April Contest WIP

[sarahlash]

I think this idea definitely has potential, and it’s cute, but what is the robot doing wrong? How is it malfunctioning?

[demotlj]

@sarahlash That's a good question. I wasn't thinking of the robot as malfunctioning per se but was imagining that Lisa had lost control of the robot and it was acting independently. It is unleashing an army of small robots into Lisa's world over which she has no control and the small robots could become a nuisance, kind of like the brooms in the Sorcerer's Apprentice in Fantasia. Maybe that requires the viewer to fill in too many blanks, though.

[chrisaakins]

@demotlj I saw it perfectly. I don't think it needs any explanation. No one wants their house filled with Canbots.

[sarahlash]

@demotlj I think that works! Maybe just flesh out that idea by having the canbots getting into all sorts of mischief?

[demotlj]

@sarahlash That's exactly what I thought after I read your post -- more mischief making by the little bots.

[demotlj]

Still in the very rough stage but I added some mischief. The white and brown are just to help me figure out where I want all of the little robots.

[aprilshin]

Lol, what a hilarious idea! One suggestion I have is to include Lisa in the background pulling her hair out or something like that showing her distress, haha. Great job!

[demotlj]

Finished the line work and did the pencil shading. Now I have to deal with color and rendering, which is where things start to fall apart for me!

[JennyJones]

@demotlj This is looking so fun. I can’t wait to see the final. Cute concept.

[sarahlash]

@demotlj Love the cat!

[demotlj]

@sarahlash I'm happy that you were able to figure out that it is a cat. I discovered that I'm terrible at drawing cats (probably because I only own dogs.)

[johnchoi]

@demotlj easily my favorite I’ve seen so far! It’s fun, lots of movement and dynamics. Love the expression(lessness) of the robot - totally just doing its thang. What if the cat is hissing instead?

[demotlj]

@johnchoi Thanks so much. A hissing cat would have been a great idea and I wish I had thought of it earlier but I've already started the painting process and figuring out the colors may take me the rest of the month!

[demotlj]

I’ve got quite a ways to go still but while I’m working on the rest of the painting I wanted to ask which color robot you think is best. I’m leaning toward the green but I have a terrible color sense. Any opinions?

[natiwata]

Hi, this is coming along nicely! I think the blue works best because it's a nicer contrast against the pinkish cabinet, floor and cat/bin colors which are all warmer. I think the green is too close and begins to clash with the yellow and red tones in the rest of the scene. Cheers!

[demotlj]

@natiwata After I posted it and looked at them side by side, I started to lean more towards the blue too.

[demotlj]

Here’s the blue version and more rendering. I’m almost done — just some deeper shadows and highlights, and I have to work on the cat more so it doesn’t look like a giant rat. I may just take a break and come back to it with fresh eyes in a day.

[Kat]

Looking good! Lots of fun little things to see with the cans doing mischief.