Ultra last second contest entry feedback more appreciated.

braden H

I had about 4 hours or so today and nothing else to do, so I tried to hammer out a contest entry! I'm gonna go to the gym, and then I'll have about 30 minutes to make small changes. Does anyone see anything quick and easy to alter to make it pop a little more?

Coreyartus

Wow. I'm just amazed how you can crank out this stuff, Braden... Lovely! The only thing that I might suggest is to create a bit more shadow on the fish or water reflection or something? The shadow on the body of the dragonfly suggests an intensity of light that might be carried through under the water... Just a little observation, but of course it's up to you. The image is really strong just as it is! Nice!!!!

K.Flagg

Your so fast! I would say maybe a little daylight shining into the water?

Coley

I suggest you don't enter so we have less competition joking aside, I can't believe you can pull this off in an afternoon! It's really fun, unexpected and dynamic. I love it

jsnzart

@Braden-Hallett Nice one! Good idea Braden.
Maybe some more colour in the bottom right, the closest fishy.
Good luck with your timing!

StudioLooong

I love it, I'd suggest making the water a tiny bit more blue or the darker trees a tiny bit more green. Right now they are reading as the same color to me and it was a little bit confusing. I didn't get that the fish were in water right away.

Gary Wilkinson

@Braden-Hallett Love the flow and composition but a few thoughts on what I don't feel work as well:

The wings of the dragonfly lure feel a little off as they are the only area without an outline.

Perhaps some atmospheric perspective or some more elements in the midground might create more definition between each area.

The 3 fish in the foreground all feel on the same plane however their sizes are vastly differently which made me feel like the main fish is a giant on which the boat is riding on (the fishing line does a great job of showing this isn't the case but perhaps it could be made even more obvious on first glance)

jsnzart

Yeah, I'm agreeing with Taylor and Gary.

So, how about adding outline to the dragonfly wings and maybe pointing them(directing our eye) to the boat!?

Use colour on the fishies to add depth!?

You could add more highlights on the water in that dark corner.

burvantill

@Braden-Hallett Super cool!

braden H

Awesooooooome! Thank you so much everyone. I had a few minutes after the gym so I did a few of the easiest-to-do fixes. I'm thinking of redoing this for my portfolio at which point I'll be sure to use all your suggestions

hakepe

Great work and suggestions here already. Maybe you could ad a speck of red (same color as the lure) in the fishers on the back ground, this would help to move the eye and make the point clearer.

Nyrryl Cadiz

@Braden-Hallett hi! I hope I’m not too late but perhaps you can add more colors to the fish and water. This is just based on my taste so feel free to disregard. But I think your will improve if you use various blues and greens for the water and warm colors for the fish like oranges and reds. However, I do think your piece looks amazing as is.

braden H

@Nyrryl-Cadiz Sadly I had to post and head to snoozy town. But I'llbe redoing it for portfolio fodder since I like the idea

chrisaakins

@Braden-Hallett I agree with @Coley . Looks good. I hope to not have to face off with you again. or @Gary-Wilkinson . Or any of the others. Heck I would just like to make it past round two at some point.

I know you have posted already but it looks like you have two different color schemes going on and the effect is unsettling. You might want to bring some unity with some colors both in and out of the water. Also the line kinda forms a tangent with the the highlights on the trees. That may have been intentional to create movement but it’s what my eye saw.

Btw I LOVE the wonky fisheye effect with ...FISH! Haha! (somehow in my mind that started playing in Lilo’s voice: “ and do you know what Tuna is??? IT’S FISH!!!!”)

braden H

@chrisaakins said in Ultra last second contest entry feedback more appreciated.:

and do you know what Tuna is??? IT’S FISH!!!!

CANNIBALISM!!!

thanks for the feedback I'll keep it in mind when I revisit the piece!