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"Keeping Close" Self-Review
13 years ago
General
Regarding: http://www.furaffinity.net/view/9318201/
I don't consider it to be badly done, the shading, anatomy, and colors are more spot-on than anything else in my gallery. The gestures and expressions exude a sort of genuine love between these two, and in that I should be pleased with its result
So why am I kind of upset with how it turned out? Because I put them in the bed-void again. It's not unlike the Dragonball Z expansive fighting landscape: it serves as a mere backdrop for the subject, not lending anything to the narrative or setting, really. The bed void has become such a cop-out for me.
I keep looking and thinking, what else could I have done to lend to this? What else could have been included to dig deeper into their personalities? I'm looking around my own bedroom, and first and foremost, it is messy, not this neat and pristine ideal IKEA bedroom. Our bedsheets are somewhat mismatched; our pillows, sheets, and blanket all slightly different shades of blue. Our nightstands are adorned with seemingly random objects: a water bottle, earplugs, Zippo fuel, an umbrella with Seurat's "Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte" printed on it. Background objects like this can say just as much about the subject as their pose or expression does.
So I have something to dwell on in the next coming weeks before I open for commissions. I've grown a bit tired of the usual pin-ups and sex scenes in the bed-void. I want to create narrative, I want to have a pin-up exist in a setting that lends to the picture, whether that be an added 'sexiness' or a creating a more genuine connection to the character.
Thanks for reading if you did, I think that was something I needed to just write out and get out there. Hopefully you should see some of this develop in the next coming months!
tl;dr - I want to stop drawing basic pin-ups and start creating narrative.
These are all good ways to familiarize yourself with actually creating atmospheres. Simple, sure, but they're good practices and if you get used to it, it'll become quite easier... or in theory. :D
Especially the mini-comic thing, there's another weakness of mine (sequential art).
I'm rambling a little right now, I believe... But if you'd like to chat, I'd love to help! :D
That said, I also understand your concerns.
Certainly, having more of the setting and a few details can change a picture from looking like a pinup to a snapshot from life. As you say, pulling back from the bed to show even a few of the items in a bedroom can add a lot of flavor to the scene. If there is an alarm clock, what time is it showing? What items are within easy reach of the bed? It doesn't even take many details to set up the idea of a messy bedroom. Because, in the end, you don't want the setting and details in it to drown out what is most likely the focus of the piece. The characters.
But then, I think you understand this. You do have a few pictures that have set up a good idea of background already.
Coffee & Cream is obviously in the kitchen.
Quiet in the Library has the obvious setting, plus a few books at hand with titles showing.
And you've got a few others with details, so certainly you can do it and do it well. The thing to do is just give yourself a little more room to add a few extra details without overcrowding things.
I certainly look forward to seeing what you come up with while expanding the realm of your pictures to include more character and setting than a pure pinup.
That being said, this is fantastic advice! It's important to be selective with these kinds of details. I want my work to have layers that take time to pick apart, and not have everything up front. :V
That's what I liked so much about this one. It was a simple pose, but just the fact that it's choosing to show this character outside of his sexiest moment made me really happy.