[WIP] Underwater scene - CC

[Kamirose]

I've never really done a background, so I'm looking for tips and CC as I proceed. And any tips on her are great as well!

This is my current palette:

I used this image as a reference for the background:

http://www.wallpaperstop.com/wallpapers/underwater-wallpapers/underwater-scene-wallpaper-2560x1600-1110079.jpg

[AlcopopStar]

Some lovely rendering but the head anatomy seems off kilter.

It's a tough angle, and one i haven't quite mastered, but I'll share some class demos on the topic i've found useful in the past. That will hopefully illustrate the issues better then I could explain.

Spoiler

http://www.angelfire.com/art3/kchendemos/

Also the composition is very... odd, all squashed to the bottom middle like it is. This could be intentional but you might want to look at framing in a way that has the figure be more of a focal point.

[Kamirose]

Thanks for the info, that anatomy resource is really helpful! This is a bit on hold at the moment, but I'll definitely be coming back to it when I have the time.

How would you suggest fixing the composition? Would bringing down the rocks and coral in the back help her stand out a bit more? Or maybe moving her to the right a bit, where there's some open space?

[AlcopopStar]

Perhaps try looking up the rule of thirds? it's by no means a strict rule but could be helpful for early compositions as you ease yourself into something more complex.

Other tips would be to greyscale and blur the image, also to step away from it physically and have a look. This allows you to look at the picture more formally as a series of shape and build a more deliberate composition from there. I suppose just try to consider what is important in the image, where do you want the eye to go and move and work from that. All the above techniques I mentioned kind of work for those ends.

[Decroded]

The palette seems a bit pointless and bland.
I don't know what ur experience is but I'd say work without a restricted palette.
Just limit your colours by recycling where u can. Primarily to have cohesion across the scene but also because sharing hues across ramps is fun and can lead to interesting results.

I don't think square suits composition.
Something like a vertical rectangle is a simple option.

I don't know how to explain this or if this is correct but I'm seeing lines that cause conflict in the scene.
Primarily the invisible line cast vertically from her gaze is abruptly intersected by the horizontal coral forms on the left.
Then my eye bounces back and follows the curve of the hair then spazzes out and gets lost.
Perhaps prominent lines in the scene should be vertical being careful that horizontal lines are kept at the bottom of the visual hierarchy (smaller, low contrast, don't intersect her gaze).

Alternately you could have her gazing from bottom right corner at 45 degree up and left and have her hair extend in waves in this direction along the path of her gaze.
I think angled lines are less susceptible to conflict and wavy lines just kinda engulf everything in their path.

Lots of ways to skin a cat but please don't because it's not nice.