Well this is a tough one! So many good pictures and not enough points to give out. I think every single picture, even the unfinished ones, has at least one thing that I would like to have in my paintings. But the rules say that decisions must be made so here are my reluctant votes:
1:Schizo
2:CherryGraphics
3:Domtopia
And in no particular order I'll say...
Mindbender: The thick impasto paint style really suits this image and gives it a real sense of the depth and texture of the snow. I also like the crystalline shapes of the building and the growths around it reaching into the sky. When I first saw the progression of this image it reminded me of something and gradually the memory came to me of the old Superman movies when Christopher Reeve goes off to what I believe is called The Fortress Of Solitude (or something like that); Superman's secret arctic base where all the structures are big icy crystals isolating him from the any dangers in the outside world. You've really captured that kind of remote isolation and distance. Nicely Done.
Domtopia: The icemen really nail this image for me. When I saw the first sketch I thought, that'll be tricky, and I was subsequently impressed at the amazing complexity you acheived there. Not only do I not know how to draw and paint that, I don't even know how to initially imagine and visualise all those edges and the shading that suggest solidity and transparency at the same time. I was a little unsure about Elsa's prominence and whether there should be more contrast there but I do see how her power is emphasized by having her at the centre of that bold X shape that extends throughout the picture. And the fact that I've spent so much time arguing both sides of this with myself shows that your decision was just as valid as any other. Also I like the way that that you faced the issues that the picture presented to you and always strove to find the correct solution.
(And on another note thank you for the hair advice. If I could offer extra points for the way you successfully painted my picture better than me then I would.)
Schizo: Brilliant! I dread to think how good it would have been if you'd had the time you wanted. You always seem to have an intuitive grasp of anatomy no matter what the figure or the pose. I'm very envious at the apparent ease with which you do this (even though I know it's not really easy, it just seems that way to people who watch the progress.) The ice shard wings are inspired and perfectly rendered, there is no way that they could be better, and the image as a whole is just so very cold. I shiver every time I look at it. Well Done.
Kodabble: Great idea, great design and a great character. The drawing was really well done and as the colour and detail were gradually applied this became one of my favourites. The one thing that knocked it back a little at the end was the skin tone, it looks a little too much like a colour layer over greyscale (more about this later.) I noticed that you came to the challenge quite late so I expect that may have had an effect on how much time you had to layer the skin and as such it doesn't quite match the quality of the snowflake and the wings. But what quality there is in those two things! The way the wings join the body is difficult to do yet completely believable in your image and their intricate structure is beautifully defined with well-rendered light. The snowflake is exactly what you want a snowflake to be and again a big thank you for your demonstration. It was helpful to me in both technique and as an inspiration.
microscopi: Another epic textured image from you. The gate is an imposing edifice and yet still offers some hope for the viewer with the colours peeping from behind it. The contrast in scale works well too and the little figure and the dogs are suprisingly effective for something so small. I've zoomed in and they're only a few pixels high and yet still recognizable! The one critique I have is that you seem to have lost the depth of the earlier wips, the watery blue areas are really vibrant but don't quite have the diagonal, zigzag kind of path to lead you to the distant gate. But even so it's still a fine image.
Cherry: I wanted someone to do a dragon and boy, did you do a dragon. I said in the wips thread that the warm colour inside a cold colour was so clever and so brilliantly done, and not only that but was done with such frosty texture! Initially I had the same thought as Dom about the kids, they don't look quite scared enough, they look as though they're just playing. But then I thought, maybe they are playing. Maybe the dragon is just an ice sculpture and the kids are pretending to run away. Maybe the sculpture is coming to life without them knowing and turning into a real dragon. Maybe.... And that's what I like about your pictures Cherry, it doesn't matter if the style is to my taste, or if the subject matter is to my taste, the images always provoke stories and possibilities in my mind.
Thomgirl: Sorry you didn't make it. Clearly the child had a say in that and that's much more important than the picture, even though I like the picture and hope it might get finished one day. I always love your crisp line work, it's really striking and always backed up by the colouring and with this picture you were managing to combine bold abstract shapes on a large scale with the convincing drawing on the small scale. Do keep at it when the kid permits.
oaktree: Damn those deadlines! In the wip thread I was quick and eager to agree with Cherry when she said that this looked like a frame from a film. And it does. Really cinematic with a fine dramatic composition of the huntsman's face leaning and looming towards us. The sparse gradients of the background force your focus onto the man but the trees (wonderfully done with great efficiency; simple detail and yet I know exactly what kind of trees they are!) still give us a context to his environment which then link conceptually to the axe. Great Stuff! The little badge is symbolic and now nicely toned down and I like the furry texture of his hat. The expression is good too, nicely contemplative, and the highlights give a nice life to his eyes. The one area that could do with a tweak is the skin tone. There still seems to be a yellow cast to it and, a bit like Kodabble's, it gives the clear impression of a colour layer over greyscale.
And writing that twice in one post made me think. I know this has been heavily discussed before in the
Nexus Colouring Book
thread but forgive my little ramble... Colouring greyscale is a good way to get your values in early but it is a really difficult way to do skin. I know it is possible to do and Henning Ludvigsen has some good
tutorials
and
videos
on how he does it. But it takes such layering to get it right that I can't help but feel that even if you can get it right then you're doing it the hard way.
As I discussed in that other thread I used to do this all the time until I got too frustrated at a) Having to paint the picture twice, once in grey and then in colour and b) the struggle to stop the skin colours going muddy and dark. So I made a conscious effort to move away from this method, especially with skin. After studying a Marta Dahlig tutorial (doesn't seem to exist online any more
) I used her colours to make myself a series of default skin swatches to use. These ones in fact:
This improved things a bit but I still found it a bit of a struggle to know which colours to use where and when. Then I found a couple of tutorials by Serge Birault,
here
and
here
.
Even though it's not specifically for skin (and caricature pin-ups may not be everyone's cup of tea) I found the first one of these really helpful in understanding the brightness and saturation of the colours needed and specifically the way he uses a skin colour as a base for the whole canvas and then pulls lights and shadows out of this base. After studying this for a while I used what I'd learnt to make my own default swatches for pale skin (dark skin is another matter entirely, much to my annoyance and dismay) and arranged them in gradients like this:
Of course the downside of using a default set of swatches is that all your pictures have the same skin colours so it's a good idea to bypass this by using the Colour Balance adjustment or the Photo Filter tool to modify the light and shadow colour when you have the facial form painted and then ditch the swatches and eyedrop off the image for the rest of the painting.
And for quite a long time this was the way I used to do all my figures and portraits. It isn't now though. About six months ago I started to try a new method involving choosing colours based on the comparison of Cooler/Warmer and Brighter/Darker rather than just saying "Now I want a Red!". I'm still learning this and failing frequently but if anyone's interested this
video
explains the method. However I still think that the default skin swatches idea acted as a great stepping stone to wean me off the greyscale method and onto better things.
And now I should probably apologise. Sorry! The mods are probably on the verge of a fit while exclaiming, "The Finals thread is not for discussion!!" But after mentioning the greyscale thing twice it got me thinking about this and here seemed a good place to shove it. And "Shove it!!" is probably the correct response to that. So sorry again. (And I dread to think how many typos are in this! EDIT: Two so far. EDIT AGAIN: Make that three. Keep counting!)