The Journey Begins Challenge (2D) Entry: Erich Schreiner

[ErichSchreiner]

http://features.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/12/10948/10948_1142247835_medium.jpg (http://features.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/12/10948/10948_1142247835_large.jpg)

i finally managed to do a first rough sketch. i made some thumbnails and thought about a few ideas, scanned my favourite and blew him up digitally to about letterzize, 72 dpi.
then i drew the first rough sketch on top of that thumb.

the concept: i want to show a crowd of persons climbing down some mountains. they belong to a people that was driven into the snowy mountains centuries ago by their enemies, where they lived a hard, deprivated life.
now the ice moves, and so must they.
the glaciers won't stop growing, pushing the people out of their habitat.

some of them decided to climb back to where they came from, not knowing what happened during the centuries. Are the enemies still enemies? what problems might arise during their journey? will life become better? etc...
some are afraid, some full of hope.
no one knows if the strenous journey they've taken will lead to reward or death.

The main problem here is to have some faces close enough to show emotion and enough space for the landscape in the background.

my rough sketch is just a first try to get the idea down on the canvas, and it's very probable, that i will change some things.

hope you enjoy my process and good luck to you all :)

[artvandeley]

Hi Erich,
what a nice surprise you are joining in as well. Great! :bounce:
Go DD- Forum, Go!! :D

Have fun!

[ErichSchreiner]

http://features.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/12/10948/10948_1142588305_medium.jpg (http://features.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/12/10948/10948_1142588305_large.jpg)

this is my first value sketch. i used only three of them, to describe shadow and light areas.

[ErichSchreiner]

hi Torsten, nice to see you participating on this challenge, hope your amount of commercial work is not too high (well, hopefully on the weekends). but there are about 70 days left, so i guess you will create another masterpiece :)

[Hexodus]

Hi Chief, I'm glad to find you here working on your next masterpice. I raly miss you on DD.

[ErichSchreiner]

http://features.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/12/10948/10948_1143099865_medium.jpg (http://features.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/12/10948/10948_1143099865_large.jpg)

found this old sketch of mine, and changed it a bit, added tone and color. the idea is a person taken by the mighty souleater-demon with its painful journey beneath to the labyrinths of torture and pain...he, he :)

well i don't know. still searching for ideas and concepts.

[anzibon]

awesome!!

but i think i like the story of the displaced people better. depends how much time you want to devote to this thing i guess. it's certainly a lot more involved.

look forward to some more eye candy,
~B

[ErichSchreiner]

@hexodus
thx man...are you joining the challange as well? would be cool.
don't worry because of my abstinence of the dd-forum. this break is the thing i needed right now...i do a lot of things, and i'm trying different stuff and techniques that i wouldn't have done without.

[ErichSchreiner]

@anzibon

think you are right. the first concept gives a lot more storywise...if i stay with it, i will finish the demon anyway...it looks too cool :)

thx

[Chinasky]

Hi El Chief!
Two totally different concepts. Each one interesting in it's own way. Maybee You should consider that the pictures themselves have to tell the whole story without further verbal explanations, so nobody would know about the history of the down- or upclimbing people. But on the ohter hand that's the problem for all of us. ;)
Great to have You in the challenge anyway! :bounce:

[artvandeley]

Agreed, and you still have plenty of time left, Erich, to come up with the perfect concept.

I think both of them have their pros, hard to decide. Hm, i think i would rather see a third idea from you to choose from. ( now that´s cheap :blush: )

Keep it up!

[Hexodus]

I prefere your first concept. It has more potential IMO. Or you'll come along with a third one.

[Rebeccak]

Hiya Erich,

Great to see you in the Challenge! Best of luck, I really look forward to seeing what you come up with! :)

Cheers,

~Rebeccak

[Glosep]

It looks cool, very different from the rest. I like your idea. Maybe the first one looks more like a jouney but the new sketch is more interesting.

[jevinart]

wow -- cool character. creepy & disturbing -- like it!!

[ErichSchreiner]

sorry for answering so late, but i couldn't figure out something new till now.


@China
you are absolutely right, but i guess that's what does make it difficult, isn't it ? :)

@art, Hexodus
third idea is on its way...

@Rebecca
thx, i think i need some pressure now, some days are still left, but not that much :)

@snowan, jevinart
thx guys, hope you like the new concept too

[ErichSchreiner]

http://features.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/12/10948/10948_1147279393_medium.jpg (http://features.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/12/10948/10948_1147279393_large.jpg)

after thinking a lot without any results about the theme, and how i could transfer it to another, unexpected idea, i finally chose to do something different.
I want to illustrate a guy, who is offering himself to a vampire, for living the rest of his undead life among the creatures of night.
Perhaps there's nothing in reality that's worth living for, or he lost his beloved wife or something else happened, that pushed him to go this far.
So it's the point of no return, his reality is breaking and his journey begins.
I had a reference for the girl's pose and proportions and shot a few photos of myself for the guy. The ornament on the ground is norwegian (i scanned it out of a book for saving time).
The girls face looks not that pretty by now, but i found reference for that too, so don't worry.

All further details are added while rendering.

Next step will be a value sketch.

[Rebeccak]

Hi Erich,

I haven't been good at all with keeping up with the Challenge (either mine or anyone else's) :rolleyes: but it's great to see you still working on this! Really liking the direction of your sketch so far, I hope you will finish!

Miss seeing you on the Anatomy Forum!

Cheers, :)

~Rebeccak

[ErichSchreiner]

http://features.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/12/10948/10948_1147348185_medium.jpg (http://features.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/12/10948/10948_1147348185_large.jpg)

Here i roughly figured out the values, points of interests etc and tried to get some mood in the painting.
The lights are not that realistic, but i think that adds to the scene. it should feel magical / not real.

Compositionwise i just used the rule of thirds as a starting point (girls face is close to the dividing point above left, guys face is close to the point above right).
i will emphasize the diagonal through their faces (points of interests).
The spiral behind them should add movement.


Next step will be thinking about colours...

[ErichSchreiner]

@Rebekka

well, you still have 16 days...but i guess you've got a lot of other stuff to do as well. it's just a contest, so don't worry. :)

i will check back to the anatomy forum in a few weeks...

[ErichSchreiner]

http://features.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/12/10948/10948_1147424841_medium.jpg (http://features.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/12/10948/10948_1147424841_large.jpg)

first rough color lay-in. doesn't look to good right now, but will be a good starting point.

[ErichSchreiner]

http://features.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/12/10948/10948_1147438412_medium.jpg (http://features.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/12/10948/10948_1147438412_large.jpg)

worked a little bit on the figures, just to see where this might go.

[digitaldecoy]

The composition looks really good and I like your new concept! Watch for that flame beneath the figures and don't make it's light to bright because taht would only distract from the figures and wont't look realistic. The face of the vampire looks quite good at the moment. Why is she wearing two different kinds of stockings?

Keep going, that looks quite promising!

[ErichSchreiner]

@digital
you're right. i thought about toning the orange light and perhaps the greenish backlight a bit down.
She wears two different stockings because i want to add a tattoo that runs down her back to her thigh later... i think Royo dresses his figures asymmetrical often, so i might be influenced by his work :)

thx.

[MrFreeman]

Looking good Erich

I have to say that i did like the character in your early sketches, but this is coming on really well and the lighting is starting to add a lot of depth.

I'll be interested to see what you put in the background

only two weeks left so keep up the good work :) :)

[ErichSchreiner]

http://features.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/12/10948/10948_1147522179_medium.jpg (http://features.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/12/10948/10948_1147522179_large.jpg)

further rendering and detailing...

[ErichSchreiner]

@MrFreeman

thx a lot david :)
right at the moment i don't know what to put in the background. perhaps i'll extend her headpiece, or indicate some clouds. i will add a bunch of details to the foreground figures etc, so perhaps i need some calmer areas in the background.

[jevinart]

realy cool style and composition! love the character design, posing and symbolism -- great work....

[ErichSchreiner]

big thank you :)

there's a lot to do, but i think i'll get it done in time.

[ErichSchreiner]

http://features.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/12/10948/10948_1147611666_medium.jpg (http://features.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/12/10948/10948_1147611666_large.jpg)

added further decoration for the cross, and thought about changing the vampire to a witch. she will get some magical flames around her arm, for touching the guy and giving him a branding (like you would give one to cows), binding him to the other side.

had no time to render the deco yet...

[artvandeley]

Hey Erich, this is coming along very nice.
However i would suggest to put more effort in the values and colors before detailing. The man for example doesn´t have to be that bright, his dark shape with a brighter spot to tell the story would do. Don´t distract the viewer from the good things you achieved already like the girls face.
And while you´re at it, why not thinking about to introduce a bloodish red somehow in the picture to get more of this vampire theme . Hm, when i come to consider it, maybe you should postpone this... for now,hehe.

Way to go!

[ErichSchreiner]

http://features.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/12/10948/10948_1147678961_medium.jpg (http://features.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/12/10948/10948_1147678961_large.jpg)

color change

[ErichSchreiner]

funny, that you mention 'red', Torsten, cause i had the same idea yesterday. i didn't like the blue anymore and got rid of most of it.
you're right with the values. i always have to adjust them after laying in the base colors over the greyscale sketch, but i'm not good enough yet to start with colors right away :)
thx

[Rebeccak]

Hi Erich,

This is starting to look really cool! :)

If I may offer a crit, I think the characters are looking a bit flattish so far ~ something about the tilt of her head makes it seem as though she must have a paper~thin neck. I think if you sketched in her neck and skull overtop of the hair as a double~check, this would become more apparent. :)

Also I think there is something about his face that is flattening things out. At the moment, his eye appears to float too superficially on the surface of his face ~ it doesn't appear to be quite sitting in an eyesocket, or to be far enough away from the root of his nose. The head proportion is a bit odd, I think he looks a bit flat~headed / remember the eyes in the middle of the face rule.

Hope this helps. :)

Cheers,

~Rebeccak

[ErichSchreiner]

http://features.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/12/10948/10948_1147710121_medium.jpg (http://features.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/12/10948/10948_1147710121_large.jpg)

refined the background. next step is working on the figures again (need some refs for the male figure etc).

[ErichSchreiner]

Rebecca

thx. i will think about your thoughts when i start working on the figures again...the paintings now a bit too dark, cause i embedded the sRGB-profile (don't know why it differs from the adobeRGB-Profile when looked at with the Internet Explorer. within Photoshop the paintings look the same)

[Rebeccak]

Erich,

Two great sources of reference are:

http://characterdesigns.com/

http://justmeina.deviantart.com/gallery/

The latter one in particular is of a really good male model, Ben Miller. He even takes requests for poses, so you might think about contacting him.

This thread may be useful to you in the future (the above links are listed here):

Reference for Anatomical and Figurative Art (http://forums.cgsociety.org/showthread.php?t=257570)

Cheers, :)

~Rebecca

[ErichSchreiner]

http://features.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/12/10948/10948_1147727908_medium.jpg (http://features.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/12/10948/10948_1147727908_large.jpg)

working on the witch

[ErichSchreiner]

@Rebecca
thx. i'll check them out tomorrow. i'm tired, tired, tired... :)

[ErichSchreiner]

http://features.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/12/10948/10948_1147784143_medium.jpg (http://features.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/12/10948/10948_1147784143_large.jpg)

working on the guy...

[ErichSchreiner]

http://features.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/12/10948/10948_1147870880_medium.jpg (http://features.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/12/10948/10948_1147870880_large.jpg)

next step will be the final colouring...adjusting things etc, making the cross more old...

[ErichSchreiner]

and again, the sRGB-profile made my painting appear darker on the screen...does anybody know that problem?

[ErichSchreiner]

http://features.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/12/10948/10948_1147958836_medium.jpg (http://features.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/12/10948/10948_1147958836_large.jpg)

i'm thinking about adding some indicated buildings in the lower left, so that the viewér might get a hint of what lies beyound the magic barrier... and to come a little closer to the theme. i know my painting doesn't fit that good, but ok, i'll be glad having finished anything in a few days.

[Cyberone]

hello!!
this has been comming up quite well over the last few days...

the only real problem that i have with the image is that her stockings are different lenghts on each leg...is this for any reason??
id like to see the rith stocking pulled up over her knee like the other...

anyway...its looking great!!

keep at it!

CYb

[ErichSchreiner]

thx a lot :)

now you are the second one that mentions the stockings, so i changed them today (will post that version tomorrow).

i'm going to indicate some demonic faces / beings in the background. those are more interesting than buildings, i hope. :)

[ErichSchreiner]

http://features.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/12/10948/10948_1148028350_medium.jpg (http://features.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/12/10948/10948_1148028350_large.jpg)

changed stockings and some minor things. i tried indicating some faces in the background, but those were to distracting, so i erased them back out.
i think i'm slowly coming to an end...

[ErichSchreiner]

http://features.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/12/10948/10948_1148036808_medium.jpg (http://features.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/12/10948/10948_1148036808_large.jpg)

i think that's it. i will look over it in a few hours or tomorrow again.

if you have any comments or critique please let me know :)

[artvandeley]

Looking good , Erich.
I somehow still got a problem with those values and the distracting background. I would suggest to darken it a little bit in order to put the emphasis back on the group/lady.
I also think that the colors don´t go together very well, especially her skintone on the back: where does this Blue come from?
I made an OP if you don´t mind . It´s just to show how mood and effekt would change,you don´t have to do it that way of course.
Weiter so !
http://www.torstenwolber.de/katalog/ElChiefOP.jpg

[ErichSchreiner]

http://features.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/12/10948/10948_1148057116_medium.jpg (http://features.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/12/10948/10948_1148057116_large.jpg)

Ok, according to Torstens critique here's an alternative coloring.

[ErichSchreiner]

hi Torsten and thx for your thoughtful critique. You're right in many points, so i decided to go with a greenish background color, that complements the red nicely.

thx a lot

P.S: looking forward to an update of your entry :)

[ErichSchreiner]

http://features.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/12/10948/10948_1148114132_medium.jpg (http://features.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/12/10948/10948_1148114132_large.jpg)

So here's my final painting.
I know i'm off the given theme a bit but i am glad having this finished.

It shows a man who will leave his reality behind soon, to experience another world full of magic and new things to explore.
After the touch of the witch, everything will change...

I think that's something we all want from time to time, just leaving our everyday life behind :)

good luck to all those fantastic entries i have already seen...looking forward to the next challenge :)

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