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    Need some help with a piece

    Artwork
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    • Chip Valecek
      Chip Valecek SVS Team SVS OG @Eric Castleman last edited by

      @eric-castleman i agree with @Diego_BioSteam with the reference. The smoke on the right looks good, the other two seem to be a strong line down and too much on an angle.


      https://www.instagram.com/chipvalecek/
      https://www.facebook.com/cvalecek
      http://www.cshellmedia.com/

      1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
      • tombarrettillo
        tombarrettillo last edited by

        I think they all look a bit "fast" and narrow, so to speak, kind of like the smoke emerging from the stack of a fast moving steam locomotive. And it might help with clarity to add smoke stacks for the left 2 plumes. Also, another thing I notice is the smoke plumes all have highlights from the building lights below them, but the violinist does not. I actually think taking the yellow highlights off the smoke, darkening the bottoms, and adding more highlight from the moon would help tie the top of the illustration together better.

        https://www.youtube.com/@tombarrettart

        1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
        • evilrobot
          evilrobot SVS OG @Eric Castleman last edited by

          @eric-castleman Love the updated version looks really good. I'd say to design the smoke a bit....all the other elements of the piece have your style (design to them) I'd take the same same approach to the smoke. Illustrate it make it your way of doing smoke....don't know if that helps...great work

          http://www.palacioillustration.com/

          https://www.scbwi.org/illustrator-gallery/illustrator-detail/?illustrator_id=84142

          https://www.pinterest.com/evilrobot2/pins/

          https://twitter.com/MyEvilRobot

          1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
          • Spencer Hale
            Spencer Hale last edited by

            Looking good! It really has a nice feeling to it, and I dig the shapes. I would maybe lighten the buildings behind the cat to make it stand out some more. I also consider bringing back the moon or using some smoke to make the main guy stand out more as well. Just squint you eyes or shrink the art down to see if it still reads well.

            spencerhalefire.tumblr.com | instagram.com/spencerhalefire | twitter.com/spencerhale

            1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 2
            • adamdohrmann
              adamdohrmann last edited by

              I really dig the concept and the composition is powerful. I think maybe bringing the moon back to help the violinist stand out more could be cool. Also, if the smoke kind of meandered into the sky that might eliminate the sharp direction it's giving off.

              https://www.instagram.com/adam_dohrmann/

              1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
              • NoWayMe
                NoWayMe last edited by

                Hi Eric!
                I love this piece πŸ™‚

                However, there's a few element in your original piece that I like better than the new version. Like @Spencer-Hale and @adamdohrmann , I would definitely bring the moon back behind the guy (or lighten the sky and make him darker). I would also find a way to have the cat against the sky again (as oppose to having houses behind) as I feel he was reading much better then. Of course, your handling of light, color, perspective and just global rendering is way better in the new version, but the composition was a little stronger in the original on these two points. Great work πŸ™‚

                noemiegionetlandry.squarespace.com
                noemie_illustration on Instagram

                1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
                • Eric Castleman
                  Eric Castleman last edited by

                  Awesome feedback everyone!! I will take everything everyone said and put a few changes to it and update up you all soon. Thanks again. πŸ˜‰

                  EricCastleman.com

                  SCBWI profile
                  https://www.scbwi.org/members-public/eric-castleman

                  1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                  • Eric Castleman
                    Eric Castleman last edited by

                    So I added the moon in, and before I put much more detail in I wanted to see what people thought. I moved the middle smoke stream a bit so that it doesn’t imply too much wind. I assume that a little breeze would push the smoke, but not his jacket. Or, I can just assume that he is really into his music and flinging his butt in such a way that the coat moves that way (idk lol)

                    0_1506048327086_8B6FB888-07C5-4ADC-AF15-00E8A1E578B7.jpeg

                    EricCastleman.com

                    SCBWI profile
                    https://www.scbwi.org/members-public/eric-castleman

                    tombarrettillo 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 2
                    • Spencer Hale
                      Spencer Hale last edited by

                      Nice! the main guy stands out much better now. Now I'd take a look at the cat and see You can make is stand out more too.

                      I tried to do a quick and ugly photoshop adjustment to see how you could approach it.
                      i lightened the houses and enlarged the cat a bit to frame him better an avoid some tangents

                      0_1506099336645_cat-drawover.png

                      I really like the warm/cool diffence between the characters. maybe you could push that some more as well.
                      It is a great piece! I can't wait to see the final.

                      spencerhalefire.tumblr.com | instagram.com/spencerhalefire | twitter.com/spencerhale

                      Eric Castleman 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 2
                      • tombarrettillo
                        tombarrettillo @Eric Castleman last edited by

                        @eric-castleman Better with the moon, though I think it works better brighter like the original. And is this digital?

                        https://www.youtube.com/@tombarrettart

                        1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
                        • Eric Castleman
                          Eric Castleman @Spencer Hale last edited by

                          @spencer-hale great idea. That is what I will do.

                          EricCastleman.com

                          SCBWI profile
                          https://www.scbwi.org/members-public/eric-castleman

                          1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                          • Eric Castleman
                            Eric Castleman last edited by

                            Here it is with the houses lightened up. Next I will work on the cat a bit more.

                            0_1506107281572_39416355-49D2-4841-B07F-B2AA5276D93A.jpeg

                            EricCastleman.com

                            SCBWI profile
                            https://www.scbwi.org/members-public/eric-castleman

                            Will Terry 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 5
                            • adamdohrmann
                              adamdohrmann last edited by

                              This looks so stunning. Amazing job!

                              https://www.instagram.com/adam_dohrmann/

                              1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
                              • Will Terry
                                Will Terry @Eric Castleman last edited by

                                @eric-castleman Hi Eric, This is a really nice piece and I think it might have more impact if the cat were bigger than the cricket...right now there're about the same size on the page. Your cat has more character than mine but I think you could stylize the profile better than from straight behind the cat? I don't know - judgement call? Also I don't think you need rim lighting to highlight everything - I think you have enough plane changes to do it with value. Hope this helps...0_1506453208724_37675765.jpg

                                SVS Instructor
                                http://willterry.com/

                                Eric Castleman 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 8
                                • Eric Castleman
                                  Eric Castleman @Will Terry last edited by

                                  @will-terry thanks for your time!! I like the direction you took this, and is very similar to the other critiques I recieved from Lee White. I will rework it with your recommendation. πŸ˜‰

                                  EricCastleman.com

                                  SCBWI profile
                                  https://www.scbwi.org/members-public/eric-castleman

                                  1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 4
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