The Journey Begins Challenge (2D) Entry: Scott Elrond LeBlanc

[Elrond56]

http://features.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/12/11413/11413_1145058995_medium.jpg (http://features.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/12/11413/11413_1145058995_large.jpg)

What a great challenge! What an amazing amount of talent and inspiration! . . .I wasn't sure if I would have time to enter but there was no shortage of ideas . . . I seemed to be drawn to the 'dangerous' journey, one forced upon the unprepared out of necessity. I couldn't help thinking of those that must to leave their homes because of war, slavery or natural disaster . . . my 'Journey Begins' seemed destined to become an Exodus!

Visually, the Volcano fascinated me.I had visited Mt. Aetna in Sicily, and then Pompeii, an ancient city frozen in time by a volcanic eruption . . . It was destroyed during a catastrophic eruption of Mt Vesuvius in 79 AD.. The volcano buried the city under many feet of ash and it was lost for 1,600 years before its accidental rediscovery. It was impossible to walk these excavated streets, look into the buildings and see the petrified bodys of those who lived and died in that day without wondering what they felt . . . on that day and leading up to that day. Not all stayed. Some left before the great catastrophe.
On Nov. 13 1985 Nevado del Ruiz erupted in Columbia Small as eruptions go but deadly, approximately 23,000 people died. Not only lava but rivers of mud with the consistency of wet concrete came roaring down steep mountain valleys like fright trains, picking up trees, boulders and speed before converging on the town of Armero 40 miles away. This was the 2nd most deadly volcanic event of this last century.
The worse was Mt. Pele'e, on the Caribbean island of Martinique that claimed approximately 29,000 lives when it destroyed the capital city, St. Piere, in 1902.
Worldwide there are approximately 500 million people living with-in dangerous proximity to an active volcanoe! 50 to 70 erupt every year out of the 1500 plus active volcanoes on earth.

The story began to evolve and come alive and I began to create a work of art that I could pour myself into . . .

The Journey Begins . . . Count me in *)

[Elrond56]

http://features.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/12/11413/11413_1145065336_medium.jpg (http://features.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/12/11413/11413_1145065336_large.jpg)

I'm going to be pouring myself into this from here on. Characters and the landscape. The story has started to form.

Story: Sara couldn’t sleep. The sky outside her window glowed red. The taste of smoke and ash filled her dry mouth. Her eyes watered. She heard her mother and father outside her door and the unfamiliar nighttime noise of people moving through the streets.

[Elrond56]

http://features.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/12/11413/11413_1145087570_medium.jpg (http://features.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/12/11413/11413_1145087570_large.jpg)

'a mothers tears'

Sara sat up and looked over at her little brother, still and sound asleep; William could sleep through thunderstorms! Her bedroom door opened slowly and her mother entered. Kneeling beside Sara’s bed, she looked deeply into her daughter’s wide eyes. She reached out to stroke her hair then hesitated.
“Sara,” said her mother drawing a deep breath, “We are leaving. There’s no time to answer questions now. You must dress quickly and pack carefully only your overnight bag.

[Elrond56]

http://features.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/12/11413/11413_1145091977_medium.jpg (http://features.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/12/11413/11413_1145091977_large.jpg)

Sara started to ask, “Where?” but before she could, her mother placed a finger on Sara’s lips.
“We are going to The Sanctuary,’ mother said, “and from there . . . from there we will be taken by The Great Airship to a distant land prophesized and promised by The Seers. We can no longer stay here. Now help me wake William. And be strong,” mother urged. “Your little brother will need you to be strong!” And with that, her mother kissed and hugged Sara and in a whirlwind of excitement, they went swiftly out the door, through the streets of the village joining the many others making their way up the ridge path that led out of the valley.

[Elrond56]

http://features.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/12/11413/11413_1145107746_medium.jpg (http://features.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/12/11413/11413_1145107746_large.jpg)

The air was thick. It was hard to breath. Sara's eyes burned and filled with tears. She saw other families,other children and friends who, wide-eyed, nodded sadly at her or began to cry. As they climbed higher she looked back into the valley and then beyond the surrounding hills and for the first time could see what caused the smoke and red glow in the sky. She squeezed William’s hand ever tighter and turned away from the nightmarish scene. Instead, she looked up the mountainside and focused on the long, winding line of torches ahead, glowing in th early morning light.

[Lc]

Hi !

It's a good and interesting story. u can make a very good illustrations on this subject. there are a lot of possibilities to transmit the feelings of characters and u can make a very nice and vast background...

Good luck to you ;)

I think u already know some documentaries and films about your subject, but your story reminds me a movie i saw few years ago, The last day of Pompeii. I think u can be inspired by this film.

Have fun, and keep it up :)

[jevinart]

hey, pal --

love your idea here. i too am fascinated by volcanoes (recently saw a 2-hour reconstruction of Pompei on the Discovery (or was it History?) Channel -- was truly amazing!! hope you got a chance to check it out; if not, look around for the dvd).

after your incredible support of my piece "journey into war" i wanted to check out your entry -- and man, what amazing characters you have in evolution here! the emotion in the eyes of the women, as well as the apprehension and suspense in the full-faced female rendering, is truly powerful and inspiring.

i'm gonna add you to my buddy list, cause i wanna watch this piece as it transitions throughout the challenge.

very nice work -- top notch! definitely awaiting more... :cool:

[Elrond56]

Thank you 'Jevinart' and le coyote for taking a peek and for your words of praise and support. I have not had a chance to see either of those DVDs but will put them in my Blockbuster que pronto . . . I did just finish seeing a Japanese movie called Dragonhead that was pretty stunning in it's realistic depiction of Tokyo being devestated by a Volcanic eruption . . .
I will be putting up some more detailed concepts and am pretty sure the direction I'm going in though the Journey has just begun!

I'm not new to art but am new to the forum and the challenges . . . I see things have slowed down a bit in the forums and yet there are still some very amazing entries being made . . . I love the diversity of styles such as in both of your works. Be sure you 2 will be the 1st on my list and now it's back to work *)

[Elrond56]

http://features.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/12/11413/11413_1145185947_medium.jpg (http://features.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/12/11413/11413_1145185947_large.jpg)

The rivers were no more. Only deep, dark gouges remained; claw marks on the sides of mountains. Once they brought the clean, fresh waters of melting snow caps to water the fields, nourish the crops and replenish the lakes. Now they were dark shadows on the hillsides. This was why the Elders had been meeting many times a day . . . why the sun had not broken through the thick grey, cloud filled, sky for so long . . . The Earth was opening and breathing fire!

[jevinart]

beautiful coloring, pal! the texturing of the fabric is so lush and perfect (from the silk to the soft coarseness of the head covering). feel like ya' can actually reach out and touch it. and the eyes -- fantastic.....

[Elrond56]

http://features.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/12/11413/11413_1145320581_medium.jpg (http://features.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/12/11413/11413_1145320581_large.jpg)

And yet hope remained, for high atop the Pinnacle of Aslanta the waters from the eternal springs still flowed. The fires had not yet reached the sanctuary. There was still time for escape. So everyone had left their homes behind, taking only what was precious and portable and were winding their way up the ridge to The Great Ledge. At the Ledge they would ride high above the valley in cabled carts that would take them safely to The Pinnacle. From there they would follow the narrow path to The Sanctuary and prepare to board ancient airships.These airships had once brought them to this valley and once again they had been filled with air and made ready to embark on a great journey . . . destination unknown!

[Elrond56]

http://features.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/12/11413/11413_1145337089_medium.jpg (http://features.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/12/11413/11413_1145337089_large.jpg)

Thanks Kevin for the high praise regarding the first character study. Been working on 2 different landscape concepts. This is a detail of the tower where the airships would dock to pick up the evacuating townspeople.

[Elrond56]

http://features.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/12/11413/11413_1145384883_medium.jpg (http://features.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/12/11413/11413_1145384883_large.jpg)

Detail of Concept2

[Elrond56]

http://features.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/12/11413/11413_1145427644_medium.jpg (http://features.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/12/11413/11413_1145427644_large.jpg)

Been working on several versions of this . . . hope to close in on it soon!

[Elrond56]

http://features.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/12/11413/11413_1145464630_medium.jpg (http://features.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/12/11413/11413_1145464630_large.jpg)

Playing with the background . . . clouds or distant mtns with volcanic activity ? . . . why not both??? one more version and I'll decide!

[Elrond56]

http://features.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/12/11413/11413_1145611460_medium.jpg (http://features.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/12/11413/11413_1145611460_large.jpg)

Things are beginning to get HOT! I feel like I need to see what the valley would look like as the volcanoes erupt and the ground turns to dust . . .

[Elrond56]

http://features.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/12/11413/11413_1145736745_medium.jpg (http://features.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/12/11413/11413_1145736745_large.jpg)

I would love any coments viewers may have . . . I'm still not a 100% sure this is the view I want . . . hmmmmm I want more green at the top and buildings, stairs winding to the top . . . hope I have time!?

[Legolas S.M.]

Very nice sketches and design concept. I really like the colours that you have used so far and the lightning! Im sure this will turn out great. I also find the story fascinating and I think that it might increase your chances of creating a winning piece.

[skinet]

Everybody here....
Nice meet Elrond and Legolas in this forum.
I support the nice job from Elrond... I have seen much passion in this immage.
For now I don't have any smart comment, I want only say good luck to Elrond...

Ciao Andrea

[jevinart]

agreed! very creative design in the works here -- the visual interest of the background alone is extraordinary....

[paperclip]

This is looking interesting so far! The background might look better a bit desaturated though, right now it's rather over the top....you want to be able to focus on the characters. There might be a bit of an overload of colors and things going on. Try and think about what the focus of your painting is- the characters or the scenery?

[Elrond56]

Thanks 4 the compliments and critiques! *)

I've been out of action with a monster toothache that went ballistic and ended in a root canal OUCH!! So I'm just getting back to this world.

Yes Theresa, you are right about the overall saturation of the background landscape . . . much too red and no atmosphere. I think I put this up at the height of my toothache *) and everything was 'intense'. I do love painting landscapes more than characters so I do need to be careful about how much attention I spend to one and not the other.

Thank you again friends and fellow artists*)

[jeromoo]

Hi Elrond, what a very surrealistic piece here! I like the green plants dangling among the hardened lava. It shows hope in the midst of despair. But be careful of your compositioning. It looks very chaotic right now with so many vivid colours clashing with one another. It'll be nice to have one area the main focus that is lit brightly enough to call our attention to it and the rest dimmer to help support the main subjects. Do I make sense here?

Keep going and all the best!

[Elrond56]

yes Jeromoo, you make perfect sense. I am amazed at how you took a very complex composition in your surrealistic Journey Begins piece and tied it all together very neatly.

i do have a habit of working to a very saturated point but have no fear this is just a layer, just a step along the way and will only serve as a base to work from.

Stay tuned*)

[Elrond56]

http://features.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/12/11413/11413_1146212288_medium.jpg (http://features.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/12/11413/11413_1146212288_large.jpg)

Toning down the background . . . raising the heat in the foreground.

[Elrond56]

http://features.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/12/11413/11413_1146405494_medium.jpg (http://features.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/12/11413/11413_1146405494_large.jpg)

A clean slate!

[Elrond56]

http://features.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/12/11413/11413_1146419388_medium.jpg (http://features.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/12/11413/11413_1146419388_large.jpg)

Background without the Pinnacle Landing, Airship, and characters

[Elrond56]

http://features.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/12/11413/11413_1146436985_medium.jpg (http://features.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/12/11413/11413_1146436985_large.jpg)

Lines and greyscale tonal and value study. Black wash style . . . filling it out. I'm beginning to enjoy this again *)

[Elrond56]

http://features.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/12/11413/11413_1146465252_medium.jpg (http://features.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/12/11413/11413_1146465252_large.jpg)

More detailing and deciding placement for landing pinnacle. I see the left side of the painting filled with rivers of lava and an opening in the top right that gives hope to a far away safe haven.

[Elrond56]

http://features.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/12/11413/11413_1146522973_medium.jpg (http://features.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/12/11413/11413_1146522973_large.jpg)

Adding detail . . adding elements, liking this version most even though earlier version was more dramatic this one has depth and life. We'll see . . .

[oceanbluesky]

Hey Scott, like the classical Asian touch in your landscapes -- and, especially like your enthusiasm for this 'personal' journey...looking forward to seeing what you come up with...appreciate your research/reference photos too. Good luck!

[Elrond56]

Thanks 'BlueSky'! By the way the photo is of our daughter who is in the Peace Corp and was in Bangladesh up until a month ago when things got a bit too 'hot' and the Peace Corp in Bangladesh were brought home rather unexpectedly. She was very close to those she was helping/teaching and living with but didn't even have a chance to say goodbye . . . it was that 'unexpected'! Her situation was part of my inspiration for 'Unexpected Journey'.

Stay tuned!

[Elrond56]

http://features.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/12/11413/11413_1146640384_medium.jpg (http://features.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/12/11413/11413_1146640384_large.jpg)

A little more depth, a little more detail, some atmosphere and color scheme.

My thought process is to actually show the landscape before and during the change that occurs as the earth erupts and the lava flows while I go through the creation process.

so much to do . . . a lifetime to complete *)

[Elrond56]

http://features.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/12/11413/11413_1148021213_medium.jpg (http://features.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/12/11413/11413_1148021213_large.jpg)

It's been absolutely insane in this part of the world . . . lotsa rain and lotsa stumbling blocks which have kept me from this 'Journey' . . . Still I'm throwing every spare moment I have with the deadline looming . . . characters and additional set elements are in seperate files . . . hope to post more soon!!

I feel so left behind *(

[Elrond56]

http://features.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/12/11413/11413_1148772734_medium.jpg (http://features.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/12/11413/11413_1148772734_large.jpg)

Story: Sara couldn’t sleep. The sky outside her window glowed red. The taste of smoke and ash filled her dry mouth. Her eyes watered. She heard her mother and father outside her door and the unfamiliar nighttime noise of people moving through the streets.

Sara sat up and looked over at her little brother, still and sound asleep; William could sleep through thunderstorms! Her bedroom door opened slowly and her mother entered. Kneeling beside Sara’s bed, she looked deeply into her daughter’s wide eyes. She reached out to stroke her hair then hesitated.
“Sara,” said her mother drawing a deep breath, “We are leaving. There’s no time to answer questions now. You must dress quickly and pack carefully only your overnight bag.

Sara started to ask, “Where?” but before she could, her mother placed a finger on Sara’s lips.
“We are going to The Sanctuary,’ mother said, “and from there . . . from there we will be taken by The Great Airship to a distant land prophesized and promised by The Seers. We can no longer stay here. Now help me wake William. And be strong,” mother urged. “Your little brother will need you to be strong!” And with that, her mother kissed and hugged Sara and in a whirlwind of excitement, they went swiftly out the door, through the streets of the village joining the many others making their way up the ridge path that led out of the valley.

The air was thick. It was hard to breath. Sara's eyes burned and filled with tears. She saw other families,other children and friends who, wide-eyed, nodded sadly at her or began to cry. As they climbed higher she looked back into the valley and then beyond the surrounding hills and for the first time could see what caused the smoke and red glow in the sky. She squeezed William’s hand ever tighter and turned away from the nightmarish scene. Instead, she looked up the mountainside and focused on the long, winding line of torches ahead, glowing in th early morning light.

The rivers were no more. Only deep, dark gouges remained; claw marks on the sides of mountains. Once they brought the clean, fresh waters of melting snow caps to water the fields, nourish the crops and replenish the lakes. Now they were dark shadows on the hillsides. This was why the Elders had been meeting many times a day . . . why the sun had not broken through the thick grey, cloud filled, sky for so long . . . The Earth was opening and breathing fire!

And yet hope remained, for high atop the Pinnacle of Aslanta the waters from the eternal springs still flowed. The fires had not yet reached the sanctuary. There was still time for escape. So everyone had left their homes behind, taking only what was precious and portable and were winding their way up the ridge to The Great Ledge. At the Ledge they would ride high above the valley in cabled carts that would take them safely to The Pinnacle. From there they would follow the narrow path to The Sanctuary and prepare to board ancient airships.These airships had once brought them to this valley and once again they had been filled with air and made ready to embark on a great journey . . . destination unknown!


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************************

A work of Art shouldn't be in a contest . . . It should be finished because of a deadline . . . It's very hard to submit this as I know I envision so much more but alas time is up!

To the next journey . . .*)

And congratulations to everyone that participated in this one . . . you R all amazing!!

[jevinart]

wow! beautiful finish, pal! love the rich, fresh colors and the sense of depth and enormity you achieved with this piece. bold, beautiful and dramatic -- excellent work!!

[Elrond56]

Thanks Kevin! Time waits 4 no one and I just ran out of it!!


I started attending AnimationMentor (an animation school mentored by the wizards from Pixar, Dreamworks, ILM etc. ) in the middle of this challenge and it has been consuming whatever time I had to work on the challenge(and mingle) . . . but it has been exciting and hopefully I can get more involved here as time goes on.

Keep up the amazing work U do!!! and I'll see ya around.

cheers,
Scott

[jevinart]

very cool, Scott! i ran a freelance animation shop for 10 years (won a few cool awards in the process).... it's a fun -- and demanding -- career! i didn't have the cool minds of hollywood to give me a jump start tho (altho i met a few in the process); what a wonderful opportunity... are you planning on working for pixar or dreamworks, or going off on your own (or enhancing your current shop with an animation pipeline)?

best to ya, pal!!!

[Elrond56]

Hey Kevin,

A bit late with the response but we've had some nasty storms up this way and power outages galore. We were actually the victim of a nasty powersurge and I lost 3 computers and a TV . . .
So I've been 'unplugged' for a couple weeks as I rewired and beefed up my protection.

A freelance animation shop ?. . . that is part of the dream. As has been the case for some time, the majority of work is always out West, with some stuff going on in Boston and New York. Maybe Siggraph being in Boston is a sign of the times changing . . . and hopefully will help change the impression that all the talent/opportunities are in Calif. If I wanted to trade in my beautiful home in the country for a smaller stucco box in 'insanely' expensive San Fran or LA I could be working for a studio yesterday . . . but alas at this point in my life there are more important things. So my wife and I do freelance work in the area and I'm attending AnimationMentor.com to get to 'really' know how .
I'm sure you know how the business is . . . you have to have a plan but you have to be completely ready to change that plan as the playing field is ever morphing into some new animal.


As 4 working for one of the big companies . . . It could be cool but I'm not sure if I would as it would still mean quite a sacrifice of lifestyle. I would consider working for Peter Jackson in New Zealand though in a heart beat!!
*)

I have visited your site by the way and I can see why you would win awards .
. . lotsa talent!


So, we(my wife Lajla and I) will be going to Siggraph, finally! The
Animation Mentor group is going to have a few things going on for the
students but if you're going to be there we should be able to hook up and catch up.

well the rain is coming down super hard . . . again, and the lights just
flickered . . . so that's my cue to say ciao 4 now

keep in touch and best in all!!

*>
Scott

[jevinart]

hey, pal -- i must say that your image here is quite amazing, even for a not-so-complete vision. the unfinished areas actually have a cool compositional balance here, drawing your attention to the key areas. i love this work (one of my fav's in the challenge).

BTW, your guidance on my "journey into war" piece has helped me to create a painting that has garnered more praise and attention than any other work i've done in quite a while. after this challenge was completed, i posted "journey into war" on another site i frequent -- the image snatched front page exposure, 2,000 views in 24 hours, and over 500 responses (both personal messages and comments). fukkin blew me away, pal. i owe a lot of this recognition to you, your comments, and your recollection of your own experiences in helping me create a visually powerful and accurate representation of the vietnam experience....

i have such a deep respect for you and your talent, an am deeply grateful for your input on my own piece --- it really made it a success....

thanks a bunch, pal....

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