Steampunk Myths and Legends Entry: Matt Ellis

#22

Squibbit: thanks man!

paperclip: thanks :slight_smile: once I get the final composition worked out I will start playing around with color. It should be fun! Valhalla does sound like a good idea and would be a blast to create but I think im going to stick with this one :slight_smile:

kaparo: hey I am glad you like it and my other work :slight_smile:

Ferx: hey thanks for the comment! When i really started thinking about ideas yesterday I really thought about making something thats a bit different so its really good to hear that it is coming across that way. Cheers!

Canche: I am glad you like it and the newspapper idea. I dont this I will have the newspaper style for the finished peice. Right now the main purpose for that is just to explain whats going on in that really rough sketch. I havent used any reference for the lighting yet. I was pretty much just throwing down some values. But I play to use the lighting from the little stage there to hopefully guide the views eyes from the extream foreground to the robots depicting the myth.

sasquatch70: I agree, one thing i will be doing hopefully this weekend is to maybe put the entertainers cart closer to the camera with a better position. Right now it is competing with the background so i will have to change that. Thanks for the crit :slight_smile:

MartinNielsen: thanks!

GonzaloGolpe: I hope it turns out of, I am very new to character work so I can imagine some stress ahead. But it is something I really should learn.

Hopefully I will have an update soon guys! thanks for the comments :smiley:

#23

Good luck matt; can’t wait to see more updates :smiley:

#24

Nice mood you set there Matt! Looking forward to seeing what you’re going with. Good luck !

#25

sweet jezz,thats very nice concept and the sketch is awesome.awaiting to see more bro!:slight_smile:

#26

Hey everyone!

Again thanks for all the comments :slight_smile:

Here is an update. I am just playing around with a color palette right now. Also adding in some basic details in before I up res and get into the detailing. Once I am happy with the basic environment I will start on the characters.

#27

Ahh dang. Ellis has joined up? It’s over already. :cool:

Loving the painting so far. Looking forward to updates.

#28

looking good mang… wait for me lolol

#29

Hm, just a little critique from me: I like the concept but I think the perspective could be slightly rotated to show a bit more of what’s going on on the stage as well as a bit closer (without losing too much of the area the crowd will be in). Maybe even have a distinguishable scene going on in the stage area people will most likely pick up on. Just doesn’t seem like the focus is on the main subject, but maybe that’s just me.

Painting looks great so far, just a little critique on the composition. Keep on coming with the updates:bounce:

#30

Hi Matt! Where are the updates? :wink:
Good to see you in challenge. Good luck!

#31

This is looking even better every time. This device is really great. Can’t wait to see the scene populated. Keep up the good work!

#32

Good idea. It would have been good if you were to show whats going on onstage!:hmm:

Keep it up!

#33

Looking great, quite cinematic!

#34

mordecaidesign: lol its far from over! thanks for the comment!

snake08: Man I cant wait up , you have to hurry up! lets see some sketches!

ace4016: Hey thanks for the crit man and I totally agree with you. I decided that I am going to do a jungle book theme for this painting , I will have the scene not just taking place in the carrage but also the robotic animals outside on the road. So I have to start designing some monkeys , a bear, a snake and maybe the little boy.

SpetsK: So updates will come soon :slight_smile: I just moved so things have been a little hectic and I dont have the internet yet. I do have some updates ccoming soon though!

kaparo, mrpeace and AUMAKUA: thanks a lot!

Updates coming soon guys , thanks again for the comments :slight_smile:

#35

Hey guys!

I finally have the internet back. I have been really busy with moving, work and doing xmas portraits so I havent had much time to work on the challenge. Here is a little update of it so far. Still not very much character work going on yet but I hope that will change soon depending on my free time. I am not sure what version of the background to go with so i though I would post it up and maybe get some feedback.

Thanks guys!

#36

According to me the 2nd one, more open, is better. It let the reader breath and give to your character a sort of lonelyness really interesting. On an other hand, the 1st one focus more on the creature beside. SO it depends on your story telling, but if I have to talk just about the picture, not the story, I prefer the bottom one.

#37

Hi Matt,

I always tend to associate the steampunk themes with a dark moody atmosphere, so if I had to choose I would prefer a less open and clear space. I think the tall houses gives a strong sense of perspective that is missing with the open space variation. On the other hand I love the ships on the open scene. Maybe if you make them huge, with tall steamy chimneys instead of sails you could bring both ideas together. Good luck!

#38

authentic: Thanks for the comment Vincent. I think I will focus on the second one and try to build the character composition to fit the scene so that the characters are the main focus. I agree about the open sky and it should be good practise creating an interesting sky. Thanks for the input, I have a lot of respect for your work.

Antonio: hey man. Thanks for the crits. When I posted that second rough thumbnail I thought I would add the whole steampunk theme to the entire scene, but now I am thinking that I would limit that to just the entertainers cart. So that it stood out that hes the one creating the steam powered tech and thats why everyone is amazed. I will make the ships a lot bigger and hopefully the large sails will help get that perspective back on that right side.Thanks for the help :slight_smile:

Also I am changing the story for this one a bit to make it a little more sinister. The entertainer is more of a comic book villian. Where he leads the people to believe that they are going to see a nice show about the jungle book but instead he is unleasing his robot animals onto the town. I have one idea where one of the apes will be distracting a little boy and another ape will be stealing a lolly pop from his jacket. I hope to have many more little storys with characters going on as well.

Thanks again for the help guys!

#39

Where are people, there must be CITY.
But seriously. On the upper one there is more sense of space…
…and for me Steampunk is associated closly with city.
The UPPER ONE

keep up the good work

#40

haha yeah there is not much character work going on yet Jason. Right now its a few blobs of paint but thats my main focus for the next week or so.

I love Norman Rockwells character work so I am going to use his style as somewhat of a guide. I will not copy his style but hopefully I can use his amazing work as a good point to get the creative juices flowing.

Picture from www.myfreewallpapers.net

#41

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