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    "Cat!" composition, your opinion?

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    • Joy Heyer
      Joy Heyer last edited by

      I love your mr. and mrs. mouse! I'm glad you are doing another illustration with them. I like the composition. I see the mice first and then my eye is led to the cat. They are roughly all the same size, however. Try pushing their sizes to see what happens. Can't wait to see more!

      Twitter: @Joy_Illustrated
      Instagram: joy_illustrated
      Website: joyheyer.com

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      • Russ Van Dine
        Russ Van Dine last edited by

        Mr mouse can be closer int he frame, much larger. I can't wait to see the house!

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        • evilrobot
          evilrobot SVS OG last edited by evilrobot

          I think it's a good triangle composition. You might consider cropping it in just a little. I'd make sure something in the illustration is pointing our eyes towards the cat. When I looked at it I saw the front mouse first, then went over to the front door and the tree, I didn't see the cat until very last. Maybe that's how you want it to read though or it's just because it's still in the rough stage. Can't wait to see this, the other one turned out excellent.

          http://www.palacioillustration.com/

          https://www.scbwi.org/illustrator-gallery/illustrator-detail/?illustrator_id=84142

          https://www.pinterest.com/evilrobot2/pins/

          https://twitter.com/MyEvilRobot

          audrey dowling 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
          • audrey dowling
            audrey dowling last edited by

            Thanks! I'm taking note of your advice
            the pressure is on! 😃

            website: https://audreydowling.wordpress.com/
            twitter: https://twitter.com/audreydowling
            facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Audrey-Dowling-Artist-Illustrator-498582176906242/timeline/?ref=bookmarks

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            • audrey dowling
              audrey dowling @evilrobot last edited by

              what do you think?
              @evilrobot , for the cat, I'm planning to put focus on it with values and lighting

              0_1474298286850_comp.jpg

              website: https://audreydowling.wordpress.com/
              twitter: https://twitter.com/audreydowling
              facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Audrey-Dowling-Artist-Illustrator-498582176906242/timeline/?ref=bookmarks

              Kevin Longueil 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
              • Kevin Longueil
                Kevin Longueil SVS OG @audrey dowling last edited by

                @audrey-dowling Hello Audrey - this is looking great! - for critique i woulds say that for me the first composition was stronger (i could be wrong of course) but i thought it looked really nice - i did a quick thumbnail where i tried a couple of ideas just by stretching your image into an A4 ratio - my thought looking at the first image was maybe trying a larger cat and also not having Mr. and Mrs. Mouse know that he is there - i just put the shovel in Mr. mouses hand and turned him around to see how it would work - i think it has a bit more tension this way (maybe not what you are looking for though) - anyways feel free to ignore - i know it will turn out great no matter what you choose - really looking forward to seeing the finish 🙂
                0_1474300967850_Attachment-1-94.jpeg

                Portfolio: kevinlongueil.com
                https://www.instagram.com/kevinlongueil/

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                • audrey dowling
                  audrey dowling last edited by

                  I wasn't too keen on having mister mouse turning his back first, but after trying it, I think it kind of works
                  0_1474367174394_comp2.jpg

                  website: https://audreydowling.wordpress.com/
                  twitter: https://twitter.com/audreydowling
                  facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Audrey-Dowling-Artist-Illustrator-498582176906242/timeline/?ref=bookmarks

                  Jason Bowen 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
                  • Jason Bowen
                    Jason Bowen SVS OG @audrey dowling last edited by

                    @audrey-dowling I think the cat is too small, if you look at your lady mouse and the cat they take up the same amount of space in the picture, I think making the cat bigger to make him more dangerous or you could use a shadow to say the cat is coming? Just some thoughts. Loving the characters and the tree house.

                    https://www.instagram.com/jasonbowenoils/

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                    • audrey dowling
                      audrey dowling last edited by audrey dowling

                      drawing finished but someone told me the action/meaning of the scene doesn't read well... so I'm confused
                      what do you think?
                      0_1474451972179_web.jpg

                      website: https://audreydowling.wordpress.com/
                      twitter: https://twitter.com/audreydowling
                      facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Audrey-Dowling-Artist-Illustrator-498582176906242/timeline/?ref=bookmarks

                      artspreadsjoy Kevin Longueil smceccarelli 3 Replies Last reply Reply Quote 0
                      • artspreadsjoy
                        artspreadsjoy @audrey dowling last edited by

                        @audrey-dowling I would adjust the direction the characters are looking. I suppose right now, I feel like the mouse holding the shovel should be looking at the cat not the other mouse. And the cat should be looking at the mouse. But neither of these is true, so I'm a bit confused too. Hope this helps!

                        Katie Erickson
                        Illustrator for Kids
                        www.artspreadsjoy.com
                        @artspreadsjoy

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                        • Kevin Longueil
                          Kevin Longueil SVS OG @audrey dowling last edited by

                          @audrey-dowling I think this drawing turned out really nice - i am not sure what the cat is up to - the cat is looking up at the tree/house ..maybe at the second floor - Mrs. mouse seems to be running inside - maybe to protect what is on the second floor? Baby Mouse? The main thing that makes me question whats going on though is the scale of the cat - the drawing is telling us that the mice are nearly as large as the cat or the cat is almost as small as a mouse - to me it seems plausible that the mice could stand up to the cat and sent it away due to the scale - i think just adding a bit of canvas and increasing the size of the cat and possibly have it looking at Mr. Mouse would get rid of this ambiguity - but really i should be asking what is the story? what is the cat up to?

                          Portfolio: kevinlongueil.com
                          https://www.instagram.com/kevinlongueil/

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                          • smceccarelli
                            smceccarelli Pro SVS OG @audrey dowling last edited by smceccarelli

                            @audrey-dowling This is a lovely drawing indeed, and a nice story moment. I think @Kevin-Longueil has some really valid point with eye direction - If the cat was looking at the mice and the mice were giving sign that they have noticed the cat, I think the narrative would be immediately clearer.
                            The scale of the cat has already been mentioned, but I think there may be some issues with all scales and with the perspective in general. Following the lines of the garden, I seem to find the horizon slightly above the mice's head. This would mean the whole forest and the cat are too high in the picture: for this composition to work, the horizon should be more or less at the level of the cat's chest and we should see the whole garden and the mice from a higher viewpoint. Also, the lady mouse seems small compared to the other one, and the tree where the cat is feels like a bush rather than a tree. Maybe I am wrong, but definitely there is something disturbing about the relative sizes and positions. I do believe, however, that setting the gaze directions would already clarify the story more and lead to a nice illustration!

                            1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                            • audrey dowling
                              audrey dowling last edited by

                              better? with text bottom right corner
                              0_1474636425720_comp3.jpg

                              website: https://audreydowling.wordpress.com/
                              twitter: https://twitter.com/audreydowling
                              facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Audrey-Dowling-Artist-Illustrator-498582176906242/timeline/?ref=bookmarks

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