Need honest critique

[murielle]

I've been following some SVS classes in order to get through my creative block... or better yet... to get over my fear of failure.

I've already gone through the Perspective class and I'm currently on the Creative Composition 1.0 class. Next will be Creative Environment, but I don't want to wait to start my next project.

The idea is to create a comic about how my two characters became friends. It's a project that hopefully will help me practice what I've learned. That is also why I'm asking for feedback and an honest critique.

The first 3 images, the ones with the stars are my favorite. I wanted to pay attention to the focal point using value study, and the grid the way it's taught in the classes. I used squares in order to make them Instagram friendly.

I worked out the first one (I had done other sketches traditionally but this was the best one.

[Heather Boyd]

@murielle

Hello Murielle,

Getting over or through your fear of failure is admirable so keep working on it.

Story wise the first three lines I undertsand but wording wise I have difficulty with "There is this one peculiar type in town... maybe I should invite him" -type as in creature, person, girl, boy, I find type difficult to recognise with.

I assume some of your thumbnails are interior castle shots or looking in from the outside? The first image is clear - a castle on a whimsical hill with the moon in the back but the others I struggle to interpret.

Since you haven't started the environment class yet -maybe hold off to work on "whole setting scenes" until you go through that class and stick to more character focus scenes. Or return to these as you go through that class. In April I am studying the Environment class

Those rectangular boxes are text boxes yes? For the one you chose to enlarge perhaps add some more trees perhaps in the middle ground unless it is more barren - like your coming out of a forest.

Anyways just little things I noticed -if you have a more specific question ask away.

Good day,

[murielle]

@Heather-Boyd Thank you so much for taking the time to respond. I will keep your 'peculiar type' comment in mind when writing the final text.

The second row of thumbnails has my character standing on the balcony outside of the castle. The third one is the interior where he is writing an invitation.
I can't wait to follow the environment class. I feel I need a lot more work on the background and storytelling part of it all. So far my characters have been developed, but I've hardly ever drawn them in an environment because I feel insecure doing so.

When it comes to the first image where you see the castle, it is intended to be like you come out of the forest and see the castle on the 'hill'.

Again, thank you so much.

[Susan Marks]

@murielle
Hi Murielle-kudos for going for it, putting it out there and inviting suggestions.
I suspect my development is in a similar place-so please take my suggestions as from that vantage point.

Row 1-it works
Row 2-I couldn't have interpreted his as your description back to Heather--"my character standing on the balcony outside of the castle."--I can get there with the 2nd one in the row, but the perspective feels off to me for the balcony. But your values on this one are very god.
Row 3--I like the values etc in your preferred middle choice-but I really like the perspective in the first thumbnail--I think it suggested how big castles are and I can see the character as writing more easily than I pick this up in the 2nd one.

I like the rough, scratchy quality of your lines in the last large image.

I totally appreciate the desire to try to pull it all together-writing, sketching, composition, environments, perspective--while at the same time being unfamiliar with some of those aspects. When is "finished not perfect" appropriate? I find that it really pushes me to try to pull a many of the elements together as I can, while being pretty frustrated at the "gap" as Ira Glass says exists for a LONG TIME for artists-we have good taste, but our abilities grow slowly to close that gap between the work we want to create, and what we can create today.

I'd love to see more of your story as it develops.

[Heather Boyd]

@murielle

You can join us on this thread on sharing our studies and other work from the Creative Composition 01 and Enviroment Design class if you’d like,