witch--C&C's requested!

[CybrGfx]

It's your character. YOU place her.

Daytime? Nightime? Indoors? Outdoors? What time of the year?
She has no body, just a head and a lot of hair. Who/what is she?

Give her more than just better eyebrows, give her a "back story."
That will help you figure out where she is in the Universe.

[mikkilette]

well i do have a backstory, she's the goddess Hekate from greek mythology who is the goddess of witchcraft and thievery. But that is a good point, i should spend more time thinking about it now that you point it out. thanks :) :love:

[VISEone]

So if you already name it - why don't you use a background of something that looks like a greek place - a temple or something like this.

[mikkilette]

Ok i'm going to take a break on this piece while i fix up my other one, so it might be awhile before i post again. If you see any anatomical errors please let me know!

[mikkilette]

this is an update and an explanation of what I added and why.
http://i217.photobucket.com/albums/cc258/mikkilette/wip3.jpg

The hill is depicting a cemetary because she was also goddess of necromancy and ghosts. There is a statue of Hades on the hilll because he was the god of death and ruler of the underworld. He is connected to Hekate because she helped Demeter try to rescue Persephone from Hades. There is a moon to her right because she was also connected with the moon and with night. To the bottom right it magic swirly stuff because she was the goddess of witchcraft. I am planning on putting a relfection of a skull in her pupils to further her connection with necromancy, ghosts, and witchcraft. I am planning on her magic to be a frontal light source from the bottom right and the moon and a few stars be secondary light sources in the back to light up the hillside.

Comment and Critic on my planning please! Oh and let me know if you like the eyebrows better, I'm still having trouble getting the right expression.

[mikkilette]

I updated her features and will block in the colors for the background if y'all don't see anything offensively wrong with it. Tell me if anything looks "wonky" :p

Also, her chin is looking unnaturally big to me, is it just me or is it something I should correct?http://i217.photobucket.com/albums/cc258/mikkilette/wip4.jpg

[mikkilette]

more steps. I haven't done any shading for the tomb stones yet or added the path. I also intend to add blue to Hades statue to unify the picture more.
http://i217.photobucket.com/albums/cc258/mikkilette/wip5.jpg

[CybrGfx]

Looking interesting!

What expression are you trying for? At present, she has a pretty bored expression on her face overall, not even taking into account her surroundings. It looks like a Driver's License photo. You're also not showing anything in the way of highlights and shadows relating to the light sources you describe. You need to consider the effect of the large and full moon directly behind her. That "Magical Source Lighting" that you are planning also needs to be considered now, because it will have to be very strong to compete with that moon. You will need to show it somehow, because to just illuminate her face with it will look confusing to the viewer without a reference source.

Check out this thread (http://forums.cgsociety.org/showthread.php?f=199&t=359226&page=5&pp=15) by Steven Stahlberg. He addresses lighting issues like yours quite well.
Here (http://forums.cgsociety.org/showpost.php?p=3613417&postcount=227) is another good illustration of lighting for this type of scene.

Also, cemetaries are seldom found on steep hills. Think strong rainstorms and mudslides...
Your "Artistic License" will only cover you so far in your rendering of an imagined fantasy scene. If you stray too far from perceptual reality, your efforts will merely come across as amateurish. This piece needs a bit of further thought and some re-direction, in my opinion.

You've done pretty good with the general facial proportions, but to place that face in a scene will involve a bit more thought and effort. It is a fascinating story, I look forward to seeing you further refine your concept.

[mikkilette]

I was attempting determined, but i'm having difficulties especially with the eyebrows. I'll keep working with the expression and see what I like. The reason the shading and highlights are so bad is because i haven't done any of them. hehe. I was planning on having the magic visible not just kind of a random glow :).
I've been working more on the background so that I can have a better idea of how to shade the face.
Thanks for the links! You're very helpful.
I never really considered that about cemeteries, but it's a great point, so i'll work on fixing that.
I'm glad you like the story :) hopefully by the time we're finished the art will be good enough to carry the story. I appreciate all the help and tips you've been giving me, it may not show but I'm learning alot.
I'll update as soon as possible!

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