Grand Space Opera 2D Entry: Eric Browning

[JARhead]

Welcome to the challenge!


Ohh and good luck to ya!

[ebrowning]

Thanks, Jarhead!

[ebrowning]

http://www.cgnetworks.com/challenge/entries/6/4644/4644_1098949551_medium.jpg (http://www.cgnetworks.com/challenge/entries/6/4644/4644_1098949551_large.jpg)

Here are some thumbnails, with one brought up a bit (I'll post that seperately). I'll post a story blurb later to explain, but basically a child is playing on top of the remnants of a robot civilization, with a behemoth ship as a backdrop. I have children, and they could be at the zoo right next to the alligators but be enthralled by a bug on the ground- I like how they do that and am trying to convey that combination of being seemingly unaware of the "big picture" while being utterly focused on the tiny. I think it will help punch up the the big science fiction elements of the picture.
I work on paper, and then scan and develop further in Painter with my wacom. Thanks for looking!

[ebrowning]

http://www.cgnetworks.com/challenge/entries/6/4644/4644_1098949723_medium.jpg (http://www.cgnetworks.com/challenge/entries/6/4644/4644_1098949723_large.jpg)

Here's the further developed thumbnail I mentioned. I will do another pass or two at this stage, before moving on to the drawing.

[Peddy]

very cool. for some reason, i cant get the image of the little girl out of my head, but i keep thinking shes wearing the oversized helmet of a dead soldier on her head...

[ebrowning]

You just made my night! I saw it as something she scrounged and put on, I'm glad it comes across.

[stevetwist]

Woah - awesome concept - v.original.

I like this idea a lot. The fact that the girl is oblivious to the giant machine behind her, like you intended, draws the viewer into seeing the epic scale of the machine etc. It draws a lot of interest, it's something unusual, and is very very cool.

[Luter]

Really great composition. Sketch very effective. I don't know the story BG enough but anyway..It's a really good start. The BG could have many different ways of course.
A big ship like that, which "crushes" the mood (the effect is strong) or, why not it's a suggest, a perspective..by opposition to the little girl...maybe a different focus..
There is a lot of emotion in this picture.

[ebrowning]

Hey thanks!
What kind of different focus were you thinking? If I'm going to rethink anything now's the time.

[ecura]

Great concept, I agree its got a very strong emotional sense. Just be careful when you come to placing your work with the ratio size (looks fantastic in this long narrow format) we have been given in this competition cause it might take away that strong focus on the kid when the surrounding areas are filled in with the final artwork. Like it a lot, all the best!

[Luter]

When I talk about focus I mean the "point de vue", the "camera" (arh english...) you could put your camera higher and see a more vast scene, for example, a small displace of the main character(in the meantime that could reinforce the lonelyness), with all the elements of a space opera... don't forget the theme of the contest, "an iconic moment of a galactic civilization"...just a suggest of course, and my "point of view" :)
I'm clear ? sorry I'm french and my english is really bad..

[ebrowning]

Goli-
Your English is better than my French, thanks for making the effort! I think we're thinking the same, I made some adjustments to push the scale even more and hopefully better address the "grand space opera" idea.

Ecura-
Thanks, and I'll go back and re-read the rules! I love this sort of aspect ratio, but I'd hate to get disqualified over it. I actually have a thumbnail I did yesterday that would wiiden the aspect and still retain the composition.

[RaresH]

Very nice sketches. gives me a good idea what to expect. I like the contrast between the large ominous machinary to the frail little boy/girl. One thing to consider; we shoudl get right away what the boy is doing through expression so that the viewers dont get thrown off.The angle of his of the boy/girl to the camera migh obscure his/her expression. maybe if he was 3quarters facing us. Looking good.

Good Luck. I'll be watching this one.

[ebrowning]

Thanks, Rares-
It's going to be a little girl, and I think you're right, it needs to be clear what she's doing. She's drawing with chalk, and I'll need to work the angle a bit to get that across. For the final I'll get really solid photo reference because I think the picture will mostly succeed or fail based on that character.

[screamingwing]

Great idea. Very original. Cant wait to see it fleshed out. Good luck.

[Kadastrophic]

These sketches are looking good, I like the idea of the kid.

[ebrowning]

http://www.cgnetworks.com/challenge/entries/6/4644/4644_1099554016_medium.jpg (http://www.cgnetworks.com/challenge/entries/6/4644/4644_1099554016_large.jpg)

Here's further development of my idea, I felt like the ship wasn't massive enough, and to be as "grand" as the contest calls for I should really push it. So I added a ruined city between the child and the ship, making the ship more of a landmass now. The little black squigglies above the city are birds, which will be a cheap way of accentuating the scale.

[ebrowning]

I also knocked back the value/contrast of the ship to give it more distance, like I said before I'm going for "landmass" here.

[ebrowning]

http://www.cgnetworks.com/challenge/entries/6/4644/4644_1099555110_medium.jpg (http://www.cgnetworks.com/challenge/entries/6/4644/4644_1099555110_large.jpg)

I did a little further working out of the lower half, sketching in the \"dead robots\". I\'ll combine this with the previous sketch.

[ebrowning]

http://www.cgnetworks.com/challenge/entries/6/4644/4644_1099555559_medium.jpg (http://www.cgnetworks.com/challenge/entries/6/4644/4644_1099555559_large.jpg)

Here's the last two combined, I'm working on the composition. I did a thumbnail where the child is on sort of an island of scrap (as she is now) but it sits higher. Gotta sleep on it. I usually don't spend enough time on this stage, but this contest is a great excuse to take my time and get it right.

BTW, I do have a little paragraph I wrote up on the backstory, I'll post it soon if you're at all curious.

[stevetwist]

very cool stuff.

That new concept is deffinately an improvement - very epic, but at the same time, you've got this rush from epic to smale scale (with the girl), which I'm sure has some techincal name but I can't think of it, and certainly makes this piece a very interesting one.

I love the idea of a ruined city between the girl and the huge - and it's v.huge - robot, along with the birds, giving a great sense of scale to the piece, and also giving a more epic feel.

The added detail installment of the 'dead robots' sketch is very cool - helps to see what the scrap was that the girl was sitting in, and if you can get all that detail into your final image, along with great colour, light, and shadow, then I think you could be onto making a truely outstanding piece.

Good luck, and I'm really looking forward to seeing the next development.

[Speaky]

Hi EBrowning, I'm really taken by this idea, it'll make a charming pic and you are going to be able to build this huge contrast of sizes too. Angle is fine, I'm digging the long portrait format. In short... looking good, can't think of anything to crit, can't wait to see more!

[Tranchefeux]

Hi,
I like much this kind of composition, very poetic... cheer

[malcolmvexxed]

Excellent depth so far using tone contrast. can't wait to see the color choices

[ChrisThatGuy]

Very nice, although putting the girl on the center line kind of makes the image look cut down the middle. Maybe if she was on top of the right side of that scrap she's standing on, it would make the viewer's eye move around the piece more.

Just a thought. Nice work.

[ebrowning]

ChrisThatGuy-
Thanks, I was wondering about that. I think I'll try that- move her to the right. I was also thinking that I had a horizontal line right across the middle with the horizon, same problem.
Much appreciated!

[stevetwist]

On that theme then.... I'm sure you're fully aware... but just remember the rule of thirds and you can't go wrong.

Or at least try and avoid symmetry, this is a BIG compositional no no, lol.

Good luck in finding a good composition (I know how hard it is, I'm still trying... as you fully know, hehe).

[ebrowning]

http://www.cgnetworks.com/challenge/entries/6/4644/4644_1099728639_medium.jpg (http://www.cgnetworks.com/challenge/entries/6/4644/4644_1099728639_large.jpg)

I took ChrisThatGuy and Stevetwist's advice, here's a new version. I set up a grid in painter that divided it into thirds (thanks, Stevetwist!), and that helped me improve the composition.
I think I'm getting close, the next step will be to resolve the details- like the city for instance. I'll also shoot some photo reference, and generally get ready to do the drawing- and get my next milestone in.

[oldhobo]

nice, real dynamic pile up. the remnant in front reminds me of a broken cemetary statue. I look forward to the rest of it.

[stevetwist]

That's a much better composition - look forward to seeing the details of the city etc. - this concept ROCKS!

[AirbORn]

OMG! I love the composition, totally breath taking, this concept is just screaming storylines left right and center. Great job. The details will be a little tricky, but I bet you have a very good idea of what to do. :)

Keep up the awsome work!

[ecura]

I see you now have a foreground, midground and background in one composition. I personally think the midground shouldn't be as detail compare to the foreground and background. Overpowering that may lose focus on that connection between the little girl and the gigantic robot. But then again it may not be such an issue once colour is put in its place. The little girl shifted to the right works well. Great work! Looking forward to your next development.

[andreasrocha]

lookin' good...lookin' very good

The girl shift certainly worked out fine. The only thing I would suggest is to make the picture a bit wider so the eye can rest a bit on the several "grounds" of the image. It seems a bit narrow now.

Another suggestion would be to introduce more sky in the back, by lowering the spaceship a bit.

Can't wait for the coloring stage.

Keep it up!

[Hillartsympho]

wow this is a great idea, i have a feeling not many people thought to include kids! you've managed to make the figure very evocative, emotionally. your recent composition is strong, and i can't wait to see how this will look with color! are you planning to color it? and if so, have any ides about the possible scheme yet? good luck!

[ebrowning]

Hillartsympho-
Yep, it'll be in color. I'm trying to limit how many elements I'm working on at once. Once I get to the drawing, I'll be free to try out a few different treatments. I do have an idea of where I want to take it, we'll see if it works.

andreasrocha-
I will DEFINITELY think about widening it- especially if I lower the spaceship (so as to keep the mass of it there). One concern I've been having is that while I really like this oddball ratio, it forces me to zoom out just to see it. That means it won't be read as quickly by people simply because it won't fit on screen. So I'm thinkin' about it. Thanks!

ecura-
I think you're onto something- I'm going to have to do a lot of juggling to get all of this information to settle into a cohesive image. I believe I can do it but we'll see. One more thing I'm going to do is break up the horizontal line of the city, so that there isn't quite such a sharp division between fore/middle/back.

I'll put up another version (hopefully the last for the concept) soon.

[Gord-MacDonald]

The characters in the forground look like those forgotten by a civilization which looms so large above them. Great use of scale and point of view (camera angle?). Good work!

Gord MacDonald

[wibvisual]

Very Cool... it's similar to my idea (but completely different).. i love the imagry you have created... very "grand". I'll post mine when i get permission.

cheers

[paulwdavidson]

Congratulations, this has the potential to be absolutley stunning. It already shows so much emotion drawing you into it...............which all great art does.


Well done

Paul

[noelt]

So far this one has the biggest impact on me (even in b&w), can't wait to see it in color,it's got an Iron Giant vibe to it.

[ebrowning]

http://www.cgnetworks.com/challenge/entries/6/4644/4644_1099989391_medium.jpg (http://www.cgnetworks.com/challenge/entries/6/4644/4644_1099989391_large.jpg)

Okay, on this one I widened the image and lowered the ship, I like that it gives me more space to show the robot "mass burial", and I now have room for sky and a moon, two elements I had to let go of earlier. I also broke the horiszontal line of the city, and I think I have a better flow now from front to back, but I would REALLY appreciate anyone's opinion at this point. I'm not sure if I like this one simply because it's different or if I actually made some good choices. Thanks for looking!

[ebrowning]

noelt, Paul, wibvisual and gordonm- thanks for the kind words, they make a big difference at 12:30 AM.

[OKMER]

Really nice sketches Ebrowning!
Love the idea of the kid and I as a dad also Am also working on a pic with kids.
All those heroes out in space were a kid once!!!
I thought and this i s just an idea like many others of course(sorry I'm dutch/french and so my english late at night su**s :-) )
that maybe it could be cool if there is some action with the kid.Something like the kid climbing on this kind of island with a happy,asking expression on his face,just because there is a butterfly(for exemple) sitting out there.
Well,sorry that's just because your image really inspires me and so makes my imagination flow.
Anyway looking forward to see set up this in painter!
Later;-)

[Virtuoso]

Just dropping by to say I like your concept,really a nice perspective and idea.......keep at it strong,it's quite interesting and already real nice.......:arteest:

[ebrowning]

Okmer-
Thanks- I actually will have her doing something, but something small. I have kids too, and I love the quiet moments where they are focused on something tiny even if something big is nearby. I saw your entry- a subject near and dear to my heart, "coming home from work". I know my kids would prefer we lived in a tree with a flying car.

Virtuoso-
Thanks a lot! I've been eagerly following your piece, so I really appreciate the encouragement. So when DO we get to see the next step in your pirate piece??

[Kirt]

Try it with the large ship in the background mirrored. I think it'll create a nice diagonal pointing towards the child. Right now all of your diagonals go from top right to bottom left, drawing your attention away from the kid.

It may work ... if not you can always flip it back. :D

[ebrowning]

Wow Kirt- that never even occurred to me! I just went and tried it- I think you hit on something, I'll post it later as soon as I have a moment.

Thanks a lot!

[ebrowning]

http://www.cgnetworks.com/challenge/entries/6/4644/4644_1100107301_medium.jpg (http://www.cgnetworks.com/challenge/entries/6/4644/4644_1100107301_large.jpg)

Here's the same image with the ship reversed- I really like it this way, it helps helps the "flow" of it a lot I think. I could go on and on but I think I'll run with it. Thanks Kirt for the direction!

[Speaky]

That was a great idea to flip the bg. It transforms it. Every time I see this thumbnail on the view entries page it strikes me as one of the ones with the most potential, it works so well small that I'm sure it'll be utterly captivating when detailed out. Way to go, I'm loving it!

[stevetwist]

What more is there to say?? Yet again I'm impressed - very good work, I hope you find final concept soon, as it would be great to see this idea ddevelop into a final piece.

[Kirt]

Said one character actor to the other, "Who was that masked man?" :D

Glad I could help. It does look much better this way. Keep on rendering ... it's looking good!

[ebrowning]

Speaky-
There's a "view entries page"?! :banghead:

I'm glad there wasn't an I.Q. portion to this challenge.

[bolchover]

hello, your latest sketch caught my eye - looks exciting, and compositionally very strong.

[RaresH]

Looking good ebrowing!

Dont' forget that expression that'll breeth life into the character thus bringing everything together.

Good Luck.

[walrus]

Eric -

Hey, just dropping in after you posted on my thread. I do remember you from the old Shane's Board, you went by 'RCP' back there (or 'RPC?') Good to see you still doing beautiful stuff. This is looking great so far, and watching the progression, it just keeps getting stronger. I love the focus on the girl to really bring the human element into the illo. I'm just going to toss out a little idea, to take or leave: Have you thought about emphasizing even more the upper-left to lower-right diagonal to draw more attention to the character? It may not need it at all, its not like you want to take away from the giant robot in the background, and it's not like you aren't already doing a masterful job with the values to draw attention... I was just wondering how it would look with a building or two on the strong slant, up-L to lowe-R, or maybe some sunbeams or rays of light? Anyhow, like I said, just a random idea. No matter what, though, your piece is looking great and I can't wait to see the great colors you use for it.

Take care and good luck!

-mike

[ebrowning]

Hey Walrus-
Yep, it was "RPC", I looked it up last night. I should just use that everywhere, like you do. Great memory!
I will definitely try your suggestion, I was toying with the idea of sunbeams (while tracing over my sketch the values gave the illusion of sun hitting the girl and it looked nice); also I'm still working out the city so I will try that out.

Rares-
As far as the expression, I will shoot photo reference of the girl (convieniently I have children), and I'm going to do one where it's a profile, and another where she's looking toward the viewer and with her eyes looking over her shoulder- this last one might give it a tension that would change the whole look of the picture- I'll probably post two versions to get feedback.

Bolchover- thanks for the compliment!

[coCoKNIght]

Common, don't keep us waiting so long... show us more! :D

[ebrowning]

coCoKNIght-
That's high praise, man! Thanks!
I am working on the drawing now- since my "work window" is a narrow one late at night, it goes slow sometimes. I'll post an update this week.

[coCoKNIght]

Yuhuuuuu!! :D :applause:

[ebrowning]

http://www.cgnetworks.com/challenge/entries/6/4644/4644_1101196369_medium.jpg (http://www.cgnetworks.com/challenge/entries/6/4644/4644_1101196369_large.jpg)

Apologies to coCoKNIght- but here's my first bit of the line art milestone. I'm working in line and some value at the same time, I'm thinking if I make some of those decisions now it can only help when I get to the painting, since my overall values are decided already. I work with a soft pencil on (analog) paper. I'll keep doing bits and assembling them on the computer, I lack the patience to do the complete drawing without scanning it and tweaking to see how it's going.

[ebrowning]

I should clarify- this is the lower shadowey part beneath the girl- part of the robot junkyard, not an entirely new picture. I cropped it down to just what I was working on to save space.

[andreasrocha]

One of the robots looks like an earlier concept of SeeThreepio (C3PO)...looking very good. I specially like the box-like robot below to the right. Very retro.

[stevetwist]

wow, the detail's looking really good - can't wait to see the rest of this as a line drawing.

[ebrowning]

http://www.cgnetworks.com/challenge/entries/6/4644/4644_1101802367_medium.jpg (http://www.cgnetworks.com/challenge/entries/6/4644/4644_1101802367_large.jpg)

I don't know about the rest of you, but I get real uncomfortable showing stuff in progress- it's so...not done. This one is a further develpment of the drawing- not exactly "lineart", but a drawing nonetheless.
I will be tightening everything up, like the city for instance, and the values are off but will be fixed to be like the concept.
Can't wait to get onto painting!

[KaleN]

Wow! I can already tell that this we will be great! The composition is really powerfull. This is going to be emotive piece.

[Franky]

Emotional and real good stuff.Maybe not finished,but still real good,I like the idea alot.:applause:

[AirbORn]

Once again, I love the design and composition. But what I noticed with the new ones is that they no longer have a light to dark progress from the top to the bottom of the composition. I really like this effect in the previous concepts, but the new revision works well with me. Amazing work, congrates! :)

[stevetwist]

Your work is developing well. The detail is really cool. The city looks really good.

Can't wait to see this in colour, will make so much difference... should be a very powerful piece.

[Arctis]

Beautiful sketches !!!
I wonder what kind of colors you'll put on it.
Keep on ! ;)

[ebrowning]

http://www.cgnetworks.com/challenge/entries/6/4644/4644_1102431046_medium.jpg (http://www.cgnetworks.com/challenge/entries/6/4644/4644_1102431046_large.jpg)

Here's my first shot at the color, I'd love feedback.

[Niorger]

great idea and composition man ! keep up the good work :bowdown:

[bolchover]

this is looking promising - don't know if it is intentional, but the style of your colouring wip is appealing

[walrus]

That's looking great, Eric! I knew your piece would shine when it came to the colors... Er, not that it wasn't before the colors, but I know that you are good at the painting part. Anyhow, overall, it looks really nice.

The one area that doesn't work for me as well as the rest is the piece of machinery (or is it a building or a downed ship?) up and to the left from the girl. It's the hue: Everything else in the piece (not counting the sky) is in the purplish-brown-yellowish ares of the palette, and this one object sticks out as being more greenish-blueish and not tied to the rest of the piece. Bringing in the dark purples from the lower left of the painting would tie it in more, but then, it might bring that object more into the foreground than you want. A softer purple, something similar to the main background color but darker to bring it forward, could also work. But anyhow, just small ideas - overall the piece looks wonderful!

-mike

[ebrowning]

Niorger- Very much appreciated, thanks!
Bolchover-I'd say it's "mostly" intentional, but it's also a rough so hopefully I don't lose what you're responding to in the finish.

Walrus- What do you think of this- the background is supposed to be far away, so maybe if there were a clearer cutoff the color would work better. I'm not completely happy with the foreground colors, I do however like the blue/green metal piece directly behind the girl. I think what happened is that I wanted a more sunny daylight feel and was seduced by the glow brush into warm sunrise instead. Then after strangling it a bit I got warm mud. Somehow I want the girl to be the warmest spot, and the metal of the junk to still be warm while retaining a metallic feel. Sounds like a contradiction but I think I can do it.

So if I redo the foreground and use less warm earthtones I bet I can tie in the background a little more effectively. Suffice to say I'm taking your comments to heart- thanks!

[andreasrocha]

You'd love feedback? Now you're gonna get some. Your first colors are amazing! This looks very promising indeed. I agree with Walrus, the background looks a bit off, but then again it is the contrast with the background colors that makes the girl stand out. What you are suggesting might work, to turn the scrappile a bit more blue. That thing behind the girl looks a bit distracting. Perhaps you should rethink its form, or make it interact more with the object the girl is standing on. The dark area in the front is just perfect. You have to keep it in those colors. And that bluish shine to the right is great, too.

Can't wait for your further development of this piece.

[Tranchefeux]

Hi, I like much the contrast of your image and the poetry which if
releases.

[ebrowning]

andreasrocha- Great feedback- I'll iadd that to walrus's comments for my next pass. Vey much appreciated!

[ebrowning]

Tranchefeux-
Wow- thanks for even using the word "poetry"! YOUR piece is AMAZING!

[ebrowning]

http://www.cgnetworks.com/challenge/entries/6/4644/4644_1102520498_medium.jpg (http://www.cgnetworks.com/challenge/entries/6/4644/4644_1102520498_large.jpg)

Here's another stab at color- hopefully tying elements together better.

[draco_1967]

I think that flows much better. It definately works.


added this to my watch list...

[stevetwist]

It looks really good, and the colours do work well together. Only crit. is that I'm getting conflicting messages from the piece, the light blue sky suggests all is well, but we know from the big robot it's not - maybe change the sky colour to something more imposing, I dunno.

[ebrowning]

draco- thanks for adding me to your list!
Stevetwist- that may be a good thing- what's going on is things ARE good, but they weren't always that way.

[stevetwist]

Ahhh, I see (my mistake) - well in that case the colours work really really well.

I thought that the big robot was posing a threat to the little child, so either I missed something along the way or I got the wrong impression from the start.

Look forward to seeing more detail in the coloured version.

[Fahrija]

Hi Eric,

I very much like your composition and your technique > very loose and blurry but when closing eyes just a bit the sketch gets sharpen. Especially your thumbnail versions look very convincing and convey your content very well. Like andreasrocha I also like the color range you´ve choosen. The diagonal arrangement of your background shape adds some dynamic into the end time topic.

Greetings
Fahrija

[bolchover]

great revision of teh colours, it's coming to life. I like the looseness, but has to be balance between clarity of subject matter and painterly approach. Look forward to more :)

[ebrowning]

http://www.cgnetworks.com/challenge/entries/6/4644/4644_1102950294_medium.jpg (http://www.cgnetworks.com/challenge/entries/6/4644/4644_1102950294_large.jpg)

Here's some colorWIP- the background started.

[cgkrusty]

This is one of my favorite entries in the competition and every update keeps reaffirming that belief.

I love the lil' girl in the FG and the rest of the image is wonderful.

Beautiful work so far!

[Hillartsympho]

It'll be interesting to see how you handle balancing out the pastel color scheme (which i'm liking) and the reflective or dull qualities of metal. i think you may have found one way in your color comp you posted second to the last one where there is more contrast in the foreground

[walrus]

Looking really nice, Eric! Sorry for not responding to ytour question you posted, but it feels like you've been working your way through your own solution to your issues. I like the pastel tones you're using, very clam and soothing without being monotone at all. The white scribbles in your second-to-last post, they remind me of grafitti or chalk drawings, which is probably completely different than you were intending (I'm assuming they were supposed to hint at metallic reflection hilights?) Works either wayfor me, and I like the colors and how they come together. The warm ares definitely draw one's eye towards the girl. Did you remove the spaceship behind her? I liked how it was framing the piece.

Anyhow, good luck with it!

-mike

[ebrowning]

cgkrusty-Thanks! Monday will go a lot better after that comment.

Hillartsympho- I'm following the color comp, so the pastel background is meant to drop way back- and the foreground will be high contrast like the comp. I'm going to keep everything else on a layer in above the BG to keep them seperaet while I work on them.

walrus- the scribbles are chalk scribbles, but only on the plate of metal the girl is perched on. The other scribbles are, in fact, MY scribbles. For the comp I worked zoomed out so I wouldn't noodle, those scribbly spots will be metallic glints, more subtle probably.

[stevetwist]

Latest update looks great - the colours on the robot and the sky work really well - the city seems to have got lost in the image though, it's only visible in the very center, but I'm sure this was intentional.

[ebrowning]

http://www.cgnetworks.com/challenge/entries/6/4644/4644_1103296124_medium.jpg (http://www.cgnetworks.com/challenge/entries/6/4644/4644_1103296124_large.jpg)

I've begun the midground- niether the background or midground are complete but I want to move on and get every piece in, then noodle away. I'm also impatient to see what it all looks like.

Stevetwist- I pulled out the city, it seemd to be one element too many, and unnessesary since I added it to show how big the ship is. I think the ship reads big enough with out it, and I want it to dominate the background.

[Slav]

i really like this image... althoguh if i could express my opinion about the image it self... there is definatly scale and and interesting perspective but i think it lacks the whole conflict or civilaztion part... more of a single survivor. anywho i like the image none the less.

[ebrowning]

http://www.cgnetworks.com/challenge/entries/6/4644/4644_1103642504_medium.jpg (http://www.cgnetworks.com/challenge/entries/6/4644/4644_1103642504_large.jpg)

I've begun the foreground, starting to get all the values back in place.

[ebrowning]

Slav- you're probably right. This is more like the moment right after "the big moment".

[ebrowning]

http://www.cgnetworks.com/challenge/entries/6/4644/4644_1103642829_medium.jpg (http://www.cgnetworks.com/challenge/entries/6/4644/4644_1103642829_large.jpg)

I've begun the foreground, starting to get all the values back in place.

[Fahrija]

Hi Eric,

Beautiful colors. Very nice atmosphere. :) The fun part will be definetley painting the rusty junk in the foreground. Great work.

Greetings
Fahrija

[noelt]

It's very pleasing looking at the composition of this piece, i like the strong fore, mid, and background set up ,specifically, the progression from cool to warmer colors . Great job

[walrus]

Not much to say but that it's looking good, Eric! I like that you added that piece in to the right of the girl - i think it frames things well - and the warm hues around her are nice. No rits at this point, just good luck finding the time to work on it! :-)

-mike

[ecura]

The concept and the colour palette looking good. I see it all coming along very nicely.

[ebrowning]

http://www.cgnetworks.com/challenge/entries/6/4644/4644_1103903185_medium.jpg (http://www.cgnetworks.com/challenge/entries/6/4644/4644_1103903185_large.jpg)

Here's further work, more detail in the foreground. I still need to resolve everything, as well as do another pass to tie together the different elements (back, mid and foreground). The girl isn\'t working with the whole just yet, she gets lost. I\'ll keep trying things. I\'ll post a cropped version of the girl now.

[ebrowning]

http://www.cgnetworks.com/challenge/entries/6/4644/4644_1103903489_medium.jpg (http://www.cgnetworks.com/challenge/entries/6/4644/4644_1103903489_large.jpg)

the girl in progress.

[jcdied4me]

Eric,
I see you have found some time to finish some more of your piece. It is looking hot. Keep it up! Have a great Christ-mas and see you at work on Tuesday... I hope :D.

Take care,
Jeff C.

[ebrowning]

http://www.cgnetworks.com/challenge/entries/6/4644/4644_1105110646_medium.jpg (http://www.cgnetworks.com/challenge/entries/6/4644/4644_1105110646_large.jpg)

I made some pretty big changes to the composition, I felt it just wasn't holding together. the girl was getting lost, which ironically my original intent in a way, but it just didn't work. So thanks to the fact that this is digital I could restructure the whole thing.

At the 11th hour.

[cgkrusty]

I like the change... and hey, it's really only the 9th hour, at most.. the 10th... but we're easily a day or two a way from the 11th hour!

:)

[walrus]

Eric - Whew, I was afraid that you'd disappeared and dropped out of the contest, so I'm glad that we're going to get to see your finished piece after all! I didn't think anything was wrong with your earlier composition - because there's one character in it, i think one's eye would have zoomed into the girl no matter what size she was - but I think this works, too. The left spike on the pil;ler behind her feels a little ominous, but perhaps that's your intent. either way, it's looking nice... just finish it! :-)

-mike

[JasonChan]

This is the first time I saw this piece in progress and I must say this is one of my favorite pieces out of all of the pieces I've seen here.

My only critique at this point is that I think something looks odd about right leg (the one on the left). The boots look like they can't exist on the same plane, like it's too close and would be intersecting. I don't know if that makes any sense. Also, that leg looks shorter, too. Although, judging from the work you've done so far on this, I'm sure you've got everything under control.

Other than that, everything is just beautiful. The composition was great to start with and the rich colors you are using are just amazing. I can't wait to see where you take this.

Gotta bookmark...

[Tranchefeux]

Hi,
Your work with advanced good, I have much your blow of brushes and
the colors, good luck for the end.

[MDN67]

Very good picture, i like the concept of... after war, it's a little like the actuallity's picture of the conutry in war, with little chlids who play on the battle ground, it's very good, i like the color too, good work

[andreasrocha]

Great work, Eric. So many wonderful pieces now! Yours is definitely in the top 5. The blue shading is great. Like Evil Gerbil pointed out already, her left leg seems too short. Perhaps if you place it behind her head (in terms of depth) it will really look like a little girl investigating.

Congrats!

[noelt]

This is looking very good, this is one of the best, depending on how it turns out it could be the best. Love your style Eric. :thumbsup:

[Speaky]

Hi Eric. It's possibly my favourite pic in the contest, very refreshing change of pace and content. I think the latest colour scheme works incredibly well, please keep it like that! I'm enjoying picking out all the robots in the heap, and can't wait to see this one finished. More please!

[ebrowning]

Only a moment to reply- but thank you for the comments! I will DEFINITELY go back and work on the girl's legs, and I'm also unhappy with the boots. I need to go back and look at my reference and get this worked out. I'll post another as soon as I have the girl fixed and done.
As for the spike, I actually wanted even more stuff like that, glad at least one piece survived and was noticed. :)

Thanks again you guys!

[ebrowning]

http://www.cgnetworks.com/challenge/entries/6/4644/4644_1105891911_medium.jpg (http://www.cgnetworks.com/challenge/entries/6/4644/4644_1105891911_large.jpg)

Nearly done- will make minor tweaks today and post final tonight.

[cgkrusty]

Beautiful!

She looks fantastic... my only thought would be that the shadow needs to be darker right under her, to ground her to the object she's sitting on. Really like the addition of the birds...

It has a great sense of melancholy / regret to it, which could be a bit depressing but the birds and the youth of the girl talk about rebirth. A wonderful mood and sentiment in the piece!

Great stuff!

[conundrum]

an awesome take on the topic backed up by some excellent painting ability. the girl is certainly improved and the colours are wonderful, no crits so good luck and im looking forward to seeing it finished

[walrus]

Looking good, Eric! The colors and finishes have really worked well. Nice flesh tones... and metal, too, for that matter. And I love the birds in the sky!

I acree with cgkrusty about making the ground underneath her a bit darker to help ground her on the platform. But also, I'm curious what kind of mood you intended to convey with her face. More than any of your earlier posts, the expression on her feels like one of strong bitternss (it's the downturn of the mouth and the angle of the eye.) Was that what you intended? Now granted, with her whole planet presumably in shambles, she certainly has a reason to be bitter. However, it's not the most attractive of emotions, and because it comes across as a negative one, it ends up leaving me with a vaguely unsettling feeling viewing it. I much preferred the ealrier expression which read to me as one of simple, almost neutral enjoyment of the current activity.

One last little note, hope you don't mind: I'm glad that that upper spike is working the way you want it to, and glad I was interpreting that correctly. The slab directly underneath it, with the yellowish tint, is sort of blending right into the city behind it and is a little hard to read, at leat on my monitor.

anyhow, great work, i love the way you've taken the theme and done something so markedly different than so many of the other entries, and I also just love looking at all of the fun details in the robot heads and parts in the landscape. Glad you had time to finish this!

-mike

[ebrowning]

cgkrusty- I agree- I previously had a much darker and vibrant shadow under her which got lost- I'll fix it.

conundrum- just plain thanks!

walrus- again with the shadow- I'll definitely fix it. I also agree with the face- I was going to leave it, but you make a good point. The original intent was that she's basically oblivious to the stuff around her, focused on her own little thing. I'll go back in and see if I can't get that back. Lastly- you're right again, I never addressed that metal. It really does blend in.

Thanks you guys, you've given me my final task list!

[Arctis]

I agree with all the remarks made above, but I just wanted to say that I really love the expression of the girl ! Great work ! :thumbsup:

[AirbORn]

Damm, I missed so many of your posts. :( But I am glad to see it finished :) I fell in love with your entry since your first concept 3 months ago and I am glad to see that you didn't drift away from it. Good luck!! :)

[Tonsen]

Ah, great style! And your content is very fun and suprising. I'm not sure if it was mentioned before, but the red of her shorts could be toned down a bit or desaturated. Other than what was mentioned...I just love it.

Awesome.

[Gord-MacDonald]

terrific entry - Good Luck!

[Xccelerant]

My first thought of your image was fully along the lines of your synopsis. Second idea was that it was all taking place within a childs imagination.The robots, like dolls and toys that kids throw around, and the one robot in front the imaginary friend. Great image, like the square headed robot in the background!

[coryloftis]

Hey, great concept. The subject really catches you. I don't know if this was mentioned, but maybe upping the saturation (warmer), unless it changes the overall mood of the piece you're trying to create.

[igorstshirts]

I can't believe I've missed this... You convey alot of info in your composition. Love the ducks but the girl is the most amazing. You are the digital Norman Rockwell.

[ecura]

I've recalled watching this concept from the being and seeing it now near complete is amazing. It's a wonderfully inspiring master piece. This is going down as one of the favourites. Good luck.

[ebrowning]

http://www.cgnetworks.com/challenge/entries/6/4644/4644_1105972194_medium.jpg (http://www.cgnetworks.com/challenge/entries/6/4644/4644_1105972194_large.jpg)

DONE! Not that I couldn't noodle on it for three more months. I incorporated just about every comment I got except for the overall saturation change to warm it up, I wanted the girl to be the warmest spot and everything else to be cooler.

Can't..believe..it's done.

[Velinov]

Great work:)

very cute:thumbsup:

[CodeNothing]

cool! :)
quite a releaf from explosions and battles.

[YasushAzush]

You have done a realy good job .....i realy like the job .....intresting environment.....:cool:

[walrus]

Great changes to inprove an already strong piece. Bravo, Eric! Good work! (now go rest! :-)

-mike

[JasonChan]

Absolutely stunning :eek: I love it. I hope you don't mind if I save a copy on my computer for inspiration.

[Tranchefeux]

Hi, Bravo for the final , your image super which is touched
brushes, good luck. :thumbsup:

[ChrisThatGuy]

Looks fantastic. Best of luck.

[MichaelPhilip]

This picture is wonderful:thumbsup:

Congratulations on a very good job

[azazel]

Simply charming. Well done, great image :)

[WillSweat]

I get this playful feeling whenever I look at this (which is hard to do). Very well done, you got my vote.

[Falcorr]

Heavy on story, Heavy on colors, Heavy on depth, Heavy on shapes!
Thats supperrrr heavy! :bounce:

Yet so cute. Good luck! It was great seeing your evolutions. Half way to your evolutions i was thinking you ruined the pic, but you kept on improving :thumbsup:

[ebrowning]

WillSweat, azazel, MichaelPhilip, ChrisThatGuy, Tranchefeux, Evil Gerbil, walrus, visualact.com, CodeNothing, Velinov,You guys are all awesome- thanks for taking the time to post here! You have no idea how much I appreciate the kind words.
Falcor- thanks for the candor- I love it! I thought I ruined it 9 different times.

[NinjaA55N]

He he... very original and very well executed! :D The story behind this pic is really grand... and I just love ur style :) good luck!

[Virtuoso]

Just dropping by to say give my regards to a charming and sweet as well as nicely executed piece.......Nicely done,wonderful effort and results......:buttrock:

[element5]

Another image I missed out on watching the progress, I really like the feel of this and the wonderful execution/tecnique and style....job well done...:thumbsup:

[adel3d]

Awesome Work
You Had my Vote!:deal:

[kengi]

i like the contrast of the image. soft child and hard robo-ships. big and small. and the nice pastel colours. thumbsup!!! :thumbsup:
pacefull mood of the picture is great!

[artist71]

got my vote!!

[Squibbit]

that little kid is incredibly cute ! well done!

*runs to vote*

[sandu22]

good work and very nice ideea.good luck

[DimitrisLiatsos]

Very sweet work and idea....i really love that little girl ....congrants friend for a very beautiful work :bounce:

[vivaroni]

I can't stop thinking about the story behind your piece. You can really run wild with the imagination. I also can't get over the sensitively you displayed in painting the little girl. Did you use a real model? Excellent work. You got my vote!!

[warthog]

Cool concept. i like the different parts of machines around the character.:thumbsup:

[Nemein]

LOVE the innocence portrayed in the image..

[SUN]

:thumbsup: EEEEEEEEEeiiiiiiiiiii Great work :thumbsup:
i like it a lot the little girl
VOTE is HERE :)

[element5]

Cogratulations Eric!!! :thumbsup:

[cgkrusty]

Congrats man... awesome job!

[Tranchefeux]

Hi, All my compliment for your price. :applause:

[Squibbit]

HAH ! forgot this one in all the confusion..

Congratulations! This really is a great piece with the sweet little kid.

[Tommy Lee]

Awesome work... Congratulations from my side of the world too:thumbsup:

Cheerz

Tommy Lee

[vampeta]

Fantastic piece of Art.

I feel the emotions in there, absolut great.

You must be ecstatic too !! ;) :bounce:

See U

[Fahrija]

congrats eric :thumbsup:

[monsitj]

congratulation eric! your work is great ! and one of my choice! as you know 2d entry quality is very high , and your work is one of that too!
hope to see you in the next challenge !

[adel3d]

Cogratulations

[Arctis]

Hi,
congrats for your price, nice pict.
Bye. :scream:

[NinjaA55N]

Congratulations! :)

[walrus]

Congratulations, Eric! I'm glad I'm not one of the ones who has to say "I forgot about your piece," or anything like that. Glad I could watch it develop from the start!

-mike

[TeemuR]

Congrats, ebrowning! Very cute entry and nice colors. :)

[todd4cgi]

Congratulations! :applause:

Personally, I think your image is the most original idea-wise of the entire challenge.
A bittersweet and moving image. Excellent work, beautiful art!

[DimitrisLiatsos]

Congratulations! :applause:

Personally, I think your image is the most original idea-wise of the entire challenge.
A bittersweet and moving image. Excellent work, beautiful art!



DITTO....from the moment u started coloring on this ...i was very fond of this image...very happy for u ..i wish i had this printed im my work room :thumbsup:

Best wishes for the future.

[ebrowning]

Thanks guys, I really am enjoying the posts- you have no idea! I tell you this site has been like medicine- doing the challenge has really helped me get disciplined outside of work and there is just nothing like getting live feedback. Thanks for taking the time to post on my thread!

[cha0t1c1]

oh man I followed this thread for ages, but I got too engrossed and forgot to leave comments...what can I say: too tall :D j/k it's gorgeous I really love it, truly and with complete sincerety congratulation on such a beautiful job...

[calisto-lynn]

beautifull! great idea! i could never imagine it would turn out like this! fascinating!:thumbsup:

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