Grand Space Opera 2D Entry: Gerardo Lin

[GaeasHerald]

http://www.cgnetworks.com/challenge/entries/6/5484/5484_1102909146_medium.jpg (http://www.cgnetworks.com/challenge/entries/6/5484/5484_1102909146_large.jpg)

Hi everybody, this is my first sketch. It's supposed to be a nebula, and a new star is being born. The hands belong to alien gods that shape the universe at will. They're more of a metaphor for creation, rather than actual hands. This is the background for the rest of the story

[montclaris]

Original idea, and nice sketch so far. :thumbsup:
Eager to see more. But you're late, hurry up ! :bounce:

[bonestudio]

Very unique concept :)

[GaeasHerald]

Thank you guys :) . Montclaris you're absolutely right, I am very late, but I've been busy with my Uni exams...

Anyway, I'll get back to it right away.

[KaleN]

Very interesting idea. I hope that You will have enough time to finish this promissing piece.

[GaeasHerald]

http://www.cgnetworks.com/challenge/entries/6/5484/5484_1102956574_medium.jpg (http://www.cgnetworks.com/challenge/entries/6/5484/5484_1102956574_large.jpg)

Second sketch so far. These are whale-like creatures that inhabit the nebula. They're enormous beasts that thrive in the open spaces, and filter the stardust as they eat. Their conection to the "alien gods" is still unknown, but they are thought to have something to do with how the creation of new solar systems is set in motion.

[GaeasHerald]

http://www.cgnetworks.com/challenge/entries/6/5484/5484_1102983235_medium.jpg (http://www.cgnetworks.com/challenge/entries/6/5484/5484_1102983235_large.jpg)

Last element to be added. Here's where things get interesting (hopefully):

The cycles of creation come together with destruction of older things. The creation of a new star meant that something in the nebula had to go. This was the truth for a small inhabited planet called Kiartha. Soon after the genesis of the star had begun, tremors started disrrupting life on Kiartha. Kiarthians did not take long to put the pieces together.

The constrution of huge vessels to carry the worlds' population to a safe planet begun at once, but after a few unsuccessful tries they realised that the world's resources in their present state would not be sufficient for such endeavour. Wars broke all over Kiartha, and few cities survieved what is now remembered as "the dark years".

When political climate settled at last, the survivors came up with a plan. They would capture and tame one of the whale-like creatures, and use it to pull the long abandoned vessels, with the remains of the Kiarthian civilization inside them. Years passed before one of these beasts had been caught, by which time the population had dropped to a cuarter of what had been left after the dark years. Tremors had taken a dreadful toll on Kiartha.

My image attempts to depict the ultimate success of this civilization, and the promise of new life. Any crits & comments are welcomed!

[GaeasHerald]

http://www.cgnetworks.com/challenge/entries/6/5484/5484_1103047522_medium.jpg (http://www.cgnetworks.com/challenge/entries/6/5484/5484_1103047522_large.jpg)

Just playing with the placing of things. The whale and the ship will be tied through chains or something (trying to figure that out).
Crits and comments welcomed.

[cgkrusty]

I really like this concept, very ambitious and I can't wait to see how you pull it off, how you realize the hands within the concept.

Looking forward to more updates!

[GaeasHerald]

http://www.cgnetworks.com/challenge/entries/6/5484/5484_1103078106_medium.jpg (http://www.cgnetworks.com/challenge/entries/6/5484/5484_1103078106_large.jpg)

Very basic starfield to set the mood. Think I'm gonna go with a greenish blue for the surrounding "atmosphere", and with cinnamon brown for the "clouds". What do you guys think? I'm desperately in need of feedback.

[montclaris]

Ok, there's not much to comment yet but i'll give it a try.

First you have a very good concept idea. A kind of a space exodus towards a promise land, leaving everything behind. I particularly like the idea of a technological civilisation needing to ressort to "animal" power because their technology won't fit their needs. A leap back of some sort, to a "naturalist" way of life.
BTW, your alien whale is awesome, and you already know i liked your "hands modeling a nebula".
Now critics : you should draw chains or anything to link the ship to the whale. Because the way you picture it for the moment, it's very difficult to understand what's going on. Your composition is not so good also. I know it's hard to give a sense of depth in space, but you're facing a scale problem. The creation process is supposed to be huge, i guess. Then for all the elements to fit in your picture, i think you will have to put your whale-vessel in the very foreground. I'd present a tighter angle, just has if the whale was going to collide with the camera.
This way, you might give a feeling of depth, preserve scale and add some a melancolic mood (hopefully) on the theme : "It used to be our planet. It's the last time we can see it. Soon, our glaze will turn to new horizon, but for now let's remember the times when we lived there... etc...".
Also, i think you can submit any kind of height / width for your picture, so go for a panoramic if it helps (for the moment, you've got much of "void space" and it flattens the picture)
Everything in my own and humble opinion. Hope it helps :shrug:
Keep up:thumbsup:

[GaeasHerald]

Montclaris, oh wise one! I loved every single line of your comment:love:. I'm already workin' on the second whale-vessel comming straight towards the camera. I thought I could add some smaller ships (really small), firing lasers to the whales in order to control them. Maybe that could give it a little more dynamism and depth, as well as enhancing the hugeness of these beasts and the perspective that it is lacking.

:) Keep the comments coming guys!

[GaeasHerald]

http://www.cgnetworks.com/challenge/entries/6/5484/5484_1103161300_medium.jpg (http://www.cgnetworks.com/challenge/entries/6/5484/5484_1103161300_large.jpg)

Hey everyone, new sketch, trying to improve the feeling of depth, and give a more majestic look to the whales. The vessels will have more detail, but not much. There's already too much to take in, and I don't want to complicate things. The tinny triangles are supposed to be starships that fire lasers to control the beast. They won't get too much detail either. Hope you guys like this.

[GaeasHerald]

http://www.cgnetworks.com/challenge/entries/6/5484/5484_1103253442_medium.jpg (http://www.cgnetworks.com/challenge/entries/6/5484/5484_1103253442_large.jpg)

Been working really hard, trying to make the most out of the advice given to me, and here's what i've come up with. Still need to tweak the proportions, but I'm getting closer. This is by no means a colour test, just trying to figure out which angle works best.

[ecura]

Very unique concept. Maybe if the hands were closely integrated with the whale similar to one of the original image posted would look more grand. At the moment the main elements are scattered, just a thought. Looking good anyhow.

[montclaris]

Your new composition is so much better ! :thumbsup:
The new position of elements gives a better idea of scale, and depth. As you said, it's difficult to predict what comp will do the best job of illustrating your story without testing many configurations. But i definitely think you're on the right track. Try moving the main whale closer (even if you have to crop some parts of it), make the nebula a little less excentered, and so on. i don't know if it will improve your picture but try it to be sure.
And to "unscatter" the various elements (as addressed by ecura), try hiding/croping/covering parts of them. It's certainly a pain but if it provides a better achievement to the composition go for it, because in the end, it's what will make the difference between a good and a superb picture.
Your first color scheme test even if not a test, is good. The blue color of the surroundings of the nebula reinforces the feeling of a whale sailing in a sea-space dimension.
It's all i can think of for the moment.
Good work and keep on the same rate, everything will go smoothly. :bounce:

Edited because my english is so poor i was barely understandable :blush:

[GaeasHerald]

Thank you for the comments guys. I'm hoping that colour will help bring things together, right now it looks as if things have just been thrown around rather carelessly. I've tried moving the hands, but this was the way that it best gave an idea of the vessel-whales moving away from something, and also convey some indignation (the whale lookin' backwards). Probably I'll move the main whale forward, and ditch the other one. The void space could be filled with the planet Kiartha, showing signs of distress, like cracks, volcanoes and that stuff.

New wips coming soon, I promise.

[GaeasHerald]

http://www.cgnetworks.com/challenge/entries/6/5484/5484_1103314928_medium.jpg (http://www.cgnetworks.com/challenge/entries/6/5484/5484_1103314928_large.jpg)

Minor tweaks to previous elements. It's incredible what a picture of Vallis Marineris can do to a composition. I will paint my own planet of course. Guess it's time to start the painting process.
Comments and crits, as always, welcomed!

[GaeasHerald]

http://www.cgnetworks.com/challenge/entries/6/5484/5484_1103418209_medium.jpg (http://www.cgnetworks.com/challenge/entries/6/5484/5484_1103418209_large.jpg)

Been trying with different colour schemes, and this is what turned out of all the trial and error. Still needs a lot more dramatism, but with some tunning of the levels it should work fine. It will have a little more contrast, but right now I'm interested in the hues. What do you guys think?

[GaeasHerald]

http://www.cgnetworks.com/challenge/entries/6/5484/5484_1103499201_medium.jpg (http://www.cgnetworks.com/challenge/entries/6/5484/5484_1103499201_large.jpg)

Not much to say here. I wanted to show how the paintwork develops, so one of the hands is way more elaborate compared to the other one.
Any comments?

[ecura]

Going well. I think the clouds are a bit murky in colour. It probably needs more saturation to it but as you know its a testing game. Just mindful of the surrounding lights and reflections, it can make or break the mood you are trying to convey. Clouds are soft, light weight and almost transparent up close, the outer edges of the form you are trying to show seem to look a little bit too harsh. Studying how clouds light up can also be a benefit. I'm sure the added details will make this work look very stunning. Its a great concept keep it rolling.

[GaeasHerald]

http://www.cgnetworks.com/challenge/entries/6/5484/5484_1103577632_medium.jpg (http://www.cgnetworks.com/challenge/entries/6/5484/5484_1103577632_large.jpg)

New try... Right now I'm struggling with the cloud formations. They have to be fluffy enough to look like clouds, but the hands need to have definition. They also have to blend nicely with the rest of the nebula.
On the bright side, I think the new color scheme is a keeper. The last one was just too mellow.

[GaeasHerald]

Ecura, thanks for the advice. I've been workin on these clouds like a madman, I even went to the coastline after a party, to see the sunrise and get inspiration. Guess I'll post the next wip tomorrow, but thanks to your comment, the clouds now do look like clouds (and not like an ink spill). Always good to hear from you!

By the way, I was wondering if we can use a scan as long as we paint over it. It's just that I'm starting to love the Mars picture on the corner, and I reckon that with a little bit of paintwork it could look fantastic. Anybody knows?

[cgkrusty]

I think the definition on the hands can come from a combination of shading and negative space... let the space define the wrinkles in the hands instead of 100% forming them out of nebulaic gases... maybe that will work?

This is a very difficult visual problem, and how you treat it will determine the success of the piece.

The question you should ask yourself is:

a) Are these hands being formed from an entity overtaking this nebula in space to make the galaxy?

b) Are these hands an optical illusion during the creation of the galaxy?

I think you had said that they're (a) early on. If that's still the case then I think you can make them obvious without worrying about subtlety in representation.

Really looking forward to seeing this image evolve!

Great work so far...

[GaeasHerald]

http://www.cgnetworks.com/challenge/entries/6/5484/5484_1103649952_medium.jpg (http://www.cgnetworks.com/challenge/entries/6/5484/5484_1103649952_large.jpg)

Things are going smoothly here. I'm quite pleased with these new set of hands, they're getting fluffy enough, aren't they? Comments have been extremely usefull, so keep'em coming!

[AirbORn]

I am having a little bit of a hard time to figure out the story behind the concept. It looks interesting and your colouring is going well. But I feel that the one thing that I have a hard time with is like I mentioned, the story behind it and what the "grand" aspect is.

[GaeasHerald]

AirbORn, I know that just by lookin at it, it's difficult to understand the story, and some elements haven't still been fully developed, so I'll try to recap the story. It's never too late to go back to the concept and reanalyse it.

The thing here is that there are god like creatures that take control of the nebula to create and destroy things. The rules however are that for each thing created, some other has to be destroyed (some sort of a karmic balance).
The alien gods began creating a star (wip showin the star coming soon), which implied the destruction of an inhabited planet. The inhabitants of the planet tried to build ships to travel to a safe place, but since the planet was crackin' up, they weren't able to take advantage of the natural resources. Years pass and the most of the population dies, and finally they decide to capture a "space whale", which is a creature that wonders through the nebula, and use it to pull the remains of a ship with what's left of the population inside.

The grand aspect of my concept, hopefully, is that the ship (which is currently nothing more than two lentils), carries the population of a whole planet, and represents the hopes of an entire species.
For me, the beautiful side of it is that I can work with thing with very different scale. For instance the hands in the back are the largest elements; they're enormous, porwerful and relentless, though slow. The whale is obviusly not as large as a star (or the hands), but from our point of view it's still huge and magnificent. The vessels hold people that are insignificant compared to any of the other elements, and their life span is way shorter, and still they fight fearlessly for their survival.

Please check the earlier post to better understand the story. Always a pleasure to answer questions about the concept. Thank you for your comment:)

[GaeasHerald]

http://www.cgnetworks.com/challenge/entries/6/5484/5484_1103746342_medium.jpg (http://www.cgnetworks.com/challenge/entries/6/5484/5484_1103746342_large.jpg)

Here's the whole nebula. It's been a challenge to find the correct contrast between lit and unlit clouds. Added the star to make it easier to see where the light source is, but it can still be changed. I'm about to start with the vessels and the whale, so wish me luck!

[montclaris]

Coming along nicely. I think you did a great job shaping the nebula.
Keep up and merry christmas :beer:

[GaeasHerald]

Just realized that there two minor flaws in my concept, so I'll try to work arround them. Here they are:

A) The exchange star-planet doesn't seem fair right? What kind of crapy gods are these?
B) The only light source in the system is the new star, so... How did the little guys live before that? What was their energy source?

The solution is quite simple: the gods create a new solar system, and destroy an older solar system. That's why the other star (which does not appear) is not powerful enough to light up the scene on it's own. I'll add some planets near the new star, and give the whale a faint reddish ilumination. I don't know if this changes anything at this point, but it's been bothering me for a while.

[Hillartsympho]

nice painting so far! i bet you could pull off thae hands beter if you make the areas f the forms that are convex slightly transparent- subtley letting the dark color of space show through.

[GaeasHerald]

http://www.cgnetworks.com/challenge/entries/6/5484/5484_1103929713_medium.jpg (http://www.cgnetworks.com/challenge/entries/6/5484/5484_1103929713_large.jpg)

Very rough coloring of the whale. I hope that when I add the laser shots, the profile of the beast will become clear. Right now in testing the general light, trying to make it feel like space and underwater at the same time. I'm trying to use as much refernce material as posible. The tricky side of it is that the blueish light here is supposed to come from the gases, which helps with the underwater part of it, but I've got to remember that in space there are no caustics!

[Heliogabalo]

nice work....god artist

[GaeasHerald]

http://www.cgnetworks.com/challenge/entries/6/5484/5484_1104112981_medium.jpg (http://www.cgnetworks.com/challenge/entries/6/5484/5484_1104112981_large.jpg)

I added some detail to the whale, and slightly changed the background color to make the profile clearer. The whale is slightly purple, which I thought could contribute to seperate it from the rest of the image. Thanks for the support, comments and crits.

[ChrisThatGuy]

Nice concept, and the piece is starting to look really good. I can't believe I haven't seen this until now. I look forward to seeing the final.

[GaeasHerald]

Hillartsympho, jorge and chris, I haven't have the time to thank you for visiting my thread, your advice and support is precious to me! Please keep sending crits and comments; that's what I owe the good features of my work to.:bounce:
By the way, Hillartsympho, you're right about the clouds, I'll do as you say as a finishing touch. Right now there too may things that need my attention, and very little time. :sad:

[GaeasHerald]

http://www.cgnetworks.com/challenge/entries/6/5484/5484_1104282779_medium.jpg (http://www.cgnetworks.com/challenge/entries/6/5484/5484_1104282779_large.jpg)

Light shining through the gases. Tried out the opacity thing on the clouds, but the results were somewhat dissapointing. I know I said this would be left for last, but guess that I'm simply obsesive-compulsive.

[KevinJM]

Hi m8,
the first thing that i really liked with your work is the idea. This is really a very original idea and the way you illustrated it is very unique.I really like your light set up and the mood of the whole scene give that impression you wanna illustrate.keep up the good work:buttrock:

[GaeasHerald]

http://www.cgnetworks.com/challenge/entries/6/5484/5484_1104437003_medium.jpg (http://www.cgnetworks.com/challenge/entries/6/5484/5484_1104437003_large.jpg)

Did some work on the planet. It's starting to look like the one on the logo, right? I did not see that coming... Anyway, I also added the smaller ships. They are supposed to be large, but compared to the whale, they should look like flies. Comments and crits welcomed.

[GaeasHerald]

http://www.cgnetworks.com/challenge/entries/6/5484/5484_1104610711_medium.jpg (http://www.cgnetworks.com/challenge/entries/6/5484/5484_1104610711_large.jpg)

The long promised laser shots are here. It should make it easier to see the contour of the whale. Still working on it. Also trying to balance the contrast this time. Do you guys think it\'s too dark? Any comments welcomed.

[Falcorr]

Looking good.

Try to increase the volume of the hands and add more depth to the picture.

I was just looking at the things going around the whale. They look small almost unimportant to me. Personally i think you should put all the effort to the hands and volume of the pic.
Remove the muffled colors in the cloud cluster.

Make it epic!:thumbsup:
Good luck!

[ElFuego]

Really "divine" feeling there! It's more like 2001 space odyssey part 3 :)

Looks good but I would fiddle more with the shadows in that coloring WIP.

Keep'em coming!

[Ad lucem]

Hi,
I've been following this thread for some time and I think it's amazing how fast you're making progress. You're really achieving the goals set in the sketches and with a good atmosphere.

There is still something with the light falling on planet that I don't understand. How far is it compared to the nebula and the new star? The shadow you added in the last version helps, so perhaps you should try to adjust it in a way that it shows the perspective.

Can't wait to see more!

[GaeasHerald]

Thanks guys for the support and comments , they're really helpful.

Falcor: the piece does need more depth round the back, but I can't make the hands bigger because they are not actually the focal point. I still have to paint the lentil-shaped ships behind the whale, it's just that I'm having trouble setting the perspective right. Promise that as soon as they're in place the image will make more sense (specially the tiny ships).

ElFuego: work on light and shadows goes on and on, thanks for the crit:) .

Ad Lucem: It is hard to create the feel of perspective when there are no straight lines, but you're right about the light making the planet look closer to the star than it should. My dilema is that it should only have a rim of light, but having an atmosphere part of that light is scattered. Maybe bluring it a bit would work? The line it creates, however, is important to the composition, which I'll try to explain later.

Once again, thank you for visiting my thread, and keep sending in crits.

[Ashton]

Your image reminds me of Josh Kirbys - Disk World illustrations. I like the oil look and the roundness of the lines. I has good composition, drawing the eye deeper into the image.

From the whale to the hands, I feel you have some empty space. Perhaps you could add some more whales or a school of fish. Are you going to draw the whales eye and some explosions on the body?

I like the darkness in the image and the way you use blue as well as black.
Grand Space Opera 2D Entry: Ashton Simmonds (http://www.cgtalk.com/showthread.php?t=198332)

[montclaris]

Hi Herald, ;)
great progress. You were late but fortunately, you work fast !
I like the overall look your picture takes.
A few crits if they might help : the red cracks on the planet surface seem too organic IMO and they don't fit well mith the planet's volume. Giving them a geometric shape (broken lines), could add a dimension to your soft painting. The laser beams are a good idea.
Your nebula is fantastic, but i think you've got a contrast problem. The nebula's colors are less saturated than the ones seen on the planet. It seems non natural for the light comes from the nebula. As i understand it, you want to create a transparency inside the nebula's clouds. I suggest you increase the saturation and decrease the value to achieve this result, because for the moment, the "transparent" parts close to highlights are filled with a dull green that flattens the contrast.
Just a thought.
Keep up !

[GaeasHerald]

Ashton: it's great that you think that there is an empty space there, cause that's just what I'm working on. The whale does not have eyes, I just thought that it would be more mysterious that way; and explosions are coming soon! Thank you for visiting my thread.

Montclaris: by now I think of you as my mentor :wise:. You're absolutely right about the planet; it's too saturated and the cracks don't fit. I'll work on them later. As for the nebula, i kinda liked the dull green :sad:. I wanted to make it look as if the light was strong enough to tear through the clouds. I changed my mind halfway (from "volume clouds" to something like the energy ribbon on Star Trek Generations), and I guess that shows.

[marcnail]

Try to concentrate more on the "space whale" and the tiny ships in front.
The hands coming out of the nebula are too distracting from the most
interesting aspect of the artwork (->the whale).

I say abandon the "nebula hands" and develop the hunting scene on
the left into a exiting action-packed image.

[Ad lucem]

Are you already working on the ships? As they are one of the important parts of your concept, they must be taken into consideration before start tweaking the colors. They also had a great influence in your composition or at least it seemed so in the sketches. I think you should have an idea of how they'll look in the end before you apply further changes.
In my huble opinion, you shouldn't erase the nebula, at least for now. You should try working on the ships first.

[montclaris]

Montclaris: by now I think of you as my mentor :wise:.
Wow! I don't think i've ever been the mentor of anybody before, that's cool :love:. Don't give my words too much attention, though, because i don't have half of your talent and skills, truly. I'm an obstrician; i don't give birth to art, i just help. Just happy i can help


As for the nebula, i kinda liked the dull green :sad:. I wanted to make it look as if the light was strong enough to tear through the clouds.
As i told, i think your nebula is great. The green parts i'm talking about are not the green "vapors" away from the heart. I think these fit perfectly. I'm talking only of the green parts inside the mass of the hands (mainly where colors transition form white to green on the right-most hand base mass). If the light is to tear through the clouds, my guess is that these clouds are kind of glowing thus shoud be saturated even if dark (not greyish). But that's nitpicking and the overall is very cute.

cheers :beer:

Edit : i don't think you should erase the nebula as someone advised. It's very well done, and above all, it's at the very heart of your concept and in a way the "meaning" element of the scene.

[GaeasHerald]

Marcnail: when I get to the final tweaks, I will emphazise the foregronud elements, don't worry. I can't leave out the hands without undermining my concept though. Thanks for posting here :) .

Ad lucem: you're sensible and methodical, I like that about you! Ships are coming (thousands of sheats have been drawn and torn, but I'm getting there).

Montclaris: AH, that dull green. I hate it too. I needed a green rim to seperate the foremost hand from the others, but I guess it went too far. More saturation, consider it done :thumbsup:.

[GaeasHerald]

http://www.cgnetworks.com/challenge/entries/6/5484/5484_1104888439_medium.jpg (http://www.cgnetworks.com/challenge/entries/6/5484/5484_1104888439_large.jpg)

A few comments on this one:
Firstly, I worked on the saturation as suggested, and I'm quite pleased with the results. Secondly, the explosions idea didn't work, cause the whale became difficult to read (pitty, I wanted the explosion).
Finally, yeah, I added the ships as I've been promising for so long. It's been a nightmare to make them, and right now they look like $hit (excuse me for my languaje, but they do).
Please tell me what you think.

[GaeasHerald]

http://www.cgnetworks.com/challenge/entries/6/5484/5484_1104957084_medium.jpg (http://www.cgnetworks.com/challenge/entries/6/5484/5484_1104957084_large.jpg)

Started coloring on the ships. These are supposed to be the spheres where food is grown. I wanted them to look like miniature planets, to contrast with the cracking world, and provide a sense of hopes and dreams been poured into it. Slightly translucent aqua color.
There rest of the ship only has a base color, which I'll be developing later.
Send in your comments and crits

[Lovliebutterfly]

Fantastic imagination! I like the way you've done the nebula clouds! Very nice painting feel in general! I think it needs some lighter shades at some places to freshen the scene a bit.

[ElFuego]

the nebula clouds are brilliant...not the most original idea in general but it's original in this genre. The whale looks like it's dragging those food spheres :)

I'll comment more after you finished those ships. GJ!

Oh and about that saturation discussion earlier; I like desaturated pictures so It's no problem for me if you "accidentally" drop those color levels a bit ;)

[GaeasHerald]

Lovliebutterfly: Thank you very much for your comments :). I'll be adding a lens flare later, so maybe that could do the job...

ElFuego: I'll probably be desaturating the background later, to emphasize the foreground elements. I've been workin on the relative saturations at the moment. I also need to work on the chains, so that the ships aren't just floating there.

I've got to name this piece, anyone has an idea?

[GaeasHerald]

http://www.cgnetworks.com/challenge/entries/6/5484/5484_1105070231_medium.jpg (http://www.cgnetworks.com/challenge/entries/6/5484/5484_1105070231_large.jpg)

Just a close up of the food sphere. It has some translucency as well as light coming from inside (or at least that's what I intended to paint). As you may see I've started the coloring of the rest of the ship. This is quite a hard task, cause I'm working on a wireless optical mouse, and sometimes the damm thing pops up on the other corner of the picture.
Comments and crits welcomed as always
(*_*)

[GaeasHerald]

http://www.cgnetworks.com/challenge/entries/6/5484/5484_1105152413_medium.jpg (http://www.cgnetworks.com/challenge/entries/6/5484/5484_1105152413_large.jpg)

Work done on the ships so far. I added lights from windows, to show the scale of it. There\'s a corner left to finish, but the triangular shapes without lights are places where the chains will be anchored. I\'ve decided to call these legendary ships Hope and Unity, cause those are the things that drive these people to keep fighting for their survival. That could be the name of the piece...
Please keep posting coments and crits, and good luck to all of you!

[Aethyrprime]

Very twisted and surreal. Somewhere between Lauphin and fantasia.. Good job!

[Lovliebutterfly]

This is looking good. I like the planets. There's one thing that's still bothering me though. It seems that all the "weight" of the piece is on the right and the left side of the composition feels quite empty. Is there soemthing to come in the left space? If not, maybe it's worth a try to vertically flip the whale on the left side (so that it is looking at the planet). I might be a more balanced composition then. Otherwise, I like the color and stardust effect! Good job!:)

[GaeasHerald]

Richard (Aethyr Prime): Thanks for your comments, hope to see you here again!

Lovliebutterfly: I'm trying to build the scene arround the diagonal, that's why there are parts of it that seem empty. My guess is that the hand are the most eyecatching element, so I want the viewers eye to move along the diagonal, through the most important features, without distraction. I'll try to balance it anyway, thanks for the advice.

[KevinJM]

Beautiful, just beautiful,,I really love your clouds .The imagination is great! I have learned some stuff just by looking at your clouds. However i agree with loveliebutterfly ont the thing she mentioned. I just look forward for another update from you very quickly. I`m following that post closely.Take care mate.:thumbsup:

[Fahrija]

Hi Gerado,

Good work you´ve created. I especially like the color range and the appearance of the nebula. It´s difficult to show movement when the spaceship carrier is an animal but you´ve done a great job.

Just some little suggestions. It is difficult to read that the whale carries the two motherships at the current stage. I would try to add some fine lines as indication to bring the ships and the whale together. The little ships look very well but I would modify the flight-patterns of a little bit because it looks if they try to attack his own carrier. (unless you aim this :) )

Best whishes
Fahrija

[Ad lucem]

Herald,
The ships (a.k.a. Hope and Unity) look very organic. It implies that Kiarthans had to rely on nature to save their species ( => space whales) but it also gives the impression that they had plenty of resources to complete the ships, which is not the case.
Perhaps you should leave some parts of one ship unfinished so that the poor situation is represented. If you have enough time, you can also put some "failed attempt" in orbit or floating around partially destroyed.
Keep the posts coming!

[GaeasHerald]

dean080580: I can always trust you to bring me up! Whenever I feel frustrated, I just read your posts, and it puts a smile on my face :). I've lightened the clouds in that area, to balance the composition without adding any new elements. Lets see if it works...

Fahrija: I truly admire your work. I moved one of the ships closer, and now it reads better and doesn't seem as if it where attacking the mother ship (thanks). As for the other one, I thought that not every single ship has to be attacking the whale, some could be refueling or just supervising. The chains (or cables) are coming soon!

Ad lucem: Good eye! They are very organic. I know that it may be bending the concept a little, but since these vessels are the media through which life endures, I wanted them to be organic as well. If you see it this way, centuries floating in space, in a nebula, without maintenance, can't be good to a ship :shrug:. I'll be blaming erosion for the weird transtucency :rolleyes:.

[GaeasHerald]

http://www.cgnetworks.com/challenge/entries/6/5484/5484_1105280317_medium.jpg (http://www.cgnetworks.com/challenge/entries/6/5484/5484_1105280317_large.jpg)

Here's the final coloring. I will add the chains, but I'm having a hard time with it. On the bright side, the coloring is almost there, and no big changes will be made. Thanks for all the comments, they have been most useful.

[cgkrusty]

Looking good!

I think the MG attacking ships are very interesting designs... nice! I do feel like they need to be blurred out a bit to push their distance from the FG whale though. As well, the attacking ship behind the whale is really crouding it's pose and diminishing it, muddting teh composition.

I'd move that ship out from behind the whale. If you want another one place one or two scaled down attack ships to the left of the main attacker (think triangle attack formation). I think that will help alot.

I also think you need to pull back the lava cracks on the planet surface, feels a little forced right now.

Still love the hands forming the galaxy...

Nice work!

[GaeasHerald]

http://www.cgnetworks.com/challenge/entries/6/5484/5484_1105329965_medium.jpg (http://www.cgnetworks.com/challenge/entries/6/5484/5484_1105329965_large.jpg)

Finally the chains are here. They're not actually chains, but cables. They need more work done to them, and probably some blur, but at least they're here.
Time is running out, so I'd better hurry!

[Heliogabalo]

good work...master piece of surrealism...viva el arte hermano

[Aethyrprime]

Great updates Gerardo. Keep it up man. Your surreal masterpiece is coming along very well.

[Fahrija]

Hi Gerado,

looks very good now. I recognized you enlighten the born star a bit more. Maybe that means you have to give the left side of your planet at the right handside also a bit more light. the cables connect the objects much better together. Maybe I wouldn´t paint them to straight because of the big distance/hugeness it could be look good if the cables sag a bit more like they do at a horse-drawn carriage. Good work and be proud of it. :)

Fahrija

[GaeasHerald]

cgkrusty: I hope that the cables help understand why the motherships have to be in that place. I'll try to work on the lava rocks, but I have to leave for the week, and probably I won't have time for it.

Jorge and ||) |V| |^|: thanks for the support, and for calling it a masterpiece, that's way more than I deserve :).

Fahrija: You always have good advice up your sleeve! I will add more light to the planet (even if only a rim), and will "relax" the chains also. The only thing is, that since there is no gravity, it's much more unpredictable. GReat advice!

[montclaris]

formidarvelous Gerardo !
Words lack to depict your progress. Right now, the color balance works really well, i think. At least i like it much.
The strong highlights are evocative of the look of flying objects in a solar system as seen in pictures realised by NASA (very "hard" lighting) and make a good contrast with the smoothness of the nebula and the planet athmosphere.
I agree with others about the chains. Refining them will improve your picture. They look too smooth for the moment. If you've got some extra time before the final rush, try improving the relief on the food spheres and the space ship also (mainly on the sphere, the patterns painted seem a bit flat, still).
I'm really impatient to see your final entry. :applause:

[GaeasHerald]

http://www.cgnetworks.com/challenge/entries/6/5484/5484_1105412181_medium.jpg (http://www.cgnetworks.com/challenge/entries/6/5484/5484_1105412181_large.jpg)

I've finally decided to go for "Rebirth" as the title for this pic. Hope and Unity was fine for me, but probably people wouldn't know where it came from. Rebirth refers to two of the main elements of the scene: the star being reborn (one is destructed as the other is created), and to the second era of a species that's trying to move on.
I've worked on the chains, they are not perfectly straight now (though they have to be tense enough), and the are not flat either. The anchoring points do have inner lights, but they are quite faint. I added the ring that conects the cables to the whale also. I'm not happy with the highlight on the small fighter, I think it should be on the laser beam.
That's all for now, I'll see if I can make some coloring explanation, as well as analysing the composition lines.
Thanks for the constant support.

[Fahrija]

Hi Gerado,

it finaly comes all together. Your image looks very convincing. Congratulations.

Just a suggestion:
What do you think about painting a wee bit light at the left rims of the spaceships.
The effect would be that you seperate the the ships some more from the nebula and
bring it visually more into the foreground.

Fahrija

[GaeasHerald]

http://www.cgnetworks.com/challenge/entries/6/5484/5484_1105453737_medium.jpg (http://www.cgnetworks.com/challenge/entries/6/5484/5484_1105453737_large.jpg)

Hi everybody, this is the colors that I used throughout the piece. I've worked exclusively in Photoshop CS, with no more than round soft brushes, a couple customed ones, the smudge tool, layering operations and a few filters. I wanted to proove myself that there's no need for fancy tools, that I could manage to pull this off with only the basics.
There's not much to say about the colors, only to notice that the highlight color is almost the same for every object in the scene, and that a few colors a repeated, so as to give coherence.
I'll explain breefly how the clouds were done, since they happen to be one of the things people liked the most. The "trick" here is to set a customed brush like this:
round-soft-big brush
+
dual brush (round-soft-small brush)
+
scattering (at the dual brush tab)
+
color dynamics (to add some variations)
+
Smudge tool (apart from the customed brush).

That's it. I'll probably be posting the composition study and the final image later this afternoon, cause I've got to leave tonight. Wish me luck!

[GaeasHerald]

http://www.cgnetworks.com/challenge/entries/6/5484/5484_1105463426_medium.jpg (http://www.cgnetworks.com/challenge/entries/6/5484/5484_1105463426_large.jpg)

As I said, I will be posting a lot today. Here are the lines of the composition.
The yellow lines are the ones that dominate the picture. The hands form a triangle that serves as an arrow that points to the vessel (more precisely to the food sphere), and the whales mouth together with the right flipper do a similar job.
The orange lines are meant to lead the eye to these elements; whether they are light beams, chains, smoke trails or even the flippers: the radiating lines draw the eye inwards.
The green lines are where the eye is supposed to go after being drawn from either the whale or the star. The idea is that since both yellow lines act as arrows pointing to the middle of the piece, and the eye will be caught in-between.
Finally the blues lines contribute to ease the viewer into the diagonal nature of the composition. The lower one is more difficult to see, but if you squint your eyes in any of the previous wips you'll notice it.

I hope this makes any sense at all, it does to me, but I'm beginning to lose my sanity with all this hard work!

[GaeasHerald]

http://www.cgnetworks.com/challenge/entries/6/5484/5484_1105466083_medium.jpg (http://www.cgnetworks.com/challenge/entries/6/5484/5484_1105466083_large.jpg)

Sorry for the three post in a row, but you know the circumstances.
I added a pale nebula in the top left corner and a ship coming towards the camera at the bottom left, to balance the composition as sugested. The new ship is the one in charge of making the reconnaissance flight, telling the others where to lead the whale.

Lets do a final look back to the concept: Alien gods materialize out of nebula gases to give shape to it, creating a new star while destroying another one. The victims of this event try to find a way out, but their resources are scarce and they fall into civil war. Finally, as a last attempt, they decide to capture a whale-like creature that inhabits the nebula, and have it pull their vessels with the remains of the population inside.

It's been wonderful to share this experience with all of you, and I'll see you next time :)

[Lovliebutterfly]

Hi Gaia's Herald! I'm happy to see your final image! Your composition is much more balanced with the ship on the left. I like the food vessels. They look great! Color is well balanced as well! :) Good luck for the Challenge! It has been a real pleasure to meet you on this challenge! I hope to see you in the next!

[Cicinimo]

Your final is very nice indeed! There are a few things I might have done differently, but I think everything comes together and works quite well.

[ered dium]

Your final image looks great! To different idea form the rest. I really like the hands and the whale.
The story is very cool and original. :scream:



Grand Space Opera (http://www.cgtalk.com/showthread.php?t=180121) - Leo Calv

[KevinJM]

superbbbbb just superb. Brother now i see that the overall is well balanced and perfect.:buttrock: I`m very pleased you finished it all.It is really beautiful and Original:thumbsup: . Now lets wait for the results and in the mean time brothers can party:beer:

[montclaris]

Bravo Gerardo.
It was fun to follow your progress. Great work indeed. What impressed me more is the way you concentrated on your concept and never lost track of your initial idea. It was a very mature workflow and the resulting piece is impressive.
Great work mate. You can be proud :thumbsup:

[ecura]

Good to see this finished. Geat concept with a difference and pull though well. All the best.

[marcnail]

Yeah. Bright and colorful.
I'm still not sure about the "nebula hands" in the background, but
it adds a surreal element to the scenery.
:)

[GaeasHerald]

Thanks everybody for your kind words, your support means a lot to me. I'm sorry for not replying to your posts, it's just that I haven't even been around a computer.

Lovliebutterfly: I took your advice on the composition issue, and I thank you for that. You've been a good influence in this challenge. Good luck to you too.

Cicinimo: Thanks for visiting my thread. Your support is very appreciated!

Ered dium: I love it that you love it! Thank you for taking the time to read the story :).

Dean080580: You always know the right thing to say and make my day. Exchanging pieces of advice has been a bless. All the best my brother :)

Montclaris: you are the one I owe the most. Thank you for helping me deliver this baby. Without your ideas it would have been the "elephant man" of the gso entries. I salute you master yoda :wise:.

Ecura: you've followed my thread from the beginning and had the patience to post at the key times.

Marcnail: I know you wanted things to be a little different, but time wasn't enough for me. Otherwise I would have given it a try. Your comments and support were really valuable, and i promise to give my best next time to make things happen. Cheers!

[Fahrija]

Hi Gerado,

good luck to you and hope to see you next time :)


my best wishes
Fahrija

[GaeasHerald]

http://www.cgnetworks.com/challenge/entries/6/5484/5484_1105986460_medium.jpg (http://www.cgnetworks.com/challenge/entries/6/5484/5484_1105986460_large.jpg)

This is it. I added a metalic highlight to the ship to give a sense of specularity. Apart from that, I only played with the saturation and contrast a bit.

Thanks for the continious support and best wishes to all.
Gerardo

[GaeasHerald]

Hi everybody. I've been thinking about posting this picture for exposé 3, just for fun (I don't really have great expectations, but since I've got nothing better to do...) If you have any suggestions, no matter how radical they are, please let me know.
It's very inspiring to see the beautiful artwork that has come out for this comp, and I want to congratulate every one of you for the terrific job you've done. It's been a truly enriching experience, and I've learned tons :)))))

[NathanielWest]

It's a really great image, and I can't find too much to crit. I would like to see some more purples and pinks in the clouds. When I see all those pictures of space it's pink and very transparent. Otherwise great work!!!

[GaeasHerald]

Thanks for the imput Nathaniel. I actually had gone for that at the beginning, but at the moment I was't able to get the right look; but now that time is not an issue, I'll give my best to make it happen.

By the way, I've ended up in the last page of the voting site, how about bad luck! :sad:

[Lovliebutterfly]

Hi there Herald! Well, I've ended up in the last page as well. :cry: And although they say that the images appear at random, they don't. I've closed my browser several times and relaod the page several times, my image is still on the last page! Anyway, I like your work! I like your concept and those clouds! I guess the main thing is to participate...:)

[GaeasHerald]

Lovliebutterfly: It is random but not rotating :sad:. We'll have to settle down with having finished our pieces. Hey! That's good enough for me. It's good to have my entry next tu yours; we have contributed soo much to each others work, that it feels as if they were both our "children". See you in the next challenge :bounce: :bounce: :bounce:.

[dp76]

This is it. I added a metalic highlight to the ship to give a sense of specularity. Apart from that, I only played with the saturation and contrast a bit.

Thanks for the continious support and best wishes to all.
Gerardo

Man everything is really good here.

But the scene coloring and speculars is what I like most. :bounce:

Oh, and the composition (placement), well done.

Good luck you deserve. :deal:


Not all who wander are lost

[GaeasHerald]

Daniel: Thank you! I'm looking forward to commenting on your work next time :) This challenge was soo big, it's been really hard trying to find people from uruguay :).

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