[Steven Stahlberg]

Virtuous-looking knight slowly loosing the battle to be virtuous. A swedish folklore creature - the huldra, kind of like a siren of the forest, you know them by their furry tails and hollowed out backs - is working her magic on this poor guy. It's said if you survive such an encounter you'll never want mortal women again. A bit like William Keating's "La Belle Dame Sans Merci" I suppose.
He was riding by the edge of the forest at sunset, when he heard the call, and started following the huldra, which started to back away, luring him deeper into the woods.

Crits on pose, atmosphere, composition, logic, expressions, etc. I'm going for a rather 'poetic' or lyrical feeling, perhaps a mixture of beauty and eeriness and sadness... any suggestions on how to increase that?

[Novacaptain]

That looks great, i remember reading about this story in a book long ago. Seemed very scary at the time...i always imagined a green and pale misty forest where she'd, walking backwards, lure me deeper along the pathless mossy ground...deep into the forest...ooh. I imagined her back being hollowed out but the ribcage would be visible from behind and in my imagination she'd have a furry wolf's tail attatched above her buttocks.

Anyways, some of that golden sunset light could interact more with the trees and general surroundings for some interesting visual effect...

Great work as always, Steven.

[geoman2k]

hmmm... i like the concept and stufff... but i think this needs some work. i can't give you any real crits, cause i'm nowhere near the talent that you are. anything i could say wouldn't be able to help ya at all... but here it is anyways
i think the knight's pose looks too stiff. the body and arms seem like one mass. his expression looks "sceptical", which i'm not sure is the expression you were going for... the girl doesn't look sexy enough for some reason. i don't really like the overall composition of the picture.

sorry if that was a little harsh... but i'm a big fan of your work, and i know for a fact you can do better than this. keep working on it, and think about what i said.

geoman

[Endymia]

I like this artwork! Good job. I've always been interested in legends and mythlogy. I like to see how artists portray creatures from folk lore and such. What are your future plans for this artwork?

quote

Quote:

For all of those who like to go on ego trips, please do the rest of us a favor and buy a one-way ticket.

[Akolyte]

Looks great, but she has a hole in her back.

[Steven Stahlberg]

Thanks, ok here's an update, tried to adress all the points raised so far:

[Lunatique]

Hmm. I think the knight looks a bit too composed for someone being lured by a mystical seductress. I think he should hunch a little, or almost crouching, and his expression should be more mesmerized and confused.

Maybe make the hollow of her back not so clean? Have twigs, roots, and other little things osscure the opening so it doesn't look like a cut out. ALmost as if she is composed of all the different parts of a tree, and these fibers had woven so tightly that they became smooth flesh, but around the opening is where you see the give away of what she really is.

The mist on the bottom would probably have more of the sun's color on it?

Maybe add more of the blue/purple to the knight's right side to contrast the warm to his left.

The trees in the far back might just be very dark shapes with very little differences in value.

[ May 12, 2002: Message edited by: Lunatique ]

[Daijoobu]

I like the first one best.

[seethemd]

i cant help but feel it isnt telling much of a story, the words you typed tell a story, but the picture just seems to be some dude in armor looking at some girl with some of her back missing.

the finger pointing at the girl is a little hard to read, and once read, seems a little bit comical.(i dont know if this was your intention)

...the painting looks good, but i'd work on the story telling.

[BloodStone]

I love this picture. The idea of it is pretty amazing and the girl looks great. The only crit I have is that the knight looks too stiff. Almost as if he's someone in a photograph who had to hold the pose for too long. Your views on it are probably better than mine, however. You're such a damned good artist.

One more thing, I LOVE that armor!

[Steven Stahlberg]

Thanks again... hm, all your crits are spot on - here's another version, trying to follow your comments.

[BloodStone]

Did you work on q3a?

[-HoodZ-]

i like this version.....but shouldnt we see part of the breast?

[pixelsoldier]

tsk tsk Hoodz.. always wantin' to see some breast. You're right though, we SHOULD see the side of her right breast.

I like this final version infinitely more than the previous attempts, Steven.

Your concepts are always so deep and well thought out. That seems to be missing in so many artists� works. My only crits were already touched on by others, and this latest incarnation fixes them all (except for the breast thing). I really love the addition of the colourful flowers. It really brings it to life.

Great to see you painting!

[tyron]

the third is definitly the best. i like what the tree does to the composition.
the flowers are a very good touch too.

it all reminds me of this song.
Otyg - Huldran

[seethemd]

the new hair, the slightly green skin, the tree and new pose, the mans hand, the sword... its all making alot more sense now, no longer needing the text to explain the image!

adding the shiny sword is a nice touch, and makes the girl seem even softer and more organic (in contrast to him, covered in metal wearing a cross!)

looking really good.

[Poxin]

love the concept

good stuff

[-HoodZ-]

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tsk tsk Hoodz.. always wantin' to see some breast.

i like boobies! hehe if she were more voluptous he'd drop the sword and reach with both hands

i have a question about the folk lore what does the huldra do once it has a victim in the woods...does she eat him or turn him into an animal?

[Steven Stahlberg]

Thanks for looking and commenting, it's been very helpful. I've updated the third version above, added boobies and neckstrap and lowered the arm.

According to some she'll screw her victims senseless, leave them agitated and half-mad, not wanting mortal women anymore (unless a certain herbal potion is administered). Others say she just lures people into the pathless sunless forest where they get lost and never find their way out...

[mythwarden]

Very cool Steven.

Here are a few small suggestions.

1.Hollow out the breasts and ribcage inside to give her a more accurate form.

2.She looks paper-thin right now. Since she's tree like, possibly make her opening more of a knot. This way you can maybe set a small crow or something looking out her back while perching. You could play with this idea some by having the crow holding something in its beak...something that relates to all the men before this guy that lost their lives to her?

3. To me, the key to the entire painting would lie in the reflection of her on his armor. It could be as faint and as warped as you like.

The reflection will give it more depth also.

4. More contrast between lights and darks in the armor would be nice, but not completely necessary.

Anyway, nice work. ;-)

-myth

[PixHortHiT]

God Damnit!? I�ve forgot the other word for "Huldra", I used to know it...


Steven, Good one, I like the concept!

Reminds me of that other artist, cant remember if he�s swedish, he painted Trolls and other creatures of old swedish lore....

[Basement bound]

Steve,the third is great. I really admire how you really listen to crits and are not afraid to change everything and anything to make your work better. The only thing that I would like to comment on is I kinda like the way the knights head is turned slightly away in the first sketch. It is almost like he is kinda trying to resist, but he can't

JA

[Cleoric]

This looks like it could be amazing (one to add to my Sijun Art folder ). I hope I don't miss the finished picture. Great job. Though it was sort of hard to tell that her back was hollowed out in the first two. The third with the unwinding bits helps a lot, but I think there could be more to make it seem more hollow *shrug* But I don't know anything... so yeah.

[PixHortHiT]

Heureka!

Skogsr� or the R�n...

[Novacaptain]

ah, this new piece is a lot better...The first one gave the impression that she was luring him out of the forest into a field (and when you're in an open field you don't really need a GPS to keep from getting lost or anything). Now it's like she's beckoning him to go into the woods.

Maybe she could have a strap around the back of her neck to explain how her clothing is attatched.

[ May 12, 2002: Message edited by: Novacaptain ]

[Joachim]

Hey stephen, nice picture. Great colors I think. And, an interessting theme, though I don't know much about that swedish myth, even though I've heard the name plnty of times.
A couple of comments if you don't mind. I think it could be cool if you made the composition a bit more dramatic. Now it is very straight on with the characters and with the background. if you made the vegetation a bit more varied and with more heights, maybe. Also, with focus further away on the characters and more on the nature, or go closer on the characters, now it's sort of very inbetween. I think it could be nice to have a bit less empty space around them to give a more dramatic feeling. Also, maybe turn the perspective a bit up or down to increase the drama even more. Don't mind my really bad sketch, just trying to illustrate my comments, don't know if you agree though ?

[Kinten]

Wow.. I love the last picture...

One thing though...probably it's just me, but I would like her to smile.. Maybe you wouldn't see it from this angle, but anyway.. It would make her even more mysterious.. Like there's something in her eyes and expression (that we can't see because then we would be enchanted to ) that is irresistable and enchanting.

BTW - I found this discription:

Huldror and skogsr�n (wood nymphs) are solitary female beings of extreme beauty, but without a spine (being "empty" in the back). Skogsr� do mostly approach hunters, probably to defend the animals or the wood from the sufferings caused by human hands.
The hunter falls in love and forgets his duties toward wife and family. He can also get allured astray or into a fog and die in the wood he thought he knew so well.

Scary

[Steven Stahlberg]

Thanks again for all comments! Joachim, that composition does have more potential than my original, thanks. I'll try it out. I know this is one thing I always have a hard time with, I tend to make poses too symmetrical and stable, and composition too sterile and flat, like it's some kind of high-school theatrical production or something.

[daspetey]

i love this image. i must say though, i think i like his expression and cocked, suspicious head position in the first one the best. but i like what you've changed in the tree-girl for the third one. its creepycool to see the barky-barky torn tendrils in her back.
-pete

[Beowulfthefallen]

Joachim, maybe it's just me, but I think the knight in your paintover looks a LOT like Guybrush Threepwood from Monkey Island. Anyone else see a resemblence, or am I just insane? Wait, don't answer that