september contest - What do you think?

[Sofie Schollaert]

Ok, so I was not planning on entering the contest this month because of the fact that I have a lot on my plate and didn't feel up to it. No inspiration, no confidence,... But then I couldn't help myself this week and tryed something... I would really appreciate your comments. Do you like any of these?

I'm trying out a more loose style. Don't know if it's something that will last... love to hear your thoughts!

[anya.macleod]

@Sofie-Schollaert so cute! I love the flamingo one!

[Heather Boyd]

@Sofie-Schollaert

I like how you’ve captured the girls hair. I think going forward you may want to balance out what areas you want more loose and what areas you want more define line or shape. I haven’t taken Lee Whites class on loosening up with watercolour but maybe that class would help.

[theprairiefox]

I too am partial to the flamingo one. I love the flamingo on her shirt as well.

[Shara Mills]

@Sofie-Schollaert I'll add my vote for the flamingo version.

The flamingo is the strongest part to me so far. The loose background is nice too. I think part of why they're working well is that they have more layers of color texture. Areas where the color is more solid are less visually interesting in contrast. The girl's shirt and skin. The bus drivers colors are pretty solid on the interior of the separate shapes. The large solid patch of yellow and other parts of the bus. Those might be things you were already going to add texture to, but I wanted encourage it just in case. It's really nice on the flamingo especially.

On another note about color, the yellow of the bus is nicely muted so it isn't super distracting, but maybe shifting it to be a bit more similar to say the lunchbox or a lighter version of some of the colors in her hair might help harmonize it a bit more.

What if the other character was a shocked crossing guard or something so you don't have to even worry about the bus? If you really want to keep it, it could probably use some reference love. Even just loosely.

Just want that pet flamingo story to sing it's incredibly adorable song!

[Chip Valecek]

@Sofie-Schollaert I also like the flamingo one. I think adding some kids on the bus hanging out the windows in shock would sell the shock more.

[Sofie Schollaert]

@anya-macleod thanks a lot!

[Sofie Schollaert]

@Heather-Boyd Thanks. That's a good point. I find it hard to switch between the loose and the more defined. Haven't taken that course yet, it's on my list (there are so many interesting courses and so little time, right?)

[Sofie Schollaert]

@theprairiefox thanks!

[Sofie Schollaert]

@Chip-Valecek Thanks a lot. Good idea about the kids... I'll see if i can squeeze some in