[Sedone]

These are a few of the portraits I did for the Devil Whiskey game. I did thirteen of them in all. I also redesigned my website, but all I have on there right now are the rest of these paintings because I'm in the process of throwing out some of my crappy artwork. Take a look and tell me what you think.







Have a nice weekend!

Oh yeah, these were painted in Photoshop.

[ May 03, 2002: Message edited by: Sedone ]

[Jezebel]

Very nice work Sedone =)

[Jaguar Wong]

Whoa, rock on! Man those are great. So what's Devil Whiskey? Is it an RPG, computer game, CCG? Anyway those are supertight, man.

I really love the first and last ones. That mouse face is too creepy, and the psycho knife guy looks great. I dig that second one but there's nothing too special that stands out, although it is a very well rendered face. But the bridge of the nose looks like it goes back/in a little too far. Of course I could be mistaken.

Great job on this stuff. I'm gonna have to bookmark your site, and take more time to browse around later on.

Just a quick question...Who's Justin Sweet?

[pixelsoldier]

You prolly know him from his Baldur's Gate and Icewind Dale stuff.

http://www.justinsweet.com

[Sedone]

Jaguar Wong, you can get more info at www.devilwhiskey.com. It's like Bard's Tale. I have to admit I never got around to downloading the beta tests, so I don't have much info on the game itself.

Pixelsoldier, Justin Sweet is a big influence. On that painting there's probably an unhealthy dose of Brom in there, too. All of it's just coming out of my subconscious from staring too long at those guy's artwork. I don't think these pictures were exceptionally original in style or execution, but they were a huge step for me as far as painting is concerned. I'm still searching for my own style.

Jezebel, thanks!

[ May 03, 2002: Message edited by: Sedone ]

[pixelsoldier]

Ahh yes, Brom as well.

Don't get me wrong dude, I was trying to imply that your work has an "unhealthy" dose of anyone's style but your own. I just like spotting subtle influences. Your stuff stands firm on it's own, and always has. Don't sell yourself short - these paintings are wonderful. I've been following your work for a long time now, and they ARE indeed a huge step forward in terms of technique. You've always had a great eye for detail, and an ability to create really unique compositions.

To sum it up, you rule.

[Light]

These are quite nice. But, I can see some "problems" or areas that can be improved.

I see a lack of expression on the faces. I'm assuming these are suppose to be "character sketches". Well, I just dont see a lot of character in them.

The top mouse thing looks suspicious but its eyes are so dark. There is not enough clue if he is good, bad, or just mysterious. Uhm as game sketches you might want to use more symbolism. But as "paintings" then you will want to establish some more interest in them.

The second picture of the woman is nice. It seems to have a bit more character. But not enough.. I get an old world feel but the clothes seem not worn enough.

The bottom picture is ok. You seem to have had some questions about the head and face and this area needs to be worked out.

The head, right shoulder area, and neck need some work too.

Basically, you need to work on expression more. Be more sure of yourself.

.. These are all nice works and this is why I'm being a little more harsh then maybe I would if they did not show as much skill.

[Cos]

Awesome work on these Sedone, always look forward to seeing your new stuff. Loved the other portraits on your site aswell, thought Wrath particularly kicked arse, kinda reminded of that old horror film The Blind Dead. Think your painterly style is very much developing, getting great subtletys. What kinda bruses you using to get this look in Photoshop?

Crits wise, some of the materials I think could be improved upon, the garment on the middle pic looks very rubber, like she's wearing some kinda puffer jacket.. she's not right? :P. I think it's the softness in your shadows and highlights, sharpening some of your shapes a little more there might help I think.

Also there is some anatomy problems on the last pic, below the ribcage area the pose becomes kinda stiff and unnatural, his waist area and legs seem too far to the right in alignment with the upperbody, which is what I think is causing it.

Shadow in his trap area and a touch of neck and collar bone shapes of light would probably give that area some more construction, not a must but I think it would look better.

Where the left bicep is coming out of seems too low and in, should come out a little more towards the armit area (imagine him without the furs, his shoulder would be huge).

Also some more textured areas like on the fur and stronger highlinghts on the metal surfaces would contrast well against the skintones.

Crits aside tho these stand pretty tall imo, very good work man.

[pixelsoldier]

Wonderful stuff as always. I think I see some strong Justin Sweet influence in the flesh tones of that last image. Am I right? :/

[Sedone]

Cos, thanks for the indepth critique. I used the default brushes, like a noob. I smudged here and there to get nicer strokes. The airbrush came in handy for details, but basically I did a lot of opaque/less opaque with the paintbrush. I definitely need to work on rendering different textures. That last guy really was a nightmare to work on. He was one of the first pictures I started on, and ended up being the last one I finished. Lots of problems, I know, but I consider it a small victory that I even got him to look the way he does now. Btw, I see you're on Epilogue. How's your experience been with that? I'm really scratching my head on how to get more exposure, and maybe make an actual living at doing this.

[Binke]

Hi Sedone!
These are really well made portraits, they look solid! I agree with some of the others comments though.
But I also noticed something else, many of them kind of looked a little...dull. In quality that is, they are well painted but they seem to lack contrast and color. They dont "stick out". Thats not the case with all of em, but with some.

I took my liberty of doing a quick paintover over your halfelf (very well done btw) to show you what I mean.
But then again you maybe want them to look like they do.


I just noticed she lost some of her character in my overpaint.. blah =[

[ May 04, 2002: Message edited by: Binke ]

[jasonN]

Your art is amazing. Love the character portraits.
Did you use any reference for the pics on your site? How long does a pic take you approx?
Once again, awesome work, love to see more

[Ian Jones]

Wow! great work.

Check out the warm/cool change on her shirt, its more visible in Binke's paintover. MAybe he did it a little too much, but its very effective. great lesson learnt there.

Also visbile on the ratmans shirt, blue green (cool) yellow green (warm). I need to do more of that myself, you've done a great job Sedone.

[Cos]

Ahh sorry for the late reply man, forgot to check back the thread. I've found epilogue to be a really great site, I would recommend it. Art communtiy there is really cool, different crowd from the usual so you get exposure you wouldn't of got. Easy to set up a gallery and stuff. You should get yourself up there I reckon, ppl there would really like your stuff.

[ May 05, 2002: Message edited by: Cos ]

[Mindsiphon]

Hey Sedone
I told you before and I'll say it again. Excellent work!

It's going to be tough to find another artist to match your quality.

Cheers!

[Rhomb]

Really good portraits. Very consistent quality throughout. Binke's got a point there though.

Ville

[Sedone]

Thanks for the comments everyone. I went out of town this weekend for someone's wedding, so I'll try and reply through my hung-over state.

Binke, I agree that some of the colors could use more "punch". You can tell which pictures were painted more recently by the bolder colors I used. The half-elf girl was one of the first, so I was more cautious with the colors. I could've gone back and retouched her, but I was satisfied with it enough to move on. I've actually gone back and retouched several of them during the whole process, but I basically have to force myself to leave them alone at some point.

Cos, I'm uploading some stuff to Epilogue today.

Thanks again, guys.