[ftgjcf]

I tried to make this look real.. C&C&O wanted
second update:

first update:

this is the first pic:

pencil:

some steps
pencil
prim. ref. image

[ March 31, 2002: Message edited by: geelimp ]

[ March 31, 2002: Message edited by: geelimp ]

[ April 01, 2002: Message edited by: geelimp ]

[Ian Jones]

Wow! good rendering, looks pretty real. Not quite though, but well on the way. Maybe straighten up the table edge in the background, its really bugging the whole plane... makes it look like a saggy table.

So which ancient ancestor was this? Bobs Uncle perhaps?

[Frand]

Alas, poor Yorick. I don't have a reference skull at hand to comment on the anatomy of the image, but since the light is coming from the left, the shading around his left eye and the left cheekbone seem a bit too bright. Also the form of the jawbone could be better defined.

I think this could be a perspective matter, but if the camera is looking slightly downward, and the skull is resting on the jawbone, shouldn't the eyesockets be peering not at the camera, but slightly below it. Therefore also the cranium (if that is the correct word for the part of the skull that protects the brain) should be more visible. In another words, it feels to me like this image was painted through a fisheye lens.

Small quibbles, really. Overall a great image, and in particular I like the amount of detail in the teeth and the upper jaw.

[ftgjcf]

Ian Jones, Frand; Thanks
I made some changes to the light and to the table/ ground. Better ? I think so

frand: I was thinking the skull was sitting with some support in the back. like this:

it was a bad choice since I dont show the support in my painting....

[Imphead]

another thing you may want to consider is putting in the faint fusion cracks where the skull has grown together. You can't see them in the ref you posted but there are a number of "cracks" that travel about in the eye socket, a couple that come up over the bridge of the nose and one major one that travels laterally across the cranium. Also in the eye socket is a small hole for the optic nerve.

Other than that it's a very nice rendering. I especially like your decision to put the skull off center in your second rendition. It creates a nice tension without destroying the composition.

Brian

[Frand]

Definitely improved! Good job. I agree about the fusion cracks, they would add a small necessary layer of realism.

One thing I didn't pay notice to earlier, but what caught my eye this time are the bone weldings on the sides of the skull. Perhaps they are a bit too pronounced?

I suppose that's more of a matter of opinion than constructive critique. Great image.

[Ian Jones]

ahh yes, an improvement.. I like the table now, and you altered the reflection of the skull in it.. loos a bit better for it too.

I'm afraid I can't help you much with the anatomy.

[ftgjcf]

thanks again. I could use some cracks yeah.. and some more texture too.. it is very smooth (like most of my work ?)
i added a pencil drawing of the same skull. I did it this morning to practise pencil shading

Edit: I added the cracks and some holes in the eyesocket. I also did some general cracks and dirt to the bones surface in PS. Hope I didnt add too much, it was hard to stop

thnx guys, this looks much better now I think

[ April 01, 2002: Message edited by: geelimp ]

[Ian Jones]

Wow! it has really stepped up a notch. great for your portfolio now...

[Radiater]

Hi geelimp,

That's a pretty impressive rendering of a skull. Instead of nitpicking, I've uploaded a 200kb scanfrom one of my reference textbooks. It has alot of the details identified that were missing from your own reference. Take from it what you want.

The reference is from:

Radiographic Skeletal Anatomy 2nd Ed. by Johnson and Kennedy.

Take it easy,