Any advice for my “saying goodbye” October prompt?

[Malachi Hudelson]


[Reb Erlik]

@Malachi-Hudelson Great start! Maybe look at some reference for the pose. Looks like his upper body is a side view but his lower body is a 3/4 back. You need to complete the lines of the thighs (touch the cape) to make clear that it's a side view and move the back leg a bit. Also consider a less stiff pose, maybe shoulders hunched forward, or upper body sprawled over, kind of hugging the monument. Looking forward to seeing the final!

[Reb Erlik]

@Malachi-Hudelson Also, concept-wise, is this meant to be set in the year 1884?

1884 seems significant because of the first automobile but cars couldn't go very fast back then so it's unclear how Anne could have died in a car accident.

Maybe you could add the wife's ghost watching over him if this is meant to be spooky.

Look up more accurate references for clothing. Looks like he's wearing casual shirt and jeans under a cape.
If he's meant to be an immortal character in the present day, it doesn't make sense for the coffin to be out of the ground.

Finally maybe add some suggestion of background details like patches of grass even if this meant as a spot illustration.
Every object needs a shadow.

[Miriam]

@Malachi-Hudelson
@Reb-Erlik said in Any advice for my “saying goodbye” October prompt?:

Looks like he's wearing casual shirt and jeans under a cape.

I agree that the clothing is hard to read.

I think it's a black band (to denote mourning) on his upper arm (over the sleeve of his suit jacket), like this one:

Since he's wearing a top hat, I assume he's wearing a suit, but Reb-Erlik could be right, and it's a cape. Maybe he's a magician?

If it is a suit, it should have a collar visible, as well as the shirt collar. I think in this period, men's shirt collars were higher, like these:

(from https://www.mimimatthews.com/2016/10/03/a-century-of-sartorial-style-a-visual-guide-to-19th-century-menswear/)

As for the lower half — to me, it looks like tights (like a male ballet dancer would wear), especially since there is no distinction between the pants and footwear. (Except, the curved line that might suggest a pocket wouldn't make sense.)

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I was thinking that people don't usually have the cause of death included on headstones, but after a quick search, I see you are correct & it was a common practice at that time, so good job on that detail!

I think a car accident is plausible, even with the earliest cars. It could have gone off the road, or collided with a carriage or wagon. People have died in carriage accidents, and bicycle accidents. However, according to Google, the first automobile was built in 1885, and the first public outing was in July 1886. (They also weren't widely available until the 1920s, so before that, the owner would have to be rich.)

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The story is pretty simple: A man cries at a funeral. But if it's a magician in a cape, & the woman died in a magic trick accident, that could add more complexity.

[Malachi Hudelson]

THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH!!! I am baby artist (new to it)
So thank you for your support I will definitely give it an another pass with your advice in mind!!!