Share July HTFYA Ideas & WIP - (Food Truck)

[Oana]

Ok, I'm in advanced doodling mode now... I tried several pov s for the perspective but keep returning to this very frontal a bit flat one, but it's easier for me to draw and manage to keep all elements in good proportion... I also had Jack's voice in my head advising to pick a straight-on perspective rather than a difficult one I can't draw well.

Does the idea read? I decided not to include the more obvious word I could have used for the food truck name and allow the viewer some discovery... But the context should be clear.. is it?

I also wonder how to manage the main focal point, as I feel the scene is more of an "ambiance" one, so though the girl should be the main focus, she is not actually doing something very distinctive... hummm...

[Oana]

@Arthur-Campling This is a great idea and the drawing looks so nice and skilled! It is very readable even without enlarging it.
Concerning the "Idea", I always fear when I have one I like, that it is too obvious and good an someone else will have the same one. In this prompt's case, when I decided to use a fairytale I was completely sure someone else will use the same one before me :))) Actually Larue posted a Hansel and Gretel sketch, it was close :)))

[jahn]

@Oana I really like it so far, and I do think the play on Goldilocks comes across well and is humorous.
My suggestion to bring more focus to her as the main character is to make her expressing or doing something distinct. For example, one of the bears could be checking a steamy bowl of porridge and she is looking with disapproval because it's too hot.

[Oana]

@jahn Thank you! Haha good idea for a Goldie pose I'll doodle around a little more

[Oana]

I tried finding a better pose for Goldie, I think I will go with the last one. I also added a chef's hat. Time to start making the final image, I have no idea at this point how I will render it

[evka8D]

This is what I have so far. I not sure if I will be able to finish on time because I am on holidays. If not I will post it as it is.

[LauraA]

@Arthur-Campling I like this idea! To me it was clear. But I would make the researcher a little more of a focal point in the composition. (I didn't see her at first.) For instance, maybe she could be a much darker value so that she stands out. Or maybe there could be a clearing in the trees that makes her more visible. Or maybe in the final version she could be wearing red.

I really like is the design of the birdhouses! And I also don't mind the photographs because they tell a little bit more of the story and they give you a chance to draw detail on some of the bird characters. It really is a challenge to draw something close-up and far away at the same time, and I see you wanted to do both!

[Oana]

Moving to procreate where I managed to distribute and scale the characters better, but still have doubts about the food truck itself. When rendering (still no idea how) I will put the focus on the girl and try to leave the secondary group on the left less dominant - one thing I need to fix is image focus

[Oana]

@evka8D I like the design of the truck, it is nicely drawn the story is a bit unclear in the sketch - is the mouse family poor and the squirrel gives them bread after the food truck has closed?

[evka8D]

@Oana Thank you. Yes, that's exactly it. Can you think of something that could make it clearer in your opinion?

[LauraA]

@jahn Couldn't resist! This New Yorker cover, by the marvelous Victoria Krylov and recenty posted to her IG,, is on theme.

[Oana]

@evka8D As it is, I think it is a good story, but it feels delivered too directly and it relays for understanding only on the closed panel and the patches on the mice clothes. Without these is just a family buying bread at a cute food truck. I think this could be solved by adding a bit of tension to the plot. Maybe the family has reached the bakery and seen it closed and mama mouse is already passing on, going to the right with one of the kids looking sad, but the shop keeper sees them and opens the window holding the bread and beckoning, and the little mice to the left see her and are smiling and calling their mother back, maybe pulling her skirt?

[Oana]

@LauraA this is so good!

[evka8D]

@Oana That's a good point. Yes, you're right there's lack of tension if this has to stand as illustration on its own. I was thinking for the backstory that the squirrel opens a food track log and travels with it around the forest serving various customers and at the end of the day she gives the remaining goods to families in need so it doesn't go in waste. I was going for something quieter but this might be a bit too bland especially without further context.

[Oana]

I managed to finish! I did all the final work in Procreate. The wip forum was very helpful and tought to post the final image here too in case someone has some criticism for me I'm pretty pleased at this moment but I still struggle a lot with rendering and feel that more could be done for clarity and focus on the image.

[Kristen Lango]

@Arthur-Campling said in Share July HTFYA Ideas & WIP - (Food Truck):

her food truck for birds and she i studying them and taking photos. In the digital color version I'm doing I have added small signs on each of the bird houses, like "nuts" "se

That's awesome! I cannot wait to see it in color!

[Larue]

@Arthur-Campling
Hi Arthur, just wondering if you start with your beautiful pencil sketch on paper and scan in or is this all digital. Just wondering cuz I’m having a hard time getting a pencil rendering in procreate that feels “right” and I wonder if I should just stick to pencil on paper for my sketches.

[Arthur Campling]

@Larue Hi! I try to always do a pencil drawing, regardless if it's going to be finished traditionally or digitally. I hate starting a digital piece without something to work on. I actually just put it out in direct sunlight, take a photo with my camera and then do some value adjustments in Photoshop. I find it's importan to get a high quality photo of the pencil drawing, otherwise the values will be off and the details lost. And then in procreate I work with layers that are set to like 60-80% opacity over the drawing and slowly render the image, so not to lose the drawing to quick. Hope this answers your question. And my process is not perfect in anyway and constantly changing

[A Former User]

@Arthur-Campling given your bird house food truck is a complex structure of simple forms, I think you have an opportunity to explore cast shadows amongst the parts. For me, the thought of such an exploration would exceed the capacity of my ability to envision how those shadows would appear. To overcome this, I would build a physical sculpture made of clay and popsicle sticks to replicate the structure. Next I would dim the lights in the room and use a flashlight to create a strong directional light source and adjust the angle until I found the best shapes that give the structure a greater sense of volume. Love your work, by the way!

[Larue]

@Arthur-Campling
Thanks for the detailed response! I love my pencil sketches but they lose their “life” when I redraw over them in procreate. I’ll be rethinking my process.