[worthless_meat_sack]

I posted this drawing a while ago, and then did this and lost interest. I might start over.

Anyway, I am going to be moving at the end of July, so I probably won't be able to particiapte here until sometime in Oct.

[Zorglub]

WOW!! Don't know what else to say...speechless

[dr . bang]

OMG, I LOVE THIS!!! This is unlike any thing i've seen you done before, probably because you use smaller brush? Anyway, I'm glad that you finally do a bright picture for a change And look at those leaf! WoW, i havent seen much leaf from you before. And way, where r u moving, to Florida? Isn't there are more jobs at LA?


.

[ July 12, 2001: Message edited by: dr . bang ]

[Gaxar]

Yupp, totally fabulous!

I am extremely impressed by the lightning and the colors... and... well, the whole thing is just beautiful.

Really enjoy the "trollish" feel of the elf, as opposed to the usual "noble, proud, sexy and generally better than you"-style that most people seem to like.

-Axel
Gallery: www.alfaweb.nu/gaxar
The liver is evil. It must be punished.

[Snake Grunger]

I remember you said you were going to draw an elf before the almost-one-month-sijun-downtime.. Very nice indeed! I really enjoy the texture work in the leaves/tree/skin and the diffuse lighting in the eye in the middle of the picture. Great shapes!

One thing I'd like to point out is a bit too much saturated yellow/green in the background. I think you wanted the elf to be a "part" of the forest, so he'd have green/yellow skin to match the nature he's living in.. I also think the probabilities of light hitting his face, under all those branches, would be sort of minimal, so maybe it should be lit only by diffuse light, rather than light from the sun.

oh, and PSSSSSSSSST, your email!

[burn0ut]

that turned out good. i love the eyesocket...

[balistic]

Nice. Dig the leaves.

Though, if you squint, the far earring kinda, sorta, might be mistaken for a booger. Its placement seems a bit awkard to my eye.

[Prometheus-ANJ]

That's really good, as usual. I especially like the light and atmosphere.
But does it look like an elf? He looks kinda mean and sinister, more like a faun or something.
Can it be you used yourself as a reference? Mweheheh

Edit:
I agree to some extent with Pat's comments below. Never underestimate the power of line art. It's easier for the eye/brain to decypher and interpret than a painting is.

[ July 13, 2001: Message edited by: ANJ-77 ]

[burn0ut]

umpa lumpa umpa dee doo ive got another puzzle for you....

[Waldo]

Painter? PhotoShop?

Curious because I'm struggling with Painter 6 and wondering if I should keep hacking away or stick with PhotoShop and pick instead of hack when time affords. I think I just answered my own question...

You served your line drawing well.

[TekK]

WOWEEEE! i absolutely love this pic... the lighting is great, and i really like the texture you managed to convey on the elf's face... and i agree with gaxar about the non-traditional look of the elf...

just a question, though, was this a cg, or natural media? if it was natural media, what medium did you use? again, that's absollutely amazing... :P

cheers,
teck

[eyewoo]

Nice... very, very nice!

I'd like to see it with some of the yellow filtered out.

So nice...

fleabrain...

[Farwalker]

LOL, man oh man. It was well worth the wait. Thank you for posting both of these pieces and involving us in your learning process Spooge. Outstanding lighting...

Hope your move goes well, they can be quite stressful. Where did I pack my Wacom tablet!?!

[green.7]

wow !!!! superior art work

[endrigan]

hahahaahahhahahahahaha.....YOU RULE ...

that is by far the coolest picture Ive ever seen you do .

[Roy Batty]

This is digital? Incredible.
I haven't seen texture such as this in any of your previous drawings...

[Sumaleth]

Yep, I quite like this one. It'd be nice to see the rest of him too.

Row.

[Pat]

It sounds almost blasphemous to say this, but I liked the sketch better. Sure the painting has flawless technique and immaculate color and is far better realized as an image. But at the same time it lacks the intimate focus and "portrait-ey" nature of the sketch. I found that especially appealing in the study --along with the honesty of the simple lines. It might have something to do with his quirky face; but that's facinating in it's own way. By hiding him in in the woods (and figuratively under all that technique) you've made him more mysterious than in the sketch, but less accessible in terms of viewer relating to him. I guess, for me, the sketch has more of an emotional impact and the painting has more of an intellectual one. (?)

Sorry if this sounds overly critical, I'm just trying to find words for how the additional distance in the work makes me feel and perhaps trying to justify my ethnocentric preference for the sketch. I guess, in the end, he's more elf-like this way.

-Pat

[Rinaldo]

Wow. Turned out really nicely. great colour and mood. I love the way the leaves and branches frame the face. it looks so solid!

would you still be willing to post a full rez of something like this. can just be a small crop. just interested in seeing what it looks like. the texture is fantastic.

Bah, I suck. off to draw.

[STA]

WOOOAAAAHHHHH!!!. Nice work!!! This Elf is really bad guy... I supose

[Gambit]

Wonderful job on this!

You really can give your art powerful emotions. Great colors and the lighting is so dramatic. Thanks for sharing it.

Good luck on the move!

[Awetopsy]

my first reaction to this was simply "WOW"

[kad]

Very cool. Love the way the character blends in with the enviroment. Great colors.

[worthless_meat_sack]

Thanks zorglub!

Dr bang, I have been told I give good leaf. It is a little more noodle-ed. I thought it would make it better. It was quite promising in the beginning. This is brighter than my usual stuff? Hmm. I am moving to Maui, HI.

Gaxar Maybe I should have played up that feeling of knarled a little more. It is straddling fences right now in so many ways. It doesn’t know what it wants to say.

Sanke grunger, Your second point about the probabilities of our elf posing under the one spot that has sunlight is very true. It is a theatrical and very artificial convention. But this image is kinda set up that way, with three distinct planes and careful overlaps.

The issue of the skin color depends on what his skin local color really is. It is green right now! But it might be a much warmer under more neutral light. I was after the neat effect of light that you can see at sunset. The warm red of the sunlight hits green trees, so you have a local color and a light color that are compliments. The result is gray, yes, but a very rich gray with thousands of tiny variations that make it bounce. It did not succeed.

BurnOut- thanks!

Ballistic, very good suggestion. Placement is awkward and the value is too dark.

ANJ-77- yes, maybe a faun. Like Debussy’s Faun, he is looking around for those two nymphs, and he’s pissed he they are gone.

Burnout- ahhhh hahahahah! That’s it! How much for the goose, Wonka?

Waldo, this is PS. I don’t know what to suggest with painter vs PS. I have seen great work done with both. But I have seen a greater variety done with PS, so in the interest of flexibility, maybe the nod goes to PS. OR not.

TekK Thanks It is just PS

Fleabrain, I think the yellow was a last ditch attempt to unify the thing.

Farwalker- Thanks, I will try not to get lost

Green.7 thanks!

Endrigan- thanks! Umm really your favorite? Is it the subject at all?

Roy Batty Thanks! I just do eyes…

Sumaleth- Don’t make me go back in there. It is wet and dark and there are mosquitoes everywhere.

Pat- I agree. Every time I have tried to take one of these forum sketches and “finish” it is a disaster. I like the drawing better too. But to be fair, there are far fewer things I am responsible for in the drawing. In one sense that makes it tougher cause you have to say more with less. But you have to make all the viewers decisions for them when you paint.

Rinaldo, posted.

STA, his moral compass is just not as strong as some would prefer.

Gambit, thanks!

[janne]

brilliant. i think that in this particular image that depth of field effect(although on upper portion only) is working very nicely. it's not a useless and overused gimmick that it usually ends up if not used carefully as in this one. and very convincing leaves too.

hm, i'm afraid i have missed that sketch you posted... where can i find it?

[-HoodZ-]

says it all

[Dryfire]

oh my very very nice

[Frosted Flame]

Wow Craig, this is so spectacular! I love the brightness of it, and the rather amusing subject. I honestly think that this is my favorite piece from you recently. I think it's because you've tightened it signifficantly more than a lot of the other "sketches" you bring to these forums. I love your ability to polish an image, I really miss that in your work. This is my desktop now, and will remain so for a long, long time.

[Frosted Flame]

oh, Janne:

Craig's Elf Sketch

[Muzman]

Very nice. I too miss stuff you refine for your own amusement. But it's a time:fun ratio I guess.
You'll probably have to redo the print vote with this one though