November 2018 - HAIR! - Final entries

Initial face sketch
Sketch with modified hand gesture
Colour with altered background Idea
Introduced faceted gems and stone toggles

I think this is as far as I can take this

Hmm, this is a tricky one for me to pick this month, hence the wait. I think one of the reasons for this is that with both finished pictures there's something in the wips that I prefer, in a rather arbitrary, subjective way. Perhaps that's a consequence of my own "finished" scribbles looking so unfinished these days.

With Charlotte's I really liked it when the only darks were in and around the hair. That concentration of value really pulled your eye into all that intricate detail and emphasized the hair in all its forms. Adding the darks on both sides of the figure seems to lessen that focus. Perhaps just putting in the dark shadow behind might have been a good compromise.
And with oaktree's, even though I like the way you darkened and cooled down the tones of the face to pull it away from the warmer glare behind, I feel you did eventually lose a little of the structure defining the nose and cheeks.

And so... which version(s) to judge and which one(s) to choose? It's quite the dilemma!
I think overall that Charlotte's has a technical advantage with the beautifully precise linework and amazing detail, and by showcasing that detail in the hair it does everything that you would want in depicting the subject of the brief. Also those little touches of colour are well chosen and well executed: subtle as to be barely noticable yet still enough to add a vibrancy and life to the character's gaze and hair.
On the other hand, oaktree's picture gives us a deeper narrative context with a clear story and manages to give us a double reference to the subject with the hairy dwarf considering and reflecting upon another lock of hair. Also the handling of the intense backlight and the warm glare it creates is very well done.

I still haven't picked, have I?
If a tie wasn't such a cop-out cheat then I probably would go for it, but if you're gonna force me to pick then... I'm just going to lean towards oaktree, not only because of the great colour, the light and the story, but also because of the progress made. I know with previous challenges you've sometimes felt intimidated by values and colour, even when you have great ideas, sketches and compositions, but this month I feel that you've really dived in at the deep end and confronted those issues and the works you've produced have been a satisfying step forward. And that's always worth a vote. So take it!

Also, honourable mentions go to Atto with that leaping dwarf and his entertainingly wobbly beer-belly (or should that be mead-belly? ) and to micro with his sketch of that surreal and sightly sinister fellow, and finally to that person who did that Gandalf sketch. Wait a minute- that was oaktree too!
Have that vote!

Two great images hard to decide definitely, Charlotte you're character sort of reminds me of the Dark Crystal gelfling I think was the name. So well polished, really did a great job there, makes the viewer want to look at all the other details. You have a lot of great detail with the clothing and especially the hair, I think the straight hair amost looks better then the braids, it looks pretty natural. I like how you decided to make it greyscale and have his eyes pop out, it's a cool effect. The charcoil shading is a nice touch to finish it off. Very Cool!

The lighting really turned out great with yours Oak, I think it really brings a lot more focus to the crystal, the light on his face is more accurate as the glow wouldn't be that strong from the distance to the glow. The background light brings secondary focal point to his face and the warm color offsets the cold lighting of the crystal. Definitely did a great job there! Although the character is definitely the best part, sort of reminds me of an old school D&D dwarf. Awesome job! I'd disclose my vote if no russians were watching.