Spectacular 2D Entry: Nathaniel West

[Squibbit]

welcome ! Have fun, buddy :thumbsup:


.

[NathanielWest]

http://features.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/10/8498/8498_1126186340_medium.jpg (http://features.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/10/8498/8498_1126186340_large.jpg)

Hey all!

It's nice to see so much activity so soon in the challenge. Very nice ideas thus far. As for mine, I don't have a definite subject matter, but I do know that I'm going to focus on spectacular lighting and scenery for this one. A "Wow, I wish I was there" kind of image. So here's a quick pass at mood and lighting, although I don't know if the subject is going to be a city, a ship, a jungle...who knows. I'm just trying to establish some different lighting and color situations at first to see what seems most spectacular. More to come, and good luck everyone!!

PS-Thanks Squibbit!

[Fahrija]

Hey Nathaniel,

good to see you in this challenge, buddy and Good luck!


good start. the atmosphere is convincing.



best regards
fahrija

[NathanielWest]

http://features.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/10/8498/8498_1126188150_medium.jpg (http://features.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/10/8498/8498_1126188150_large.jpg)

Here's a jungle scene. Maybe a couple of travelers discover a hidden civilization glowing in the sun? I'm going to keep letting the ideas just flow for awhile here.

[Llynna]

welcome to the challenge :) have a nice time and lots of fun.

the lightning is really beutiful. this would be really beutiful on a bizarre mountian formation or such. just a suggestion, keep us postet :)

[duddlebug]

Beautiful lighting on that last one... the thumbnail got me hooked!!

From what you say, i expect you're gonna do a ton more of these quick studies..?

I can't wait to see them!

[Miyagu]

welcome and good luck!

i like these lightingsketches a lot! keep them coming! :bounce:

[umbrellasky]

wow beautiful! Really nice colours and lighting in these, I can't wait to see how this is going to progress :) Good luck!

[NathanielWest]

http://features.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/10/8498/8498_1126198702_medium.jpg (http://features.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/10/8498/8498_1126198702_large.jpg)

Here's one of a city.

[NathanielWest]

http://features.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/10/8498/8498_1126198802_medium.jpg (http://features.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/10/8498/8498_1126198802_large.jpg)

Here's a darker one.

[tlggungor]

Hi nathaniel good to see you... Good shots... have a good luck..:thumbsup:

[NathanielWest]

http://features.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/10/8498/8498_1126198963_medium.jpg (http://features.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/10/8498/8498_1126198963_large.jpg)

This is more of an early morning shot.

[Squibbit]

uhh... how'd u do that, photoedit?


.

[NathanielWest]

Hey Squibbit,

Yeah, those first two city shots are photos of real citys, which I then just extended the frames and copied over some extra buildings. I threw some soft and vivid light on them to enhance the colors and the sky. Just throwing the ideas around quickly.

[Squibbit]

*phew* wow i thoughts u become demigod



.

[W-I-L]

well thems are some nice studies..cant wiat to see you forming ides... keep it up

[NathanielWest]

http://features.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/10/8498/8498_1126199557_medium.jpg (http://features.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/10/8498/8498_1126199557_large.jpg)

With the last comps I was starting to consider doing a matte painting shot of a futuristic city. Now I'm playing with the idea of doing a city in the background, with some main element such as this cruise ship. Maybe I should something with more action. It would definitely grab a viewer and involve them in the scene, but I'm not sure if that necessarily means that it's more spectacular than a beautiful scene. If anyone has an opinion on this, chime in.

[antTON]

whoaaa! It looks VERY spectacular!

[Rebeccak]

Nate? I think I went to school with you. Did you know Melanie? Well, if so, hey! And if not, just dropping by to say your work looks great! :)

Cheers! :)

~Rebeccak

[Nomad]

Niiice :thumbsup: I like alot the last sketch, this one have a mood... something happens...

I`m looking for more :bounce:

[umbrellasky]

wow! Very cool idea! Nice concept work! More more, heehee :D

Keep the ideas coming :)

[Ranath]

:scream:

looking nice! (nothing constructive lol)

[andreasrocha]

Master Nathaniel. You just blow my head off with these concepts. Wonderful. They are all great, but I really prefer blue/purple one with the sun.

I know this one will be fantastic!

[ahbeejieh]

Damn, I love how you build atmosphere in your images. Your thumbnails look so real.

The Eiffel Tower, Leaning Tower of Pisa, and the Statue of Liberty dont move. I guess coming up with a weird form that attracts the eye and blowing that shape up to gargantuan proportions is a winning formula for something spectacular.

[Screenblind]

I'm attracted most to the lighting concepts and cities - which obviously play to your strengths. While the futuristic cruiser is also spectacular in ways I'm mightily impressed by, it almost detracts from the 'purer'(?) vistas you had displyed earlier. Whatever - its just amazingly refreshing and inspiring stuff - I approach a scene so differently that I'm sure I can learn alot from you ;-) I look forward to more - and finding out about how you are going to choose between such rich images.

goodness.

[anilduran]

it seems really impressive.
Did u use any referance about city?
good lucks...

[JoshBobillot]

hey Nathaniel,

These concepts look great, I really dig you style and can't wait to see where you go with this one.

I think I like the city scapes the most but, the star cruise has potential as well.

This is my first contest here and I'm really excited to see everyones work.

Keep it up, and I hopefully will have something to post soon.

Good luck!

[artjunkie]

Whoa, dude... I absolutely LOVE your thumbnail studies. Awesome lighting... and your latest has great composition too! Genious!

Keep going... I gotta see more!

:thumbsup:

[beelow]

I was about to say about those one concepts, man that would have been mind blowing if you just hand painted those photos digitally, Great concepts, Good luck!:thumbsup:

[M477]

Wow

Okay there's some nice concept work here, those visuals are stunning! Can't wait to see you really get stuck in.

Good luck!

:bounce:

[MrFreeman]

:thumbsup: Nice concept work - I love your free / loose style....really shows how less is more sometimes (I hope this sounds complimentary...I tend to start adding line and detail too quickly which can make a concept drawing look messy and overworked if you are not careful).

Can't wait to see how this develops

Good Luck!! :)

[dougbot]

Your new title is 'master of atmosphere'. Really cool stuff, especially the last one.

[GonzaloGolpe]

Good luck with your spectacular proposal:thumbsup: Zalo

[digital-bobert]

Hello Nathaniel!

I love your cruiseship!

When I first saw this challenge, my immediate thought was, projecting backwards, say, like 50 years or so, what would be spectacular? (Cuz that's essentially what the challenge is, right?)

And the first thing I thought of was the space shuttle blasting off.

This comes pretty close! Nice work!

Cheers,
Bobby.

[UrbanKunoichi]

I really love your style as well as the concept sketches you have done, particularly the one with the sunrise. Good luck! I should probably begin my concept sketches.

[teyekanik]

Hey, looking great. I love cool palletes :) I think it would be cool to use more action. But I thinnk is you do a scene and go for a HUGE spectacular scale, thatd bo cool too. Good luck man, Ill keep an eye out for you :)

[MichaelZHsee]

gosh,great sketches coming along~how could i have miss this thread~?i'll be back again for more~:thumbsup:

[ColbyBuss]

http://features.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/10/8498/8498_1126198802_medium.jpg (http://features.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/10/8498/8498_1126198802_large.jpg)

Here's a darker one.

The details on that far right building are amazing! How long did this take you for just a "Concept Sketch"

I cant wait to see more!

[NathanielWest]

http://features.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/10/8498/8498_1126249429_medium.jpg (http://features.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/10/8498/8498_1126249429_large.jpg)

Hey all,

I'm playing off of the last comp. This is a craft hovering above a crowd with some extra crafts passing overhead. More of an ominous implication of action to come, rather than showing the action. Kind of that feeling of impending doom. Does it feel like that for you or no?

More to come, and thank you everyone for your feedback. I greatly appreciate it!

[beelow]

I am loving the angle and atmosphere, great stuff you got going here!:thumbsup:

[Squibbit]

your sketches, colors and everything are just so cool to watch , this
is one great thread to drop by :thumbsup:


.

[sirBS]

I like your colour score - softly and is very realistic :thumbsup:
Good luck!

[NathanielWest]

http://features.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/10/8498/8498_1126253230_medium.jpg (http://features.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/10/8498/8498_1126253230_large.jpg)

Here's another one. A vehicle resting at the mechanic's, or maybe a drive up diner? In the background is a vast metropolis. Any opinions on which direction to head?

[Kirt]

My God! You are a master with color, light and shadow. I've been noticing your thumbnails in the thread listing page and they're just fantastic! Upon opening the thread, I suddenly become dumb-founded by the simplicity of your sketch and strokes.

How long did that last sketch take? It looks like it was done very quickly. Yet viewing the thumbnail version all of the light and shadow placements look perfect and almost photo-realistic. This would take me hours to get correct (if at all).

My hat is off to you Nathaniel ... you're going to be one tough competitor. :thumbsup:

[NinjaA55N]

welcome buddy! it will be nice following ur thread :) good luck!

[W-I-L]

the light fantastic! (i did have like 6 more exclamation marks but for some strange reason cgtalk will not allow it..yet saying shit is ok... crazy!) Loveing it still... the second from last one you did with the cool perspective is ace....

[rickycox]

Nice progression, I like the second to last best, with the dramatic angle.

[Ranath]

just tighten this one up. Thumb looked perfect, and I mean, perfect. Everything's dead on. You just need to make it tighter so everyone's gonna understand it.

[NathanielWest]

Thanks for all of the comments everyone. I have to say the last two seem to be doing the job of showing some story, but also showing a vast city shot behind them. I think I'm going to work in this direction...maybe I'll do a pirate ship first though, just because. :)

Rebaccak-We might have met...I'm not too sure. When were you attending ACCD? I noticed on your site that you studied with some of the life drawing masters, but I came too late to have their classes. Nonetheless, it's always nice to hear from a fellow alumni!

Avatarist-I'll consider a pure city shot without a ship, so as not to distract the eye. Does anyone else have an opinion on whether the foreground elements are taking away from a spectacular landscape shot?

Digital_bobert-Yeah, I like the serene quality of a cruise ship with active docks full of wealthy patrons. I'm not sure if that's too boring though, or if we need some impending doom or action to make it more interesting to the viewer. Anyone have an opinion on what is more interesting?

ColbyBuss-The building on the right is a photo that I copied a couple times and manipulated. The entire sketch was under a half hour.

Kirt-Thanks so much for the kind words! The last sketch was something around 15-20 minutes. There's really no detail in it, so it goes pretty fast initially.

So I'll wait for some opinions on which of the latest I should go with, or if you all like a whole new subject, maybe I can start playing with those. I'm taking all requests! :p A few more comps, and then we'll make a decision and start tightening a couple up. Hey, maybe I'll work on two at the same time, and we can figure out which one to go with at the end. Is that allowed, because I'm having trouble deciding at the moment. Anyhow, thanks again everyone, and keep up all of the great work! :

Warm regards,

Nathaniel

[KOryH]

Hey Nate,
I sure like looking at your sketches. Nice use of color and diffused lighting.
Anyway I like the sketch of the giant ship over the city from a while back.
Maybe make it a Laputa/ floating island city thing to push it over the top.
I think you could really pull something like that off.

Best of luck to you.

[gu]

Nathaniel, you have a big experience with lighting!:bounce: I need sunglasses to view your images!
good sketches, especially the first of the spaceship?! and the dark city!

keep it up!

Gus

[BaronImpossible]

You've a very good eye for colour, looking forward to see what you'll decide on.

[OKMER]

Nothing to say more as the others!!!really nice lightening and sketches you got there.Curious too to sse which way you'll be heading!!!:thumbsup:

[NathanielWest]

KOryH-The floating city is a pretty cool idea. I'll play with that idea a bit.

[ihamid]

those sketches are way above cool! will there be more?
cheers !

[pushav]

I like your lighting in you concepts. Keep it up.:thumbsup:

[NathanielWest]

http://features.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/10/8498/8498_1126463398_medium.jpg (http://features.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/10/8498/8498_1126463398_large.jpg)

Okay, here's one more rough value color test. This is basically a waterfall in the foreground, with a city extending to the horizon. I've thrown in some massive structures on the right to give it a grand scale. Anyhow, please let me know what you think compared to the rest. I think I'm going to pick two versions and take them to a near completed level and then submit whichever one you guys like the most. I need your help deciding which are the most spectacular though, as well as ideas to make them more spectacular.

Oh, and Koryh, I tried the floating city, but just wasn't feeling it. Oh well, maybe it'll come back at another time.

One last thing. Since these competitions are about learning and sharing, I was thinking of turning this thread into an in depth view of my thought process and techniques for all to see. Like breaking down every step and explaining more about the process. Maybe we can all do this for our threads in order to share different views etc. I don't know, I'm just thinking out loud! If anyone's interested, let me know. Keep up the great work everyone!!

[umbrellasky]

wow impressive lighting! I love this one, very dramatic. Nice work! :)

[yAdam]

I like it! Definately one of the best concepts you have done.:) Really nice colour and lighting. It might be cool if the city was built on a series of waterfalls/rivers, with bridges conecting each section:shrug:Maybe it wouldnt, but i thought it could make it more spectacular, and probably somewhere i'd like to live!

[Korline]

hi,
that's great light you have there, I mean this is spectacular :applause:

http://forums.cgsociety.org/showthread.php?t=275464

[YeeWu]

Hi Nathaniel! Glad to see you're entering in this challenge :) You do some killer work, and I really loved your Grand Space Opera entry! Looking forward to more of your sketches :bounce:

[NathanielWest]

Hey YeeWu! Thanks for stopping by, and I'll definitely be checking out your thread.

[NathanielWest]

yAdam-I completely forgot to respond to your comment. I think it's a really really great idea, and I'm going to play around with some different designs. I think I'm going to be going with the waterfall city and the upshot of the ships passing over the city. Thanks! :thumbsup:

[Ducklator]

nice sketch.... good luck....!:thumbsup:

[KOryH]

Cool sketch,
I know! maybe a waterfall city on a FLYING ISLAND. Huh?
just kidding.

Anyway, I would still like to see a hook. Now that we've seen Erik and Ryan's stuff in the last three star wars "art of" book we really need to go beyond that as concept guys. While having people marveling at the technique is nice it is also important to get people to think or experience a bit more than oh wow pretty colors.
Shoot for "that's F***in insane!" and maybe you will get a "oh, S***, that's wicked"
And that's not bad. I am always a fan of stuff that looks like it could be part of a series. There are some concepts and Illustrations that seem to give the impression that there is something more to be seen and the world they created is a cohesive one.
I'm not saying you don't do this in your stuff. It's just always good to hear it and think about it from time to time.

BTW this post was keeping in line with your desire to get more into the process and thinking involved with this piece

[NathanielWest]

Kory-Thank you very much for the reply.

I truly appreciate the time you took to think about the piece, and to remind me to really think things through and push the envelope. I agree with you that clunky metal spaceships and large metal buildings are nothing new, and I'm going to make sure that if I go that route, there will be something that separates it from past designs. I'm going to throw some more ideas around in my head, do a little reading, and focus awhile on not only making the visuals spectacular, but also the concept behind it.

Thanks again Kory. I think this will be very beneficial, and I'd appreciate any additional comments along the way. Don't worry about strong critiques with me....ACCD gets us used to that pretty fast, as you already know!

Nathaniel

[beelow]

I expect to see something, spectacular out of you, Nice skectch so far, this last has great lighting in it! I don't know what you can do with this, try to give it some more dynamics! Try to like make an image from a vehicle, or have like some camera man on a cliff taking pictures of this spectacular city! I hope to see this one go more development, I am liking this image too much, Good luck with it!:thumbsup:

[element5]

Hiya, I like where this is going....will be watching :thumbsup:

E5

[ahbeejieh]

Hmm... Grand Canyon meets Niagara Falls meets Futuristic City in the horizon. That would definitely be an awesome scene. Love the sunset mood man. Dont wanna be cheezy, but it kinda looks romantic :scream: Keep it up.

[newcenturydsn]

Got some real cool pics here Nathaniel, r u using a wacom or scribe or something. No matter how hard I try I can't seem to get that "look" with a mouse.

I'm using my fancy new pen mouse, I find I have much more control than a mouse and for $25 bucks you can't go wrong.

Cheers

[bao]

Beautiful sketches! Great simplicity!

[Screenblind]

Dont wanna be cheezy, but it kinda looks romantic :scream: Keep it up.

"...neither be cynical about love - for; in the face of it all: It is as perrenial as th grass...baby"

*ahem*

love can be a spectacular thing... maybe your beautiful backdrops are for a love story?

in any case I am well impressed. suerte

[PVM]

Great work! lighting and atmosphere top notch!

[2xbo]

Hi Nathaniel West. You are another paint machine?. WOW. I like your work. Looks really promising. Go go go.... keep it up and up.
I will following step by step your work. :thumbsup:

Good luck.
xbo :scream:

[CG-AvangarD]

great city scapes u'v go there man.each looks awesome then the other.keep up the good work!!!

[MDN67]

very good concept with a great potential, i wait the coloring wip for see this beautifull city

[MasonRoberts]

I love your sketches because they give you a taste of the final image when they are small or if you squint your eyes!! They are SPECTACULAR so far, keep it up!:thumbsup:

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