I decided to go with D, and I just launched into it. I'm hoping folks can tell me if things are pulling focus and interest. I"m worried there's too much texture in the tree, perhaps, and I need to do something a bit more substantial to the path he's standing on...
@aprilshin I decided to change the boy's facial expression a bit, and have him looking upward with a "sorta" grin... I think that was stronger than the "I'm lonely" vibe I think I was going for... Does that make things a bit clearer? Or at least less complicated?
@Asyas_illos yes, the image has more depth, and your seagulls are so cute! (The reason they got blurry is because of how Procreate works. You can move elements around but once you change their size in any way, they get blurry. When I'm working in Procreate, I either make all the changes to the composition at the rough sketch phase, which doesn't matter if it gets blurry cuz it's going to be drawn over anyway, or export it as a PSD and make changes to more finished elements in Photoshop, which allows you to resize without losing clarity, then if there's still more work to do I export it back to Procreate and keep working. LONG explanation! Anyway, that's the way I get around the blurriness issue.)
Adjusting the water did help, but it's still drawing the eye more than it should. It feels like it's trying to be a character but it's a background element. It's the only cool blue in your composition--all your other blues are warm blues. Even though aqua is your favorite color, does it belong in this particular illustration?
Water reflects the colors of whatever's around it -- your lovely sky is so soft, almost periwinkle and the water would reflect that in real life. Here are some examples:
Example 1
Example 2
Example 3
Why not try coloring the water again on a separate layer? That way it's easy to delete if you don't like the change.
Really loving this piece, Asya! Love how you rendered the sand with all those painterly strokes and subtle hues. And there's definitely some Beekle inspiration in the clouds, which are great! Looking forward to seeing it all done.
@Larue I'm glad you enjoyed the Book Breakdown! And I totally agree! Most readers won't ever dissect a book at the level we did last Thursday -- and they don't need to! But as picture book creators, spending the time to see they "why" and "how" a book works (or doesn't) is so worth it!
I think I’m calling it. Family coming into town for the weekend tomorrow. If I have time, I’d like to work on another idea.
Far from perfect, but it was fun and a growing experience. Going to just post it here right now in case I or anyone else sees something big I need to fix.
@Melissa-Bailey-0 thank you! I am still not sure about other faces. I started painting today. I will figure it out on the way... I am so inpatient that I decided to start painting before completing the draft in 100%...;-)
@davido Your comment about trying to work seamlessly between digital and analog is a point well taken. You’ve actually made me think how these apps can help with developing compositions and actually trying new techniques and looks to traditional artwork. The benefit of digital I think is that it gives the flexibility of trying new things that would be too time consuming or expensive to try in traditional media.
I have tried a lot of art apps for the ipad. The ones that I think are closer to traditional media are ArtRage, Artset Pro, Adobe Fresco. I haven’t tried Rebelle but I checked it out after you mentioned it. Looks promising.
I love your style! Personally my absolute favourite is Fishing Robot (both the subject and how well you pulled it off), and four others I think are top are... Girl and Tree, Space Slime, Jack and the Beanstalk, and Lovebirds. I think they're pretty varied, though I think it might be important to include some spot illustrations as well. I also really like the Monster Bake Off in that it is quite different!
Since my fairytale character made it in the final 16 in March, I thought I would let him get another go at it. Here is what I have so far. It’s done for the most part unless you see something egregious. What do you think?
