blackhead

[FootstepsBeckon]

i wanted to do a very pale woman (to signify purity) with a massive oddly shaped black head to show some sort of loose rage she was undergoing. Ive got the loose idea now but ive justt been looking at the paintovers thread and reckon i need to punch the values more for a greater contrast...aside from that i dont often get much in the way of refining or rendering and normally think a piece is finished before it actually is.

Any pointers/flaws please let me know

[FootstepsBeckon]

punched up the values- more to come

[Incinerated]

hey there, remember to flip your image once in a while. Your ballance is somewhat off, she'd fallover if she stood like that,
I suppose you could lean her against a wall with the unrendered hand but still.

[FootstepsBeckon]

the original ref had her leaning on a stick which would explain the shift in bodyweight i dont have an explanation for in mine- thanks for the heads up

[Revidescent]

Hey, here's a bit of a paintover. (I went back and looked at your reference for some of this; it's kind of sad how easily I recognize mjranum stock, heh.) The first thing I noticed was that there's no way she was "very pale" - to me, she's reading as more of a mid/darker skintone under a very strong light. Second, her legs were kind of short. Third, I don't think any amount of rotation will balance the pose - unless she's leaning on something, I think you need to move that leg to balance.

[Hexokinase]

I have a few problems with the concept and the execution. You say she has a "massive oddly shaped black head to show some sort of loose rage she was undergoing". All I see is a study where you avoided painting the head, and what feels like an inferior version of Pyramid Head in terms of design. This is my impression at least. The black head/object is supposed to symbolize rage, but how so? What shapes or colors represent rage? Why? Have you explored other concepts that don't involve obscuring the entire head? Did they work in some ways, but fail in others? Why?

With the head obscured, you'll have to really sell the concept with the pose. However, you used a stock photo and followed in without question. The pose doesn't work with your concept, because it wasn't designed with your concept in mind. The pose doesn't convey "rage", "inner turmoil" or anything of that nature. Unless you take the reference image yourself, the odds that the pose will perfectly suit your concept are very unlikely. This means you should be designing the gesture from the ground up, then seeking/taking reference photos that are suitable for your plan, not the photographer's.

Fundamentally, this piece is part study, part original work - but it doesn't do either of them very well. If you want to do a study of this pose, then go all out and embrace it as a study. Learn as much as you can from it, then move on. If you want to explore your original concept more, then you'll have to start from square one. Experiment with different ideas to convey "rage". Experiment with different gestures and compositions. Thumbnails are key throughout all of this. Let the gesture you create determine what references are suitable, and not the other way around.