WIP: Critiques Please! Riley's Garage Project {Miriam}

[Miriam]

Riley is a tiny animal who has many friends who can fly. It’s hard to keep up with them, so Riley builds a hang glider!

I'd appreciate any critiques & advice!

I wanted to create an action oriented image that shows Riley finally being able to fully participate in all the fun by soaring into the sky.

A problem I had in composing the image was showing the friends flying high while including the messy garage. I also don't have much background info on Riley's interests, but I wanted to emphasize the strong desire to be with friends.

Please let me know what you think of the story, composition, and any other elements. (Feel free to be blunt. I'm looking for suggestions on improving the image & would be happy for your help. ️)

[Larue]

I LOVE the concept but I don't think his garage should look like a humans garage. I could see it as one he built in nature made from found objects/plants etc.

[Miriam]

@larue Thanks for your comment!
I was wondering about that, too. One problem I was having is: how would it be obvious it's a garage? But I guess having the text makes that less of an issue. I'll work on it!

I'm glad you made me think about that again, and it gives me a new idea: I could have the hang glider made of objects from nature, too — like a twig for the handle and leaves for the sailcloth.
Or reconsider my idea of Riley building a paper airplane. (I thought it might look cute, but wouldn't be very messy to build.)

[Miriam]

This could also help me show that Riley is a similar size as the bug friends, and not a larger frog.

In my research, I learned there are super tiny species of animals like frogs, chameleons, & bats.

(That's not a quarter — it's a dime!)

[jenn]

@miriam maybe the garage could be made from a half-flowerpot on its side or something like that, with a small cart or scooter in it or some other simple vehicle

[Miriam]

@jenn Good ideas, thanks!
I was also thinking of adding a boat, if I keep Riley as a frog. (Or at least have an oar leaning against the wall, if there isn't room for a boat.)

[Miriam]

Some other things I need to decide are:
• Do I want the characters to be specific species (real animals)?
• If they are specific animals, does it matter if they are from the same region / habitat?

[miranda-hoover]

@miriam Cute concept! Your composition looks great. I don't think having (or not having) specific animals or animals from the same region would affect your concept, so I would go with which direction motivates you most.

I personally like the human garage idea, but a creature garage assembled from nature and stuff would also be cute if you want to go that direction.

I don't know anything about aerodynamics (so I could be totally wrong here), but I'm not sure if the glider alone would be enough to get him off the ground? Maybe including a propeller on his contraption or a fan behind him would give him going (thinking of Chicken Run, lol). Although thinking about it, his strong jumping legs might be enough to get him into the air...

[stayhomejoe]

@miriam I love this idea. The only thing I would try differently is to move the frog up a little to draw the eye towards it. Awesome. Keep up the good work

[jenn]

@miranda-hoover I think if the glider were larger that would help get him airborne (larger surface area = greater lift)

[Miriam]

@miranda-hoover Thanks!
Yes, I was thinking he would run & jump into the air to kick-off the flight (+ a little fairytale / suspended disbelief ). Or maybe he lives in an area with some good updrafts .
A propeller or fan is also a good idea.

[Miriam]

@stayhomejoe Thanks!
In my original thumbnail, I used a 3rds grid & his face was on the intersection of the lower 3rds. Somehow I got off of that when I enlarged my drawing.
Currently, the face is on a vertical 3rds line, & the values are helping I think, but yeah, I can try moving him around to see if that works better. I'm also thinking about maybe making him bigger (but that may cause other problems!).

[Miriam]

@Larue @jenn @miranda-hoover @stayhomejoe @KathrynAdebayo @Kevin-Longueil @AngelinaKizz
All of your comments and support have been very helpful & also increased my commitment to keep working on making this illustration better. You guys are great!

Here's how it looks so far.

I've looked up a lot of reference to compare sizes for the animals and objects, & decided to use realistic sizes, but not worry about specific species & details. At first, I was going to use the size of the smallest frog in the world, but since that's literally the same size as a ladybug, I thought I'd go with a larger frog to make him more compatible with found objects & the larger animals. These animals give a good character line up of various sizes — with "big" including a bumblebee hummingbird !

I want to add more stuff to "trash" the garage, & hopefully refine & color the image. (I'm a beginner, so I'm still figuring out how to make a drawing look finished, but the SVS classes are helping me progress. )

[miranda-hoover]

@miriam Very cute! I love the lady bug and the details on the boat.

[Miriam]