This was so challenging.

I have been learning silently from SVSLearn. Here’s my first entry.

The front of my car has an embarrassing amount of smushed bugs on it. Sometimes they get lucky.

IG @kimpiersonart

Here’s what I’ve got so far. I would love some feedback in whatever area you see needs help but specifically I’d like to know if
-the idea is clear
-the composition is working
-color is working
-character design needs help

Thanks!

Here’s a little more progress. Any thoughts or obvious issues?

@Coreyartus I agree with @Jonathan-Malski about the pumpkin. I think that made me read the image as she was inside and they were outside. The bricks normally are on the outside of the house so that’s what my mind went to first.
I think adding more inside details may help to make it read more clearly. Also, if you keep the inside warm and the outside cool it would make their location clear too. Good luck! Cute idea.

@MattBaker @Gary-Wilkinson That’s a valid point Matt. When looking at book covers, especially for children’s books, saturation is probably going to turn some heads faster.
I still think there needs to be a way to separate the two worlds, however he chooses to solve the problem. Maybe desaturation isn’t the solution. At this stage there’s a lot invested and it’s hard to make changes. I’m curious to see how it turns out in the end, even if he does leave it exactly as is. It’s still strong.

@Nyrryl-Cadiz I love seeing all your sketches. It's nice seeing behind the scenes.

@Gary-Wilkinson I like those suggestions too. I wonder if she has enough time.

Chris, this one boggled me for sure. I saw some (of what I thought was) better work than some of the ones they picked.
I think some of the character designs they chose were not as strong as some of the ones left behind. In terms of rendering, perspective and anatomy, some of the selected ones were way off. It just goes to show you that lots of it is a matter of opinion, not skill.
For sure, many of the ones chosen deserved to be there. The 2 winners certainly deserved it. I’d love to know why they dismissed some of the others that weren’t listed in the very beginning for lack of value contrast. I see why they didn’t pick those although I liked the low contrast quality of some of them. I appreciated that little segment too, pointing out why those were not going to make it. It helps to see a single problem spread across a wide group. I always appreciate watching the critiques because I want to keep learning as you do.

Here’s my honest critique of yours.
I’d love to hear the same from you about mine.

Pros:
Angles are present indicating action.
Lots of contrast and value range (dark, mid, light).
I like your concept because it shows action, however it may be that they thought it was too “middle of the act” which seems to be a repeated theme of their critiques.
You downplayed the background which gives the action more prominence, drawing attention to the main idea.
It looks “inky” as if you used traditional materials, not overly rendered. (Kudos)

Possible Improvements:
Last time you got picked but you didn’t have people characters in it.
-Ellie looks a little outdated in terms of what’s trending on Pinterest in terms of character design. (I need a ton of help in this area. I have no idea what I’m doing. Lol. My background is in oil painting and realism. I draw and paint what I see, not from imagination.) It’s hard to design a character, period.
*There is a class on character design at SVS and I binge watched it. I’m gonna slow down and go back through it. Her thought processes were interesting and I’ve never considered designing things that way.
-Fairy- same issue. He’s a little hard around the edges (face area) although I like his clothing design a lot.
-Maybe there is too much negative space up top?
-Maybe don’t crop at the knee.
-Maybe change proportions to where the fairy is not the same size as Ellie. From this view he looks the same size which may make the table look a little out of place.

I hope this is helpful. It’s really the only reason I want to make it to critique arena, for some honest, helpful feedback. Winning is nice but to me winning is a good critique no matter how much it hurts.

All the best.

@Rachel-Horne yours was one of my favorites. I liked its subtle values.

@chrisaakins I like the candle lower.

@chrisaakins I'm drawn to the candle that splits the scene in half. Santa looks better. I would see how it looks if you punched up Santa's color a little. Idk, it may be too out of place. Keep going!

@K-Flagg your project is coming along nicely. There is so much work and detail in each of them. Well done. And all these strokes add up to more experience and better work.

@chrisaakins your fire place looks beautiful but it competes with Santa for attention.
It kind of looks like you could use more spread out characters to add some depth to the composition. Maybe a couple right inside the door or overlapping the fireplace, Idk. I agree that Santa looks like he’s leaving not coming. Maybe he could use more of a “surprise” posture.
Overall I think you have a good thing going. I look forward to seeing the end result. Good luck.

@Jonathan-Malski Thanks so much for taking the time to analyze this for me. I will definitely implement those suggestions.
As far as the text goes, I honestly didn’t give it a second thought. I just figured they would know it was a place holder. I feel like the text needs to be there because sometimes during the critique they say, “I wonder what text goes with this?” even when the illustrator puts a quote in the forum. They don’t seem to see the comments that go along with the illustration. In any case I’m hoping the illustration speaks for itself.
I really appreciate you bringing up the font. I’m gonna try to fix it.

@Carrie thanks so much.

Here’s a little more progress. Any thoughts or obvious issues?

Here’s what I’ve got so far. I would love some feedback in whatever area you see needs help but specifically I’d like to know if
-the idea is clear
-the composition is working
-color is working
-character design needs help

Thanks!

@Coreyartus I agree with @Jonathan-Malski about the pumpkin. I think that made me read the image as she was inside and they were outside. The bricks normally are on the outside of the house so that’s what my mind went to first.
I think adding more inside details may help to make it read more clearly. Also, if you keep the inside warm and the outside cool it would make their location clear too. Good luck! Cute idea.

I think the colors are appealing too. When you look at the little square on IG feed these colors are likable and popular. They are brighter and softer (less saturated) than many of your others.