Where Fears Roam, Philip Straub (2D)

[I-NetGraFX]

Nice and moody artwork!

[andreasrocha]

Beautiful artwork. I think you hit the nail with that skylight...+5

[noelt]

That is so good, i really love how you sometimes get this luminescence going on, there is a painting you did that shows a ring of jewels (or something) and the biggest jewel is kinda bursting out of water and there is this light under the water, i always go to your site just to look at that light, sometimes i stumble unto the effect (erasing into light) in my drawings but i always ruin it because it was an accident......i don't want you to explain this because i'm getting close. Good work Phil Straub, oh yeah, besides the lighting everything is great no comments, perfect. Hold on , i just looked again, and i was thinking maybe that spike that's pointing at the dove could be bigger (occupy more space) maybe, just my feeling won't make much difference this is a 10 already. :thumbsup:

[Philipstraub]

Here's the larger version for quick viewing.

http://www.philipstraub.com/assets/Concepts/where_fears_roam.jpg

[AngryScientist]

So beautiful and flowing, amazing lighting, amazing everything.. I'm glad you shared more of your art for that book! I'm in love with it since I saw your Nightmare Factory (hope I got the name right!).
i'd like to note that the bird looks amazing, doesn't look pasted like a lot of other digital art all over the internet..

[Philipstraub]

So beautiful and flowing, amazing lighting, amazing everything.. I'm glad you shared more of your art for that book! I'm in love with it since I saw your Nightmare Factory (hope I got the name right!).
i'd like to note that the bird looks amazing, doesn't look pasted like a lot of other digital art all over the internet..
Really happy to hear you enjoying the work from the book, it helps to push me to stay up those late hours to get the content done.
Thanks for the compliment on the bird....I appreciate it becuase I really worked hard to not make it look "pasted" on as you said.

Best,

Phil

[GlenGramling]

this is awesome, and i have a new desktop image.

[Gekido]

Glen, as do I :D

I love this work...breathtaking, and that ray of light makes be think this place of fear won't last much longer..?

[Carnifex]

Philip, that's an amazing piece. Incredibly well done. For some reason the spikes on the plain surrounding the "tower" makes me think of teeth. I have this nightmare image of the "teeth" moving in a continuous flow towards the tower, snagging animals, humans, anything and dragging it to the hungry maw of the Tower. Very nice!

[thesuit]

This is extreamly nice looking...
I find the composition somewhat dull... maybe if you ever concider giving it a second hand... put something more of a foreground element. Maybe bring one of those spikes in the floor a bit closer to focus or one of those steaming sticks... that would really pump up your composition if you place the new elements in a side framing manner.

Anyways thats just my humble opinnion this looks great!
:thumbsup:

[Ollarin]

Wow! Excellent work! Truly awe inspiring!

Reminds me of Mount Doom in Lord of the Rings for some reason. O_o

[ervine]

That's wonderful work!! The first 2 birds look a little strange though... but that's just a minor point..

BTW, just wondering which part did you use maya?

[SpaceTik]

Fantastic atmos! reminds me of when I used to play Diablo. hehe

[zilverink]

you sure got inspiration from the lord of the rings... but this is very nice.. love it ;)..

[Quack!]

this is an amazing painting... good work! http://cgtalk.com/images/smilies/thumbsup.gif

[a1ph0r]

Awesome :applause: , great detail :D. If other pieces for the book are this good, its gonna own!

[jfb]

This is Fantastic, I like a lot!

[Logick]

everything really looks great, no crits here, i really like the light coming down, i like the fog around the thorny shapes, the main structure i would say is "inspired" but still amazing, colors are great, mood suits the image quite nicely, also yes the bird captures the perfect amount of light reflection from the light source, really impressive, just curoius how much did maya have to do with this image?? thanks for sharing btw:buttrock:

[Philipstraub]

everything really looks great, no crits here, i really like the light coming down, i like the fog around the thorny shapes, the main structure i would say is "inspired" but still amazing, colors are great, mood suits the image quite nicely, also yes the bird captures the perfect amount of light reflection from the light source, really impressive, just curoius how much did maya have to do with this image?? thanks for sharing btw:buttrock:
Very little Maya was actually used. I blocked in the basic structure of the piece in Maya and that initial block in was based on my sketches. Somewhat similiar process to the tutorial on the "Ghost Train" I describe in the D'artiste book. Thanks for the compliment on the image

Phil

[elnady]

Great peace man:)

[Garma]

absolutely stunning. It's been a while that I've seen such a great use of colors. congrats.

[Keroberus]

It's awesome in it's composition, structure, colors and shadows.

But it's not really that scary :) I mean, there are birds, vegetation... even in the "Tower of the fear" there's some grass on the side :) It doesn't really strikes me as scary.


I'll buy the book anyway, it's beautiful! What's it's name, by the way? :)

[character]

damn. that's just....damn. you just scrambled my brains

[Philipstraub]

It's awesome in it's composition, structure, colors and shadows.

But it's not really that scary :) I mean, there are birds, vegetation... even in the "Tower of the fear" there's some grass on the side :) It doesn't really strikes me as scary.


I'll buy the book anyway, it's beautiful! What's it's name, by the way? :)
Thanks Keroberus!
Yes, I can see your point there....that this image alone isn't very scarey at all, and I agree. There is the hint of hope in the painting, which is symbilized by the doves that are entering the scene through the ray of light. It is meant to be a turning point in the story and this painting really represents the edge of the "nightmare realm". There is another world that represents a whole different set of idea's just outside of the rock like portal structure you see in the piece. So in order to really understand the title for this piece and the meaning behind it you would need to see the supporting images. Think of it like this, if you only saw a clip of a movie you wouldn't be able to surmise the bulk of the story from just that clip, would you? Well, this is the same type of thing.

Thanks for your comment man!

Phil

[xiaoyi]

Dear philips.See your work me feel very happy again.Your work always is filled with the marvellous imagination.The skill method be familiar with.You are great artist.:thumbsup: thanks you work.

[RLyons]

Very swish,

[CLONEOPS]

once again i reel back...straub-stunned.
a1-high class-topnotch.finest kind.
To see this is like you have grasped unto to edges of some epic dream state and pulled an alterverse onto the canvas.
-man you must have some bitchin theta waves upside.
stylin..bombastic..elegant and a visual delight.
..except that undefined blobby right side of bird flyer -mid section 1/4 space over.
ahh so i see it's going to be one of a book plate..you got me hooked damn good.
If you can tell us..who is the story writer for your book.? -and at what size is this work done at.?

[FrozenSun]

Very nicely done. The lighting in the sky definately gives it a cool factor, and the bird is nice as well. Good job :thumbsup:


.:FrozenSun.:

[Philipstraub]

once again i reel back...straub-stunned.
a1-high class-topnotch.finest kind.
To see this is like you have grasped unto to edges of some epic dream state and pulled an alterverse onto the canvas.
-man you must have some bitchin theta waves upside.
stylin..bombastic..elegant and a visual delight.
..except that undefined blobby right side of bird flyer -mid section 1/4 space over.
ahh so i see it's going to be one of a book plate..you got me hooked damn good.
If you can tell us..who is the story writer for your book.? -and at what size is this work done at.?
I love your feedback....so stylishly written! ....its almost poetry unto itself.

I can tell you who the writter is.....its me, yes me. GASP!!
I know, I know it scarry, however I have done some writing before and not all of it is tutorial fair like D'artiste). A good editor is always the friend of any author, right :)
The size of the painting....to damn big, my computer was hating me throughout the process. This is about 18 x 12 at 300 dpi.

Thanks for the comment,

Phil

[phoenix]

very lovly work and impressive

[penartist26]

sweet! perfect lighting! nice concept :bounce: :thumbsup:

[Christoph_H84]

Awesome picture!
I really get goose bumps from that scarry mood. It's like something from another universe.
The ground fog around the spikes, the tower with this hell-like lightning, the incredible sky with this light ray. Amazing work!
Looking forward to have a look at your book.

[MFTituS]

wow

even in the darkest place there is hope........great athmosphere and colour.
i like this rolling(dont know if it is the right word, maybe curvey) castle and the dead ground.
those spicey ground looks like a graveyard, the spikes remind me of hundreds of soldiers which have fallen in the battle.

maybe a glowing from these eyes in the spikes would add something to the scene....

[CLONEOPS]

I love your feedback....so stylishly written! ....its almost poetry unto itself.

I can tell you who the writter is.....its me, yes me. GASP!!
I know, I know it scarry, however I have done some writing before and not all of it is tutorial fair like D'artiste). A good editor is always the friend of any author, right :)
The size of the painting....to damn big, my computer was hating me throughout the process. This is about 18 x 12 at 300 dpi.

Thanks for the comment,

Phil Ah-ha..i just though maybe it was the graphic novel of author X or something.
it might indeed be scarey....
i know not yet, how well you arrange these jumbles of symbols to arrange into a barrage of strings and clusterings called sentences ,paragraphs and whatnot ,
into the thing called Story..
-looking forward to it greatly though gotta say.
Well to do, to have a spare editor on hand though.- i hear they can spell
correctly too...put punctuation in all the right places...stuff like that.-damn critics.

I suspect it's not leaning toward a Woody Allen flavored ambling introspective...

-Nooo.. i think i see doorways into skies, tunnels,mirrors/non mirrors,goganthic ethereals swarthing ,earth cracking armies- jousts over goneby slices of time and still steaming wreckage of sidetime apoclyptic mishaps.
..vastly wreaked and twisted ages past -struggling to realign itself with a destiny
seen through diafrazmic hazes..a heroine of uncanny ability.--she one and three.
....or hey a maybe really nice fable...i dunno.
I would get a laugh though if a large purple dinosoar somehow made it's way
the storyline.
How many pages do you happen to see as filling the story? ..and for a book are you usually pre- set as to amount of plates you think will accomplish the telling at the start or do you allow some leeway in this?
Hey is this is Not the First pic you released?!... is there others?......

gone hunting.back later.

[techart]

amazing work Philip....love it alot.....the mood ...everything.....The chromatic is absolutely cool and the clouds also...love your style big time.....lotr kind of...cheers

[Philipstraub]

wow

even in the darkest place there is hope........great athmosphere and colour.
i like this rolling(dont know if it is the right word, maybe curvey) castle and the dead ground.
those spicey ground looks like a graveyard, the spikes remind me of hundreds of soldiers which have fallen in the battle.

maybe a glowing from these eyes in the spikes would add something to the scene....
Ya know, I actually thought of that...and its is a really good idea. When I tried it during the process of the painting, I had trouble pulling it off. the eyes were drawing too much attention to themselves and away from the focal point. Now that you've mentioned it...I may just have to try it again. It would give it a little bit of a lovecraft feel....and that would be cool.

Thanks man,

Phil

[Philipstraub]

Ah-ha..i just though maybe it was the graphic novel of author X or something.
it might indeed be scarey....
i know not yet, how well you arrange these jumbles of symbols to arrange into a barrage of strings and clusterings called sentences ,paragraphs and whatnot ,
into the thing called Story..
-looking forward to it greatly though gotta say.
Well to do, to have a spare editor on hand though.- i hear they can spell
correctly too...put punctuation in all the right places...stuff like that.-damn critics.

I suspect it's not leaning toward a Woody Allen flavored ambling introspective...

-Nooo.. i think i see doorways into skies, tunnels,mirrors/non mirrors,goganthic ethereals swarthing ,earth cracking armies- jousts over goneby slices of time and still steaming wreckage of sidetime apoclyptic mishaps.
..vastly wreaked and twisted ages past -struggling to realign itself with a destiny
seen through diafrazmic hazes..a heroine of uncanny ability.--she one and three.
....or hey a maybe really nice fable...i dunno.
I would get a laugh though if a large purple dinosoar somehow made it's way
the storyline.
How many pages do you happen to see as filling the story? ..and for a book are you usually pre- set as to amount of plates you think will accomplish the telling at the start or do you allow some leeway in this?
Hey is this is Not the First pic you released?!... is there others?......

gone hunting.back later.
Another great response...ha ha..I love it!

All in all I think the book is probably going to clock in at about 150 pgs. I have an idea of what I'm looking to accomplish but I'm not limiting myself to anything at this point. A-lot of the earlier work for the book is just concept art, some I will bring to finish others I will probably keep more sketchy.
I have posted a few other paintings for the book on this site. I'll post a few on this thread in a few.

Phil

[CLONEOPS]

Another great response...ha ha..I love it!

All in all I think the book is probably going to clock in at about 150 pgs. I have an idea of what I'm looking to accomplish but I'm not limiting myself to anything at this point. A-lot of the earlier work for the book is just concept art, some I will bring to finish others I will probably keep more sketchy.
I have posted a few other paintings for the book on this site. I'll post a few on this thread in a few.

Phil ah.. so you just riding the crest of those theta waves...diggin it.
i understand that process..one thing propagating the next..the next inspiring
a revision.
150 ... zang!! and in what size format?..-i have a few older
roger dean,syd mead etc, 12x12 inch and with that size it just takes on a whole new meaning when you pop it open...it has the heft and feel of like some kind of a tome.,i appreciate the way some people set up their books,paper choice ,layout,intros and extros.
etc...really an art itself. -
...
Some really limited edition traditional japanese art-work books
are a wonder to behold...not talking manga here.-more tradition stuff, archives.
not just the contents,but the wraps are outta this world.

.. strangely nuff a those shark stabby prods look kind of they almost been there a while...base is semi- encrusted..some remnant of long ago.-maybe enhance that a bit....if that was your intention.? they almost look as if they connect somehow..or were working in unision and had some purpose at one time..burnt out now.-silent.
i see maya has a part in this..are you the 3d guy on this too?

...add -other thing too.- compared to 'crossroads" this pic is echelons above in the painterly style.. has mega more depth and nuancing...just portrays a sense of atmosphere that is unstoppable....and for a poet i would think it has a more decriptive spectrum- subtely vibrant in it's execution and purpose.
C.P.

[oxyg3n]

Nice image, I really like the environment and the atmosphere.

[olijosman]

Great environment, Indeed.I love de sky :thumbsup:

[Scorpy]

Wow! This looks amazing! Love all the details! Awesome style Philip.

[Philipstraub]

Thank you again for all your comments!

[gabrieldevue]

I feel kinndof stupid to write this, but I really get this ... fan-feeling, this 'i need to collect everything you did', nightmarefactory completely got me, but this... blows me away.

is there anywhere in the net, where i can finnd infos on this book? when do you release it? shipping costs etc.?

[Philipstraub]

I feel kinndof stupid to write this, but I really get this ... fan-feeling, this 'i need to collect everything you did', nightmarefactory completely got me, but this... blows me away.

is there anywhere in the net, where i can finnd infos on this book? when do you release it? shipping costs etc.?
gabrieldevue: Thank you so much for your kind words. I'm really glad you enjoy the work.

The only info on the book currently will be on my site. I have section in the site especially for sneak peaks on the production of the book, although I haven't completed it yet:) Since I have a full time job and freelance illustration business its tough to juggle everything. Realistically the book probably won't be complete for at least 18 months, over 100 illustrations to be included in the book. I will Occasionally post an image here and there to recieve feedback and when the book is nearing completion and ready to hit stores I will be sure to make an anouncement,

Thanks again,

Phil

[DavCole]

I love the mood and the sky is great.

[CF.air]

:thumbsup: nice job

[AbueroAllenstein]

Very good as always.

[nashya]

I can barely think what to say... This piece has me speechless. I can't do backgrounds/landscapes to save my life so seeing your art is a huge inpiration to me. I love the eerie mood this piece gives off. And the shark fin things, those are awesome. You've got some serious patience to keep doing those over and over again. I'll be watching out for this book for sure.

[grandma]

very cool! good :thumbsup:

[Virtuoso]

Simply beautiful..........A touch of surreal horror,mixed with stark beauty.The piece permeates "mood".A wonderful feel,the lighting and colors are gorgeous...........I tip my cap to you Phillip........:arteest: :arteest:

[Tilstrom]

excellent job, well done. :)

[Sardinha]

simply lovely!!, the atmospherics and that great dramatic sky lighting really are awesome..cheers!

[Philipstraub]

hey, thanks again for all your fine feedback!!

[nekro]

you are one of the best artist for me, much respet

[Krulwick]

Dark beauty at its best.

Call me crazy but I would like to go there. I love environments that make me feel this way whether 2D or 3D.

I cannot think of any way to improve on this work. It is perfect to me.

Thank you for sharing this.

[LittleFenris]

I didn't read through all 3 pages of responses, but I was wondering if we could see a wireframe of what was done in 3D and what was added in later in 2D?

Absolutely beautiful painting BTW.

Thanks

[Enayla]

Here it is, at CGtalk no less! How could I have missed it?

At any rate, my favourite new piece of yours, I can't help but drool on it (I so hope you don't mind the soaked spots, I'm sorry).

<3

[carbonmatter]

I went looking for more of your images - boy am I glad I did. Awesome work man! Surreal, sinister, very cool!

[redneckstudio]

Another excellent piece. This is a book I'd like to read. Has elements of Mordor but is unique to itself.

[fuku6110]

i like the fog, great atmsphr, what if there is only one bird, why the others seems go to another direction? and i think what if the light is pointing at the single bird.
overal it was great, i see a bird escape from bat castle

[Dehel]

When I saw your image, "Stairway to Heaven" came playing to my ears...
Beautiful colors. The sky reminds me of Turner, modern-style.

[marcotronic]

I know it´s been a long ago since you posted your painting but I must tell you that this is by far the most beautiful piece of artwork I have ever seen. Absolutely out of this world - You can´t be human... :)


all the best,
Marco

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