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"Fireflies" Work in Progress - Comments and Critique Welcome
This piece is called "Fireflies"
Story behind the image:
Before I met my boyfriend Adam, I was headed down a path from which I would never have survived (if you catch my drift). He and I had always been a fan of the Halo universe and games. When I told him that I played Halo, he said to me "I love you." At the time, it was all in fun, but about a month after our first meeting, he asked me to date him. Nearly 6 years later, I'm still with him and happier than I ever could have dreamed.
If any of you know the Halo story line, the armored hero of Earth is called the Master Chief. Adam was my Master Chief. He saved me from a mistake that I can't believe I even considered. He called me "Firefly" because he thought I had a fiery attitude. I admit, I guess I did. :P From then on, it has been my pet/nick name. All that said, I wanted to do a piece that reflected those two names, and so here is the work in progress of said piece.
I would like for any artists to critique this piece, even in its unfinished state so that I can improve it before taking it to print. Comments are also welcome! Be honest, as it's the only way I'll get better. How is the size in relation to the 'artboard'? Should I possibly change the orientation to portrait? Should I get it printed as a poster on paper? Or perhaps on a canvas?
I will say now that the pose, and even some of the shading hints are heavily referenced from this http://cerxis.deviantart.com/art/Ma.....rtana-99815019 and several photos of my own personal models. I bumped up the color and highlights to suit myself. I believe that imitation is the highest form of flattery, and anyone who disagrees with that can keep their opinions to themselves. I am not copying the art, I used it for guidance and direction as it perfectly captured the feel that I wanted.
Status:INCOMPLETE
Tools: Photoshop CS3
Time In: Approx. 6hrs
Native Size: 24x18 inches at 300ppi (Poster Size) (Will add more black when completed for bleed)
Still to be done: Finish Firefly, Add Thumb to hand, Adjust Shading throughout, Add highlights and under armor color to hand, Finish shading helmet peak, finish shading chest plates, add more shadow to visor
Story behind the image:
Before I met my boyfriend Adam, I was headed down a path from which I would never have survived (if you catch my drift). He and I had always been a fan of the Halo universe and games. When I told him that I played Halo, he said to me "I love you." At the time, it was all in fun, but about a month after our first meeting, he asked me to date him. Nearly 6 years later, I'm still with him and happier than I ever could have dreamed.
If any of you know the Halo story line, the armored hero of Earth is called the Master Chief. Adam was my Master Chief. He saved me from a mistake that I can't believe I even considered. He called me "Firefly" because he thought I had a fiery attitude. I admit, I guess I did. :P From then on, it has been my pet/nick name. All that said, I wanted to do a piece that reflected those two names, and so here is the work in progress of said piece.
I would like for any artists to critique this piece, even in its unfinished state so that I can improve it before taking it to print. Comments are also welcome! Be honest, as it's the only way I'll get better. How is the size in relation to the 'artboard'? Should I possibly change the orientation to portrait? Should I get it printed as a poster on paper? Or perhaps on a canvas?
I will say now that the pose, and even some of the shading hints are heavily referenced from this http://cerxis.deviantart.com/art/Ma.....rtana-99815019 and several photos of my own personal models. I bumped up the color and highlights to suit myself. I believe that imitation is the highest form of flattery, and anyone who disagrees with that can keep their opinions to themselves. I am not copying the art, I used it for guidance and direction as it perfectly captured the feel that I wanted.
Status:INCOMPLETE
Tools: Photoshop CS3
Time In: Approx. 6hrs
Native Size: 24x18 inches at 300ppi (Poster Size) (Will add more black when completed for bleed)
Still to be done: Finish Firefly, Add Thumb to hand, Adjust Shading throughout, Add highlights and under armor color to hand, Finish shading helmet peak, finish shading chest plates, add more shadow to visor
Category Artwork (Digital) / Fanart
Species Unspecified / Any
Size 1280 x 960px
File Size 62.2 kB
First off kudos on such a unique concept and it has a VERY personal touch since it is a private thing between you two. I think it was executed very well.
Things I would change...Maybe make the actual firefly a tad bigger. for giving off that much light it seems it should be just a little bigger. you want your eye to be drawn there since that is the actual focus of the picture. as well as maybe making the center part of the firefly's glowing end a little more glowie, like brighter. If it is the light source, it should be the brightest thing, but of course not too bright. I personally like the soft edges and the overall feel of the painting, so I say stick with it.
As for printing, I will get my mate to take a look. He has had a LOT of his digital pieces printed and he can definatly tell you what paper and such to use.
Things I would change...Maybe make the actual firefly a tad bigger. for giving off that much light it seems it should be just a little bigger. you want your eye to be drawn there since that is the actual focus of the picture. as well as maybe making the center part of the firefly's glowing end a little more glowie, like brighter. If it is the light source, it should be the brightest thing, but of course not too bright. I personally like the soft edges and the overall feel of the painting, so I say stick with it.
As for printing, I will get my mate to take a look. He has had a LOT of his digital pieces printed and he can definatly tell you what paper and such to use.
Thanks for the awesome comments!
I thought about making the firefly bigger, and I may do just that in the final. I have plans to make the glowing butt a little brighter, just haven't gotten to it yet.
Please do get back to me on the printing. That would save me money on tests and whatnot.
I thought about making the firefly bigger, and I may do just that in the final. I have plans to make the glowing butt a little brighter, just haven't gotten to it yet.
Please do get back to me on the printing. That would save me money on tests and whatnot.
no problem! he has done a LOT of posters and prints and knows ALL about types of paper and glosses, and even knows a place that prints for you online that is WAY cheaper then most stores. And you can get some nicer paper styles and such as well. Once he gets up I will send him your way.
*bows* Many thanks. I eagerly await his comments/recommendations. Also ask him what color mode his works were done in. This one is CMYK from the start to account for printing world. I'm a "looking for work" graphic designer, so he can talk technical to me. Wait... that sounded really dirty. :-P
juindalo
hmmm, coming alone well and I agree with Lys, the soft edges really do work for this. The source of light should also be more noticeable (even if the firefly is just a brighter yellow than anything else.
main thing to change would be the visor, in my opinion, as it doesn't seem quite right. It's too bright for the source of light, or rather, it doesn't have any shadowing. It should be very glossy and it looks rather matte right now.
a few small things would be adding a liiitle bit of lighting to the holes on the side of this helmet (a hint of highlight on the edge and perhaps in them) as well as lighting on the arm. Use of just faint highlights to hint at shoulders and upper arms might also look good, but that is purely up to you :)
I'm happy for you hun and I want you to stay so too. Keep me posted on how you get the printing done please, I've been rather curious about getting some done myself. Rather jealous your computer can handle that resolution too... seems like mine needs a ram upgrade now.
main thing to change would be the visor, in my opinion, as it doesn't seem quite right. It's too bright for the source of light, or rather, it doesn't have any shadowing. It should be very glossy and it looks rather matte right now.
a few small things would be adding a liiitle bit of lighting to the holes on the side of this helmet (a hint of highlight on the edge and perhaps in them) as well as lighting on the arm. Use of just faint highlights to hint at shoulders and upper arms might also look good, but that is purely up to you :)
I'm happy for you hun and I want you to stay so too. Keep me posted on how you get the printing done please, I've been rather curious about getting some done myself. Rather jealous your computer can handle that resolution too... seems like mine needs a ram upgrade now.
Yeah... the visor has been bugging me too :P Not really good with metallic textures yet. The holes in the helmet are unfinished cause I don't know if I want to make them pop a bit more or not. Jury's still out on that one. Thought about adding upper arm, but also thought about cropping the picture a little closer too, and if I do that, I won't see any arm.
Will let you know how the printing goes. As for the computer... that's why I spent the good money and bought a Mac. ;) Not hatin on PCs or nothing, but Macs are just better suited to the arts. IMHO that is.
Will let you know how the printing goes. As for the computer... that's why I spent the good money and bought a Mac. ;) Not hatin on PCs or nothing, but Macs are just better suited to the arts. IMHO that is.
back when the first halo came out, I was in high school * god I am old* and I remember drawing the chief. He is a tough character to draw accurately. I can say without a doubt that you definitely pulled it off. You captured all the details in his helmet, while maintaining its * in my opinion* awkward shape. So I give you props for that. But that thing that really impresses me with this is the lighting. You went for a more painted approach then the heavy line approach and I think that is what gave you such a really good grasp of light values here. It really sets a great mood for the image. I think this overall piece Portrays what your saying about Adam quite well. I would be very happy with this, especially for six hours. I have found that art can be quite slow going, and this level of detail and mood is often hard to achieve in just six hours, so I think you deserve a big bit of praise for this :) Great work!
I'm going to agree with the firefly itself. I'd make the little glow-bug a tiny bit bigger, and flesh out the body a bit. We have fireflies in our yard all the time around summer, and I know I was shocked to see what they actually looked like when one landed on my hand and I got a close look. (Unless you're going for a more ethereal look intentionally, which is fine as well)
The only other thing I'd say looks at all off to my eye (and it may just be me) is the chest piece. The glowing piece farthest away from the viewer looks smaller/at an odd angle. Trying to think of how to word it so it makes sense....it looks like maybe it's lower, but not father away/towards the left of the chest piece. Again, maybe it's just my eye, but something about it looks odd to me.
I love the glowing effect, the warmth, and the play of shadows. Halo armor isn't easy to draw, and I think you've pulled it off quite well, particularly for such a short period of time! I can't wait to see the finished piece.
The only other thing I'd say looks at all off to my eye (and it may just be me) is the chest piece. The glowing piece farthest away from the viewer looks smaller/at an odd angle. Trying to think of how to word it so it makes sense....it looks like maybe it's lower, but not father away/towards the left of the chest piece. Again, maybe it's just my eye, but something about it looks odd to me.
I love the glowing effect, the warmth, and the play of shadows. Halo armor isn't easy to draw, and I think you've pulled it off quite well, particularly for such a short period of time! I can't wait to see the finished piece.
That damn bug is going to be the death of me. :P Oh well... I asked for it.
I plan to make her bigger. That was just the initial sketch to get the bug in there so that the piece made sense.
That chest piece... Now that you mention it, it does seem a little... lower than it should be. I'll fix that for sure cause now it's going to bug me to no end. lol
Thanks for takin some time to help me out!
I plan to make her bigger. That was just the initial sketch to get the bug in there so that the piece made sense.
That chest piece... Now that you mention it, it does seem a little... lower than it should be. I'll fix that for sure cause now it's going to bug me to no end. lol
Thanks for takin some time to help me out!
Oh no problem! Like I said, so far I think this is pretty damn awesome. I need to get braver and play with dramatic lighting more!
Yeah. I wasn't sure exactly how to explain it, but you get what I mean. Perspective is a pain in the butt, and overall I think this is coming along wonderfully. That was really the only thing that stood out to me as being off. :)
Yeah. I wasn't sure exactly how to explain it, but you get what I mean. Perspective is a pain in the butt, and overall I think this is coming along wonderfully. That was really the only thing that stood out to me as being off. :)
You mentioned about the artboard orientation, and I agree with you. For the ratio it's at now, it's not really helping the concept and picture much. It's not hurting it, but it could be stronger. Going for the wide horizontal's going to give you a sort of vast-ness, but if you make it more vertical, it's going to give it more depth and play on the emotion more. So i'd change it to a vertical orientation, and you can even go a little nutty with that. I think you could even pull off a 2-1 orientation that way.
At this point your firefly is putting of light similar to a torch- lowering the opacity of your light will also pull in the composition more and keep it personal. But don't be afraid to add some blue-ish night sky to the higher background to offset the orange.
At this point your firefly is putting of light similar to a torch- lowering the opacity of your light will also pull in the composition more and keep it personal. But don't be afraid to add some blue-ish night sky to the higher background to offset the orange.
Heh... I've been playing with the orientation on my iPhone just by flipping it around and letting the iPhone turn it for me. So easy, yet so difficult to choose which way to keep it. It would probably help if I posted a version of it portrait next time (for further critique) just to see...
Firefly = Going to be fixed. :P
Sky background: I was thinking of throwing some other, less intense firefly 'orbs' floating about to give some atmosphere, almost like he's in a swamp at night or something. (Which is actually in keeping with several instances of campaign gameplay.)
Thanks for the helpful comments! *hugs*
Firefly = Going to be fixed. :P
Sky background: I was thinking of throwing some other, less intense firefly 'orbs' floating about to give some atmosphere, almost like he's in a swamp at night or something. (Which is actually in keeping with several instances of campaign gameplay.)
Thanks for the helpful comments! *hugs*
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