Kumari - concepts

[helenbrady]

@mag I think the fox is lovely but I have to disagree with your husband (sorry Mr Mag!), I preferred the bear. I think the fact that the hedgehog and bear are different species would become clearer in the coloured version and I think for me the fox feels a teeny tiny bit menacing, it might be the pointy teeth or possibly just the associations of sneaky foxes in picture books. He is really lovely and beautifully drawn, he'd definitely be a great character to draw more of. But for me personally for this image it reads more clearly with the bear because she looks warmer/more cuddly/more likely to help/ less likely to be a bit sneaky!

I really love both images, your characters are blooming adorable! Just want to give your hedgehog a (prickly!) hug! So cute! You should definitely submit both if you can! Xx

[AngelinaKizz]

@helenbrady oh I totally ask her opinion on all of my artwork. She's got one heck of an eye!

[mag]

@helenbrady thank you for sharing your opinion!

I decided to sleep on it and now I think the fix is not a good choice either.
I decided to try few different options, and hopefully I'll figure it out before I run out of time

[mag]

Here's the process so far, as you can see, here I'm trying out how it wold look like with a deer in the background.
Mainly because meanwhile I was brainstorming this piece, I've come up with a miniseries of illustrations featuring this cute hedgehog, and he's accompanied by a deer. So - I might just go and put the same character here as well.
What do you, my trusty art tribe, think about that?
Also, do you have any thoughts about the color palet? I hope to convey a sad emotions, as well as a warm and cuddly ones, so I went with earthly tones and back lit scene...

[helenbrady]

@mag ah this is so gorgeous and the deer is perfect! Love his little alert ears, looks like ges concerned and ready to help! 🥰 And your little hog! Colours work great too, really looking forward to seeing the rest of it! Xxx

[mag]

@helenbrady Thank you, you're so kind!

I finished the first painting, now onto the second one. It's real challenge, I'm trying a new style of working with these two and so far love the process.
I have a character design for the cat and the girl already established from a proviso monthly challenge (didn't make it on time back then), which helps a lot!

[Asyas_illos]

@mag I love you color palettes!

[MarcRobinson]

@mag I LOVE the expression on the cats face in the second image.

[Lorna H]

@mag - These are awesome images. I loved reading through this thread as my husband and daughters are all truth terrorists! Savage about my efforts but very useful for critiques I was laughing reading about your daughter's comments @AngelinaKizz as she sounds just like mine!

@mag - As regards picture preference, both images were awesome concepts but I liked the hedgehog image the best, partly because the narrative is so clear and partly because the character is so endearing. I loved your reworking with the deer, because like @helenbrady - I wondered if the fox might look like he had a pesky ulterior motive for wanting to get closer to the hedgehog! Great work. Can't wait to see the finished piece.

[Michi]

@mag Really liking both of these!

For the first one, I would try to push even further the fact that these wings are mechanical. Right now it reads a bit to me as if the belt is there to hold the carpet and not really a support for wings.

Also its a bit hard to convey how these mechanical wings would actually work. I know childrens book = magic but a bit more of visual clues on how these wings are being used to fly would make the concept much stronger imo!

Maybe its the boy who somehow makes them function like on a steampunk-style wing suit? Da Vinci's designs could help for inspiration

Really looking forward to see these finished, wishing you good luck!

[Larue]

@mag Just putting in my two cents. Love your composition and color pallettes. You direct the viewer so well with light and color. So sweet.Both are winners but I'm partial to your too cute hedgehog!