March contest. Feedback would BEE lovely thanks :)

[lizardillo]

Thanks all, I though i would have one more attempt before I ditched the idea and have been doing a bit of wing research.

I have made the base of the wings sit in a rotating ball-joint thing (technical term ) so he can rotate his head a bit when hovering about. In an ideal world it would be on a sort of gyroscope, but I think I'm going to have to have a bit of artistic licence between realism and make-believe. I have tried to show some examples. The sketching is quite loose so the position and sizes of the wing ball bases are a bit off. The hovering wings in green are just an example of the wings in motion. Please ignore the fact he looks like he is jumping.

I've also tried another version but he's getting a bit moth-y (which may not be a bad thing).

If this still isn't working I think I'll just make decorative headgear.

I'm halfway between not letting this beat me and if I'm having to try so hard to make it work, it's probably not going to work!

Thank you for your input.

[carolinebautista]

@lizardillo I feel like I may have ruined your fun, so I'm hoping to encourage you to keep going with this! You write to ignore the pose of the flying green one but I love it as it is and think you can include it as the 3/4 front pose. I also love the idea of the moth more than the bee, partly because of the shearling thing you've got going that kind of connects a feathery moth covering to pilot gear.

In my opinion you can use what you have and tweak the functionality later as you need.

Bees, afaik, don't have the hover motion in their wings. There is a sort of rotation dragonfly and hummingbird wings do to achieve that. But bee or moth wings might work so much better for this because maybe turning his head IS the navigation, and I think that would be so cool. that's just to say I think the ball joint thingies work! Maybe he can have some sort of special goggles or periscope glasses that make up for the motion in his head so he can look anywhere he needs to. you wouldn't even have to include anything like that yet though. I think the character works as is.

[lizardillo]

@carolinebautista no you’ve not spoilt it at all, this is great. I’m enjoying the challenge as this is something out of my comfort zone. You’re not the only one who’s noticed the wing issue so it’s a valid point. I value people taking time from their day to give a critique so thank you.

[Valerie Light]

@lizardillo It doesn't look to me like this thing has you beat! I think the ball joint/ aviator hat flaps are a great solution. I also really like that when you do the close up of his face for the character design page, his head might have a silhouette that's similar to a little bumble bee already. That said, I also really dig the moth variation, too. I think you're on a great track!

[Dima Eichhorn]

@lizardillo it is awesome, and so cute.

[lizardillo]

Well, he briefly turned into a moth (a moth and firefly seem a better partnership), but I had trouble making a moth character appealing, have a backstory and not just be a moth (lots of moth research going on and wow there are some amazing moths in the world). I'm sticking to the bee-like 'Honey Farmer' from a the village who's honey is going to get ransacked. Wings are now fully mobile (although slightly bending the rules of physics) and are being used as a form of expression like horses ears. He can curl up in them to sleep (in a flower).

I know the wings were an issue to start with but I hope I can make this come across as not too far-fetched that it doesn't work as a concept.

Now I have to refine all this so all of the limbs, wings and facial expressions are consistent and add the extra details. I've given myself far too much work here!! My comfort zone is a distant memory

Rough sketches:

[Jacy13]

@lizardillo I think this guy is really unique. The wings are a challenge, but I think you're doing a great job working with that. I like that they are so expressive in the facial expressions! I say just keep working through. The end results are going to be way cool; I can tell

[Asyas_illos]

This little guy is so cute!

[lizardillo]

More development, now with his bag and traveller items (including teddy bear strapped to his bag) and I have reduced the wing size on his 'flying hat'. Add things to his belt as bees carry pollen in pouches on their legs although I think it may be becoming a little overcomplicated now. He has drawn a smiley mouth on the back of his hat as the wing sockets look like eyes. I think I may have lost the original eye/body proportions in this new pass but I can redo that in the next round/redraw/cleanup.

I'm having real trouble with the head and face as it's just not my style to use real eyes (I usually use small black ovals), the props I'm fine with. This is an absolute nightmare for me.

Still not 100% comfortable with the entire concept because of the head and face. Any feedback would be appreciated, thank you.

[Georgios Christopoulos]

@lizardillo Hello Liz!Love this character and love the props designing!!I think the eyes that present a problem to your view, can be a bit more cartoony.I took some time time to tweek with the eyes and facial features! i hope it helps in some way!! Cannot wait to see this finished!!!

[lizardillo]

@Georgios-Christopoulos thank you so much for this, it's a vast improvement. I have always had a problem with expression so this is really helpful.

[Georgios Christopoulos]

@lizardillo happy to help!!!

[lizardillo]

Progress so far... still needs some tweaking especially around the wings and put the top part of his pack showing over the shoulder on the left image, but I think I’m getting there. Hopefully the running, sitting, face will be easier now these stances are done. Thanks all. I really appreciate the help. I think I may be over my eye artists block at last!! This is meant to be his ‘stouthearted’ pose.

[Georgios Christopoulos]

@lizardillo this is getting beautiful!! Can't wait to see the poses!!

[lizardillo]

Some clean-up, arranging on one sheet and colour yet to do. And the face close-up (I’m leaving that till last!). So… only a bit to do on the last day and a bit… EEEK! I need my British Summer Time hour back

[Kim Rosenlof]

This is looking great! I like the way you showed the movement of the wings.

[lizardillo]

Sorry about the delay but I just wanted to say thank you for the help and support with this. It’s my first time posting a WIP and figure/face design is something I really need to work on which I why I took on the brief as a personal challenge. I actually decided to give up on this at one point because I was struggling a lot. The feedback helped me to decide to go for it at the last minute (and finished at 3.30am UK time to hit the MST time zone deadline). Thank you, I really appreciate it.