Is this children’s booky enough in style? Still figuring out style.
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@Coreyartus The resolution hasn't been the issue for me so far, it's always in the colors. iPads operate on IPS panels, so matter what you'll probably see some loss when you go to most normal monitors which are using TN technology. But even when I look at the post on the actual iPad the colors are not the same.
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What I see is a dinosaur with a wonderfully perky trot and two kids hiding behind a tree to spy on him, full of wonder. What could be more children's book-y than than that? Also, I think the little blurry shimmers in the background contribute to the magic. I know what you mean about the lines, but seriously, if we all start adapting our work to stereotypes just because we think that's what art directors want, where will we end up?
Have you ever heard of Thomas Locker? He had a whole children's book career based on his oil paintings of landscapes. Nothing typical about them. Honestly, I thought his people were not as good as his landscapes, but his skies and color--oh my! Those by themselves make his books worth buying!
Anyway, there are only two things I notice that I would change if this were my piece (not that I'm an expert!): The dinosaur himself has a very nice sense of volume, but with all the sunlight filtering in, I think the cast shadow should be a little darker, especially near his feet, and possibly you should modify the position slightly based on the direction the sun is coming from. This would establish him better in space. I might give the trees a little more roundness too, especially the one in the back. I see that you have established a hierarchy of focus in where your sharp and blurry lines are, but I'm not sure it's working 100% yet. I get why you're doing it, though!
The other is that is seems to be missing some of the yellow range. I didn't stick it into Photoshop to look at the distribution of values, but they don't bother me. Maybe the grass could be a little lighter and have some patches of yellow mixed in where the sun hits? Just an idea...
I really like the concept. This reminds me of standing quietly in the woods and seeing a deer, only way better!
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This is a wonderful illustration! The story telling element is definitely coming out and I think the primary thing! Style trends will keep on changing with time but if the story isn't intriguing, nobody will want to read it.
I totally agree with everyone else. Your wonderful oil painting techniques are definitely showing in this and I think you should consider it your biggest asset. It's definitely children's booky
it's easy to doubt yourself based on what sells (I'm guilty of it too) but no matter how much I tried doing what I think others want, the more I struggled in creating art that I actually enjoyed. It's always good to experiment but for the right reasons. If you feel like this style is what makes you happy, push boundaries and be the best you can in this style! Speaking about the illustration itself, There are a few things that can be improved like the cast shadows. (I totally love the Bokeh light effect though. That is just brilliant!) And the girl in the foreground is merging with the tree bark. Overall I think it looks fantastic!
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@Coreyartus thanks so much! I wasn't aware of this and this is the first sort of complete image I did in Procreate. I'll try it in Photoshop and fiddle around. Good to start learning this early! thank you so much,t his was helpful
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thanks so much everyone! I really appreciate the comments!
@Coreyartus your words were pretty inspirational to me
I don't know where I'm going to end up with my , likely something in between realism and more typical children's book style, who knows but I'm feeling better about just being myself now @LauraA i will look up Thomas Locker, thank you! Thanks for the notes on the piece, I will look at playing around with some of those things when I bring it into photoshop.
@Neha-Rawat thanks so much. I loooove your own style sooo much and if i could transform into you , I would lol! But we all have to be ourselves. Thanks for the kind words and inspiration!
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@Coley I can’t quite tell if the dragon is on the ground or in the air a little? I really love this the atmosphere and colours are super-nice. I also have the blurry issue with Procreate and so far haven’t found a way around it, I think it may be something to with the size of the canvas when you begin the project? Still searching for info’ on that!
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@Coreyartus thanks for the Procreate information, I’ve been having this exact same problem!
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@Rachel-Horne yes the cast shadow is too light, I’ll have to fix it . Thanks
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@Coley I love how you illustrated the dragon. I think I want the girl to be peaking from the tree in the foreground so I get a sense that it's from her perspective. And it gives you more opportunity to show more of her character/storytelling. I also wonder if you should add some rim lighting on the dragon's head/neck? But yes, the could definitely be in a children's book.
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I really like the texture on this a lot, especially the background, grass and dragon, and it looks children-bookish to me for sure.
