A place to rest

[Digitalpaint]

Nice start:)

[TimonQ]

Leaving the sky still lit (indicating it's not too late at night), leave the environment feeling more open, give you a sense of the world beyond just the forest. That might fight with trying to establish a secluded feeling, of a cozy little inn deep in the forest. Actually, since the building rises up out of the scene it has a bit of a "large tall corporate building" feel.
It's not like the builders came upon some dead tree or burned out stump, they went and hollowed out the entirety of one of these huge trees.

The pale blue glow out in the distance is also a bit foreboding, like an undead mist. It leads me into thinking "I would sure rather go to this inn rather than continue down this road for the night", like the inn is security blanket, something to grab onto/go to for safety.

The trees behind the inn seem lit just as much as the ones before it. I know there's probably rooms on the back shining out at them, but it might be more dramatic to darken them just a little more? At least so that all the trees aren't as evenly lit.

Scale is a bit sketchy right now. The fern looking plants at the base of the tree in the lower left would seem to be pretty huge, but since most people are used to seeing that type of plant smaller the initial impression is a bit confusing. The doorway is a good anchor for scale, but I still don't know if this is a little gnome house or what.

[RalphDamiani]

Thanks Arty.

All very good points Timon. I've been on this for some hours and as it happens to most of us I've lost some of my judgment until I take a break or someone points out whatever isn't quite fitting. =)

At this point it might help to explain what I'm imagining: A journey through a mysterious, somewhat threatening forest, it's getting dark and suddenly you come across a small dwelling, well lit from the inside. It's too small for a human, but large enough to take you in for a safe night.

With that in mind I agree with you that leaving the sky visible detaches from the feeling of security the inn may offer. I will do away with it.

About the size of the building, I hadn't actually considered making it smaller, but now it seems like a pretty good idea, so it looks more confortable and less intimidating.

The trees on the back were indeed lit by backrooms, but I suppose making the whole background darker makes a better "haven" area in the foreground.

The plants are a bit larger yes, even though I imagined a gnome house. I'll work carefully on the vegation later on, when I'm happy with the lighting.

All very valuable tips, thanks very much. I'll post an updated WIP later on.

[RalphDamiani]

http://xs305.xs.to/xs305/06336/woodsmood2.jpg

I think it looks much better with the suggested changes, thanks.

[RalphDamiani]

Now with details added, some minor colour changes. There are still plenty of details to be added to the top of the tree and the bottom right of the canvas. Haven't touched the water stream yet. Critiques at this stage are very welcome before I proceed. :)

http://xs105.xs.to/xs105/06353/woodswip1.jpg

[RalphDamiani]

http://xs106.xs.to/xs106/06372/woodswip2.jpgWell, here's the latest one. Not sure where to go from here. Will probably call it finished unless someone kindly points out a flaw or suggests anything. :]

[Stefander]

Looks pretty finished to me, you might want to make the lights inside the house a little whiter as it gets closer to the source, now it looks like the walls glow... Also, a few tweaks to the little river running through wouldn't hurt either, looks a little too perfect to me... And the water could use some little tweaks as well to make it more believable... Not sure where you're going with the curved vegetables (?) on the bottom center, I'm not really sure what to think of them... Just a few tips, here to help ;)

I like the atmosphere of the painting, it really got me... :thumbsup:

[LDiehl]

I like your latest update especially.

I feel that the next step might be to add more specific textures. Right now I'm getting that multipurpose "texture" texture feeling from it as if the same image has been thrown over the ground and trees. I want to visually feel the bark of the trees and the loam/grass/foliage/whatever of the forest floor. The forest floor especially is reading as a rather floofy cloud texture. If you want a mist-covered feeling I suggest you first get the foliage down and then shroud it in swirls of painted mist here and there. I think the best texture in your painting is that top room roof, you need more areas to have just as solid a textural feel.

Also, I think I still need a better point of reference for scale. I see the figure in the background, but somehow I can't help but think the tree is the size of a toy (might be the "cuteness" of it)...What if you added more fireflies/fairies as a way to show the depth -you know, they could be the size of the fairy in the foreground (or larger) near the viewer graduating to distant sparks of light near the human figure. Just a thought.

Looking good. Keep it up :)

[RalphDamiani]

Thanks both of you, these are very valid suggestions. I'll get them worked this afternoon. :thumbsup:

[RalphDamiani]

Based on your input, here's the latest version:

http://xs106.xs.to/xs106/06373/gnome_small.jpg

And here the larger version: http://xs106.xs.to/xs106/06373/gnome_large.jpg

Let me know what you think. =)

[LDiehl]

It's looking better =) I have a small paint-over for you if you don't mind. I never am sure if I'm actually making an image better, but here goes: I put a lot more emphasis on the light, thickened the tree trunks (at least a couple looked really thin), and did a little bit with bark texture (over-exaggerated and rough as it may be). I also messed a tad with the color. Hope you get something from it.

http://www.ldiehl.com/misc/gnome_paintover.jpg

[RalphDamiani]

I see what you mean by adding more bark to the trunks. I like the effect, will try to improve later tomorrow.
I'll also try to add more light to the scene, as the contrast is very enticing. Thanks for the tips. :]

[Gmax]

Some good stuff you got going here! I really like your style and the atmosphere you've achieved. I agree with Laura that it still lacks textures, but I found the bright highlights from the doors and windows a bit distracting from the rest of the forest, making the overall mood less eerie. To me it seems that the forest is threatened by the activities going on inside the house, rather than the other way around. Perhaps some gaps between the trees in the distance where lights could shine through would add depth to the forest and make it a bit more overwhelming?

[fiftyfive]

good work man, here and in all the paintovers you've done, i personaly do like the paintover that exadurates the light , i dont mind the thing tree's though...

[Conkrys]

Looking pretty good.... the only thing I want to not is the intensity of the light in the last painting.... I think it's a bit too bright... just a tad.... it's very interesting how this came a long.... do carry on.

[Conkrys]

Ooops sorry... the last one was a paintover...

[Shadowbrooke]

I really like the latest version you've uploaded (the one that's less bright). The forest looks really mysterious and the pink & purple next to the little village is a very nice touch. Great design overall and hope to see more updates soon :)

Brooke.

[RalphDamiani]

So there it is. I decided to put it to rest now, as it's the artist's bane to always abandon rather than finish. I'm already happy with the colour and mood and I've achieved what I intended: The discovery of an apparently cozy but somewhat eccentric and alien abode, lost in a magic forest bathed in moonlight. Danger lurks nearby, but there's also awe and wonderful things to be found.

I tried the lighting set up suggested in the paintover, and I agree with what was said here already: It made the tree more intimidating than the forest. So instead I added another subtle but noticeable layer of light. The barks for some reason didn't look right in my strokes, though they looked fine in the paintover. So instead I added some more thinner strokes for detail.

Last and not least I added some depth to the background forest with backlight, refined some of the canopie leaves (which were overly bright) and some volumetric light peeking through the leaves.

Then with an unsharp mask to enhance my brush strokes, I wrapped this piece. I hope you like it.

http://xs106.xs.to/xs106/06374/gnome_s_done.jpg

And the link to the larger version: http://xs106.xs.to/xs106/06374/gnome_done.jpg

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