Kamari Concepts-Which one?

kirsten-mcg

Hi all! Wondering if I could get your opinions on which Kamari concept I should go with. It's taken me all month so far, but I've finally come up with 4 that I like.

1: A ragged girl tried stealing from a street vender and gets caught...but ends up becoming hired help.
2: The boy looses his fight to a dragon, but then makes friends with the dragon when he offered it a bunch of grapes (or some other food)
3: A ragged traveler standing at the literal end of a road (it drops off the face of a cliff) which also happens to be a dock for air ships. An air ship approaches in the distance.
4: 2 children are distraught when their pet phoenix bursts into flames, but then the Phoenix rises again from it's ashes (Kamari is the Phoenix).

Let me know which concept you think is clearest!

LittleRaven

@kirsten-mcg I like all of them, but I think I like number 4 with the phoenix one the most. I think if you make it super obvious its a phoenix it will be pretty clear, but not so sure on how to go about that. I also really like the composition with the birds eye view from above, maybe you could also make the phoenix fly out of the frame a bit. Like it's tail is swirling a bit out of frame on the right and the phoenix itself also sticks out at the top right, gives it a nice swirl you know.

Chantal Goetheer

@kirsten-mcg I think nr 3 & 4 are clearest. Nr 2 is most confusing to me. I like the Phoenix rising idea, but I think nr 3, though more literal, can also be really cool.

kirsten-mcg

@LittleRaven Oooh I like that idea! Thank you!

kirsten-mcg

I’ve taken numbers 3 and 4 and added a little more detail and some value. Any other thoughts or suggestions? So far I think number 1 is my favorite. I would love to finish out the 2nd one too if I have time. Critiques are always welcome!

MarcRobinson

@kirsten-mcg I'm really drawn to the 1st one. Love the top down composition.

Asyas_illos

@kirsten-mcg these are both beautiful compositionally, but the story is clearer I think in the Phoenix, one. Lovely can’t wait to see how they turn out.

@kirsten-mcg I like number 1, the composition is more dynamic and exciting. My eye is drawn to it.

kirsten-mcg

Progress. Finished sketch and color studies.

Asyas_illos

@kirsten-mcg these look great, could you maybe try a blue toned background? It would lend to fact that were sad because it died and go nicely with the warm tones.

Chantal Goetheer

@kirsten-mcg nice! They both look good. In the purple background the characters blend more into the background and are not so obvious in their sadness. I like the suggestion of blue of @Asyas_illos . The green gives a more retro feel but also not much sadness

ArtistErin

@kirsten-mcg I love the Phoenix concept! It's easiest to understand and you are doing great so far with color

kirsten-mcg

@Asyas_illos THat's true! I've been trying to keep too much blue out of my artwork, because in the past I've had a tendency to use it too much. But you're right that this time there's a good reason for it!

kirsten-mcg

@ArtistErin I'm so glad to hear that my concept comes across! I've been a little worried about that part.

MarcRobinson

@kirsten-mcg liking the way this is going! Idea... Maybe try and keep the background elements cool in colour temperature. This'll help the warm phoenix glow better. On the two colour comps you've got the whole image quite warm, and it'd be a shame for such a great creature design to not pop off the page.

kirsten-mcg

@MarcRobinson Good point! I'm working on a blue version right now to see how I like it. That would definitely cool things down.

Sarah VanDam

@MarcRobinson I agree. Maybe more of a sapphire blue or blue-green base

kirsten-mcg

Started working on this version in blue. I’m liking the color combo with the warm phenix colors.

Chantal Goetheer

@kirsten-mcg indeed the combination looks great! Could you make those brown edges on walls, stairs and paintings more a blue tinted type of brown? Now they steel too much of my attention from the Phoenix.

kirsten-mcg

@Chantal-Goetheer I've been playing with the color of those quite a bit. Still haven't hit on something I'm completely happy with. I'll try a more blue shade and see how it looks. Thanks!