stuck

[CybrGfx]

Hi.
Um, when you say "you need some feedback," because you are stuck, what do you mean?
There's a lot of feedback I could give you on this, but I don't think it would "unstick" you, although it would certainly give you things to work on.

What kind of feedback do you want?
Composition, regarding the overall picture, or Technical, regarding how it looks, composition aside?

What software are you using to create this?

What is this scene supposed to be, besides an abandoned castle, at night, in the middle of some barren and rocky hills, behind two lone trees growing right next to each other? Just answering that question, and explaining the purpose behind those four separate components of your work, should give you some direction in which to head with this...

~Cyber

[raingen]

i was trying to make the castle spooky... and i was listening to one of my gnomon dvds to get a picture and change it completely... that is what i started with and i got more buried into the picture and that is what i felt stuck on... something kept bothering me but i can't put my finger on what it is... i was thinking of modeling the castle and then coming back to the idea... i am only using photoshop at the moment...

v

[Greenham]

Everything looks very . . . static to me. It seems as if you've placed a picture of a tree, a castle and some hills on three separate layers and played around with their positioning for a while. I'm sorry I'm not sure how to fix it. You need to make it seem more a single image. Perhaps placing things that 'link' the distances between the three objects together.

[CybrGfx]

Okay, it is easier to tell you what isn't working, when you tell people what it is you are trying to achieve.

Spooky...Well, first off, how do you define "spooky?"
Describe it to us. The CG foreign language dictionary doesn't have the word, and we are not familiar with it...What does spooky mean to YOU???
Then describe to us what (in your mind) makes a castle "spooky." Be as detailed as possible. List at least 5 things. You have "dark" and "misty" conveyed very well. But "spooky" is not just dark and misty...

I do not have the Gnomon DVDs, so do not know what they teach in them. So, if I write something that is counter to their instructions, ignore me.

What is most visibly obvious to me, and what may be bothering you, is the lack of a visually clear "Point" to this picture. You have no plan, beyond "get a picture and change it completely." A picture with no point to it can never truly be art. You'll be lucky if you can get it to be an illustration. Re-read the end of my previous post. EVERY element in a work you create needs Form and Function. What is the purpose of the visual elements you have in conveying "spooky?"

Before you tackle any project or experiment worth your time and effort, MAKE yourself stop, and THINK about it for just 5 minutes. Get a piece of paper, or grab your sketchpad, and THINK. Brainstorm about what you are going to do...

Example:
Change a Picture Completely
Subject: A castle
Goal: Make it dark and spooky from bright and shiny ~ Opposites?
Visuals for "spooky" ~ Dark, misty, full moon, ?????????

Have a PLAN for what you are doing. Then you won't find yourself getting buried in a picture, because you know where you are going with an effect, and exactly what you are striving to visually communicate. "Spooky" is just TOO vague a word to create. Cold? Winter? Underwater? Post-Apocolypse/Nuclear war? Sure. You can easily envision those elements to convey the mood and setting you want...Spooky? What the hell is spooky, and how do you draw it?

Personally, I say put this one aside. Consider it a failed attempt that you may or may not come back to. There's just too much work to fix all the problems it has, an you need to continue learning with that DVD, not bogging down on something this complex.
Start fresh.

Get a Picture (the original castle, if you so choose), and try the exercise again. But this time, choose a specific change, and write it down. "Winter" "Underwater," "Party," "Cake," "Miniature." Pick one, or come up with your own. Write down 5 distinctive features for that change from what the original picture is. Then make those 5 distinctive changes...and see if that doesn't keep you a bit more focused and on track.

Good luck!
~Cyber

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