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    Circus WIP

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    • Steve Young
      Steve Young last edited by

      I guess a little of both wont hurt 🙂

      Never give up, always push yourself two steps further than you believe you can go.

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      • Rob Smith
        Rob Smith last edited by

        This image made me laugh! Nice job. I like the limit palette. Suggestion: maybe you could scale the audience a little smaller which would increase the sense of height and danger.

        Maile McCarthy 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
        • Samuel Nunez
          Samuel Nunez last edited by

          I thought this was the finished piece but then I saw your comment that you haven't painted it yet. I really like the monochrome color palette. Reminds me of 60-70's illustration.

          One thing you could try doing is having some fun with the type. Your composition uses a nice repetitive circular motif and it would be interesting if you had the type follow lines of the tent and stands.
          stop_type.png

          www.instagram.com/samuelnunezart

          www.samuelnunez.com

          Maile McCarthy 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
          • Maile McCarthy
            Maile McCarthy @Samuel Nunez last edited by

            @Samuel-Nunez I love that idea with the type. Thank you. I'll definitely go with that.

            I'm so glad I put this up before I colored it since I'm getting so much feedback that people like it as is. I think I'll do a colored version and them put them up for side-by-side comparison. I'm very curious to find out the result.

            Twitter @MaileMcCarthy
            www.mailemccarthyillustration.com

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            • Maile McCarthy
              Maile McCarthy @Rob Smith last edited by

              @Rob-Smith Thanks for the suggestion. I agree-- I think I'll scale them back and have more of them and see how that looks.

              Twitter @MaileMcCarthy
              www.mailemccarthyillustration.com

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              • Leontine
                Leontine last edited by

                love the composition and the fun characters! cant wait to see you coloring!

                Leontine
                "A picture is worth a thousand words."

                https://leontineillustrator.com
                https://www.instagram.com/leontine.illustrator/
                http://www.facebook.com/leontineillustration

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                • Spencer Hale
                  Spencer Hale last edited by

                  awesome concept! I would suggest, arching the giraffe's back and neck more so i flows with the curve of the the tower, really emphasize the curve of everything. i did a draw over of the gesture line that might help.
                  curve.jpg
                  Those mice holding up the giraffe rock!

                  spencerhalefire.tumblr.com | instagram.com/spencerhalefire | twitter.com/spencerhale

                  Maile McCarthy 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                  • Naroth Kean
                    Naroth Kean last edited by

                    I totally love this idea, it is so much fun to look at. Your characters are very quirky and that makes them so cool.

                    http://narothkean.com
                    https://twitter.com/narothkean
                    https://www.instagram.com/narothkean

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                    • Lynn Larson
                      Lynn Larson SVS OG last edited by

                      This is one of those pieces that makes me grin every time i look at it! I would suggest putting a bench under the people for the audience? Or maybe a short wall in front of them? I thought they were waiting in line to climb up! That would be cool too, showing a line of people and critters waiting hehe.

                      https://instagram.com/lynnlarsonart/
                      https://twitter.com/lynnlarsonart

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                      • Vicky Vicky
                        Vicky Vicky last edited by

                        That is great! Only thing I would say is the giraffe is maybe a bit too rounded in body and the neck would be more tapered, and I am not sure what the shape coming off the cheek is. Love the image! Fun!

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                        • Maile McCarthy
                          Maile McCarthy @Spencer Hale last edited by

                          Hi everyone. Thanks for all the feedback. I played around with color, and it only seemed to make it worse. So I guess this will be the finished style after all.

                          upload-43b8a2bb-3403-4def-801d-2a8422a68fb0

                          @Lynn-Larson and others. How does this read to you now, especially the audience? I spent a couple of hours yesterday drawing in all the detail of the audience as well as more circus people in the ring, and it was just too much.

                          @Spencer-Hale Your gesture line really helped. I think it flows much better now.

                          @Vicky-Vicky Thank you! I reworked the giraffe a bunch, though I didn't change the face. I think the confusing shape you're talking about is the ear. Is it any clearer now, with the neck changed and spots added?

                          Twitter @MaileMcCarthy
                          www.mailemccarthyillustration.com

                          Rich Green 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
                          • Lynn Larson
                            Lynn Larson SVS OG last edited by

                            Oooh! Flows so much better now! the audience definitely reads spectators now, and that change in the curve of the giraffe's neck really eases the eye along! I think the color is great, and the mice still make me laugh! Excellent job!

                            https://instagram.com/lynnlarsonart/
                            https://twitter.com/lynnlarsonart

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                            • Rich Green
                              Rich Green SVS OG @Maile McCarthy last edited by

                              @Maile-McCarthy this update is absolutely fantastic. I love the minimal markings for the audience. It reads perfectly without distracting the eye from the towering attraction. And it also really adds to the just how far up they are towering too. Love it!!!

                              www.richgreenart.com instagram.com/richgreenart/

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                              • Vicky Vicky
                                Vicky Vicky last edited by

                                Hi Maile,

                                Great revision. The giraffe looks a lot better and that curve really makes for a nice composition for the whole piece. To me, the ear still doesn't really have the shape of a giraffe's ear, those curvy lines wouldn't be there. I would just make it simpler and maybe make the little "antennae" thicker to be more giraffe-like. Not a big issue.

                                Maile McCarthy 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                • Naroth Kean
                                  Naroth Kean last edited by

                                  Good luck! it has turned out very lovely. So much fun, I love those characters and their swag haha.

                                  http://narothkean.com
                                  https://twitter.com/narothkean
                                  https://www.instagram.com/narothkean

                                  Maile McCarthy 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                  • J
                                    Jeszika Lee last edited by

                                    just peeked in on this thread - and the improvements you made are fantastic! You really refined this and brought it all together so well! And I am glad you stuck with this color scheme - it has a great design quality to it!

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                                    • Maile McCarthy
                                      Maile McCarthy @Vicky Vicky last edited by

                                      @Vicky-Vicky said:

                                      Hi Maile,

                                      Great revision. The giraffe looks a lot better and that curve really makes for a nice composition for the whole piece. To me, the ear still doesn't really have the shape of a giraffe's ear, those curvy lines wouldn't be there. I would just make it simpler and maybe make the little "antennae" thicker to be more giraffe-like. Not a big issue.

                                      Thanks Vicky. This kind of feedback is really helpful to me. It's a good reminder of how important it is to understand the anatomically correct way of drawing something before making an abstract departure. I didn't do that here, and I guess it shows!

                                      Twitter @MaileMcCarthy
                                      www.mailemccarthyillustration.com

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                                      • Maile McCarthy
                                        Maile McCarthy @Naroth Kean last edited by

                                        @Naroth-Cow said:

                                        Good luck! it has turned out very lovely. So much fun, I love those characters and their swag haha.

                                        Thank you 🙂

                                        Twitter @MaileMcCarthy
                                        www.mailemccarthyillustration.com

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                                        • Lee White
                                          Lee White SVS Team SVS Instructor Pro SVS OG last edited by

                                          Really nice! Love your color and design.

                                          Only thing off for me is the character design of the giraffe. SInce he's gonna be a main focus, he needs to be perfect. IT's mainly his chin and ears that need work. The way they are now give him a sort of "dragon" look. I'd make the chin smaller/thinnner and look at some reference to do a stylized ear that is correct.

                                          Great piece. I'd like to see more from this story. ; )

                                          SVS Faculty Instructor
                                          www.leewhiteillustration.com

                                          Maile McCarthy 2 Replies Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                          • Maile McCarthy
                                            Maile McCarthy @Lee White last edited by

                                            @Lee-White Thanks Lee (and everyone). It's so helpful to have fresh eyes on my work.

                                            Off to study giraffes...

                                            Twitter @MaileMcCarthy
                                            www.mailemccarthyillustration.com

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