C.O.W. - #045: The Mover - VOTING!

**misledtomisery** · May 16th, 2006, 02:55 AM

thank you mike for the crit. it was all very true, and i need to think through my designs much more. so thanks for the eye opener, now its on me what to do with it.

voted mike c.
lots of great work, and tyranx's was amazingly painted. just beautiful. but mikes unique idea and thought process did it for me. the details and style execution really was great.

**SquirrelHunter17** · May 16th, 2006, 01:41 PM

wow, its really close between mike and tyranx. I wouldnt be surprised if it came down to one vote between the two

**Kian** · May 16th, 2006, 01:53 PM

Thanks for that crit Mike

Very good points. Hes not actually fourlegged. He's got two arms and two legs. I watched kingkong the other day and wanted to capture the nomadic powerful feel of kong, which is why i went for that pose.
But i agree, hes way too human looking.

**kyi_72** · May 16th, 2006, 05:07 PM

voted for tyranx-nice and strange design, excellent concept, beautifully painted and the textures are sick!

cheers.

k

**Vulgar`** · May 16th, 2006, 06:04 PM

Stephan_R got it.

You'da'man.

**Azathoth** · May 17th, 2006, 01:39 AM

Thanks to mike for taking the time to critique every one you did .That helps us wanabees (me) a lot . I am amazed I got A vote But I do welcome it with open arms , that encourages me to strive beyond where I am at , and drives me to do better next time . My vote went to Tyranx because it reminds me of StarWars concepts , I
know that sounds lame but it is true . I love the whole giant transport aspect.
As for the crit Mike gave me , thank you I Know the copy paste was lame
but I did not have much time this week and I was getting discouraged against the pros. This really helps me and makes me strive to do much better .Thank you . THIS THREAD ROCKS JABBAS ASS! We all Know the Huts don't move much , But COW makes him do the worm . I know he has told me so.

**Azathoth** · May 17th, 2006, 01:47 AM

Thanks to mike for taking the time to critique eveyone you did .That helps us wana bees (me) a lot . I am amazed I got A vote But I do welcome it with open arms , that encourages me beyond where i am at and drives me todo etter next time . My vote went to Tyranx because it reminds me of Starwars concepts , I
know that sounds lame but it is true . I love the whole giant transport aspect.
As for my the crit Mike gave me , thank you I Know the copy paste was lame
but I did not have much time tis week and I was getting discouraged against the pros. This really helps me and makes me strive too do much better .Thank you . THIS THREAD ROCKS JABBAS ASS! We all Know the Huts don't move much , But COW makes him do the worm . I know hes told me so.

**Bruce Jensen** · May 17th, 2006, 11:19 AM

Thanks for the votes. I was surprised, and happy to see I got a few there.

I won't even try to be as complete as Mike at the C&C but here's my 2 cents as I scan the voting thread:

misledtomisery- While the anatomy/design doesn't look like a huge towering creature, you could have 'sold' it better with a much lower pov, and a lot of atmospheric perspective. (don't use such dark tones in the creature- it will look bigger, and farther away.)

walnut- I get the compulsive rearrangement motive. It's very close to where I was starting out my submission too.

Tyranx- Nice painting. You've a good handle on that speedy looking, concept art style that I've come to associate with digital film design. Your tip on photoshop brushes a couple COW's back was news to me, and quite useful.

kian3001- Get the textures on your creature to integrate better with the form, and you have a nice painting there. The background works well-and the lighting overall is great. It reveals the form nicely.

MIKECORRIERO- Got my vote. I think you and JakkaS, get the most out of these on a consistent basis. You get a really great 'naturalist' approach. Very like an illustration from a guidebook, and in the best tradition of Wayne Barlowe.

-on the question of how my entry moves around- FERBLOOZLES have an organ that extends into n-dimensional space. This allows themselves to navigate the familiar 3-dimensional matrix at will. From our perspective, it is manifested as a localized disruption of the gravitational field. In effect, they levitate! (On reflection, I'd disrupt the background in the immediate vicinity of the FERBLOOZLE to add a touch of credibility to this notion.)

Now on to the Trash Monster!

**dark sepiroth** · May 17th, 2006, 11:28 AM

Yo tyranx.

Nice work dood.
it has a really great mood. I vote for u ^__^

**Muttonhead** · May 18th, 2006, 11:24 PM

Interesting batch of entries everyone. I was torn between Mike and Tyranx, but ended up going for Mike because I thought the idea was really solid, and showed some "outside of box" thinking.

Misledtomisery - Cool creature. I think your hot pink and yellows are competing though, and there doesnt seem to be a really obvious focal point. Also, your creature seems too light for a giant colossus. This guy would definitely be weightier.

Walnut - Cool creature, good color. The drawing seems wonky or off balance though, and could use a bit more anatomical study.

Tyranx - Your grasp of light and color is exemplary. I was THIS CLOSE to voting for yours... sorry, but be assured it was close. nice texture on his skin too... very believeable.

fuuryoku - Pretty cool beast. Also seems a bit off-kilter, perhaps the perspective is off somewhat. Also, you have warmer yellows in his hide on his hind legs, when really you should try to get your warmest hues up front, where the focal point is.

Yoszko - Cool concept. I think you may have gone a bit overboard with color, it doesnt feel very unified. Also, try to spend some time on your clouds and mist because they feel very "airbrushed" and not quite as natural and textured as the creature itself.

StephenR - Weird! Reminds me of those ugly little snub-nosed dogs with all its fur shaved off. Good lighting/clouds. The grass feels a bit too flat and way to "light green". Grass can be made up of a lot mor colors than just one evenly applied green.

Gorillagrin - Definitely a top runner. Great color/lighting. Also good action. For me though, it could have used a *smidge* more polish. Also, the legs feel like a bit of an afterthought and dont seem quite as realistic as the arms/shoulder.

Artastic - Bizarre creature man, I like how you think. It just feels a bit fuzzy, and undefined, and could benefit from some "carving" out of details. Also, he feels too flat, i think if you had less black in the shadows that might help. Also could use a little more time spent on the clouds.....

Jmac - Nice work. COuld benefit from a little more refinement and polish, but I love the concept. I think you definitely gave this one some thought.

Kian3001 - Also nice work. Good sense of drama, movement, and anticipation. I think you could have desaturated the background a bit more so that he really stands out a bit more.

Mike - Awesome. You definitely have your thinker thinking. The water could probably be splashing around abit more seeing as how it is currently being moved around.... that would also give it more movement, because right now the top part feels pretty static, while the bottom shows action. Love the grassy hair.

Soulweaver - Good concept, but the whole piece feels very flat, and could benefit from some warm hues to accentuate parts of the creature or the house... it needs more atmosphere, and your creature needs some more definition. Nice anatomy on the monster though.

Masque - VEry unique creature design. I wish the cape looked more luminescent though, plus, your creature isn't coming forward enough in the piece, the planets attract my eye first, as opposed to the creature.

hwango - cool idea. The composition of your piece needs a little work though. I wouldn't have chopped the ends of his wings off like that, instead, we should see the whole thing. The background needs some sort of overlap of background and creatue so that we can tell where the creature is, right now the mountains on the bottom could just as easily be in front of the creature as it could be behind it. Also, take a look at bat wings to get inspiration.

el coro - Nice! I like your creature, and how you imagined the people using it taking advantage of its' anatomy to control pulleys and levers and such, though it would probably really suck for those guys if the thing started going ape-shit and having a seizure. He doesn't feel quite as "heavy" as something this big must be. You do get the prize for best planet name though: "beavercunt7"

Jo B 1 - Not bad, though this guy could also have benefitted from a little bat-anatomy research. Long live GOOGLE!

Azathoth - Creepy concept.... I am a sucker for Cthuhlu-esque stuff myself. Not sure why you cropped it the way you did though. The top of the head of the one in the front is making a really glaring tangent with the top of the piece. I would have moved that one in the front a LOT closer for more dramatic perspective, and a nice opportunity to do some wicked eye-detail!

Undertow - Awesome creature. Yours was also a close second. Would have liked to have seen a bit more atrmosphere in that water.

Grendel Grack - Good pencil work. He needs a lil shadow though. Also, he looks like he might not be standing on a flat surface.....

Bruce Jensen - Another fav from this round. Would have liked to have seen a bit more finish to the items circling around his head. Cool colors!

BabylonCargoCult - Great creature. His body needs a little more "rounding out" and depth. Don't be afraid to go darker with your shadows in this case.

Zeitwolf - Hmmm. I guess the act of love-making aint a pretty sight. I feel sorry for that little boy with the wagon.

Phew! That covers it I think. Now I gotta get to work on my TRASH-MONSTER!

**Undertow** · May 19th, 2006, 05:10 AM

Woah, thanks for the comments and critiques guys. Hearing that I was allot of folks 2nd choice was really cool. Hell, even getting 1 vote is success in my book!

Now that I'm off the vicodin, it's time to critique

Hwango: That's a pretty cool concept you've got in your description, the actual design fell a bit flat due to the background the character was in. Having the creature done as an ortho might have been cool with something showing a bit of a scale indicator may help the presentation a bit if the background painting skills aren't there. Good effort and keep putting in more entries!

Masque: Your concept reminded me allot of the Mi-go. If you're not sure what they are, look up some HP Lovecraft stuff on them. Overall it's a really solid idea but the piece is an over the shoulder camera angle which is a big no no for an illustration where you're introducing a character for the first time. I'd try throwing in some more atmospheric distortion on the ground to bring that thing up in the air, the left foot seems to be touching the ground but other visual cues point to it flying rather high in the atmosphere. You could also pull the legs in instead of them dangling there. Good effort, keep it up!

Soulweaver: You know I was actually thinking about doing a creature much like this myself before I settled on the squid thing. It's a cool idea that's really rough to illustrate. I'm not sure you really captured the feel of the creature really being in the dirt though. I would've recommended doing a cut away ala earth science illustration where you see the different layers of rock, dirt, a few dinosaur skeletons for effect.. (you know, the fun stuff) to really push the illustration more. Overall creature design seems alright but I'd have questions about why it has a mouth and eyes if it rarely moves. The large tail and claws also don't really make allot of sense to me in that regard. Once again though, that was a rough concept to tackle, you get props for even giving it a shot!

Mike C.:
Dance your cares away,
Worry's for another day.
Let the music play,
Down at Fraggle Rock.
Heh, busting your balls man. Yet another great concept, well illustrated. I've really been digging your latest creatures, there's been some awesome growth in your style and actual application over the last 5 or 6 months. You got my vote because my wife liked your piece, in my eyes it was tied with Bruce's but my wife won the tie breaker.

kian: Cool concept, well illustrated but too humanoid. Overall it's a great render but the anatomy seems really wonky to me. Those hands come off as an extra bend that shouldn't be there at first glance. A bit more focus on realistic anatomy would really help this one allot. Great illustration, looking forward to seeing what you submit next!

J.Mac: Another well painted piece but the concept is way too humanoid. Grab a bunch of reference on various types of animals, insects and fish and study them to try and push the design a bit more. Great illustration, looking forward to seeing what else you would come up with if you gathered more reference!

artastic: that's one crazy cool concept. Like the previous 2 guys I'd recommend grabbing more reference. Check out insect anatomy and draw more from it for something like this. The concept is definitely there, the render and anatomy are what's separating it from being truly magnificent! Great effort, keep putting in those hours and you'll be owning these COW's in no time!

gorillagrin: Great render! This one was another one of the ones I skipped straight over because it's so humanoid in appearance. Push yourself a bit harder in the concept stage! You obviously know what you're doing when it comes to anatomy and painting, don't sell yourself short. Great looking piece though.

Stephan_R: Pretty piece, great concept. Camera angle would've made this one a killer if you went a bit more extreme on the perspective. I dig the concept and the illustration, can't wait to see more!

Yoszko: Cool concept, nice illustration, but the background feels really flat. It seems like you had the same issue that I had with showing more area in the water. The actual text description makes me thing that you had an idea for the creature but no real background for it when you did the piece. I suffered a very similar issue with mine. Good work!

fuuryoku: Cool concept and illo. The front legs don't really do it for me as in, they make the movement seem like it would be a pain in the arse to animate. The feet also seems overly large and take away quite a bit from the design. I'm looking forward to seeing what else you can do in future COW's. Good job overall, keep submitting!

Tyranx: Well, you've obviously got the majority vote here just for the render so you know you're doing that well

The design falls extremely short for me though. The scales and the spikes don't seem to fit the creature as they're inconsistent and don't really have any rhyme or reason. The body looks like it was based off elephant anatomy but comes off really rubbery. I'm with Mike on the ropes and the head kind of comes off as an afterthought. I'd love to see what you can do if you play allot more with varying anatomical structures from a few different real life animals.
Overall, great sense of scale, great looking environment, and extremely well rendered piece!

walnut: Great use of shapes! I really like the creatures design but the render and the story fall a bit flat for the final presentation. You're going to be an animal when you get those render skills up there a bit.

misledtomisery: Lots of potential! The piece comes off allot as 'Ugliest dog in the world with a city strapped on its back'

It's mostly the render that's hurting you. Keep at it and you'll crank out some winners!

Zeitwolf: By far the cutest concept this round. The only thing that didn't get the volume of votes is the render. Keep at it!

BabylonCargoCult: Great render, cool creature. You were #3 on my list behind Mike and Bruce. Can't wait to see what else you've got up your sleeve.

Bruce: Tied with Mike as my favorite.. maybe a bit more weight on yours but you can blame my wife for the tie breaker. Only thing I'd say is blow it up a bit more for final presentation and experiment with the eyes more. Kind of reminds me of a Dali painting.

Grendelgrack: Cool concept. Your main weakness is that you're not pushing your values hard enough in the piece. It reads really flat as a result. The other problem, (and one that I had in the past) is that no one tends to vote for the pencil entries which I think is a shame but then again, it has to be a reallllly well rendered piece in pencil to get the votes. Keep it up, and don't be afraid to dive into color!

Undertow: Focus more on the background before you design anything. First impression 'Oh look, it's a squid with different anatomy', BOOOORING! If it has a Japanese folklore origins, make it look like it does. Way to try and save yourself with some half assed design work hack. Work on your atmosphere, it sucks horribly. The composition is ok but could use a bit more originality. Keep working on your painting, you'll get there with time. Don't give up!

Azathoth: You know, it's funny, I've been working on a pen and paper RPG called CthulhuTech for almost 3 years now so the first thing I thought when I saw your user name was 'Be prepared for a reference to the Great Old Ones'

Your background could lend to some really interesting visual creations but could stand for a bit more originality. Stay away from the Lovecraft and pull from your mind and imagination, we know it's there! Work on those foundation skills with perspective and life drawing. Once you've gotten a strong grasp on the basics it will really help you push your designs a bit more to get a better sense of depth. Keep it up, you'll get there yet!

Jo B 1: Well, I think Mike C hit the nail on the head with this one. Good effort though and keep at it!