Grand Space Opera 2D Entry: sean murphy

[smurph]

double post

[smurph]

http://www.cgnetworks.com/challenge/entries/6/5418/5418_1102036697_medium.jpg (http://www.cgnetworks.com/challenge/entries/6/5418/5418_1102036697_large.jpg)

This was the first of a few different ideas that I\\\'ve been playing with. I\\\'m not particularly thrilled with this but thought I would post it anyway.

[smurph]

http://www.cgnetworks.com/challenge/entries/6/5418/5418_1102037032_medium.jpg (http://www.cgnetworks.com/challenge/entries/6/5418/5418_1102037032_large.jpg)

Here is the color version.

[smurph]

http://www.cgnetworks.com/challenge/entries/6/5418/5418_1102038963_medium.jpg (http://www.cgnetworks.com/challenge/entries/6/5418/5418_1102038963_large.jpg)

The idea here is that a mother ship is trying to evacuate a small village during an alien invasion.

[smurph]

http://www.cgnetworks.com/challenge/entries/6/5418/5418_1102039488_medium.jpg (http://www.cgnetworks.com/challenge/entries/6/5418/5418_1102039488_large.jpg)

Here's another sketch with an even larger alien ship in the sky above. I'm trying to get a feeling of enormous scale.

[smurph]

http://www.cgnetworks.com/challenge/entries/6/5418/5418_1102039726_medium.jpg (http://www.cgnetworks.com/challenge/entries/6/5418/5418_1102039726_large.jpg)

I changed a few things and added color

[cgkrusty]

I'm really liking this direction. I think if you could pull the "camera" down a bit more, looking up at the ships a bit more so that you could maybe see some fleeing villagers in the foreground. That would really add some scale to the piece. The foreground element will push your midground (evacuation ships) and BG (alien attacking ship) and give them some relationships to help emphasize the scale you're looking for.



Nice job!

[adonihs]

My opinon, I love the fleetcolor pic, I think that one is the most dramatic and filled with action, really "space opera" feel to it =)

[bonestudio]

In term of Impact I think I prefer mothership_sketch02 It's more epic, more dynamic

[NathanielWest]

I agree with bonestudio that mothership_sketch02 is definitely your strongest composition. I like your ship designs, and can't wait to see how you light this one. Great job!

[Squibbit]

wow, this looks interesting!

[smurph]

I agree that mothership sketch02 is the best composition and I agree that a foreground element would help allot. The fleet idea probably isn't origonal enough. It seems like this genre has been done so much that coming up with something origonal is really tough. I think I'm going to explore a few other ideas that have a bit more of a positive message.

[V_Shane]

really nice perspectives, can't wait for more! :thumbsup:

[smurph]

http://www.cgnetworks.com/challenge/entries/6/5418/5418_1102403365_medium.jpg (http://www.cgnetworks.com/challenge/entries/6/5418/5418_1102403365_large.jpg)

Here's another sketch in photoshop but I'm still searching for an idea.

[smurph]

http://www.cgnetworks.com/challenge/entries/6/5418/5418_1105063615_medium.jpg (http://www.cgnetworks.com/challenge/entries/6/5418/5418_1105063615_large.jpg)

Running out of time and still haven't found an idea that I love. This idea depicts a cataclismic event seen from the cockpit of a spaceship as ships try to escape from the hailing meteorites. Is this grand/iconic?

[cgkrusty]

I like it...

What about instead of having this view through a cockpit... you show the escaping ships leaving some people on the ground as the city crumbles behind them... that would seem more desperate to me. As well, there are a lot of "through-the-cockpit" entries...

I loved your earlier works... nail the sketch and get rollin'!!!

:thumbsup:

[smurph]

Thanks cgKrusty. The problem is I'm not so great with drawing the people, but maybe this is a chance to improve, or maybe they can be robots.
Thanks for the suggestion.

[ecura]

What you have here looks good. I can sense the tention. The spaceship design looks good, its heavy and bold ready to lift off. Keep it up.

[smurph]

Thanks ecura!

[smurph]

http://www.cgnetworks.com/challenge/entries/6/5418/5418_1105139629_medium.jpg (http://www.cgnetworks.com/challenge/entries/6/5418/5418_1105139629_large.jpg)

Okay, this might be the idea I go with. I think I'd prefer to go with a more light hearted theme as apposed to the doom and gloom stuff. It's a ticker tape parade to celebrate something, possibly a battle or maybe it's a St Patricks day parade. This is a first stab, I will probably change everything but it's a good start. I will try to make the robots seem bigger and probably tilt the camera up to do so. Any comments are welcomed.
Tick, Tock, Tick, Tock.....

[blakbird]

Both ideas seem good to go on for it. You have a little time left to complete. I entered the challenge late also and had the same experience of yours that "what to do" in such a rush.
But I think dont be a perfectionist at this stage and make up your mind in one concept ond continue on it.


If you like please check my entries. I need some comments.

http://www.cgtalk.com/showthread.php?threadid=197505

Thanks.

[smurph]

http://www.cgnetworks.com/challenge/entries/6/5418/5418_1105184142_medium.jpg (http://www.cgnetworks.com/challenge/entries/6/5418/5418_1105184142_large.jpg)

Okay, here's one more.

[MDN67]

Very great concept, your ship are gigantisk, i like it. But i hope you can finished your picture before the end because i want see the final image, good work, go, go, go

[smurph]

http://www.cgnetworks.com/challenge/entries/6/5418/5418_1105241240_medium.jpg (http://www.cgnetworks.com/challenge/entries/6/5418/5418_1105241240_large.jpg)

I replaced the mech thing with an insect like ship. I will have them swarming out from the mother ship behind. I may try to make the scene darker with a spotlight coming from the alien ship. Comments welcome.

[Aethyrprime]

Nice work so far. I like your concept. I will wait till more is completed before I post any crits. Keep at it.

[smurph]

http://www.cgnetworks.com/challenge/entries/6/5418/5418_1105248506_medium.jpg (http://www.cgnetworks.com/challenge/entries/6/5418/5418_1105248506_large.jpg)

I'd like to get some feedback on which of these three compositions works best. The only difference is the size and orientation of the mothership.

[twhiteart]

I think number 2 works best as a layout but I think if you can make the cliffs in the background higher about midway up the back of the ship it would help.

Good luck!

[KaleN]

I olso like the second one best

[blakbird]

I think 2 with a smaller ship. We can understand that it is far away high not needed to be unified with the closer flying red thing.

[walrus]

Ditto on what kuzgunoglu said: #2 with a smaller ship: Just make sure that its bottom is noit on a tangent with the top of the cliff. Good luck!

-mike

[smurph]

http://www.cgnetworks.com/challenge/entries/6/5418/5418_1105783860_medium.jpg (http://www.cgnetworks.com/challenge/entries/6/5418/5418_1105783860_large.jpg)

well I went with this idea which is a combination of a couple of ideas I had. My goal at this stage is to just submit something that looks like final artwork. Any comments?

[cgkrusty]

Just glad you made it in!

One other thing... glad I'm not in that ship!

:eek:

[smurph]

I wasn't even thinking about the poor bastards in that ship, just tryng to come up with a good composition....

[MDN67]

Very good pic i like the look of the ountain, very good paint, good work

[smurph]

thanks mdn67

[Maol Muire]

This scene conveys it's story instantly, with a great sense of drama. Great panoramic composition and particularily, the central shaft of yellow.

This is a very dramatic scene. Excellent artwork

[smurph]

http://www.cgnetworks.com/challenge/entries/6/5418/5418_1105827865_medium.jpg (http://www.cgnetworks.com/challenge/entries/6/5418/5418_1105827865_large.jpg)

If this were a real job I would probably have been fired by now, but it isn't so here I am tweaking my concept two days before delivery, I love it.
The thing in the lower left is a butterfly which represents hope, but can I finish it?

[Lovliebutterfly]

You have some nice sketches and concepts! I hope you'll be able to finish! Good luck and hurry! :bounce:

[Jezzarts]

I quite like the 'Mothership' composition on your first page. The most recent colouring seems like it's missing something. I'm sure it will look great anyhow.. keep it up!

[smurph]

thanks jessarts, I'll look into it, the sky color is weird I think.

[smurph]

http://www.cgnetworks.com/challenge/entries/6/5418/5418_1105841302_medium.jpg (http://www.cgnetworks.com/challenge/entries/6/5418/5418_1105841302_large.jpg)

moved stuff around, added ship and a moon but can't tell if it's getting better.

[LaRoyceJ]

Nice work Sean, I like the illustrative/narrative aspects of your style. For your piece, I would go in with more definitive contrast, in order to make the highlights cry out, and then your darker shades might aide a little more in accentuating the perspective that you have worked to achieve. Harder contrast will accentuate the depth that you are trying to portray.

You might be able to get that just by playing with the brightness and contrast dialouge box, in photoshop.

Either way, I love your style....I Hope to see the final.

Great work.

LaRoyce-

[conundrum]

that last post is a real step up, great proggression. i really like the way its turning out, althought the sky and distant planet seem a little plain for the rest of the painting, maybe adding a bit more detail and variety might help. other than that its great and im looking forward to your final

[walrus]

Smurph - It's looking good! I like the scale and rendering of the explosions that you've added, and that you moved the biggest one off to the side a bit. One area that is a little difficult to read is the lewest spaceship: It feels like it's blending right into the mesa. You could fix that compositionally by raising the ship, or by adding more contrast to the more foreground elements (i.e. the mesa.) After all, the ship in the upper left has a lot more contrast and it's presumably further back in the scene, so maybe the more forward parts could do with some stronger value differences as well? Anyhow, good luck in the final stretch!

-mike

[smurph]

double post

[smurph]

double post

[smurph]

ehemmm.....

[smurph]

http://www.cgnetworks.com/challenge/entries/6/5418/5418_1106016627_medium.jpg (http://www.cgnetworks.com/challenge/entries/6/5418/5418_1106016627_large.jpg)

ehemmm.. final
Thanks for all the help, I learned so much. Cheers!

[smurph]

and again.....

[conundrum]

congratulations on the finiashed painting, it has some very very vibrant comolurs and a lot of action but everything blends very well. it was good to see the progression, good luck

[smurph]

http://www.cgnetworks.com/challenge/entries/6/5418/5418_1106032484_medium.jpg (http://www.cgnetworks.com/challenge/entries/6/5418/5418_1106032484_large.jpg)

This is final image.

[SideAche]

nice finish - good luck

[Maol Muire]

Great Finish, Sean.



The concept, always good, was evolved carefully, but with a readiness to experiment with various compositional and color changes. This is the way to use digital art to it's greatest potential and you did that very well. You were always willing to share your experimental approach with others, which is one of the main points of this competition.



Many of your other ideas were also worthy of further development.



Congratulations. While I hope that your work gets official recognition, your successful participation among so many other superb graphic artists is by far the greatest prize that you win.

I look forward, as many others have already said, to seeing more of your work posted on this site.

Maol Muire

[Claireabella]

......... really great final image. I love the effect of the destruction raining down - awesome! Good luck. :thumbsup: Claireabella

[adel3d]

Excellent work!
good luck for voteing:)

[CGTalk Moderation]

This thread has been automatically closed as it remained inactive for 12 months. If you wish to continue the discussion, please create a new thread in the appropriate forum.