[kahboom]

All right - I've got only a week or so to finish this piece, and I am stuck!!! It's a luxury-problem - I have several options, all of which I like, but I need your help to choose! First though, I'll show you how I got here and what I'm looking for...

I've been drawing this medieval/fantasy city-scape for a while now. It's inspired by Mont St. Michel in France. The idea is for a couple to be ascending a steep crowded street - they are headed for their coronation(?).

I did a bunch of initial sketches, like these ones...



I tried various angles, and levels of detail...





No matter how many I did though, I couldn't seem to get the perspective right on the stairs. It drove me nuts. How nuts, you ask?
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[kahboom]

This nuts:



I built it using foam core and hotglue, so that I could get the perspective right on the stairs.

Here it is, fully assembled and spray-painted:



Note: most spraypaint has the unfortunate side effect of melting foam. I learned this the hard way. Looked like someone melted one of my towers with lasers.

Finally, I added little paper people cut out from index cards and mounted to sewing-pins.



I plan to use the final shot only for reference, and then paint it in acrylics on canvas. So, what's the problem, you ask?
Well, I can't seem to choose the angle that I like best for the painting...
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[kahboom]

With the patient help of my girl-friend, I had the model lit, and took a bunch of pictures of it. I then added in my final sketch of the couple about to be coronated is that even a word?). I've included my five favorites below, and I would love to hear which you think works best and why. Any other feedback would rock, too.

Number one:

Number two:

Number three:

Number four:

Number five:

Thoughts?
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[faeklone]

My vote is for number 5. It's the best compositionally, with the main figures to one side, and the rest of the town to the other. Kinda odd though, you built the entire town for the shot of the stairs, and then didn't even include any picture with the stairs in them.

ANyway, good luck with this.

[judson]

My vote is for the five too...

[AndyT]

Intersting!

I like #5 too. Not sure if it shows the right thing though.
They seem to be walking away from the action to a calm place.
Seems as if they don't have anything to do with the crowd.
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[kahboom]

Yeah, I realized that If I wanted an up-close shot of the couple, I'd have to drop the perspective down low, thereby losing the stairs. Kinda funny. Still, the model is helping me plan my lighting, so it still paid off I think...

I like 4 and 5 best, I think - I agree the composition in 5 is stronger, but with 4, it seems more heroic, for lack of a better word. They're in the thick of it, but above, maybe ascending another flight of stairs?

I'm also going to need a secondary light source to light up the foreground figures.
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[dhood]

I can already imagine what number 5 would look like when its done. The others focus to much on the front characters. go for number 5.

[stacy]

I like the asymmetry in FIVE, but the visceral impact of FOUR is better.
They're more "in touch" with the surrounding characters in FOUR.
In FIVE they seem to be distant and detached from their subjects.
The center of FIVE seems a little hollow and lifeless too.
Can you somehow combine the two into a more interesting but warmer composition.
After going to all that trouble to build a complete model, how about some different light angles too. Maybe front lit.

After seeing so many "action" characters copied directly from comic books and Saturday morning cartoons, this project is a REAL pleasure to see.

FANTASTIC work!!!

[::nox|silicon::]

I like #5 too...

Maybe add more people to the right in front to re-establish a connection between the scene and the Crowd

The model is very nice (one thing you might consider to play around even better is doing it in 3D)
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[kahboom]

Weird - I think someone's post just got deleted off this thread, somehow... Okay, so I hear you all on 4 and 5, so I'm trying a bit of a hybrid here...

Number Six

I'd have to bring the crowd forward a bit, I think, as well as resolve the gap at the end of the street, but the stairs are more visible now. I would have done this in 3D if I knew how to and if I didn't like building things in real 3D so much.
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[kahboom]

Okay, so I started painting the piece... I'm not fully convinced 5 was the right way to go, and I still wonder if 6 might be the strongest. I'm going to work on something else for a while, but in the meantime - Am I making a mistake here?


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[kahboom]

progress shot... Though it's coming together structurally, I'm afraid I'm losing some of the luminosity and brushwork... ::sigh::



Next- the crowd and figures...
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[Strawberrysauce]

lookin great, loved the way youve approached this, nice problem solving. Like the spontaneity of the first painting pic and yea you seem to have lost that a little with the 2nd pic as you added detail. I dont have much expreience with traditional methods so i cant give a huge amount of advice. Im sure itll turn out fantastic however, as your work sofar has been great. Keep it up!

[kahboom]

soon. SOON!


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[AndyT]

Wow great. I like the saturated colors. It is going to be great!

I think the clouds look a little solid, grainy now maybe ... and grab the attention?
Not sure if that can be changed and if it is worth changing, though.
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