First Inktober piece ever! Advice please!
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Hi everyone, I’m not doing inktober because of time constraints but laying in bed at tonight I couldn’t help to do a quick one for the prompt “swing”. I have no portfolio pieces and want to know if you think this piece should get tightened up and colored. Questions...
- Do you think this elicits an emotional reaction?
- How could I improve the story/composition?
- Should I pass on this piece?
Honesty welcome
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You said this was a quick doodle, did you have a story you wanted to convey? Does the character have a connection to the swing?
The character laying on the hill does not seem to be interacting with the scene. To me it doesn't feel like an sketch that's intended to be emotional. If it was part of a comic book, this would be an establishing shot, the start of a story.
If you wanted to build up this idea further, I'd try other compositions, like the character working to ride his bike up the steep hill with the swing as his goal, or interacting with the swing in some way (swinging, using it to climb higher, leaning through it to draw on the ground).
It's a great first Inktober piece, and I see potential for a story! Glad you tried a prompt!
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I think it's great! Compositionally- in my opinion the tree is a little heavy on the top left corner, and I think you could leave out the bold hatching on the hill ground plane, and just have the grass and leaves.
You should definitely finish it out with color. If you don't have any portfolio pieces, it's time to just start finishing some things out so you have something to work with and can compare/contrast pieces with each other. Go for it!
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@carriecopadraws Waking up with fresh eyes, I agree that this lacks a story. If I decide to take this to finish I'll try some different thumbnails to see if I can add an emotional element to it. @TessaW great advice! I'll explore this a bit more and color it.
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@Zachary-Drenski I once doodled a horse eating an apple under a tree for Inktober, and from that I created this big graphic novel idea featuring Norse mythology. You never know what will lead to something cool! Keep us posted if you evolve this idea, or if you start a new doodle. Keep drawing and those portfolio pieces will start piling up.
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@carriecopadraws you never know how and when the muses will strike!
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I really like how you did the tree. Like everyone else said I would change the composition. For me I think I would feel more emotion if he was somehow interacting with the tree like maybe he is in the tree's shade. Im not sure if I explained that well but anyhoo I can't wait to see your compositions.
