WIP July book cover - feedback on composition

mag

Hi!
I always try to be a part of monthly prompts... and usually fail badly and don't deliver - too much other work
This month, I really would like to make a finished piece, maybe sharing my progress with you would help not to stop, find the time and complete the cover this time.
Sooo... here's my sketch. I started with the composition only - and will figure out the appearance of each character afterwards.
Do you have any comments, remarks regarding the composition? Something that irritates you?
Thanks and good luck with your art!

korilynneillo

I really like where this is headed - especially the characters in the corners and the emerald city at the bottom!!

The way Dorothy is posed reminds me MUCH more of Alice in Wonderland than WoZ. You see Alice a lot in this pose when she's falling down the rabbit hole and it's the first thing I thought of. On a second read, it makes sense (and I love that you're playing with the tornado! It's something I've been playing with as well since I haven't seen it around much yet on SVS).

Maybe explore other poses for her in the middle?

mag

@korilynneillo
Thank you! You are spot on regarding the pose. I was aware there’s something wrong with it but couldn’t figure out what. And it’s definitely a clear Alice falling down the rabbit hole. I’ll try some different ones.

Griffin McPherson

This is an awesome start. There are two things that stand out to me that could be adjusted.

"Oz" meets dorothy’s head in a way that makes a bit of an awkward tangent.
Solution: make the overlap heavier or don’t overlap at all by moving oz or making it smaller, similarly you could move Dorothy a bit instead.

Between the city and character bubbles in the corners there are tangents.
Solution: make the city wider so it doesn’t end at the bubbles but continues behind them. This will make the city feel more open and grand

Hope this helps!

Also if you really want to push yourself to finish this piece maybe try telling us when you are going to post next and what stage it will be at. For example, say your line drawing will be done in 3 days or maybe your first color layer

mag

@Griff Thanks for your input!
I tried to get rid of most of the tangents (however it's still a little bit early for me to cover them all... so there are still some left maybe )
@korilynneillo I also tried a variety of different poses for Dorothy... it's so difficult to make her look like she's in a tornado, without the Alice in wonderland feel to it.
But I tried and for now, I'm happy with it, I think.
I've also made the bubbles in the corners smaller, so it's little bit more airy.
Next step: character design!

mag

Sooo, I really do hope I’ll make it till the end of month!
I have my characters ready and drawing for the whole illustration finished.
Tomorrow I’ll be doing colour studies.

mag

And I do have a question for anyone willing to give me their opinion ... in the drawing, I made Dorothy smile, but in the sketch, there’s a hint of more or less surprised/scared look. What do you think would be better for the cover? I want the cover to have a “happy” feel to it, but also with a little bit of an action...

TessaW

I like the happy face! Her and Toto's pose gives plenty of action, so I think the expression works well if you also want to keep things "happy". Toto is so adorable!

miranda-hoover

@mag I love your characters! Toto is super adorable I think a happy face would be more inviting and goes well with your style. My only critique is the tangent with Toto's tail and leg--but other than that they look great! I'm excited to see it finished!

Coley

Those characters! They are tooooo cute !

Kim Hunter

Stories are built on conflict. The smile waters down the implied conflict.

mag

@TessaW Thank you! I love little cute animals, so it was great fun drawing him

mag

@Kim-Hunter Thanks! Will think about that!!

Mairin Kareli

@mag so cute!

mag

I did it on time!! Sure, there are still a couple of things I want to change, and there will be a plenty of them once I submit the final image... but for now, I'm pretty happy

lora_chaudavis

@mag So beautiful! Love the textures and the colors, I keep noticing new layers as I look at it. That little dog's face is just so precious.