Finally laid down the basic colour flats. It’s looking a little dark at the moment but I’m hoping the shading will lighten it a good deal. Any advice on colour choice problems?
Uplift Universe - Image Entry: Bronwen Wheeler
LightSovereign
#23
very interesting concpet so far, its very different from what is currently on offer.
pehaps you could have a bit of futuristic technology about the place, perhaps vid screens hanging on the wall or something…in anyase i hope you see this thru to th efinish line…
Take care
Marley
KangarooMan
#24
Hey Bronwen, I really like what you are going for in the image. And for me the camera angle is great. One thing that I noticed and I am not sure if anyone else has commented on this already but the boy’s antenna in the foreground seem to be disappearing behind the girl in the first row. Best of luck in the challenge!
Matt 
Nekomouse
#25
[left]Sorry for the lack of substantial updates but I haven’t felt very well the past few days. For those of you who don’t know, I’m pregnant with about 3 weeks to go. In Japan we have to stay in the hospital for a week after the birth, so if I disappear randomly for more than a few days then you guys can probably figured out what happened. Alas, I will have no internet at the hospital but I’ll probably get a lot of work done on the painting if I can convince them to let me have my tablet. :twisted:
Anyway, I just added a few little details, mostly place markers to remind me what I want to put on the posters. I also added the alien shadow outside the door, not sure why, it just seemed to be lacking something. I am considering adding something to the table in front of the teacher. Either, a furry alien/pet or somekind of 3d floating cube like the one on the flashcard the teacher is holding.
mdavid -> Thank you so much for your kind comments. I am very pleased that you’ve found the piece to be so visually interesting!
Halo89 -> Thanks for stopping by!
LightSovereign -> Thanks for the comments. I agree that there does need to be a little more sci-fi tech elements in it.
mmbenya -> Thank you for stopping by! I think that the antenna you are refering to is actually the girl’s tail? The boy in the foreground is the only ‘pure’ human in the group.
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KangarooMan
#26
Lol, I totally read that wrong! When I first looked at it it seemed like he and the girl both had the same type of antenna. But it is all clear now.
Matt
GaeasHerald
#27
Hi Bronwen. Congrats for the baby to come! You asked for some advice on the color scheme, and how to make the colors look less flat. My advice would be to think of a main lightsource (location, color, intensity…) and a fill light (probably the light bounced off the walls). Once you have that in mind, try coloring the scene with those colors and thinking which light source has the more “influence” on a given object. After a while, you’ll find yourself sampling the colors right of the picture, which will help you give coherence to the image.
Finally, choose different hues for the main light and fill light so as to have more complexity in the pallette, and above all, have fun!
nwiz25
#29
woooohoooooooo!! 
great to have you here my friend! :bounce: cool concept i must say! waiting to see it bloom! 
best wishes to you! 
Nekomouse
#32
[left]Managed to sneak some work onto my painting today.
GaeasHerald -> Thank you so much for the great advice. The main light source is coming in from the left and is sunlight, but when I try to use a yellow tinted colour it just looks horrid. I’m not sure what I’m doing wrong?
Gurugugnola, nwiz25, scala, Thaldir -> Thanks to all for the kind words and well wishes.
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Cyberone
#34
its coming along very nice…
maybe a stronge light direction>?
be back later…hehe
have fun!
beelow
#36
I like the idea. You just need a strong light source and a definite focus. Good luck Bronwen. I will keep an eye on your thread. Later.
Nekomouse
#37
HornlessUnicorn, Pearlyking -> Thank you both for stopping by!
Cyberone, beelow -> Thanks for the advice guys. You both mentioned that I need a stronger light source. I kinda understand what you mean but I’m having a little trouble visualising it. Are the highlights not strong enough? I know that everyone is very busy but would it be too much trouble for either of you to do a quick visual example? Thanks!
Cyberone
#38
i think the highlights are fine…but there needs to be more dark from the behind directions of the directional lights…
if ya can get what i mean…lol
mdavid
#40
The comments about the lighting have got me thinking too and I agree that the image could benefit from some stronger highlights, and also darker areas away from the light. Unfortunately I am not at all expert in this kind of illustration so I can’t offer anything like the definitive solution but I’ve had a go at a quick paintover to show what I was thinking. Perhaps someone could comment on my humble attempt as a starting point.
By the way, I’ve also enlarged the boy’s hand a bit. Even though he might be from a small-hand race of aliens, I thought the hand needed to be a bit bigger