Making Narrative pieces- Tortoise and the Hare project

Nyrryl Cadiz

@Coley @Corlette-Douglas @JennyJones @Jorge-Valentin thank you!

Jessica Jolicoeur

@nyrrylcadiz

I think it looks great. I love narrative pieces and I think you have a great thing going here.
Can I ask what you use to illustrate?
I am a traditional artist using color pencil, watercolor and graphite at this point and painting in acrylic but I feel that it might be a good idea for me to start using a digital platform for my work.

I love the concept of your current project and I think you have a strong sense of what you are communicating.
I can imagine this being interesting to kids.

Nyrryl Cadiz

@Jessica-Jolicoeur hi! I’m using Procreate on my ipad

Jessica Jolicoeur

@nyrrylcadiz

I have been doing research and I have heard about procreate quite a bit.
I love traditional media so I am reluctant to get into a digital format but I also want to see what I could do with it.
Thank you.

JennyJones

@Jessica-Jolicoeur I use Procreate for all my digital stuff too. It’s very user friendly and the brushes can look pretty traditional. I work to try to get my digital work to look as traditional as possible and I feel like Procreate it easy to use in a “traditional “ way or with masks and zillions of layers. Lots of tutorials out there on YouTube,Skillshare, and through Procreate itself. Go for it!

Coreyartus

@JennyJones @Jessica-Jolicoeur @nyrrylcadiz

I don't mean to hijack the thread but have you three seen Abbie Nurse's Uproot Brushes and Layer system for recreating watercolor in Procreate? If you're into natural looking watercolor, her method is really hard to beat. I'm a big fan of all her brushes, but her watercolor method is really top notch if you're into that. She doesn't just create the brushes, she uses layers in a great way to enhance translucency. It's really remarkable (at least to me, anyway).

YouTube video: https://youtu.be/n56ZwiS5mTU

Her Brush set.

JennyJones

@Coreyartus very interesting video. I’m afraid I will have to watch it several times to really understand what she’s doing there. I’m an old dog. And the new tricks take time for me. But I like the look she achieved. Thanks for the info!

Nyrryl Cadiz

Another update!

Jessica Jolicoeur

@JennyJones

Thank you for your reply Jenny.
I have been doing a fair bit of research and I do realize that digital art has quite a large influence in children's literature so I am sure that in the not too distant future I will be working with a digital format of some kind.

Thanks again.

Nyrryl Cadiz

Hi, everyone! I hope everyone is doing well. Here’s another update on my illustration. I need your help. Do you think I’m over rendering this piece? Do you think I’m adding too much characters? I’m planning to add more animals on the left side behind Hare. I’m afraid that the scene would get too crowded. I feel like it might work but I I also feel like it won’t. I don’t know what to do at the moment. I would truly appreciate your opinions. Thank you so much!

braden H

@nyrrylcadiz Looks great so far! However, I can see why you're worried and where you're coming from.

My instant read on the image was that the cheerleader bunny with the pom-poms was super tiny and dancing on the rabbit's engine.

Maybe (maybe?) if you bump up the contrast on the rabbit's spaceship it may help to solve the problem. Maybe. I could well be wrong.

Nyrryl Cadiz

@Braden-Hallett thanks! I really didn’t notice that bunny making a tangent with the ship. Huge thanks for that. I’ll try bumping up the contrast too

Nyrryl Cadiz

Here’s another Update. Any feedback is highly appreciated.

KathrynAdebayo

Oh my goodness! I just noticed that the hare has a carrot-mobile! So good!

To address your question, I think the open space as you have it now gives good breathing room, and it already seems like you have a large enough crowd. That's my impression, anyway.

Such a cool piece. It's out of this world!

Nyrryl Cadiz

@KathrynAdebayo thanks! Yes it is a carrot mobile

StudioLooong

@Nyrryl-Cadiz I love your progress on this piece! The characters and ships are so much fun and I think the crowd adds some fun story elements that help keep you in the picture longer. I love the little she-tortoise's expression and the mouse on the balloon way in the back. The crowd between the two ships does start to compete with them a bit maybe you could make them just a tiny bit darker? Also, I noticed that there's a purple line going through the tortoise's neck that looks like it shouldn't be there.

Nyrryl Cadiz

@StudioLooong thanks! I’ll work on that

Erin.Cortese

@Nyrryl-Cadiz Wow, your colours are incredible. This piece has such a nice feel.

Nyrryl Cadiz

@Erin-Cortese Thanks!

Nyrryl Cadiz

Here’s a new update! I’m still going to add more characters on the left side. I feel like it’s really coming together. I’m starting to feel good about it. Any comments? They’re highly appreciated. Thanks!