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    Creative Composition- 25 Things WIP

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    • TessaW
      TessaW last edited by TessaW

      Thanks @MirkaH and @NoWayMe! I made the tent a bit smaller (the one on the right). Did I go far enough? I'm also going to refine the sketch more because I can see areas where I might have trouble painting out, like you were saying, @NoWayMe.

      I played around with different poses of the salamander and I'm lean more toward this new one on the right. What do you think? I'm thinking it gives it more action, like the salamander is on alert and is poised to run away if necessary.

      0_1497281159226_Salamander-pose.png

      Website: www.tessawrathall.com

      Instagram: www.instagram.com/tessawrathall_art/

      Chip Valecek 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 2
      • Jon Anderson
        Jon Anderson SVS OG last edited by

        You're going in the right direction! I would echo the comments about the values. I struggle greatly with values so I know it's easier said than done but you're making good progress.

        instagram.com/jonandersonillu

        1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
        • Chip Valecek
          Chip Valecek SVS Team SVS OG @TessaW last edited by

          @TessW I like the idea of the salamander about to run away. I would watch the arch in its back. A quick google search on salamanders doesn't show them with an arch like that, unless you are trying to show its curve in the body.


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          1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
          • MirkaH
            MirkaH last edited by

            The tent is better but now the salamander is smaller, which now again makes it out of proportion. I'd ease on the curve of the back and bring the size of it up again. I'd also move the squirrel up over to the left on the tree branch a bit. The three things in the picture make a straight line, girl, squirrel, salamander, and I'd stagger them to make the composition look more natural.

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            • MirkaH
              MirkaH last edited by

              It seemed less obvious when the salamander was partially covered in the leaves.

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              • TessaW
                TessaW last edited by

                Ok, worked on it more, taking your suggestions in mind. Still playing with the look of the squirrel and salamander and might tweak the anatomy of the girl. I thought I tweaked the arch of the salamander's back, but I must have got my layers mixed up.

                0_1497371344095_sALAMANDER-WIP-copy.png

                Website: www.tessawrathall.com

                Instagram: www.instagram.com/tessawrathall_art/

                ambiirae 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 2
                • ambiirae
                  ambiirae @TessaW last edited by

                  @TessW I love it there's so many little details and things to look at but the main focus still reads really well! I think you've done a great job with all the changes

                  1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
                  • tombarrettillo
                    tombarrettillo last edited by

                    Overall, I really like how this has changed from the beginning of the thread, but... If I might add my 2 cents...

                    I know this has mainly been about the values and all, but the thing that has really stuck out to me are the binoculars she is using. As close as she is to the action, binoculars aren't really needed. Maybe turn them into a camera.

                    also, it seems as if you added more detail to the background around the tent and cliff & bridge areas. To me, the bridge area work better with less detail, letting us know what is there, but not distracting from the foreground action. And the raccoon in the tree and rabbit(?) in the pot by the tent seem to distract as well. Not sure if you needed those to get to the 25 things, but they seem unnecessary to the story at large. Also, those clothes on the tent, again, add too much busy-ness.

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                    TessaW 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
                    • TessaW
                      TessaW @tombarrettillo last edited by TessaW

                      Well, it's been a while since I worked on this piece. I was intimidated to start rendering, so I let it sit for a while. Coming back to it, I've played with the drawing a bit. Is there a version you like better?

                      @ambiirae Thanks!

                      @tombarrettillo said in Creative Composition- 25 Things WIP:

                      Overall, I really like how this has changed from the beginning of the thread, but... If I might add my 2 cents...

                      I know this has mainly been about the values and all, but the thing that has really stuck out to me are the binoculars she is using. As close as she is to the action, binoculars aren't really needed. Maybe turn them into a camera.

                      also, it seems as if you added more detail to the background around the tent and cliff & bridge areas. To me, the bridge area work better with less detail, letting us know what is there, but not distracting from the foreground action. And the raccoon in the tree and rabbit(?) in the pot by the tent seem to distract as well. Not sure if you needed those to get to the 25 things, but they seem unnecessary to the story at large. Also, those clothes on the tent, again, add too much busy-ness.

                      Thank you Tom! I guess I have a soft spot for little kids using binoculars. Have you ever noticed how they love playing with them to make them feel adventurous, even if they are totally using them wrong? I took your advice though, and tried some different options.

                      As far as the busy-ness goes, I hope to resolve that in the rendering stage. The spirit of the assignment is that you can have a lot of things going on in the piece, but you can still establish the focal points with color, values, textures,, etc. I will try to de-emphasize the areas you mentioned with less detail and contrast.

                      0_1499892361358_Untitled-1.jpg

                      Website: www.tessawrathall.com

                      Instagram: www.instagram.com/tessawrathall_art/

                      aska 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
                      • aska
                        aska @TessaW last edited by

                        @tessw defenietly 1st one! I like their eye contact;)

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                        TessaW aska 2 Replies Last reply Reply Quote 1
                        • TessaW
                          TessaW @aska last edited by

                          @aska said in Creative Composition- 25 Things WIP:

                          @tessw defenietly 1st one! I like their eye contact;)

                          w or x? The one on the left or right? Sorry, just making sure we're on the same page.

                          Website: www.tessawrathall.com

                          Instagram: www.instagram.com/tessawrathall_art/

                          1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                          • Jon Anderson
                            Jon Anderson SVS OG last edited by

                            I like "x" better than the others.

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                            • aska
                              aska @aska last edited by

                              @aska its W

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                              • Jason Kilthau
                                Jason Kilthau last edited by

                                This is amazing work, and I can't wait to see the final result. However I am going to go with Y out of the last 4 you have posted here, mostly because I like the girl looking away. It just makes me wonder what else there is too see. But that is just me.

                                Jason Kilthau
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                                • MOO
                                  MOO SVS OG @TessaW last edited by

                                  @tessw If you want to highlight the girl and squirrel while it is evening, I think that A or B work best. C zones in on the squirrel. The last two don't feel separated enough from the rest of the composition, the emphasis seems to be more on the end of the log..oh wait! It's the squirrel and the salamander so, I choose E. The rest of them, the salamander doesn't stand out much at all.

                                  Marsha Ottum Owen

                                  1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
                                  • tombarrettillo
                                    tombarrettillo last edited by

                                    I vote for X, but with a camera. : )

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                                    Tyson Ranes 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 2
                                    • Tyson Ranes
                                      Tyson Ranes @tombarrettillo last edited by

                                      @tombarrettillo excellent idea
                                      I was struggling trying to imagine what it was that the lil girl could be doing to better tell a story The net made more sense for butterflies and the binoculars more so for something not as close and enclosed. I think the camera concept nails it! I think it's a great concept.

                                      1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
                                      • TessaW
                                        TessaW last edited by

                                        Thanks everyone! I tried it with a camera. There were a lot of possibilities when it came to camera types. What do you think?

                                        0_1499958991144_Camera.jpg

                                        Website: www.tessawrathall.com

                                        Instagram: www.instagram.com/tessawrathall_art/

                                        Tyson Ranes Will Terry 2 Replies Last reply Reply Quote 3
                                        • Tyson Ranes
                                          Tyson Ranes @TessaW last edited by

                                          @tessw you could try one with phone(camera) held a little away from her face (you could then see her expression looking into the screen and her face could be slightly lit from the phone screen)

                                          1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
                                          • Will Terry
                                            Will Terry @TessaW last edited by

                                            @tessw Hi Tess,

                                            I'm super late to this thread so take my comments with the whole shaker of salt 🙂

                                            I liked this original comp sketch a little better since you utilize the space a little more efficiently. The girl overlaps the tent - perfect! Also in this first one the emphasis is on the salamander. I'd make it even bigger to create a little more depth. Overall I think this is going to be really fun to paint! 🙂0_1499963923398_5567567567.jpg

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