Steven Jacques is entered in the “B-Movie” update: View Challenge Page
Latest Update: Final Image: zombie high school
B-Movie Entry: Steven Jacques
steven6
#2
Hello everyone! I’m new, and this is my 1st post-so be gentle . . .or rip me to shreds-it’s all good:) I lurked around these forums, and specifically joined cgtalk so I could partake in the B-Movie poster challenge. It’s an honor to post with such tallented artists!
Here is a WIP of my poster. The idea is Zombie High, and the Letterman have turned into zombies chasing the cheerleaders. Early on I was going to do a piece with Dinos, flying saucers, babes, volcano, etc–BUT I saw that Walrus went that direction 
so I thought zombies, and since I’ve never done zombies or cheerleaders I’m really enjoying myself. Possable tag lines: These Letterman want more than just a date to the prom. . at Zombie High, or It’ll take more than palm palms and team spirit to win win over this crowd. . .still working on it.
As it sits I’m close to completeing all the charactors, and the gray scale/lighting. Next up is the back ground-maybe a stadium, or the H.S. then, it’s on to painting color. I am actually stuck on what colors to use for the Cheerleader uniforms!? USC, UofM, UCLA, etc, etc. Also I need to Zombie-fy the zombies and rework girl A’s face. Please let me hear your thoughts or advice. I post again soon. I only have a cg talk account-and was limited to posting the image at 150k limit-is that normal?
Cheers-
Steven6
steven6
#3
Here’s an update. Sorry it’s so small-had to be 150k or smaller. Any input is appreciated. I’m playing with color and the back ground now. If I have time the scene will take place at night on a football field. For colors I was thinkg pale yellows from the outdoor lights and moon, with purples, blues, and grays of the night. Thoughts? Thanks!
Andias
#4
hi Steven!
i like your comp very dramatic, but i have two sugestions:
- i had some difficulty understanding where the left arm was the first cheerleader
- not accurate putting zombies in a row to give the feeling of depth,
Instead, try putting only one on each side
Cheers !!!
walrus
#5
Good to see what you’re working on! Yes, we’re all limited to 150k uploads for the challenge. I like your concept and movie title so far. You can never go wrong with cheerleaders and zombies for a b-movie! 
Here are some thoughts on what you have so far:
The title is hard to read because there’s so much noise up there, arms and stars and cursive writing. Simplifying will help make it more legible.
THe 2 rear cheerleaders’ poses are nearly mirror images of each other, particularly from the shoulders to the knees, and it makes the image less dynamic than if they weren’t.
It’s also hard to read some of their parts because they’re all overlapping so much. Like the baseball bat which is mostly hidden behind the front girl’s hand. And worst of all, the left cheerleader’s back leg which is at such an angle that it merges with the front cheerleader’s right leg. Trying to pull them apart more and avoiding that tangent might help it all to read more clearly at first glance.
Anyhow, hope you don’t mind the comments. Good luck! 
steven6
#6
Joao,
Yep you pointed out what I suspected was going to be a problem with the cheerleadrs arm not being at a good angle-You’re right–I’ll work on that. About the zombies-darn that really sucks, but I see your point, I really wanted to show multiple zombies and depth of field as they get closer to the cheerleadrs, but it was a strugle to get them to do this with my pov and limited space-I will work on this tonight. Thanks for your input 
Michael,
Thanks for looking, and your input! I think once I deal with the zombie issue Joao mentioned, it will open up the space and let me move the cheerleaders around a little to get rid of that nasty leg tangent. Question: How do you post your stuff so big, while retaining image quality? I’m using jpeg at 72dpi at about medium quality, and my pics are soo little.
Thanks again.
Thanks for looking guys! All input and crits are welcome:)
walrus
#7
I generally just scale my images to ~800-900 pixels tall, go to Save for Web in Photoshop, and select Optimize to File Size and enter 149k (just to be safe!) That selects the best compression to work with my image. Hope that helps!
SideAche
#8
Fun idea - gotta love the cheerleader / zombie angle. Composition is nicely framed. However the positioning of the cheerleaders can be altered. The back leg of Cheerleader A moves right into the cheerleader in the foreground. Also the butt bumping between B & C. Keep up the good work, looking forward for more updates.
steven6
#9
Here’s an update just playing with color and zombie placement, as well as title-Also, spread the cheerleaders out a little, the one on the left is close but not touching legs with the center one. Thoughts?
steven6
#10
Another update-
Flip flopped the zombies, not sure if I like. Thoughts? I did this so I could put the title in the ipper Left side, so it’s flow better-but not sure if I like. Also, changed the colors a bit-I think they are a little whacked out-I can’t make up my mind on blues or purples for the sky, or the exact location of the moon. Also still considering adding field lights. If I add field lights it might be more dramitic but loose some scaryness? Oh well I need to speed this up-deadline is soon.
steven6
#11
Cliff-
Sorry it took sooo long for me to reply-thanks for looking and for the input-good call the overlapping and butt bumping-at 1st I liked it, but now I’ve moved the girls around a little. Hope you like.
Here’s an update. Sorry, been meaning to have more updates but I was at GDC this weekend-crazy. I flip floped the center girl- I like her better this way. . .What do you guys think for her flip floped? It it better? Or worse? Now I would have to repaint all her highs/lighting
I have a long way to go and a short time to get there.
PS
Also you can see my mock title treatment idea. More updates to follow.
steven6
#12
Ok, well, I started going in a different direction, kinda crazy especially this late into the challenge-BUT I had lost interest in the older version-so I did this tonight and got inspired again. Hope people like the new direction–Also, I understand this may not scream 70’s B movie-but I’m really enjoying myself agiain with my new direction direction.
Cheers
steven6
#17
Small update-working on the girls, adding trash/debris-need to work on the school more-still alot to do.
steven6
#18
update-detail-reworking girls faces. I like their expresions-but the center ones structure needs some tweeking.
Cheers
