[Capt. Fred]

Not exactly 'finished work' but as far as I go. Need to work on that.
And my attempts at using texture must be the most fruitless in history. I might just give it a miss in the future. there are bigger things to deal with beforehand, at least.

Opinions and advice appreciated.

early:

[balistic]

It's looking nice so far dude. I think one thing that's hurting it though, is the mid-ground vegitation. You don't need to do fully fleshed-out trees, but maybe you could clean up the silhouettes and get some actual leaf shapes in there, instead of the simple circular dabs.
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brian.prince|light.comp.paint

[Matthew]

Capt.Fred superb work this, both this one and the speedy version.

I know u like advice so there was one thing I was thinking about. Maybe the character standing in the front could have some light spots on him at some random places since foliage has gaps and light comes through there, it could help but could also makes things worse, just a thought.

othwerwise very good and keep it up like this.
Matthew

[Capt. Fred]

woah, that was quick!

ballistic, thanks. your right. it's easy enough to suggest a figure because brains are eager to see them I suppose, but leaves.. I really wouldn't know where to start when it comes to defining the edge of a tree branches and leaves. Will pay more attention next tree I walk past :-)

matthew, yeah I tried dappled light spots on him at one point but.. Not really sure how far it could go, since the light's coming from almost behind him, so he's mostly gonna be in shade anyway. And also I was trying to keep something which was working really early on, where it felt convincing that he was standing in the shadow of the foliage. I lost that at some point.

Coming back to this image, I see how much I hate the 'texture'. It really looks naff. And the guy in the foreground, I managed to obliterate whatever good qualities he once had, somewhere along the way. Looks stiff as board and stuck on.

I don't think I'll take this one much further, or any further. I usually create something that works for me very early on, by happy accident - a figure posed well or some light or spacial thing which is feeling real. And then, sort of 'by obligation', I try and take it further and I just run it into the ground.

i think in a couple days or later I might do a quick (but thoughtful) paint over of this pic for myself, and try and learn something from it.

[Mimer]

This is one of your better imho.
But I think the composition stops this piece from beeing what it could be... If you where to remove the guy standing infront of the camera the comp would work mush better imo... I have seen this kind of comps in your other pictures aswell and that is one thing i think you could work a bit more on....
dont get me wrong... this is indeed a very good pice!! I am looking forward to your next painting!

[wasssup]

I really like the temple in distance capt.fred! however I have to agree with Mimer on the composition issue, it kinda deprives the painting of some quality imho. And I think the tow guys lack some sorta communication to tell the story better...just my tow cents, the painting is very nice indee

[Simoom]

is that a temple? kinda looks like the white house or the US senate building or some other american government building, to me at least. i actually like how the trees look right now, but i tihnk the foreground's ground needs a little bit more development.

[Capt. Fred]

mimer, your comment on the composition is a big a help. Sounds funny, but I don't think I've ever thought about composition before! Never have considered it! (not consciously anyhow.) That's something I need to throw into the mix and play with in the future.

wasssup, i like the idea of some interaction between the characters. I've got plenty of lemons standing around in my past pics, all of which would benefit from looking like they're alive and thinking. thanks :)

Simoom, it's not a good thing but i really didn't care about the role of the building as senate building or temple or anything. I just got the urge for a big, dome roof, columned building against the white sky. I don't really intend to develop this, more like take it apart and fix the foundations.

I'll do a paint over after my next two exams. pure maths and mechanics, yuck!

[Summer Pudding]

nice work Fred

no time for crits

c ya

Pud'