Fantasy Castle - WIP

[Runecaster]

Hey there :) It does look Disneyesque but is that the intent? I love that you can 3d model it to get the right lighting and shadows -- what an awesome idea :) Will be cool to watch this one develop.

[Sagitarii]

I like the desing of your castel, expecialy the connection between the two towers is a very good idea (I think it chould be a little bigger)
I don't think it looks too disney like (did you know that a real castle (http://web.wilson.k12.pa.us/buildings/sh/staffpages/clatin/Neuschwanstein.jpg)in germany was the model for the disney castle?)
My only critique would be that the general shape looks too much like a pyramid.

[Feyd-Rautha]

Runecaster: Thanks. The intent is not really to have something that looks disneyesque, but I guess it's not too big of a problem if it looks a little disneyesque. I mainly just want it to look very fantasy.

Sagitarii: Thanks. The connection between the towers should be bigger, or the castle should be bigger? Yeah, the castle in germany is called Neuschwanstein and it's awesome! I used it as some of the reference for this. You're right about the pyramid shape of it, I'll play around with the design some more.

[ThePhotographer]

I'm going to learn to model myself for exactly the same purpose as you.

I find that some parts of your image are a little bit too symmetrical. I would choose another angle so that the two lower middle towers wouldn't be so identical. Also the two smaller towers just above are a little bit too much alike. I would try to have one of them higher than the other.

Those things would help to get the pyramid feel away in my opinion.

Oh, and just a last thing : the very top tower - I'd make it higher than the tower just beside it.

[Feyd-Rautha]

Thanks Photographer!

I've made a bunch of changes. I turned it to a slight angle, changed the shape of some of the towers, added a new balcany on one of them to differentiate it, added a new square tower, moved some things to reduce the pyramid shape, and rendered it in perspective. The perspective is intentionaly very flat because the castle is going to be seen from a distance.

What do you all think?

http://www.damondubois.com/CastleRender03.jpg


Should the tallest tower be taller?

[kefka]

I think the tallest tower is okay like it is now.

Maybe you could rethink the diagonal bridge in between higher towers, I don't think it fits very well, but that's just me!!

The general shape of the castle is really cool. Keep going, I wonder what kind of concept will emerge from this!

[Runecaster]

Ohh I disagree, I love those kinds of bridges - it's at a steep angle though, I mean, imagine having to walk on that! haha! :D But I do like the bridge and changes you made.

[Feyd-Rautha]

Thanks for the input guys! :)

I'm pretty happy myself with the way it's looking, though I still might make some small changes. I've started on the over-all scene now. I'll try to post that soon.

[Zephyri]

This is the reason I wish I had even the slightest inkling of how to use a 3d program. Really like the look so far, It'll be interesting to see what kind of colours you're thinking of... I think the reason it looks Disneyesque is just the fact it's white with a coloured roof. And I'm really interested to know what the rest of the scene will be like.

[Feyd-Rautha]

Here's an update. I started working on the composition and the color palette. It's a pretty simple scene right now, but there will be a few more major elements added, like possibly a tree and some crumbling ruins in the foreground. Also the ground in the foreground will likly change in some way.

As always, critiques are very welcome! :)

http://www.damondubois.com/FantasyCastle01.jpg

[Feyd-Rautha]

I decided I didn't like the foreground at all and changed it completely.

I'm thinking I may change the shape of the castle a little so that it flows with the form of the rock better.

http://www.damondubois.com/FantasyCastle03.jpg

[Feyd-Rautha]

Another update. I've repainted the clouds, although I'm not completely happy with them. I also changed the shape of the castle a bit to flow with the form of the rocks a little better.

I haven't started painting over the castle yet.
http://www.damondubois.com/FantasyCastle04.jpg

[Runecaster]

Cool concept feyd - I like it a lot! Too early to crit I think. What plan for the castle?

[Feyd-Rautha]

Thanks Runecaster :)

I'm not 100% sure what I'm going to do with the castle, but I'll be working on that next. I'm thinking of giving it a more aged look, with exposed stone work in places and ivy growing up some of the walls. I'll be painting in alot of detail like tile on roofs, windows, metal spires on roofpeaks, possibly gold trim on peaks and bases of rooftops. Railings on bridges and balconies.

[carney]

Haha Thats Cool

[Feyd-Rautha]

Thanks carney :)

Painted over the castle. Also bumped the contrast up a little for the whole image.

Any crits will be much appreciated :thumbsup:

http://www.damondubois.com/FantasyCastle05.jpg


I'm probably going to paint the cliffs next.

[Feyd-Rautha]

Painted the rocks. I'm getting pretty close to done I think. Although I feel that something is missing. And I know the rocks need more work.

http://www.damondubois.com/FantasyCastle06.jpg

[carney]

Wow impressive thats coming along quite nicely! :)

[aldog]

I think it looks great so far, makes me want to paint a castle of my own.

A couple things that stick out to me, I think the moons look weird, maybe they should be facing the other way, and the one further back should be darker.

also your bridge that connects the rock staircase to the castle, I think it seems to low, I just don't know how a person would get from that area to the front of the castle, maybe have your staircase come to the top of that rockformation, and have the bridge end up right at the front of the castle.
I also think that overall your rocks should be darker on the right side to fit the lighting of the castle.

good work though, VERY good.

[Feyd-Rautha]

Thanks guys!

You're right aldog, I do need to work on the moons more. I'd kind of over-looked them in my obsessing over the castle and the rocks :D

My original idea with the bridge was to have a staircase carved into the rocks on the far side that lead up to the castle, but your idea of moving the bridge up might be better. I'll have to play around with that a bit.

I agree with you on the rocks as well. They'll get some more shading.

[Feyd-Rautha]

Just a small update. I painted darker shadows into the rocks to match the shadows on the castle. I also raised the bridge and added a little path leading to the castle.

I still need to work on the moons.
http://www.damondubois.com/FantasyCastle07.jpg

[aldog]

ahhh, very nice work with the bridge
could see myself walking across it now.
good job

[MPavel]

I like the colours you use! Great mood. Good luck! It`ll be a great stuff in the end, sure things! =)

[Raido]

Looks like a promising work. The concept of the castle is really cool. I just believe that the color of the castle's shadows should be changed to something appropriate for the background. Currently the shadows are kinda' blackish, while the ambience around is a soft pink-and-blue (by the way - good colors for the ambience), so you should insert some blues and purples to the shading. Hope I've been helpful =)
It will be great to see the final result. Keep it up!

[Defcombeta]

one thing that gets me is the perfection of everything, the base of the castle etc no rubble no imperfect ground such as a bit of stone breaking up the base of the wall and make things less clinical, some random out crops of stone etc. also some more stone "pillar" etc in the bacground behind the castle to suggest depth and space , just remember to use the have them recide into the clouds / over all depth of the piece

alos i agreee on the points about the shadows play about with them

j mac

[Cothull]

I think it would be cool to see a figure crossing that bridge to the castle. Perhaps the lord of the castle returning home after a long jouney. It would help give a sense of scale.

[Feyd-Rautha]

Thanks for all the great input everyone! :)

I'm working on a new version now and will hopfully have it up soon.

[Feyd-Rautha]

Here's an update. I got rid of the black shadows on the castle. I added rubble at the base of the wall and played around with the grass as well, making it a little more random and natural looking. I also added some mis-colored bricks in the castle walls (although it's pretty subtle). And I added birght highlights from the rising sun across everything.

I tried putting in background pillars of rock, and they looked good, but I felt the painting lost it's over-all open, airy feel so I took them back out. I'm still mulling over the idea of adding people on the bridge.

http://www.damondubois.com/FantasyCastle08.jpg

[Runecaster]

Feyd this is beautiful! I'm really partial to this type of image though - and I'm so jealous you can model something like that in 3d and paint over it - because it looks AMAZING - really well done there.Along that vein, it doesn't quite match the completeness of the rocks - which needs more refining to come up to par with the castle - but you're probably still working on that! :)

[klyp]

Wow, this is nice! :thumbsup: That looks like a very thin, scary bridge though. :) How about just a bit more support under it?

[Feyd-Rautha]

Thanks for the compliments, they're very encouraging! :D

Runecaster: You're right, the rocks do need more work. I've kind of held off on them because I wasn't really sure how to approach it. I want the castle to be more detailed since it is the meant to be the focal point of image, so I was concerned about adding more detail to the rocks. I think the term you used, 'refine', hits the nail on the head though. There is alot of cleaning up and 'refining' that I could do without actually adding any more detail.

klyp: Yes, it is a thin scary bridge, but it's meant to be. :D Like the long thin un-supported bridges in Moria from LOTR.

[klyp]

Ah, I see! To keep unwanted 'big heavy things (that can't fly)' out. :)

[Feyd-Rautha]

Ah, I see! To keep unwanted 'big heavy things (that can't fly)' out. :)

Exactly! :D

[Irate-Velociraptor]

:thumbsup: :thumbsup: Great pic
I like the addition of the rocks and what you've done to the vegitation.
How about adding a lady going up the bridge between towers?

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