Draw 50 Things~ Little Witch Thrift Shop
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I was working on the "Independent" theme and wanted to draw a little orphan witch in a fantasy world who takes over her parents thrift shop. In fact, I love the idea so much I want to write a story using her. haha But as I was mulling it over I thought, this is the perfect opportunity for a "draw 50 things" image! I dunno if I can turn it in for both topics so I'm going with the draw 50 things cause I feel very accomplished with this piece. It's really FUN! Tedious, but FUN! ^u^ I'm not looking forward to inking this. hahaha
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@washu wow there is some much to take in with this one. Not sure if you are looking for any feedback but I feel that there is no foreground, middle ground or background since everything seems to be the same size in space. Maybe try the items in front to be larger. Or maybe is a value thing once you add values it may push things back and forward. Either way i am looking forward to the progress with this one.
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@washu This illustration has much going for it, and I think your base story has a lot of potential. However, I see some areas that could use a bit of work to improve it overall:
in an effort to make your story a bit more obvious, I would move the family portrait to a more prominent place near the counter (maybe remove the "Backroom is private" sign). Also, I would bring the clock behind the girl out to the front and enlarge it to frame the right side of the image, but in shadow to help direct the viewer back in to the scene.
You have pretty much the same perspective throughout the whole image, except for the stairs (will discuss those next). All the shelves, the counter, and the flooring have the same downward angle. It reduces any sense of scale or height in the building. The shelves behind the cat, which are at eye level, should be almost flat. Since the viewer is at the first floor, we should see a bit of the underside of the upper shelves.
Concerning the stairs, their direction needs to be adjusted. For ease and readability, I think they should be in a side view go down to the left. Would match better with the direction the hand rail is going. Also, there are some issues with the perspective of the underside of the stairs
The level of detail in this is really good, but I think a bit over the top for what is actually needed to get the story across. For me, adding this much detail removes the viewer's/reader's ability to imagine. Take a look at the image below and see how much info is conveyed with very little detail.
I really like where this is headed. I hope my suggestions are helpful. Oh, one more thing... (in hushed voice), you misspelled "Curiosities". : )
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I love this. I have a soft spot for witches and these kinds of shops.
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I have spent many hours in antique shops, and this totally reminds me of those, so great job, I think you are on the right track. If you want feedback, I would say there doesn't seem to be any action in the image. What if she was opening a box, or brewing a potion, or chasing the cat... things that have potential for the beginning of a story.
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Thanks for the feedback everyone! I'll take that into consideration. ^_^
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Hi Washu,
I hope it's ok that I do a little drawover for you. I really love the way this one is going! Very fun little shop indeed! I agree with some of the other comments - it's nice to give the eye a break by blowing up a few simple silhouetted objects in the foreground - i.e. small, med, huge! This way our eye doesn't get overwhelmed with the number of objects can more easily focus. Also I think your stairs are caught between dimensions. I think they make more sense to keep them in profile...or bring them out towards us but this will disrupt your current composition. Also - if you make a little room up above - a place that goes back further it will create more depth.
Cheers,
WillSVS Instructor
http://willterry.com/ -
@will-terry Thanks Will.
I used a photo of a bookstore as reference for my room. The stairs are supposed to be turning. It was difficult to see. Looking at my reference now I think the upstairs actually slightly moves back towards the left.
Her little shop is supposed to be quite small, so is there a better way to show that it's small space? The room behind her is her home, I actually blocked it with a wall because I couldn't get all the little furniture perspective correct.Here is the reference I modified for her shop.
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This is how I see the layout in your reference photo. Hopefully this helps with the layout of your illustration and the stairs.
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@washu said in Draw 50 Things~ Little Witch Thrift Shop:
Her little shop is supposed to be quite small, so is there a better way to show that it's small space?
If you want to show that the space is small, I think you'd have to include more of the walls, otherwise the viewer uses their imagination to conclude where the walls are and they could imagine the space to be much larger. Is it super important to you to convey that the shop is small?
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I think the trouble you're having to create a small space within your shop is that you've chosen a reference of a very large shop, it's cluttered but actually a very large space. I feel your image portrays the same feeling at the moment, I would suggest the same as Tess, if you can see 2 walls, you get more of an idea of where the corner is, add a further wall and you're very aware that it's a small space because the entire room then fills the page. You could either have it a little wider to portay this idea and have low cielings, or if you want to keep the height with the stairs, try and exagerate it by creating a the suggestion of a 4th wall in birdseye view maybe? Hope my sketches explain that better than my words haha
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P.S. Love the style and the nod to Ghibli
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@washu That's quite n accomplishment! I still need to do one and am thinking about an idea. I agree with @Chip-Valecek that it seems a bit flat but amazing details! I am trying to figure out how to make my own work less flat, it might be, as Chip said, that the color and value will take care of that but, I think it's awesome! Are you going to add color? How long did you work on it?
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@washu I think the angle of th ereference photo at a more 3/4 view, hels to show the depth of the room. Your is more straight on. I wonder if that's why it looks flatter? This is all very helpful for me too!
