June Prompt WIP - critiques welcome please

Kevin Longueil

@Johanna-Kim They are all really good!! D cracks me up though and it is a unique composition. You can't go wrong with any of these!

deborah Haagenson

I like the composition and the eyes of the alligator looking up in F.

Diane Kond

Hi! I like F for the monkey, fells more dynamic. And alligator drawings from B.
Very interesting thumbnails!

K.Flagg

I agree, i think B for Clyde and F for Bongo. A combo of those 2 would be awesome but I love them all. Nice work

Nyrryl Cadiz

@Johanna-Kim amazing thumbnails! Really great composition but D looks really sexual to me in all seriousness tho. I think A and B are your strongest ones

Neha Rawat

These are so cute! Super work on the thumbnails!

I also like B for Clyde and F for Bongo.
I also like the depth in E since it sort of shows the journey and obstacles that Bongo has to overcome to reach his goal.

For your questions, I love everything cute! And the clothes are nice if it adds to their personality.

Really looking forward to see this develop!

Johanna Kim

Hello friends (@Neha-Rawat @Nyrryl-Cadiz @K-Flagg @Diane-Kond @deborah-Haagenson @Kevin-Longueil @Jacy13 @gavpartridge @miranda-hoover @charitymunoz @Jeremy-Ross), thanks so much for taking the time to chime in about your preferences and suggestions. I tried my best to listen to all your notes. In some instances, I got conflicting notes, so I had to use my best judgement and landed on the following thumbnail sketch. Now I'm considering color palette. I'm leaning towards color sketch B because it feels like summer to me, and it's the least reminiscent of Curious George, as much as I love that character.

I'm working on finalizing the drawing now but if you see anything glaringly wrong or bothersome, please let me know. Thanks again!

Color studies-2 s.jpg

Johanna Kim

@Nyrryl-Cadiz Thanks for the note about D appearing sexual. I always worry about inserting that kind of connotation into a children's illustration.

Johanna Kim

@gavpartridge Thanks for your comments. As for my thumbnails, these were version 2 of my thumbnails, so you could understand them. You should have seen the first scribbly ones--unreadable, for sure! I think it's better to keep thumbnails really loose, though. I find that as soon as I start tightening up the drawing, I lose that feeling of spontaneity and spark. I'm actually trying to work on this illustration faster than usual, since I have a habit of working an illustration to death.

Johanna Kim

@Kevin-Longueil Thanks for your vote for D:) I really like that bold perspective and will have to find a better use for it in a future illustration.

deborah Haagenson

@Johanna-Kim I agree with your choice. I like B! To me it's got more life than the other two.

Jacy13

@Johanna-Kim I also like B for the color palette as well! Looks very lively and vibrant

Julia

@Johanna-Kim hello! I am coming a little late. My favourite would have been D with an opened mouth but I like your final sketch, it looks great too!
I can't wait to see the final drawing in colours. Good luck!

Johanna Kim

Hi Friends,

Here's the painted version.

Some questions:
Is there anything here that's bugging you (even if you don't know why)?
Is Bongo cute enough?
Is Clyde too scary for kids?

Neha Rawat

@Johanna-Kim This is so cute! I love the soothing color palette and Clyde is perfect! I love Bongo's teasing expression. The way you've shown the underwater part and the distant foliage is super! I'm struggling to find anything to critique!

carlianne

@Johanna-Kim I agree with Neha! It looks great!! I don't think Clyde looks too scary and you really nailed the teasing expression

The only thing that causes me to pause is the branch that bongo is on. I was struggling to tell if it was part of a tree or a leaf for a while, maybe you could just clarify that.

Diane Kond

I love the look of the alligator in the back

Johanna Kim

Hey friends,
Just want to say thanks again for all the help through my process. I believe that all your notes and encouragement helped to make this illustration far better than if I had worked on it on my own. But I know I still have lots to learn.

@carlianne Thanks for that note about the branch. I made some changes (see detail) which I hope clarifies things. But even if not, I think it's time to submit this illo and move on to the next thing.

carlianne

@Johanna-Kim cute! Do it!