Fall WIP
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This month I'm going to try to post my September competition progress from the beginning, to hold myself accountable. I really need it because my mind is going everywhere and it's time to narrow this down and get serious!
So here are the thumbnails that I thought might merit further development. I have four different basic ideas and my keywords are wonder and enthusiasm (some are both):
1, and the 5a and 5b are all based on a solitary character in nature, a little girl with long black hair. In 5, I thought of having not only the cast shadows of leaves but also the shadow of an animal that the little girl is fascinated with. In 5b she has discovered something on the ground and you see her from below (maybe add a squirrel head?). In 1 she is running down a path scattering leaves, but you see her from directly above.
The ones marked 2 are all based on my Nina character. Fall where I live is sausage making time, and I have the idea that she has discovered that her dog will follow her anywhere with them, so she's taking off down the street. In 2a, I hope to show her from a 3/4 angle below. Maybe this isn't realistic in the sense of physics or what parents will allow, but it accurately reflects my feelings about sausage!
3 is an older person who sees the reflection of his/her younger self in a puddle. The idea is that it is the fall of his life but also that his younger self is still there inside smiling back, reflecting his inner enthusiasm. I may make him look over his shoulder.
4 is Nina again, with her grandmother, making polenta. In 4a I liked the idea of looking into a warm kitchen from outside on a dark day. 4b is more about the spread of food that they are preparing to go with the polenta. In either case she's leaning over the pot in anticipation.
Yeah, that's a lot of different stuff! Help?! What strikes you and why? Thank you!!!
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Laura, I think that the 2s have the most potential for the “fun” factor. I very much like the pose and movement on 2a. With that being said I and intrigued by 3 and would like to see it developed further
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@lauraa 2a or 3. I like the composition of 2a that is started. That would be fun to see the dog running after the sausage links. For 3, i like the idea but the thumbnail is hard to read at this stage. But it would be a really cool illustration.
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Thanks, @Davidingalls and @Chip-Valecek! Maybe I'll try developing those two a bit more and see what happens. I just needed to narrow down the choices!
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@lauraa I’m really intrigued by 2a - looks like a really fun drawing... but 4a is the one that’s speaking loudest to me personally, I would love to see that story unfold!
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@poppyk Thanks! Funny, that's the one I thought was the strongest as a thumbnail. Maybe it's not the cleverest as a concept, but I liked the shapes and it looked cozy.
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Developing sketch number 3 today. The child is still a sketch, but I thought I'd add some textures and see how I liked the effect. Input welcome.
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@lauraa This is really cool. I LOVE the patterns on the clothing, and also liking the color palette a lot.
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I have to choose one of these now if I am to have any hope of finishing a piece this month. I have done the background for the girl any number of different ways and all I know at this point is that I want it to be simplified. Thus the blocks of value.
So, which do you guys like better, the girl with the sausages or old man looking at his younger self in the puddle? Critiques also welcome. Thank you so much!
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Laura A, I’m not sure which one I like better. The girl with the sausage is a very fun piece with so much movement and fluidity in it that you want to get caught up in the chase. But I like the old man piece for the opposite reason the stillness of the moment. You don’t want to move for fear of disturbing the moment. The difference in the two make the choice hard. On a side note, I do like the change you made in the old man sketch. I think his shadow connecting with the reflection make the piece read better.
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That is a tough choice. They are both so wonderful in different ways.
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I personally prefer the old man and his reflection. The energy of the composition is consistent with the concept; there's a bit of tension, but still has a relaxed, thoughtful vein. The shadow connecting the man and the boy really helps drive the intent.
The girl with sausages, however, is meant to be really high energy, but I don't think that comes off as well with the current composition, because it's all very horizontal. Perhaps if we were seeing the scene from a different angle, or if the girl and dog were running downhill?
I am really loving this.
https://www.instagram.com/febbieg/
Art isn't life, life is art.
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@debra-garcia I agree with you. That whole concept depends on a very energetic pose. In fact, I was just redrawing her more from below as I had originally to see if it helped. I didn't want to spend too much time on it early on, but since I was waiting on feedback I thought I'd take a shot at it this afternoon.
That shadow in the other piece is going to be hard to pull off believably but I think I can do it!
Thanks!
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I really like the second piece, and as was mentioned by someone else, the changes you made to it work really well (in my opinion). I hope we can follow you through to the end with whichever piece you choose.
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I like the old man and the reflection best too. Both would potentially make really strong pieces, but the reflection one has a stronger composition at the moment. It also feels more fall themed to a wider audience. The sausage one is really cute though, and I would love to see it completed anyway! It's fun to hear the kinds of things different people associate with fall.
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I agree with @TessaW . Fall is often thought of as the end of the seasons as we fade into winter. I always feel like time is running out to growing things before they die or go dormant in winter. It has parallels in real life. As we age we feel like winter is coming and we often reflect back on our past. It is a bittersweet time and I think this image powerfully captures that deep feeling of introspection.
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@chrisaakins Chris, you hit the nail on the head! An awful lot of water has gone under the bridge in the past few years. I still feel like a kid inside, but the kid's body is getting older every minute! It's not quite winter yet, but let's say that the leaves are starting to change color!
Also, I work with a lot of poor and/or old people, and this piece was inspired by one old man in particular. His body is stuck in an awkward posture at this point, but I have a video of him smiling and trying to move to the song YMCA and it's very touching!
It just got me thinking about how very much most of us are carrying around on the inside, and perhaps sometimes it takes a second look to see it.
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@lauraa Awwwwwww. I love that story. Some of my best friends are older; there's something really special about the elderly generations.
