CgTalk Daily Sketch 1020 : NTL: "Little Red and the Big Bad Wolf" -HYPER REVIEW

[JTD]

EDIT: Now that Roberto has fixed the link my job is done here. Carry on, good citizens...carry on.

[Wexter]

ok, i start the post with this first image...about 2 hours on Photoshop, hope u like it..
i will review some post later on, when more people have the image ready...

http://img259.imageshack.us/img259/6146/caperusacgtalkoi6.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

[merrick]

Hi everybody.

Trying for the first time to give feedback, but i'm not good in english and advices, so...

Wexter

I find your image is very funny and well done :thumbsup: , i think your colors are wonderful, great tones which give a "childish" (?) atmosphere to the pic. The composition is very dynamic, there's a good "speed" or "running" feeling.

Only two details : maybe the first tree goes too much to the right ( like : ---> / ) It doesn't seems to be the same vertical adjustment than the other pines. Another point is maybe you could enhance the shadow of the little girl. Great mood btw.

I hope you've understand what i meant ;)

Here's mine, trying new shapes and style (photoshop, 30/40 min)

http://img252.imageshack.us/img252/8402/redhoodek4.jpg

[ysvry]

hi great work both of you, as comment on the last I personally would give the face a little more definition adding a mouth and eye. I remember wonderingh as kid how little redstayed alive in the wolf, I might even have asked the teacher how she could be swallowed whole lol. Another thing is there doesnt seem to be a unity in style between how u drew the wolf and how u did red. maybe this is your new style? I would symplify red too. just my 2 cnts.

http://images5.theimagehosting.com/littlered003.th.jpg (http://server5.theimagehosting.com/image.php?img=littlered003.jpg)

[Mercuralis]

:D Since I suggested the topic I figure I really ought to participate.

Wexter - I like it. It has a really carefree, fun, storybook quality. :) The thing that bothers me is the tilt of the hill compared to the horizon in the back. It looks at first as if the "camera" is tilted on an angle, because of the lines of most of the trees and the fence posts. But then if you compare it to the hill behind, you can see that someone has planted trees that grow sideways and put in a very odd fence. Maybe if you tilt the background hill a little as well. It doesn't have to follow the exact same angle, but a slight adjustment might help.

Love the "bonked" out wolf. :love:

Merrick - I love the wolf. The really simple style is very cool and reminds me of a kind of african style or old cave paintings. I agree with the person above me, though, Red doesn't really seem to match. Now, you can do that, have a more realistic Red inside the very simplified shadow wolf, but to do that, if it were me, I'd push both of them more to each extreme. This reminds me a rather controversial storybook version of Red and the Wolf which did show her in the Wolf's belly... and that's where it ended. There was no woodcutter to save her.

Ysvry - What BIG teeth he has! It's really rough at this point, and hard to comment on. I'm not sure what Red is doing? Hitting him with the basket? Startled? holding it up hoping he'll snack on grannies food and not her? Maybe explore some different poses for her.



I got carried away when I started sketching last night, so I figured I probably ought to put this up before it moves too much farther from the "rough" phase. Several hours, lost track a bit. Most of the time was spent on the background, however. I suck at backgroundds so they take me a long time.

Painter IX
First rough: http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v516/Mercuralis/th_Wolf1.jpg (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v516/Mercuralis/Wolf1.jpg)

Update1: http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v516/Mercuralis/th_Wolf2.jpg (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v516/Mercuralis/Wolf2.jpg)

Final: http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v516/Mercuralis/RedWolf-1.jpg

[Wexter]

ok, first of all, thank you for the feedback, i really found helpfull the reviews. I will try to help you guys with my poor English...



Merric: i found a good concept what u did,the composition make good sence to me, is very pointed to a Children Story, the colors seems right for my eye to. Only 2 things:
the Wolf shape could be a little more solid, specially on tale, teeths and left hand. And maybee is good to take a reference for the Little red cap, very nice!

ysvry: try to explore more in textures about your pic, look how grass,clothe,hair and sky work,
colors dont seem to be bad,because i think is the mood u tried to explane.

Mercuralis: Really nice peace. The highlights : the skin of the wolf, the pose , the trees and the forest sensation. maybee a little more work on folds and clothes would be a contribution to your drawing, maybee was an issue of time? Maybee i would try to play with color correction for the backround, so the figures contrast more to it, anyway, i like your Drawing skills! great!

[Ivy00]

love these threads


mercuralus - wow that is a beautiful sketch. Only things I can really see to suggest is maybe a bit more shading on the arms of red and her clothing. Maybe have the guy look a little more wolfish, he looks like a handsome elf :) What a beautiful sketch, I have bad background problems too, but yours rocks :thumbsup:

ok here is mine, 2 hrs ps 7


spent a little more time on the background here is the update

http://i152.photobucket.com/albums/s200/Ivy10101/redUD.jpg





and the original

http://i152.photobucket.com/albums/s200/Ivy10101/redwolfb.jpg

[Viking-Heart]

Mercuralis - Great sketch! I like the depth feeling and shapes very much. Also the color scheme looks neat (it's obviously lacking some shading on her clothes. My only observation would be that the wolf guy looks like purposely lowering the head so we could see him behind the branch. Also, I'm not pretty sure what's the red hoodie (??) doing on her knees, on the base of that tree... Did she fall off?

Ivy00 - Your wolf is lovely! haha so fuzzy!. Somehow, it makes me remember of the Grinch. haha On the other hand, your background looks quite flat, almost like a courtain and they were acting a play (maybe that was your intention!? =P)
Here's a 7 min. paintover I did to show a little of what I'm talking about (It's kinda sucky, cause I'm no background expert either... especially in 7 min. u^^)
http://img100.imageshack.us/img100/1949/redwolfve9.jpg
Oh, and Btw. this is probably a matter of personal taste, but... try using that PS grass brush as little and sporadically as you can... I find it very.. dunno.. plastic and unrealistic.. :hmm:


This is "Little Red" and the wolf (ex wolf)
http://img100.imageshack.us/img100/9047/littleredwolftz4.jpg
Yeh, my wolf looks like a huge rat... :S
Photoshop, around 1:20 hs

[Mercuralis]

Thanks, everyone for the feedback. I updated my previous post with my progress, which isn't much, but... anyway.

Mucho additions to Red (I'd only really roughed her in in the previous update), mostly. Some clean up and additions to the background as well. Wolfie still needs some work, but I don't think I'm going to change him too much more. Not all wolves have tails, and Little Red Riding Hood, to me, has always meant more symbolically than literally.

Viking-heart - I really like your concept. :) Not exactly sure about Red's gender, but I don't think your wolf looks at all like a rat.

[DreamMaster]

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y1/beauty7/redhood3.jpg
Opencanvas and photoshop (for contrast/color adjustment)... I got into it so I spent more time than usual... probably around three hours or so.

Mercuralis: You should continue with the background, it has awesome concept/style... it would end up an interesting piece of work!

To everybody else, they are awesome. Interesting to see how people interpret this story and implement their own style in this. Sorry I won't be able to comment everybody's work since I'm very worn out.... I worked very hard on this painting. LOL. Maybe later I will.

Any suggestions/critiques/overpainting/etc. are very welcome. :D Enjoy!

[ikuru]

dream master, you have a verry nice vibe in that one, ferrytale all over the place. nice colors too.

[thek]

Lovely sketches everyone! I wish I could have found the time to participate today (I do love the daily sketch forum - and this hyper review thing is a great concept!), unfortunately I just ran out of time. Still I hope you lot don't think I'm out of line making a few remarks (I hope I'll get the time to do make an attempt tomorrow morning).

Wexter, that is fantastic! I like the way you've given your composition something other than the standard 4:3 ratio too. Red looks so gleeful scampering down the hill and the wolf's expression is pure cartoon comedy. The quick strokes you've used give your piece it's sense of speed - excellent stuff. The only thing that distracts me is the fact I can see the sky inbetween where you've built up the layers of the trees and that does detract from the otherwise completeness off the image. The rest of it is sketchy, but obviously so and conveys a certain mood, whereas the trees could still keep that fast feel and still do their job as trees by just filling up those blue pixels.

Merrick, what a lovely shaped wolf! That is one menacing silhouette I wouldn't like to chance upon anywhere let alone a creepy wood. I wonder if there's any way of simplifying Red further? Ah, i see ysvry has mentioned the same thing.

ysvry, I can see from your image it was all created as a single layer, with the wolf first, red second and then the background. It does make it very hard then to fit things together and get the effects right. I'd suggest doing the background first - even if it's just rough, then doing the characters on top - it's much easier to add things to the sky then and to edit the characters using the backdrop image to refine the silhouettes. I've got to say though, you've got the angle of the wolf's mouth spot on - you really feel Red's plight with that teethy mouth bearing down on you.

Mercuralis, that's gorgeous! The first rough already looked great - I thought you nailed the look of Red straight away, her face and facial expression was perfect - and then you made her even better! There's an excellent mood conveyed by the backdrop too - idyllic with sinister overtones - just like the fairy tales. One thing I will say though is that Red fits in fine but the 'wolf' doesn't seem part of the environment - maybe you could add some subtle shadowing on the ground, maybe some overlapping grass/roots to place him? Plus he's right under some branches - maybe they should cast some shadows on him which would also make him look even more sinister! It really is a beautiful piece of work though.

Ivy, I love coming back here and seeing how much better you've become each time! :) This one could grace any children's book - it's so rich in detail and yet the poses and expressions have a nice pantomime style quality that helps communicate everything in a way everyone can understand straight away. There's some nice subtle stuff that I can see there too (I've been reading a lot while on holiday as you'll be able to tell - I'm about to use the word 'rhythm'!), the Wolf's pose has real rhythm, I can see the flow of forces through his body. Viking is right about the depth - maybe you could take what he said a stage further and really build up the grass in layers using a greater difference in scale to enforce the sense of perspective? Lovely use of brushes - you've really mastered them now, the wolf's fur is especially striking!

Viking-Heart, an interesting take on the topic! a nicely executed idea - I really got the feeling that this was a clearing in the woods and this hunter had dragged his kill into the clearing to show off. There are a few little things that I'm sure you know about, like making his hand fit properly around the gun but it's amazing what a difference a few little details can make!

DreamMaster, there's something quite 'real' about yours - quite eery and beautiful at the same time. Despite the anthropomorphic wolf, the expressions and the colours set off something in my head that makes me think this is actually happening. It's only now when I look at it that I think, yes, that background is really basic, but I didn't notice it before - and when I think about it is it because you got the composition spot on? The path, the trees, the colours, everything brings you back to the very pretty red and her creepy companion. I think it's fantastic.

[Kimded]

Though I'd do something not that original, Little Red is the Big Bad Wolf! :)

50min in PS CS3 with a A6 Wacom... kinda pleased with this on a personal level, but I know there is much room for improvement.

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/149/434207214_e8b1d205df_o.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/78095978@N00/434207214/)

[ikuru]

Lovely sketches everyone! I wish I could have found the time to participate today.. how long did it take u writing that post dude ;)?

[jpedro]

CS2

http://jpedro.250free.com/DSG/lil-red-and-wolf.jpg

best!

Jan

[Ivy00]

Thank you Viking-Heart, great crit, I spent a lot of time on the wolf and red and not so much on the background. I will work on that a bit more. I usually do not use grass brush from PS unless it is a sketch and there is a lot of grass. Time consuming painting it all for a sketch :) and I might just get rid of the grass all together.


Thek - what fantastic comments you take the time to make, not just for me but for everyone. It is always nice to read one of your posts and the wonderful things you have to say really make me feel good. Thank you :)

mercuralis - ha ha I didn't mean to put a tail on him, only to make him a little more wolfish and of course that was just a suggestion. The beauty of art is what each artist comes up with as their own interpretation of things. Your updates are beautiful and your red is lovely, what a knack you have for doing people.

[jtgraffix]

hey guys! great posts!

photoshop cs2
three hours (damn)

i canNOT draw animals if my life depended on it...lol! so this is my piece. i wanted it to have a macabre/horrorish feel to it.

http://img152.imageshack.us/img152/3959/lrrrmk2.jpg

jpedro - compositionally your piece works well. i like how you added a little umbrella to 'asymmetricize' the piece. there is one thing that's bothering me just a tad bit...and it's that tree branch on the bottom left. i would remove that because it looks like he's standing on top of a tree rather than on the ground (otherwise if that was intentionally what you wanted). may i also add that i enjoy you using a green background to compliment the red hood. :)

[kevinwalker]

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v285/kevinwalker/1020_Little-Red-_col_900.jpg

ps 5 hours

loner-xtreme : girl is like a saint and look beautiful, but I believe her legs should be longer.

jpedro : girl is sexy and beautiful, but the wolf and the girl does not look like same style

DreamMaster : nice colors and romantic. maybe the horizon line should be lower.. your figures need to be more related with the back ground

Mercuralis : the arms of the girl looks unnatural. .. nice atmospher. nice flowers and light.
wolf design is refreshing.

merrick : fav+, wolf design is great,

[Toniko]

I could've over painted a number, but I only managed to over paint ivy00's

kevinwalker: You have a great taste for color. I love it, theres great color use and a great style as well. What if you colored in the background as well, and ease the line usage a bit less.

loner xtreme: But the little red riding hood looks great. Theres a good sense of vibrancy. According to this, she seems she has killed the wolf, and I can kinda see fear in her eyes. Exxagerate the expression a bit more, so that the fear can really stand out.

Jpedro: Nice one, man. Some good green vibrancy, and the umbrella does add to the composition. Although, the wolf could've used a bit more because the thin highlights are too bright compared to his body, and the lighting. Also, the camera could be lower to show how dangerous they are (power).

Kimded: So I see the girl is the wolf as well? It's a good idea, though a rough lit background could've made it much more intense. The neck is a bit odd as well.

Dreammaster: Wow, very clear colors. It's so vivid, and its very well shaded. I love this one, it's even got a nice fade.

Vikingheart: Good idea, although I would wonder where the red riding hood is. The camera of the perspective could be much lower, showing the power of the hunter.

Ivy00: The concept looks interesting in this one. I see you've been trying to add detail to each and every thing on the scene. I'm not saying that's a bad thing, it's a good thing too. Although, I'm more of a composition person because I feel composition makes an artwork stand out more. The camera should center both the wolf and the girl, because here the camera is facing to the right of the girl.



In the original place, it looked like morning but in the second image, http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v400/Toniko/redUDcopy.jpgI couldn't tell if it was either early morning or evening. So what I tried to do here is to focus the camera between the two characters, but for the girl I tried to make the red stand out more.

Mercularis: Nice! Shading of each the characters are believable! My only suggestion is to work on it more, because there are things that feel pretty flat. Though, I love the style, as well as the color usage within it. Overall, its great work.

Ysvry: I get the idea of the "oooh what big nose/teeth you have" which I like. I can see fear within the wolf by looking at his eyes, you did a great job. Although, perspective work could've come in. The wolf and the girl are a bit off the camera, and I'm sure making the girl closer to the camera and the camera only a bit lower and centered to the wolf. I'm sure if you add some strong lighting to this, this piece would cease people's eyes to it

Merrick: Ah, so I see you approached a simpler style. It's got a good idea to it as well. What you can do is make it darker around the eaten girl, making her stand out more.

Wexter: I actually like this one. The rough color used are buldging out, and the characters remind me of the good ol' funny tv shows that appear sometimes. Your design is nice, but the perspective is off. I can't really tell if the camera is tilted or diagonal. What you can do is make the camera closer and a bit more infront of red riding hood, tilting it and then revealing the head smashed wolf; as well as seeing the forest's void.

I'm not the best critique, but critiquing is what I should do more.

Continuing on, here's my speedpainting. I wanted to aim for a very VERY simplistic cartoon style, but I got a bit carried away. I tried to make them have some cartoony appearances

Photoshop CS 2 sketch, wacom, 2hr 20m

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v400/Toniko/redie.jpg

Around 45m - 1 hr later
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v400/Toniko/littleredhood.jpg

I might continue finishing with this and post it to my cgtalk portfolio, because I love the colors i used here. I kinda thought of a nice film for this as well, although I gotta finish my short animation.

Good sketching, ya'll.

[Viking-Heart]

Hey, Thek, thanks! I think your comment nailed it. When I sketch, I tend to leave most details out, and just try to get all together... But I'll keep that in mind for future stuff. At least that kind of details, which (I totally agree) make the piece look a lot better.

Mercuralis: She was picking flowers!! ^^ haha It looks fantastic! :thumbsup:

kevinwalker: Wow! haha That's terrific!! XD All the characters and expressions (the Little Red and the kitty stickin out their tongues xDD) are really neat! I can't actually see anything to critique... you did a great job.

Ivy00: That's a real imporvement! Looks like a very different piece now (in a good way).. ;) (Btw.. if you want to use grass brushes to speed things up, I can recommend these -->http://photoshop.digitalmedianet.com/articles/viewarticle.jsp?id=31348<-- I dunno if they're better than photoshop default's, but they are a different option; and they work really well)

Edit: Toniko, there's no Red Riding Hood. :p haha I was playing with the fact that the title just says "Little Red" (...and the Big Bad Wolf), so I took "Little Red" as a guy's nickname, instead of a girl's, taking advantage also of the level of ambiguity that English languaje allows in these cases... hahah I hope I make myself clear... xD cause right now I'm quite sleepy... Over and out.

[Ivy00]

toniko - thanks for the excellent crit. I did have trouble getting red and the wolf to pop in the update, I agree there is to much detail in the background. (I could not get the depth) I may just blur it and play with the curves and see if I can get it to drop back. I love the water feature you added and the change in the wolfs leg position.

I can't wait to see the updates on yours, it is beautiful :)

Viking-Heart - Thank you :) in the update I didn't use default grass brush (though in the first image I did use the default brush), but my own grass brushes and a 1 pixel brush and a hair brush from the Linda Tso brush collection trying make the grass more natural. That is a beautiful brush set you linked me too, but I have PS7 and can't afford to update to CS :( , so many nice brushes out there I can't use *sighs. So I usually end up making my own brushes when I need a special brush for something. I have an odd way of working also, when I sketch I may use a grass brush or a leaf brush just to see if I want grass or leaves in an area. If I decide I want to make the sketch into a painting then the "stamp" brushes go away and I paint in what I need, as it forces me to learn more.


Dreammaster - I love the way your wolf looks like a wolf in sheeps clothes :)

kevin walker - wow, ha ha I LOVE your style, no crits from me

[zhaolv]

hi, everybody,here is my picture.The red is scared and the wolf is tough.when i was kid,my mother always read this story for me.so i like it very much.Hope you like it.Thank U!
ps cs2.1 hour.
http://img408.imageshack.us/img408/2899/redandwolfie4.jpg

[ysvry]

thx for all the hints on my sketch, i know layering all is good practice, with sketching i just lay it on the screen as it comes, as to what little ridinghood is doing with the basket its unclear to me too, If i was to do it again i probably made her swing it like a basballbad lol. (just bought a new pc though, sculpting mode in blender is real smooth now, odd thing is the penpartner ct can be fysically connected ps2 + com but still doesnt work wtf??? any body got it to work? It is still working fine on xp Im not going to dump good tools just because Wacom is to lazy to update the drivers! so im still dammend to that Wacom volicle pen or revert my new system to xp prof. kinda sucky choices to make)

[mitchelhunt]

merrick - I like the cartoonish feel of the wolf, while you left red more realistic. Nice job :thumbsup:. Although something I would refrain from is drawing with a paintbrush and then clearing with a paintbrush (like you did with the teeth and the tail). It's better not to clear and just use a smaller brush so that the edges are more refined.

Anywho here's mine:
5 Hours :eek: | Photoshop CS2
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v138/gnta53/1020-NTL-LittleRedandtheBigBadWolf.png
The anatomy for the wolf probably sucks, but I'm happy with how it turned out :D

[LadyMedusa]

I went whit a little more book cover-ish thing. Couldnt find a nice spot for the wolf though
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y18/vrd/littleRed.jpg
PS CS2 + Intuos 3 tablet. Around 45 min. The pine should be more to the right I think

Mitchelhunt- Anatomical flaws in bouth the wolf and little red. I'm guessing most of the time was used on the wolf, it looks more cartoony and its "fluffy", and it looks like you don't have a fluff-brush. You can make those in photoshop by yourself :). The ears are a little round for a wolf though. a backgroud would also be nice.

zhaolv- Very simple, some places the lineart gets quite pixly. Little reds lines are a little too soft, and some of the coloring seems quite soft aswell, you could use a harder brush.

I'll try comment on everybody elses too, I'll just edit this post when I get around to it :)

[mitchelhunt]

LadyMedusa - Thanks. Hehe, yah I have no fluff brush, and I don't know how to make one. Is there a tutorial you know of? I did spend a lot of time on the wolf, but I think I spent more time on red because I don't really know how to draw fabric very well and wanted to get it right. Also the reason for no bg is because I just wanted it to be red and the wolf, maybe making it more powerful, and looking like it's painted on leather or very old paper, y'know?

Not much to say about your's, but one thing I find odd is the trees in front. Maybe I'm crazy but I usually never see pines of a different shape that close to eachother. Also the stumps could be a bit more shaded.

[Ivy00]

Actually pines of all varieties grow quite close together. Where I live anyway ha ha, have ceder, white pine, spruce, tamarack, red pine and some other variety all growing very close to each other.

[mitchelhunt]

Oh wow that must be beautiful...

[zhaolv]

LadyMedusa -thank you for your attend!i like this cartoon style, so i decide to draw this picture just for fun.my color is poor,so i will do harder next time.anyway,thank you for your help,i will improve.thanks.

[Mercuralis]

Posted a final update on my first entry. Thanks to everyone who replied. Hopefully I addressed most of the issues.

Loner.... you make me jealous.

[jtgraffix]

Posted a final update on my first entry. Thanks to everyone who replied. Hopefully I addressed most of the issues.

Loner.... you make me jealous.
jealous?! your entry is superb! i love the way your trees turned out! i can't draw nature backgrounds at all!

[CGTalk Moderation]

This thread has been automatically closed as it remained inactive for 12 months. If you wish to continue the discussion, please create a new thread in the appropriate forum.