[feebsaint]

Here I'll be posting my progress of coloring my sensate. I owe a lot to the critiques. I think I've grown to really appreciate every bit of input people can offer, whereas my artist's ego used to not be able to take it. I'd think, 'he doesn't know what he's talking about... he's not even an artist.' I've come a long way, and I think my earlier work suffered much, from being so closed minded. I've been very much open to critiques... as I have to, as part of my job, and I've found that keeping an open mind leads to phoenomenal growth.

No case is stronger than this one... this piece is already infinitely better, had I not posted it, and taken each bit of advice offered in construct. Thanks, everyone... here she is with some basic coloring... I'm going right back to rough in the background color comp... I'll post updates of her in this thread, until she's ready for the "final work" area of sijun.



I'll keep checking back here, between posts, to catch suggestions to incorporate... please speak your mind, however small a change you may like to see. Thanks, all!

[gLitterbug]

I love the lighting and I�m not able to spot something I dislike at the moment.

This picture makes me hot!

[Akolyte]

yummy. Mike owns.

[Flinthawk]

Nice stuff, Mike, I'm really diggin' the coloring style you've got going already...that airbrushed look... Her left knee looks great, don't know why I see that right away, heh. I didn't get a chance to say it in the other thread but I really think this piece improved with the changes you made as in positioning of the fruit as well as the changes in the face.

It's probably too late to say it now but the only thing that bothers me a tad is her right foot...it doesn't look like she's resting on a rock or has any pressure there to keep her leg in that position. Yeah, I know it's picky but it's really the only thing wrong I can comment on. Maybe changing the rock to meet up with her foot would work since you haven't gotten to painting it yet...

Anyway, really nice work and like I said I'm really liking the coloring style and mood of the piece.

-Flinthawk

[Frosted Flame]

Mike, although I don't feel quite at liberty to be making judgements of you, I will hehe.

I too think you have grown tremendously as an artist since coming here. Not that you were ever even remotely shabby. I just think like you said, that are acquiring a much deeper understanding for what makes a piece positive and negative. Not only that, but you've become much more likeable! I remember when you first started posting, you sort of had this arrogance to your posts. It really frightened me from offering critiques to you.. and it's not like you've never had a reason to be so confident (because you seriously kick ass), it was just rather intimidating.

Anyway, I totally love this. I can say with complete honesty that it is my favorite piece from you. It has SOO much attitude, and the lighting you've brought in with this recent wash of colour is absolutely breathtaking. I wish you all the best in your pursuit to grow as an artist, I have complete faith that you'll be one of the best.

Take Care!

[Bg]

Nice style you have going on there. It's been a while since I've used the airbrush... =)

[feebsaint]

Oh, man... and the hits just keep coming. I feel like I'm having a run of luck, like a winning streak in Vegas... I hope it never ends!

gLitterbug: I'm so happy you're digging it. Thanks for the comment.

Akolyte:Thanks! But I don't own... or, not much, anyway... consider the debt I'm in.

Flinthawk: It's never too late! Great assessment of that foot & leg! Actually, I drew it, with the intention of it 'dangling,' not resting on stone. I think (and let me know if this seems a good idea), instead of placing a rock under her foot, I'll make it more clear that the pressure is near her thigh, just above her knee... so that it seems a proper angle to dangle. Hey! I'm a poet, and I didn't even... er... know I was.

Frosted Flame: You absolute stud! Man, that makes me so wary of my attitude. I think I'm quickly undergoing a monstrous paradigm shift in life. I never thought of myself as cocky or egotistical, but that's really what I've been... someone who defends their work from an honest critique, is really in need of an ego-check. I think I'm in debt so many of those. I wasn't aware that it was so obvious, that other's picked up on it. I was aware of my personal maturity, and was basically declaring it. Wow... what a friggin' wake up call, that you had noticed it like you had. I really appreciate you frankly mentioning it, and I'm glad you consider me so much beyond where I was. I really have to say this again... "Wow."

Lukias: I appreciate it. That foot is undergoing an overhaul

Bg: You know what's really funny? I re-discovered the airbrush on this project... with the tiefling (the first piece of the series). I planned on using the airbrush, only to lay in the basic values... then I decided to use it for basic darks and lights... hell, before long, the painting was a painting... and ridiculously quickly! I'm still a major fan of the oil brushes painter uses, but the airbrush really does a great job, and cuts down on time. How cool that you noticed!

Ok! Well, I'm about to post another version of her... she's already come a long way since that image up there... I'll tend to those suggestions you guys have made, first, then post again. I'm guessing in about an hour from now.... quite probably less.

[burn0ut]

wow comin along great feeb, i love the subtile lighting

[TekK]

feeb,

holy crap, that's awesome... i got quite a shock when i saw the picture, since it was quite a beautiful jump from the lineart in your previous thread... :P i can't see a single thing wrong with it, except i thought i might mention flinthawk's comment on the right foot... i think he meant the sensate's right foot, not the one ot the right of the picture... i agree with him that her right (our left) leg doesn't look like it's planted firmly enough on the rock... i'm guessing you're already on top of that, though...

can't wait to see the next stage!

cheers,
teck

[feebsaint]

burn0ut: Thanks, buddy!

[edit]TekK!!You posted just before me! As for the foot... D'oh! I finally get it! Thanks! Luckily, I felt the same way about it, and I shelved the rock out a bit there. Hopefully it's better communicated now. D'ya think? Also, TekK... I'm glad you like the jump from the lineart, like I do... I'm really pumped about this one. [/edit]

Ok, everyone... here's where I have her now... at this rate, I should have little trouble finishing her tonight!

Noticed, instead of putting pressure on her thigh, to indicate her foot is dangling, I pressed a rock against her calf, and worked the shadow, to prove her foot is held apart from the stone.

I still have some big value issues I'm working out... lesse if you can spot 'em... but I'm still tackling it... she's still very generally colored, and I have to go in, soon, and start giving different gadgets their unique colors... but it shouldn't deviate too far from the scheme I've worked out this far.

With my update, updated comments are more than welcome... nobody to show this stuff to at home... nobody at work... so sijun is my only feedback on this. Please work me over, if necessary, but don't hold back... you've all done such a kick-ass job at critiquing. I have a surprise for you guys in a couple-o-days. *dark chuckle*




[ June 24, 2001: Message edited by: feebsaint ]

[Roy Batty]

I've been lurking around this forum for a while without posting and saw this image when you first posted it.
Just wanted to say that its moving along great, I just hope this stuff she is eating won't be of a nasty color

[update]
i've started writing this post before you posted an update.
it looks like strawberry jam!

[ June 24, 2001: Message edited by: Roy Batty ]

[Finnegan]

no matter what u say, I think that this pic truly demonstrates u gettin down wit yo bad self. don't deny it...u enjoy it! Embrace it.

Great pic here bro. I'm goin to try to digi-color some of my stuff, and I was wondering what programs u recomend. Is this done in painter?

can't wait to see more bro,
FINN

[Dryfire]

really cool man.. its nice and warm :-)

[feebsaint]

Roy Batty: Well, I'm honored that you'd make your first-in-a-long-time post, on my thread. Hahah.. "strawberry jam." Great comparison... I was also thinking of making it more multi-colored, so as to give it a truly alien-plant look. Sorta like a colorful fish, or sompin'. ...any thoughts?

Finnegan: Yep... all done in Painter 6. I not only recommend it, but I vehemently recommend it ("vehemently"... feeb's word of the week. I'm a big boy, now, so I have to learn big words, and repeat them often, so they stick). You get people like Craig Mullins, and a schload of other artists on sijun, who make such amazing works in Photoshop, and my recommendation may not bear so much weight, but you have to realize, I'd fail miserably in Photoshop. Thanks for the comment... haha.. <-- a true laugh "down wit yer bad self." Oh, man... do please rock on.

Dryfire: I like that you gleaned that mood from this piece. Guess how I feel, now? ...Nice and warm...

[Basement bound]

Powerful piece man!!!! (grrr Envious blob growing in my stomach).
my sugestions are as follows:
a very dark branch coming from upper left behind the front branch to create some depth, and/or add more rocks/stuff behind her in her pelvic reigon. To me right now she looks as though she is in a zoo (due to the gray wall) rather an the deep forest.

As to your attidue, yeah it comes off, but hey (shrugging) the intentions are good.

[Flinthawk]

Wow, this is coming along great, Mike. Just one thing...I was talking about HER right foot But it looks like it's taking care of itself now that there's some shading there to indicate the form of the rock better...now you can see her heel making contact. And the other leg does look more like it's resting in the right spots as well. Keep it going!

[edit] hah, whoops, didn't see that Tekk pointed out what I was talking about. But yeah, like I said, looks better now

-Flinthawk

[ June 24, 2001: Message edited by: Flinthawk ]

[Frosted Flame]

No problem Mike - I just try and speak with total honesty while doing be very best to not insult anyone or tarnish their integrity.

Something I forgot to mention in my earlier post, but feel quite strongly about, is your grasp of anatomy. I can honestly not think of another artist of the top of my head that has a better grasp of the human anatomy. It seems as though you can draw every muscle, every ligament in ANY position. It doesn't matter how contorted or unusual the position is, you always nail it SPOT ON. An area where this absolutely shines in this piece is her left knee. I cannot for the life of me find even the slightest flaw with it. It looks like it's about to come out of my monitor and plow me in the jaw This piece just keeps getting better, I find myself checking the Sijun forums for the sole reason of seeing an update on this pic. AWESOME!

[feebsaint]

[edit]very accidntal double post.

[ June 24, 2001: Message edited by: feebsaint ]

[feebsaint]

... awesome ...
... awesome ...
... awesome ...

Man, you guys kick ass. Ok... I've got the latest pic... I can't afford to spend much more time on it, which means I'm gonna have to omit the awesome comment Basement bound made... his suggestion of a darker branch giving the piece some depth. Dammit! It does look like a grey wall! Still, I'm trying to keep consistent with the other pics in the series, which have no background... focusing merely on the figure. The A.D. even told me to totally downplay the rocks and tree as much as possible... so I'm sorta stuck between a rock and a hard place (like the chick in my painting!)

So whaddya guys think? Almost finished? I'm going back to make final touches, then I have to move on to another piece... My deadline is tomorrow, and I'm only 1/3 the way done with the project.. D'OH!

Basement bound: ... Thanks for the crit, bro... like I said above... I wish I could integrate that into the piece, but I don't have the time or clearance, I'm afraid. I really do appreciate that... More than that, I appreciate the ego check. I now have a second opinion... and I'm glad you fellas understand that I'm trying to make ammends for such beligerence I musta forked out at some point. I'm kinda reveling in others right now... finding a lot more satisfaction in the community, rather than the sef... if that makes the smallest grain of sense.

Flinthawk: Yeah... he caught that for me. Still, man, thanks for bringing it up... it saved me hella time in rework, since you caught it in time... before I started laying down final colors.

Frosted Flame: Yeah, you did a great job of pointing it out to me, without offending me in the slightest. I love people who are frank... and frankly, you kick ass! Thanks, also, for your comment on anatomy. I've struggled like mad to understand it, and I still fake things like mad... take that knee you like so much.. haha! I TOTALLY faked that! If you and I were in the same room, and I started sketching out a knee, you'd laugh your ass off at me!

I owe a great deal of what I know about anatomy and positioning to Alan Tew, one of my best friends in this life. You said you can call to mind someone who can handle it better? Awesome compliment, and I literally blushed at the thought... but I can think of someone right off... Alan. If you've never heard of him, go to his site, and start looking through the old months. He's been petering out recently, due to work deadlines, but his stuff back several months is to die for... you'll find that every sketch is simple, yet amazing. His sense of humor is nothing short of genius. Here's a link to his site.

[edit]Hahaha!! I had to come back!!... I just started looking through Alan's site... and found a great example of what I'm talking about... a sketch that shows how he easily tackles angles, and his sense of humor can be tasted here.[/edit]

Oh no.. I just hit enter, and may have a double post on my hands... if so, forgive me. All that having been said... here is the latest pic... I'm only able to make some slight adjustments to it before I bail this piece... I'd love to hear from you, though, and I can still fix minor stuff (sorry!) a bit later... hopefully, in an hour or so, she'll be in Finished Works!



[ June 24, 2001: Message edited by: feebsaint ]

[Frosted Flame]

Wow, you certainly do a great job of "faking" it. I refuse to believe that. Hehe.

Yea, I definitely know of Alan. He is a phenomenon. I am completely in love with his work. In fact, I think it was through his page that I stumbled across your incredibl talent (looonnngggg ago). Thanks for reintroducing me to his site though, it has been a LONG time since I've dropped him a visit. I realize now, what I've been missing... holy shit.

[feebsaint]

Hey, frosted.. make sure you check the update/edit I just made to my post, concerning Alan... you gotta see this pic (i'm guessing you wouldn't have re-read that post)

[TekK]

hey feeb,

i took a look at the pic you linked, and you're right, it's awesome! and hilarious!

[edit]and i just looked through the rest of the sketches on his site... dang, they're amazing... they look so effortless! his site's been added to my quickly-growing list of bookmarks... :P[/edit]

anyways, i love how the pic is turning out, though you already know about the grey wall... something about her right (our left) foot still bugs me... it almost seems as if she's not putting enough pressure on the rock to be able to support herself comfortably... it's a really little detail, but i thought i'd point it out coz it that little detail was kinda sticking out at me... i can't place the reason though... it might have something to do with the orientation of her foot... looks like it's pointed down, and therefore almost like it should be slipping down the rock... i dunno, i'm just nit-picking, but that's probably because i can't see anything else even remotely wrong about th e pic... i love the little gold embellishment on her thigh, btw...

cheers,
teck

[edit]ps. that surprise you were referring to... you wouldn't happen to be talking about posting a special "camel-toe" version for our eyes only, would you? LOL [/edit]

[ June 25, 2001: Message edited by: TekK ]

[ June 25, 2001: Message edited by: TekK ]

[Frosted Flame]

Holy fuck Mike, you're right. That picture is insane! My jaw is still hanging open.

Wow, thanks for that link. I'm going to go draw now... hehe

[Vgta]

HOLY SHIT, Man you are truly inspiering. This is looking incredible. I didn't get a chance to log on during the weekend otherwise I would have posted something earlier....WOW. Great work, love the colors the lighting, thanks for sharing your work with us.

[NukleoN]

Very nice Feeb! Love the drawing and excellent painting style as well...her left leg seems bent oddly, laterally hyper-extended which bothers me a tiny bit...but I don't think it's anything too major.

Very nice.

[zenonithus]

This has got to be the first piece of work I've seen in ages that has truly impressed me

[Dude]

Wow! Mike that's frickin' awesome, I sat there for a minute trying to find a problem but theres nothing that really jumps out at me. I simply love the girl/clothing design and you illustrated the story fantastically. The use of airbrushing and the colors you used give it a really nice feel to it! Keep up the great work, talk to ya later.

Dude

[ June 25, 2001: Message edited by: Dude ]

[Lunatique]

Holy shit, Mike! Awesome! Different from your past work. I LIKE it!

[patrick]

FEEBS!!!! That is KICKIN!!!! That has come sosososo far from your prelim sketch. I absolutely love this. I cant wait till its done so I can snag it for my WP collection.
ROCK ON Dude!

[feebsaint]

THANKS GUYS!!!

I love all of the comments... I'm pressed for time right now, or I'd answer them one by one, as I like to do...

I really love that NukleoN pointed out his issue with the leg... I totally agree... but I guess I've come too far to fix it. At any rate, I'm going to be working my ass off to finish the remaining four.. so I'll have to leave some of the small stuff there for now. I'll probably go back, and fix all of these problems, for myself... but I fear they won't be too different than my finished versions I've begun to post.

THAT REMINDS ME: The entire reason I wanted to post here! (duh!) I've placed her in finished work, now. Here she is... along with the updated Chaos Tiefling.

I'd love to get your comments there! :B