Druid in the woods WIP, critiques please

Mnemosyne

Hello Poly (:

I got a request of making a druid in the woods summoning some roots to aid him attacking the viewer (at the thumbnail isn't visible ofc, but a wolf, a crow and him would be looking at the viewer with angry intentions), and will be using it for an upcoming fanzine project at my school (Deadline 28th March).

I made some thumbnails and decided on this one, but when colours came to mind I had a mix of options I like for the background. Also I'll be dressing the druid with drapes and some crow feathers in the shoulders, but I don't know which color would fit better depending on what colour scheme would I choose on the background.

So here is the scheme chart:



I like the most 1A, 3B, 4A, 5B, 6B and 6C. What do you think? (:

Suba

There is a ton of thumbnails where the druid kinda disapear in the background (B2, 4A, 4B, 5B for ex) which is not good.

I would choose some of those where the character contrasts the most with the background.
Personally, I would have pick the 2B because the warm brown attracts the eye on the character and it stands out from the cold green of the forest. And the purple sky add a really nice mood to the overall piece in my opinion.

ducckz

i would say either 6b or 2b

Mnemosyne

Thank you for the replies (:

Yep, some of them were excluded practically before asking due to disappearing xD

I do like brown in his clothes, so maybe it'll be between 2B, 6A or 6B. I was in love with 6C but I think it's very saturated for a dark mood scene.

Well, I'll try to update today with the final sketch (:

Mnemosyne

Started it, so far I like how the leaves part of the back trees turned out, but when it comes to the trunk the far ones look awkward. They still lack render, ofc, but I wanted to give them a in-the-mist-but-visible feeling and I'm not sure about how to do it. Any tips?

Also I'm considering moving the moon to the right to help the composition.



(Will change the stars too, didn't see them zoomed and they're awful xD)

Mnemosyne

Lowered the saturation a bit, I always start using very bright colors -.-"

Mnemosyne

I changed it a bit and like it way more, but I went a lot into blue. I want to have those greens of the start merged with these misty blues. I'll play more a bit with that to see if I can get that. Meanwhile, the changes (:

LANKUS MAXIMUS

Progressing nicely

I'd push the overall values before refining areas further though.

Yadoob

It's hard to judge without the characters and their colors (even if t's rough). If your subject is about your characters, I think that you should put them as soon as you could to have a good reading of the image, the background will just be there to help the eyes of the reader.
I think your composition is too centered, the skyline is right in the middle of the image so it lacks of dynamism. But maybe it's on purpose to have a quiet mood ? Otherwise there is a good atmosphere, I like the light on the leaves, it's really soft and sweet but the roots seems to float a bit !

Mnemosyne

Ok, so I added a quick sketch of the druid, the wolf and the crow to situate them in the scene. Is it easier to judge now? (:

littlebump8

The composition is great, I love the foreground and background elements and the color scheme. The trees on the right feel like they are floating a bit. Great contrast in the image, looking foreword to seeing it finished.

Mnemosyne

Thank you (: I'll try to finish all the background elements today.

Yadoob

Is it easier to judge now?

Yes (I don't have a very good English so sorry if I seem rude)

You maybe find me a little obsesive but I think that the characters doesn't come out the background. I did a quick paint over (that's an example to just show how you can push up the druid) :



I'm not sure about the moon too, even in your thumbnail, it becomes the focal point (high contrast, geometric silhouette). And with the crow, the contrast is very high (black and white even in the form : sphere and sharp) so that's what I look at first. Anyway, it seems that your deadline is quite short so do what you think is best^^

Mnemosyne

Wooo, thank you a lot, that's what I want to achieve with the druid and the myst!

About the moon, maybe if I blur it a bit or put some clouds before it so it becomes less interesting to the eye? I'm having too that sensation of it being the focal point and I don't want that I like the crow where it is, but I could try to move it somewhere if that helps the moon get less attention.

The deadline was extended to the 30th since the girl that collects the images for the fanzine is my flatmate and gave me the weekend to improve the image the most I can

Mnemosyne

Changed the moon, I think it's less noticeable now. Finished the rocks, improvised some moss and gave some overall simple shadows to the wolf and druid. Tomorrow I'll start the druid itself ^^

So, what else could I improve about the background elements?

Mnemosyne

Well, I don't feel motivated to continue it so this is how it ends. Time to move onto the next one. Thank you all for your invaluable help, I learnt a lot with this one (: