Any thoughts on this one? Obviously it’s messy and just concept stage… does it work for the prompt? Any thoughts on layout?
@AngelinaKizz haha the tree is cut down and taken for Christmas I think. Will there be a hint for something christmassy? Love the colours of the snow. Maybe give the tree some roots so it can be replanted? Usually it really is the end of the road after having a short life as christmas tree. But i think it's a clever thought.
@AngelinaKizz I think that this will work for the prompt as long as the tree in the other house (as well as the houses) are lit up and decorated for Christmas. For layout, you might want to move the car a bit more to the left, which will give you more of margin on the right hand side and allow the tree's trunk to better overlap the house in the background (removing the possibility of a tangent).
There will definitely be Christmas lights on the tree in the back house as well as a wreath on the door, lights on the houses etc as it's just the rough.
I'll expand the canvas to give more room around the tree/ car! Thanks!
@AngelinaKizz I think this is a really creative concept for the prompt, and just in time for Christmas! I think it may read better if we see the worried chopped down tree first, then the beautiful decorated tree second, so maybe flip the composition? Maybe. I dunno. Still love the idea!
I think the car is taking up a bit too much of the image. I suggest making your canvas wider and keeping the car around the lower right area though I would also recommend moving the car over to the left just a enough so it doesn’t feel cramped between the car and the edge.
Hey, I know I’m a bit late responding, but here are my first thoughts. This definitely does work for the concept of “end of the road, but new beginning,” and it’s fun that it’s in line with the Christmas season! For me, though, personifying the Christmas tree does feel a bit uncanny, and doesn’t REALLY mesh with what I would expect a character named Kamari to be like, so it could work, but may feel a bit forced. If you do it well, though, it could be cute!
@AngelinaKizz this is a wonderful and festive concept! There could be some tweaks to the composition like the space being taken up by the car, but that’s been said already. I’m sure you can bring this life!
Aww, I like it! The tree was cut down, but it will be a Christmas tree! 
I like the tree's face & how the tip of the tree top looks like a hairstyle.
The woman looking off to the side & waving draws a lot of attention off the page. I think it's alright, since it's right next to the tree's face with its big eyes, so that keeps you back in the image. But you might try having her checking the ropes tying down the tree (such as a rope coming in through her window, or tied just above it). But if you are expanding the canvas, or moving the car, this may take care of the issue.
I know what you mean about last-minute. I had a list of ideas for Kamari, but I've been busy with another project, and haven't even started sketching! Hopefully, I'll still have time to work on it, but at least my other project is coming along.
Thanks for the input everyone.
I’ve opened up the canvas and pushed the houses back, I realized that they were in effect the same size as the car which would never make sense haha. I’m also working on the faces of the parents though they’ll be in shadow under the tree so not the focal point. It still has a long way to go before I feel like it’s ready to submit and if It doesn’t end up done in time, it’ll be just a Christmas illo 
@AngelinaKizz The change to the houses and space in the image have made a big difference.
I think it's fine to have the tree with a stump. It's a nice idea to have the roots so it could be planted, but it's not very realistic, since even though conifers have shallower roots than some other trees, the root ball would still need to be much bigger than this to sustain the tree. (In general, plants have about the same mass underground as they do above ground.)
@AngelinaKizz it’s looking good I might consider even leaving out the parent faces all together I think it’s kinda funny and cute that the trees so big they can barely see out. Also like the wrapped end of the tree makes it less brutal lol
Gonna leave it here for a Bit, I might be at that point where I’m ready to call it done. 
@AngelinaKizz This is a fun concept! I know it's getting close to the deadline, but just a thought in case you have time for a little more work on this before submitting. I wonder if giving the sack over the tree's roots more of a burlap texture would help your story read better? Burlap is very rough, and right now it looks smooth. The first time I looked at this I missed that it was actually a live tree! I think a little more work on the root ball would fix that.
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kirsten.mcgonigal.art/
Portfolio Site: www.kirstenmcgonigalart.com
@kirsten-mcg oh your right !!!! Good catch! Thanks!
@kirsten-mcg 
I added the burlap, how does it feel?
@AngelinaKizz hmm I think it looks good but it stands out more now as it feels more textured than the rest of the image
@Asyas_illos darn you're right. I'll play with the opacity on it, blur out some spots and I usually like to add water color paper texture... thanks Asya
@AngelinaKizz It definitely feels more like burlap now! I think it helps. You could also try painting a burlap texture with bigger strokes instead of just overlaying a texture. It might meld with the rest of the image better that way and take care of the issue Asya caught.
There will definitely be Christmas lights on the tree in the back house as well as a wreath on the door, lights on the houses etc as it's just the rough.
I'll expand the canvas to give more room around the tree/ car! Thanks!
