ChOW#293 :: The Keymaster

[Risaki-chan]

Einen, VictorQ , Tchuk wow, you guys really awesome !

[meth]

some great entries, rock it

M

[sarahfinnigan]

Joining the party late... species study and sketch below. He has four thumbs...this is not a mistake.










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www.sarahfinnigan-art.com
sarahfinnigan.deviantart.com

[Revidescent]

I've been working on this all week without actually posting in the thread. (Well, working on development all week. Only started the final yesterday.) I almost scrapped everything today and started over, because this feels like a very boring solution (design, pose, composition) compared to a lot of the super creative stuff other people are doing, but I think if I do there's no way I'll make the deadline. OH WELL.

I have no idea what about this topic lead to "vaguely Elizabethan dress, also horns", but there you go. I wanted her to look, if not literally royal, at least regal. She keeps the key chain wrapped around her hair; haven't painted in the other hanging keys yet.

[elephant´s stroke]

This was a study of values using as reference the photo of a sculpture...then i started doodling to the right with the keymaster challenge in mind....i think i won't make it to the finals, but the little experience wont hurt me either

[GammaGrey]

I think i'm just about done minus some basic clean up. I'd like to fix some details and tamper with the lighting a bit more if I get some extra time.

[sugarfoot]

About there, just gotta few things to finish, had to call it a nite.

[Nina-the-Tiny]

Well, I need to haul it tomorrow if I want to finish! Below is what I have so far.... I definitely have a lot more to do ^-^;

Also, some feedback for a few that I noticed... hope it helps :)

Revidescent - Looking good and i like it a lot, but careful with that hand. It needs to be bigger than it seems.

idiot monarch - he's looking a little flat/washed-out! try some more darks/shadows and don't be afraid of stronger colors. Otherwise his values sort of match the background and don't really call attention to him.

sleepykit - I love the texturing you have going on there! Don't be afraid of some strong lines and add some black in there. He's(?) not very high contrast and I think it's important to add some to a B&W. Instead of a gradient bg, maybe try something one-tone and cast a shadow? Maybe that will bring out the value range on the actual figure.

caffeinetooth - vary the linework a little more evenly, right now it's calling too much attention to the edges. other than that, it's looking great!

[alo]

Eh, probably not going to have time to finish this

Anyway, the first keymaster named a worthy first priest to find, raise, and advise future keymasters, but the order was corrupted over the years. So, the keymasters are fairly well brainwashed from birth, 'symbolically' bound with chains, and the priests are actually running everything.

A humanoid-spider race (mostly because 8 limbs makes it easier to symmetrically space out 7 keys..), the golden chains are spider silk, they enjoy cannibalistic rituals, and their temple is web-y (or it would be if I had time to make it so).

[Risaki-chan]

when will the Finals thread be open??

[v0rbiss]

Well, I guess that's that. Unless there is some glaring problem I'm unable to see ofc.

[sarahfinnigan]

Posting a WIP...

[sleepykit]

i cannot for the life of me get the colouring right so i will just enter it in black and white *sighs* so much more to learrrrrnnnnnnnnn

[Noctisette]

I don't think gave my Keymistress her finished picture, there was pressing matter I needed to attend immediately, and work. I tried my best to make it at least look a bit 'finished', not sure if I succeed tho.

I'm afraid I might have a little trouble uploading at the alotted time cos I'll be leaving for a trip this morning, seeing the final thread isn't up yet. I'll keep my final file in mobile storage just in case..

[Azimuthium]

wip 1

[Revidescent]

I gave in and restarted after all. Same design, but I think the overambitious lighting before was obscuring, you know, the actual character design.

(Also, I THINK this comp satisfies the 3/4 rule, but it's really skirting the edge, so if anybody disagrees please tell me. D: )

[VictorQ]

and I certainly overestimated my rendering skills which I just found out to be quite rusty so I won't make it =( need more practice! I'll finish this in a slower pace with some studies to back it up, I ended up taking too much time deciding stuff and ended with no time to finish it up (that's very usual for me =/, I'm very insecure) anywayy, good luck guys probably when I finish it I'll post it up here =)

[ssandulak]

Figure I'll post here as I may not be online to post in the finals thread unless it goes up in the next couple of hours.
Was fun, though there are plenty of things I would fix had I more time.
Weird side note...water is fun
I picture him as materializing one key at a time when the golden chain unhinges. With the holes left behind glowing based on the key being summoned.

[Wholewheat_keyboard]

Goodluck to everyone who is starting late (like me!) I'll never get this done in time, but I was inspired by what I saw in this thread so I'm jumping in.

sarahfinnigan Your's is coming along nicely, and you started late too, looking forward to the finished one!

Einen I love your work so much! Anyone who wants a visual feast of splendor - please look at his sketchbook! Seriously you are one of the most inspiring artists to me, thank you for sharing

revidescent I don't know about the 3/4 rule, although you probably are cutting it very close. I didn't realize your character was female, it looks more masculine to me? I liked the backlighting in your first image, although maybe just adjusting the pose would've been easier than redrawing it? Good luck finishing it on time! I think if you just get the lighting to look good it'll be fine.

v0rbiss I like where yours is going - what is the thing in the right hand corner of your image? it seems odd. Since your character has a spotlight, I think if you worked on some strong cast shadows it would really improve your painting - also the rays behind the character look pretty obvious as brush strokes, maybe try blending them out a bit?


Hopefully I can get the background and some painting in tomorrow, wow it looks very bright on this monitor, oops!

[FoxinShocks]

Starting a bit late, but oh well. We'll see how it goes.

Cool start, wholewheat! I like how the keys are a bit more technologically advanced.

[v0rbiss]

Hey, Wholewheat_keyboard, thanks for the suggestions! The spotlight came very late, and the lighting wasn't really thought out this way, so strong cast shadows are pretty much a given, not to mention the dramatic effect! Well it looks cheesy more often than not, but I hope this isn't the case with mine.
The thing on the right was meant to be an enormous gate in the distance, but it didn't work that way at all, so I scraped it, environments aren't my forte at all

Your sketch looks nice, hopefully you'll have some time to bring it up. The legs seem a bit short for such a long torso, and the stile you're going would allow for longer and stronger legs, if you like such things.

[Eofn]

Extra day added as I couldn't get to a computer yesterday.

[animongrel]

Wooo nice entries. Let's see if this can make it Still gotta work on costume/silhouette!

[lordarka]

OK, Here's the best I've been able to come up with. I envision a multiheaded master able to see in all directions at once, and into the soul of any person seeking to enter one of the magical realms. She is shown in the illustration displaying the keys to the domains of fire and light.

Enjoy, and great work to all who have submitted thus far!

[Delmar]

Hey guys! Awesome stuff going on here!

It's been a while since i last checked the chow section.Got inspired by the keymaster topic...so I'm throwing in something i did today....not very much of a keymaster right now but maybe i can get him there by the end of the day, i'm not sure how i want the keys to look like........

[jsn]

Yippee!,...another day added! Thanks Eofn

I need to look at this with fresh eyes!

[Rist]

Just a little sketch I made.

[lise-e]

My first CHOW wasn't able to finish this one, maybe next time. Have to say though I really enjoyed this project.

[OdosO]

My first CHOW and ran out of time... yaaarg!

[Lewis]

Hahaha he's amazing OdosO!
You have another day! Please make a small modelsheet of him and put it in the finals thread.