GRcade Illustrator Club

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jawafour
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PostRe: GRcade Illustrator Club
by jawafour » Mon Nov 28, 2016 4:38 pm

Suffocate Peon wrote:Collection of character designs...

Quite a lot there, took 3 years.


Blimey, SP - your first GRcade post in nearly a year and I've only just spotted it. That's an incredible range of work... I love the mix between the boldness of colour and intricacy of design. The larger pieces remind me of those old "magic eye" pictures! Great stuff and I'd love to see more if you make any :toot: .

The Watching Artist wrote:I have a painting hanging in the Worthing Museum and Art Gallery as part of the Open 16 show...

That's terrific news, Matt - I'm glad to hear that you're part of another art show :toot: .

Do you class your artwork as the third step in your legendary Sunflower series? The blue shades work really well, whilst the "dead" aspect remains as intriguing as ever.

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PostRe: GRcade Illustrator Club
by The Watching Artist » Mon Nov 28, 2016 7:09 pm

strawberry float knows Jawa.

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PostRe: GRcade Illustrator Club
by The Watching Artist » Sat Dec 24, 2016 4:59 pm

Remember to eat your sprouts!
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PostRe: GRcade Illustrator Club
by jawafour » Sat Dec 24, 2016 5:47 pm

Oh wow... I like that, man! It's Sprout-ThingTM.

EDIT: The use of dark and light shading is excellent, Matt - the figure looks wonderfully solid.

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Hypes
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PostRe: GRcade Illustrator Club
by Hypes » Sat Dec 24, 2016 8:45 pm

and strawberry floating terrifying

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The Watching Artist
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PostRe: GRcade Illustrator Club
by The Watching Artist » Sat Dec 24, 2016 10:47 pm

Hyperion wrote:and strawberry floating terrifying

There be a reason for that. And yes, that is Boycie.

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PostRe: GRcade Illustrator Club
by The Watching Artist » Thu Jan 12, 2017 1:18 am

Need some opinions. Working on my pic which I'm hoping to enter into a competition which may see it published into a Doctor Who book this year. Got till the end of the month. It uses my last drawing I posted. My idea was to try to make an arty film like poster but mashed together with old school book covers. http://tardis.wikia.com/wiki/Target_Books_novelisations_covers Its for a story called "The Seeds of Doom" in which some pods are found in Antarctica. Needless to say things get out of control and a pod opens causing an infection which transforms a scientist into a Krynoid. A type of galactic weed that settles on planets and eats the animal life. I've tried to reflect some of the story elements in the design. With the pod appear as negative space to form the legs at the same time. Some "sketches"=
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So I've tried out a few things. A basic border (so bits appear in the foreground). Using some basic photoshop filters I was able to make some noise for the snow (I'm not keen on the lines its made though) and various background elements. I can keep playing with these and the colours. With the later ones I tried to create something that looked like the transformation happening at a cellular level. In one scene a blood sample is taken. Some different types of font. I'm planning to try and draw my own once I've got a proper idea what to do. I think I'm going to merge the two examples. So a looser less ordered one like the "horror" type but with vines to maintain the theme.

I'd like to know what people think works best. And what doesn't.

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Green Gecko
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PostRe: GRcade Illustrator Club
by Green Gecko » Thu Jan 12, 2017 2:22 am

Imo the fourth one is best because the cellular one goes too far with costrasting forms to the monster and overpowers the drawing.

Also you can blow up the text then try doing object> expand or right click > outline on the text in Illustrator then use the window > pathfinder to unite it and the framing device behind it. Put a copy of the text over the top. It'll make the lower third look more interesting, with the primary/secondary information element (depending on your pov) being the title of the production it should have more presence. You could experiment with an arch 3D effect on the text also, like this upper half. I can't remember the menu path, sorry. I'm sure you can do the same things in photoshop by merging layers or using shapes and stuff.

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(btw I drew and vectored that in about 30 mins for a £20 profit so it's not amazing lol. Also crab hands because time constraints :dread:)

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jawafour
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PostRe: GRcade Illustrator Club
by jawafour » Thu Jan 12, 2017 1:38 pm

The Watching Artist wrote:...I'd like to know what people think works best. And what doesn't.

Man, that figure looks so cool, Matt. As I mentioned before, I feel that it is the combination of clean artwork and superb dark shading that really makes it pop.

As for the background... I'd agree with Gecko that one wouldn't want to swamp (no pun intended!) the character. I quite like the design of the third image, albeit perhaps with a more subtle background (pattern) colour; maybe a silver/white effect to deliver a 'snow' quality?

Really good work, dude, and I'd be very keen to see any future versions that you produce!

And, yeah.... as ever when I look at your artwork, the availability of a fridge magnet version would be ace (my preference would be for just the figure and background; i.e. no wording) :toot: .

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PostRe: GRcade Illustrator Club
by The Watching Artist » Thu Jan 12, 2017 2:53 pm

Thanks chaps. :wub: I felt it was getting too busy as well. Will mull over it all some more.

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PostRe: GRcade Illustrator Club
by The Watching Artist » Tue Jan 31, 2017 3:49 am

Green Gecko wrote:

jawafour wrote:

Chaps! The deadline looms. Using your feedback I now have these. With new snow!
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Thoughts? Font work for me next.

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PostRe: GRcade Illustrator Club
by Green Gecko » Tue Jan 31, 2017 4:15 am

The 1st one has best palette and contrast. The 2nd one is too stark which has the side affect of making the green pale. The font needs at least 1/4 or 1/3rd of the overall composition and, if that isn't enough, a stroke or flat shadow on it to add impact.

I would actually make the monster larger, even if it means cropping the edges slightly, so it looks like it is coming out of the page at you.

I would include notes with the submission, to do an embossed cover for the monster so it looks like it is popping out with all that great texture. And the mosaic effect is begging for a iridescent or glitter effect (not in the design, in the ink, like a pokemon sticker/card). That would however be very expensive to print, a foil underlayer maybe wouldn't be that much.

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Hypes
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PostRe: GRcade Illustrator Club
by Hypes » Tue Jan 31, 2017 9:48 am

Have to say I liked the first 2 of your originals, feels like the background is distracting from plant dude too much in the new ones

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PostRe: GRcade Illustrator Club
by jawafour » Tue Jan 31, 2017 11:11 am

Ooh... this is tricky! I do like the new designs although, yes, the colouring is perhaps a bit bold and brash. It may be that more subtle, paler shades would help make the main figure stand out.

It's always difficult as the more people you ask to share their views, the more varying opinions you will get! It's always useful to get feedback but go with the one that YOU like best, dude.

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The Watching Artist
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PostRe: GRcade Illustrator Club
by The Watching Artist » Tue Jan 31, 2017 3:15 pm

jawafour wrote:Ooh... this is tricky!................ go with the one that YOU like best, dude.

Yeah. I wouldn't be asking if I knew. :lol:

Thanks as ever chaps. :wub:

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Green Gecko
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PostRe: GRcade Illustrator Club
by Green Gecko » Tue Jan 31, 2017 4:58 pm

I forgot that I originally agreed with Floex about the cellular background too. The finer concentric rings in the radial ray patterns were less stark than the wider ones in the last revisions.

I know the cell pattern may have taken ages, but sometimes you have to let go of your baby. Maybe it would work in the text fill instead?

"It should be common sense to just accept the message Nintendo are sending out through their actions."
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The Watching Artist
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PostRe: GRcade Illustrator Club
by The Watching Artist » Tue Jan 31, 2017 5:32 pm

Green Gecko wrote:I forgot that I originally agreed with Floex about the cellular background too. The finer concentric rings in the radial ray patterns were less stark than the wider ones in the last revisions.

I know the cell pattern may have taken ages, but sometimes you have to let go of your baby. Maybe it would work in the text fill instead?

Now you've confused me. :slol: Not sure there is enough space inside the font to really show the cells. But I've just hand drawn a new font (I started by tracing the other off the screen and then drawing into it :lol: ) so I'll try that later once its scanned in etc.

Quickly mocked up the first one with a border. This time a white one. Thought the black was too heavy. A thin line might work though. I also moved the main elements up a bit.

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Two options like this. The border goes all the way round (and I clean out the over lapping lines of the ground) or I extend the snow so the border only appears in the background*. This would give me a little more room to enlarge the font.

Should I try this with the other version?

*Like thus....

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Hmmmmm. Think I prefer the other.

Last edited by The Watching Artist on Tue Jan 31, 2017 6:30 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Hypes
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PostRe: GRcade Illustrator Club
by Hypes » Tue Jan 31, 2017 6:17 pm

Like this

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Maybe

EDIT - or perhaps with the background of the 4th one

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The Watching Artist
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PostRe: GRcade Illustrator Club
by The Watching Artist » Tue Jan 31, 2017 7:02 pm

The other newer one-
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The "4th" one. One with no colour and one with.
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Can change colour easily.

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Green Gecko
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PostRe: GRcade Illustrator Club
by Green Gecko » Tue Jan 31, 2017 8:15 pm

I like the 4th one (the 2nd "4th" one). Good stuff.

Is it possible to do some raster/selection work or vector/type reworking to have

The
Seeds of Doom

or similar so there is less negative space on the lower third?

Adding the border is a nice trick to make the monster jump out more without compromising its detailed hands.

I'm not sure about the lilac/grey ray segments. Could that be about 50% darker in K/Lightness?

"It should be common sense to just accept the message Nintendo are sending out through their actions."
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❤ btw GRcade costs money and depends on donations - please support one of the UK's oldest video gaming forums → HOW TO DONATE

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