@BichonBistro Oh no, I was really hoping for your sake that she was moving on. I’m not even sure what to say. Regardless of how you choose to approach this, deadlines and boundaries need to be communicated. The truth is, that this can get a whole lot worse and become even more time consuming than it has already. Of course it can go the other way as well - you may be able to finalize the design, convert to vector, and send it to print and embroidery with little issue. It just doesn’t seem realistic. Know your limits and communicate them as thoroughly as possible. I would suggest staying out of the printing and embroidery process if you get to that point - do not get roped into sending the files directly to print /embroidery companies or providing prepared files, because you will become the problem solver and point of contact. Honestly, if you have not told her that you would convert it to vector, than I would avoid that as well. Print and embroidery companies have prepress departments, let them convert it. She is lucky to be getting this much of your time for free.
Thanks @Justin-Moss . I tried that with the 4th and 5th pieces, creating a contrast between the "nice city" and the "sadder" one, on the other two (and basically the rest of the book) I was just trying to make the characters pop-up
@KathrynAdebayo I do really appreciate it too! I really didn’t see how washed out his skin was until it was pointed out to me. I still might mess with the saturation of his shorts some.
@Ashton-H Aw, this took me by surprise! Thank you, and it's equally inspiring to me that you're working on your own self-published art books. Keep going!
@sarahlawrence Thanks for posting this. Great for inspiration and I had not seen this challenge before either. I love your character. The view of her putting on her slippers is so fun. I’m intrigued to see what she will do...
These are all gorgeous! So nicely done--thank-you so much for sharing your development and your choices. It's really quite helpful to see these! Lovely!
The progress you made is really great, I just feel like the eyes of the tiger could be a bit closed (like in the references) to increase the feeling of threat. In your illustration, the eyes are wide open. In German there would be a word for it, it is called "zukneifen" I am not sure how to translate it properly, so you may just try to look angry yourself, in front of a mirror and see how the form of your eyes changes --> . looking forward to seeing your finished piece .
I like your illustration, I think it is very strong. I also feel your frustration around social media, I've had similar thoughts, it can be feel very good when your images are liked and shared and can boost confidence etc. all of this is good, but should be treated as an added bonus. I've been in the situation where I like a piece I make and post it and then the interaction it gets determines how I feel about the piece. I found this to be problematic because social media was dictating my confidence. And the reasons for it getting little interaction could vary so much and most of which have nothing to do with the actual artwork.
Some points I have on your image are:
The top of the umbrellas which are facing up towards the sun could be lighter as a result of being hit by the sun, and the inside of the umbrellas could be warmer and lighter, If you look at a photo of and umbrella in the sun, it is almost translucent when light goes through it, I think that is referred to as sub-surface scattering.
I think possibly the underside/belly of the turtle could be a little lighter as it is going to get some reflected light from the ground in the shadow. Possibly overall the shadows are too dark, I would keep the darkest shadows for the areas where no light can get in.
I think the textures describing the surfaces are lovely, the rabbit or hare's colour is possibly too similar to the shell.
I do think the characters are great, nice expressions, nice concept.
Re: Daily Drawing
I'm starting to colour the The Tiger and Friends colouring pages digitally so here is the page I did this week. I love how they look digitally, the earlier watercolour versions were so creative to paint and mix up new watercolour combos however digital is a faster creation process and there are a 48 images to colour and bring these line drawings to life.
As always I love to hear your comments and even critique on the original drawings. All leads to learning!
Thank you for taking the time to comment everyone!
@BichonBistro Thank you so much! I find it hard to think of new concepts, so it's good to know that you liked the Tea party in the clouds!
@demotlj Thanks!!
@Heather-Boyd Your suggestions totally make sense! I'll try and incorporate them in my next pieces for the calendar. I think I often have a melancholic vibe in my art, which is probably why the mousey looks kind of sad. But it's good to be more diverse with the emotions and interaction between the characters. To make it less 2D :). Thanks!
@Jean-Gao I agree that the mouse sticks out. I think I will come up with a back/foreground for this piece still! And adding the paper cut style there will definitely help with the cohesiveness too. Thank you, that was very helpful!
@Laurasketches Spreadin Springtime indeed is more of a spot illustration. But maybe this will not work within a calendar, and based upon yours and the other comments, I will look into this piece again! I am currently following the Composition course by Will and hope to be able to incorporate more of a foreground and background in the upcoming pieces, thank you a lot!
@bnewman Thanks, yes, I agree. I kind've got stuck on this piece. Nothing was working out and I tried lots of things, even going back to thumbnail stage. Finally, I decided to put it aside for a while and work on the mermaid prompt for a change. I do plan on revisiting this piece, though and will keep your comments in mind.
@CLCanadyArts Thanks, you may be right. It currently is a beat before that moment. Wasn't sure how far before the moment to make the piece. Will keep your suggestion in mind.
