first ever concept paintings need comments

[GravidEngine]

First thing... are you using real images in the background? cause they're very distracting. More detail should be put in the subject rather than a background (unless the background is your subject) Second thing is your perspective. The bird man and fish look really flat. Also the bear's jaw look broken. The colors are very saturated in both pieces. Your color choice for the first piece is poor in my opinion... the bird-man's accent color is the same as the lion-head's blood is the same as the background. The same beedy eyes for all characters are a bit odd.

I wouldn't really call these concept work. Concept work generally concentrates on the theme, composition, perspective, color scheme, etc... without actually fully rendering out a scene. These are more illustration I believe.

I'd say replacing the background would be one of the easiest/biggest improvements.

Good luck.

[CybrGfx]

Don't believe everything GravidEngine is telling you.

It does not matter whether or not you are using photographs as the background. THAT is not why they are visually irritating (Don't "Kill the messenger "medium," just because you don't like the message "visual," GravidEngine...).

Also, Concept art is a form of illustration where the main goal is to convey a visual representation of a design, idea, and/or mood (Don't let your personal definitions of words cloud their true meaning, GravidEngine...)

These are BOTH excellent concepts! The first one made me laugh at the chicken hero getting the best of that old fox (finally!). The second one creates a wonderful mood of the beauty of a wilderness, with a sudden and violent presense that is always a part of Nature...

The backgrounds are irritating, because they are competing for dominance with your main subject. Considering that you have pretty strong visuals as main subjects, this makes for a somewhat bloody battle for control...

Backgrounds, unless they ARE your intended subject matter, should remain in the background. You should not have overly bright sunsets bursting from your subject's right hipbone, nor multiple light sources providing inconsistent backlighting, with one arm and the fur between his legs brighter than everything else except the hip explosion. Highlights should be used to help guide the eye around the composition, not attempt to extricate the subject from an overly dominant background that is trying to swallow it.

I LIKE the bear and fish picture even with the terribly wonky perspective. I like the colors, I like the positive/negative space, I like the visual FLOW of this piece. Compositionally, you have actually (with a few major errors) done quite well with this one!
(Note, if you rework this, KEEP a copy of this version ~ 30 years from now, you'll know why.)

Neither piece is beyond repair, but if you plan on tweaking these so that they are more effective, please pick which one you want to start with. My observations here are already longer than I want, and I do not wish to write another mini-novel pointing out all the things in both works. We can address the other image after you adjust the first one.

~C

[GravidEngine]

I explained why they're visually irritating... because photograph doesn't work behind these pieces because the foreground isn't detailed enough or a reason to use a photograph seems lacking.

And they still don't seem conceptual to me. The whole point of concept art is to explore a subject as preliminary work for a larger project/piece. This looks more like a representation of a subject... as an illustration would be.

I mean sure if he plans on using things to help create something beyond it then it would be concept work, it just doesn't look as though that's what he's doing.

[mporter]

I would first like to thank both of you for your honest comments.

I fully agree that the background is conflicting with the subject matter I intend to fix this and repost again.

I also agree that my first painting the lighting is off as it is rear lite I will also work on this.

I got the idea for the concept salmon wars from the john west salmon adds, where the eagle fly’s down and steals the salmon from the bear , to me making them mortal enemies who are both fighting for the same thing. I would like to develop this concept into large battle scenes depicting the struggle between the two hunters.

When I was painting these 2 pieces I was not thinking of perspective it was purely for composition and art style, the natural look versus the fantasy look. Which style do you think I should develop.

Best

Mark

[CybrGfx]

Mark, if you don't specify your intent behind what you present, "When I was painting these 2 pieces I was not thinking of perspective it was purely for composition and art style, the natural look versus the fantasy look."only soliciting comments, the viewer sees only what is visually there. It makes is easier to critique when we know what you are thinking of when you create.

For the chicken piece, compositionally, it is too "target focused," and there is no real visual flow around the work. I'd put the sunset behind the foxhead, to give you the dramatic lighting fantasy works like this appreciate, and change the perspective to move the point of view (camera angle) lower, making chicken man a bit "larger than life." So in this case, perspective is an important consideration for your composition.

The salmon piece I've previously discussed, I like it. But perspective will need to be addressed for this piece as well. For the position of the bear and the salmon as you have them, the horizon line is too high. the viewer would physically only be about 1-2 feet above the water, and would not see the background at the angle you have it...Which style do you think I should develop(?)Either, both. You have a good imagination, and good fantasy work needs a good imagination. But, your anatomy skills need a LOT of work. Your skills at animals and fish are better than your skills of humanoid bi-peds. So I'd say go with your strenghts, and save the imaginary scenarios for hobby spare time, and develop the realism thing more.

And work on perspective.

BTW, if the first piece was supposed to be the eagle, I really think you should work on the realism thing. I thought, and still do, that it looks like a chicken...;)

~C

[mporter]

sorry for the late reply, have update the chicken man image as people like to call it, really tried to follow cybrgfx tips for improving the image i think it has helped the overall look.

comments please

best

mark

http://i34.tinypic.com/2602zhx.jpg

[CybrGfx]

It has a much better flow, now.

Everytime I see this, I think of chickens, hen houses, foxes, and this guy protecting the chickens...

This could make a great movie poster, a la 'Terminator' for him...lol!

~C

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