@Chip-Valecek
Wow!!
Wow Chip!!! This second draft has so much energy to it. I also like how you’ve rounded out the witch/ghost’s face - it pulls the illustration more into a commercial space, while still touching on grunge/horror. I’m really responding to your proportions with this piece- I think you’re getting some really dynamic shapes with your characters that also feel sophisticated.
The background falls to the back enough to not fight for attention, and the back and forth between the witch and the birds are perfect - I also appreciate how her hair and ghost wisps frame the most important part of the scene.

If you’re still playing with value, maybe make the ghosts hair and the Birds and the main grave stone darker - the whole image is feeling grey. But if you’ve already flushed it out, it’s a night scene(?) and I think you could get away with it.

Lastly, I didn’t really know the prompt a week ago, but I think I might have led you astray. The guys seem to be huge sticklers about following the prompt to a T when they judge. “She overheard them talking about her.”
I don’t know if this piece really tells that story anymore. But I think the story that you’re telling here is very cohesive and hilarious and well illustrated and fits in beautifully with your body of work. I feel like the birds pooping could potentially nudge you out of the running, BUT would be killer in your portfolio! So I’m curious to see what you do and to see this puppy in color!

Hey Chip!
I’m Kaitlin - very very occasional SVS poster, long time lurker and learner, and a fan of yours!
I agree with Lisa - the birds do look like they’re just hanging out, talking story. Maybe have them desecrate the tombstone - something wonderfully Chip. Maybe pooping on it?
I love the scary dead lady - perhaps you can tilt her head down so that she’s looking straight at the birds and coming down to dive at them. Even though she’s looking down at them there’s just a slight disconnect as her face is looking at us straight on.

Excited to see this piece come together!

Krampus approved.

I would highly suggest listening to 1 Fantastic Week! Their last episode especially - they talk about how to drive up followers and how those followers can turn into sales - but most importantly how it’s a platform to tell your story and get people to fall in love with you.
I love SVS because they teach you the methods of making, and I love 1 Fanastic Week because they teach you how to turn that skill into $$$, from experience.
All that to say that I think Instagram can be used to high success - depending on your involvement with it, and more so if you look at it as a job.

I totally agree with @juliekitzes - the swans and wings were lovely and set up a beautiful design - I also agree with her statement that white wings would work perfectly in the back - the two characters have such dark skin that they really need a lighter background to stand out from. Potentially you might also want to lower the value of their clothes slightly - that will help the flesh of the characters pop out better and potentially help give a good backdrop for the black swans.
I think their embrace is sweet - but maybe this is a personal reading on my end. It reads as an enduring, deep bond - and if you were to add in the swans, their entanglement would highlight the depth of their love without having your characters all up in each others business.
I am in love with this painting and can not wait to see it come together! Seriously. I imagine you can’t wait as well!

@DLArmantrout hilarious!

@burvantill
Don’t have one yet :p but when I do I’ll reach out to you

Actually this video helped me figure it out - better to just give you the source. About half way through she goes into how to select a color and then manipulate it. It’s saved me a lot of time.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2NosHNaZwzg&feature=share

@hannahmccaffery
Thank you for that insight - I probably would have followed too many people :-p but now I will more carefully “curate” my feed.
@lmrush Incredible! It’s actually stories like yours that makes me want to jump on the twitter game - It sounds like it can be an amazing tool.

@Aleksey Thank you for that giant cheat! I do love instagram and all the tags you can use, but my engagement isn’t that high yet, so my work doesn’t pop up on the top 9 for tags with 50,000+. Do you listen to One Fantastic Week? Those guys talk a lot about finding a community of people that will follow your work, because you’re the artists who makes work about the things they love, and maybe twitter is a good place to find those communities.

@Coreyartus Wow - your insight is invaluable. I have been having the hardest time understanding what Facebook is good for - the groups, duh. I could just face palm myself right now :-p cause I already use them! My personal goal is to have more people see my work and to find a following that can relate to it and want to buy it. From what both you and @burvantill have said, twitter seems to be more of a way to start conversations, which from a PR stance seems brilliant - there’s work I love, but when I get to see an artists personality, that’s when I’m more inclined to buy and follow. I.E. David Hohn, Lee White, Will Terry, Jake Parker