ritual gathering

[FourTonMantis]

aight.

the idea is that these are some creepy pagan nymph things chilling in a semi-secluded location doing all kinds of creepy, ritualistic type shit. DO NOT HANG OUT WITH THEM. obviously, the middle figure is getting into it a little more what with the blood soaked front. i'm planning on adding some more items to solidify the whole ritual thing.

what's working? what isn't?

[Elwell]

what isn't?

Composition. Did you thumbnail?

[FourTonMantis]

Composition. Did you thumbnail?

alas! i did not. do you think I could salvage this one by tweaking the composition? or thumbnail and then tweak composition? or scrap it?

[Iridyse]

Well right now they look like they're posing for a photographer, which is odd but not creepy in the way you probably intended. They would look far better with more active poses where they really are doing creepy ritualistic type shit.
Also cutting off the legs at the frame like that is awkward. Back to thumbnails would help you. I know you feel like you've put in a lot of time into this picture already but redoing it will most certainly result in a better image.

[Lhune]

I'd say scrap it, because you would have to change so much to make this work that you won't really lose much time if you just start over (not to mention that you'd probably get a better piece out of that as well).

Or you could scrap it, do a lot of thumbnails and then see if you can re-use elements from this composition into your new one. Just make sure that you don't depend on it; the whole point of doing thumbnails is to find better ideas, which obviously won't work if you're trying to simultaneously stick to a previous idea.

[FourTonMantis]

you're all fucking awesome. starting over. DOING THIS. ain't even scared. be back in a few days. FELLAS.

[Artfix]

DO IT DO IT

[FourTonMantis]

DO IT DO IT

DOING IT NOW MOTHERFUCKER.



here's some thumbs I did real quicklike, planning to do more when time is acquired but crit this shit! plz! dicked around with more environments.

[FourTonMantis]

oi that third one is rough...it's a swamp.

[Lhune]

You're not diverting enough from your initial idea; try going for a less central focus, placing the characters differently, use overlapping. Perhaps make it look as though we're peeking through bushes. Go nuts! Or well, -more- nuts.

[Giacomo]

I really love the figures in this piece...they remind me of the work of Gauguin and Picasso, very primal and female and sensuous. The group is also working pretty well in terms of moving the viewer's eye around, at least in that part of the picture. (Having the center one dripping blood seems overly lurid, though...it probably isn't necessary.)

The only real compositional problem I see with the initial piece is that the figures are awkwardly cropped off the frame. A good rule of thumb is to paint the entire figure of whatever you're doing. Cropping anywhere other than the neck or the waist almost always looks amateurish. JPEG below.

Also, regarding the composition...those most recent thumbnails you posted feel pretty half-assed. There's not much point in doing thumbnails solely for the sake of form if you're not into it. It might be easier to paint the entire group of figures on a separate layer and just move it around until you get a composition you like, instead of starting from scratch every time.

[Elwell]

the idea is that these are some creepy pagan nymph things chilling in a semi-secluded location doing all kinds of creepy, ritualistic type shit. DO NOT HANG OUT WITH THEM.

Everything you need is right there. The trick is to figure out how to translate it from words to images.

[vineris]

Why do all the ladies gotta be in a flat row? Move some forward and some back. Place them on different levels vertically. Move the "camera" around to see what they'd look like from above or below or from the back.

[FourTonMantis]

taking it all in...processing it. you guys are the best.

[FourTonMantis]

if solely for the sake of learning, I decided to try and open this image up. crits! to hieron!

[Eldinga]

I'm wondering what exactly they're sitting on.. the first two looks like they're sitting on what will be a set of stairs or something, or at least some rather uneven grounding. The middle one, however.. well, if the girl to the left is sitting in some kind of hollow, which is suggested by the placing of the bowl, then the one in the middle have her knee way over the edge. She seem to be sitting just a few inches behind the others, but the bowl is placed so low she HAS to sit on some higher grounds.. once again, knees way over the edge of some yet invisible slope.

[FourTonMantis]

I'm wondering what exactly they're sitting on.. the first two looks like they're sitting on what will be a set of stairs or something, or at least some rather uneven grounding. The middle one, however.. well, if the girl to the left is sitting in some kind of hollow, which is suggested by the placing of the bowl, then the one in the middle have her knee way over the edge. She seem to be sitting just a few inches behind the others, but the bowl is placed so low she HAS to sit on some higher grounds.. once again, knees way over the edge of some yet invisible slope.

thanks for bringing that up. I'm planning on fleshing all that out once I get the composition in check, but you're right, I need to keep all of that in mind.

[tobbA]

If you want it to look creepy, try and think about what would make the image creepy. Not only what they're doing, but how we see it. Perhaps having a bright blue sky isn't the best way to communicate that. Maybe put them in a secluded forest area where only a few of the suns rays reach. And don't make it seem as if they're posing for us. Make it look like they're immersed in what they're doing. Maybe one of them sees us and finds out we've been watching?

[FourTonMantis]

just got DARK OUT.

[FourTonMantis]

minor update.

[Nezumi Works]

I still don't see them actually doing anything beyond just casually sitting there. I get no feeling whatsoever of anything sinister, since they all look so relaxed, regardless of the environment (which still looks fairly pleasant).

[FourTonMantis]

I still don't see them actually doing anything beyond just casually sitting there. I get no feeling whatsoever of anything sinister, since they all look so relaxed, regardless of the environment (which still looks fairly pleasant).

I'm getting there, I promise. Though probably adding major elements so late in the game is bad form.

[TinyBird]

Why is it that you're so bent on not changing the figures? Several people have said they do not work and don't convey much sense of ritual going on, so it really wouldn't hurt you to scrap the figures completely and start anew and actually put some proper though to those thumbnails that you half-assed earlier.
Also here's some inspiration from Goya.

[FourTonMantis]

I may have overstated the ritual/creepy thing...I tend to do that. I guess the "gathering" part was more what I was going for. In any case, I appreciate all of the input thus far and honestly...I like how it's coming out. I kind of want to just finish it and hopefully do better on the next one. I've already learned a ton from this as it is...I'll definitely be thumbnailing for the next one.

[Elwell]

I'm getting there, I promise. Though probably adding major elements so late in the game is bad form.

It's still early. And it's never too late to fix something.

In any case, I appreciate all of the input thus far and honestly...I like how it's coming out. I kind of want to just finish it and hopefully do better on the next one.

Next time, don't fall in love with element that aren't working.

[dmal]

What would Stan Lee do?
when you yourself join a gathering, you tend to see the backs and back shoulders, and backs of people's heads. Join the gathering.

its that time of year, aint it?

try an odd angle, like from the view of a cat in a tree,
or else a frog's eye view.
google rule of thirds composition.
scrap the family portrait thing.
don't have anybody's head even near the center of the picture!
recognize your ancestors were pagan, and you'll get a better feel.


happy samhain