[James Cameron's Avatar] Colonel Miles Quaritch VS. Toruk Makto

[Elk]

Thought I should post a WIP Log at times to show people how I pixel, in some ways... or so...

Doodled it right now, and yeah, it's a bit bigger than my usual stuff but I have my Avatar phase right now, harr...James Cameron ftw?
I'm such a fanboy...
the colorcount will be approx 70 or so, knowing me, maybe -/+ 6

http://img34.imageshack.us/img34/825/colonelvstoruk.png

http://img34.imageshack.us/img34/2954/colonelvstoruk2.png

http://img200.imageshack.us/img200/7637/colonelvstoruk3.png

http://img63.imageshack.us/img63/9646/colonelvstoruk5.png

http://img682.imageshack.us/img682/1440/colonelvstoruk6.png

Will update frequently

[JonathanOfDrain]

You have a good composition, strong use of cool and warm colors (I like the use of cool colors, makes it more jungle-y) and you've got just about everything blocked out. Make sure you pull out your references when you start going into detail.

Can you keep links to the progress of these? It will be nice to see how everything is coming together.

I'll comment more as you make more.

[Elk]

Didn't use any reference so far

here's a gif from the start
most updated is on top though



but yeah, will need to take a look at the details of the toruk makto, he has markins that have to be accurate more or less (red dragonthingy)

[Mathias]

holy batman its big

That is not pixel art dimensions! A brave undertaking. But, think of what happened to the dark elf. He's just a WNIP now . . . Seriously, why not just make this a good ol' digi paint? Not that I wouldn't love to see you follow through here.

Composition. The right side is boring compared to the left. What's the right side for? Is there going to be something important in the very close foreground?
I'm not comfortable with how the dragon and humanish figure are crammed together, then crammed over to the side. I look forward to the overall depth increasing as you progress onward.

Your WIP states are nice to see. Please continue to do that. I wouldn't mind seeing even more frequent intermediate WIP steps than you're already creating. It doesn't bore me a bit. They say a lot.

[Gil]

I don't agree, I like the composition. The red dragon is at the 1/3rd division line, making it visually harmonic because of the golden ratio.

The enemy is pushed into a very cramped piece of negative space of the dragon, implying it rushed by the dragon. This is storytelling through composition.

The big negative space to the right gives a sense of motion to the dragon.


All is well.

[Mathias]

Some good points, Gil. When you say the dragon is at the left 1/3 mark, I agree though it's deceiving because technically speaking, it nearly spans the width of the peice. But, it's the head/neck/chest that I think one focuses on naturally - that area is aligned well with the left 1/3 vertical mark. But then you confuse the golden section with the rule of thirds. Made a quick animation for the sake of the convo here . . .


Golden Section  VS  Rule of Thirds:



The large colored dots where the lines intersect are said to be where the typical viewer's eyes are drawn and are therefore the best areas to put the focus subject matter. Lines are where major transitions/edges should fall. bla blah blah, you know the rest.

[Gil]

Equal thirds is a way to simplify and extend the use of the golden ratio. It's close enough to be harmonically pleasing, but by making it three equal parts, you open up tons of possibilities.

[CrazyMLC]

I'd recommend using some references by now, I'd imagine adding in some things would be difficult after you have everything nice and pretty... like you forgot the little tendrils that attach to that Navi, which the Toruk Makto should have...

Otherwise, at this point it looks really nice.

[Mathias]

Equal thirds is a way to simplify and extend the use of the golden ratio. It's close enough to be harmonically pleasing, but by making it three equal parts, you open up tons of possibilities.

I agree. I don't know which is best. And I admit, though I've been aware of these concepts for quite some time, I rarely actually use them. When I do, it feels too forced and unnatural.

[Gil]

Well, I'm pretty sure Elk didn't do it consciously either. It probably just came out that way. That's the beauty of the golden ratio, it seems to magically appear in pretty compositions (though it's probably the other way around).