Off World Engineer

#1

So, hoping for some crit and advice for improvement!
this is my first digital attempt and 1st post, making the move from Oils on Canvas to Corel + Tablet :smiley:
a good learning/finding my way round the programs process; started out playing around in Alchemy, liked the idea/shape then moved it into Painter and worked into it, reworked it in Photoshop.
A few of the WIP files (warning! gets messy.) and reference photos can be found here:
http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/846/p2605swipfileowe01.jpg/

Painting time so far is 2 weeks going at it on and off, a good few hours for sure.
But now looking back through the WIPS it’s occurred to me that i probably liked the whole thing more back in its borg stages. …structure, colours, the lot… :rolleyes: possibly go back and rework it from there.
Anyway, the form it’s taken now feels somewhat on its way to being finished, so just decided to hold off and call it a day (for now) and post it and see.
i’ll upload some others that i’ve got on the go here asap…
Generally inspired by a lot of Ian M Banks, Star Trek Next Gen, Anime.

any crits and advice are much appreciated :slight_smile:
Thanks!

#2

I like the feel of the piece in the links, you’ve lost something from that point, and I think it’s the massive amounts of black in the piece you’ve added. I’d add more colors into those shadows to give it more pop and atmosphere. The whole piece color-wise is flat.

The other thing to look at is your textures. The skin has the same texture as the armor, as does everything else, it all just blends into each other. I’d take a look at that, and starting adding noise and texture to your metals, plastics, and inorganic items, to differentiate it from the skin’s texture.

Hope that helps!

#3

Thanks very much for your advice BillyWJ, exactly what i’m looking for and very helpful indeed :slight_smile: Thank you.

I agree with you about the feel of it before, i’ll get rid of a lot of that black and focus on the original ideas again, perhaps bring some lighter walls back in and open it up a bit. And I’ll go away and work on those shadows and colours. Get that atmosphere going !

Very helpful to hear about differentiating between metal/skin with texture; think i got too carried away trying to make all of the elements in the image correspond to each other through blending, (while not being sure of what i was aiming at) with the result that it has all just merged into a big indistinguishable shadow, especially the armour. Messy. I’ll see if I can sort that out, play around with the shapes, put in some more definition, and add noise and textures as you say.

Thanks for your time and help, really appreciate it !

#4

Something to think about is what you want to convey with this image. Is it just a picture of a character staring at the camera? Who is she? What’s her personality like? Is there a narrative behind this? What is actually happening at that moment? What was happening right before that moment, and what is going to happen after that moment? Is this particular moment in this girl’s life the most interesting thing to portray, or are there much more interesting moments in her life that you’d want to portray?

#5

Hi there Lunatique, thanks very much for your feedback!
I agree this image could do with more narrative; unfortunately the story on this one took a back seat while I was trying to get my head around the digital techniques of using Painter.
It’s good to be reminded to develop the background and context for my character; i’ve begun reworking the image, with more of a background, narrative, and hopefully atmosphere, and shall post my progress here asap. :slight_smile:

BillyWJ , While reworking this image, I also decided to do some life drawing, specifically to work on use of colour and texture as you mentioned. The beginnings of it can be found here…and I’ll add to it each chance I get to do another : http://forums.cgsociety.org/showthread.php?f=31&t=1054348

#6

Oh. Just realised the screen I was working on before had a weird aspect ratio. The image wasn’t meant to be quite so squished sideways. Ha…
This is more like it:

#7

Anyway, here we are as promised, the next version.
All done in Painter, with a bit of editing at the end in Photoshop.
Decided to scrap most of the original elements; I’ve tried to pay more attention to colour and texture in this one, and go easier on the black. (Probably overdone it on the white now though. Ha…)
Just making some GIFs of the process now, will upload them asap if anyone’s interested.

I’ve also written a little background to accompany this one, had fun making and writing these, hope you like them :slight_smile:

…

YEAR: 2197, STANDARD REAL-SPACE TIME.

PLANET: ILOSENCIH, DEEP IN THE XYLOGN SYSTEM, 300,000 LIGHTYEARS FROM EARTH.

POPULATION: 6, PLUS TWO ANDROIDS.

O.R.B.S.D.* HISTORY RECORDS :

Ilosencih was discovered by the Akaijico Humanoid race, as an un-populated planet in 2165. Studies through the DSV** indicated that it appeared to have the capability of supporting life, yet none could be identified. Akaijico scientists began calculating their course to the planet, and plans for an exploration mission were set in place.

The first scheduled reconnaissance of the planet was spontaneously cancelled by the Akaijico Alliance, and all further study and exploration of the planet was outlawed. No reasons were given.

In 2196, after several years of underground studies, a team of six young scientists evaded the Alliance and set out for the Xylogn System.
(The Alliance, to date, have still not determined the cause of disappearance of eight Solar Warp Ships and two Terra-Analysis Androids.)

Now 2197, a Subspace Transmission has been decoded, revealing the arrival on Ilosencih of the young Akaijico Explorers.
A translation of the message, which was generated by the Solar Warp Ships’ Computers, reads as follows:

00I.I00 We have entered Ilosencih atmosphere, the Akaijico Scout Orbs have been deployed, and we have dispersed across the planet. 0I0.0I0 It is a far stranger paradise than we could have imagined. I00.00I No life form readings are registering on our sensors, yet the entire surface of the planet shifts and undulates as though it were alive. 0I0.0I0 Upon gliding closer to the planet’s surface, we realise we are now able to control our Ships with our Minds alone. 00I.I00 The scout orbs are silent and a Valley opens out ahead of us. 0I0.0I0 Our Minds have melded with the planet. 100.001 Ilosencih knows, this is the way. 000.000

END OF TRANSMISSION.

Records indicate a further transmission between the two Androids, was intercepted, two standard days later.
Algorithyms to the effect of “No longer needed, are we,” were decoded. There also remains debate as to whether the other Android then said “Let’s leave them to Play,” or “Let’s leave them to Pray.”
Since the Android’s circuits were awash with substances equivalent to Humanoid System Alcohol, the fate of the Akaijico Explorers remains indecipherable.

…

  • O.R.B.S.D. = OMNISCIENT RUIYICI BEING’S SUBSPACE DATABASE.
    ** DSV = Dimensional Shift Viewport
    …

#8

some details:

#9

#10

The story is far more interesting than the image (makes me want to find out what happens next), as the image does not convey anything of narrative quality, and nothing makes it stand out from the hundreds and thousands of sci-fi illustrations already in existence–be it the concept design or the illustration itself (it’s somewhat flat and not very dynamic to look at in terms of composition, lighting, colors, surface treatment/brushwork, etc).

My suggestion is to always build your images from the inside out–a narrative, an emotion, a statement–some kind of idea that will actually resonate emotionally or intellectually, or at the very least be very entertaining to look at (it can be either excellent artistic quality as eye-candy, or really interesting concept design). If an image is done really well, then even if nobody knows what the narrative is, it’s still engrossing to look at.

There are many ways to create visually compelling images (as well as emotionally and intellectually compelling images, or ones with strong narrative elements), and to get into detail would require me type out the length of a book. But I do teach a workshop on it, called “Becoming A Better Artist” (linked in my signature).

#11

Sorry for the slow reply, have been busy with work and only just had time to sit and check mails.

Pleased to hear you think the story is effective, thanks :slight_smile:

As regards image, what exactly do you think makes the composition, lighting, colours, surface treatment/brushwork all flat and not dynamic to look at?
Could you be more specific?

Thinking about these things myself…

If I were to begin the idea again from scratch I would not have put Symmetry on at the start while I was sketching, placing her facing directly toward us, I would rather have had her and the ship more diagonally placed across the canvas, better indicating movement. But I was pleased-ish with how her face had turned out, so had to try and rework the composition around her, which is the wrong way to go about things I know. Eventually I had decided against trying to create some sort of action scene, and to try and evoke some sense of ‘a calm before the storm’ scenario.

I’d go for a more painterly look overall as well. Painting the rigid parts of the ship became tedious after a while and this is probably reflected in the way they’re finished.

Colour-wise, I wouldn’t change much, as I like that palette. Except that I’d possibly increase saturation of some colours, and increase contrast.

Thinking about surface treatment and brush work, as you mentioned, how would the image below compare?

I painted it in Painter12 a little while ago, but haven’t yet gotten around to finishing it.

#12

The image below is much more compelling because of it resonates more emotionally, with a pensive look that has connotations that has lots of possibilities. The values are also more interesting, with contrast in light and dark values, as well as the overall tonal composition being better arranged. The colors also have more interesting nuances such as local color variations that happen naturally, as well as more prominent effects of radiosity/color bleed. The overall realism is also more striking, obviously referenced from a photo or real life. The general aesthetic sensibility is also a lot stronger–it’s more organic and doesn’t have the sterile feel of the sci-fi image.

It’s not that the sci-fi image is “bad.” It’s just not very strong in actually portraying how interesting the story is. The art of visual storytelling has lots of things about it that artists need to understand in order to create compelling illustrations that aren’t selling the ideas behind them short. A strong understanding of storytelling techniques is actually quite important to visual artists, but most visual artists never learn that stuff, not realizing how relevant it is to what they do.

For example, think about dramatic structure. Think about the moments that happen right before a dramatic turning point, right during the turning point, or the aftermath of the turning point. They all have very strong dramatic appeal, and for different reasons. There’s also the choice of choosing a moment that conveys a cause and effect narrative, or a straightforward, simple action. There’s also using voyeuristic or exhibitive visual narratives to get across a point or an emotion, and they will create very different feelings in the viewer.

Very often, it’s not what immediately comes to mind on the surface of your idea that’s the most interesting–it’s the reasons for what’s happening in your visual narrative that’s the real heart and soul of the narrative, and it’s those motivations that should be driving your visual narratives. Looking a pilot rendered in low contrast, with a hard to read expression, in a very symmetrical composition, showing nothing that actually tells a narrative for the viewer to be hooked on–to want to know what the story is about, isn’t interesting. It doesn’t create any emotional or intellectual resonance, and it also doesn’t entertain the audience. There’s nothing going on that makes the audience dying to find out more about the reasons why this image exists in the first place. In a way, it’s sort of like the visual equivalent of a song that doesn’t have a catchy hook, or a movie that doesn’t have a gripping plot twist, or a book that isn’t a page-turner, or a person without a notable personality.

The most important thing to get across in any illustration, is the kind of feeling you want to elicit from your audience. You have to know exactly what kind of emotion, thought, or mood that you want evoke in your audience, and then everything in the image has to be planned and executed solely to fulfill that purpose. Not a single element can be arbitrary, just like how a race car or a sniper rifle or anything else that is designed, built, and fine-tuned to do just one thing and do it very well, with no wasted or ineffective parts. So think about exactly what this image is supposed to convey. Do you want the audience to feel…sympathy? A sense of foreboding? Awe? How exactly should the audience feel about this scene? What is it, as a visual storyteller, that you want to get across in this image?

If you don’t want to go for something that’s clearly illustrating a particular dramatic, emotional, awe-inspiring, or any kind of “catchy” scene in your story, and this particular scene with this particular camera angle is exactly what you feel is the most interesting, then you can still tweak it so that the presentation is more interesting. For example, light it differently. It’s already got a symmetrical composition that’s kind of sterile, so it might be a good idea to not also light the scenes so it’s very flat and diffused, with low contrast. How about a more directional lighting scheme, with dramatic shadows and highlights? What about having something nearby that is casting a shadow partially on her and the aircraft? What about tilting the horizon so it’s not such a symmetrical composition where everything is locked in place without creating a visual flow for the eyes to follow?

#13

Someone was talking about textures on the skin i figured id try and see how it would look if you added it since i was curious. basicly ive just taken a skin texture to the face made a High pass of it and made the blend mode overlay.

http://img811.imageshack.us/img811/8522/ngu5cnwf.jpg

I also used levels to just increase the contrast slightly not a fan of the faded white mist look :slight_smile: anyways was just for fun to see what a subtle skin texture would add.

#14

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