 |
|
 |
| View previous topic :: View next topic |
| Author |
Topic : "Ritus Ara - Need a little help, guys" |
Tanqexe
junior member
Member #
Joined: 27 Oct 2003
Posts: 33
Location: Baltimore, MD
|
 Posted: Fri Oct 31, 2003 8:18 am |
 |
 |
This isn't the most recent inprog pic...but I'm really unsatisfied with it. I was commissioned to do this image with the Gouf (the big mech thing) on the left and the cathedral on the right, so my composition was somewhat limited...I was hoping to make it up with the other requirement, which was having a ray of light striking the Gouf's head and shoulders, but it's getting more and more frustrating. I haven't finished laying down all the color values yet - there's supposed to be two two- to three-story buildings to the right and far in the distance from the Gouf and the church, and a four-lane bridge is supposed to span into the distance to the left and back of the Gouf. I'm kinda constricted by requirements, and I'm just stuck in an artistic rut right about now...grrrr.
I should've speed-painted the whole thing from the get-go =_= |
|
| Back to top |
|
Citizen Cow
member
Member #
Joined: 25 Jun 2001
Posts: 260
Location: Chicago,USA
|
| Posted: Fri Oct 31, 2003 8:48 am |
|
|
I actually like the composition. Im sure when its finished it will be a little more flowing.
Its an early stage so Im sure this is or will be adressed. The mech looks as if he is floating and not really a part of the scene. He should be SINKING into that snow....
The cross on the cathedral is understated. Maybe thats the goal but if Im a church YOUR GONNA KNOW IT!
I like the concept Mucho and that Brickwork is great! |
|
| Back to top |
|
dfacto
member
Member #
Joined: 06 Sep 2003
Posts: 130
Location: Germany
|
| Posted: Fri Oct 31, 2003 12:02 pm |
|
|
lose the sword, and add a gun.
_________________
It has been clinically proven that other people's pain IS funny. |
|
| Back to top |
|
AndyT
member
Member #
Joined: 24 Mar 2002
Posts: 1545
Location: Germany
|
| Posted: Fri Oct 31, 2003 1:37 pm |
|
|
Turned out great! Did you find a quick way to do the textures?
I like the church.
Maybe you could add a little yellow to the snow on the roof ...
because it is lit by the same light source as the ground and the mech.
Right?
Is that a really small figure on the ground? It is kinda hidden there.
If it shouldn't be maybe move it away from the shadow a little.
I don't know what the story is but maybe you could indicate that there's something going on in the church.
That it is not abandoned (if it actually is not abandoned). Maybe flags or light inside the building.
But it is great as it is already!
_________________
http://www.conceptworld.org |
|
| Back to top |
|
Tanqexe
junior member
Member #
Joined: 27 Oct 2003
Posts: 33
Location: Baltimore, MD
|
| Posted: Fri Oct 31, 2003 2:44 pm |
|
|
Thanks for the crits, everyone....as you can probably obviously tell, I rendered the church on a different layer from everyone else, so I haven't fixed the snow (or added more of it) onto the church, but I plan on adding a bit more of the orange/yellow to the snow. I can't lose the sword because that's, shall we say, also a requirement.
AndyT: Yeah, that small thing is supposed to be a bishop. I'm gonna move him closer to the Gouf for a better sense of scale. It's morning, and townspeople are in the church...but I doubt you can see anything going on because they're hiding. =/
Here's the excerpt I as supposed to illustrate:
| Quote: |
The most major and economical cultural center in the region of Weserbergland, Hameln had sprouted up in the year 851 AD around a Benedictine monastery. From this little seed of relatively banal beginnings, Hameln's history was a mishmash of ups and downs: the little market colony once under the dominion of the Duke of Braunschweig gained its independance in 1277, only to lose all its children in 1284 in the Exodus, later to become the tale of the Pied Piper; in 1664, the town was fortified and became known as the "Gibraltar of the North" for its Hannoverian impermeability, only to fall prey to Napoleon Bonaparte in 1808, who had the fortress destroyed; in 1867 Hameln became Prussian-owned, only to nearly be burnt to the ground in World War II, which succeeded in obliterating most of its town records. The millstone that sat on the civic arms of the town was often wondered to be around the collective necks of the citizenry, due to Hameln's spotty history.
For the most part, legends and lore aside, the folk of Hameln got on as they always had: with perseverance. They just didn't let things get to them, or at least, that's what they tried to do. A place that had survived the Piper, Napoleon, and World War II, certainly could handle anything else with little effort. 'Anything else' also included the One-Year War and the coming of the Zeon. The 14th Terrestrial Mobile Division, hot on the heels of the hellriding 10th Panzerkaempfer Division that had simply bypassed all of Germany in its race for Paris, had stopped over in Hameln for a day or so and then withdrew back to the east in the face of several Federation Army Groups that were mustering for Operation Odessa. The Federals also stopped in for a day or two, sampled what the town had to offer, and then moved on. The One-Year War had spared Hameln any pains, and not a shot was fired in the town limits. And Hameln moved on.
It came as something of a shock to the citizens this morning to hear the sounds of heavy-caliber weapons fire coming from the south, and moving closer as time passed. The had heard the Seydlitz Proclamation just like everyone in Europe had, but had not been overly concerned with Nemesis. They'd simply bought out the region of bottled water. said their prayers, and went about their daily business. But actual gunfire, and moving towards them, now that was an attention-getter. As the hours passed and the noises of furious combat crept ever-closer, the streets began to empty of people. Some even started some preliminary packing when smoke began to appear in the air from some point in the distance. Most just got on their knees and prayed to St. Vicelinus, who had been born in Hameln, for protection from whatever nightmare was descending upon their town. Even the Polizei prayed.
When the citizens could actually see the explosions as the fighting drew nearer, the Catholic bishop began to ring the bell in the church tower, warning those who could hear it that trouble was coming and that the door of the cathedral were open for refuge. A good portion of the 16,000 residents heeded the call, and soon the pews were full. The rest flooded the Lutheran chapel, until it was standing-room only; those who did not go to either stayed indoors and at home.
After a time, it became apparent that the fighting was not drawing any closer, but that a loud clanging sort of thump was, and that it was shaking the very ground as it sounded. The Lutheran church, on the western half of the town, heard it pass them by with a noise like the Host of Heaven clashing cymbals all in unison, but none dared look to see what was causing the ruckus. The noisemaker crossed the bridge over the Weser on Muensterstrasse and continued into the heart of Hameln, which lay on the eastern side of the river, and came to a halt in front of the Catholic cathedral.
Inside the old church, everyone, including the dead in the graveyard, had heard the thunderous noise, and where it had stopped. After a moment or three, there was a loud TAP, TAP, TAP at the closed doors of the cathedral, as if God Himself was knocking at the door. The bishop mustered his courage in the face of adversity, calmed his flock as best he could, feeling death was at his doorstep, and left the nave and made his way towards the doors, not listening to the pleas of the people who had come to trust him. With all his regalia in place and peace in his heart if not in his mind, he unlatched the door and opened it, ready to face Hell itself. He nearly dropped his jaw open at what he saw.
In the snow-encrusted courtyard of the cathedral was a Zeon mobile suit, one that had seen better days. Its armor was pitted and scarred, its shield a mass of twisted metal. The giant machine was down on one knee, deactivated heat saber grounded point first as if the mobile suit were praying to it. It was even bowed over in supplication, like a wounded knight kneeling to pray. A ray of sunlight managed to pierce the cloud cover for a moment, striking the mobile suit on its head and shoulders. It was picturesquely awesome, even if the recipient centerpiece of the picture was a broad-shouldered, spiky, Cyclopean machine of Space-born warfare. The bishop stared at the monstrous machine, while the sounds of weapons fire echoed in the background.
The Gouf Custom, white star-and-sword on its breast, crossed itself like any penitent would, before the great red eye dimmed and its hatch opened, disgorging a hyper little man who tossed his helmet back into the cockpit as he leapt to the ground and ran over to the bishop. |
|
|
| Back to top |
|
Tanqexe
junior member
Member #
Joined: 27 Oct 2003
Posts: 33
Location: Baltimore, MD
|
| Posted: Sat Nov 01, 2003 6:38 am |
|
|
Small, small update from some work this morning...refined the background a little bit, haven't touched any of the middle or foreground stuff at the moment...probably gonna work on that next.
I'd really appreciate anyone pointing out anything wrong at this point of development...maybe pointers on how to make the "feel" of the painting better...stuff like that. Thanks! |
|
| Back to top |
|
dfacto
member
Member #
Joined: 06 Sep 2003
Posts: 130
Location: Germany
|
| Posted: Sat Nov 01, 2003 7:59 am |
|
|
just for reference the gouf is fron an anime called Gundam, and the heat sword looks like this:
Maybe make it look like its just been really heated up, and its just cooling.
_________________
It has been clinically proven that other people's pain IS funny. |
|
| Back to top |
|
Tanqexe
junior member
Member #
Joined: 27 Oct 2003
Posts: 33
Location: Baltimore, MD
|
| Posted: Sat Nov 01, 2003 8:39 am |
|
|
Actually, as the text mentions (and I've read the online novel through and through), it's a Gouf Custom....a little bit different. The sword looks like this:
Based on the animation, the Gouf Custom's saber wasn't heated up in battle, or it was made of a more heat-resistant material than the original saber. Thus, it doesn't visibly glow. In the author's writings, the GC in question took quite a while to get to the church - plenty of time to deactivate the saber after retreating from the front line. That, and with the cold weather, the saber shouldn't have too much residual heat by the time it reaches the church.
The author who commissioned me is quite the detail freak  |
|
| Back to top |
|
Tinusch
member
Member #
Joined: 25 Dec 1999
Posts: 2757
Location: Rhode Island, USA
|
| Posted: Sun Nov 02, 2003 8:17 am |
|
|
| I think you should be pretty pleased with this so far. The snow looks great, as does the sky. The brickwork is just awesome. I'd say the snow on the roof needs to be fixed to match the snow on the ground, and the background needs something to fill it up. It looks too empty and unfinished, maybe some hazy silhouettes of tall buildings and cathedrals back there? Mountains? Andy's idea of lights in the church sounds great, too. Also, the mech needs to be tied into the scene a little more. His sword needs a shadow under it, and he should probably have more of an impact on the snow. Other than those details, I think this looks just great. |
|
| Back to top |
|
xzacto
member
Member #
Joined: 20 Oct 2003
Posts: 91
Location: Rochester, New York (farmington)
|
| Posted: Sun Nov 02, 2003 12:38 pm |
|
|
I HAVE A SUGGESTION THAT OTHER MAY BE ABLE TO AGREE WITH
Try creating more of a relationship between your big robot guy and his surroundings, especially the ground.. I think if you made his foot look like it is sitting ON the ground rather than over the top of the ground, it will give you a much better feel and add to the perspective that you allready have. as it is now, you can tell the robot is it's own layer. try and get him to interact with what you have going right now. It looks great keep it up my friend.
_________________
 |
|
| Back to top |
|
eyalyab
member
Member #
Joined: 11 Jan 2003
Posts: 308
Location: Israel
|
| Posted: Sun Nov 02, 2003 5:58 pm |
|
|
in your first image, you drew those guidelines for paralel lines merging in the horizon. im not an expert, but it seems you didnt follow those guidlines all throughout. for example, on those two towers, and on the brick fence.
also, the bridge is off, and there is no shaddow for the sword and the man.
cheers! |
|
| Back to top |
|
CwStone
member
Member #
Joined: 27 Jan 2003
Posts: 489
Location: New York, USA
|
| Posted: Sun Nov 02, 2003 7:55 pm |
|
|
i think it would be nice to add some black smoke comming off the horizon...to suggest a battle going on in the bg. then, i think u should darken the whole image, save for the areas where the gold sunlight should hit, and in those places, make them gold-colored. so, the whole image should look orange/yellow, and have a dark look to it. right now it looks like a bright blue-skied day, but it sounds like its supposed to be a dark, cloud-written one where sunlight only spokes thorugh on ocassion. if u dont get what im tryin to say, then i can do a paintover.
_________________
-Chase |
|
| Back to top |
|
Tanqexe
junior member
Member #
Joined: 27 Oct 2003
Posts: 33
Location: Baltimore, MD
|
| Posted: Sun Nov 02, 2003 9:36 pm |
|
|
I love you guys ;____;
CwStone: I was originally thinking of making the sky more orange and stuff to create a starker image...but then all the ambience from the snow got me thinking otherwise. Feel free to do a paintover, I always love those ^_^
eyaylybab: I eyeballed the perspective when I first made the church...it was only after I painted it that I added the perspective lines to double check...some of the angles on the cathedral drew an "oh sh*t" from me ~_~ The other buildings were all oriented in different directions on the Hameln city map, so they might look like they have weird perspective. I'll fix it when I get the time to...being in an engineering school sucks butt at times, even though doing research projects are fun =/
xzacto: Thanks for all your constructive suggestions 
Tinusch: I'd love to do some grand stuff with the background, but Hameln ain't exactly a grand town...my client had a few bird's eye reference photos of the surrounding area, and the area facing southwest through northwest don't have any impressive, tall landmarks...but, according to the story, there IS a battle going on, so I can break up that horizon with battlefield smokes and explosions, like CwStone has suggested.
Thank you so much ^_^ |
|
| Back to top |
|
Tanqexe
junior member
Member #
Joined: 27 Oct 2003
Posts: 33
Location: Baltimore, MD
|
| Posted: Tue Nov 04, 2003 9:12 am |
|
|
Ugh, so busy with school...
Followed CW's idea and did a quick color overlay...do you guys think this color palette would be better to work with? |
|
| Back to top |
|
Hunago
member
Member #
Joined: 27 Jan 2002
Posts: 154
Location: New Zealand
|
| Posted: Tue Nov 04, 2003 11:46 pm |
|
|
It's looking great so far
I did an overpaint adding some details that other guys mentioned earlier.
 I added some shadow and reflections to make the Gouf Custom feel more in environment. Also pushed the middle buildings back a bit. I'm digging the lighter palette, but CwStone's suggestion of overall darker sky may work out as well. Look forward to your finished pic. |
|
| Back to top |
|
xzacto
member
Member #
Joined: 20 Oct 2003
Posts: 91
Location: Rochester, New York (farmington)
|
| Posted: Thu Nov 06, 2003 11:16 pm |
|
|
WAIT A TICK... who is making this image now!? i am confused
_________________
|
|
| Back to top |
|
Merystic
member
Member #
Joined: 12 Jul 2002
Posts: 111
Location: Texas
|
| Posted: Fri Nov 07, 2003 5:35 pm |
|
|
I believe I have an idea that would help the picture.
it seems that the light of the sun is only striking the mech the shoulders and above, whereas judging from the shadow of the church, he should be bathed in sunlight. If you extend the shadow of the cathedral (so that the rays of the sun are slanting more shallowly) past the mech it would make the lighting more plausible. I really hope that made sense...I'd attempt a paintover but I'd screw it up 
it's looking wonderful as is, at any rate...just a suggestion
_________________
Stay Frosty!
"Dreams are necessary to life." --Anais Nin |
|
| Back to top |
|
Tanqexe
junior member
Member #
Joined: 27 Oct 2003
Posts: 33
Location: Baltimore, MD
|
| Posted: Sun Nov 09, 2003 7:41 am |
|
|
Sorry for the lack of updates, school's gotten in the way again ~_~ (That, and Max Payne 2 and Homeworld2...and a crapload of anime to catch up on ^_^;;
I'll probably have another update for you guys in the next two weeks. Merystic, feel free to do an overpaint...I've looked at your site, it's got some good stuff! Doubt you'll screw anything up.
I've slightly tweaked the overall ambience to purples, cool blues, and yellows to set mood, even though Central Europe tends to be rather foggy and has very little color variation beyond the typical cool blues and grays. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
|
You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum
You cannot vote in polls in this forum
|
|
Powered by phpBB © 2005 phpBB Group
|
