Strange Behavior (Illustration) Entry: Brooke Luder

[zilla]

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In 1792 French Doctor Pierre Ordinaire invented the health elixir absynthe.
Unbeknownst to the good doctor the main herbal ingredient of this fine green aperitif "Artemisia Absinthium" had long held an extraordinary cat nip like attraction for the common garden fairie.

Many believe the dusty old tales of mystique surrounding absynthe arose from the "Artemisia Absinthium" or wormwood causing delirium and madness in those who drank it. In truth these Tall Tales arose from those with a touch of the site suffering visions of the little fairies when in their cups.

Although they come in many colours, shapes and sizes the absynthe loving fairies became known as la Fèe Vert (the green fairy) in honour of the green drink they so adore.

To this day la Fèe Vert's favourite preparation of the burning thrice distilled spirit is straight up with 1 sugar cube and a healthy dose of self immolation.

[zilla]

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Hi this is just my first pass on the character design. I've always liked the term "chasing the dragon" even though it's more in relation to opium use I wanted my absynthe fairie to be a little dragonish but also a little soft and cuddly as I'm thinking loveable drunk type!

I've tried to find a cool absynth bottle design but their all a bit average so I've taken a reference photo with my faithful Chivas bottle. I've also uploaded a little cat image i got in a chain email! I'm rather fond of the pair shaped butt and big feet and am going to try and encorporate the design!!

[zilla]

http://assets.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/19/13287/13287_1183612664_medium.jpg (http://assets.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/19/13287/13287_1183612664_large.jpg)

I can't seem to upload more than one image at a time. If anyone knows a better way give me a yell! thanks!

[zilla]

http://assets.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/19/13287/13287_1183612828_medium.jpg (http://assets.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/19/13287/13287_1183612828_large.jpg)

more the shape of the "creature" in the glass I'm liking here!

[zilla]

http://assets.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/19/13287/13287_1183613028_medium.jpg (http://assets.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/19/13287/13287_1183613028_large.jpg)

Basically expanding the layout for the image. I nearly alway work from reference and where possible I take my own photos. I tend to find my final detail is a bit nicer when I have reference. That said though I never trace I copy by eye. More fun to see how close I can get that way!

[Dironik]

Perfect idea!
I'll be root for you. Good luck :)

[zilla]

http://assets.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/19/13287/13287_1183613452_medium.jpg (http://assets.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/19/13287/13287_1183613452_large.jpg)

I'm going to be working in Painter.

I only use 3 tools:
"soft blender stump 10"
"Fine Detail Air 8"
Eraser

I find that covers it for the style I like.

I tend to paint straight ahead and my attention will jump from one part of the image to the next as I get bored or start thinking of ideas.

This is pretty messy but I find it's easer to get some color down fast rather than sit staring at a blank canvas.

[Diabolos]

Great image, can't wait to see this one come together. We are some what fans of this green/red/yellow/black poison - so I have a personal connection to your image :)

Didn't want to post an image in your thread, but maybe for some inspiration:

Absynth (http://i100.photobucket.com/albums/m34/diabolosgermany/CIMG1314.jpg)

Good Luck,

D,

[zilla]

Hey Diabolos! Thanks for the great ref images!! This is just around the corner from home for you?? lucky you!! :bounce: thanks again!

[zilla]

http://assets.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/19/13287/13287_1183676145_medium.jpg (http://assets.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/19/13287/13287_1183676145_large.jpg)

So I messed around with the fairie a bit but realised I really need to do the background first as this will effect the reflections in the glass he's sitting in.

Still working on the main color choice but I'm going to keep it cool for the "green absynthe" theme.

Mostly I've worked on the match box. To get the text in I took the painting out to illustrator and photoshop and used text paths before taking it back to Painter.

Same for the little hexagons on the side of the box (RSI is not my idea of fun!). Will try to post something more later tonight.

[Vitreous]

cool, i'm really likig your use of colour and theme and was very interested to hear about your limited choice of brushes in painter, i even had a little go with the combination and can see why you like it, although im not sure how it would work for blocking in big areas of colour as the brush goes a bit fuzzy when u increase its size, anyway, a good start and i'll be watching to see this one develop.

[zilla]

http://assets.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/19/13287/13287_1183697431_medium.jpg (http://assets.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/19/13287/13287_1183697431_large.jpg)

Hey Vitreous, thanks! your right for big detail I'd have to use a higher brush but I think I'll be

right for this one as it's all small and medium detail.

____________________________________


Ok so I've done some more work on the background colour and texture. Basically trying to get the

color lighter around the fairie so that the eye stays focused here. The lighting isn't quite there

yet but eventually it will be quite dark around the bottle and matches.

For anyone interested in composition it's also helpful to put the most important thing in the

picture on the left side of the page. Possibly with a lead in from the upper left corner. Reason

being most people read left to right on a page. So without knowing it your audience has a trained

visual expectation. Not to say you can't break this rule. It's just fun to take advantage of it if

you know it!!

Also did some more work on the bottle. I've been trying to make myself paint each element on one

layer only. A little like traditional art. It's very easy to get used to painting on 100 layers

i've done it trust me! :) But is a bad habit if you ever want to paint on real canvas again! ouch!

umm.. still using my photo reference so the inspiration is pretty self explanatory. Mostly just

changing colors and label designs! Again I took the image into illustrator as a .jpeg and created

paths to suit the bottle and place the Text on! Then exported the text to photoshop to paint as a

layer and took that into Painter. There may be a way to do all this in painter but I haven't

figured it out yet!! ... nearly up to painting the fairie WEEEE!

[thepineman]

thats a great idea. I like that kitten on the glass.

[Selina42]

Laughed my arse off when i saw this! Absolutely bloody brilliant!

[Quills]

Cheeky. Is that a sugarlump your little creature is downing or an alka seltzer? :) Great fun piece!

[Slav]

kinda reminds me of lilo and stitch, the character anyways. good luck here.

[Vahn]

hehe great pic :thumbsup: keep going :arteest:

[zilla]

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Hey guys thanks for all the nice comments! And yep he's definatly holding a sugar cube! All pleasure and no painkillers for this drunken little sot!

Ok so I think i've finished the background. I've added some highlights to the bottle and used the blender stump to smooth out all the airbrushing and give it a more painted feel. I've also been trying to keep the lighting on the matches and the bottle near the fairies left hand a bit blown out as he's going to be holding a lit match.

For anyone wondering how to paint glass you pretty much use the same colors as your background only you keep the brushstrokes tighter and put highlights and dark edges at the bottle edge to define the shape! Put a few shiny bits on the side your light source is for show and you should be good!

I've also started working on the fairie. I originally indended him to be a bit frog like and green/blue but I think with all the cool colors in the background I'm going to make him more warmer colors to help pop him forward and draw the eye. Still working out the details as I go but I think I'm going to give him some frog like feet and make him a bit lizardy! I originally wanted some dragonfly like wings but I'm not so sure I'll put them in. I think it might make the pic too busy!

thats it for now!

cheers

[Insomnian]

Great idea... and a nice sketch! :thumbsup:

[Sovica]

Haha!
I love the writing on the bottle!

This is going to look great!

Keep it up =)

[zilla]

http://assets.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/19/13287/13287_1184042061_medium.jpg (http://assets.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/19/13287/13287_1184042061_large.jpg)

Howdy!

Ok so first I flipped the right hand as I had it on backwards (blushes).
This guy I painted in layers as it was just easier. the body is in three segments. Feet and torso then arms then head with the glass layer under the head layer. I know it's a bit lazy but it's faster to paint that way.

I used a reference for a bat ear to get the inner design for the ear. I think this worked out pretty well as I didn't want him looking too much like a bunny! I used about 5% transparency for the drool and falling water but the rest was just painted straight up. I think the hardest bit was getting the face to look right as I usually paint humans not made up creatures. I kinda like how he came out though!

Crits or suggestions very welcome!

Cheers

[NR43]

This is going to be so nice (already is)!

your character looks very convincing to me... this brings back memories lol

[DeeVad]

Waoo , really nice idea and painting smooth style.

[dinodog-jr]

hi Zilla,
Thx for posting up the working progress.. I love the progress. It makes sense & beautify my brain to something new again!

I dunno some of my mentions below is a flaw in this gorgeous painting or not.
Please teach me if they are not.

1. the base of the wine glass seems tweaking at the right side. should be tilt down to bottom a little. Perspective or Angle issue?

2. the matchbox should haf some shading inside it. It looks flat. Match sticks seems like place on the back on the box instead of inside the box now.

3. The Top wrinkles aluminium piece on bottle neck looks flat. I think the bottom aluminium piece should follow the curve of the caps, rite?

Sorry.. i am learning from ur painting. hee..

It's a freaking funny pics. Love the color chosen! The Glass & water are amazing work!.

[Insomnian]

Fantastic "Unique" concept... I love it!

Great sketch! :thumbsup:

[minminxu]

ha ha ....I like the picture....I so like the picture.....um um ....I could not speak my feelings.Just I think it is very intersting.....good job.....Mr Zilla....good luck and keep it up......:bounce: :bounce:

[BaronImpossible]

That's excellent, the creature's especially good. :thumbsup: My only crit is that whilst your creature and bottle are loose and painterly, the bottle label and matchbox text is quite sharp and clear. It's a bit of an uncomfortable mix. I know it's difficult to resolve this without either making the lettering messy or tightening up the image too much. Anyway, just thought I'd mention it.

Oh, and something else. The perspective of the glass is too extreme compared with that of the bottle.

Still great though! :)

[bstout]

this is hilarious.
i just made it my screen wallpaper at work.
can't wait to see teh finished piece

[Wordzmith]

Love this guy! Your coloring is really nice on this. Not to mention he cracks me up!


Word

[renttu]

Cool. Nice creature (although it looks a bit that dummy creature in new star wars movies). Fluid in the glass looks very nice to me, but the left side of the glass still needs some fixing. Eyes are disturbing me a bit also and maybe there could be some pupils or something.

Great progress so far. I want to see this image finished :thumbsup:.

[targus]

Very interesting and funny, good work.

[thepineman]

its really very funny. i like it.

[cbernardo]

Very good work! Really funny creature!

Cheers,
Carlos

[zilla]

http://assets.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/19/13287/13287_1188781786_medium.jpg (http://assets.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/19/13287/13287_1188781786_large.jpg)

Hi it's been a while since I've posted... got busy with work :)

Thanks everyone for the feedback it was really helpful. I'm not quite finished yet but in this update I have addressed some of the issues with the glass being uneven and also the matchbox and I've worked a bit on adding more contrast to the lighting and adding some more highlights on the absynthe bottle.

Next update I'll add in some glow on the glass and I think (famous last words) I'll be done!

If anyone has more crits please don't hesitate as it's a really big help!

cheers

[Ferx]

Hey Brooke, really funny and cool concept!! nice!!:thumbsup: I like a lot your character design, is a blast! great !! :D .
I think the absynthe bottle need more work. The fire from match can be the unique source of lighting, that create a strange and great atmosphere and you can dark all the empty background ( a possible reference is the Joseph Wright "Experiment on a bird in an air pump" painting : http://content.answers.com/main/content/wp/en/2/22/An_Experiment_on_a_Bird_in_an_Air_Pump_by_Joseph_Wright_of_Derby,_1768.jpg)

And if the creature is grabing the bottle cork, that cork is very small in reference with the bottle size. Perhaps some drops of liquor out of the cup were be a nice touch, only some comment :)

Again nice work and nice character, mate !! :beer:

[Gune]

really great image! all the best

[Nomad]

Nice and funny :thumbsup:


Great work so far :bounce:

[Nemesix]

Wonderful image!

[abscnth]

Cool entry Zilla... a subject close to my heart! Looking forward to seeing an update on this.

Very best of luck

[zilla]

http://assets.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/19/13287/13287_1192166334_medium.jpg (http://assets.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/19/13287/13287_1192166334_large.jpg)

This is my final image. I've used mostly Painter with a little Photoshop for color correcting and the glass reflections at the end.

This has been heaps of fun! Good Luck Everyone! :)

_____________
Story
_____________

In 1792 French Doctor Pierre Ordinaire invented the health elixir absynthe.
Unbeknownst to the good doctor the main herbal ingredient of this fine green aperitif "Artemisia Absinthium" had long held an extraordinary cat nip like attraction for the common garden fairie.

Many believe the dusty old tales of mystique surrounding absynthe arose from the "Artemisia Absinthium" or wormwood causing delirium and madness in those who drank it. In truth these Tall Tales arose from those with a touch of the site suffering visions of the little fairies when in their cups.

Although they come in many colours, shapes and sizes the absynthe loving fairies became known as la Fèe Vert (the green fairy) in honour of the green drink they so adore.

To this day la Fèe Vert's favourite preparation of the burning thrice distilled spirit is straight up with 1 sugar cube and a healthy dose of self immolation.

[guterrez]

great image, nice colors also
I`m not sure about the hands; they look good but they are the only part of the image with outlines
the color of the absynthe is also a bit too warm I think, normally this stuff is more blue-green (as far as I can remember after my absynthe-consume^^)
cheers,
Mathias

[Jeffparadox]

beautiful illustration. i really like the watercolory effect you've captured with your painting style. i think i agree with guarretz about the hands though. a very strange scene indeed, best of luck with the voting!

[Hiun]

:eek: Holy bread and butter! This is fantastic!!:love: Beautifully illustrated Brooke!

[Korendo]

The legs in the liquid are exceptional. Wonderful work!

[zilla]

Hey! Thanks for all the nice comments guys I really appreciate it! And thanks Guterrez and Jeffparadox for noticing the hands! I've been looking at this so long I didn't even notice I'd left the construction lines on! ;) Good luck with your pics guys :)

[zilla]

http://assets.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/19/13287/13287_1192407650_medium.jpg (http://assets.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/19/13287/13287_1192407650_large.jpg)

Ok this time I'm really done :)

Good Luck again to everyone :)

_____________
Story
_____________

In 1792 French Doctor Pierre Ordinaire invented the health elixir absynthe.
Unbeknownst to the good doctor the main herbal ingredient of this fine green aperitif "Artemisia Absinthium" had long held an extraordinary cat nip like attraction for the common garden fairie.

Many believe the dusty old tales of mystique surrounding absynthe arose from the "Artemisia Absinthium" or wormwood causing delirium and madness in those who drank it. In truth these Tall Tales arose from those with a touch of the site suffering visions of the little fairies when in their cups.

Although they come in many colours, shapes and sizes the absynthe loving fairies became known as la Fèe Vert (the green fairy) in honour of the green drink they so adore.

To this day la Fèe Vert's favourite preparation of the burning thrice distilled spirit is straight up with 1 sugar cube and a healthy dose of self immolation.

[Kei-Acedera]

Hahahaha! Looks great Brooke! The creature looks cute and lovely treatment on his feet in the glass!

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