Secret Agent Entry: Sanja Losic

#18

Sanja, I think your image is fabulous. The detail and setting create such a terrific mood. My only concern is that I can’t see the agent too well. Just a suggestion - is it possible to have a small light source directly behind him that would just hint at his silhouette from the left side of the pic? Maybe a small lamp on the side of the building? Otherwise I love the image.

#19

thank you for your comment, I know i should try to fix that, he is way too deep in the shadows…a small light source should take care of that but I don’t want to expose him too much either…

#20

I like the development of this image. You’re thinking all the time, and it is certainly showing - the image is really coming together.

I look forward to seeing what you end up with.

#21

It’s a really beautiful setting you’ve worked on. For a while, I was wondering if you just hadn’t gotten around to adding the characters yet. Only after I scrolled up and saw earlier versions did I figure out where you placed the agent. So I completely agree with madbot. (Madbot’s solution occurred to me as well. Or maybe you could use the red light from the neon sign to add a bit of a red rim light on his right side.) You need to strike a balance between having your agent hidden (like a real agent would be) and showing enough that the viewer can spot him easily… It’s like the way in theatre people don’t turn fully towards each other to talk to each other but instead do what’s called “cheating” themselves to face the audience more than they would in “reality.” It’s this cheating that makes a compromise to make the scene more accessible to those watching. Likewise, I suggest you consider cheating the lighting so that the viewer can tell what’s going on here even if it’s less realistic. But it’s your choice… either way, lovely landscape painting! :thumbsup:

#22

Very atmospheric. I really like it.

#23

Hey Sanja,

Looking good, maybe its on darker side, or at least the light isn’t bouncing off the walls, but very nice setting,also love the snow, cheers

Rupy

#24

so how about this…? I’ve lightened the whole image a little bit, and added that new light behind my agent, hope you can spot him better now. and thank you for the constructive critiques, I’m glad you like the image… :slight_smile:

#25

Hi! (sorry my bad english…)
very interesting image !
Good compositiond and idea!
The new image have more interest elements, , but (my opinion…) I would give more protagonism to the Agent its missed a little bit.
I like the Night and snow mix, and the winter atmosphere.

Cool image!:buttrock:

Of course you are welcome to comment my image…:thumbsup:
marianof83

#26

Sanja,
your work is impresive! I’m a big fan of mafia movies and you managed to give the genre your style. congratulations!

#27

Thank you both for your comments and critiques! :slight_smile: what I wanted was for the alley itself to be the main “storyteller” and for the agent to blend in the environment… the feeling behind the keywords of this challenge “secrecy”, “espionage”, “story” is what I hope is visible the most in this image, they are what guided me through the whole process.

This is my first sketch with the mafia/secret agent theme and I’m glad that someone who knows the genre better than me feels that I’ve hit the point with this one :slight_smile:

I’ll post some close ups of the details soon…

#28

there’s a new shop around the corner so the agent is now under some green/blue neon light from the back side…

#29

detail 2: 1958 plymouth fury

#30

this part of the image, with the hotel and the bar and that side alley and the top floor apartment window and that blue one right below it is the absolute favorite among my family and friends, I hope you like it too…there’s something about that red-blue neon lights contrast, and the white of the snow and the dark of the night…

#31

:thumbsup: I really, really enjoyed watching this progress. The contrasting colors, the depth of image and just the overall style is fantastic.

#32

Hi there,
I like your image a lot, but even with the green light you add I think it is not enough,
try to put a much brighter source of light from between the two building.

#33

well thank you very much Jay, I am really glad you like it :slight_smile:
@Michel: I’ll try to fix that better, thanx for the comment!

#34

My hero is here working against some high class criminals. He’s a kind of a NYcity detective, private investigator, well ? a secret agent, and he is spying on an Italian mafia boss and his ‘consigliere’ above the “ristorante Sicilia” somewhere in the ‘little Italy’ part of New York. The model of the car on the street (that?s a 1958 Plymouth Fury, and I guess you know who that is :)) puts the story somewhere in the 1960s, a time when NYC had really had a problem with the Cosa Nostra but also a time when mafia faced relatively little opposition from law enforcement - that?s why we have a secret agent dealing with them here. I chose this to be a winter scene because it seemed to me that the streets just look even emptier that way, you know, it?s adding to the secrecy of the whole scene. There is a casino, a bar and a hotel down the street. There are some blood stains on the wall of the first building on the right, that is to say how dangerous the neighborhood is, and a message ?war for ever? in Italian. On the left we see one torn political propaganda poster that tried to announce a fight against organized crime. I didn?t know what to put on the license plate so I settled with ?CG-CH-24? :). I?ve put an alley cat on the roof of the second building on the right, newspaper stuck under car wheel and a squashed cigarette pack there on the street (there are two more packs, hidden on both sidewalks). The car clearly belongs to one of the bad guys because, you see, it?s parked in such an insolent way so that no other car can pass by and it?s even in the wrong direction, there?s a sign telling that it?s a one way street. All those details are there to make it look more real, to tell the story?

Among my inspirations were some comic books: Blacksad, Hellblazer, Spirit? well, any kind of hero wearing a white shirt, trench coat and occasionally a hat, a kind of ?philanderer who trifles with unsuspecting women?s hearts?. My secret agent is just a man, he?s not a superhero, not a 007, he?s got no fancy gadgets? I imagine he was hired to investigate something plain and simple at first sight, but some weird chain of events had led him up the food chain and hierarchy of the clan, through associates, soldiers and eventually to the big boss himself. Now he?s got himself in a really bad neighborhood but his strong will and character won?t let him drop the case, no matter how much he underestimated these bad guys in the first place. Maybe you can?t see exactly all of that here in this image but I hope it makes you feel that mood, that atmosphere.

Software I used is only Adobe Photoshop CS3, you saw through my wip entries how I gradually constructed my image out of reference photos and textures, and some details are just drawn… some 90-95% of reference photos are the ones of Belgrade, Serbia, the rest is free stuff I found on the net (www.cgtextures.com)

#35

Looks awesome!! I like it alot, good luck :D.

#36

Software: Photoshop

My hero is here working against some high class criminals. He’s a kind of a NYcity detective, private investigator, well – a secret agent, and he is spying on an Italian mafia boss and his ‘consigliere’ above the “ristorante Sicilia” somewhere in the ‘little Italy’ part of New York. The model of the car on the street (that’s a 1958 Plymouth Fury, and I guess you know who that is :)) puts the story somewhere in the 1960s, a time when NYC had really had a problem with the Cosa Nostra but also a time when mafia faced relatively little opposition from law enforcement - that’s why we have a secret agent dealing with them here. I chose this to be a winter scene because it seemed to me that the streets just look even emptier that way, you know, it’s adding to the secrecy of the whole scene. There is a casino, a bar and a hotel down the street. There are some blood stains on the wall of the first building on the right, that is to say how dangerous the neighborhood is, and a message “war for ever” in Italian. On the left we see one torn political propaganda poster that tried to announce a fight against organized crime. I didn’t know what to put on the license plate so I settled with “CG-CH-24” :). I’ve put an alley cat on the roof of the second building on the right, newspaper stuck under car wheel and a squashed cigarette pack there on the street (there are two more packs, hidden on both sidewalks). The car clearly belongs to one of the bad guys because, you see, it’s parked in such an insolent way so that no other car can pass by and it’s even in the wrong direction, there’s a sign telling that it’s a one way street. All those details are there to make it look more real, to tell the story

Among my inspirations were some comic books: Blacksad, Hellblazer, Spirit
well, any kind of hero wearing a white shirt, trench coat and occasionally a hat, a kind of “philanderer who trifles with unsuspecting women’s hearts”. My secret agent is just a man, he’s not a superhero, not a 007, he’s got no fancy gadgets
I imagine he was hired to investigate something plain and simple at first sight, but some weird chain of events had led him up the food chain and hierarchy of the clan, through associates, soldiers and eventually to the big boss himself. Now he’s got himself in a really bad neighborhood but his strong will and character won’t let him drop the case, no matter how much he underestimated these bad guys in the first place. Maybe you can’t see exactly all of that here in this image but I hope it makes you feel that mood, that atmosphere.

#37

wow, final at last. nice piece. good luck!