C.O.W. #282, Demonic Speedster w/ variants. voting.

[(lark]

C.O.W. #282 demonic speedster w/ variants_Voting!

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ROUND #282 VOTING

Topic: demonic speedster


Deadline for the voting: 12/25



Requirements this week...

- you may NOT include a scene, or backdrop for your creature designs. Only include straight forward designs on a blank page layout for your finals. NO ILLUSTRATIONS!

- the creatures must appear to be able to move exceptionally fast.

- the designs must be demonic in nature. They are creatures that live in, or come from hell.

[ricardops]

Artist: Ricardops-Ripasi

Concept: Demon speedster variations
Hi there i see that im the first one by far i was thinking that this cow would end this wednesday... but whatever here is my cow, where the demons with diferents variations (but they have in common the speed, jumping or running) are waiting for kill us i hope you enjoy it. gj everyone

[Garkudion]

Artist: Garkudion

Concept: Demon Speedster

Children of Cerberus, it keeps the denizens of hell in line and keeps the curious out.

[Rob Powell]

Artist: Rob Powell

Concept: Shadow Sprinter Variants

Capable of reaching high speeds, these shadowy hell spawn are not to be taken lightly.

[chuckly]

Artist: chuckly

Concept: Speed Demons

Tormentors, Defilers, Befoulers and Polluters,
Their names are many,
Their numbers are more.
There are no evasions,
There are no reprieves,
Behold ...
Despair.



Mwaahaahahahaaaa!

My first C.O.W. - I hope I did it right.

[Artka]

Artist: Artka

Concept: Demonic Speedsters




Not a very consistent collection but it happens to me when I do them in separate days.

[alexson]

Artist: alexson

Concept: Demonic Speedster
Disgusting mix of meat and bones that crawls up from volcanic cracks to cause death on anything they cross.

[j.zhang]

Artist: j.zhang

Concept: Persephone's Seedlings
Given to Persephone as a gift from Hades, born from the tears that fell from her eyes when she found out she was bound to the underworld (eating the pomegranate seeds). They are always hungry for souls, flesh and pain and traverse the rivers Styx, preventing anything from entering and leaving the underworld.

[Mhugo]

Artist: Mhugo

Concept: Demonic Speedster

[z01ks]

[marcoferrigno]

Artist: Marco Ferrigno

Concept: Demonic Speedster
Recent excavations in Peru revealed sealed tombs filled with mutilated bodies, further studies showed the tomb's to be ancient temple's in honour of a forgotten Incan demon.

[j-ang]

Artist: j-ang

Concept: Demonic Speedster Variations

I: Hellhounds serve as track dogs for the underworld they are able to chase their prey for wherever they hide.
II: Banshees are spectral creatures that search the underworld for lost soul to devour them.
III: Torchlights are fast demons that roam the underworld, some say they move so fast that you only see a streak of light before it catches you in its grips.

[Yajmon]

Artist: [*COLOR=White]Yajmon[/COLOR]

Concept: [*COLOR=White]Demonic Speedster[/COLOR]
Burrower, Dragonfly, Hell-hound.

[Rob Powell]

Really strong round this time guys! There's not a single weak entry, everyone did an excellent job, which unfortunatly tends to make it harder to vote. Trying to push myself to be more active again, I've written up some crits for everyone's enjoyment!!! Hopefully no one will take offense, but I don't think I was too harsh, but then again I believe you are in the wrong forum if you take offense to a paragragh that is intended to help!

Ricardops-I'm really enjoying your work on here mate! When I saw this topic I thought it was right up your alley and you've created some nice looking beasties here. Some very creative ideas you've displayed with all three. The creature on the right however doesn't read to me as being all that fast, but rather quite the opposite, look at the legs of large ratites and ornithomimids for example they are large fast moving creatures and there bodies are more slender and there legs are not so bulky. I usually try to avoid plain white backgrounds, but that's just me, but I do suggest adding some indication of drop shadows underneath your subjects, just to give them weight, also the hind lowly rendered backmost legs of the middle creature do bother me a bit, seeing as they are nit that far back into space to be so roughly interpretted. Looking forward to more works in the future!!

Garkudion-Also some neat looking creatures! I'm thinking the left creature needs a bit more polish on his face, add a bit of contrast and maybe some extra warm so it doesn't sink into it's body as much. Also I don't think you chosen the best pose for the creature on the right, because it seems kinda awkward and compositionally with the others it makes the whole page just a bit unbalanced I find...but that's just me!

Rob Powell-I actually intended to do some modifications to my bottom right critter, started thinking the forelimb bones don't work to well with running, especially at high speeds, and perhaps fixing up those tentacle/tendril thingies on it's mouth....didn't get a chance to do so before the end of the deadline, but at least it is posted and in the poll!

chuckly-Very nice work! First thing I notice is the lack of drop shadows. Also I notice the secondary light source shining on top and bottom right, but not of bottom left, I'd recommend commiting to do all three variants so there is cohesion throughout the piece.

Artka-Great work, mate! Some nice rendering, although I'd tone down the pure black and white in your shadows and highlights, and use warm and cool colours instead... and add some drop shadows....

alexson-Good work, although I'd like to see a bit more variation in your variants, although modifying the same creature could be and is used often in games. With that said you did a good job showing off these concepts with some nice rendering. The front foreleg looks a bit awkward anatomically however mainly on the top and bottom variants.

j.zhang-Very cool creatures, but the variants too me seem way too similar to one another. Also I find it odd how they just seem to be floating in space.

Mhugo-One of my favourites this round! I especially like all the glowing parts on the creatures. With solid rendering and very creative designs you earned a vote from myself! Always enjoy your work, mate!! I'm a little sad the topic limited us to no backgrounds cuz I would've loved to see these guys in their environment!

z01ks-These are cool, creative designs and a neat sketchy style! My only real problem is the background colours, between the top and middle there is a fair amount of contrast whereas the between the middle and bottom there is very low contrast, making the top image stand out to much over the other two.

marcoferrigno-was expecting more gruesome demonic creatures than there is but, you've made up for the lack of gruesomeness. I think just a little more cleaning up in some areas to make them pop a bit more, cuz they appear a tiny bit flat. That could also be because of the plain white background as well. Sometimes just adding a soft gradient can do wonders, because when presenting variants presentation can be just as important as the designs themselves. It is best to experiment a bit, but no need to spend to much time trying to figure out the background since it is not necessary in this particular challenge. Another thing, when working from silhouettes or with lines, try to eliminate the pure black used, sometimes it can be easier to create the silhos with a similar colour as the one you plan to work with.

j-ang-haha at first I got confused when you posted this cuz your name is quite similar to j-zhang, I thought for a minute he double posted, anyways these are some very cool designs with some very nice rendering as well. A few little nitpicks, the back legs on I and III could use a little more attention rather than just being totally flat, and the blueish skin on I could probably use a little more texture, sometimes slight imperfections like cuts and pimples and whatever can add an extra dimension of realism.

Yajmon-At first these guys are a little hard to read becasue of all the orange, try adding some cool blues or greens to the shadows to balance it out a bit, I also think some areas could use less contrast and some could use more contrast, it will make these guys more readable which will help to sell the designs.

[z01ks]

Like Rob said, no really weak entries this round. It was pretty hard to vote.

Ricardops- you have really good drawing and anatomy skills, but my biggest problem is the designs. I dont really know if I'm supposed to be scared of these. I'm more just weirded out. Also they don't look very speedy. The speediest would be the middle one, but then it would need some real hind legs But I think you have really good potential, considering your skills. Also, I would recommend using some simple cast shadows and more interesting backgrounds if you have time. The athmospheric separation of the back areas is nice.

Garkudion- I'm kinda diggin the color and the style, but I think it could use some more detailing, and some more passes on the specular and just bringing out some form. You've done a better job on that on the third one. The biggest problem again is that they don't look very fast. Only the dog-like creature is speedy, but I dont like the pose. I don't know what you're trying to express putting it in that pose. Also I would definitely rework the head on the middle one.

Rob Powell-I like those, because they do look demonic and speedy. Like you said, maybe the slowest is the bottom right one. My biggest problem with the design is that they all look a little generic. I would recommend looking for good simple but strong shapes in the beginning phase. The top one is my favourite because it has that going for it. But I think the teeth kinda ruin that one a little. I can't imagine it closing its mouth, unless they are retractable. I would work more on the anatomy of the feet on these. As far as execution, I would say good drawing, but not very nice color and lighting. I think you should work on that. Also the smoke/steam could use more care. It doesn't have a lot of character... But overall you did a nice job sticking to the description. And thanks a lot for the crits Rob!

chuckly- I like the lighting and the different textures and materials you've put into these. Really nice. Good designs too, except maybe the last one, which doesn't look very fast and I think the pose isn't very clear. Like Rob said they could use some drop shadows, especially to make sense of that last one, how it's standing on the ground. But these are some of the nicest ones this round.

Artka- Really good work. I don't see a lot wrong with these. My biggest gripe is the black shadows. Those areas could still use some subtle work on the form. But really nice designs, very elegant

alexson- Really nice rendering. The middle one is the best, because there are different materials on different areas. The other ones look a little naked, which is really weird to me. And it's almost the same creature, I think you should take more liberty and be more creative with the variations. So I would have kept the middle one and added some other ones.

j.zhang-I think even if you do variantions of the same creature, you should make it more varied But good designs and execution, nevertheless.

Mhugo-Really good, striking but simple designs. They look very professional, like you didn't have to labour too much over them. I would probably rework the head on the last one, I'm not really digging that. There's not a lot going on there and it doesn't imply speed. Also one area you could improve is color. I know that's not the most important thing in quick concepts like this, but still.

z01ks- I guess it was more of a learning process for me. I think I'm not being very creative pushing my designs and thinking outside the box. I should work more from imagination, which i haven't been doing so much lately.

marcoferrigno- I like the painterly style. The designs are cool, but they are not speedy at all. In fact they might be the slowest looking clusters of flesh that you could come up with. I think if you stick to the description and use your skills you could come up with really good work in the future.

j-ang- These are strong. They are very unique looking and well executed. Can't really tell what's happening behind the glowing braids on the first one. And I don't get why that back area on the last one is glowing... hmm

Yajmon- Some of my favorite ones. Really nicely painted. Actually there are some really lovely areas on all of them but it's hard to see those areas because everything is rendered with the same values. You should definitely use some atmospheric separation on them. For example it's very hard to read at first sight that that's the tail on the middle one. If you would knock back that value more, it would be perfect. You even handled that foreshortened pose nicely

[chuckly]

Like Rob said they could use some drop shadows,

I like the all the drawings, from the rank amateur to the hardcore professional here, so I'll be careful not to patronise you guys, don't we get enough of this at work?.
Thanks anyway the comments , I'm in this for the drawing challenge and fun, not the advice, this isn't a drawing class after all .

" you may NOT include a scene, or backdrop for your creature designs. Only include straight forward designs on a blank page layout for your finals"

I responded to the brief with no backdrop, the rules sounded clear to me.
The last example is based on a locust, have you ever seen a locust move? Unless they are chowing down they can swarm a distance of 5,000 km in about ten days and their jump has a 'scale' speed of literally several hundred miles An hour, I thought that was a fairly zippy model to base that idea on, long legs = fast,- for anyone need 'worded' explanations for my justified and real world based design decisions.
Please don't take the fun out of this by getting all chop cop about this game,

[z01ks]

Well I don't get any patronising at work, cause I'm a student and I don't work, so I don't mind. I should have known that once you start earning money you won't want any more advice, though.. Damn.

Anyway, I think a simple drop shadow is not the same thing as a scene or a backdrop. Call me crazy... I think it's pretty common to plot out drop shadows for your designs on a blank page, just to have them make more sense in perspective. It is not the most important thing but it helps, especially with more complex poses and anatomy like your last one.

It's really awesome that your basing your designs on real world creatures and all... Actually, who doesn't? Everything we draw is based on our experience or knowledge to some extent. But if the creature doesn't read as being fast, then sorry but you've just come up with a design that won't cut it. You can present all the history and fun facts on a species you want, but people who watch movies or play games don't need that. They only want that quick visual read. Personally I don't think that long dangly legs necessarily equal speed. I think why I don't get the impression of speed from that last one is because the legs go out more to the side, and they seem like they can't move front to back so much. And locusts have wings, by the way. As hard as I look, I just can't see any wings on that one...

[j.zhang]

thanks z01ks and Rob for the feedback

yeah, the variants weren't very 'varied' because i narrowed the brief down to fit some of my own criteria, i had something very specific in mind (amphibian, no front appendages, quilled-up head, scarred, etc.). my justification for no drop shadows: they're swimming.

[Si_Swe]

chuckly - The critique portion of the Concept Art weekly activities has been going on as long as the competition has existed. It is something optional, but I will never discourage critiques, purely because much of the Concept Art weeklies are about learning in addition to all the fun and creativity. If it wasn't about learning we wouldn't have a WIPs thread and I wouldn't encourage critiquing, which I whole-heartedly support. You think you're being patronizing for saying we get enough of this at work, but firstly: it's completely up to you to read and respond to the critiques, they are easily ignored if you feel above them. Secondly, do you really feel that friendly advice is something we should ever avoid? No one, not even the truly masterful creature designers we occasionally get in this competition (I'm talking the Andrew Hou/Adam Vehinge/Dave Melvin/Mike Corriero sort of level here) are above critiquing and, in my experience, have been just as responsive and appreciative as I've been, where I'm at in the semi-professional sort of level.

I understand defending your artistic decisions, it's a fair thing to do and your defence of those decisions is not in question. That said, never discourage people from going out of their way to give friendly advice. If it "takes the fun out" for you, I'm sorry, but this a place of learning as well. Crit happens.

[chuckly]

Zoiks and Rob Powell, it's great that you are enthusiastic but really guys you are the ones who need to take criticism not dish it out so much. You are not yet the teachers, you are the students and your drawings demonstrate this as clearly as your comments and observations do.
These are my helpful hints.

[j.zhang]

@chuckly: I think you just can't take critique, and your work can really benefit a lot from it...

[Kea]

chuckly - Crit happens.

That pun cheered me up

Zoiks and Rob Powell, ... you are the students and your drawings demonstrate this as clearly as your comments and observations do.
These are my helpful hints.

Wow, that was arrogant and patronizing. And baselessly so- the point about the drop shadow was spot on. There might be some circumstances where you can get away without it, but not here. They float weirdly and could do with some anchoring.

I'm comparing your work to the two guys you're sneering at, and to be honest Chuckly... a little humility would serve you well.

[chuckly]

A long time ago CA used to be a fun place , it now seems to be full of bullies and douches. Don't bother beating me up any more , I'm not coming back to read it.
I'm not the arrogant one here FFS.
Good luck and thanks.

[Kea]

A long time ago CA used to be a fun place , it now seems to be full of bullies and douches. Don't bother beating me up any more , I'm not coming back to read it.
I'm not the arrogant one here FFS.
Good luck and thanks.

What was initially the most minor and good natured crit you responded to with mad defensiveness, and despite a really respectful response you took it to the level of 'you artists are too rubbish to be telling me anything, you should keep your amateur opinions to yourself.' Then you want to run away crying bully?
Right.
Perhaps you won't read this. But If you ever chill out, would be good to see you contribute to the boards some more... I thought your work was rather good, and you had a very good sense of the spirit of the brief.

[z01ks]

Dude... what is fun? Fun is not taking everything so seriously.

All in all your work is really good and we were just looking to offer ways to improve it. I think every artist has to accept that his or her work will be assessed (whether criticized or praised, and the latter can sometimes bother an artist just as much) at some point and ultimately every artist can decide for themselves whether to follow that advice or not.

I never claimed that my drawings were at a high level. But I'm here for the challenge of getting better.

[marcoferrigno]

he he.. oh dear

[Yajmon]

As a working professional and fellow artist, I would like to encourage everyone to post crits and comments with continued kindness to others. Treat these voting polls as a team meeting deciding on which design best goes through to production. There's a lot of great designs here far better than mine and everyone gets a vote in my book. Lastly, It's also important to be respectful because you never know who comes along looking at these forums.

[Si_Swe]

I would remind folks that voting for oneself is not permitted and your vote will be retracted from your score if I catch you doing this. If you were unaware of this (admittedly not stated) rule, and would like to switch your vote to someone else, please PM me and I will be sure to edit the poll accordingly to account for this. Thanks!

[Rob Powell]

I really don't understand how things turned out the way they did here. I believe that my skill level doesn't dictate whether I can hand out crits or not. Part of the fun in these activites is learning and growing as an artist. Without learning, these weekly challenges are nothing more than a contest to create a bunch of pretty pictures. If that was the case, why not allow only working professionals to enter?
This kind of negative backlashing is what discourages people from leaving crits in the first place. Without feedback it is, I can't say impossible, but much harder to learn and improve on your work. Participating in dozens of these weekly activites and seeing little to no improvement in your work is what I call 'not fun!' I have learned quite a bit from being on CA and have improved immensly since I have first started, so I feel I owe it to the community to at least return the favour every now and then, and try to share what I have learned in hopes that it may help someone else! I personally welcome any sort of feedback whether it be from a professional, student or a beginner....as long as it is respectful!

Anyways I wish everyone luck, and I am looking forward to some sick stormy Wyrms and Wyverns!!!

[scorge]

Wow, sounds like someone needs a nap. Sayonara Chuckly.
Excellent job everyone. No crits from me. Wouldn't want to hurt anyone's feelings.