Critiques please! Aspen tree village WIP

[Shelley James 0]

the main thing I am looking for is help on the structures. i was originally thinking wood. If I stick with wood should the planks go vertical or horizontal? How detailed should the be? What about the under side?My husband said “what are they doing importing foreign wood?” But he also understands I want them to pop a little more. Then i was thinking maybe do more mud rock style. IDK. I just hit the part where i want to give up. But one of my goals for the year is to finish things. Finished not perfect right? I will also a few characters as well as a bird flying in the top left. Sorry if this was rambling. Help. 

[Mia Clarke]

@Shelley-James-0 Hi Shelley! What a lovely concept you’ve hot there, I always like the idea of fairies or elves building structures this way.

It sounds to me that you’re in a bit of analysis paralysis, tbh. I think the planks could look great horizontal, vertical, or both, but I’m not sure your path forward lies in having others direct these choices to you. Ultimately, I think placing this level of importance on these stylistic choices is holding you back, and it is what’s stopping you from finishing your piece.

My suggestion is to do one hut with vertical planks, and another with horizontal, and see which one you like best. Then repeat that process for all your choices. Developing the story behind your illustration can also help (“no, it’s not imported wood, they’ve stained pine using beeswax mixed with ash from their fires and copper dust from their mines, according to their building tradition”). Remember that you have the right to make any kind of choice you want here.

One of the most important lessons I’ve ever learned in art is to never be precious with my work. As an old oil painter, this came easy the day I realized that just scraping the nose off a portrait would get me there quicker than me fiddling with the details for 100 years would. Don’t be afraid to do a bunch of work that you’ll have to erase later. If it turns out, that’s great, and if you have to redo it, then you’ve learnt something. Try placing as little mental value as you can on any piece in progress, and keep telling yourself that it’s more important that your structures have planks and lights and birds, than having a perfect plan for those planks, lights and birds.

Sorry if this is not the answer you were hoping for, I just felt it would be more useful to you this way. Good luck, I’m excited to see your finished piece!

[Chantal Goetheer]

@Shelley-James-0 I like your colour scheme! I think the planks would be horizontal the way sheds are built, though fences often are vertical, so pick what you like better. Also the bottoms should have a plank structure. You can add a little more detail on the one close by and let the detail fade for those further away.
Are these those trees that have eyes? Love those, they always seem so mysterious.
The bushes underneath do make the trees seem very thick. I don't know if that was your intention?
And maybe the wood isn't imported but comes from the same (mixed) forest. There is never just one tree species in a wild forest.
Don't give up! Want to see the next phase.

[kirsten-mcg]

@Shelley-James-0 Love this concept! I can just picture fairies or elves living in these trees...or maybe Ewoks? I agree with @Mia-Clarke about playing around to see what you like. That's the nice thing about digital art. Just try a few different looks, maybe even on different layers so you can turn them on and off. Also looking up treehouse references on Pinterest can be really fun and helpful. I've done a treehouse design kinda similar to what you have here, so I'll share it below. Maybe it will help get the creative juices flowing again. I always turn to reference for inspiration and ideas when I feel stuck like this. I can't wait to see the finished piece!

[Shelley James 0]

@kirsten-mcg I love your drawing! My husband was like "oh Ewok village in aspens?" I forgot I made a whole Pinterest board before starting lol.

[kirsten-mcg]

@Shelley-James-0 I'm sure if Ewoks lived in Colorado they wouldn't turn their noses up at aspins LOL!

[StudioHannah]

@Shelley-James-0 look at reference for treehouses and even the Ewok villages - what angles are their boards? What joinery did they use? That’ll help. It’s always good to look at real life references (or other art) for fantasy work since that does most of the work for you in terms of realism! I do like what you have going on here!

[Shelley James 0]

I am calling it done (at least for now)

[Lee White]

@Shelley-James-0 very nice work. Good job on getting to this point.

I have a few suggestions - I think the biggest thing that is missing here is a true focal point. You need to have something that you want to direct viewers to. It can be anything really, but you need to pick something. Then the image will start suggesting what it wants. For example, if ONE of those little huts starts to get attention, we can start to downplay other areas of the image.

I did a very fast paint over (sorry its so sloppy), but just to sort of show what I mean. Your is the top image and mine is the bottom. I picked that middle right little structure, then just leaned the focal point there by darkening other areas and then trying to add some detail in the area where I want you to look. Thinking this way makes building an image much much easier. : )

Hope this helps some. : )