That's some explosive fire!
Red Priest
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Sketches and alt version: http://marikbentusi.tumblr.com/post/66122756331
Commission. Took a lot of fiddling and I ended up going with lots of different clashing flame styles in trying to nail down the look.
Self-Critique:
- poor overall color management and contrasting
- boring perspective and composition
- bad texture drawing if any (esp. face)
- almost no depth/looks very flat
- poor anatomy and posture as well as derpy facial expression
- linework too thick and too dark
- smudge-reliant shading
- chainmail barely identifiable
- pokers too thin
- terrible metal reflections
- Hard Mix-like pixel destructions all around the high contrast areas
- flames still don't look decent, can't support the atmosphere
- figure at the stake barely recognizable as a silhouette
(- poor layer management behind the scenes)
Despite the things you've mentioned, this is still a pretty bad ass piece. Of course you had an idea of how it was SUPPOSED to look in your head, but then if everything came out looking perfect, our jobs would be boring hmm?
Anyways, out of all your critique on yourself, the two I could really agree with, was the lack of depth (particularly with the fire though, because honestly the human looks great. ) and your contrast. Quite simply, I think both of these critques can be fixed if you nail out some of that white. I find a white background extremely flat, and so bright in comparison with your character, then my eye is easily drawn away. I would have made the background black, and messed with the colors in that way. Or at the very least put it on a transparent background.
Or mess with the negative space a bit more! You have the white tapering off on the bottom as if its smoke, make it more purposeful.
Still though, I see the predicament you were in and I empathize. A job well done; at the very least for being honest with yourself.
MarikBentusi responds:
There is actually a transparent version in the link (tho at least on my end it looks like tumblr f'd up the png-transparency on the fullview), but it didn't have effect of the guy fading into the background via smoke, which I perceived to be more interesting.
In retrospect probably not worth the trade tho. Since both comments I received pointed out the background, I think I'll just replace this version with the transparent one. That one's lower contrast, too.
Thanks a lot for your feedback, it's been very valuable!
Burning is said to be one of the most painful way of dying... They get there flesh all scorned up and it roast to the bone while they are still mentally there... Actually what killed the witches back then was the smoke and not the fire! Its extremely rare that people dies of pain and since the flesh becomes immobile and retract to the inside they can no longer move. Soooo yea fire is not a great way to die... It will scar you instead of actually killing you in most cases.
Witch hunts are bad. But going back to your picture, what I hate the most is the back ground. The problems appear when you see it as a whole. Its just SO BRIGTH! And whit all the effects done to colors, shading and the metal reflection as you say kind of ruins the visibility. I think its more because of the levels of colors that we can't truly appreciate it.
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3.43 / 5.00
- Uploaded
- Nov 5, 2013
- 4:42 PM EST
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- Illustration
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