WIP Uncle Carl Has a Chicken......Please critique!

[Will Terry]

@Marsha-Kay-Ottum-Owen Hi Marsha - This is really rough - but I think in general you want to try to avoid the straight on view - even offsetting it a little will help your viewer comprehend the cow quicker and will be more descriptive. - hope this helps.

[MOO]

@Will-Terry Thank you. Just hoping I can get the impression of the cow charging. The head on version is pretty challenging though. I will try again and try and get that effect. Thanks again!

[MOO]

@Will-Terry I am going to view the drawing animals class again. Maybe that will help. Here are some doodles I did last night...The legs at odd angles are particularly challenging!!!
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[MOO]

@Will-Terry Here's a rough sketch. Does this look better? Are the legs too wonky? I really want it to be coming head on as much as possible for effect so I am trying to do that but still show the body off to the side a little as you said. Those legs are hard to stick on there

The book is a counting book. Uncle Carl has chickens that keep coming to roost on him. At the end, there are no more chickens left and you think it's over but.....oh oh! Heer comes the cow! so this is kind of a surprise finale (almost) that I want the reader to say "Woah!" Oh no! Now the cow's coming!"

Do you think I could make the head even bigger..and maybe up a little higher? Would that work better?
I would love to have a huge head staring at the reader

[will-terry-art]

Hi Marsha - I would try to make the front legs a little bigger to show the foreshortening...This is probably one of the hardest things you could possibly try to do as an illustrator - mostly because you can't get good reference. Personally I wouldn't try it myself because I don't think I could pull it off...I realize this probably isn't what you want to hear but it's the truth...here's my lame attempt and I wouldn't use this

[MOO]

Thanks! I'm stubborn so I will keep trying to find a way. Your legs look a lot better than mine. I thought sticking them out straight would make it crazier . I see what you mean though. I really appreciate your taking time ot try and help me. I'll post more trys. You can look at them if you want to but I know you're busy.

[WhiteboardJim]

@Marsha-Kay-Ottum-Owen I love the idea of the legs moving forward to express the crazy, I've been watching a ton of the past 3rd Thursday Critiques on Youtube as I can and the three greats we revere so much often say the three quarter view is of great importance and push the expression and angle as much as possible. I might try to use @Will-Terry 's suggestion with making the legs bigger but keep them pushing out, just as another try in a thumbnail or concept size sketch. Keep working hard and these will progress.

[MOO]

@WhiteboardJim Thanks. I actually did a head with no body but just front feet to see if that would work. I really want that cow to be a certain way for the effect I want.....I'm going to try something and will post it to see what the comments tell me. Thanks for your encouragement!

[MOO]

@WhiteboardJim

[MOO]

This one is really light but, I'm thinking it might eb the solution if the background is done right! I won't have to worry about the body at all!

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[MOO]

@Will-Terry How about if I do something like this (WIP) I got rid of the body altogether and surrounded it with "action" and just the front hooves. Still figuring out the debris, etc. in the background. In the end, it is going to be a double page spread with "Here comes the COW! on the lefthand side. The word COW is filling the page and would have the background like this with feathers, etc. flying all over. I've also thought of letting the ears fly back......

[aska]

@Marsha-Kay-Ottum-Owen brilliant solution:-) I would probably add more chaos, where the body should be

[MOO]

@aska Still working on it. Here's what I did today but I see a few things I need to fix. The eyes look stuck on and flat and I need to lighten things up around them to make them look better...I think. I'm sure ther are other problems I'm not seeing right now. I need a break! The line down the one eye isn't actually on the pictuer. It happened when I snapped the photo. Don't know what it is...just a weird fluke.

I just posted a better, new improved version again. The hooves don't look so much like mushrooms and the eyes are a bit better

[MOO]

@Marsha-Kay-Ottum-Owen

[aska]

@Marsha-Kay-Ottum-Owen defenietly take a break! Its good to step away n do smth else. Looking good tho, but if u dont break u might spoil it;) i would probably add a bit darker areas on the cow, just like the cow with mushroom legs;)

[MOO]

@aska Yes, I need to do a lot more to build teh contrast, etc. I am ready to leave it alone Thanks!