Maybe an expression more of fear or surprise would help portray the uncontrolled nature?

Yup. I've been doing nothing but gesture drawing in my sketchbook to nail down a pose xD

Her stepping back, with a near look of fright, maybe a bigger orb of the spell, in a larger chaotic shape might express the loss of control of the spell.

stepping back~ That's a good call. I'll be throwing that into the gestures i've been doing!

I also like your thinking regarding shape. If you notice, there's a lot of calm and order in the background, providing contrast for the out-of-hand situation here. I'm not sure why I didn't try to play up the contrast in the shape of the spell. I can absolutely see chaotic, sharp lines in the spell.

Thanks!

Well, alot about the shape of something dictates how it will look, sharp chaotic lines dictate chaos, sharp controlled lines are just completely refined

I quite enjoy this drawing, but I can see what you mean. First question I have, though is what is the base size you're working from? 8.5 x 11 at 300 dpi? For some reason this feels a lot smaller to me. Ratio wise, and maybe resolution. If you had more room, that may help, as the scene does feel a bit crowded.

But all in all, I really like the concept and think it's a wonderful start! Keep at it, I want to see this one. :3

Yeah, I've been dabbling all over the place on this concept. I've drawn like, literally 5 different fully lined pieces/concepts, all that are pretty dang good and pieces on their own, but not what I'm LOOKING for lmao. In short, I've used much more time than I should've for this piece, and still - I have to revamp it ugh. I've been being a derp recently hah.

This particular image is 700x1400 - the end product will be 7x14 but traditionally (thus this value study). I'm going for crowded, but I think I see what you mean - perhaps shifting her a bit to the right, maybe shrinking her a tad too, just to allow more breathing/lead room etc.

I'll certainly keep it in mind!

That, or perhaps shifting the background farther away from her. I like all the details, but it doesn't have teh grandeur that I think you want to convey. Instead it almost feel slike she's in a closet. Not that's bad, and it certainly could reveal character, but I think what I'm seeing as that she (who is very basic, without much extra clutter in terms of costumery) is put in the room of someone who is very detail-oriented. ie, she looks more like the thing someone summoned (that someone being in heavy cloak with a pointy hat, while holding a book) than the summoner.

Of course, just bouncing off ideas, since it sounds like you'd like them! Personally, like I said, I like it a lot. :)

Another thing to try might be to take advantage of the verticallity of the image. Maybe change the character to something more slender and accentuate the way the image is set up, if that makes sense? Since it is taller and skinnier than a normal pic would be.

Huh, interesting take on this... You're saying she's much too primal to be in this situation? Yeah, there's certainly some merit in that statement. I suppose looking up some art nouveau stuff; victorian things and what not.

I'm sure I can do something to slender her up a bit. But as far as this character design goes - there's not really much else I can do. The gesture already completely promotes the aspect ratio. I really don't want to make her MUCH thinner than she is now - I won't rule out the idea, but I do like the character I've got going on. I'll be doing thumbnail silhouette studies a bunch this weekend, and there'll be those in the batch.

I'm gonna be honest - the idea of pushing back the scene is heavily pushing how far I'm actually willing to take this image. The whole thing is due in 2 weeks, which would be plenty of time if A) everything and it's mother wasn't wrong with this picture, and B) I have to end up rendering this in a style that's completely foreign to me (ink/line art only/hatching etc.) My main worry being the amounts of smoke and how I'm going to depict things behind the smoke x_x. And C) having 4 other classes with similar sized projects.

Ugh, I'm really not one to admit defeat. I'll look an obstacle in the face and charge head first, using every little know-how I can to fix something. I'll talk to others and get input as much as I can and I've done the same for this image. There's literally 30 pages of my sketchbook, 15+ different digital images on my computer (like 8 completely lined, 3 value studies), and at least 50 hours of work into this already - and I don't even have a solid image yet lmfaoaoooo... This is seeming to be a dangerous amount of a hastle, because of time constraints, and I don't know how much further I can push this idea before I lose all mojo for it.

I'm not saying any of this at you - I guess I've just been bottling it up or something. This thing's giving me the time of my life - it seems I've actually gone in over my head this time. Which is stupid, because something like this should be SO EASY Dx~

You know what sucks about being an artist? Knowing what you can do. Art school was amazing and fun when I didn't know how good I could be - but now that I've got an idea, I have all these damned expectations for myself and it's driving me nuts Dx. I'm such an elitest, ESPECIALLY when it comes to my own performance.

lfkjasdflkasjd Don't mind me - I think I just need to get over myself. Hopefully a nice long relaxing day sketching animals at the zoo will fix this...

Oh ~ Thanks for your input. As I said, I'll certainly keep those in mind~ Sorry for the rant, I'm leaving it though - I need to say things in order to get over them xD

Venting often helps A LOT! XD I'm glad you did.

I think the thumbnails is a great idea and I was in fact going to suggest that. Another idea would be to zoom way out on the pc, and get the basics, then slowly zoom in. Also, drawing on different layers can help when trying to position background and foreground and character. It can help you play without worrying about the rest.


Oh, another random idea, would be to push the perspective on the character. If you make that gesture pop with foreshortening, that might be all you need to make it work. Background should be fine, and it'll ad the necessary drama without having the need to redesign. So yeah, lots of ways to take it. Just do what you think would be best. ^^

But you know what, if you aren't having fun, just do the best you can, call it done, and move on to a project that you're enjoying more. The worst thing you can do as an artist is invest a ton of time in something that you just aren't feeling, you know? Don't overtink it, as much as you want to. Especially if this is just an assignment. it's about learning, not being perfect. I could see you pushing if this was a personal project that meant a lot to you, or a commission that you wanted to nail for a client, but really don't sweat it too much.

But if you ever want an opinion, let me know, I'm happy to help. :3

Yeah - it's projects like things that I find myself learning the most in. Not as far as art/technical aspects and nuances - but about being an artist xD.

1 - the fact that I've restarted this project like 5 times from compositions/drawings that totally work just for the sake of nailing the narrative; is something I should continue to strive for. I remember Disney (back in da day) would cut anything that didn't promote the story in the film. 2 - Regardless of how much effort and work or love you have for an idea, you can over-work it mentally; stay loose, stay comfortable, stay intuitive, stay happy. At the very least, don't let it ruin your day xD

I like the idea of foreshortening, I'll take a look at that. Also lol - I'd kill myself if I was doing digital line drawings on the same layer ;b. I'm all about saving time and taking full advantage of technology, layers are no stranger to me =)

I've had my break from this image over the past few days - but now it's time I tackle this baby. Wish me luck!

Good luck, and please post the finished! I'd love to see where this ends up. :3

Updated!

Take a looksy now =)

The pen version is due in about a week - so it's rendering time for me~

Wow, very different and I love it! It feels like a great composition, and a good element of story to it as well. Great work!