This is my number 3 pick. I think the posing is pretty decent. The action is clear. The lighting kind of bugs me. It's coming from the lower right, correct?
The plain grey background isn't making my day either. Maybe a wash behind the characters, and some minor details, like a brick wall or a fire hydrant would help. It seems like most of the entries are without much background, and even when they have one, it seems a bit half-assed.
This kind of thing develops over time, but you'll find ultimately that composition is one of the things which separates the men (or women) from the boys (or girls) when it comes to drawing.
I recommend still framing through movies to find niceley composed images to imitate. Also, examine your favourite artists and watch how they place figures in a scene.
You may find it easiest to block in your figures before choosing a vanishing point and laying out the perspective. That's often what I do. Composition says more about the mood and intent of your image than almost anything else, so don't make it an afterthought!
I agree with Steve's comment about the light source and gray background. Maybe if you added some type of background with shadows explaining the light source, then it might probably work.
Steve said it all about looking at movies for composition and framing. There's so much information to gather.
I like this drawing! I like that the girl is overtaking the Zombie. My own art is uber-cute so I can't even imagine ever drawing something so violent (I can't sit through the really scary movies) The chainsaw attack is very effective, even if it's totally disturbing! Though, the Zombie looks like he's merely annoyed and will flick her off his back at any moment. I'm a little confused by some of the costuming (and arm pit hair?!). Stevelec's suggestions regarding composition and background are great. Good, good advice for all!
I think the issues raised here are valid, and great advice is given. I think it is possible to present a character without a background, and make it read well. In this case however the plain background hurts you, because your character isn't grounded at all. The feet seem to be on different planes, and you have him twisted in an un-natural way. (his shoulder to the viewer's left probably wouldn't bend back that far, and if it did there would be some different lines following it back.)
Also, for such an intense action shot, you don't allow your big guy to react. A CHAINSAW BLADE IS ENTERING HIS HEAD! Let the guy get a good scream going, or at least a grimace! I know he is undead, but come on! Hah. Always think... "What is this feeling like to this character, and how do I make that interesting?"
Ok, with those things out of the way, it's time for the good. I like the set up. "Girl finally gets that chansaw and makes it count." I like the character design on the zombie. The color is warm and nice... but yeah, watch your light source.
Good work that with a little extra time and effort, could be great work.
the other brought up a lot of good comments I agree with. It's cool, just needs to be pushed a little more. I like how you had the lighting from below them. It might have been interesting to try the image from a different camera angle. looking at it straight on just takes a lot of the drama out. perhaps a low angle looking up at them might have given it a bit more excitement. or even a closeup/mid shot might help, since then you could focus on what's important in the scene...the chainsaw into his skull! nice work! -Joe Pekar
There was something missing for me in this piece. I agree with Joe in thinking that maybe bringing the focus more to the action with either a different angle or close-up would have helped. The figures should be planted on the ground somehow, as Tracy suggested. With the lighting coming from below, it would be fun to get a cooler (or warmer) light source coming from behind them perhaps, to help pop them out and give them a more 3d feel. Some work to go on this still, but good effort! Keep it up!
The upward lighting on this makes it creepy and dramatic! I feel bad for the zombie, looking at this makes my head hurt. A chainsaw to the brain looks very painful! Drawing two characters interacting can be difficult, but it can make an image more interesting and can add to the viewers imagination. How did she get up there? Is she going to be able to defeat the zombie? I see people are commenting about the grey background. Grey is very hard to pull off, since it has a tendency to even out the contrast. I would suggest going really dark, or lighter than your characters so your eyes focus on them more. Since this is macabe, darker would be the best. I think the more important thing to focus on is weighting the characters down. The zombies feet are a bit out of perspective. Figure out your ground level, vanishing point, that will help you plant the feet and prevent them from looking like they are floating. The foot that looks like it is being picked up should be higher up on the drawing then the flat foot. That will help with the perspective. I often have problems with grounding my characters too. It's a struggle to make them look like they are not falling over or floating around. Other than that, good luck with the zombie battle!
This has a great comic book feel to it. I like that you decided to use dramatic lighting and an action pose.
Like others have said, backgrond ould have been nice, but the gray works here and gray is hard to pull off.
I would have liked to have seen an angrier or creepier expression on the zombie. Also, he comes off more as a wounded green warrior of sorts. The way he is holding his knife is a bit wonky...if you had at least turned the knife around it would have helped a great deal.
Overall, quite a strong piece! But hey, what is up with his armpit hair?? Hahaa.
9 comments:
This is my number 3 pick. I think the posing is pretty decent. The action is clear. The lighting kind of bugs me. It's coming from the lower right, correct?
The plain grey background isn't making my day either. Maybe a wash behind the characters, and some minor details, like a brick wall or a fire hydrant would help. It seems like most of the entries are without much background, and even when they have one, it seems a bit half-assed.
This kind of thing develops over time, but you'll find ultimately that composition is one of the things which separates the men (or women) from the boys (or girls) when it comes to drawing.
I recommend still framing through movies to find niceley composed images to imitate. Also, examine your favourite artists and watch how they place figures in a scene.
You may find it easiest to block in your figures before choosing a vanishing point and laying out the perspective. That's often what I do. Composition says more about the mood and intent of your image than almost anything else, so don't make it an afterthought!
Steve LeCouilliard
Hey Scott,
I agree with Steve's comment about the light source and gray background. Maybe if you added some type of background with shadows explaining the light source, then it might probably work.
Steve said it all about looking at movies for composition and framing. There's so much information to gather.
Layron DeJarnette
I like this drawing! I like that the girl is overtaking the Zombie. My own art is uber-cute so I can't even imagine ever drawing something so violent (I can't sit through the really scary movies) The chainsaw attack is very effective, even if it's totally disturbing! Though, the Zombie looks like he's merely annoyed and will flick her off his back at any moment. I'm a little confused by some of the costuming (and arm pit hair?!). Stevelec's suggestions regarding composition and background are great. Good, good advice for all!
Great job!
Good action shot!
I think the issues raised here are valid, and great advice is given. I think it is possible to present a character without a background, and make it read well. In this case however the plain background hurts you, because your character isn't grounded at all. The feet seem to be on different planes, and you have him twisted in an un-natural way. (his shoulder to the viewer's left probably wouldn't bend back that far, and if it did there would be some different lines following it back.)
Also, for such an intense action shot, you don't allow your big guy to react. A CHAINSAW BLADE IS ENTERING HIS HEAD! Let the guy get a good scream going, or at least a grimace! I know he is undead, but come on! Hah. Always think... "What is this feeling like to this character, and how do I make that interesting?"
Ok, with those things out of the way, it's time for the good. I like the set up. "Girl finally gets that chansaw and makes it count." I like the character design on the zombie. The color is warm and nice... but yeah, watch your light source.
Good work that with a little extra time and effort, could be great work.
the other brought up a lot of good comments I agree with. It's cool, just needs to be pushed a little more.
I like how you had the lighting from below them. It might have been interesting to try the image from a different camera angle. looking at it straight on just takes a lot of the drama out. perhaps a low angle looking up at them might have given it a bit more excitement. or even a closeup/mid shot might help, since then you could focus on what's important in the scene...the chainsaw into his skull!
nice work!
-Joe Pekar
Very well drawn. It would have benefited from a ground shadow to plant the figure on the ground.
-Tracy
There was something missing for me in this piece. I agree with Joe in thinking that maybe bringing the focus more to the action with either a different angle or close-up would have helped. The figures should be planted on the ground somehow, as Tracy suggested. With the lighting coming from below, it would be fun to get a cooler (or warmer) light source coming from behind them perhaps, to help pop them out and give them a more 3d feel.
Some work to go on this still, but good effort! Keep it up!
-Kellee
The upward lighting on this makes it creepy and dramatic! I feel bad for the zombie, looking at this makes my head hurt. A chainsaw to the brain looks very painful! Drawing two characters interacting can be difficult, but it can make an image more interesting and can add to the viewers imagination. How did she get up there? Is she going to be able to defeat the zombie? I see people are commenting about the grey background. Grey is very hard to pull off, since it has a tendency to even out the contrast. I would suggest going really dark, or lighter than your characters so your eyes focus on them more. Since this is macabe, darker would be the best.
I think the more important thing to focus on is weighting the characters down. The zombies feet are a bit out of perspective. Figure out your ground level, vanishing point, that will help you plant the feet and prevent them from looking like they are floating. The foot that looks like it is being picked up should be higher up on the drawing then the flat foot. That will help with the perspective. I often have problems with grounding my characters too. It's a struggle to make them look like they are not falling over or floating around. Other than that, good luck with the zombie battle!
This has a great comic book feel to it. I like that you decided to use dramatic lighting and an action pose.
Like others have said, backgrond ould have been nice, but the gray works here and gray is hard to pull off.
I would have liked to have seen an angrier or creepier expression on the zombie. Also, he comes off more as a wounded green warrior of sorts. The way he is holding his knife is a bit wonky...if you had at least turned the knife around it would have helped a great deal.
Overall, quite a strong piece! But hey, what is up with his armpit hair?? Hahaa.
-Jenny
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