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AndreaGS
09-24-2007, 03:16 AM
I finished my first novel a little while ago. It's running through beta readers right now, so in the meantime, I'm working on book 2 and some painting. I know it's dreaming big, and unlikely, but IF I am able to get my book published, I'd really really like to do my own cover art.

Failing that, at least I have some fun new paintings!

http://vividreamsart.com/firstseatcover3.jpg

They're two of my main characters. I'm still figuring out her right hand. I took some reference photos, but was dissatisfied with them. I want her to be touching him in a sort of possessive, domineering manner, and what I had going before was too passive.

Comments and suggestions welcome! Thanks for looking!
AndreaGS
09-24-2007, 07:35 AM
Re-did her face from scratch. I spent hours pushing around that face, trying to make it work, but every tweak seemed to make things maybe slightly better, and the colors started to get muddy.

I like this face much better, and it's much more true to the character. I did it on a separate canvas, so I forgot her hair was partially in the way. I'll have to tweak the lighting a bit.

http://vividreamsart.com/firstseatcover4.jpg
nerdyninja
09-24-2007, 05:31 PM
Im liking it! i would love to see some close ups of her face...:bounce: I like the mood of the drawing as well. I can see what you mean by domineering..i think it is coming through.

oh yeah good luck on your books!
Shiki
09-25-2007, 12:29 AM
I think you have the skill to9 get this where it needs to be just be looking at the face. :) I hope your books do well also, I happen to be a writer as well, and just as it is in art it is very difficult to get your stuff out there in the market. Good luck.;)
AndreaGS
09-25-2007, 03:06 AM
Thanks for the feedback and the good luck wishes, nerdyninja and Shiki!

I adjusted the lighting on her chin. Here's a close-up of her face:
http://vividreamsart.com/helendetail2.jpg

Still a lot of work to do on her chest and hair. I'm not completely satisfied with her eye, but it's such a small part of such a large painting, I'm going to let it slide.

I don't paint/draw a lot of architecture, so this is going to be a challenge for me. I have a huge folder of reference photos, so hopefully those can help pull me through. I think I'm going to go ahead and start blocking in the background of the painting and focus on the details later. I get so caught up on the faces sometimes.
DArcy1
09-25-2007, 04:21 AM
I quite like this, it really captures a moment as one hopes a book cover would do. I really like that you took the time to get the perspective right ! It reminds me of the covers Romas did for the later Darkover novels by MZB.


D'Arcy
nerdyninja
09-25-2007, 04:21 PM
I like the close up! And I know exactly what you mean by getting caught up! I mean as you saw in mine I did the face first and left everything else unblocked!!! haha Good luck on the architecture! Im not too good at it either! Refs. are a life savior! :thumbsup:
AndreaGS
09-29-2007, 08:22 PM
DArcy1, I've seen Romas' artwork, so I'm very flattered that my painting would elicit that sort of comparison!

Still working away at it. I've moved to the background, and I'm going to work on finishing that before returning to the foreground.

http://vividreamsart.com/firstseatcover5.jpg
DArcy1
09-30-2007, 04:45 AM
Hey what can I say, you do good work, you deserve the comparison :thumbsup:


D.
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