Prehistoric Hunt

[skeddles]

Also on PJ forums, but though I'd post here as well

here's what I have so far.

progression

so I'm working on ground and stuff now, but was talking with indigo and he said I focused too much on detail, and not enough on forms and shapes

basically, I need to figure out how to better shade the tree, and maybe rocks.
here was my first attempt at bettering the bark:

but I don't think it's possible to get it sharp enough to look good, and it kind of just looks like messy clay... I tried looking at images of trees, but they're all flat and boring, not the interesting twisty kind that people love

anyway, post on trees or whatever you want

[9_6]

I think the background looks awesome.
Clearly, more time went into it than into the characters.
Is there any particular reason why the bear (pig?) has a pure black outline?
The characters do not look integrated into the piece at all, having their own sepparate ramps and all while the background looks nice and unified.

The jumping pose of the bear pig thing also looks too clean.
It is nicely rendered and all, got some real good volumes in it but in the grand scheme of things, it looks too perfect, the legs are too parallel to each other and it looks a bit too artificial and forced to me.
The bird could use some sort of wings/claws even if they are heavily regressed so it's not just a feathered bean with legs and the guy with the bow has his ellbow a bit too high (should form a line with the arrow imo. Both arms, that is) and head too flat.

[skeddles]

thanks for the reply, I haven't worked on the characters yet, still fooling with the background, but I'll try to address those problems

I've tried giving a bark texture to the tree


edit:
recolored the bird to fit into the piece as well

[PixelPiledriver]

You've got a handful of tangents.
Tangents are when parts of an image align or nearly align, causing them appear to "interact" when not intended to.
This is usually considered unintentional if the 2 elements exist in different perspective planes.
It is distracting to the flow and space of the image.

A classic example of Tangent:

and the full image: http://www.deafcatholic.org/_/rsrc/1323784156420/homilies-1/fourthsundayofadventdecember182011/Botticelli_Alessandro-Cestello_Annunciation.jpg

You can however use Tangents intentionally to create focal points. So don't just assume that they are all bad and avoid them for your entire life.
They aren't even that big of a deal. But if you can weed out unintentional tangents you will have much more control over the flow of your image.
There might be a few more lurking about but these jumped out as being the most damaging.

[skeddles]

You've got a handful of tangents.
Tangents are when parts of an image align or nearly align, causing them appear to "interact" when not intended to.
This is usually considered unintentional if the 2 elements exist in different perspective planes.
It is distracting to the flow and space of the image.

A classic example of Tangent:

and the full image: http://www.deafcatholic.org/_/rsrc/1323784156420/homilies-1/fourthsundayofadventdecember182011/Botticelli_Alessandro-Cestello_Annunciation.jpg

You can however use Tangents intentionally to create focal points. So don't just assume that they are all bad and avoid them for your entire life.
They aren't even that big of a deal. But if you can weed out unintentional tangents you will have much more control over the flow of your image.
There might be a few more lurking about but these jumped out as being the most damaging.

Thanks for that, really helpful, something I'll have to watch out for.
I removed the vine, will fix the guy when I tackle him again.

The only one I don't know about is the boar butt. If I put space in between him and the tree wont the space be noticeable and create the same kind of effect? I guess it's better than it looking like he's sitting on it.




edit:
reworking the boar, I might want to go with a more muscular and less hairy version, but I don't think my anatomy skills are good enough for it to look good...

but here's what I got so far

[jams0988]

The only one I don't know about is the boar butt. If I put space in between him and the tree wont the space be noticeable and create the same kind of effect? I guess it's better than it looking like he's sitting on it.

The best thing to do would be to alter either the pig or the tree so that they don't have the same exact curve going on, as they do now. The second best thing to do, which would work almost as well, methinks, is to simply move the big back *into* the tree. That'd make it clear he's not sitting on it, and it'd also avoid the problem of the space between him and the tree creating that "negative outline" tangent you're worried about. =)

This is looking really good, btw. Though, like 9_6 said, I think your characters are losing to the background. Your characters are good too...they just don't seem to completely match the background, for some reason. It's kind of an odd feeling, honestly. = \

It might just be their poses. They're not super believable right now, to me. The guy's kind of aiming over the pigs head, especially considering the pig will be landing soon, and the pig doesn't really seem to be launching at him. Just kinda jumping in the air. The guy's flow is going straight right, and the pig's is just kinda scattered everywhere, vaguely going up and left. They just don't seem to be clicking together, or with the background. It's hard to explain, but it's like my eyes don't know where they're supposed to focus. No real direction in the picture.

Here's one of my favorite examples of awesome focal point/flow paintings, to give you an idea what I mean:


Notice how your eyes know exactly what you should be looking at. The boxers are brighter than the rest of the painting. There's clear visceral energy flowing between them. The guy on the left is EXPLODING into the guy on the right, and the guy one the right is obviously pushing back with all his might. The referee is like "holy crap! I want to stop this but it's too awesome! They have so much powah!" The coolest thing is that they both have clear directions they want to move in, and the focal point of the painting is right where their two paths cross - you can almost hear the two of them smashing into each other!

And one more example, from Hajime no Ippo:


So, sorry for the silly explanation, but I hope it helps.
To create more visual interest, I'd have one of the combatants lower than the other. Have the bird cowering back and to the ground in fear, while the guy keep his cool and aims up at the boar leaping from above! Right now your paintings is simply being read straight from left to right. The flow is boring. Which is a shame, because the art itself is very good! =)

Edit: Ah, another reason the bird looks weird is because his legs are pretty bright, even though the ground he's standing on is near black. The light source for the whole picture is a little vague to me actually, after looking at it again. The trees seem to be shaded from the back, and perhaps a bit from the left, but the pig and birdman both look like theyre shaded from the front!

Anyway, looking forward to some edits. This piece has a lot of potential, I think.