well, I’m probably gonna take take a break from him for a bit and move onto the next bit, I know this one’s going to work. Having a few problems getting used to the layering effect, but slowly coming to grips with it. I think my sky is going to be the “reddish-black” that I’ve set this guy against. which will make for a nice “rich” picture, but obviously is going to set me a few problems with everything trying to jump forward colour-wise. that may yet change
and Noob, what’s a wacom?
U DON’T KNOW WHAT A WACOM Is AND YOUR ENTERING THIS CONTEST…phew
its a colorists aid,just connect wacom tablet to ur comp.its just a tablet and pen u can draw on to it with,it pressure sensitive for easier colouring and painting effects.i’m sure someone else can give a better explanation.
they are pretty damn expensive,if i recall,in the last contest wacoms where part of the prize…check out the last contest prizes.
ah right… no I definitely don’t have one, but am seriously thinking about it. and have been for some time. at the moment it’s all drawing with a mouse and then using the areas as masks to colour in and build up!
looking great mate, really getting going now with the ehole piece from what I can see, wacoms good as said but expensive so have to wait a while for one ( possibly get a cheeper make to start with just to get the hang of it ) like the alien work and the ships, deffinatly a move towards the mechanical and technical design that is nice to see, can’t wait to see how it all comes together in the end… good luck… never know I may get a moment to continue mine soon…
I was tryin g to get the bosy of the fighter right, so drew it without the sting… and I’m actuakky quite pleased with it like that. not sure whether or not leave it without, or put it in!..
Mouse? Geez man, I am going to give you props on the coloring. That must have taken you ages.
lol i bet u wish u won the last contest and got a wacom hehe.man i admire u for coloring with a mouse still.
i like those scorpion designs man,the one in the top right is my fave!
so I’ve refined the design a bit, taken off the pointed nose on the cock pit, and added some flame to the guns. The support legs to the claw-nacelles are now a bit more pronounced. I’ve put in a mock up of the tail section. I’m not sure I like it… so there may be a couple of them in the dogfight bit without it… It certainly needs something to improve the look of it. It’s all a bit nondescript at the moment, in comparison to the rest of it.
okay, so I’m starting to experiment with the layering and positioning. there’s still a long way to go (as ever) I’ve still got to work out the pose for the girl with the gun at ground level, and then there’s the whole dogfight bit. The big blob in the background is going to be a planet, but I have to work out colouring, and it’ll probably need some geography and atmosphere, but I wanted to get a feel for how it’s going to look. The alien’s presence is “ghosting” nicely, but I’m not sure how ‘obvious’ he needs to be. Oh and his shoulders which aren’t shown in this mock up are going to form the ground level.
I am getting a bit worried that it’s going to be a very “busy” picture with too much going on, so the balance is going to have be carefully thought thru aswell…
they’ve got to have adversaries in the dog fight, so here’s an idea… they were goign to be based on ramsheads, but somewhere along the line I got a duck bill for a cockpit!!! ah well…
She’s been thru a number of poses and costumes, but this is pretty much what I’ve decided on, not sure if she’ll stay in brown, might change it to something a bit less tarzan, given that she’s representing the technology lot. I was also considering her in a tunic. but somehow thios seemed to work better.
And while I realise that she’s in the middle of a major battle, with some dirty great creature plumetting thru the sky at her, she could be killed aat any moment… but in all the best space Operas, the heroine (which she may or may not be) always looks incredibly sexy, doesn’t have her make-up smudged and there’s not a hair out of place. Hopefully that’s how she’s perceived, and yes I am aware that high heels are totally impractical in the midst of battle, btu if it’s good enough for 7 of 9 …
looking good bro,what happened to the gurls right arm in the pic heh.dunno how u guys have time to do all this…sighstupid college
LOL, dang you noticed! I was having sopme real problems with the positioning of her and the way she was holding the gun… I didn’t even know what the gun was going to look like til last night 
so anyway I got carried away with the costume and the gun and thought I could get away with saying the arm was behind it… and errrrr… nah! the gun actually looks wrong. I think It’s going to have to drop down slightly, what she’s holding it with, just doesn’t feel right. It’s too hevay. that’ll make it easier I thi to work out where her right hand is. It’s either going to be holding it from underneath, but I’m also considering whether she could be giving extra support on the top structuere…
Looking good there mate, love the scorpion fighter ( very you ) have you thought about a retractable tail so it lays behind the ship in normal flight and comes out only in attack mode, or maybe look at having the tail under the main body of the ship wrapped under and pointing out the front…
not sure which race the ships belong to you may be able to add some clues to the costumes of your main characters, a piece of technology ie communication device or jewellry which has similar charactaristics to the ship design may link them…
anyway just wanted to say well done looking food there…
Looking good, I like the idea, double check your proportions on the girl. The one arm that she has looks too small. Torso looks a bit long too (or ad length to the legs. People are extramly hard for me to render and paint. Good Luck!
Sorry another thought… You could put her second arm holding the gun as well, kinda like a rifle or somthing (sorry I don’t know guns very well) Have the second arm and hand comming up and holding towards the center of the gun somwhere.
Hey there blue eyed lizard, thanks for the support and also your comments about proportions on the girl, the arm is possibly a little short, but that’s cos I’ve had a bit of a problem with foreshortening. In order to be able to hold the gun, she’s got to have her arm sticking out slightly… so yeah it needs a bit of work.
My feeling as to how she’s holding the gun with the other arm, is definitely from underneath - If you think about the M41a pulse rifle in “Aliens”, it’s going to be held in a similar way. though not from waist height.
as for the legs, well my references earlier to 7 of 9 do imply that she should have legs that probably stretch to her neck 
so I’ll look into that and see if it feels right
but thanks again for your comments and support - some very nice work on yours by the way.
good luck too
I thought I’d do another p[utting together of the elements so far, just to see how it’s going on… obviouly the girl needs to have the gun’s/her arm’s angle adjusted so she can be firing at the gryphon…and I’ve got to do some adjusting of planetry colours to make them not so obtrusive - possibly give them atmosphere haze… and then then the gryphon needs colour, another wing, his rider’s possibly a bit too small, and his sheild needs enhancement. I’ve still ot even thought about what the dogfight battle will look like yet… and I’ve still got to decide where to crop the final image, cos the omnipresent alien is too… obvious.
can I get an extension on my deadline pleeeease
