[chaplin]

Hi, ive been working on this bird for about 3 hours and my mind went blank. I need suggestions. What is the bird doing? Is (s)he on a tree? Is it among clouds. I need something very creative but at the same time realistically imaginable. Comments/Crits. Any help to unblank my mind would be greatly appreciated.


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Chaplin

[Capt. Fred]

i don't really know about the backdrop�
but I'd say it needs to be like under a canopy of leaves or in a sort of misty forest backdrop, more than direct sunlight, since the lighting would change and you'd have to redo the bird to some extent if it was to appear as if in direct sunlight�
dunno.

You could have anything under sun for you backdrop (not directly under the sun of course )�

[Hawktoey]

How's about on the edge of her nest, watching over her new born young on a tree branch in rural America or [insert place here]

[chaplin]

I fixed the bird and added some lights -- I like the abstraction of the text on the background. I personally dont like to write on my works but on this one I can't imagine a background. Does anyone have any surreal ideas or artists they can reference me to so I can study them and devise a background -- otherwise the poor little bird will stay in its blue universe wondering if it could ever fly.



...save the bird
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Chaplin

[Hawktoey]

Sitting on the edge of an upside down metal bucket in the middle of an abandoned auto factory, cracked floors, chunks missing from the pillars, and a light haze throughout.

[cheney]

Pretty awesome work. The shape looks nearly perfect. Katherine Dinger made a texture tutorial for bird feathers for painters. I am not sure where the tutorial is, but I am sure you can find it if you search around.
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http://prettydiff.com/

[Jost]

How about putting this bird on a very frail thin twisting branch to show how light and how easy it could just fly away with a backdrop that is very pale. Perhaps show a slightly blurred tree in the BG but enough detail to let you know that this bird is perched on a similar tree.

Dustbunny

[chaplin]

Thanks, that is an awesome idea -- I love the simplicity of it and the analogy to life...
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Chaplin

[Smurf]

are you doing this in painter or photoshop? It looks great so far
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Meep -It pwnz you.

[chaplin]

this is photoshop, I have yet to gather enough money to purchase a license for painter.
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Chaplin

[chaplin]

Ok, I got it -- i decided to add a branch with a single leaf which mimics the bird as if it were reflected off a lake. But instead of the bird we see the leaf as the reflection. Composition wise this directs the eyes of the viewer to the right -- where the bird is looking. It also gives it a more 3d look since the brid is on the z-axis, the branch on the y-axis and the leaf in the x-axis. Now, I just need some critics, good critics, I dont care if you are hardcore and insult something -- just tell me whats wrong witht the scene.

Are the shadows and their directions ok -- assuming that the light comes from top right.


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Chaplin

[asdfghjkl]

well... i really like the bird but the branch it just goes on in a line... how about making it kinda come towards us ... with some lil leaflets or buds or something.

[chaplin]

[angel-o-polis]

good work
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mmmm.....maybe later!

[asdfghjkl]

oh yeah hey i think when u make the branch be sure it doesnt interfere with the tail. in yur oringinal the tail looks kinda "interupted".and i think when ever birds sit on branches , either their tail is perpendicular to the branch or well above it.
well anyway good luck.
nice bird.