There Was An Old Woman - Feb WIP

sarahlash

Hi all, just wanted to share what I'm working on for the February contest. I was inspired by the nursery rhyme There Was An Old Woman Tossed Up in a Blanket. I was wondering if there are any glaring issues that I might want to rework? Also, I haven't added lighting or shadows yet because I'm a bit lost. In the image, the main light source is the moon, but in reality, it's the sun (reflecting off the moon). So...which way should the shadows fall? Am I overthinking it?

Anyway, here's what I've got so far:

Nyrryl Cadiz

@sarahlash lovely!

TessaW

Hi again! This is great. While I do miss the honeymoon girl (despite what I said in the other thread), I love the characterization of this lady going to extremes in tidying up! So funny and charming.

I think it already looks really good and I love the perspective you have going on in your ladder. It makes the piece look fun and dynamic. The way you've depicted earth is so cool.

I've done a very rough paintover to show what a different option of perspective and lighting might look like. Yup, I definitely think your perspective is the way to go. I also formatted the character a little more into the thirds ratio, so we have more room to feel that reach. Just throwing out ideas- so please feel free to ignore them. If you wanted to introduce lighting, I think sticking with just the moon as being the lightsource would be a good option, and in that case, the character would be backlit, which could show off the glow of her shawl/blanket nicely.

Again, really nice job and great idea.

sarahlash

@TessaW This is all so helpful! Thank you for taking the time to give detailed feedback.

And also, thank you for giving me your first reaction on my last idea. That was a forehead smacking moment and I so appreciate the honesty.

Julia

Hello!

I cannot answer your question but I must say I really like your composition! the view from the ladder is great! the only thing is, where does the spiderweb hold to, in the corner? It does not bother me much, this is magical, but others (left-brains!) may find it odd?

sarahlash

@Julia Ah, I don’t know . I was just thinking, corners of the sky? Maybe I could add clouds for it to hang from? Hmmm.

chrisaakins

@sarahlash I think @TessaW has is right as a composition. I must say, this is such a great idea! I personally did not give it any thought because it was such a believable picture. If it is an issue, maybe you could have the webs just kind of floating into the air, not really attached to anything. Great work!

sarahlash

@chrisaakins Thank you! I added teeny tiny little stars to the corners. It didn't really bother me, and I realized that (of course) there wouldn't be clouds in space, so I'm not going to worry too much about it.