Transportation (Insect town) WIP
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neat idea! Having the characters in a line is working, but I suggest having some small (ants) and medium-sized (crickets and beetles, etc) bugs overlapping the larger ones, and instead of the bug with the food leading the snail, perhaps have a "leader" bug on the ground (one of the fireflies?). Maybe make the worm a caterpillar so as to have more legs in motion for movement.
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@Chip-Valecek I understand what you mean about it been quite static. I guess it depends on how dynamic the piece needs to be. If I go for this view I think I would do something quite minimal by having have a white background (delete the rolling hills) kinda like a spot illustration. I'm going to try some other viewpoints though and see how they compare. Thanks for the advice.
@tombarrettillo Great idea about the leader. Perhaps I could make a king character riding a firefly at the front
I'll see how a caterpillar compares to the worm. Worms are kinda boring lol -
So I sketched out a few more ideas/viewpoints and expanded on the original. They all follow a bug transporting city theme (I really like bugs I guess). Any comments on which you prefer or things you don't think are working are appreciated
1 - Convoy of city snails (not so ken on this one anymore)
2 - Farmer ants moving that build their farms on top of insects.
3 - Bee battle. A king bee heading into battle leading his army (other small bugs following on the ground)
4 - The capital bug city on top of a ladybug in the distance.
5 - Bugs eye view of the king snail city.
6 - Firefly leader leading the way for his group of bugs.
As for myself, I kinda like the original idea updated or the farmer ant town.
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@gary-wilkinson I like 2,3 & 6! It's hard to pic. They all have their strong points and appeal. 2 is real dynamic and could look pretty epic once finalized. 3 has a great feel as well. And 6 is very readable, really displaying the characters.
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@gary-wilkinson I like #2 (actually doing the same sort of perspective on mine) and I see what you mean with #6 being a spot ant with the little elements you add to the sketch i can see how that would read as well.
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It's really hard to pick! I think you should do 3. One a morning scene, one an afternoon scene, and one a night scene. I'm kind of joking. . . but not really.
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I still like the first idea as well, and the updates really improve it. One more thing that might help (though isn't really necessary, I guess) is to flip the whole image, so the bugs are moving right, kind of how a kids book would read.
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These are great, I like 5 and 4
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I like the dynamics of #2, and the sweet charm of #6.
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You'd love Dan Gartman
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@ben-migliore his work looks nice but i'm not really seeing the connection
am i missing something? -
@gary-wilkinson Sorry, I looked at more of your work and you two have different styles. I just know he starts with sketches before hand then draws over digitally. Your sketch looked a lot like some of his.
Again sorry there probably is no connection, I didn't look at more of your work before hand.
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These are so wonderful! 2,3 and 6 are great! I really like the full view of 6
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I am divided between 2 & 3. I think both are great concepts and angles. I like 6 too, but I don't think the story telling element is as strong as the 2 & 3.
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I like your first one, clear silhouettes and a good design for a fun subject not everything needs to be dynamic especially in kid lit stuff.
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Thanks for everyone's advice and comments is really helpful
I've had a go at trying to do a digital sketch rendering of the 1st image. I was thinking to try do a Will Terry sketch style image and work in some subtle colors later, but if I try to include the fireflies as the light source then I can't do a white background which I was thinking to do at the start. It feels the image is getting away from me a little 
Anyhow i'm not sure whether to restart it or just choose a different image and go straight into color. Any thoughts?
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@gary-wilkinson said in Transportation (Insect town) WIP:
It feels the image is getting away from me a little
anyone of the sketches you´ve done, could fit into the idea that you have for this month perfectly.
However my suggestion is 2, I think with the sunset light, oranges, yellow, pinks, and the shadow on the farm ant on the snail in violets or dark blues, would look great. -
Don't give up on this one. I think it is coming along very well. And if you still want to make it a spot illustration, have the background fade out to white, or frame the image with tree branches at the top, and foreground shrubs and plants at the bottom.
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@Jose-Ramos Tried a little test color with a sunset lighting scheme, not sure I got it right though. I might try some other styles and see how they work (it will give me some needed practice too
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@tombarrettillo Thanks. I won't give up on it, I just feel I need more time to get it done. I might go back to it before the moth is up though. I keep changing my mind on what I prefer too much lol
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ha, well... now that I see the one above larger, I think there is a more clear story with this one; one of migrant farming ants, perhaps. Love the water wheel on the snail, and the fenced sheep on the ladybug. Right now the "sunset" looks more like the plains are on fire, which, honestly, could add more drama to the story. Maybe that is why the farmers are leaving.
