[micke]

Here's a new illustration that i did for a
magazine called Starwars gamer(issue.3). It was sketched on paper first and finished in photoshop. I used a photo of my ex as a reference for Jaina's face. The moon in the background is Yavin and the ships in the background are modified x-wings. I don't like the character in the background too much, but it's too late to do anything about it now.

crits, comments are welcome.
Cheers,
Mikael

[mjmcchesney]

Very, very nice, Mikael.

It seems with every painting your values get tighter and tighter. I agree with the figure in the background. It seems his definitions are far less refined than the pilot in the foreground. I absolutely love the values you used for the woman...however, it seems that her overall color setup is far more saturated and "red-point" than the rest of the image. To me, this really clashes, and I keep wanting to see the pilot in the foreground all alone. I feel the planet and the background pilot just throw off the whole color scheme.

Anyway, I really love this. Probably your best yet.
-mjm

[marc_taro]

This is really good. I like the characters. I'm not sure about the brightness of the moon - it's pretty strong behind the guy's head there...The faces are great though.

Excellent SW feel. You don't want to move to Canada to work on a SW game do you? (It can't be any colder here than in Norway...)

marc_taro

[YAZ]

Wow man, that is beautiful!

[EviLToYLeT]

HEhe.. micke's alive and hopping around too! Cheers!

You know what's wrong with that 2nd guy? It looks like joachim... hehe j/k

Nice picture, though I'd have to say the contrast between the girl and the guy is a bit too much... the xwing in the front is a bit awkward as well.. I get an impression that the things puny.

well, nice to see work from you again. Keep it coming.

[Anthony]

Nice Micke. If I might say something about the composition-I think the forground XWing overlapping her arm is out of place. I'm guessing you tried it both in front and behind her arm? Just a thought, you could have gone with a backwards S if you had the top left on coming forward/down/left, like it's flying from around the planet, and had the forground one's wings diagonally upleft/downright. But then composition is an elusive thing ain't it? Beautiful shtuff as per norm. :]

[Rinaldo]

Gawd, I love this one Micke!
it's so damn stylish=)

[Jason]

I voted for you Mike. I hope you win!


Very nice art. My favorite comision you have done is this one and the gun men box. Very nice! YOu keep on improving. As if though that is posable to realy do at your stage. Thanks for all the insperation.

[6 hen 2 kids & a red]

Your faces have much shape. I learn from your work.

[micke]

Thanks for the comments everybody
It's interresting to hear the different opinions on the composition. Clearly something i have to work more with.
mjmcchesney:Thanks!(your'e stolln, right?) I agree the planet is way too saturated, i guess i got blind when i was working on it. I did'nt have a solid design for the pilot in the background either so i felt a bit unsecure
when working on it. I guess it shows.

marc_taro:Yeah, too saturated. My mistake
Yaz:thanks alot!
EviLToYLeT:That's funny, everytime i draw a face people tell me it looks like Joachim. Maybe i've worked too long together with him, hehe. 7 years.
I wanted to try to make the girl brighter than the guy in the background, but i'm still not quite sure how it worked out. Probably failed I tried making the pic like many of the original illustrations i've seen like Drew Struzan's compositions with many different elements together in different scales. I'm not quite sure if this worked in my pic.
Anthony. I tried both and i think it looked worse when her arm overlapped the wing. i suck when it comes to composition. Just tried to solve it there and then. I wish i could post the picture when i was working on it and get feedback, but i'm not allowed.
Rinaldo: thanks, man
Jason: Win? I don't get it. what is it for?
6 hen 2 kids & a red sow:
I'm glad to hear that

Thanks again people!
-Mikael

[TheMilkMan]

wow that's amazing micke...excellent work!!

[Mindsiphon]

nice work

[Frost]

Raina looks awesome! I LOVE her face and all. Excellent.

(Jaina that is...)

[ April 22, 2001: Message edited by: Frost ]

[immi]

Jesus Micke. You never cease to amaze me. Do you think I could post this as a POTD?

[Pat]

Hey micke, that's some tight color design there. That band of saturated color between the hot spot and the shadow on the planet really punches the brightness.

My fave part of the picture has to be composition though. The eye traces a sort of "S" pattern through the picture, down the planet, to the girl, across to the X-Wing which, because of it's tilt brings your eye back into the picture.

Is the guy in the background supposed to be evil? If so, I would have removed the secondary light from the right side and moved it to a more lower position. This might help to give a clue to his character as well as resolve some of the indistinct features from the obviously ambient light/contrast issue you're having.

My only grief with the pic is what appears to be a photo/computer-generated ground. It's not that it looks bad, or clashes with the image, but it denies me the chance to see how you'd approach that kind of texture with your brush work.

Outstanding work.

-Pat

[-HoodZ-]

jeez micke you amaze me of your work each time you post

[ April 22, 2001: Message edited by: -HoodZ- ]

[Sergenth]

uhm... hmm... beautious!

[Jenn]

Woo... Nice Looks awesome..

[Darklighter]

very cool, look like z-95 headhunters (yeah, i'm a nerd) and she does look like what Jaina would prolly look like.... and that looks like uh, a modified Dengar =) very nice man

[micke]

immi: Thanks! Sure, use it. I've forgot to
give credits to Wizards of the coast and lucas film. They're pretty strict on that(I even have to sign a new contract for each picture) I'll do it tomorrow and let you now.
Pat:Good points.
The ground is painted with a photo-texture on a layer over it. I flattened the image ground and painted over it in order to blend them together better. I should have done a better job at it. It's a complex thing, mixing things like that.
Yes, the other guy is suppose to be evil.
The main reason for adding the secondary light was to trying to blend the guy carefully into the scene.
Darklighter: Ha ha! You have a good eye for details. Yes it's a Z-95 and your'e 100%right
i had Dengar in mind when creating the Cyborg in the background, I'm impressed.
For those who don't know, Jaina is Han Solo and Princess Leias daughter.

Thanks guys!
Mikael

[::Dino::]

Awesome work I'd have to agree with the saturation issue. I happen to like the character in the backround but to me he seems out of place in the composition. I love Jaina's uniform/wrinkles and folds. In the close-up Jaina's left eye (her left our right) seems warped but in the smaller version it isn't noticable. Anyway I should probably bite my lip considering this destroys anything I've ever done

[micke]

Here's a close-up of Jaina:

[toast!]

[word] ; that s fantastic Micke your work is really inspiring;thougth i like the idea of taking a pic of an ex (quite inspiring too hehe)

Toast

[tayete]

Nice job!
Jaina looks really great!!!

[Collosimo]

Once again Micke, this is great. It is good that you are posting more now... I hadn't seen much of you before the 'Renaissance' <<had to call it something! (rebirth!)


Would I be correct in saying that younger characters generally have those rosy cheeks? usually females too? I think that helps makes Jaina look young, it is a really nice and well executed part of the character. Of course the features such as cuetsy nose, full lips and big eyes help too...

[DiXter]

Wow.. what more to say.
I love the colors and the shapes.
Good job!!

[BooMSticK]

micke, That is tight! Great work. I just have one comment which is compositional related. To me it seems that Jaina and the x-wing is fighting for whom should be the foreground element. Maybe you could put the xwing behind Jaina's left arm??? Not sure if it would improve anything... heck, I'm rambling on my first post on the mess. board.
,Boom

[micke]

Dino:I agree too!
Toast: thanks!And oh, she's available as far as i know
Collosimo: She's about to be in her mid teens. about 16-17 years old or so. Thanks for your comments.
wakestarr, boomstick: I think it has something to do with the guy facing the wrong way. I tried putting the x-wing behind the arm, but i think it looked weird. Maybe it's just me. I'm sure gonna try harder with the composition next time. It's Jainas Z-95 in the foreground by the way. Many has pointed out the same thing and i want to post a version where the ship is behind her arm so everybody could see if is better.

Cheers, Guys
Mikael

[Binke]

Kicking ass micke!! Starwars rules
The girl looks very cute as well, you got a good taste and I agree on other statements about the background. Oh and thanks for the email reply, I will get that stormtrooper suit one day =)

[Sedone]

Kick ass, Micke! No complaints from me...well, maybe the negative spaces could have a bit more information, as far as the setting and all. But definitely one of my favorites from you. Cute girl