Old and New WIP
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Going with a smartphone theme again (I might add an hidden octopus later) I thought I would try represent old and new with the abandonment of old toys. Got a busy month in March so I thought I would get an early start to it. Any thoughts or critiques before I move into adding color would be appreciated. I still have to add a few more smaller items into the scene and fix that monopoly box perspective yet.
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@gary-wilkinson Looks great! I am really curious as to how you intend on handling the color. Are you going to do any conceptual type of values & hues? (e.g. The idea of "Leaving the good stuff behind for life in a digital rectangle" with a lighter area and brighter colors on the stuff left behind as the kid walks into a drab & darker area with just the glow of the screen — or vice versa if you intend on showing the death of the boring past as the kid walks into the exciting, over-saturated & layered tech future)
I slightly question the use of a cord coming from the device due to the increasing nature of wireless devices, but maybe that's because I'm spoiled with my wireless over-the-ear headset.
Also, I kind of want to see something that may be perceived as "newer" being in the trash heap. A commentary on the very quick lifespan of tech. Not sure what that would be... a gaming console or a laptop? maybe there's some other pseudo-tech toy I'm not thinking of.
Regardless, it looks wonderful!
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Besides it breaking my heart?! The feet seem a little off to me, the right foot looks turned inward, like he's mid turn.
Bringing whimsical creatures to life.
www.stringfellowart.com
www.instagram/stringfellowart -
@QuietYell For the color I going to go for cool -> warm theme. I will probably put a small cool fill light on the far left to faintly light up the trash and give the boy a warm light from the right but keep some parts cool from the light of the smartphone to keep it balanced. The reverse as you mentioned sounds interesting though, I will do a few color studies and come back to you guys with them.
I've never used wireless products before so I always see headphones as having a cord, but you make a good point!
A games console in the trash sounds like a good idea, everything at the moment is all very pre 90's, so maybe an old ipod, psp or something like that might fit it with the other things. Thanks for the advice, it's really helpful
@stringfellowart My wife said the same thing
Completely agree about the foot, I'll get that fixed! -
@gary-wilkinson Sounds great! Glad to help! BTW, It hit me this morning that perhaps it may be conceptually powerful to include a giraffe in the trash heap (maybe the bear even become a giraffe instead) to represent the fall of Toys R Us (there's recent news that they are now considering closing all U.S. operations; not just some as has already been initiated)
Quick links to yesterday's news:
https://www.wsj.com/articles/toys-r-us-considers-closing-all-of-its-u-s-stores-1520549311
[EDIT] If you want to get even trickier, the junk pile could cast a shadow of a giraffe. The idea here is that toys will still continue to exist; however, Toys R Us is becoming a fading shadow.
Scott Monaco | QuietYell.com
IG/FB/LI: @QuietYell
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TW/PIN/BEH/DEVART: @ScottMonaco
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@quietyell great tip thanks. I will definitely add a giraffe in there somewhere. I will probably keep the bear as it is as giraffes arent as emotive but I will find a way to link the whole fall of toys r us in the picture
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@gary-wilkinson Since I brought up Toys R Us... Here's a nice timeline of the company's history on USAToday. It doesn't effect your awesome artwork, but I found it interesting and thought you and others might too:
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I thought I would work in a little of the toys r us theme as @QuietYell mentioned, especially as I did a couple of Christmas work sessions with them in my younger days
Working on the values at this stage (the boy need lightning up a bit more and there are still other lightining issues that need fixing) and going to add color later. The main key light will be as indicated by the arrows and there will be a warm fill light to the right and cold one to the left with a rim light to make the shadowed objects pop a bit more.
If there are any big issues that you are noticing that I am not, please give your advice or if there are any other suggestions then it would be appreciated. Thanks
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Just a thought (and maybe not helpful as I'm not an expert by a longshot) but devices give off a cool light. I wonder if that might present a challenge if you light the right side warmly. If it were cool, it might also make a statement about how cold/impersonal devices can be versus the heartwarming teddy bear. The trash can could still be is shadows or muted colors.
And I agree with @stringfellowart, this is heartbreaking - poor teddy! - but it's great to evoke emotions, right?!
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Great concept and story telling! Love this.
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@gary-wilkinson Looks solid so far. Wonderful idea, so sad for Teddy! Looking forward to seeing it develop further.
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I love this concept! very fun!
I'd like to suggest possibly exploring your composition and trying to make a more dynamic illustration out of it. The purely horizontal/side view makes me think there might be some better options out there.
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thanks for the advice everyone. @Kat Ye I think you are right with the cool digital light and warm light for the toys @QuietYell also touched on that earlier and I think it would probably work well.
@Lee-White going for the horizontal view was mainly a mix of time saving to avoid painting in a background. Also as it was evolving I was thinking the empty space in the middle could be used to add some kind of text or title for editorial work, something like "The Death of Toys".
Tried out a more dynamic angle and I guess I could probably get away with doing a high exposed background to avoid adding so many background elements. Working on my own book this month so trying to find the time where possible
Any thoughts on which angle I should go for?
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@gary-wilkinson I definitely like this new angle better. Which one do you like better?
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@gary-wilkinson I gotta go with @Lee-White on this one. I thought the idea was strong the first time around but after seeing your new comp and moving the camera I'm totally sold on it. I don't know how to explain it other than that the new layout feels like I'm immersed in that world instead of looking through a window.
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I really like the bear in the first one and the ps2, good memories :)... I think the first one looks like it would make a cool animation. the second one looks like you could play with the boys expression more.
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I like the strong silhouette in the first, I feel like the gesture of the bear was a much quicker read as well as the hunched-over-the-phone posture. The new one does have a lot more depth to it though, and you feel the distance to the bear and other old toys. Really, you could go either way. (Though the judge of the contest has spoken, so if winning is your aim thats not something to ignore...;-) )
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@gary-wilkinson Like the new angle. Do you think it looks good if you mirror the boy so he is looking at the other direction, away from the bear?
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Just got back into this piece. @Lee-White I'm not 100% sure which one I like to be honest. As others mentioned, I do like the silhouette of the bear in the first style, but I like the the depth and energy of the second angle. I think I will go with the 2nd style though as it feels like it is more of a storytelling piece.
@nasvikdraws I flipped the boy, although im not sure if it now reads more that he is simply abandoning the toys, whereas the other direction could be seen as he isn't paying them any attention at all. Which direction do you think fits better?
I am thinking of how to do the background and i'm probably going to do a faded out street scene with other trashcans scattered about. I was also thinking whether to add a garbage truck parked next to the bin but it might make it a little too busy.
Probably going to use what I have as the base for the drawing and redraw it to fix certain issues. Not giving up on this one
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Flipped the boy, returned his headphones and started work on lighting the scene. Also added a giraffe to keep the toys r us reference as part of the piece, still quite a lot to work on and I think I can get away with over exposing the background so I don't have to paint it with much detail
