Chow 183 :: The Dragon's Egg

[jspangler]

Shannanigan : First off let me say that I really like her. She's got an odd Alice in Wonderland vibe going on. As far as the trouble you are having... "C" is likely the most accurate but I just kind of like "A". So maybe split the difference and go "B".

For mine... its picking up now that I feel like I am breaking away from my tendency to want to show he whole character even if it makes for boring composition. Pretty happy with this so far. Any crits welcome.

[kittens]

Progress = D

[Katanasoul]

@Venger, Absorber, Kailaan: Thank you very much for your critique! I made the whole piece much darker. Is it better now? Ich will add something like a flame later when I do the light. I thought adding the light/ highlights later would probably be a good idea...
Adding a flame is a great idea, thanks! Definitely going to consider that!

@omizu: Thank you! I´m glad you like it. The dragon could really be a dog... XD

@Armonah: Thanks a lot for your very detailed and clear words! I am always really happy to recieve critique like yours, please don´t worry. I´m kind of running out of time, so I will change the face in the end if I can, when everything else looks aceptable. I changed the dragon now so that his feet at the egg´s walls keep him there. I hope this is better...

@Arthur 'Two Sheds': Really cool and dynamic piece by now! Maybe she looks a little to old, I can´t really tell why. And (now my English gets challenged...) that thing on her knee is a little too far on the left- from viewer. It should be on the middle of the knee, I guess... I feel like she can´t turn her leg inwards that much. Arg, nobody understands that, sorry...

@jspangler: I can smell the fear! Very cool (haha) atmosphere. Does the dragon breathe icy smoke? Red fire could be a nice contrast, but it may be too much contrast either... I am looking forward seeing it finished!

@kittens: Nice idea to have a big glowing egg! I like your colours, keep on working!

I am still not so happy. This is my first digital painting from mind and I don´t get anything the way I want to. Well, it´s darker now...
Can someone help with the backgroud? I´d love some softer, faded out effect but I don´t get how to actually achieve it. I added texture to the gras and the trees, made it darker, added more trees in the back, and now I´m going to add folds to her clothes. Looks weird otherwise...

[stevethebunny]

first chow throwing up my wips so far, got some fine tuning to do still but I'm liking everyones takes on the subject so far.

[doombee]

nice work so far everyone!

[alexboyer]

I got a late start, but hopefully I'll be able to get it done in time.

WIP:

[Sketchtastrophe]

Man so many good pieces showing up! I can't wait to see them all finished! :] Wish I could keep up with the comments on all of them :{

Katanasoul - It's looking so good! I love the texture and colour you added in the grass really picks up the piece And the egg shell looks good! If you're still looking to add a little depth what about adding a couple little things floating around in the air - bugs, pollen that sort of thing? Might also help fill in the emptier spaces. Maybe even some nifty tree fungi http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Po...uamosus_01.jpg It's looking so nice though! I love the pastel-ish soft look, I wish I had your colouring skills

doombee - I really love the style, very unique from the other pieces people have posted so far. And I like the centered layout, the little mouse and the detail on the tree is excellent too :] The only thing that I'm not totally feeling is the red cloak. The first thing that pops into my head is Little Red Riding Hood. Personally, I think it really does fit the look of your piece. But because it reminds me so much of Little Red, it takes away from the idea behind the piece. Maybe try out a couple other colour combo's, and/or making the scarf red instead to keep that colour in the piece? Just a personal opinion on my part so take that with a grain of salt. It looks great though, I really like it!

stevethebunny - Your colours are wicked. I love the electric green and blue lighting! Her face is looking a bit hmm, manly to me though. I think it's that sharp blue lighting on the right side of her face (our left). I think if you have the blue light follow under her cheek bone and towords the bottom of her nose a little more it'll make her look more feminine. The only other thing I'd crit would be the green lighting on the bottom of her dress, it's a bit overwhelming right now when compared to the reddish corset. But all I think you need to do is add a bit more colour in below her belt. But you're probably still working on these things so disregard this is you're still doing those thing ;D Great stuff so far!

kittens - That arm looks so much better! I like the colours and the lighting you've done so far - keep going!

jspangler - The atmosphere and cold colouring looks awesome! Totally looks like an icy cavern, no question. And the girls expression is great, so looks pretty scared that's for sure!

Arthur 'Two Sheds' - Wow, such a dynamic, action packed scene so far! I really like the creatures and the magic and the girls pose If I had to give a crit it would be to maybe lose the knee pad, or reshape it more to fit her natural knee shape. It looks a bit weird and out of place to me and my eye really gets drawn to it. I don't think you want that. Just a suggestion though. Looking forward to your progress on this one!

[AndreRuben]

katanasoul: how pretty! and cool for first digital! im afraid i cant give you any constructive advice, only work the background more..

here's my wip. any advice? i need some....

[omizu]

Meh, wasn't able to do much today, all I did was get the expression in some.

@Andreruben- i love the pose and the whole concept, but she looks really young to me.

[Shogo]

current shot of where im at, changed the style around from the more painterly look before, let me know what you think!

[drobyazko]

Katanasoul: thank for the advise. right after i saw it i picked up my pillow to see the natural way to hold something that big. didn't get a picture though, just sorta saw.

anyways, here's a resketch on copy paper with COLORS! cause i'm weird like that. next step-colors. i gave the girl more balance and wieght on her left foot, and hands are about right i think. the colors i used are close to the ones they might end up with, the dragon a misty blue, her brown clothes, hair might be more brown than red though...

[Blakeinobi]

I've enjoyed what I've seen so far. These seem like too much fun to pass up anymore.

Played around with some thumbnails to try and catch a feeling for the character. A different approach to the way I normally do things.

[shannanigan]

Thanks jspangler and Stinger88... I ended up going with "C". And figured out what was bugging me... I adjusted her skirt along the top and now it looks ok to me.

So here is my current progress... the girl and egg are done. Just need to decide what I'm doing with the background.

[Jager]

thank you for the comments small update

[Reymus]

Here's what I've got so far, dull atm, but here's hoping.

[Orcatraz]

Great work everybody! Here's my w.i.p.

[JanJager]

Some updates

[alexboyer]

Everyone's doing an awesome job so far!

Jager, your color, composition and proportion look great! For an unfinished piece, there's alot of dimensionality and everything looks nicely grounded.

Last update for me for today.... Need to get some sleep hehe.

[rumpenstiltzkin]

wow nice work Orcatraz, only thing i was thinking about was, if thats the dragons nest, isnt those branches kinda weak for a big dragon like that :o

[levin]

my first CHOW. this is my rough sketch...

im going to steampunk it. XD she escaped from the evil scientist and is trying to protect the egg.

[MrFunk]

hi there

first post here on conceptart going to be hard to keep up with all the great works all of you already did.

i'm still playing around with the young lady here. trying to achieve some kind of a studio ghibli look, not sure if i succeded at that


cya

[gdlr]

elmasfeo : Thank you for your crits.
Viridis : You are right! but i choose to keep this chest, the hairs and the dress can help to tell his gender. (So i decided she look like a hermaphrodite hahaha). I like her position and her design, for me, she is beautiful .
Venger : Damn, your colours technique drive me crazy! Great work. (she looks like at the little red hood)

[Venger]

@gdlr: It's driving me crazy too - and not in a good way (hmm red riding hood eh, might need to change that then )

I'm looking forward to seeing where you're going with yours - you could give her a flowery bikini top - just so everyone knows . Want to see what you're going to do with the background.

@Reymus: Usually its lighter at the horizon - though its a juggle between graphics and realism.

@Jager: Careful with the saturation on this - if I squint it all becomes very similar and she disappears - looking good though.

@Orcatraz, I agree with rumpenstiltzkin - that's a very small, very light branch for such a big dragon. While book layout isn't part of this Chow - you've a lot of dead area on the cover - and the area of interest you have you've covered with the text.

@JanJager: Make sure the egg reads as a solid object - with the dark surroundings it's looking like a graphical element (a surround)

Sorry I haven't done everyone.

[PxelSlayer]

K, going a bit ying-yang here. That would be it for today. Still got the main character on my to-do list. That and laundry...
Next up - CC!

[skorpi]

Another great round, so many interesing pictures here

Arthur 'Two Sheds' I like the scene and your composition. Maybe vou can bring out the egg more.

jspangler It looks reall good so far. The girl is really in trouble, I like her unconfortable pose in this context.

kittens Love the colors.

Katanasoul Your're here too
I like our colors, they fit perfect for a childrens book. You can make the background more mystic if ou add some sun beams falling trough the leaves. And in forest you don't habe sinmple gras but more different plants.
And take a look at her hands, the are way to simple.

stevethebunny Mabe a bit dark for a children book but it looks good anyway.

doombee I love it, it loos very fairy tail like.

alexboyer Nice scene, a real clifhanger

AndreRuben I love the composition

omizu I like her facial expression, very uncommon

Shogo I like it, but I would enlarge the format a little so you don't have to cut the egg.

drobyazko Looks good so far but I miss her neck.

Blakeinobi I like the first thumb the most. and nice design.

shannanigan I really like the pattern on the egg.

LaurenHeroOfTime I lie your idea. there are some anatomy mistakes, maybe you could use a ref.

Jager I love the dragons head. Great work

Reymus interesting motive, but for me, I like to know how she move with the egg.

Orcatraz I love it but the typo doesn't work

JanJager Nice idea with the animals. I like your painting, onl her right knee is a bit low.

levin looks intersting so far

MrFunk Welcome I like her face

PxelSlayer I ike the idea with the heads in the background, really cover like.

I finished the outlines, and have already some lines I have to correct when i finished painting

[Carnifex]

probably all i have time for this week.

[Sentinel.]

Update! Sorry it's a little big, I'll have to edit later with a smaller version.

Commander Obvious - Thanks for pointing that out! I see what you mean, I was aiming for 16 but I'll try and make her look a little younger.

[Gaius]

Not sure where I am going with this.....

[Tommoy]

It seems like Chow's getting bigger and better with every round.

[Rhen]

Late start here, this is what I have so far, probably gonna work more more on the sketch before I go in to photoshop or painter. Any crits are much appreciated.