CGTalk - Strange Behavior (Illustration) Entry: Kevin McCullough

killer-instinct93

07-14-2007, 06:12 AM

Hey everyone. I'm in. I'm curious if there are any other college/uni students in the challenge.

I mentioned it before, but I'll say it again now, I've never completed a full CG image. But this kind of opportunity to put myself beside the best of the best is exactly what I need to improve. I may not win, but I'll learn a lot.

So my idea for my illustration is this:
Tentative title(s): Trick or Treat or Three Men and a Baby

The concept is that there are three middle age men (fathers), who are out trick or treating with their children (maybe just one, haven't decided yet), and all three are dressed in traditionally ironic costumes. I'm really going to push the personality of each to make them look as ridiculous as possible.

For the most part I'll be working in Alias Sketchbook Pro, as it is the only software I have a license for. I will get the odd opportunity to use Photoshop and/or Painter as it's available to me at school, but I think it'll probably just be for touch ups and things I can't do in Sketchbook.

That being said, does anyone know if you have to prove the validity of your software? I can provide it for Sketchbook, but I can't for the school programs without an admin login. Hopefully that doesn't take me out of contention right there.

And sorry for the poor images, they scanned fine on my Mac but now look ridiculously bright. I'll try to fix them soon.

SteevieWoo

07-14-2007, 06:19 PM

Welcome in!
I don't know about the program license, but if you look around you might find good freeware programs that do almost as good and sometimes better than photoshop. I use PC so i don't know of availability for Mac, but i heard there's a Mac version of Gimp and others, you should look it up, maybe it will help!

killer-instinct93

07-19-2007, 06:47 PM

http://assets.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/19/13594/13594_1184870870_medium.jpg (http://assets.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/19/13594/13594_1184870870_large.jpg)

New Concept

killer-instinct93

07-19-2007, 06:53 PM

So I've been rethinking my original concept, and I don't think it's an idea I want to run with, at least for this competition.

My new idea, as seen in the post above, will be a ballroom dancing gorilla with a pretty girl. It's loosely based off my idea for my animated short I get to make in 4th year, where a gorilla is at his prom and is fantasizing about being picked by the prom queen to dance, only to be passed over for another guy, and then consequently goes ape-you-know-what.

I like the composition at this point, but I'm wondering if maybe I should do a low angle shot to emphasize the proportions and to do a nice ceiling mosaic, instead of a background of mainly people and tables.

Any ideas to further this idea are welcome and appreciated.

Ferx

07-19-2007, 07:43 PM

Great idea man, I really liked :thumbsup: . I think the gorilla would be bigger in order to oppose force and fragility.

killer-instinct93

07-21-2007, 06:43 AM

http://assets.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/19/13594/13594_1185000202_medium.jpg (http://assets.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/19/13594/13594_1185000202_large.jpg)

This is a new pose I'm trying out. The more I tried to do some details on the old one, the more I saw how it wasn't working. I couldn't get a good angle with a good silhouette, and I couldn't find a good position or pose for the free arm of the ape.

So I looked around at some sites devoted to tango and ballroom dancing and found this pose, which I think works much better. I really think the sense of scale between the two characters comes across better now.

And besides, gorillas heads are much funnier, not to mention easier to draw, from profile.

Ferx

07-21-2007, 08:47 AM

Perhaps returning to see the scene of tango of Scent of a Woman , it helps you in the search of the ideal pose.
I think that a tilt up angle would be better for your scene. Only a comment :)

killer-instinct93

07-21-2007, 08:51 AM

I agree that a low angle shot is definitely more interesting than this, and it is probably something I'll end up using in the final. The problem I had so far with it was figuring out how to do the low angle, while still keeping proportions correct and so you can still see the important parts of the pose. It may be something I'll have to build a cheap 3D model of to work out.

SteevieWoo

07-21-2007, 05:38 PM

Neat!! if you're gonna show the ceiling don't forget the disco ball!:D

Thanks for using blue too!

killer-instinct93

07-22-2007, 03:00 AM

I'm still debating what I'm going to do with the ceiling. I'm leaning towards doing a ballroom type thing with chandeliers, simply because I want the ape to seem as out of place as possible, and I want to try doing a cool old fashioned mural painting on the ceiling.

And personally I always use Prismacolor Col-Erase #20044. And I have an in with someone who works where they are distributed, so I get them dirt cheap. I got a case of around 220 last year for about 40 bucks, and I've gone through about 80 of them so far. And I thought a case would be enough to get me through all four years of my program, I might not even get through two!

killer-instinct93

07-24-2007, 06:52 AM

http://assets.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/19/13594/13594_1185259920_medium.jpg (http://assets.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/19/13594/13594_1185259920_large.jpg)

Working out the pose in Maya, trying to find a good angle. I don't really care the model looks awful, I just used the most basic shapes to try and figure out how to frame the pose. I'm not going to do any of the final in 3D, which is a good thing, as I realized when I went back to Maya after a few months, I have no clue what I'm doing.

And just to add one thing about this angle, in the final (if I choose to use this angle), the left foot of the ape will be a lot more prominent in the foreground, along with the girls hair whirling around. Hopefully that'll help the silhouette of this pose, as looking at the alpha of this, it currently looks like crap.

Any comments on this camera angle or any other ideas are much appreciated.

Ferx

07-26-2007, 10:04 AM

Hey Kevin, I´m thinking in little solution. The angle is nice, but you need to put up the gorila and the chick, why not use a dance plataform over the main floor?. Whit this you can put spectators at floor level, and gain in composition. :)

killer-instinct93

07-26-2007, 05:42 PM

Thanks for the input, but I don't think it would work. The pair is small enough as is, and putting them up on a platform makes them even smaller. Also I don't know why they would be on a platform, as its a dance hall, like a high school prom. Maybe if it was a broadway show or something, but then the strangeness of it is pretty depleted.

I'm pretty sure I'm going to stick with this rough composition here, as I've been working on a value study of it and it works out pretty well. I should mention that in place of that red set of curtains on the right will be replaced with a performing band of some kind, and the red (or probably more highly detailed and decorated) curtains will be the backdrop of the two figures, with the ceiling a little bit lower.

killer-instinct93

07-27-2007, 08:14 PM

ok, I'm having major problems with this new angle. I'm now trying to draw out the details of the characters, and it seems everything imortant or unique about the profile version is getting lost or blocked out because of the angle. The biggest examples are the lower face of the gorilla being blocked by her head, because I can't move it any lower or she'll basically have a broken spine. Also the gorillas hands, a big part in showing the differences in character are getting lost, blocked by clothing and shown from stright on, the worst angle for hands.

I'm going to try laying out a composition using the previous side angle. If I can make the composition look good enough, and still maybe include a bit of the low angle, I'm going with it. As much as I like the idea of the low angle shot, the energy and movement of the pose, the elements I'm losing or blocking are killing it. At this point I'd have to find a whole new pose, which I don't feel like doing a third time. I wanna get painting !

killer-instinct93

07-28-2007, 07:31 AM

http://assets.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/19/13594/13594_1185607874_medium.jpg (http://assets.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/19/13594/13594_1185607874_large.jpg)

So I've gone back to the side view and started some painting, just to see if there is a way to make it work with the background like I want. I might change some things on the pose or change the angles of some things, but I really like this view a lot more. It has really allowed to view all the important parts, without blocking anything.

Hopefull this time more than one person will leave a reply. Any ideas on what I'm doing wrong to be getting a tenth of the replies others are getting?

killer-instinct93

07-29-2007, 08:28 AM

I'm currently working out the way the floor will be shown, and I have to say I like how its going. Maybe this angle will work out after all.

I won't bother asking for any more feedback, as I no longer expect any. i think my thread must have SARS or something.

Good luck everyone else.

W-I-L

07-29-2007, 08:35 AM

hi... cheer up mate.

the pose is nice. works well butcant really comment on the backgorund as its sort of a big blur.... try putting the chracters in a scene as they look stuck on... try to get away frorm the panckake flatness.. keep it coming

SteevieWoo

07-29-2007, 05:41 PM

Hi Kevin,

I think the first sketch, (the one you're using now) is really good, if any you could turn the characters a little to have a subtle perspective, and use the moody lighting of the background to light the characters too, so they will blend smoothly into it, but i guess you're on that already. Your second one was good, but i agree completely with you that it had the problem of obscuring the gorilla's neat expression, and it also came to my mind how hard would be to make the 2D sketch with that perspective, it sure is messy:shrug:

As for your thread having SARS, well i think caught it now!:D. No, really, you're right, there is no reason people haven't show around as usual. I flocked with the first gorilla sketch and came back to see it many times because i like it a lot! If i can suggest anything it would be that you use the lucky fact you have a hot Latin tango dancer in your image and use her to drive attention to your piece:twisted: . You can post a nice close up sketch of her, OH! and you can do it on monday, that way it won't be pushed back so fast since most people will be at day-job all week. Yeah, is a little too much maybe, but it worked for me;).

Anyways, don't let that discourage you! you have a great idea here and it will stand up. Eventually all people will come and be all D'oh! because they didn't come before.

Keep the good work up pal!:thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup:

killer-instinct93

07-29-2007, 07:18 PM

Thanks for the really nice replies. I don't mean to sound like a whiner, I was just confused if there was something I had done or said to have people avoid my work. Maybe I just have to be around here longer than a few weeks and continue posting in other peoples threads. Ok, all cool.

And the background thats in there now is simply a placeholder because I didn't want to leave it black. The only thing that wlll be at all similar in the next version I show will be the compositon. The angle, placement and eye level will all be different, as to suit the side angle of the characters.

SteevieWoo

07-29-2007, 09:34 PM

Great!... I'll be back to see that!

killer-instinct93

08-04-2007, 05:42 AM

http://assets.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/19/13594/13594_1186206177_medium.jpg (http://assets.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/19/13594/13594_1186206177_large.jpg)

So I've now modelled what the final background should look like, and I got the angle I wanted. The characters will be adjusted later to better fit the perspective of this new shot.

And pay no attention to the colours or textures of anything in the background except for the dance floor. It will all be changing, and whats there are just placeholders to help me differentiate when I start painting.

And also none of the final will be 3d, all of this was just to work out the composition. It will all be painted over. The stage on the right will be for a band, and will be a lot more dressed up (w/ curtains, maybe a banner, party stuff, etc.), the bar will have several people sitting at it, as well as the tables. I haven't yet decided if I should put another couple(s

Ligo

08-04-2007, 10:03 AM

The first line sketch is great, very dynamic lines and about visitors, they come around as Steevie says based on what they see. :) unfortunatley but just exploit the system...

I love the grace in the right side of the couple, everything seems to work for me, im not so sure with the leg going over the gorillas coat swinging out, no as great as the shape of the leg along the floor, yeikes thats grace! :) something catches my eye however, may be subtile or something you are aware of but just wanted to give my opinion. Maybe try raising her knee a bit and straightining her heel on the shoe, that might do it :) also the direction of the coat dosent follow the direction of the skirt which might seem strange. :) All this together with the left side will surely give the impressionn of good speed and grace.

Anyways do as Steevie says and keep good energy up and people will flock eventually! :)

Bye

killer-instinct93

08-04-2007, 10:10 AM

Yay a reply to respond to. First of all, THANK YOU!!!

Thank you for your comments about the pose. I really want to make it seem as if they are both really good dancers, and that neither are phased by the fact that they are two different species.

I personally like the way her leg wraps around, mainly because through all the research I did on poses for a tango, they all seem to have a common theme : two people intertwined with each other, or a general closeness. I may look at some other options at some point though if more people find it troubling.

And just to the point of the fact that the jacket and the dress are swinging in opposite directions, it is just because its a part of the dance where they come together from opposite directions, the girl going right in this case, the man going left as he grabs her. Believe me, it didn't look right to me either the first time I saw a still of a similar pose, but after I saw a video of it, it makes sense.

SteevieWoo

08-04-2007, 07:02 PM

So now i get your composition, and it works well for me, the current angle of the characters works very fine in it, but i don't see a lot of a space for the band,I mean, its a great visual element so they could have more space in the image, I don't know ............

No. I don't think it needs other couples dancing at all, this is a very spectacular kind of dance and one couple taking over the whole dance floor is a movie classic.
as for the woman's position I think the problem is not the leg but the foot. I didn't notice before but you should check the shape of the shoe, looks like the high heel is pointing at the wrong way, and the position of the foot is very important, Right now it looks like it is a profile, but i think the top of the foot should be more visible, i don'nt know if this could match your photo reference but maybe it could work for showing how the leg wraps the gorilla's body.
Well, I hope it helps. See you aroud Kev, Keep the good work!:thumbsup:

killer-instinct93

08-06-2007, 08:08 AM

Yay, one of my regulars.

I like the idea of the band too, but I was having problems working out where they would be located. I wanted to keep the larger wall behind the characters on the left, so unless I made a view looking through his legs :P I didn't want to put the stage on that wall. I guess another solution would be to widen the image, but its already at 2.5:1 as is, and I think if I keep going wider the couple will lose attention.

I think I put the stage far enough back (40-50 feet) that they will not be big enough to take attention away, but big enough to know what they're doing. As its a tango, I'm thinking of doing them like the Mariachi band from From Dusk 'till Dawn. Obviously the style of party and guests will be quite different. No strippers or vampires in this one.

Good point about the high heel, I will defintiely go back and check that. I've never worn them (and I doubt I ever will) but I'll bet I have some reference for it. And you are right about the top of the foot, if I want to ensure that the leg looks like its hooking around his torso angling it away from the camera will help.

Thanks again

Jassar

08-13-2007, 08:57 AM

shattered-fx

08-13-2007, 04:18 PM

Hi Kevin,

Having a Mariachi band in the background will surely add some juicyness to this composition:thumbsup:!!..Make them look whacky and whimsical and it will surely do some support on your main characters so.. Go for it!..I am excited to see it! Cheers!

-Raffy

MY STRANGE BEHAVIOR ENTRY (ILLUSTRATION)

killer-instinct93

08-13-2007, 07:28 PM

Nice scene, I haven't read all the posts so I don't know if someone has already suggested this, but how about making something interesting with the gorillas hair? say a pony-tail or something?

Everything else looks cool so far, good luck!
Thanks for the suggestion. I might give it a shot, but I doubt it would be something thats stays. I think adding a human touch like that would work if I was trying to sell the idea of the character being female (not necessarily ponytail, maybe pig tails or makeup), but as is I think I want the only human element of the gorilla to be the suit and the fact that he's dancing. But you've given me a good idea, I might try styling the hair at some point, but probably nothing drastic.

Having a Mariachi band in the background will surely add some juicyness to this composition!!..Make them look whacky and whimsical and it will surely do some support on your main characters so.. Go for it!..I am excited to see it! Cheers!
Thanks for the reply bud. I mentioned before that I'll probably be referencing the band from "From Dusk 'til Dawn" for the stage, so ya itll be pretty wacky.

I'm working on finishing the tables/chairs and bar right now, and I think my next step will be the ceiling mural and the chandelier, but I'll definitely leave time to do a cool band playing.

Ordibble-Plop

08-14-2007, 12:49 AM

This is a good idea, and I agree about keeping the gorilla very gorillary - in fact, I'd personally like to see the gorillariness pushed a bit more.

Perhaps instead of a rose you could put a banana in his mouth, proferred between big pursed gorilla lips. I'm also not a fan of the coat tail sticking out on the left side as it looks a little stiff and unnatural and goes against the curve of the figures, sort of ushering the viewer off the left-hand side of the picture. If it is a tail coat, you might try having it cut above and following the gorrila's big belly to accentuate that.

As far as composition goes, is there a reason for pushing the figures all the way to the left? It could work to help show the dynamic motion of the dancers, but it seems to be in opposition to the background - the lines of the walls all flow and converge to the right of the picture. Could you try flipping the background horizontally and shifting it as necessary to flow into the figures?

Is the woman meant to be enjoying the dance or resisting it? The pose of her head reads a bit to me as if she is trying to reject the gorilla. Perhaps eye contact would be better?

I can understand your struggle with the pose - putting a gorilla's anatomy into a dance pose is a tricky manouvre. For believability, you will need to fit the woman around the big gorilla belly, which would naturally push the woman further away than usual. If you're using 3D models to help, don't forget to put a big sphere in there :)

Good luck and keep at it :thumbsup:

killer-instinct93

08-14-2007, 02:45 AM

This is a good idea, and I agree about keeping the gorilla very gorillary - in fact, I'd personally like to see the gorillariness pushed a bit more.
Firstly, thanks for the very insightful post. I'm glad you agree that the "human-ness" should be as little as possible. I tried to make sure it was a deliberate contrast between the long slender legs of the woman beside the short stubby gorilla legs, but maybe I'll push that even more. Although I'd love to hear more ideas on how to further "gorillafy" him.

Perhaps instead of a rose you could put a banana in his mouth, proferred between big pursed gorilla lips.
It's funny you mention that, as an original idea the woman was going to be just a giant banana :P

I'm also not a fan of the coat tail sticking out on the left side as it looks a little stiff and unnatural and goes against the curve of the figures, sort of ushering the viewer off the left-hand side of the picture. If it is a tail coat, you might try having it cut above and following the gorrila's big belly to accentuate that.
Very good idea, I'll definitely try it out. I might not have it skin tight to his stomach, but maybe a little less flowing will help.

As far as composition goes, is there a reason for pushing the figures all the way to the left? It could work to help show the dynamic motion of the dancers, but it seems to be in opposition to the background - the lines of the walls all flow and converge to the right of the picture. Could you try flipping the background horizontally and shifting it as necessary to flow into the figures?
I tried it with a narrower aspect, and it cut out a lot of elements I wanted to keep, or it would have made them smushed together. While I'm working on this I want as big of background as possible, and I may look at cropping it when I'm done. I think I just want to give myself the most options available. And as for your suggestion of flipping the background, that is how I had it in my original sketches (not shown here) but there were too many things getting blocked, and far too many tangents. I think it will look much better and more balanced and flowing when the tables are full, there are more characters, the bar is full and the band is playing.

Is the woman meant to be enjoying the dance or resisting it? The pose of her head reads a bit to me as if she is trying to reject the gorilla. Perhaps eye contact would be better?
She is meant to be enjoying it, but from all the tango reference I found, this particular pose usually featured the woman looking away. I'll try it both ways, but I will make it fairly overt that they have a flirty/romantic relationship.

I can understand your struggle with the pose - putting a gorilla's anatomy into a dance pose is a tricky manouvre.
Yup, especially when you are intertwining the body shapes of two different species !

For believability, you will need to fit the woman around the big gorilla belly, which would naturally push the woman further away than usual. If you're using 3D models to help, don't forget to put a big sphere in there :)
Thanks again for all the suggestions and ideas. I did work out the pose in 3d, but the final will be all 2d. All of the background elements will also be painted over, I was really just using the 3D bg for some practice at Maya and to try out some compositional things. As for the woman, your right that the large belly should be pushing her more. I didn't want to make her too skinny, but I may have to try it (maybe in a cartoony way) to get her to fit.

Good luck and keep at it :thumbsup:
Thanks a lot, I definitely appreciate all the feedback. It's giving me a lot of new ideas and options.

Dironik

08-14-2007, 03:00 AM

Nice idea, dude! :applause: :applause: :applause:
I think it will be excellent in the finally :thumbsup:
Good luck!

killer-instinct93

08-14-2007, 08:28 AM

http://assets.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/19/13594/13594_1187080115_medium.jpg (http://assets.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/19/13594/13594_1187080115_large.jpg)

Still workin'

bluemattersoda

08-14-2007, 01:26 PM

hey man, the image is coming along nicely, though I think her right leg is a tiny bit smaller than the left...then again, that's just me :P keep it up!

frankitu

08-14-2007, 06:57 PM

hi kevin!
your sketches are very good, and the concept is funny, I like that!
but the preview background seems be static now... how many people you want to place at the background?

killer-instinct93

08-14-2007, 07:03 PM

Thanks for the replies guys.

I think there will be at least 3 people at the tables, maybe up to 5 or 6. There will also be 2 or 3 people sitting at the bar. And also a bartender and the band, so I'm up to about 7-15 people.

NomadSoul2501

08-17-2007, 09:49 AM

Hi there!

In your exchange with Ordibble P. Lop, a more cartoony female form was suggested.
I would root for such an idea.
when i saw the background and the lighting and color mood you had assigned I thought of the movie 'who framed roger rabbit'.
I'd like to see the woman go more Jessica rabbit, real cartoony slender and with a 'abnormal' glittery dress.
I think that would work nicely.

cheers S

killer-instinct93

08-18-2007, 01:46 AM

Thanks for the reply. I'll probably let the outcome of the gorillas realistic-ness determine how real I do the girl. I think a Jessica Rabbit-like body on this girl will not only complicate things, but personally i like to stay away from the overly sexualized character designs. Figure the three most cliche things to draw or paint are curvaceous underdressed girls, angry warrior guys, and anything anime.

But I will take a look at WFRR, I haven't watched it in years, but maybe it'll give me some good ideas.

killer-instinct93

08-27-2007, 06:30 AM

http://assets.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/19/13594/13594_1188196146_medium.jpg (http://assets.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/19/13594/13594_1188196146_large.jpg)

Rough sketch of dude at the table

killer-instinct93

08-27-2007, 06:34 AM

http://assets.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/19/13594/13594_1188196443_medium.jpg (http://assets.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/19/13594/13594_1188196443_large.jpg)

Character Design for the bartender

killer-instinct93

08-27-2007, 06:35 AM

http://assets.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/19/13594/13594_1188196547_medium.jpg (http://assets.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/19/13594/13594_1188196547_large.jpg)

I've gotten it much closer to the colour scheme the final will be. I've also layed out some of the other background characters, and further developed the tables, chairs, stools and bar.

Comments are very much appreciated

SteevieWoo

08-27-2007, 06:51 AM

WHAT?!!.... Where is the enlarging thing? aww! a scam link:sad:.... Oh well, now that I'm here let me tell you that your sketches are really good, I actually didn't know you would put that level of detail on the background figures, Good!!

See you around, I gotta keep searching......

killer-instinct93

08-27-2007, 06:55 AM

Thanks for the quick reply

What do you mean by scam link? I've tried enlarging all three new ones and they work for me fine. Let me know so I can fix if necessary

As for the background guys, I'm probably going to do a medium level of detail on about 3 or 4 of them, and the rest will either be facing away, or be far enough in the distance that you won't notice.

SteevieWoo

08-27-2007, 07:10 AM

OH I'm really sorry man I wasn't meaning that :D I'm just one of those that clic anything that says "enlarge"

It's a reflex......

Your new canvas is perfect. no enlargements necessary.

SteevieWoo

08-27-2007, 07:15 AM

OH I'm really sorry man, I wasn't meaning that :D I'm just one of those that clic anything that says "enlarge"

It's a reflex......

Your new canvas is perfect. no enlargements necessary.

SteevieWoo

08-27-2007, 07:16 AM

Sorry if this duplicates, my browswer is not working well.

Oh what a mess, <i'm really sorry:blush:

killer-instinct93

08-27-2007, 07:21 AM

Ohhh, ok, now I know what you mean, my sig. Yeah its a play on all those spam mail advertisers. Trick people by offering to enlarge "something" of theirs :P

UldFerr

08-27-2007, 08:13 PM

Hi Kevin,
I really like your idea and how you are developing it. The secondary characters are great and funny. Congrats.
If I have to critique something, I would say that in your first sketches the ceiling felt higher and I like that better. Also the chandelier, I miss that one too. And last, are you planning to change the light for something more “night club” alike? I think the background it is a bit too bright, maybe if you introduce some darkness, the candlelight’s would make more of an impact. Anyway, I hope this can be useful. Good Luck.

killer-instinct93

08-27-2007, 08:20 PM

Thanks for the ideas.

The chandelier will be coming back at some point, when i figure out where to fit it, and what style to do.

As for the ceiling, I made them about 18 feet, based on the gorillas height of around 6'. I think because the camera is now much further from the wall it seems shorter. But I'll see what I can do. I think when the design/mural is on there, and can be seen in perpective, it will seem higher.

As for the nightclub lighting, I think its a cool idea. I'm going to hold off on drastically changing it for now, because its something I can still play with at the end. Right now I wanna focus on at least getting everything, and everyone in place.

Thanks again for your comments and suggestions, they are much appreciated

headtrip

08-28-2007, 05:24 AM

I really like your cartoon style, reminds me of the old Monkey Island games (no pun intended!):)

Great expression on the gorilla, definitely a hard subject to do.

Perhaps you could bring the other people on the left closer, as the cool character design on the guy sitting there is lost, and you could play with their expressions more.

Maybe some darker lighting in the background to vignette the main characters, forcing you to focus on them....

Looking forward to seeing how this progresses as it has some great potential.

killer-instinct93

08-29-2007, 05:43 PM

Thanks for the reply

I think when the image is final, it will be large enough to easily see the characters back there. I would make them bigger, but I'm not doing much detail on them, and I'm afraid they'll take away from the two main characters.

killer-instinct93

08-29-2007, 09:43 PM

http://assets.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/19/13594/13594_1188423813_medium.jpg (http://assets.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/19/13594/13594_1188423813_large.jpg)

Painting and final design for first dude at the tables.

edit: I just realized I haven't done his right hand yet, oops :P

killer-instinct93

08-29-2007, 09:44 PM

http://assets.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/19/13594/13594_1188423885_medium.jpg (http://assets.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/19/13594/13594_1188423885_large.jpg)

Painting of the bartender

killer-instinct93

08-29-2007, 09:46 PM

http://assets.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/19/13594/13594_1188423959_medium.jpg (http://assets.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/19/13594/13594_1188423959_large.jpg)

Here are the steps I've taken for painting the girl

killer-instinct93

08-29-2007, 09:47 PM

http://assets.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/19/13594/13594_1188424066_medium.jpg (http://assets.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/19/13594/13594_1188424066_large.jpg)

So here is quite a few updates. The main one would be that I've now done the girls face. I'll admit that I've never done any real figure painting before, and I've definitely never done hair before. Holy crap its a lot harder than with real paint!

I will continue to work on her, especially making her a little more cartoony, to match the other characters. She's not going to be totally "cartoon-ified," but at least a little more than she is now. I'll also continue to better render the hair,legs and arms.

After that, I'll fill up the rest of the background, with maybe one or two people at the bar, the girl already layed out at the table, and one more guy on the table at the right.

Then I'll put the band in back there, so I know how to better detail the stage area.

From there I'll do some work on the ceiling, add some decorative stuff to the empty walls, and then the rest of my time will be devoted to the gorilla.

If there's any time left, it'll just be touch ups and lighting.

Again, recommendations and critiques are much appreciated.And yes, I alread know at this point that the other characters are far more cartoony than the girl.

SteevieWoo

08-30-2007, 06:25 AM

Here I am again!! no triple postings this time:D:rolleyes:

Well that's a lot of new work on it, I have to admit that to this point I hadn't notice that the girl was missing a face, I mean, I didn't think about it.... weird.

This is going really well and with your warning about the style differences I don't have much to critique, OOOh one thing!! the hair of the girl is falling UP actually, I know that did not matter in vertical position but now you could make it fall (maybe in longer, looser threads) or play around with it for motion, right now it looks a bit stuck to the forehead. as for the detail of it don't worry... once you have the whole image you can come back to the hair and probably find not much more detail is necessary, maybe a little more shine or shadow or something. Take it from someone who tends to 'over-zoom' when painting and after zooming out goes: "D'oh! no one is going to see that!":sad:

MMMMMMH...... I'm craving to see the girl in green outline done in this cartoony style........ Good:thumbsup:

killer-instinct93

08-30-2007, 06:37 AM

Thanks Gabriel for the reply.

With regards to the girls hair, its actually only about half done. I forgot to mention in the previous post, but she's actually going to have braids crossing her head, and thats whats holding it down. But you're right that parts of it are falling the wrong way. When I painted it, it was rotated and I guess I forgot which way it would be turned. However, I shall fix !

As for the "zoom painting," I've already noticed it a few times after I did the chairs, as I did complete reflections and shadow/highlights on each leg to simulate chrome. D'oh !

edit: I forgot to mention before, can anyone guess which famous actress I used as reference for the girl? Hint: Canadian

Peter-Eriksson

08-30-2007, 10:48 AM

I like this one, keep it up!
/peter

killer-instinct93

09-01-2007, 01:25 AM

http://assets.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/19/13594/13594_1188609919_medium.jpg (http://assets.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/19/13594/13594_1188609919_large.jpg)

I tried to do the different lighting some of you suggested. I just roughed in some highlights on the characters, as their main detail is not done yet. What do you think. Personally i like that it made the characters a little more prominent.

I've also added the other guy at the table, and layed out some paintings/frames for the side wall.

More to come.

Vassink

09-03-2007, 10:55 PM

Great Sketches:thumbsup:

medunecer

09-04-2007, 08:00 PM

Cool idea! Maybe you could try to move a bit the couple on the right...just a little bit. Anyway, great start! Good luck!

musi

09-05-2007, 12:29 PM

Hej Kevin,

Must say it's a very impressive work! i love the style, the "fire" in the pose and the depth in the image!
Nice :thumbsup:.

One little thing bothers me at this point is the positioning of the main light source. It seems that the bright light in the middle is separating the couple from the rest of the room, it looks like they are dancing on the other side of the room and not connected anyhow tho others. One would expect to have couple in the spotlight and the rest of the room in the shadow, giving the feeling that couple is so absorbed in their dance that they don't notice all spectators outside the light, but yet spectators are still participating in the action watching the couple. But I am not sure, may be you are actually looking for that effect of separation.

And I love expression on that girl's face :scream:!

killer-instinct93

09-06-2007, 03:14 AM

Vassink - Thanks for your reply, hope you keep watching
medunecer - Very good point, and it is something that I will play around with a little closer to the end
musi - Thanks for the long reply and suggestions. As for the placement of the lighting, I've been playing around with it, and I have moved it a little more off centre to the right. I've also very much made it less intense. It is more faded like the earlier images, but I think still enough to show the depth. I will also try what you said about making it darker in the back. I think it will be easier to judge how that lighting will work when I'm a little more finished on the bar area, tables and stage. I don't want to completely separate the couple from the rest of patrons, but I think it was apparent before that the depth wasn't clear.