CGAN Jan 2016 - New Dawn

Chip and Chap and the new dawn of nature. (let the sun shine... ! )

Good luck to everyone

EDIT: Oh wait... I totally forgot my WIPs.
WIP 1 - the sketch (a really clean one this time)
WIP 2 - let's name them Chip&Chap
WIP 3 - nuts and nuts and light and green and light - and NUTS!

(Surviving 'till the) New Dawn

Good luck y'all, great turn out this month in terms of numbers and quality.

Wip 1
Wip 2

That's a nice android you've got there. Shame it's obsolete now.

1: The Idea.
2: The Machinery.

And now with the background.



Typing up two pages of made-up, nonsensical computer code for the background was just as boring as it sounds and trying to draw circuit patterns wasn't much better. (I do struggle with graphic design elements, it's so time consuming.) I did try one final gimmick of putting in a glowing ring of light to make it look like that classic scene from Metropolis but it ruined the "advert" look and obscured some of the text so it had to go.

Good Luck Everyone!

Sort of went with a photo quality inspiration to finish this one, it was driving me crazy. Good luck guys!
(oh btw it's a cross between a giant dog, a huge bear and a bunny rabbit)

wip 1

wip 2

wip 3

CherryGraphics:
This is a classic Cherry picture. The open perspective gives it that welcoming storybook style that invites us into their world and once again you've created characters who feel that they exist away from the picture.
There's a good variety of different textures in this pic, from the smooth, solid wood, the ridged, bumpy acorn, the twisting vines and leaves and the soft fluffy squirrels (with extra fluffy tails!)
My favourite part of the painting is right in the centre where the warm sun blooms through the window and light falls off across the face of the sleeping squirrel. It's a really well controlled piece of painting and expresses everything that the picture needs. Also it draws your eye to the expression on the face which gives the character so much personality despite the dormant pose. It's amazing how you can get such life into a sleeping face. Well Done!

Atto:
I always like these tilted compositions, partly because I never have the imagination to think of doing them! I remember Micro doing one in the Sorcerer's Apprentice challenge back in the day and I liked that one too! Here the angle of the horizon works brilliantly with the zigzagging pose of the the burning vampire. There are some excellent dynamic shapes down there that help move your gaze around while also showing the twisted agony.
The low viewpoint also emphasizes the relationship between the characters by showing the woman's dominance as she looms over the vampire and over us, looking down with a kind of imperious aloofness. She's certainly not someone to mess with!
I think a few more visible bricks in the wall would improve the density of detail in the light areas but the fall off into the shaded area is nice and suggestive, and I like those wooden planks leaning in the shadows.
I think you did a good job fixing the issues that you were faced with and produced an image that's coherent technically as well as thematically with that flash of the fangs and the cross shaped window.

Microscopi:
You just have way too many ideas. You should just keep one for yourself and sell the rest to all the poor saps who have no imagination. And as I'm one of those poor saps, this month I'd be buying that one of the starlight monkeys. I still think that was the best one and I was a bit sad that you did another late switcheroo for your final. But I know you like those epic style pics of the hero closing in on his goal. I like the way the light of dawn is implied by the shadow under the beast that angles down with a colour that complements the golden glow. And the way the helmet worn by the hero mirrors the fluffy ears of his ride is great fun!
The landscape has a nice balance to it and all those trees around the lake remind me of those old Bob Ross paintings. And the reflections look lovely too. But I still think you should have stayed with the monkeys!

Quetzal:
Terrific idea. The best idea of the bunch I think and one of those things that just sparks your imagination and set your mind running. Who built this amazing castle-ship? Who is inside and where are they sailing to? What adventures are they going to have? I really want to know! Really!
You've got the idea, you back it up with a top-quality drawing and then the deadline comes and messes everything up! I hate it when that happens.
With such a detailed drawing there are so many ways to finish it off (perhaps too many!) You could let the line do the work and colour it with a subtle "ink and wash" watercolour style, perhaps with a sepia tone for an illustration look. At the other extreme you can go for a full detailed, high value, colour render like a dramatic piece of concept art. Perhaps with the time falling away you ended up falling between those two options but that's no bad thing. And nothing can take anything away from the brilliance of the concept.

Voting time is it? Hmmm. Never stops being tough but….
I think I'm just gonna go for Cherry. Just. The picture captures the entire essence of the title best and does so without the need for any explanation (unlike mine with all its tedious text!) and the expession on the face of the sleeping squirrel appeals to me in a completely charming way. I know just how he feels and I can relate to that lazy contentedness. Have my vote while I go back to sleep.

Oh I hate it when Val gives feedback first - he is always so succinct and insightful that I feel I'm just reiterating his points in a much more clumsy way......still here goes:

Micro, your environments always have such a lovely depth to them, the way you handle atmospheric haze here and the loss of focus is really believable. The reflections are really well handled too and the shadow of the mountain cutting across the water on the right side really helps sell the lighting effect of dawn.

Val, if you struggled with the graphic design of this one then it doesn't show, the text is well laid out and informative without drawing the attention away from the main focus of the image. As always the rendering of Dawn is very well handled and solid especially on her neck and chest where the highlights/reflections and all the mechanics of her workings are extremely nicely done. As I said in the wip thread the sunburst above her head is my favourite part of this though. Leaving her exposed 'brain' showing so you could render it to double up as planet earth and then having new dawn breaking behind it is one of those ideas that I would have never thought of but now I've seen it I realize it couldn't have been expressed better in any other way.

Cherry, Normally this style of image is not my cup of tea (not since I was a lot younger anyhow). As I mentioned in the wip thread I always enjoy the feeling of story telling you weave into your images but I'm just not a cute fluffy animal kind of guy (call me insensitive, macho etc if you like, it's just not me.) I say this not as a criticism but to illustrate just how much I love this picture. Now, I've stared at it and stared at it and I just cant put my finger on why I like it so much. Sure, the squirrels are very well rendered, theres a real charm to their expressions, the environment is quirky and appropriate and the light streaming in through the window is beautiful but there is some undefinable quality to it that just warms my heart.
And thats why this month you get my vote.

(For some reason I now feel the sudden urge to drink a bottle of Lambrusco and watch Bridget Jones )

Quetzal Such a promising start, such a great idea, such a shame you didn't get to finish - hopefully we'll see you back next month.

Wow, difficult vote!
Cherry: The image is very happy, tell a story and was well finished. If anything I would have liked a little more shadow behind the tail of the left squirrel to help punch out the ray of light entering through the hole. Now that I think about it, It is an unclear point, because keeping it as it is holds all the image in the same cheerful light...
Atto: I really like the dynamic camera angle and the light, as well as the girl expression. I think maybe adding a bit of floor texture hint, like the wall texture, would help land the vampire to the foreground.
Valence: I like the android design, specially the tear like lines. I also like that the image tells a story by being an ad, so it hints at a bigger picture.
Micro: Always hats off to anyone that takes on a landscape, and in this case It also takes mi vote, because of the dog-bunny-bear. It just moves me, with a very serious looking armor clad rider.

I'm unsure if I do get the right to vote as I did not make the deadline, but will keep working on my castle ship and posting updates on my thread for 2016 paintings. I thank all the comments and encouragement, and I will welcome any new ones!

Oh wow... I didn't expected such nice words ! It's always great to here a compliment about a painting but to read that Atto loves my squirrels even he isn't that cute-candy-type of man ... So let's watch Bridget Jones together

Atto - I like the angle in this piece a lot because it's something different. the woman with the gun and the vampire are great characters. I adore her striped legwarmers, it's so beetlejuice!
There could have been some more texture in the background, something to fill the colors but this is just my personal thought. And I think some more room between the paper edge and the head of the woman could be nice. But I like the effect of the burning flesh and the cold atmosphere a lot.

Val - excellent work as always. Very well rendered mechanical plates and strands! And the dawn light on its head is an amazing color splash. It really looks like an advert or even a business card. "Hello. I'm the New Dawn 2.0 - wanna see my features?"

micro - I always enjoy your changing ideas and paintings. So much ideas about one single topic. If there wouldn't be the time which runs and runs and runs, mh? ^^ the environment is great, the reflection on the sea is very very nice drawn. I can really feel the emotion of the warrior seeing the sword in the sea. finally.
One thought: the neck of the dog-bear-bunny-animal is a bit too ... I don't know... long for this perspective I think. Could be a bit shorter and little bit more higher. :9


So my vote this time goes to .... drrrrrr...... drum-roll!
...Atto! Maybe just because of her legwarmers.