Mouse journey feedback

[Asyas_illos]

Hey there you’ve probably seen my mouse illos I’ve been working on for some sequential portfolio work, well I’m working on another and I’d like some feedback on composition as well as how cohesive the images are together. I tried taking a color from each proceeding image and use that to build the next off of, if that makes sense.
Here’s the current one I’d like feedback on for comp

And the first two for cohesion and consistency

So for the mushrooms in the latest, I’m thinking of the same blues/greens from the first two…

[Asyas_illos]

Ok I rearranged and added some more, I’m really loving mushrooms right now lol

[Elisabeth Rae]

@Asyas_illos I'm loving the subtle softness of the previous two, and how the white flows behind the mouse flying alongside the plant. I also love the pale green lines around the plants.

The earth tunnel/fall in the art you're working on looks harsher/sharper lines than the other shapes, and with the current white background and straight up and down lines looks a bit jarring, like I'm falling through the white of the page. Maybe you could add a background gradient color to the tunnel, such as filling it in with a pale brown, and then going over it to add in a light source, with more light on top and darkness further down. And perhaps more roots out to soften the edge? ...I'm loving those mushrooms as well!! And that little creature on one of them

[Asyas_illos]

@Elisabeth-Rae thank you for the kind words and feedback. I did intend the sharpness and darker tones with this one, as it is a much more dramatic scene, but I will try and add some softer elements to it. I did also do a background for the hole but keep going back and forth in my mind about it. When all is done I will post both versions and get some opinions. Thanks! And I love the rollie poly too!

[Asyas_illos]

[ArtistErin]

@Asyas_illos I love the evolution! Cohesiveness is definitely there, your unique textures and shapes are soooo cool. Your use of color to define these two elements always inspires me, the way you do it just looks so effortless until I try to replicate this in my own work ha ha! So beautiful..

Also something about your work reminds me of Eric Carle. There's such an organic, highly marketable vibe so consistent that makes me want to hang out there

[Asyas_illos]

@ArtistErin thank you, it’s mostly just experimenting with different colors, layers and opacity along with things like overlay and color dodge until I get colors I like, I’ll have a general idea in my head but I can’t always create it so easily.

[Chantal Goetheer]

@Asyas_illos beautiful and a very consistent look and mouse! Love the colours. I was just wondering if the underground scene is like your glow one a cross section of soil with a tunnel or is it some sort of a narrow canyon? How the mushrooms grow suggests the latter one to me. Curious what is the story with this little fellow's travels? But it looks great.

[Asyas_illos]

@Chantal-Goetheer it’s just supposed to be like a crevice in the ground I guess. I’m having fun with this mouse, perhaps as I continue the why to his travels will be revealed…

[Asyas_illos]

Think I’m going to start another

[Blitz55]

Oh wow! I'm really digging these a lot. I love the vibrant colors your using with these.

Funny enough I'm working slowly on something slightly similar. I gave myself the task of making a short story involving a small Shrew who has to make their way from one end of my property to the other while meeting a few challenges and characters. I even have a few drawings of my shrew among some Mushrooms. Though quite different in style and mood from yours.

Awesome work! Looking forward to seeing more, I'll give you a follow on Instagram. Cheers!

[Asyas_illos]

@Blitz55 thank you! And I’d love to see yours as well

[Asyas_illos]

Ok I don’t know why I added this character I thought this one needed something else but I didn’t know what then this popped into my head. But it doesn’t add to the story in any way I could change the mouses eye to be looking that direction, but I could just take the birb off entirely. What do you guys think?

[kirsten-mcg]

@Asyas_illos I think if you made the mouse noticing the bird this could work really well! Right now the bird is a little distracting because I'm not really sure why he's there. But when I imagine the mouse looking at the bird I suddenly want to know more! The story gets more interesting to me.

[kayleenartlover]

@Asyas_illos I would save the bird part for a different scene. Maybe during a rain shower.

[kayleenartlover]

@Asyas_illos If you squint or make the picture small the mouse blends in with the background a bit, which is probably why the blue bird sticks out.
Could the mouse have something on him that is a contrasting color?
I don’t know what the story is but if it would fit thematically, maybe add an element of danger by having a snake off to the side or a predatory bird silhouette in the sky?
Do bugs or animals live in “mushroom land” and the mouse is passing by?

[Asyas_illos]

@kayleenartlover I think you’re right I’ll probably use it in another scene

[ajillustrates]

@Asyas_illos I do like the bird (or another background character if you want to switch it out). I think that the mouse doesn't need to be looking at it, but you could add a smaller, less prominent background into the spread, that's looking at and responding to the bird. That'd be a fun way to have the world feel more lived in, and still have the mouse focused on their journey.

[Asyas_illos]

@ajillustrates thanks for the feedback, I have since relocated the bird to another scene, but I still would like to build up more of a lived in world, as you suggested. I will be brainstorming some more characters!

[Griffin McPherson]

@Asyas_illos I think since the bird isn’t relevant to the story it just feel a a bit distracting. I think normally it’s good to have a secondary story going on in an image but in this case since the primary story isn’t super complicated it may not work here