Frank's Thread 2 - Environments!

F87

Hey PA, time for a new thread!

:winky: 8-)

After studying ND's in-depth feedback, I have been working on two new characters for a while now. I feel like these are better but I still plan to go over the advice I've been given once more, to see what I'm forgetting or failing at. These are still unfinished and I'm looking for feedback on the overall designs.

Simone, the Head Chef:

The Head Chef on board a massive luxury star cruiser, Simone is a very gentle person at times, but never let's people push her around. The cooks and other workers all wear the same general jackets, but her apron displays the rank of head chef. (I may add a crest of some sort?)

I really want to get down to brass tacks with this one and really push the materials. The cloth, plastic and leather need to actually read as such, but I haven't rendered this yet. I've just been playing with the design for a couple days.

I want her to read immediately as a chef. I tried focusing on the overall effect, but I'm just not sure it's working. Also, she lost her hand during her childhood and it helped motivate her throughout her life.

Byron, the Foreman:

I started this guy today, I've been staring at him way too long.
Basically, he is the pissed off, get-er-done boss character that you love to hate. Messy, hairy and bald. He is the Foreman (or maybe Overseer is the proper term?) of the oldest reactor cooling facility on the star cruiser.

I'm kind of liking him so far, but I may need to do more variations or something.

Anyway, that's what I've been up to, besides some huge family problems. Things are getting better though! Any feedback would be greatly appreciated.

MufasaJoe

Hiya!
Dude #2's legs are short, even for a super stocky guy.

Edit: But these are super cool.

DirtyDirtyVagrant

I would say that they're short specifically between the knee and the ankle.

tapeslinger

oh, the legs are bionic.
I would still make them proportionate, though that could have a comic effect in storytelling. Maybe if he was nicknamed "Stumpy" or something...

trentsteel

I would put a small chef's hat on the woman to make her more obvious as a chef. Like a tall cylindrical one or a lopsided one that hangs on top of her head.

ninjai

FRANK! Good to see you man, been a while. I was afraid you had disappeard! :P Good to see some new stuff, looking great!!!

Edit: Is that tool bag a character description, or a costume prop?

DirtyDirtyVagrant

He should be saying "I killed fiddy men"

NightDragon

I think these are a definite step in the right direction, Frank. Good work!

I'm not sure why the guy is shirtless, though. I would imagine that he'd be wearing a full suit - he looks awfully low-tech for somebody who's supposed to be working on a star cruiser.

If he's always pissed off, don't tell us that, show us that. He'd probably have wrinkle lines in certain areas from scowling so hardcore for so long. Also, imported cigar? If you had moved his hand to display the cigar a little more, you could've thrown a foreign-culture symbol on the cigar liner to show us it came from a different culture than the character. Not something I think is necessary, but the kind of thing you might want to think about in the future.

And if he's working on a cooling reactor, I don't think that would be his outfit. Again, it's too low-tech, but it also looks like he'd be more of a mechanic than somebody overseeing other workers. Yes, he's angry, and stern-looking, but he has no air of authority. He looks like he's a grunt, rather than a leader. He'd probably be better groomed, wear nicer clothing, and not be shirtless. Maybe he'd stand a little straighter; have more of a refined "shape" to him...it's all in the body language! I'm not suggesting you change your whole design, but I think these are things to think about.

For the chef, I'd add something like the buttons and/or collar on a chef's coat:

http://www.google.com/search?um=1&hl=en&safe=off&tbm=isch&q=chef+coat&revid=1303685322&sa=X&ei=2924TdvCC-G30QGsmL3vDw&ved=0CDQQ1QIoAA

...to make it more obvious that she's a chef. Because your apron is so far from the traditional "apron", there aren't many visual cues (aside from the prop in her hand, which should never be the only thing that tells us a profession) that lead us to the "chef" answer. Taking elements of designs from the real world help ground imagined designs, and help the viewers figure out who the person is supposed to be.

MufasaJoe

I buy that she is a chef, it just looks like she's never been in a kitchen.
I figure you might be going for a sterilized-lazer-future kitchen, but you might want to add reflections of the environment she is supposed to be a part of.

In restaurants, chefs aprons/coats are rarely spotless. They are rarely washed and sometimes cooks dont even have their own so a given apron could have several hundred meals on it. Granted, some head chefs are more administrative and don't touch the food, so yeah.

Bandanas. Hair nets are out, bandanas are everywhere, not just on Top Chef.

Pockets on the apron?
Holster for knives?
People in the food industry typically have loads of tattoos and piercings, often food related, so thats also something to consider.

If she's working hard in a kitchen, maybe she should look like shes getting off of work, with stray hairs or being flushed/sweaty, or pissed, or determined, or I dunno. Just some thoughts. Its looking good!

F87

Thank you guys for the awesome feedback! I really appreciate it!
I'm still not terribly confident about these designs, but I do feel like they are a good step forward. I was trying to make them similar or at least feel like they are from the same setting.

For the chef Simone I tried making her look like she has been working all day and is stressed out. I do want to play with some chef coat type buttons, but I'm not sure yet.
I tried a few quick variations for the Overseer character, but I felt like it just didn't work with his posture. I like him like he is though, he seems like a sort of maverick to me.
I also started this new character, a very intelligent, but plain, handmaiden. She could be the main hostess for the cruise ship, or something like that. :P

The Headmaiden:


And here is the cast all together for comparison:

Please keep the feedback coming, these aren't set into stone yet and I really need to improve my design choices.
Thanks!

Edit: Uhg, forgot to mention that I'm still working on her arms and hands, they are a complete mess right now.
Edit2: Uhg, I need to add some nice pockets/holster to her apron... and I think I will need chef jacket style buttons.
Edit3: Hmm... I'm experimenting with some buttons, but I don't think it looks right/good. Also, the bag and collar.

F87

I did some environments today and realized how rusty I am. The first two are pretty "meh" but I think I will try to finish the third. The perspective is wonky though.

Bagginses

If he's a mechanic in some intergalactic engine room, shouldn't he have some sort of protection? If you want him to look grizzled, give him some really worn old clothing, like an old varsity jacket that he got when he was still playing football in high school and once got caught in the hyperdrive, and looks it (shredded sleaves, stains, whatever). Actually, a varsity would be perfect because the leather sleeves would protect the parts he's sticking places. Still, a little preppy. These are the cheapest flame resistant jacket and shirt I could find on a lark. Still, I think the best idea would be a leather jacket shredded to the elbows supplemented by elbow length protective gloves looped over his belt.

For the second landscape, I suggest looking at the google image results for "serengeti kopje" and "serengeti Kopi," as you've basically drawn a kopje. Take, for instance, this image:

Also, this big one.

For the first landscape, might I suggest looking at the Lalibela Church and Cappadocia (I linked the most important branch, but I suggest looking through the whole commons for that town)?

Scosglen

(Disclaimer)I am not great with environments, I could be a rambling fool.

I think your value composition needs a bit more thought. Especially when working with grayscale, your value comparisons are the biggest cue as to the depth of the scene. In the first painting, you have such a narrow value gamut (aside from the highlights, there is no gray above maybe a 50%) that the dark darks lose much of their punch and everything is a little too close.

I did a little paintover to expand the value range and enforce the atmospheric perspective a bit more. Most of what I did was push things in the mid and background further away with a transparent layer of a lighter gray to wash the distant objects out a bit. Because of the overall lightening of the scene, the illuminated area at the base of the obelisk object needed to have an even lighter opaque gray reapplied to keep the sense that this area is well-lit relative to its environment.