A long time ago I had asked folks via my art & illustration Facebook page to send me in three words (animal, object, location) and I started making illustrations from them.
But then like so many other things I dropped off doing that and never got back to it.
One of them was from my niece and she said Lion, Ocean, and Submarine.
Meanwhile I had taken a few photos of my niece/nephew at the zoo earlier this year and I loved this setup where you could see above/below the water (in what should be a bear viewing area). So I decided to combine the two things and am working on what I hope will become a portfolio piece where the kids are looking at the window and we see a lion sleeping on the rocks above the water in the background and another lion in a submarine pulls up in front of the glass looking back out at them much to their surprise.
I was just working on the value study to see how I want to handle the sub/lions vs the silhouettes of the kids in the foreground. And so far I love that framing and the darkness in the foreground contrasting on what will become a splash of colors in the cool water and on the warm lions.
I am looking for any feedback or suggestions in general.
I also have a few questions:
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Should the top of the glass window actually go down from the top left to the right side? (Like it appears in the photo) or should it line up with the bottom of the glass like I have drawn in the value study?
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Is the lion sleeping the background too large? I am struggling with making him too small but I am not sure if he still appears a bit large in comparison with the one driving the sub who is more forward?
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While I still have to do the refined drawing and will be adding in lots of texture and detail on the rocks and within the water - do you think this is too simple looking overall?
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In my thumbnail I had both kids on the right side of the glass but for the value study I moved them on either side - do you have a preference of which looks better?
Thanks so much in advance for your input!