Uplift Universe - Image Entry: Bronwen Wheeler

[Nekomouse]

http://assets.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/20/14692/14692_1206270967_medium.jpg (http://assets.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/20/14692/14692_1206270967_large.jpg)

Being a teacher, I thought that a classroom scene would be a cool idea for the theme 'alien relations'. I used a reference photo of my own teaching, and here is the concept sketch. I'm not very strong with perspective, so if anyone can see any errors please feel free to do a draw over and point them out. Thanks!

[Nekomouse]

So, I'm not so hot with colours, especially choosing a colour palette. I have a horrible habit of just picking colours from the colour wheel and then painting with darker and lighter versions without really paying attention to how they work together. This time I've decided to try and actually work out a custom palette before I start painting and would appreciate any advice people could give.

I've come up with 5 different colour schemes. I'm looking for a palette that's playful but not candycane bright, so I've kept to desaturated colours. Personally I'm fond of No. 1 and No. 3; but what do you guys think?

Does anyone have any advice on choosing colours for a painting?

http://img253.imageshack.us/img253/3900/colourstudiescy4.jpg

[Nekomouse]

http://assets.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/20/14692/14692_1206326971_medium.jpg (http://assets.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/20/14692/14692_1206326971_large.jpg)

Okay, so I decided to go with the brownish base which will hopefully give a warm tone to the image which I can contrast with the metal of the desks and chairs. Lets see how it works out.

[i3abden]

best of luck, I like your concept ;)

[thepineman]

the number 1 colour looks better. nice line art too. about the perspective you mentioned, yes the floor looks a little bit its going upwards and slanted. i will check this on photoshop later on.

[thepineman]

http://i210.photobucket.com/albums/bb102/newicks/14692_1206326971_medium.jpg

compare the line on the floor.

[Nekomouse]

i3abden -> Thanks for dropping by and good luck to you too!

thepineman -> Thanks for checking out that perspective for me. I can see what you mean with the lines. I'll clean them up on my next go at it; though, I might just get rid of them all together to free up the space a little?

[Thaldir]

Hi, Bronwen!

You're off to a running start, lovely idea!
But for that little (and already mentioned) perspective thing the sketch looks great to me

[thepineman]

though, I might just get rid of them all together to free up the space a little?

thats better, try something else like solid colour or a texture. but if you want to keep the lines (tile) just adjust it a little bit:thumbsup:.

[blakbird]

Your concept is lovely,
I have an idea, you can play with the colors: The ambient color of the classroom (maybe a blue) and a possible sun light comes from the left paints every character in the scene, mixing with their own colors (flesh and fabrics etc.).
If i were you, i'd generate different layers, each layer have a single character and decouped from the latter. So you can test everyone by their own besides see their general effect on the composition overall.
Keep on good work, best wishes.

[RoGreg]

hi,

i like your concept.
how about a little alien up front with the teacher showing or doing something.
that way we wouldn't see all aliens from the back or side.

good luck to you.

[Nekomouse]

http://img529.imageshack.us/img529/7530/xxiicolourflats1webkl1.jpg


This is the work I got done tonight. Just laying down some colour flats. Once I have all the flats done I will upload it as an official WIP. So many characters to paint! :sad: When will I ever learn my lesson about using too many people in my paintings?!? Anyway, I flipped the image just to get a fresh look at it and will keep flipping it as I progress.

Thaldir -> Yay! Awesome to see you stop by friend. Thanks for the support, but you know how I work. I get all fired up and then run out of steam. :D

KU2GUN -> Thanks for stopping by and for the advice. I've kept things on separate layers so that I can play with it. The colours are looking a little dark at the moment, but I tend to paint from dark to light so hopefully it will come out brighter in the end.

RoGreg -> Thanks as well for stopping by. I was thinking of adding a little furry alien thing sitting on the table, kind of like a class pet 'hamster' or something, but I will probably see how it goes and then add it towards the end if I feel the image needs a little boost. I'm quite content with the composition at the moment. I just have to be careful of the colours I use so that they don't draw attention way from the forward direction.

Good night all, I'll post again after I get some sleep. No use painting like a zombie!

[thebest]

hey nice sketch

I must say I thought of something near to this so it would be amazing to see it actually ...........right now it is one of the favourites keep going :thumbsup:

[Pegahoul]

Nice idea, though why don't you make it in landscape instead? Because the viewpoint is kind of narrow to me.

[rahulmehta]

i like the concept ... cool .. keep posting ..!
best of luck for your challenge ..

regards
www.freewebs.com/lalitrahulmehta (http://www.freewebs.com/lalitrahulmehta)
http://www.vimeo.com/805979

[rahulmehta]

i like the concept ... cool .. keep posting ..!
best of luck for the challenge ..

regards
www.freewebs.com/lalitrahulmehta (http://www.freewebs.com/lalitrahulmehta)
http://www.vimeo.com/805979

[wueste]

hex bronwen, really nice and lovely concept. but make shure the perspective is right ... good luck and have fun with the challange!

[Nekomouse]

thebest -> Thanks for stopping by! I'm glad to see so much interest in this idea.

Pegahoul -> Thanks for the advice. The original reference photo was in landscape form, but I cropped it to landscape for a number of reasons. First, the landscape just added three more kids with their backs to us and a big open space on the board. Second, I think the landscape style is very busy with all the kids. The portrait one draws the eye forward along the students towards the teacher. What do others people think? Oh, also, Ballistic prefers to publish portrait style (not that I have a chance in hell, but hey. :D).
http://img409.imageshack.us/img409/8963/referencephotovl3.jpg

rahulmehta and wueste -> Thanks for popping in and best of luck to you both.

Well, time to get working on the rest of the flats. If I can finish those today I think I'll be making good progress.

[mdavid]

This is great. You've got a solid start on this and your idea is good. I like the idea of only seeing the alien kids from the back. At first glance some of them look human and then when you look more carefully you see the signs of alien in them. When that happens - when a piece of art slowly rewards a more careful examination - it can be a much more enjoyable image

[Nekomouse]

http://assets.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/20/14692/14692_1206442870_medium.jpg (http://assets.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/20/14692/14692_1206442870_large.jpg)

Finally laid down the basic colour flats. It's looking a little dark at the moment but I'm hoping the shading will lighten it a good deal. Any advice on colour choice problems?

[Halo89]

very nice concept
good luck :thumbsup:

[LightSovereign]

very interesting concpet so far, its very different from what is currently on offer.

pehaps you could have a bit of futuristic technology about the place, perhaps vid screens hanging on the wall or something..in anyase i hope you see this thru to th efinish line..

Take care

Marley

[KangarooMan]

Hey Bronwen, I really like what you are going for in the image. And for me the camera angle is great. One thing that I noticed and I am not sure if anyone else has commented on this already but the boy's antenna in the foreground seem to be disappearing behind the girl in the first row. Best of luck in the challenge!

Matt :)

[Nekomouse]

http://img148.imageshack.us/img148/5066/xxiicolourflats3mz0.jpg

Sorry for the lack of substantial updates but I haven't felt very well the past few days. For those of you who don't know, I'm pregnant with about 3 weeks to go. In Japan we have to stay in the hospital for a week after the birth, so if I disappear randomly for more than a few days then you guys can probably figured out what happened. Alas, I will have no internet at the hospital but I'll probably get a lot of work done on the painting if I can convince them to let me have my tablet. :twisted:

Anyway, I just added a few little details, mostly place markers to remind me what I want to put on the posters. I also added the alien shadow outside the door, not sure why, it just seemed to be lacking something. I am considering adding something to the table in front of the teacher. Either, a furry alien/pet or somekind of 3d floating cube like the one on the flashcard the teacher is holding.

mdavid -> Thank you so much for your kind comments. I am very pleased that you've found the piece to be so visually interesting!

Halo89 -> Thanks for stopping by!

LightSovereign -> Thanks for the comments. I agree that there does need to be a little more sci-fi tech elements in it.

mmbenya -> Thank you for stopping by! I think that the antenna you are refering to is actually the girl's tail? The boy in the foreground is the only 'pure' human in the group.

[KangarooMan]

Lol, I totally read that wrong! When I first looked at it it seemed like he and the girl both had the same type of antenna. But it is all clear now. :)

Matt :)

[GaeasHerald]

Hi Bronwen. Congrats for the baby to come! You asked for some advice on the color scheme, and how to make the colors look less flat. My advice would be to think of a main lightsource (location, color, intensity....) and a fill light (probably the light bounced off the walls). Once you have that in mind, try coloring the scene with those colors and thinking which light source has the more "influence" on a given object. After a while, you'll find yourself sampling the colors right of the picture, which will help you give coherence to the image.
Finally, choose different hues for the main light and fill light so as to have more complexity in the pallette, and above all, have fun!

[Gurugugnola]

Nice concept and sketch :thumbsup: good luck

[nwiz25]

woooohoooooooo!! :scream: great to have you here my friend! :bounce: cool concept i must say! waiting to see it bloom! :p
best wishes to you! :thumbsup:

[scala]

Lovely idea you got there good luck Bronwen

[Thaldir]

Congratulations and well-wishes, Bronwen! Love how your concept is shaping up.

[Nekomouse]

http://img185.imageshack.us/img185/200/010xxiicolourhumanboylp0.jpg

Managed to sneak some work onto my painting today.

GaeasHerald -> Thank you so much for the great advice. The main light source is coming in from the left and is sunlight, but when I try to use a yellow tinted colour it just looks horrid. I'm not sure what I'm doing wrong?

Gurugugnola, nwiz25, scala, Thaldir -> Thanks to all for the kind words and well wishes.

[HornlessUnicorn]

That's a very cute and original concept! Would love to see more.

[Cyberone]

its coming along very nice...
maybe a stronge light direction>?

be back later...hehe

have fun!

[na]

I like your concept, good luck with it :)

[beelow]

I like the idea. You just need a strong light source and a definite focus. Good luck Bronwen. I will keep an eye on your thread. Later. :thumbsup:

[Nekomouse]

HornlessUnicorn, Pearlyking -> Thank you both for stopping by!

Cyberone, beelow -> Thanks for the advice guys. You both mentioned that I need a stronger light source. I kinda understand what you mean but I'm having a little trouble visualising it. Are the highlights not strong enough? I know that everyone is very busy but would it be too much trouble for either of you to do a quick visual example? Thanks!

[Cyberone]

i think the highlights are fine...but there needs to be more dark from the behind directions of the directional lights...

if ya can get what i mean...lol

[Nekomouse]

OKay, so I should be a little more bold with shadows?

[mdavid]

The comments about the lighting have got me thinking too and I agree that the image could benefit from some stronger highlights, and also darker areas away from the light. Unfortunately I am not at all expert in this kind of illustration so I can't offer anything like the definitive solution but I've had a go at a quick paintover to show what I was thinking. Perhaps someone could comment on my humble attempt as a starting point.

http://www.mdavid.com.au/cg/paintover.jpg

By the way, I've also enlarged the boy's hand a bit. Even though he might be from a small-hand race of aliens, I thought the hand needed to be a bit bigger

[beelow]

Let me clear things up a bit more. As far as simon, mark and I are trying to say is you need to push the values of in your image. Deeper contrasts can go a long way with storytelling in imagery. Put the most contrast at your focal point and lessen it as you go away from it. YOu can always go lighter as you move further away in perspective or you can darken the space around the focal point. a guy suggested earlier to sample color. I wouldn't suggest doing that at all. You won't learn anything if you do that. You'll cheat yourself in my opinion. Also be careful of where you place shapes in space. I see that rat tail it read as antennas. maybe put it off to the side of the chair. usually tails are closer to the buttox. Just keep certain things like that in mind.

[Cyberone]

http://img261.imageshack.us/img261/4135/nekoln7.jpg

i did a quick paint over too...if ya hate ppl doing that tell me now and i will never do it again...lol

dont be afraid to go dark...you reference picture seems to be taken with a flash so there are no shadows so ya gonna have to make your own..

i reule that i have picked up for tone and contrast over the years...squint at the picture untill
its all blurry...ij you can still see the basic forms and depth then you are on the right track...works best with black and white

[Nekomouse]

http://img201.imageshack.us/img201/7213/boycorrectionsbt8.jpg

Thank you all so much for the awesome advice. I have no formal training beyond high-school art so often I miss some of the fundamentals. The paintovers and explanations were wonderful! :love: I reworked just this small section with the boy, shifting occasionally to grayscale to see if I had enough depth. I feel that this is a definate improvement. I am going to move onto the other kids for the moment and see how they all work together before going into too much more detail. Thank you again everyone for the help.

[thepineman]

you did a good job with the shadows and highlights.

[medunecer]

Really a nice idea! Good luck!

[AxelAlonso]

HI Bronwen!:wavey:

Thanks for the support in my portafolio!! I like the classroom Idea, a perfect environment easy to relate to anybody, and a well executed concept of relationships! As for your values I think they are going through in a good rhythm! just dot get to close to one kid's detail of light until the end , or at least that what I do, and working with your grey scale layer helps a lot , like you already are! Great work, keep it up!:wip: (http://forums.cgsociety.org/misc.php?do=getsmilies&wysiwyg=1&forumid=0#):arteest: (http://forums.cgsociety.org/misc.php?do=getsmilies&wysiwyg=1&forumid=0#)

[Voidreamer]

very nice, i like it a lot
good luck

[Ferx]

Hey Bronwen, nice and original concept, like your approach to the challenge. The perspective for the rooms looks nice, only some issues to correct. The vertical lines of the the door and window door need to be parallel to the vertical line of the corner of the wall. The top part of the furniture beside the door ( with the blanket) is tilted slightly, but can be a some sort of strange device under the blanket :D I think you can no need correction on it. The top frame on the back wall maybe be a bit smaller to gain a nice negative space on that wall, only a comment :) Nice work. Cheers!

[Nekomouse]

I just wanted to say thanks to everyone who has stopped by and a super thanks to all of you guys who have been giving me so much help. I have yet to finish a CG Challenge but everytime I do one I learn so much from everyone.

Here's a quick update for those of you who were wondering what happened.
Baby Maria arrived at 8:05am on April 22nd! She's healthy and I am exhausted but also very pleased that everything went so well. I don't think I am going to be able to find time during the 3hr feeds and nappy changes to complete the challenge in time, but I will probably transfer it across to my sketch thread and work on it more there.

I do hope that some of you will pop in every now and again to critique and offer your advice.

Thanks again to everyone!
Bronwen

[mdavid]

Hey Bronwen, congratulations! That is excellent to know that everything went so well. Thanks for letting us know the great news. I can certainly understand that your priorities with your time and energy have suddenly been forced to change, but it's great to know you still plan to continue with your illustration some time

[HornlessUnicorn]

That's wonderfull - congratulations :) Of course that's far more important than some contest :)

All the best,

Dimitrij

[nwiz25]

wow! :love: that's amazing! a very big congratulations to you bronwen! :love: this is a special time indeed! me still will lookout for your work completion .. i wish you all the luck and love! god bless you bronwen and your family as well! :love:

[Cyberone]

Gratz on the bub dood..
Glad it all went well for ya!!
:beer:

[Thaldir]

And a BIG CONGRATULATIONS from Italy too, Bronwen ! :beer:

[lauranonce]

Congratulations!! hugs for you and a big kiss to Maria :)

[dropdeadfriend]

i loved this concept.

u can see variety of species huh ;) ?

too good.

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