Transportation WIP

[IanS]

It's looking good. I like the mix of insects as it has a James and the Giant Peach feel with all those characters, but either way it's cool.

[tombarrettillo]

I like how you break the frame. A family of beetles (mom, dad, kids) might would work well.

[Diego_BioSteam]

@nowayme It's nice to know it was helpful. Yup, I have a background in biology (BSc, MSc and PhD ) and focused on the study of spiders (arachnology) and insects (entomology). Now I work as a scientific illustrator. And I really like to use my background as information to develop characters, environments and stories. And also to share the knowledge with other fellow artists.

[j.sienkowski]

This is looking great. One thing you might want to watch out for is tangents where the wings break the plane of the background especially where the edge of the wings come close the the corners of the image. Also maybe the duck's head could be turned so it looks like he is checking on the passengers (?)...might help bring your eye back into the piece.

[NoWayMe]

@diego_biosteam Wow! I like to see that other artists have science background (and that I am not the only one crazy enough to pursue 2 completely opposite paths) @smceccarelli also has a PhD in basic science (organic chemistry if I remember correctly) and I have a MD (I work as a rheumatologist during the day).

@j-sienkowski I thought about having him looking back... I just don't know what "relationship" I want the bird and bugs to have. At first I wanted them to be clandestine passengers, but maybe it would be better if the duck interacted with the bugs on his back ? And thanks for pointing out the tangent!!

[Diego_BioSteam]

@nowayme I saw your profile yesterday! Cool! Many people nowadays are diversifying their career paths, which is good! As I always discuss with my artist friends, you are a better artist if you actually went through some other academic formation. You just have more knowledge and experiences to tell through your art. Of course, you also need to study and dedicate to art. But if you are just focusing on art, you only know the techniques and processes, but you may not have much to say (Noah Bradley, concept artist for "Magic The Gathering" also said that in this interview https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iaychQ6gTwY).

[smceccarelli]

@nowayme Yes - I have just read an article talking about the "slash-generation". Apparently it is becoming increasingly common to have dual careers, either at the same time or one after another. So are born the "journalist/ex-lawyer" and the "coach/financial advisor" and all other "slash" combinations. I would be an "author/illustrator/art director/ex-scientist"

[Diego_BioSteam]

@smceccarelli and @NoWayMe if you search for some great personalities of the past as well as current ones, most of them had more than one job or at least area of knowledge. Leonardo da Vinci was an artist (both in painting/illustration and sculpting), architect, engineer, botanist, anatomist, cartographer and more. Kenji Miyazawa was a chemist, astronomer, poet, children book author and teacher. Antoine de Saint-Exupery was an aviator, poet, journalist and illustrated his own children book (The Little Prince). Hayao Miyazaki is an animator, director, screenwriter, author. The emperor Akihito from Japan is also a fish taxonomist. Somewhere along the way it seems that Industrial Revolution allowed this idea of specializing in only one kind of job to spread and several companies (i.e. schools/universities) took advantage of it and fortified the idea. And now that everyone is highly specialized, it is becoming a differential when you are a master of more than one skill (when actually it was always like that). Always reminds me of the phrase said by the villain boy in "The Incredibles": "Once everyone is super, no one will be super".

[NoWayMe]

Here is the final sketch!
Any comment before I start colors ?!
Thanks

[tombarrettillo]

I like it, but the original body and head looks better (your second, right facing, sketch). Looks like you might be trying to make a swooping movement, but it seems out of place when compared to the other birds in the picture. And I would lower the left wing, and maybe pull it to the right, so it is more in line with the other wing and looks attached at the proper place. And I like the thicker string holding the basket on in the original.

[NoWayMe]

Thanks @tombarrettillo!

I was aiming for a swooping movement.. I felt like my first version was too stiff. Maybe I ll try to change the other bird to have them fit and keep the new version since I like the feel of it more... Good call for the wing - I'll change that!

Any thoughts on the color scheme I chose ?

[tombarrettillo]

I like the color scheme so far... nothing specific to add yet. : )

[NoWayMe]

I need help with lighting... my idea was to have the bugs kind of in a "ray" of sunlight, while having the background looking like a cool fall day. This is what I have so far. (this is just a rough lighting study - I will try to do the final piece in soft pastel) Is it reading well ? If not, any tips on how to improve it ?

[Elaine B]

@nowayme I like your idea and I hope this helps! I cooled down and lightened the background to push the duck forward.

[tombarrettillo]

@nowayme Not sure the lighting will read correctly with no reference as to why there is a shadow and where it is coming from. In a tree, you can usually see some of the branches and leaves (like in your previous tree house illustration) to relate where a shadow originates. In a flight/sky illustration, clouds are usually so large, that including one for shadow's sake would be very difficult. If you want the viewers eyes to focus toward the bugs, maybe change the color scheme of the duck to have darker wing tips that get lighter toward its body. Or, since you are placing the setting during Fall, I would make the scene a sunset, with the sun setting at about 10 o'clock in relation to the duck, and have yellow orange highlights placed to draw the eye to the bugs. And, now that I think about it, I would make the main duck larger in the scene, with it's tail overlapping the city. I did a rough paint over to show what I mean. Hope it helps.

[NoWayMe]

@tombarrettillo Thanks! It really helps! I will continue to work on it but I like the direction your going And I like the bigger version of the bird