Netherworld Archipelago - the Capital, Jesse van Dijk (2D)

[leigh]

Fantastic! I really love the hazy lighting, it's so immersive. You seem to have taken some inspiration from Minas Tirith from LOTR, haven't you? I really like your brush work in the lower left corner, just enough strokes to suggest the detail there without getting too busy. I also really like the splashes of red on the banners on the citadel walls, a small spot of colour amidst the more monotone scene. It's subtle but effective.

Really fabulous, I love seeing this kind of work. Enjoy some time on the front page.

[RenisanceX]

Whoa very inspiring thank you so very much.. Great work

[DanielWray]

Really loving this piece, you could just imagine the type of people who live in this place, very pale faced, sort of reclusive in some aspects, from the world around them.

I agree with leigh, it does instantly remind me of minas tirith, but that certainly isn't a bad thing :)

[LadyPurple]

Love your work!

[Stefan-Morrell]

very cool image..the peaks of the buildings off in the far distance look really well done.makes me want to dust off an old castle image I was working on :)
congrats on the plug!

[thyn]

Amazing... such an atmosphere !!!

[ajsa51]

Excellent work! :thumbsup: :thumbsup:

[bearfoot]

truly epic!

wonderful


thanks
n

[fgdf]

Among the most impressive works I've seen for a while
Congratulations!
_BB

[far]

very nice work :wavey:

[Doctor Nick]

I love huge, epic environments, I see the Minas Tirith inspiration here as well. Great work!

[TheANIMAL]

This looks fantastic, perfect atmosphere.

[BookMansBlues]

wow, was looking for an idea to play with UDK with now I think I found it!

simply amazing!

[BUZZFX]

The birds really add to the image and give a sense of the grandness. Beautifully executed! :)

[rawwad]

Fantastic image, love style very much :thumbsup:

[phoenix]

Very nice indeed, love the colors and detail


Regards

[mitsuk]

Great image,love the details and light

[ilucion]

Yikes! This is truly a unique piece of work. Love the simple colors used here. It somehow reminds me of Gondor. This city to me, is like saying: we are prosper and power full. And you can see that by the defense wall that looks so humongous next to the houses across the river. this is very majestic and magical. Love the look of the brigde. This could easily be the art piece of the day. My sincere congrats. Thanks for taking your time and sharing this with us. I will be checking out your portfolio today. keep up the good work.

cheers!!!
Ilucion.

[selwy]

GREAT!! work.
Best regards, Selwy

[Nekranea]

I love the lighting, atmosphere, color palette, architecture... all is perfect.
Amazing piece! :bowdown:

[danielmoreira]

perfect! good work, I can`t say nothing.

[Kazuki]

It's just amazing, good atmosphere!

[JessevanDijk]

Thanks for the feedback all!

Leigh>Cheers for the comments, and many thanks for the plug too. I loved Minas Tirith as depicted in the movies, yes! I've undoubtedly taken inspiration from it, although it wasn't exactly what I had in mind when I made this picture. Last year I went on holiday in the USA and visited several caves in Colorado, and that gave me the idea. Because floor space would be limited, cities would ultimatly grow up rather than sideways, etc, you get the idea.

DanielWray, thanks man, it's good to hear it gets your imagination going!

Stefan Morell, many thanks, and congrats to you too! :)

-Jesse

[andrex]

Excellent work!:bowdown:

[MikkoK]

Awesome work man. Very inspirational. Thanks for sharing!

[YanbinZhang]

nice concept art work!

[QaisCG]

wow wonderful work :thumbsup:

[ASCsab]

Beautifull painting, it reminds me the hidden city of Gondolin from the Silmarillion.

[melica]

This is simply beautiful!:applause:

[pearson]

I love this! Very beautiful, and skillfully executed. :applause:

[finx]

that's perfect~
amazing

[Dgrafica]

Great job compliments.

Hello by Dgrafica

[Mrbonbon]

great as always.
Really like all you work.
keep it up...

[wildheadache]

I really like the composition, subtle color palette and the light on the top of the city..
great job;)

[Pixelbrush]

Very inspiring indeed. Beautifully created atmosphere. All the best for your project.

[ww390227]

I very much appreciate your work

[bakiyaraj]

Nice job................

[rainewoo]

Nice work, reminds me the lord of the rings , the white city

[Scratchliquid]

Exellent work. Very inspiring. Seem like a great stroy behind this image. Nice one.

[GarenMuln]

Simply beautiful. I absolutely love this painting... great lighting!

Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks...

Out of the abundance of the mind the hand paints...

[lkermel]

Amazing work. I love paintings like yours that look like scenes suspended in time. Prefect.

[Sangotten]

Great work! I love the light and atmosphere.

I would personally reduce the amount of "unsharp" usage, especially in the background and in hight. Right now it reduces the sense of scale and dept because everything is equally sharp.

Cheers.

[EstremsDesign]

Nice work, i love it.

[Picky]

Really nice work. I like how you depicted the hierarchy within the city's walls. The top is accentuated magnificently. I am inspired. Congrats!

[artupida]

really nice and perfectly executed.... and awesome detail to...

[kiittea]

Wow .. Sexy, beautiful lighting and I really like the color palette

[RubenDrakkar]

Awesome Work Man

[andreasrocha]

Man, I never got to comment on this image. Absolutely awesome and congratulations on the award. You sure deserve it!

[teddyrunes]

Great job!Spectacular!
More and more People got 5stars Easily.But it's not good.
I think that the Difficult to got 5stars is good be our Painting to Improve.

Because we Despite difficulties.

[Thiago-Pires]

Amazing image!
Great job!

[djrovers123]

i really love the scale feels soooo hugeeeeeee :beer: goood job man, keep on keeping on

[galentoh]

Hi jesse, thanks for showing us such a fine piece of work! By the way, your website is great too. Had seen all your works. I like the 'Project Indigo' stuff. :)

[ChrisPeterPan]

Hi jesse,
Chris here,i like your works,especiallly the color and lighting render…
only use photoshop? well,Fantastic job!:applause:

[rocknroll93]

Fantastic! I really love the hazy lighting, it's so immersive. You seem to have taken some inspiration from Minas Tirith from LOTR, haven't you? I really like your brush work in the lower left corner, just enough strokes to suggest the detail there without getting too busy. I also really like the splashes of red on the banners on the citadel walls, a small spot of colour amidst the more monotone scene. It's subtle but effective.

Really fabulous, I love seeing this kind of work. Enjoy some time on the front page.

i was going to say that i could see alot of minas tirith in it..

but anyway, amzing! i really ned a computer that can handle graphics, then i might start getting somthing up on the site :)

[nightwoodwolf]

very beautiful work

[Benyamin-mostaghimi]

Its great work, i like your lights and colorize !

[Mojo Rizen]

It’s a completely different setting, but the angle with the natural underground stone walls in the image reminds me of some of the photos of Petra, the city is tucked back, but when it comes into view how massive of a structure is reviled with the smaller village adding a bit of real medieval feel in the surroundings setting a timeframe.

[KyleKane]

Really nice work. Thanks for posting it.

[max2]

wonderful^^

[Plantman]

Great feeling of scale! Lovely work, detailed but economical- if you see what i mean ;)

[JessevanDijk]

Many thanks for the comments everyone, very much appreciated!!

Galentoh>> cheers mate, good to hear it!

ChrisPeterPan>> thanks! Yep, it's all photoshop. I do frequently use rough 3d geometry as a start to paint over, but not in this case.

And lastly merry christmas and best wishes for 2010 everybody!

Cheers,
Jesse

[JBro13]

Hello. Fantastic work. I really enjoy the sense of depth and scale. The lighting on the the uppermost tiers is well done too. I only have one piece of constructive criticism... The bridge on the lower left throws off my sense of scale for the buildings. I envision the bridge to be something like a "2 lane" bridge of sorts, which would make the average person extremely small. But the size of the buildings indicates to me that either the structures are huge....massively huge, or the bridge is too small. I'm sure there are plenty of ways to amend this. In every other aspect... top notch work, from color to detail to atmosphere.

[Jockel]

just perfect:thumbsup:

[elrssam]

very nice good luck

[Ostreuss]

Dear Jesse van Dijk! Some time ago I thought about such a city. I expected to hang it in a huge cave on the huge chains. Maybe this idea will be useful for you.
How difficult to develop such architecture that would express architecture of another world! We are always in the bounds of existing styles. I spent a few years, but could not come to styles that would not exist on Earth. As rules fantastic buildings have a cupola of the XIX-century-eclectic-style...

[KarelWolf]

Beter dan gelijk wat ik ooit gedaan heb, vet.;)

But something makes the city look like a miniature. Maybe is the texture in the rocks or the angle of the 'camera', or maybe it's just me?

groeten uit den belgique

[Vedanta]

I first saw your image in the Digital Masters.. painting techniques book..
very awe inspiring work.. thanks

[Branko]

I can almost feel the atmosphere, well done indeed!

[kamleshtalpada]

very nice work

[frnkcrnk]

Totally of a different level.

[MishaArt]

Whoah.... this is incredible!
I love to colour palette, the feel of monumental of the city...

Amazing!

[Imperial-Jade-Seal]

Really cool!

[adarc]

very Fantastic , i like it very much ,tks

[Banwar]

What I liked:

1) The use of crenulated walls only on the upper ramparts. Makes the base seem more austere and foreboding.

2) The use of differing architectural elements to denote social standing; The lower levels in a simple medieval style and then progressing into Gothic ornamentation at the crown.

3) All of your work demonstrates exceptional understanding of scale and lighting ( 'Hidden valley' for example).

What I wanted to see:

1) More signs of life: We see some twinkling lights, and that's it. No fires, no boats, only a few scant lamps (Most lights emanate from within dwellings). How do these people communicate with people in other cities? How do they cook their food? What is their food? How do they go about their day?

2) Where am I? I know that sounds stupid but I mean it literally: From where am I viewing this city? I seem to be on a rocky tunnel wall, exactly in the center of the picture. But why am I there? Who am I, viewing the city like this? I want to be inside this world you created, not just viewing it from afar. Let's take ' Hidden Valley' for example: in that rendering I feel as though I'm a traveler that has just stepped out from a cleft in the rock and am greeted with this resplendent scene. I can see the path I'm on as it meanders off to the left and this minor detail gives me, the viewer, a sense of belonging. I feel a part of the world, not apart from it.

A suggestion: What if you redrew it from the level of the water? (Perhaps from the bow of a boat, or vessel?) I think it would make the stratified city seem grander, and would give the viewer a sense of being there.

I know all this sounds nit picky (And it is) but you're so very close to being brilliant; as it is, you're merely great.

[RLM]

This really fuels the imagination and makes you want to see more. Great work!

[Tetra84]

very cool..

[harshi88]

nice work :) :)

[Greenhouse]

Wonderful artwork! Love the light and the subtle details. I use it as wallpaper on my computer :) Thank you!