Creative Composition- 25 Things WIP
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I really love the composition!
I am glad you changed the log framing the salamander. It was a good idea in theory, but it looked like the log was hitting the salamander in the head!
I think you're right that it's a little too dark overall.
I opened it in photoshop added a curve adjustment layer on it and I simply used the "automatic" button and I feel it makes a good difference!
For the sketch, I think you should do another more refine sketch before moving to color... At first I was usually starting my colors way to early because, like you, I didn't want to include the sketch in my final image so I thought it didn't matter. But everytime I ended up doing so much reworking and changing things which are a lot harder to fix in color. So now I usually do a rough sketch, rough value and rough color and then I clean up my sketch before starting the final color (usually I even go over my sketch twice... and each time I end up changing things and fixing problems I didn't see before)
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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.
Website: www.tessawrathall.com
Instagram: www.instagram.com/tessawrathall_art/
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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.
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@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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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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It seemed less obvious when the salamander was partially covered in the leaves.
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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.
Website: www.tessawrathall.com
Instagram: www.instagram.com/tessawrathall_art/
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@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
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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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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.
Website: www.tessawrathall.com
Instagram: www.instagram.com/tessawrathall_art/
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@tessw defenietly 1st one! I like their eye contact;)
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@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.
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I like "x" better than the others.
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@aska its W
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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.
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@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.
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I vote for X, but with a camera. : )
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@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. -
Thanks everyone! I tried it with a camera. There were a lot of possibilities when it came to camera types. What do you think?
Website: www.tessawrathall.com
Instagram: www.instagram.com/tessawrathall_art/
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@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)
