B-Movie Entry: Michael Dashow

#61

hmm i like the hint of cave opening in 1, 3 and 5…My imagination kicked into gear for that one

Its funny, I felt 4 has a strong narrative…Without reading what the story was, i thought she (being the lady at the back) was sounding a warning to watch out for fast approaching “Long Necks” so be careful, The main lady in 4 has a reactive pose to the situation…so you could derive a different story to what you were suggesting.

2 and 4 are my picks going by what you wrote

The one on the back is pointing, like “Check out the yummy necks on those Brachiosauruses over there!”

nice work

#62

to me, #4 has the strongest “amount of story”. #3 also is good in my opinion, has less atmosphere but has more of a poster than #4.

so, i pick #3 and #4! :slight_smile:

…can you give me a bit of your talent? :buttrock:

#63

I think it would be really nice if you had the scene framed by tall grass with a human/astronaut peering through surveying the scene in horror - not only are they on a prehistoric world but there are vampires who are strong enough to bring down a dinosaur ? In which case #2 works (in my brain). However I’ve no idea if this would dilute the idea behind the image or how it would affect the composition.

Ignoring all of the above waffle #3 or #4.

:smiley:

#64

Hey Walrus, your rapid sketching ability is awesome. :applause:

I agree that your new direction has a much cleaner storyline than #14 (which is really kewl btw). The vampire as predator of the predator is more pronounced and compelling IMHO.

Of this new set, I’m a little more partial to #3 (4 a close 2nd). Mainly because of the way the vampress is looming over the dead dino as if caught right in the act of feeding. In #4 she is more upright and distanced from her kill and it feels less narrative of what she was just doing. In #3 I imagine that she has a rapturous expression with eyes slightly rolled back as she writhes in ecstasy from the raw primal energy of the dinosaurs life source. Muuuuuhhaaawwh! :blush:

Very nice concept! I really enjoy watching you work. Happy painting:D

#65

Hi, folks, thanks for the thoughts and feedback! I’m still working on refinements of these ideas: As Martin pointed out, I lost a lot of that tension. so how to keep that and at the same time even better sell the story of vampires feasting on a nice cold-blooded meal. My wife thought emphasizing the long necks with lots of puncture wounds helped, so here are two variations on that. Thoughts?

#66

You know first picture I like more, because it looks serious, but second is more like…funny. Maybe its only my view, but let see how others think. But so far I like how you presenting your ideas. Keep it up. :beer:

#67

I love the dynamism in layout 12 and poses J and D. It seems to be lost in the latest sketches.

Love your stuff. Can’t wait to see what you do with the challenge.

#68

Hey Mike,

I like the new direction. The idea is more fresh. I’m not sure but it looks like the foremost girl has shoes on in sketch 18. That can go either way…

  1. it’s a really low budget B-movie, where the characters have obvious mistakes visible, like an extra wearing a watch in Ben Hur (even though that wasn’t anywhere near a B movie, cited just for example)… so I would have her wear bad sneakers or something instead of sexy heels.

  2. you could let her be shoeless and try to emphasize that she is of some ancient culture that didn’t use shoes- real natural/ native to the scenery… and the movie producers are doing their best to be as real as they can be - and in this case I would maybe have the dinosaur look less real like it’s really fabricated. (ie. a noticeable man in a suit ) so the element of a B movie can be noticeable

My concern is overall that it looks like a well rendered cover to a fantasy novel, as opposed to a cheesy B movie poster. And I thought the pose in Layout 14 was more dynamic, maybe she looks a bit too scared in that layout (too scared to be the predator) but it definitely feels more entertaining as opposed to the straight up poses in 17 and 18

Talia is def right on the puncture wounds. I would even give the creature that is dead a real overemphasized look in its face, which you kind of have already

#69

Hey Michael,

I think you new direction on your concept have great potential. Love all of the sketches, and like layout 18. Maybe you can go on a more dark concept with vampire women fiercely attacking the dinosaur (as a horde of piranhas) while this runs terrified, the hunting action :smiley: Only silly thoughts :slight_smile:

Cool work and waiting for more updates. Cheers!! :beer:

#70

Quoted for agreement. Definately like the new direction, a small group of female vampires running wild amongst giant dinosaurs. I like 18, it’s “cheeky”, it’s got something about it that makes me smile.

#71

Thanks for the notes, folks!

Alexasharlot - yes, funny is what I was going for. It’s sort of a running theme with most of my Challenge entires (or at least the good ones.)

Bobby - I think there’s a difference between what appeared in B-movies themselves (cheesy, rubbery shoestring-budget) and what appeared on B-movie posters (more realistic, even if it didn’t 100% represent the contents inside.) Like this, for example:

I’m going more for the latter, so no rubbery monsters or misplaced shoes.

Ferx and Andrew - Ehile the idea of a swarm of vampires attacking the dinosaur is valid, I can’t achieve that in the one month left in the Challegne. Everyone else is onto color and I’m still on layouts (and participating in a Challenge in GameArtisans. There’s no way I could do that much at this point!

In fact, I need to start chopping characters if I’m going to make it… hence the one missing Vampiress in these 4 shots. I’ve decided that I want to emphasize the happy expression - “Look, it’s desert on legs!”

Feel free to tell me what aspects you like… Please!

#72

My chosen layout is 20 (so far). I prefer the pose of the woman standing up in this one.
I like the pose of the T-Rex in 22 as it looks the funniest out all the other T-Rex drawings.

Looking really good.

#73

Hello Michael, i dont know why i did not see it yet! you have a great work here, keep going. I’ll follow you…

#74

I think I’m closing in on something here. I’ve been looking through old movie posters and the art of Roy G. Krenkel and noticing how artists depicted dinosaurs in the 60s and 70s. less “anatomically correct” (for dinosaurs_) and a bit more like lizards, so I’ve tried to capture some of that here.

Thanks for posting, Iskander! I like that pose, too, so I kept it in this iteration. I think it’s my favorite of this batch, also.

Overall, I’m liking #25 for a lot of reasons right now. I hope I’m nearly done and ready to move on to the actual art… We’ll see what anyone else thinks…

#75

I’m diggin #25 too. The standing vampire-dino-blood sucker pose is most expressive and dynamic. AWESOME!:thumbsup:

#76

hey michael,
great sketches every single one!!!
of the last three you have posted i like #25 the best, although i like the dino claws action on the #24 (left claw held higher), and maybe you can make the mix of the two :slight_smile:

good luck and work work work :stuck_out_tongue:

Vanja

#77

25 looks pretty nice to star of.

#78

Hey Mike,

Great sketches for sure! :smiley:

I like a lot your layout #22, sales the idea in a cool way, the T-rex has a really menacing look, but his is in a big big problem :smiley:

Like the layout #25 too, really great long neck dino. Perhaps you can give a try to the dino body giving back to the vampirelas and turning the neck and head to them. Maybe one of the vampire women taking the dino’s tail… Like always only wishes and silly thoughts :smiley:

Cool work!! Cheers!! :beer:

#79

I like 25 too :slight_smile:

#80

Thanks for the comments, folks! I’m excited that everyone is all on the same page about what’s working best here. So I want with #25 (it was my favorite too!) but I used the body of the standing woman from #23, because both knees pointed inwards looked a bit awkward. I’m still refining some of the anatomy and especially the hair and faces, but at least I’ve got a lot of work done on the body, in general.