New Art from Klaw(The just back from Afghanistan Update)

[Klaw]

I've been away for awhile, and I'm finally back to the real world where I have access to the real internet again. My last months in Afghanistan were kinda busy, so I didn't get as much done as I'd have liked, but I'm very grateful to be back and not there anymore. I do have a few things to show, and the first is called Dark Majicks, and it will be at the end of this post, along with another piece called Ring of Steel

I finished this Digital piece here a while ago. It's a personal piece, all done in Painter. It depicts an Angel ascending from darkness after battle. She's battle scarred and battle weary, but finally getting to return to the light...and home.

Ascending Home


Ok, just some additions here, The resolution on the original post cut some of the detail, and I promised a few friends I'd add a few inserts with details.
Just wanted to show a little more of the facial detail, as well as the shoulders. I also wanted to show the wounds she'd suffered with more clarity. I wanted to show that she'd survived, but at some cost.


And Here's a little detail on her arm and leg. It's just that I painted this in a very large format, and many of the little details aren't as obvious as I'd like. In the future, I will take more care during the painting process to bring out these small details. With her unarmored hand I wanted to emphasize that she'd had to fight with her hands too, that It had been a desperate fight. That's why the knuckles are swollen, the fingers bloodied.


Also, I wanted to add a recently finished piece, and I had posted it here in the finished forum before, but this is going to be my thread for all my finished stuff from now on, so here it is.

This is a painting that I have done several iterations of over the years. I started with a very basic acrylic, then I used that idea for a more complicated acrylic: It sold, and since I missed having it around, I created this variation of it, but in Painter, and at a very high resolution. The Dragon used to be blue, but I decided gold this time.

The painting itself is a very simple concept: A rider and her Dragon (Or is it a Dragon and his rider?) sit on the night watch, enjoying each other's company. I'm originally from Alaska, so I wanted the Aurora in the painting.(I Miss Home) They sit high on a mountain, in the cold, above the clouds near an old watchtower, long abandoned. So what do a Rider and a Dragon talk about anyway?

The Night Watch


Here is yet another Angel. This time, monochromatic except her eyes and the eyes of her army. I showed my process for this one in my Sketchbook, so if you're curious, you can see how I put this one together.

Many thanks to CA member Hanny Honeymoon, who allowed me to use her image from her SB here: http://www.conceptart.org/forums/sho...=180166&page=2

Angel of War


So here is Dark Majicks, and it depicts an elf, and she's up to no good: or is she? I leave it to you. All done in Painter.
Dark Majicks

This next piece was a commision for a friend who wanted a portrait of his wife. Before I fell off the radar, I was talking about this one in my SB, so the designs are still over there. Here is the final piece. He is asking for a slight change, so there might be another version of this in the future, but this is the one he approved. I wanted to do tigers in this, but make them metallic and mechanical, but in an organic way. I was happy with the result, and it;s given me some new ideas as well.

Ring of Steel





Well, it's nice to be back!
Your Thoughts, as always, are humbly appreciated. Thanks for stopping by!

[Artfix]

Hey Klaw, I see you around offering helpful tips to people a lot

I liked hearing the inspiration for your piece, but be sure to also include other things like your goals and questions for this image and if you want critiques.

[Klaw]

Artfix, thanks for stopping by, and thanks for noticing: I try to be helpful- I try not to repeat old advice. I try to shoot for offering different kinds of advice. As for this Angel here, I really would like people's crits and observations. What I would REALLY like to hear more than anything, is peoples' take on this piece. I mean, specifically: what do people take away from it. Does it do anything for them emotionally? Do they relate to it in any way? Do they notice anything in particular that makes it interesting for them? For me this was a technical exercise to begin with, but developed into something more personal towards the end. Primarily I was working on doing the concept of the Angel with really reflective golden armor from my imagination. (The Armor) Towards the end, It became, well something else. I'd like to hear if people pick up on what it BECAME, as opposed to just a study of a woman in some armor. Your thoughts and observations are most appreciated. And thanks again for stopping by!

[Artfix]

Ya know I tend to give the same advice a lot--can't help it hehe. I'm always telling people to use better shapes because that is what I always focus on.

Shape is something this piece has going for it. I like the composition and concept but I can't say I feel a whole lot from it and I think it is because I can't tell what is happening as you described. I can't tell from looking at it that she is ascending because her wings are not open and theres no indication of wind blowing or anything. It looks like she is standing or walking.

I could take guess at what the armor might represent. I think anyone would notice the appropriateness of shiny golden armor and the idea of light and heaven. A being on the side of good that is going into the clouds wouldn't be wearing dark scary armor.

I have some suggestions: the lighting. The lighting just seems to be all over the place. Start with the lighting you have going on the head because it is good, and follow it down, imagining where it would be hitting and where it would cause shadows. Maybe her whole belly should be in shadow. Your rim lights on her torso and legs just don't make sense since her wings are blocking light behind her. Remember the light source is going to be strongest on her head--don't make her leg look equally bright.

Now I think you want her to look like she is made of light or practically exuding light, but it looks more like you just went overboard with white lights. Try to choose just a few spots that are going to be glowing. The rim lights on the underside of her bracers don't make sense again. The glowing on both her hands just looks superfluous. The lighting I like most is the top portion of her right wing, on the left side of the page. I can tell those feathers are in shadow and the texture can be seen. It really looks good. I would suggest trying to do that everywhere, and then at the end, wisely choosing a few highlights.

The background would benefit from making the dark/light border more interesting. Mix the light and dark together a little bit and make sure it isn't horizontal. The darkness on her shins is too abrupt--it looks like it is unresolved. Try making it look more like a a gradual dark fog.

I would like to see more wear and tear/ scratches and blood on her so the narrative that she was JUST in battle is more obvious. Maybe even her wings could look torn up.

I can't tell if she is holding a sword or a gun. The angle of her hand would have a sword sticking out as a foreshortened shape, but instead it is going straight down.

Her hair does look frazzled like she was in a fight, but its not very pretty-looking. Her nose looks a little small so her face looks kinda flattened. try to find some reference of a woman holding her face up like that.

Ok take all that for what its worth bud. Good job

[Klaw]

Artfix, thankyou very much for your insight here. Some of these things you pointed out I agree with. I agree with the bottom portion of the painting especially. I wanted the top of the peice to have a lot of space so I could work the sky over really well: I wanted the open space at the top. She is in fact walking, not flying, so good observation there. Eventually I may come back and redo the bottom portion. She does have quite a lot of damage, but I don't think it translates well here, this is pretty lo-res. I will gather some zoomed pics on the wings and other portions so I can show the finer details better. I painted this pretty large, so when I moved over to a smaller file, I lost a lot of that clarity. I will try to have those up on here soon. Still, I appreciate your comments. It's very interesting about what you said about shape, as it relates to art. I actually took a look at a few of my other works to see how those shapes held up to my own scrutiny. It's not something I always think specifically about when I'm composing a peice of art: so Thankyou for that perspective.

[tariqart]

Hey Klaw, good work man. Angel pics are really hard to do and yours is looking great so far. i do agree with Artfix, there are a few things that can be improved. I always use stock or reference images for complex poses. The characters head in this is a toughie indeed, looking up is very hard and complex to render. Her face looks very elderly and hollow. This can be easily fixed by filing out the cheeks and taking out the shadow from under it. her mouth is also strained and drooping down. If you had her lips partially open it would give more emotion and make her a bit more lively.
The wings need to be a bit more convincing. I would use some reference for the shape and structure as the anatomy of wings is crucial to show that they are part of the character.
Hope my suggestions havn't crossed any lines ? Hope to see you post more soon.
Kudos,
T.

[Klaw]

No worries about any lines crossed, just very interested to hear your perspective on this. I am actually glad to hear the feedback, especially when it comes to your comments on her face. I really wanted to depict an angel who looked worn and weary, haggard even. Based on what you have noted, I may have overdid it here. I have been steering away from the traditional pinup model lately. Not that there's anything wrong with cheesecake, but I have been aiming for more human, less perfection. I guess you could say I'm trying to show beauty in a nontraditional way. However, you do make some very good points. One of the great things about showing one's art on CA is the wealth of knowledge and variety of viewpoints residing here. The level of professionalism pretty much requires you improve. Case in point: the wings. I didn't plan them so much as freehand them on the fly. I am happy overall, but the discerning eye can and will catch the flaws. The end result: I am inspired to do better. Thank You for your comments, and thank you very much for stopping in.

[Klaw]

I've Shown this one before, but I wanted to revisit it, and so I have. I wanted to show it on this thread, because all my finished stuff will go here. I wanted to show it, to see what people take away from it. It was done in honor of a good friend of mine.

Serenity


So this will be the last thing for a little while. I've got a few more in the works, but don't want to put them up just yet. As I've said before, the level of excellence at CA is pretty high, so I feel very Inspired to do my very best. And so I will. Anybody who stops by, I appreciate your time.

Until next time.

[Klaw]

Just added the Angel Of War at the top of the thread. I wish I knew how to change the thumbnail out without deleting the whole post! Anyhow, just finished that last angel. Its done in Painter, and mostly black and white. A little bit of departure from how I have been working lately, but this is closer to the style that suits me. Anybody who stops by, I appreciate the look!

[K-san]

The mood of your latest piece is very striking. Some really nice things starting to go on here, like the chain mail and the hands. I like the black and white with the selective color. Overall, I'd say the piece is too soft. Armor is solid and hard, not fuzzy. Try going over your values for your hard surfaces with a harder brush, stay away from airbrushes. It needs some cleaning up, but is heading in a good direction.

The tiger piece also has a nice use of color.

[Klaw]

K-San: thanks! I went for a sharp focus on her face and eyes, and intentionally left the rest of the piece less defined. I'm very pleased that you picked up on that, although I may sharpen it up just to see if it helps. I just don't want it to be like a photo, so if I sharpen it up and I lose that focus on her facial features, I'll probably keep it where it is. Thank you for stopping by, and thank you for your comments and crit! Much appreciated!

Beautiful pics. The placement of the eyes are a bit off.Love the last one great pic.

[Waipunga]

That Angel of War presses all the buttons Dude!

The snow tiger and the woman I really like. It speaks of guardianship and contentment to me. A comment on a job well done. Skills Mate, good skills.

[goblin4hire]

nice work man im really diggin the white tiger image. the only thing that stands out to me with the angle image is her face looks very very flat

[Klaw]

goblin4hire: Thanks for the kind words. I appreciate that poeple like that white tiger piece! I need to get a better, clearer image of that one, because this one's a little fuzzy to my eye (not the tiger, the photo). Thanks for stopping in.

I am getting close to finishing another tiger piece, should be another few days, although this piece is going to be much different than the tigers I painted in the past. They are going to be metal.
Thanks to everybody who stopped by!

[Maximilian S]

Hey Klaw, I really like Serenity, it really does have a peaceful atmosphere,and the tiger definitely has a soul, if you know what I mean. One thing I would say to you is that I would like to see you keep working on something past the point that you consider it finished. I think that would be a benefit in terms of bringing the rendering up a level. Looking forward to those metal tigers, sounds like a cool concept. Also, I really like your picture, The Prodigy, the one with the blue dragon and the baby, I know it's in another thread but it's great.

Max

[Klaw]

Maximilian S: Thanks for stopping by, and thank you for your thoughts on Serenity: That you can see the tiger's soul means a lot to me. As far as "Prodigy" goes, I posted that one earlier on, and I made that one many years ago: I have had so much positive response on that one. Perhaps I will re-post it here (unless it's already in my portfolio, I honestly can't remember I think an interesting thing about the pieces that seem to get the most attention, is that they are the ones I've been the "closest" to. In other words, If I've really put my heart into something, it shows: but in ways I can't fathom or explain. I'm just glad it does. (and the tiger gets a soul Thanks again for stopping by, and thanks for looking at my other stuff too. And by the way, YOUR stuff fascinates me: I don't think I could ever paint what you do-my brain doesn't work that way- but it's tremendous work, and well done. Your Goblin and Knights in particular are just fantastic.


PS: I went back and checked-"prodigy" IS in My Portfolio

[Klaw]

Ok, so here's the new stuff (I added it into the end of the first post. I hope to post some more really soon! Thanks again for stopping in, and it's really great to be back! I just looked at the images I uploaded, and I'm going to resize them for better viewing, so these will shrink in the next day or so. Sorry for the inconvenience, and bear with me. Thank You!