CgTalk Daily Sketch 453 "New Orleans

[elmasfeo]

difficult topic!
You never know who may see your pics and who might feel ofended by something...
But I was bored enough and had promised myself I would do today's topic whatever it was, so...

I'm not very proud of this one, but I didn't wanted to paint what we're all seeing in tv and this was the only idea I had: to change the topic from "new orleans" to "new-new orleans"... it's more optimistic and noone can argue cause I painted his dead uncle or his destroyed house...

http://www.telefonica.net/web2/chapuceros/sketches/neworleans.jpg

Photoshop, something more than 30 min (and some of goro's brushes to give texture)

[MattH]

Difficult topic indeed! Well handled though elmasfeo, nice concept.

I have no time to really sketch something for this today, but my heart goes out to all those people strugging down there.

[Zeitwolf]

Open Canvas, Photoshop, Tablet; ~1 h (you may also leave a comment here) (http://www.deviantart.com/view/22363039/)
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v320/odinsregen/sketches/katrina.jpg

[blackpot]

http://www.gerrydavisart.com/pictures/neworleans.jpg
a very quick one, about 15 mins.

[Overchord]

Struggled with this one :scream:

@elmasfeo - Really like the idea - bringing a positive look
@Zeitwolf - Wow nice one - really like how well the dolour-tones are kept together
@blackpot - Nice concept - first ray of light in all the darkness


Although reading about all the demolition in the news, I saw an image today which really took it home - this guy standing on the beach in front of a stranded oil rig! I realise this wouldn't be directly in New Orleans - but it summarised to me the sheer forces at play - powerful enough to knock over and wash up one of these things.
So I tried to paint the image, using the photo as a reference, and I ran out of time before being able to add much detail.
Any suggestion to how a few more (e.g. 10 mins) og highlight/shading or others might have improved it would be appreciated (seems very "flat" to me jsut now)

But around 1h30min in PS with tablet
http://www.overchord.net/cg/albums/userpics/10001/NewOrleans600.jpg

[SoniaNotRed]

Overchord - Add shadows. To everything - structure, waves, guy, sand under guy... It will give you the sense of depth and volume you're after, and make the perspective of the platform more obvious.
Just make sure before you start you know were the light is coming from. For instance, the shadow on the block on the left side of the platform says that the light is coming from the left but the other shadows say it's coming from behind and that pretty much destroys the illusion. Even if I'm not reading the image right and you meant for the other shadows to be depressions, you still forgot that the far right wall should also be in the shade.

I hope that wasn't too confusing...:p

[DreamMaster]

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y1/beauty7/hurricane.jpg
Painter IX about 30 min... I can't image how that person must felt when he/she was being rescued. My hat is off to all people who make all miraculous rescues.

[jmBoekestein]

Nice to see you back in Sonia. :) You had loads of time, why aint you poster level 5 yet? :scream:

I didn't know what to do with this topic, I don't watch the news. But I hope no one got killed at least, I'll try and come up with something :), it's jazz city after all.

[quigly]

I'm surprised nobody did a sketch of the idiots shooting at the helicopters. The people looting stuff or the people dragging girls inside their houses to rape them...Rant over. It is sad how some people respond to catastrophe.

[Vahn]

hell on earth maybe ?

http://img167.imageshack.us/img167/4204/neworleans10fp.jpg

ps + mouse | 45 mins

[DreamMaster]

I'm surprised nobody did a sketch of the idiots shooting at the helicopters. The people looting stuff or the people dragging girls inside their houses to rape them...Rant over. It is sad how some people respond to catastrophe.

Yes it's extremely sad that it had to happen, but I didn't want to paint them... would just make me more depressed, therefore I paid my respect to people who did the resuces instead.

[gardogg]

Photoshop + Wacom

2.5 hrs

I tried to do a gray scale and then add a color overlay. I did a lot of experimenting with this one which is why it took so long. I'm overall not too happy with it but oh well! Its a sketch anyway right? My second sketch so far so I have room to grow and get better. Can only go up from here...

http://img362.imageshack.us/img362/3387/neworleanssketch2copy1qo.jpg

[Nailati]

As I remember it.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v28/Nailati/neworleans.jpg
Photoshop and Painter, about 3 hours (too long--I'm terrible at architecture). Used a photo reference to get the building right: here. (http://www.thisisthelife.com/photos/experiences/large/mardi-gras-new-orleans.jpg)

[Sneakybunny]

hi Its a voodoo shop 30mins wacom and photoshop 7
http://img384.imageshack.us/img384/9289/voodoo4gf.jpg

ps im inking some sketches over the weekend and post them on monday, ive been sick and well got about 5 sketched on a notepad but didnt get time to do them ....

later have a kick ass weekend

[xodibox]

I wanted to capture the feeling of loosing everything, but with that little bit of solice provided by the cigarette.

cheers to Stephan S. for the colour scheme from his rainy day blues post... I loved the white and red rimlights, so I thought I'd give it a shot.


http://www.quickbrownfox.ca/DSG/neworleans.jpg

PS, graphire3, 30min

[MattVogt]

http://mattvogt.com/art/2d/paints/neworleans.jpg
man that was the fastest hour of my life... I could spend at least 3 more on this. I scrambled to get those people in... the dark guy is praying the white guy is overwhelmed.. oh and those are horses but look! the sun is starting to break through (hopfully)...

A couple comments:

Elmasfeo: I like it, especially the bigger and better road


Zeitwolf: Nice colors, the expression tells it all

Blackpot: God and a magnifying glass? Great concept; I hope light shines there soon

Overchord: Yeah what SoniaNotRed. Great start though - talk about force.

DreamMaster: Nicely done 30mins too? Great choice of colors a bit too smudgy though - that’s it

Vahn: intresting style…

Gardogg: excellent concept, supreme rendering of that shrimp. Values seem not too shabby, I’d do some “hand structure” exercises it seems pretty flat.

Xodibox: I love it! Excellent silhouette, water reflections and the lighting are nicely rendered - my favorite so far. Kinda reminds me of Stephan.s’s in the rainy day dsg.

Great works everyone hope to see new ones tommorow!

[Overchord]

@ Sonia + matt

yeah you're absolutely right. The shading on the rig is way off since i left out the shading on one side - i think that is what really messes up the picture the most.
Obviously the front character could have done with some mor work as well - but the bed was screaming at me at that stage - so I simply had to put my pen down - but that's one of the great things about DSG -> working more structured towards a deadline :)

Great stuff from everyone else - for those I haven't commented yet:
@Dreammaster - I like the positive concept - but the person being lifted seems big relative to the helicopter

@Vahn - I like the composition, something about it makes me feel like i'm seeing double :shrug:

@gardogg - Great pic - only crit I have would be that his teeth goes a bit too far down which kind of alters the way you percieve the mouth.

@Nailati - Nice start - I think a deep blue background to illustrate the night would improve it - the blackness in the backgroundf makes it seem a but rough to me

@no1gashuffer - Funny idea - although on a tragic subject - The sign seems a bit mis-aligned to the roofedge?

@xodibox - Nice comp - and I would say you nailed the colour comp jsut as Stephan in his Rainy Day Blues.

@Mattvogt - I like the sky and water , but the people seem kind of large to me?

[Vahn]

hehe overchord ... the more drunk you are, the sharper it gets :D

[Overchord]

:D LOL - well since its Friday I may jsut well try that - and then look at it again :)
I'll blame you if I fall off my chair while trying to turn the computer on in a drunken stupor ;-)

[SoniaNotRed]

jmBoekestein - LOL! I come lurking every day but I haven't posted much of anything since the Challenge. I'm out of ideas mostly. Drawbacks of being brain-dead! :D
Well, at least I'm posting messages again...
Now... On to win a level! :)

[Vahn]

haha i take the full responsibilty but i warn you ... youll get sober quickly enough when you think about the topic :(

[hcross]

http://img369.imageshack.us/img369/153/quits1wg.jpg


decided to call it quits after about 3 hours, I think the background suffers for that - I definitely need to work on my technique to speed things up a bit (guess that's why I'm here, practice)

I used references for the trumpet and the crawfish - couldn't really pull those straight from memory...

please forgive me for not drawing a disaster picture... I have troubles remaining sensitive to peoples problems, it's something I really struggle with ... esp. when those troubles are delivered to me daily by the 24 hour news...

I'm not trying to dismiss this as another news story, I can imagine it would suck to be there and be those people...

eh.. maybe I'll just not go any further and leave this sticky subject alone...

photoshop + wacom, btw

[gardogg]

decided to call it quits after about 3 hours, I think the background suffers for that - I definitely need to work on my technique to speed things up a bit (guess that's why I'm here, practice)

I used references for the trumpet and the crawfish - couldn't really pull those straight from memory...

please forgive me for not drawing a disaster picture... I have troubles remaining sensitive to peoples problems, it's something I really struggle with ... esp. when those troubles are delivered to me daily by the 24 hour news...

I'm not trying to dismiss this as another news story, I can imagine it would suck to be there and be those people...

eh.. maybe I'll just not go any further and leave this sticky subject alone...

Wow, you and I have a lot in common. I too decided to quit after roughly 3 hours - TOO LONG FOR THIS!!! I use references all the time - nothing wrong with that. Even Norman Rockwell used references and so did the master painters of the past. They'd pay friends, prostitutes, whoever to pose in costumes to fit the theme of the painting. I hear you about the news tending to desensitize one. I hear stuff and am just like... I don't feel heart broken. Because I'm a jerk? No. I don't feel happy or sad. I'm to the point where I just don't even feel! I don't think about it, I don't get emotional about it. What I hear on the news doesn't affect me at all. Maybe that's my body's way of protecting my emotions...

hcross - love your concept (shrimp + jazz + mardi gras man = new orleans!) I like the background and that's some of the coolest water I've ever seen! I like the entire thing a ton and can't even criticize it. Be proud of it for real!

mattvogt - I like the painterly feel of the piece. I like the speedy brush strokes alot and I like how this is apparent on the bridge. I agree with the prior comment that the people are too big. My favorite part is the sun coming out. It looks AWESOME!

xodibox - I like the mood and emotion of this piece. The cigarette and the lighting - very cool. The water reflections are really cool too. The background above the water is a little in need of work - but hey, its a sketch. I'll forgive you.

elmafeo - omg, that is hilarious! I just got it! Great style, great use of goros brushes and let me just say, that is amazing work considering only half an hour! Wow. Very creative. Awesome.

zietwolf - love the movement of this! colors are great. Love the concept - very creepy. Awesome work!

overorchard - i like the ocean. I like the whitecaps. I think the person looks good (minus the left leg) and the rig is "alright" The only crit is the sand or whatever the guy is standing on - all white? It looks like he's floating. That part could use a sand texture or something...

Jason - I like the colors and the perpective; be carefull though - the letters should be on the same angle slant as the building

Alex - this is very cool! Looks just like mardi gras. Way to quickly draw a lot of peolple! The building looks the best so although its too bad it took you so long, maybe it was worth it...

Adrian - looks like a good start but the blurriness really is not working hear. I can't even tell what is going on.

dreamMaster - kind of lacking in detail but I think it was overall a good job.

Man, its hard to give a crit to EVERYONE. Maybe in the future I'll just crit the ones that I like the most or the ones that have'nt been critiqued yet...

[hcross]

gardogg (http://forums.cgsociety.org/member.php?u=155341) - thanks, it's good to know someone relates, thanks for the art crit.. you are too kind (really, I thought the water sucked, hehe) check out this tutorial

http://www.heathrowe.com/tuts/watertexture.asp

that's what I used since I've never really drawn water before... one step he(she) uses (I think) but doesn't mention is the use of liquify (go figure) to add movement...

his clouds (used to begin the water tute) are diff than mine came out, too - I'm really trying to understand what made the difference...

I prob need to crit more people's work but I'm pretty aloof about that also, this is only my second sketch for this group so I'm gonna just gonna reserve judgement for a little while, that prob makes me lame, too - can't help it, I'm just that way

[MattH]

About 1.5 hours, Flash.

I'm totally disgusted with the fact that we can somehow afford to fight massive imperialist wars overseas, but when it comes to saving thousands in the US, we sit on our ass and do more to protect stores from looting than to feed starving citizens. My heart goes out to all those people sruggling down there, may they get through this alive. I can't even imagine what they must be going through.

http://moonlitbasement.com/other/cgtalk/neworleans_diptych_01small.jpg

---Larger Image--- (http://moonlitbasement.com/other/cgtalk/neworleans_diptych_01medium.jpg)

(edit.. added link to larger image)

[hcross]

About 1.5 hours, Flash.

I'm totally disgusted with the fact that we can somehow afford to fight massive imperialist wars overseas, but when it comes to saving thousands in the US, we sit on our ass and do more to protect stores from looting than to feed starving citizens. My heart goes out to all those people struggling down there, may they get through this alive. I can't even imagine what they must be going through.



I know it's real easy to judge this president but also realize that he has a cabinet that advises him (i.e. makes decisions for him)... those advisors are trying to balance opinions from people across the board (i.e. make everyone happy)

one of those people that our present administration might be trying to make happy are the American soldiers, the people that spend at least 1/3 of their career being shot at and bombed (away from home)...

it is a tragedy that our foreign affairs seem to be taking precedence over domestic affairs. but I ask you to remember the heroes... they aren't from krypton...

omg, I'm a liberal minded person defending the war-mongering conservatives.. god forgive me...

I only offer this view as contrast ...I usually appreciate strong opinions that are opposite mine, please see it only as a favor...

btw, I'm really starting to appreciate your minimal, artisic style and please don't feel like your point is lost on me, don't take my open-mindedness as disagreeance

[DreamMaster]

Thank you all for criqitues and comments...they're very helpful. :D Everybody: Good job and keep it up... I often feel very unqualitifed to make any comments/criqitues on other people's artworks so I'll just be a humble little bee that tries to draw with a huge digital pencil. Hehe...

[MattH]

hcross- Hell, if anyone loves a devils advocate, it's me! ;) But for me right now, the heros in this are the people saving lives, not the people guarding corporate profit. Take that as you will.

This "sytle" of mine is me struggling to come to grips with illustrating in flash. I have to do some 5,000 drawings in it for an animation, so I thought I'd try and get the hang of it ASAP. Thanks for noticing. =)

Your sketch cracks me up for some reason! I'm suprised that a frog from new orleans still has all it's legs intact and uneaten!

xodibox- nice mood and color. I really feel the dispair. I think it might help if you rendered out the ground plane slightly more, just to give a bit more weight and grounding to the figure.

Zetiwolf- beautiful lines!

Nailati- Nice monochamactic gray with that touch of yellow! I especially like the gestural figures.

[DoInferno]

Tried to use a little humor here. Been a while since i last sketched. Good to see yall!

Photoshop, 25min.

http://www.carlosranna.com.br/cgtalk/453-New-Orleans.jpg

Moonlit Matt - I loved yours! The sketch and the critics!

Great work everybody else!

[MattVogt]

Do INferno: humor? good stuff hope to see you sketching more

MoonLit Matt: nice presentation and message very well done!! I lika lot go flash go

hcross: dope crawlfish - green dude's great too. watch porportions remember that the hips are the halfway mark height wise. keep it up!

OVerchord: I fixed the peoples size... as Feng Zhu would say in a tutorial.. we just throw in some people to show scale and "freetransform" them down and we're done!

Bye

[Zebula]

It's been a while... 2 Hours, PS
http://img385.imageshack.us/img385/200/neworleans2rg.jpg

[elmasfeo]

zeitwolf - good job, I like how you painted her face specially - and good idea
blackpot - nice way to illustrate the hope going down to the city...
overchord - apart from what others have said, I think that both the water and the sand have almost the same colour, very pale, and it makes it hard to find the border....
dreammaster - quite blurry, but its perfectly good for just 30 min, what's all the red blur around the flag? fire?
vahn - I like it's kind of abstractness, I'm not very sure of what I'm seeing, but it reflects the feeling good... I feel some kind of respect about your pic, because it's got a style I don't know how to reproduce...
gardogg - thanks a lot! I want to try some day that thing about gray scale and color overlay, it looks like an interesting experiment
nailati - I like it, your colour choice looks very good, that's another thing I wouldn't have thought about...
xodibox - great! I think it's my favourite one, I like both the idea and the way you painted it
mattvogt - my only crit is that the horizon line looks a bit odd, but I like the bridge and the water... thanks for your comment
hcross - very good job! it's a bit surrealistic and I like it, and also your overall style is great
moonlit matt - thanks! maybe you could've painted even more helicopters at war or less at the rescues to make the meaning clearer... I like it a lot, I like pictures with a message...
doinferno - very cartoony, maybe some more defined lines would help, but it already looks good
Zebula - you did a great job with the wet and rainy look, the texture circles, the way things fade away in the distance, the reflections...

[MattH]

Zebula- Great job! Of all the great sketches here, yours feel the most flooded. And I love the stillness about it. Very ominous.

[runejw]

About 1.5 hours, Flash.
I'm totally disgusted with the fact that we can somehow afford to fight massive imperialist wars overseas, but when it comes to saving thousands in the US, we sit on our ass and do more to protect stores from looting than to feed starving citizens.


Your sketch captures many of the news-footages I've seen.

I'm somewhat puzzled that the priorities is on a) heli-lifting people out which has to be one of the most time consuming and inefficient ways to extract people and b) armed guards which even deny access to the Superdome for people who finally make it there. (According to a report I saw yesterday).

What about dropping some hundreds/thousands of inflatable pool boats ?
http://www.poolcenter.com/pooltoys_inflatable_boats_pool_rafts.htm
Canisters of water ? (half full so they float)

All this can be done from the air, perfectly safe and will enable people to paddle their way to evacuee points or solid ground.

Very simple, very quick and very effective I would think. Even cheap and doesn't require massive military manpower.

Just wondering from some thousands of miles away...

Cheers,
Rune

[MattH]

runejw- Exactly. If I had even a tiny fraction of the wealth our government has, I could rent a few helicopters and airdrop food/water packages, packages of other supplies (medicines, soap, dry clothing), and even like you said, some self inflating boats. And because I had been told this hurricane was coming a week in advance, I would be ready to initialize a plan the moment it was safe to do so... not wait four days to send help in. I'm not suprised then, when these stranded people take it upon themselves to break into stores to survive.

elmasfeo- Good idea. Thanks.

Mattvogt- Thanks.

DoInferno- Thanks. Your sketch is definatly humorous! I like the concept. I would try and be a little more confinent with those lines and colors. Meaning, you have some good stuff going on here, but I think if you crisp up those lines a bit and push those colors out a bit more it would really bring it to life and pull the characters into the foreground.

[Cavematty]

Hey moonlit mat.
I love your sketch and the message behind it. It is great to have such a topical social commentery show up in a realm that is generally about aesthetic. Not to criticise CGTalk - that is its role and it excells as a community.
However i agree with you completely. It is interesting to hear the opinion from an American, because over here in New Zealand all we see is the Imperialist wars (nice quick way to summarise their true purpose by the way) and the people defending the president (like hcross did -tho dont worry i realise thats not your personal menifesto). Since such tantalisingly totalitarian changes recently such as the patriot act, the media seem unable to show anything of americans disliking US policy, though unless you are all nationalist fanatics the likes of pre war germany then there must be a hell of a lot of people with this state of mind. Yet it seems it is not allowed to be talked about. Maybe this is neo mccarthy-ism? ha. Anyway that tends to give us a slanted view of general opinion and globally the Average american's stock has been plummetting for quite some time, which isn't necessarily fair. I think critical discourse is at the heart of any great social structure and I distrust any regime trying to restrict it. So thank you moonlit matt, i appreciate your intelligent comments.
I was watching New Orleans on the news and I just felt pure disgust at the lack of help these people were getting, like you say, while the country spends billions on bombing other countries. My heart goes out to all of them and I hope there aren't too many more lives lost due to the disoganised relief fund, though i fear it may be the case.
My prayers for those in need.

[MattH]

Cave Matty- Totally agree. It's too bad it's not just President Bush that's the problem. It's a good number of citizens in this country. Thanks for supporting a "political" sketch (though it's not quite as blunt a statement as I wanted to make, for that go ---here (http://www.moonlitbasement.com/images/2d/importingoil_large.jpg) -- ) It's too bad that just by posting that, technically I could get banned according to the CGtalk rules. Shrug...

[Cavematty]

Yeah, I was thinking about the CGtalk that night after i posted. I was thinking that it would be possible my post would be deleted, I didnt think of getting banned! extreme hahah.
yeah, its weird to specifically restrict content of images, when as visual communicators our messages get through a lot easier than an essay or such would. We really should be putting more emphasis on this side of things than we really do. But illustrators etc dont always seem to consider ethics or conscience in regard to the messages in their commissioned work so often as they might? maybe that is a generalisation and wrong? or maybe its just hard enough to make a living in these fields you gotta drop your principles and go for it. But sometimes you wonder about the guys doing tv ad campaigns for certain companies and think 'do they really believe what they're selling!?!?" This is only really for advertising and editorial work though i suppose, but some of it is no less propoganda than the old Nazi war films like triumph of the will.
anyway, liked your image. Reminds me of the Dada movement. I see you are coming from a similar place as me in regard to these issues. There are some selfish people bullying the world and sacrificing others lives in self interest at the moment huh. It is such a shame to see when we are supposedly past all that and into the golden age of democracy. Who would've thought? If Einstein was alive today... shit i better stop before i really do get banned!
back to dsg'ing

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