slept again knowing that that creature would come crawling up the side of my bed with a maniacal smile.

Chupacabra - Great job on this Choop, though the giant crow perched on his claw seems off balance, almost unsure of being affiliated with the bogeyman.

paradoxba - Really liked your interpretation. I couldn't see too much of the details, but in a dark room setting that's understandable. This is similar to what I envision the bogeyman to look like.

gunnarson - A different take on the traditional topic, there seems to be heaven and hell themes. All in all an intense realm where the boogeyman lurks - probably searching for the bleeding closet door of the underworld.

Migsta - Excellent job on this one, the color scheme was great and I like the light-footed, roach-like tippy toed demeanor you gave the bogeyman.

emerging - Haha, liked this one for many reasons.

[blackcherry]

There's some really creepy entries here. Great work everyone! My favourties and the ones which said 'Bogeyman' most to me, are:

Supervlieg: Really liked the whole scene. The perspective is great, as is the colours and lighting. Great bogeyman too!

Migsta: I loved the style and design of your Bogeyman and the little creature with him. Nice pose and lighting effects too. I like the glowing eyes.

Tommoy: Alot creepier than your initial sketch which was quite humorous. I really like this outcome. Great linework and design!

pixeltuner: I love your design and colours. Not quite how i see the bogeyman, but the detail in the face is amazing! Nice work!

[Sekino]

I voted for:

Pixeltuner and Migsta. Pixeltuner's was just so monstrous with the little kid-munching and Migsta's had a lot of attitude. It took a long time to pick, though: There were lots of amazing illustrations.

[armando]

I thought this was called character design of the week.