Strange Behavior (Illustration) Entry: Reb Capper

[Quills]

http://assets.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/19/13000/13000_1183556629_medium.jpg (http://assets.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/19/13000/13000_1183556629_large.jpg)

So I had a quick think at lunchtime today and this is what I have so far.

My favourite at the moment is the fancy dress shop for monsters with the big human suit in the window. Ultimately though I'd rather be working on a more epic environment piece as I've done a lot of character pieces recently. So the brain blasting continues. I'm sure my eventual design will look a lot different to these thumbs but hey ho. Its good to practise doing speedy thumbs.

Any comments welcome - or if you want to vote on your favourite so far! Thanks,

Q

[paulwdavidson]

Lovely twists....i like them all, but the "Human-o-gram" for the Gorillas was the one that stood out.

They are all clever......good luck.

Paul

[W-I-L]

very nice ideas each one could be developed

[ej2k]

Great concepts! The ink refill squid is easily my fave! :) Can't wait to see more of your ideas.

[Quills]

http://assets.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/19/13000/13000_1183636856_medium.jpg (http://assets.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/19/13000/13000_1183636856_large.jpg)

Made a couple of additions to these thumbs, but have started on some more thumbs today as I'm still not convinced by any of these. Hope to get some more ideas up later today if I get a chance!

[icedeyes]

the lower left one is my fav so far... i like the other ideas too but that one is really good...

[Quills]

http://assets.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/19/13000/13000_1183647557_medium.jpg (http://assets.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/19/13000/13000_1183647557_large.jpg)

Another quickish concept. I didn't like any of the others so I'm just uploading this one.
Here the tooth fairy has gone a bit bonkers and is leaving all her wealth to this one lucky boys pillow. I did think about her depositing a wheelbarrow of dung instead, but I'm not sure she's evil, just bonkers. The helpful elves are exhibiting strange behaviour of their own. From having a crafty fag (I guess it's the pressure of the recent ban - hurray!)to tickling and napping. I could always make it more outrageous and have them doing lines of coke on the pillow... However I think I'm gonna continue on the brainstorm. Want to find something that I will really enjoy painting as well as fitting the subject theme like a glove.

Like a glove.

[Greatto]

Hello.
your last update so kewl. I love this cute vermin. also you show great atmosphere!
Good Luck )

[theuni]

Hi Reb, I really like this last concept with the tooth fairy... the lightning mood already is promising and the concept full of possibilities. How about adding some drunken strange behaving elves. Something like oups there is a boy with a tooth job but instead of doing their job right they are having a big party :)

[zilla]

Oh awesome! I just love your tooth fairy idea! great colors, layout, style, idea! Weee! Will stay tuned! looks fun!

[icedeyes]

this sounds nice... i love the sketch...

[MichaelZHsee]

beautiful concept on the latest ones:)keep it coming,i'm looking foward to more updates

[Quills]

Cheers for the encouragement guys.
Theuni - Yeah I had loads of ideas for putting naughty elf behaviour into the pic - empty beer bottles, playing cards / gambling and so on, but I am still having other ideas so was keen to get on to the next one! Seems a shame to leave it now so I might finish it anyway.
I had another idea last night though - I'll try and post a sketch later to gauge feeling towards the new one. I think I prefer it but we shall see...

Tally ho!
Q

[Slav]

really glad i found this one. sweet comp but i cant really make out details. but i guess that will have to wait for later. :)

[HFix]

i like your tooth fairy idea...i feel like the guy should be missing all his teeth :)

[ej2k]

All the activity in this is great and the style is really atmospheric! I'll be back to see how it develops :)

[Nickillus]

Magical so far, Reb. I'm really looking forward to seeing it progress.

[Quills]

http://assets.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/19/13000/13000_1183972617_medium.jpg (http://assets.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/19/13000/13000_1183972617_large.jpg)

Still having ideas and still not quite there yet but managed to finish a quick sketch over the weekend of my most recent.

I tried this out on my housemate she didn't seem to find it funny. I explained that it was the crazy humans jumping off cliffs and the lemmings watching them with confusion and wonder. 'Do lemmings jump off cliffs?' she said.... Needless to say she is now out on the street.

I think perhaps some of my earlier thumbnails are better comps but there could be some fun storytelling in this one. I remain unconvinced so will hopefully have another thunk this week...

Crits welcome on this one though - eg: is it easy to get? Defining a look that says 'lemming' is hard enough so I thought I'd have one looking disinterested and reading James Pond by Ian Lemming at the front of the pic. Well, it made me smirk..

[icedeyes]

I LOVE the lemming idea BUT i didn't get it at first glance... i had to read through your post to understand what was going on... If you don't go with the form that lemmings had in the game, i think most people will not identify them easily... they look great just as they are but they are not recognisable...

Just my thoughts

[theuni]

Same goes for me... didn`t get the lemming idea at first... maybe if you choose a cam more from bottom to top watching the cliff edge where they jump of. Besides I still like idea Nr.1 :)

[Quills]

Yeah, thanks for comments Theuni and Icedeyes. I agree the comp could be improved eg: with the long thumb at the bottom of pic, but the problem is in making it more immediate and obvious to people. You both confirmed what I suspected anyway so cheers for feedback.

I had yet another idea last night which I really loved so we'll see how that turns out. Maybe that will make the decision for me!

Q

[Quills]

http://assets.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/19/13000/13000_1184596886_medium.jpg (http://assets.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/19/13000/13000_1184596886_large.jpg)

Finally an idea I think I would enjoy painting as well as hopefully fitting the brief. Sadly it doesn't make me chuckle like the lemmings or human-ogram, but hopefully it will make me stare up at the little fellow's sticklebrick / lego castle with awe and wonder and say 'Woah, that's cool'. I may have the mum dropping her tray of cakes / cookies in shock at the result of her son's afternoon playtime, thus the two trays.

Feedback would be muchly appreciated - any hints on how to expand on his epic creation / achievement or exaggerating the drama of the composition / perspective.

Cheers!
Q

[nwiz25]

superb concepts i must say! finding it really difficult to choose the best one! :cry: :eek:

but i think ... the lil kid with the lego blocks n all looks really promising .. :p :bounce:
i like the way u executed the 'looking up' effect :D .. in other words :p ..
great sense of scale :eek: looking forward to ur work!

cheers mate! :beer: good luck! :thumbsup:

[icedeyes]

The last conept trully looks great Reb but it would take a great amount of work to pull this off (little bricks everywhere and all).. If you build on this, it could become a masterpiece... The mom in the foreground helps a lot... This is your best idea so far imo...

[theuni]

really nice idea... maybe for the impact you could place a large pill of lego stones to the right of the picture instead of this box of legos. It would help the viewer to recognize from were the boy gets supplied :) icedeyes is right this image could get very detaild work... keep going great work so far :thumbsup:

[Quills]

Cheers guys :). You're right this is really gonna spangle my eyes!! Release the jam jars! I think my approach will be detailed blocks in the foreground and more of an 'impression' of bricks in the background... here's hoping that works.

Q

[ej2k]

Wow, lots of activity since I was last here! Love the composition on the latest piece - the scale really makes me feel like I'm looking up, craning my neck!

Just make sure you dont start seeing lego everywhere you look :)

[Gord-MacDonald]

The latest one is nice - I also like the Octopus/Ink concept - good luck!


Gord

[Cobster]

I vote for the octopus, it's a great concept.

[nandlaskar]

this concept has great potential .just need to execute it well and on time.Best of luck:thumbsup:

[Quills]

http://assets.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/19/13000/13000_1192473792_medium.jpg (http://assets.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/19/13000/13000_1192473792_large.jpg)

Crikey I havn't worked on this for yonks - bit too busy and now I'm trying to rework it fast so I can have a go at the final image this weekend. I've been fiddling with the compostition some, trying to make it a bit more dramatic and tell the story a little better. The branches in the foreground should help to add to the perspective and I'm still trying to get the mum right. It's hard to express the mother's surprise and awe with her back to us but I hope to capture a hint of an expression and the hand's postitions should accentuate this, along with the falling tray of cookies / muffins. Mm..I'm hungry..<BR>Behind the picket fence there lies a pile and a box of lego bricks, I've lost space for my sand pit, but hope the little bike and swing make up for it. Comments most welcome!

[Quills]

http://assets.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/19/13000/13000_1192534620_medium.jpg (http://assets.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/19/13000/13000_1192534620_large.jpg)

A bit messy but getting there now. No time to faff anymore anyhoo, so it's on to the colouring rather swiftly!!

Q

[Quills]

http://assets.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/19/13000/13000_1192731221_medium.jpg (http://assets.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/19/13000/13000_1192731221_large.jpg)

Blimey I've got some way to go...but I've started blocking in and I am beginning to refine a few details. I probably won't sleep until I have to hand my homework in, but hey ho, I slept last year. Got tonnes of work to do on the mountains at the top so may have a go at these later. Any top tips welcome!

Q

[Zazill8]

VEry interesting concept you have here. :scream: Takes me back to the old days of lego building .... of course the constructions back then didn't look as neat as this...
Yeah from what i can imagine you still have some distance to go.... .. Good luck keep up the good work :)

[Quills]

http://assets.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/19/13000/13000_1192831023_medium.jpg (http://assets.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/19/13000/13000_1192831023_large.jpg)

Starting to come together but it's gonna be a close one! Loads of work to do on the castle wall and towers over the moutain range which I've yet to begin...lord spare me...

Q

[Korendo]

Greetings,

Very cool! The main point is this amazing baby making this very grand castle, but the gate is blocking some of the critical view of this all-important character. My eyes go up on this composition so you need to draw them to the baby to some extent. Then of course some quick Lego like textures on lower steps to suggest that the whole thing is made of Legos. Soon we can all rest. Almost there. Best of luck.

[Quills]

http://assets.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/19/13000/13000_1193243436_medium.jpg (http://assets.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/19/13000/13000_1193243436_large.jpg)

Hokay...so I still have loads to do but the lighting is starting to shape up a bit better.
I moved the baby up on to the step so that he's a bit more central and turned the woman so that she takes less attention away from the castle and baby. The owl is now looking at the baby too which helps lead your eye towards the genius kid.
I still have plenty to do with the castles in the background, the woman's hair, the pile of lego bricks and other details, not to mention of course the texture of lego bricks everywhere which I really can't wait to do...ahem..
I just hope I can still see at the end of it.

Comments welcome to come inside and have a cup of tea with me. Very thirsty..

Q

[Korendo]

You have been very busy and productive. The baby is much easier to see! But could the lady have a finger kind of pointing at the baby? This is one of those rare occasions when I wish (from a work flow stand point) that the building was make in a 3D program so you could use seamless Lego textures that could be made to fall into scale, lighting and perspective with far less effort. You could then paint on top of that building render. Maybe make a 2D Lego brush, or some seamless Lego textures?

All the best on this wonderful and inspiring image! :)

[Quills]

http://assets.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/19/13000/13000_1193507058_medium.jpg (http://assets.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/19/13000/13000_1193507058_large.jpg)

Yet another colouring but nearly there now thank goodness. Some details are still a bit screwy and need rejigging but it looks like I should finish in time at least, which is just as well because I'm rather fed up of it now!

Cheers Korendo for the crits. Sadly there is no time for 3d-yery now and I love my paintbrush, however I have been back and forth with the position of the mother's hand. Its back to where it was originally and perhaps helps draw the eye towards the baby more but still needs some work.

Comments welcome...!

Q

[Korendo]

The hand angle does help direct attend to the baby and to the Lego’s. I like the large gray Lego implying that most of the building is made from this type Lego (maybe add a couple more of this type?). As for 3D, I didn’t expect you to rapidly put together a 3D building. But it is nice to compare workflow ideas.

You are so close, onwards to the final! Best of luck.

[Quills]

http://assets.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/19/13000/13000_1193611116_medium.jpg (http://assets.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/19/13000/13000_1193611116_large.jpg)

Early Learning, Late Evening

Somewhere deep in a mountainous region of Switzerland, we find a baby of wonder, who during his play in the garden before bedtime has managed to construct something rather more impressive than one would usually find.

His mother, returning from her latest baking session and coming to fetch him in, is rather shocked and disturbed at what she comes across. As she surveys the sight before her, her eyes are led further afield where the castle continues to run over the surrounding mountains in the distance. She also notices his use of other playtime toys amongst his design.

The cheeky chappy is concentrating hard to finish his masterpiece when his mum arrives and looks to her for approval. The local wildlife have gathered over the afternoon - a couple of squirrels and an owl, who also marvel at his creation and watch with interest as he works to add the finishing touches.

Exhausting the towns whole supply of lego - both big and small bricks, our hero has managed a feat not only impossible in the time frame, but also mind-blowing for his years.. which is one.

[Korendo]

This artist has managed a feat near impossible in the time frame, but also mind-blowing and wonderful. Great to see your final work, congratulations and best of luck.

[Quills]

Cheers Korendo!! and thanks for all the encouragment!

The pic itself looks rather shonky here as I think the resolution is a bit rubbish. Any advice on how to get the best posted? The dpi is tiny unfortunately, but is it best to reduce the physical size or optimise the fiel size?? Anyone??...pls help! And hopefully I can replace the final version,

Thankq! :)
Q

[Quills]

http://assets.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/19/13000/13000_1193660926_medium.jpg (http://assets.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/19/13000/13000_1193660926_large.jpg)

Story as below...and hopefully this should be a better res...

Q

[imperioli]

Congratulations. Good of luck :)

[Korendo]

Greetings,

There is the small images you post (including a final(s)) and the large final(s) you zip and FTP, which one do you mean? What is your the master art resolution? The challenge has the specs here http://features.cgsociety.org/challenge/strange_behavior/deliverables.php (http://features.cgsociety.org/challenge/strange_behavior/deliverables.php) (bottom of the page). With the two week extension you have some time to refine as desired.

[Quills]

Hey Korendo!:)

Well I was a muppet and didn't check the file size assuming it was the size I usually do..however it had reverted to super tiny!! Thus I now have the challenge of trying to upsize it somehow without ruining it or having to completely redo it. I think I'll have to do a bit of both - upsize and overpaint. Any tips on what to do...print it out and scan it in at high res??

I've submitted all the pix but I can always replace...I hope..the ftp one is the biggy that matters I guess,

Cheers,
Q

[Korendo]

Greetings Q,

I started my image very small in gray scale so I could work faster. I suggest you upscale a little above the specs (or even larger depending on the speed/power of your computer), and touchup edges and details on the main subjects then use your discretion on the amount of work on the background items. All your color, shapes etc are already there so this is mostly a matter of touchup.

FYI - I got a tip on Smart-FTP software it is free and is fairly easy to use if that is of any interest. All the best!

[nwiz25]

wow! :eek: your image has got that massive feel to it! :eek: plus .. great story too! :p best wishes to you! :thumbsup: cheers! :beer:

[Quills]

http://assets.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/19/13000/13000_1195040238_medium.jpg (http://assets.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/19/13000/13000_1195040238_large.jpg)

Early Learning, Late Evening

Repeating myself now, but I have retouched the painting at a higher res so will hopefully look a bit sparkier. The story remains the same...

Somewhere deep in a mountainous region of Switzerland, we find a baby of wonder, who during his play in the garden before bedtime has managed to construct something rather more impressive than one would usually find.

His mother, returning from her latest baking session and coming to fetch him in, is rather shocked and disturbed at what she comes across. As she surveys the sight before her, her eyes are led further afield where the castle continues to run over the surrounding mountains in the distance. She also notices his use of other playtime toys amongst his design.

The cheeky chappy is concentrating hard to finish his masterpiece when his mum arrives and looks to her for approval. The local wildlife have gathered over the afternoon - a couple of squirrels and an owl, who also marvel at his creation and watch with interest as he works to add the finishing touches.

Exhausting the towns whole supply of lego - both big and small bricks, our hero has managed a feat not only impossible in the time frame, but also mind-blowing for his years.. which is one.
__________________

[Korendo]

Wow, you did it! Way to go. It looks tighter and more detailed. Congradualtions :thumbsup:

[Quills]

Cheers Korendo, it's a shame I didn't realise the res problem at the start, it would be a hell of a lot more definey!! Aah well...next time...yes, next time....muhaa haaaaa haaaaa!!

Anyhooo, you've been brilliant through this challenge and a real help - so thanks so much again! Now I'm gonna check out how your crazy plumbing has come along...:)

[Pixeltuner]

This looks great :D It took a little while before I noticed the baby, but then it all made sense.
I especially like the way the perspective works to create the sense of depth and immense scale.

[Ferx]

Hey Reb,.... :eek: ..... simply awesome mate!!! I love your concept, cool!! Your composition is great and the whole atmosphere for the scene is superb!! The light on your image puts a wonderful and fantastic touch on it!! And the "exaggerated" perspective is superb!! Congratulations for this amazing artwork and best of luck !! Cheers mate!!

[Hiun]

Very engaging! I love the expression of the eyes on the baby, hahahaha, very nice. Superb work Reb! :thumbsup: You have my best wishes!

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