[ceenda]

This was originally a sketch for a larger piece which was intended to replace the "Nautilus" picture on the website which is looking a bit dated now. The ironclad itself is going to be majorly re-designed with a more Victorian steam-punk style.

Any c & c would be great.



[ *sigh* Okay, there clearly seems to be something wrong with this and every other pic I post on Sijun thesedays, so quite frankly I'm not even going to bother any more. As one of the ex-members used to say, message boards are a very limited tool for communicating and with that in mind I've clearly done a bad job of doing that. I'm not saying that this has become a bad place, nor that my work is particularly worthy of comments or criticisms, merely that I don't seem to fit in very well with the current trends and ways of thinking here. Though I would thank the many people here who've made Sijun a great place to be and whose work has been a great inspiration for me. I'll still drop by to view the wealth of talent here, though I will no longer contribute here. ]

[ January 15, 2002: Message edited by: ceenda ]

[Tillek]

Well, I for one think the painting is very well done. The clouds and the ocean are extremely well rendered. Do you have any detail shots? The only thing I can see right away is that there is no green glow on the water where the green light shines. It may be a faint glow, but it probably would be there nonetheless.

Awesome job!

[Loki]

Hey Ceenda! Why so negative? I just returned a short bit ago, so I don't know what you're talking about. Oh well, here goes:

* I like it, first of all - composition is good, subject is cool

* Sky: still lacks a bit of perspective - did you try the perspective grid thingy I told you about, ages abo in your jungle image - it really helps.
The clouds also look a bit 'smeary' - but stylish, so if you wanted that, there's nothing to say about it

* More athmospheric perspective would be nmice - you did it on the left, but the reflection of the island on the right is too black IMHO.

* The nautilus doesn't feel like iron to me - and not wet either, which it'd be strolling along low-rider style like this. Maybe some broad highlights?

* more defined light situation - I don't really recognize where the light is exactly coming from. Maybe a little sun disc at the bright spot in the distance?

* color - I see what you were going for, maybe a little variation would make it more alive?

Sorry for going down point by point - I still think it's a very nice piece!

[BooMSticK]

hey Ceenda. Don't go away. I know how you feel. I most certainly don't get many replies too... But I just can't let this place be. Even though, ther'e really seems to be alot of nutcakes around here... Yeah, me too. Lol!

I really like your painting. I always liked your style. and you have been improving alot since i first saw your stuff here, waaaaaay back...

I love the sky, and the distanced mountain (which i belive is incredible well done!!!). The Ironclad I have no problems with... maybe it could be a little more dramatic though???
What bothers me most is the water... The scale of the waves and The Ironclad doesn't match i think. The Ironclad looks too much like a little toyboat...
Also I think the wave pattern need some better layout. It seems abit too random right now. Maybe find some reference? I bet you painted this straight from your head... The way you painted it I like, but the layout is just too messy and confusing...
great work, and I hope you change your mind about leaving this place for good!!
,Boom

[Tinusch]

What are you so upset about? This hasn't been up for that long yet. And it's an amazing picture. I really like your style. Very unique and stylized, but realistic and believable at the same time. And of course, your clouds.... Mmmm

[MonsterX]

Loki is onto something with the comment about the sun. Putting in a perfect circle behind those bright clouds could look really good.
The lighting on the slanted roof and nosepiece seems off. If the sun is shining from behind, these areas could be darker or be casting more shadow. The same for the fin on the right. It could be casting a really faint shadow forward and to the left across the whole ship.
The weather looks like a storm with the clouds and the rough water so maybe rain would work. The sub doesn't look wet, but it is really small. I'm not certain how to solve that other than my final comment, which is to rework the perspective. (meaning "make another painting")
Exaggerate the perspective. Bring the front of the sub FORWARD in a big way and make it more of the focal point. I really like the island and the clouds. Personally I think you should do more paintings of just those. Loki thinks they look smeary but I think if you worked them out you could turn that into torrents of rain in the distance. The island and fog in the back look awesome. If you had more of them you could really show the depth with the fogging. Every time you paint it, push some other aspect out as far as it will go. See what works.

[cptoonz]

the bg and setting harken me to the climax of the "The Mysterious Island" by Jules Verne...beautiful clouds and island. Good ship design. as far as leaving, well, this place has changed dramatically in the last two years that I have been on it...but so has the whole internet hang in there, and please, keep posting

peace,

[sacrelicious]

Ceenda, what or whom exactly is prompting these feelings? The responses to this post were reasonable and good-natured. I can't even remember you posting a new work in some time, so I can't imagine how you're failing to communicate. In the last post you started the pic had already been removed before I saw it, and I was the first to respond... What's going on? What do you think we think is "wrong" with your work?

[ January 15, 2002: Message edited by: sacrelicious ]

[roundeye]

gah! you cant stop posting! your 'The Emperor's Palace' is what initially lured me here from another site. at the time, i couldnt believe that something like that was even possible digitally. anyways, im not sure if youre just fishing or not but i absolutely love your work.

[Soulfuct]

listen to roundeye......stay.....you have stunning talent....
just ignore the assholes if you ever come across any.

i love the water and the sky the most...but it has a very abandoned look to the craft.
it looks very alone.....almost as if the technology clashes with nature...
i love this!

[ceenda]

Firstly, thanks for crits.

It was a little hasty to have written that comment but I'll elaborate a little on what I meant. I think the main thing has been that since I started full time work I haven't had nearly enough time to do art as I used to (to the point where I'm thinking of resigning from my job and going to art college). Hence, alot of my recent work has not been up to the standard that I think I'm capable of. My previous 2 postings here were perhaps an example of that. So if anything, I guess I was censoring myself from work that I originally thought was of good quality, but later realised was actually quite poor and had not been instrumental in improving my skills. When I saw that this post had gone halfway down with 0 replies I already assumed that it was another bad posting. Also, I guess the anonymity of forums is such that it's easy to put yourself over as someone that you're not and end up coming across as a bit arrogant, which I think I've done.

Cedrian: Thanks. As I say, the pic was actually a sketch for a larger piece, so the image was actually 600x500 when I started it in Painter. I increased it to 1200x1000 at one point to go in with more detail before resizing it again. You're right, not much of a headlamp if it isn't illuminating anything!

Loki: Hehe, I found a set of distortion brushes in Painter 6 and went a bit crazy with them on the clouds. Yep, definately need to do some study on perspective. As for the ship, you're right, the metal would be wet and hence would be giving off some specular highlights off flat planes. Also, some deeper colours to balance the piece would be a good idea.

BooMSticK: Thanks. Once again, the waves were a result of finding the distortion brushes in Painter. You're right about the scale problem, I guess some more detail on the ship (e.g. rivets etc.) would be useful too. And yep, this was just painted off the top of my head. There's some great Dutch paintings of ship scenes which I think I'll look into.

Tinusch: Cheers, this is just ceenda going into a big huff like a 3 year old having a tantrum in a supermarket...

MonsterX: Thanks. I could make up just a basic model of the ship in 3D and work out the lighting there. I think there's a number of matte artists do that just to work out in their minds what the best lighting setup is for the object.

cptoonz: "The Mysterious Island" was on TV over Christmas. Sadly, you can't get a good translation of the book here in the UK.

sacrelicious: Like I say, no one on the forum. I wondered whether my work wasn't as good as the earlier stuff I used to produce. Also, because I had problems setting the gamma right on my monitor, I'd frequently come into work and find that my pictures were either really dark or totally dull and faded. That's sorted out now, and I think I might purchase a TFT sometime.

roundeye: Thankyou, that means alot coming from someone like yourself. I guess I should be posting more work to the same or better quality, so I really should set aside more time to working on pieces before posting them.

Soulfuct: Cheers, will endeavour to do more.

And again, sorry for the tantrum.

[ January 16, 2002: Message edited by: ceenda ]

[horstenpeter]

So you staying around ? Please ?
I really like your work, I really loved your sneaky thief piece, saw it here and on the ebonykeep. I thought it was a shame that nobody replied, but thinking about it, neither did I. I definitely should have, since I really liked it.
This one is great too, though the perspective of the boat is confusing me, but that could be just me, since I'm generally a confused person.

Keep the good work coming !!!

[Malachi Maloney]

Hmmmmmmm....

ceenda~ I don't think I've taken the time to comment on one of your pieces before, but it's not because of your work is lacking in any area, it's just because I'm very choosy as to what I will and will not reply to (especially these days).
That is no real excuse though, because your work has always been top notch from what I remember. So I really don't know why I haven't been replying to your stuff......I'm just an ass I guess.
As far as leaving sijun goes......You would only be doing yourself a great injustice. I've learned over the past year or so of posting here, that you've got to try to get past the social crap and use this place for the valuable art resource that it is. You've obviously been here much longer than I have, so you should know this by now bud.

As far as this painting is concerned....
I've got to agree with Loki on his suggestions for the 'ironclad'.
But I must say the water is awesome, those waves look absolutely real. Yet the whole piece has a great 'stylized' feel to it.
Very nice.

Please keep posting. I hope you come out of this artistic/emotional slump soon. You've got a great talent here, don't waste it.

M

[Novacaptain]

I like your artwork a lot and I'd really miss seeing it around if you leaved. I'd also feel like I'd miss out on the knowledge you contribute with to this forum.

As for your picture, it looks good.

I think that the water looks too calm further 'into' the picture as opposed to the foaming waves in the foreground.

I agree that the submersible appears to be quite dry.

[Psycho Boy Jack]

If you go away, I'm personaly flying across the atlantic and kicking your a$$. =)

Although I'm afraid I can't give constructive criticism (because my art is awful, heheh), I find this picture splendid, as is all your work!