CGAN October 2015 The thing behind the door

The thing behind the door

Brief: It is All Hallows' Eve. All is quiet until a knock at the door breaks the still... ARGH! Halloween challenge, paint something Halloweeny.

Deadline: Saturday 31st of October, by midnight GMT (the witching hour no less oooo!).

This is where you posts your final entries. WIPs should be posted here: cgartnexus.com/index.php/forums/challeng...ehind-the-door#12483

Challenge rules and guidelines:
cgartnexus.com/index.php/forums/challeng...s/39-challenge-rules

Rules in brief:

• All challenge entries must be your own work.
• You should post at least two WIP images that are clearly different from your final entry and each other.
• Your final entry should contain your image (inserted so it shows up full size) and at least two links to your WIP posts on the forum.
• No chatter in the finals thread – if you have questions, post them in the WIP thread or PM an admin.
• Feedback is allowed & encouraged together with the voting and in the WIP thread.
• Deadline is given in UK time (midnight GMT) with a grace period of 5 minutes for getting the post sorted.
• Each member may cast one vote
• No cheating! Admins may decide to disqualify an entry that does not adhere to the above rules.

WINNER - DIGITAL DAVE

WIP 1
WIP 2
WIP 3

Trick or Treat: Monsters Inc. Style

Wip 1
WIP 2

Finished in time.

Good luck and happy halloween to all

One click - all WIPS

Happy Halloween guys

Wip 1

Wip 2

Wip 3

BOO!
Voting is open and will close on the 8th (probably)

K so I hope you all had a great Halloween (spent mine watching a series of the Walking Dead and Sinister with some good friends and a few drinks).

My vote this month goes to Dave for various reasons but mostly for the lighting from those two light sources, the wooden texture of the desk and that extremely cool pumpkin.

Loving the idea behind yours Cherry, as someone said in the Wip thread theres almost a reversal of roles to what we would normally expect from the brief, very smart.

Micro, I think the luminous brain is very successfully handled and theres a real real feeling of hummimg energy about the rest of the illumination here. The only thing that threw me in yours was the sense of scale suggested by the background - I expected the machine to be a lot larger - not that thats a particular criticism - just the way I was reading your wips.

Very cool work all, was a fun challenge!

(As a side note I produced mine not only for the challenge but also as an e-card for my wifes birthday on the 30th (the first time I have ever created a gift for her from my art) I was absolutely gutted when everyone else bought her stuff to do with Frozen!! - Typical)

Atto:
I love the low viewpoint in this image. If I hadn't been so slow in the Zodiac challenge and had a chance to take part then this is exactly the composition I'd go with. So I was pleased to see someone beat me to it and then do it so well.
All the characters are instantly recognisable and are a perfect choice for the trick or treat theme. The monsters with masks concept is a good idea although I do still think that Sully's head is a difficult shape for the tied mask effect. Perhaps having him also hold the mask in front of his face might have solved the issue. Even so, the gag still works especially with the design that you chose for the masks.
And as well as a good challenge pic it makes a perfect card too. Much, much, MUCH better than Frozen!

DigitalDave:
A classic Halloween character here presented in a situation that is both appropriate yet still ironic. The combination of the little creature, the high viewpoint looking down, the foreshortened, pointing hand and the extended perspective of the long table legs all makes a fun and clever construction that plays with our expectations of height and size. All the props set the scene and the lighting sets off a nice complementary colour scheme between foreground and background.
After checking out the picture again today, one thing I'd change (with hindsight) is the hand holding the book. The curve of the fingers is a little too smooth and some sharper angles and knobbly knuckles would make it a bit creepier.

CherryGraphics:
As has already been said, the reversal of the expected viewpoint is brilliant. Instead of revealing your creepy teddy bear you just suggest it, which makes it much more sinister, and by showing us the girl instead you create a greater empathy with the character. It's a very imaginative thing to do and is very cinematic. It shows how you always find the right story- the human story- in every theme and demonstrates that skill you have for work that is both artistic and illustrative.
And extra points for your last minute speed!

Microscopi:
I think this is the scariest of the entries. Halfway through the challenge I thought you were in danger of losing control of the picture but you did one of your famous change-ups and made another great decision. Namely, to give your robot monster the suggested shape of a human figure. This really helps us relate to the bio-mechanical horror of it all in an instinctive and visceral way and the glowing, holographic-style brain is a brilliant final addition to this. The perspective and lighting all worked out well in the end and I love all those slithery cables ready to trip and then trap anyone who misplaces a step. It looks just like the floor under my computer desk!

Schizo:
Terrific little colour sketch. Disturbing and brilliant. For some reason it makes me think of a spooky version of Reservoir Dogs. As if the man is tied to the chair, had his ear cut off and then BANG! He's suddenly some kind of burning pumpkin-headed horror ready to have his revenge. Now there's a film I want to see!

And now is it voting time?

Hmmm… All entries are worthy in one way or another but I'm gonna go for DigitalDave. This one matches the classic Halloween theme the best in my eyes, especially in the way it combines the creepiness of the character and the humour of the situation. Well Done.

At first: I had a lot of fun doing this in just 2 days - it's kind of challenging myself twice - in time AND painting.
Atto: I think you found the right way to paint the characters of Monster Inc the way they are - and in a personal way! Just think the background could be a bit more detailed...
micro: I hadn't have the time to read all of your statements for your picture - is it just me or does the maschine have a look like an animal, a face like a boar with big ears... I really like it!
But ...
my vote this month goes to Dave, too It's very halloweeny your picture I like the character a lot and yeah it reminds me too of Harry Potter (my mom said the same and she loves Harry Potter ) It would be just nice if the background could be a bit detailed. I know a background is always hard to do but now it's like he hangs around in a blue room of nothing.

Some very cool images for this one...

Cherry, glad you were able to get yours in. Sure it was more like a speed painting challenge as fast as you did it! Similarly, I think I did most of mine in the first few days of the challenge, and simply did minor stuff for the rest. Great image, and as mentioned by others, I really like that you gave us a POV that nobody was expecting. Very clever indeed.

Micro, I think yours came out pretty cool too, and I wasn't really sure where it would end up, with the many changes it went through during it's creation. I do agree that when you decided to go with the shelving, that you did loose the overall mass that it once had with the open area. Mainly since the shelving gives something to scale it to.

But my vote goes to Atto. Like others, I'm also a Monsters, Inc. fan, and liked this as soon as I saw it. I like the POV and I also think yours follows the brief quite well, in that I immediately think of Halloween when I look at it. I see them going door to door trick-or-treating, or simply spooking everyone who answers! Very cool, fun idea that was well done.