[Highfive]

Here's an updated version of a painting I posted earlier.

I've improved things like the grass, the torch and the scythe, but the major difference is that I've removed the severed vampire head that was in this pic before. It spoilt the whole composition something cruel, and it didn't look like it was rendered the same way. I tried to paint it properly but it just didn't turn out right.

All crits and comments are appreciated, and you can also check out the original image or the reference image. Hope you like it!



[ January 11, 2002: Message edited by: Highfive ]

[Laemtao]

Hey there.. Great painting.. i like the your call to take out the severed head. Plus the head shouldnt have had the orange highlight from the fire because the way the right hand was holding it.. the right knee/leg would have obstructed the light anyways. .. and i also didnt quite like the way the blood was dripping

Returning to your final pic, I just have a few crits. (i hope i dont overstep my bounds here heh..)I am a little confused about your light source. Are the mushrooms luminous? its kind of distracting IMO. It draws too much attention away from the 2 main characters.. unless of course there a hidden story about the mushrooms?

The bottom rightside of the tree trunk i think needs to be extended out into view abit more i think because it looks like its off balance abit.. but i could be wrong.

The trees in the background could be less defined to show distance, a bit more blur would probably be better. And eventhough i love how u rendered the grass i think the patches of grass and foliage behind the right side of the man kneeling should be less defined.. Somehow the area where the mushrooms are and that patch of foiliage draws too much focus. One last comment.. since the moonlight(?) is coming from the upper left.. shouldnt the branches of the tree on the left side be totally immersed in shadow?

I really liked what u did with that guys mask BTW. The texture of the tree and the scythe are great. Great work!

Mo

[Awetopsy]

I agree almost completely with the above post..

removing the severed head was a good call.

[Highfive]

Lametao - The head was added to the composition just so it could fit into a vampire-picture thread and it was slapped in pretty carelessly. I'm glad you find it looks better without it since everything did utterly wrong with it . I had some blood on the weapon blades as well before but it got in the way of the metallic details, so that was removed as well.

True, the luminous mushrooms are distracting, but they aren't meant to perform any purpose other than indicate the source of the greenish fill light. The scene might still look okay if that fill light didn't have a visible source, but when I started I wasn't sure if it would work. Thanks for offering your view on that, though.

I agree with you on the grass on the right side of the tree. It should be in total shadow and a lot less defined. I've been thinking about putting more detail into those background trees rather than blurring them, though. Blurring would get a nice depth of field effect, but that would blur the clouds as well which have received some good feedback. Maybe a fogging effect will work instead to bring more attention to the foreground.

You're the first to notice an imbalance in the tree. I think there's a lot of trees out there more ready to tip over than that, but maybe some roots on the right would probably frame the characters better.

Definitely agree with you on the lighting of the branches to the left of the tree, too. There's almost in front of the moons light source so none of the light should be visible on them at all.

Thanks for all those suggestions, Laemtao. You're not overstepping your bounds at all by critting a second pass like this, but you must've given this image a pretty thorough look over to find them. I appreciate the effort!

[Shiro_tengu]

excellent mate. Well done. Love the work you did to improve this. Fantastic. Good idea loosing the head!

[Tarandon]

looks like Kevin Spacey

Good job!

[Highfive]

Shiro_tengu - thanks, mate! "Off with his 'ead!" hehe

Tarandon - That has got to be the biggest compliment I have ever received in my entire life! Screw digital art - I'm off to Hollywood! LOL