@Gary-Wilkinson thank you for the quick response! I was worried that would be the case. Any tips on how I could un-trap her and make her look more like a reflection? I had considered making Ellie kind peeking over the top of the camera and her finger hovering over the button?
Hi @ambiirae :). Nice idea. Seeing Ellie would definitly help. As for un-trapping the fairy, maybe it'll help if you draw the mecanisme inside the camera and make your lines for the fairy whiter and apply a little distortion on the silhouette of the fairy?
Just some leads that i would explore if i were courageous enough to draw lens reflection :).
@Gaelle-Grizzly great idea! Lol yeah i could have considered the fast that I've never done a reflection before but ive never worked digitally before either so i guess the two decided to bundle up 
thank you!
I agree that adding Ellie (or her head behind the camera) and some lens distortion would help. You might also put just a little of the fairy's back in the foreground -- a wing or something -- so that you get an idea of what the lens is reflecting. I really like your idea of making the reflection in the camera the focal point; it's a unique take on the prompt.
Laurie DeMott
instagram.com/demotlj
@demotlj @Gary-Wilkinson @Gaelle-Grizzly so I played with the camera location and distortion of the fairy in the lens. Ellie is just roughed in at this point to see if I am getting closer? What do you guys think?
I think that's a much more interesting picture. I'm looking forward to seeing you develop it.
I love Ellie's face 
. Your lens reflection is way more understandable . Nice job.
@demotlj @Gaelle-Grizzly @Gary-Wilkinson okay guys this is where I am at and definitely feeling the struggle I do like is better but I feel stuck also like there’s too much negative space and I can’t figure out for the life of me how to get s smooth blend working digitally. Any suggestions.
@ambiirae I think your issue with the negative space is that your prime focal point has nothing there. Everything is pointing towards that lower right portion of the painting but your subject is out of the frame.
I think the main issue however is still in the concept and viewpoint. Consider, what does the painting make you think or feel and what story does it tell? Also is the concept instantly readable from a large distance? Try work these out very early in the thumbnail sketching phase and try to explore as much as you can.
just a though, but your character looks very bubbly and enthusiastic and I could imagine her all suited up with fairy tracking and picture taking equipment searching or running after the fairy.
@Gary-Wilkinson all great points. Thank you for the feed back! 
I'm going to take some time to step back to stage one and do some thumb nails and see where I can go. Once I get a few down ill come back and see what every one thinks.
Okay so after going back through and doing some more thumbnails I think I’ve narrowed it down to two ideas. What do you guys think? Any better concept wise? Still very sketchy at the moment but I feel that perhaps they hold up a little better on the story telling side
Although now looking at it there is a tangent between her head and the house which would need to be fixed 
@ambiirae I think the first idea of the girl trying to take many photos while the fairy is escaping is a very promising one. Don't worry so much about things like tangents at this stage. When you are happy with the concept you can further explore it wit thumbnails. But great improvements
Well after an hour of working on character design I have a head I am so bad with character design this has been really though for me. Also I had to look up a ton of reference just to figure out the way to make the mouth less creepy was to add a tongue 
You've got a sweet gleeful-about-taking-the-photo head at the end of it though! I too need to focus in on character design so I feel your struggle. For what it is worth, I also liked your original piece, though I can see how this might end up being more dynamic.
@mamadraw thank you 
I’m looking at this one as a way to push my comfort zone a bit and work on learning new things. Now hopefully I can get it done on time
Welp this is all the farther I’m gunna make it tonight spent a few hours messing with posing and proportions and played with some values. Lots more work to go but figured I’d post a progress update and see if anyone could give me some feed back on the pose. Thank you all again very great full for the help @demotlj @Gaelle-Grizzly @Gary-Wilkinson @mamadraw
@ambiirae good luck! Look forward to seeing the finished piece!
Does this pose feel any better? I’m having a hard time making the legs and arms feel right.
Progress update! Decided in the idea of inking I would try to make it more sketchy as I would IRL with my paper and pen drawings. Currently working of the fairy then combing back in to add background details and misc.
I agree with the negative space comment. Maybe you can make some little inky footprints winding past the lens and leading the eye off the canvas where the fairy wings are visible. I would also make the reflection of the fairy in the lens a bit more clear as it takes just a tad too much work to see it right now.
@demotlj @Gaelle-Grizzly @Gary-Wilkinson okay guys this is where I am at and definitely feeling the struggle I do like is better but I feel stuck also like there’s too much negative space and I can’t figure out for the life of me how to get s smooth blend working digitally. Any suggestions.
