I guess it's because in the rest of the piece your shapes are defined by harsh edges (or in the case of the shadows soft un detailed edges. The reflection would've worked better with a more simple shape, that hides the brush work, imo. Pity they wanted the sign there, I think it would've been much better more central. Still great, love the people handing files around in a circle.
The only thing I'd suggest for next time would be to play around with your shadows, there's a lot of black up ins. Maybe try darker shades of the colour the shadow is falling upon instead.
I loved the progressions thing that Beav posted, so thought I'd do one of my own:
This has made me realise 3 things:
1) I am old, and will soon die.
2) I have never focused on my art as a career but have still been lucky enough to make money from it.
3) I rarely, if ever, draw for fun. Only ever to serve a purpose. Usually profit.
Goal for 2010: simplify my work right down to just ideas - nothing visual whatsoever. :winky:
Sincere thanks Beav, you are most kind. Oh, I've had plenty of hiccups, alright...
Doing this makes me want to go back further though! It's interesting seeing elements and motifs in my older work appear again later on - like seeing the innocuous seed of something which I would later get obsessed with.
I have actually realised a further 2 points as a result of this excercise:
4) My website is horribly out of date and very unrepresentative of work I do now.
5) Look at how many THINGS WITH EYES I draw!!! EYES!!! Everywhere!
The last three years you've been especially great though, which makes me happy, because I've got time to get better than you whilst I'm still younger than you
The last three years you've been especially great though, which makes me happy, because I've got time to get better than you whilst I'm still younger than you
"Whilst I'm still younger than you" Does that mean you won't be younger than me at some point? :winky:
Yeah, I was a late starter when it came to being focused on a career so plenty of people have the advantage on me in terms of age! I am rather an old fart. 8-)
The last three years you've been especially great though, which makes me happy, because I've got time to get better than you whilst I'm still younger than you
"Whilst I'm still younger than you" Does that mean you won't be younger than me at some point? :winky:
Yeah, I was a late starter when it came to being focused on a career so plenty of people have the advantage on me in terms of age! I am rather an old fart. 8-)
MustangArbiter of Unpopular OpinionsRegistered Userregular
edited January 2010
I can tell it's a heart...I'm not digging it though, which is wierd 'cause I usually dig everything you do.
It gets the message across just fine, but it feels a bit simplistic.
Thanks for the responses guys, that's useful stuff!
I can totally see the duck thing now, and while I frequently try and simplify my work as much as I can I don't want to strip away so much that it becomes too simplistic.
I'll work on this further and see what I come up with.
I really like the design, but I wasn't able to tell it was a heart. If you 'squashed' it a bit, that would probably help.
Or maybe I just need to rip people's hearts out more often.
EDIT: Hmm...
...Maybe you could just subtly suggest at the various chambers the organ has?
Kevin R Brown on
' As always when their class interests are at stake, the capitalists can dispense with noble sentiments like the right to free speech or the struggle against tyranny.'
While I put the finishing touches to the shop, I thought I'd ask for some feedback.
Thoughts, musings, criticisms, outbursts, and rambling very much welcome.
If anything looks bad in a particular browser or at a particular resolution, that's the sort of thing I'm after.
Some background on my stratgey for the site: the aim not for the site to be an extensive source of examples of my work, merely a hub to enable people to either buy prints, or use the links to keep up to date with my work via the channel of their choosing (i.e. blog, or Flickr, or Facebook group, or whatever).
Site looks great...I like the colors and design quite a bit. Couple things, though. When I go to the blog, I'm hard-pressed to navigate my way back (I know I can click on the main logo up top, but a LOT of people won't).
Also, I noticed that you explain the navigation of the front page artwork in the little blurb below. I found that helpful, since I didn't see the arrow buttons at first. I know you probably want them to be fairly opaque in order to maximize your art's coverage (and rightfully so, it's very nice), but I think you could really benefit from making the navigation of that panel darker and more obvious. If people see the arrows, they WILL know to click them. That way, you could use the space below for some more content
Just a couple suggestions. I always find it better to let the site speak for itself rather than having to explain it to your visitors. All-in-all, I'm really liking it though. It's very clean and stylish. Well done!
EDIT: BTW, I'm using the newest Firefox and everything looks in-order. I re-read your post and thought I'd be a bit more helpful to your specific request.
man.. I really got annoyed by the descriptions popping up into the image. I dig that link jake suggested, i think if you went more in that direction and nixed some popping up bits.. would be better.
Thanks for the feedback guys, it's valuable stuff.
Hmmm... the first version of the site didn't have the popup descriptions because I thought they were a bit too distracting BUT the feedback I got was that, though the images were nice, people wanted descriptions... it seems I can't quite win with this one! o_O
I'll have a play with it and see if I can find a happy medium.
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The only thing I'd suggest for next time would be to play around with your shadows, there's a lot of black up ins. Maybe try darker shades of the colour the shadow is falling upon instead.
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D'robots, you are completely right about the shadows. I suck! :!:
This has made me realise 3 things:
1) I am old, and will soon die.
2) I have never focused on my art as a career but have still been lucky enough to make money from it.
3) I rarely, if ever, draw for fun. Only ever to serve a purpose. Usually profit.
Goal for 2010: simplify my work right down to just ideas - nothing visual whatsoever. :winky:
you had some hiccups
but generally awesome
Doing this makes me want to go back further though! It's interesting seeing elements and motifs in my older work appear again later on - like seeing the innocuous seed of something which I would later get obsessed with.
I have actually realised a further 2 points as a result of this excercise:
4) My website is horribly out of date and very unrepresentative of work I do now.
5) Look at how many THINGS WITH EYES I draw!!! EYES!!! Everywhere!
"Whilst I'm still younger than you" Does that mean you won't be younger than me at some point? :winky:
Yeah, I was a late starter when it came to being focused on a career so plenty of people have the advantage on me in terms of age! I am rather an old fart. 8-)
Yep, because one day you'll be dead
Crits welcome. Is it clear that it's a heart? Hopefully so.
I'm not sure how much of that has to do with the drawing vs my mind's interpretation vs a heart silhouette looking like a rubber duck.
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It gets the message across just fine, but it feels a bit simplistic.
I can totally see the duck thing now, and while I frequently try and simplify my work as much as I can I don't want to strip away so much that it becomes too simplistic.
I'll work on this further and see what I come up with.
So it hit the nail on the head for me, but I read the book last month, so it is fresh in my head.
It might be one of those things that won't click for those who haven't read or seen it.
Great book by the way, how is the movie?
The film was awesome. Very tense and harrowing but with little spots of joy in there that ensured it didn't become so dark as to be unwatchable.
Or maybe I just need to rip people's hearts out more often.
EDIT: Hmm...
...Maybe you could just subtly suggest at the various chambers the organ has?
http://www.armyofcats.com/DRAFTSITE
While I put the finishing touches to the shop, I thought I'd ask for some feedback.
Thoughts, musings, criticisms, outbursts, and rambling very much welcome.
If anything looks bad in a particular browser or at a particular resolution, that's the sort of thing I'm after.
Some background on my stratgey for the site: the aim not for the site to be an extensive source of examples of my work, merely a hub to enable people to either buy prints, or use the links to keep up to date with my work via the channel of their choosing (i.e. blog, or Flickr, or Facebook group, or whatever).
Thanks in advance for any feedback!
Also, I noticed that you explain the navigation of the front page artwork in the little blurb below. I found that helpful, since I didn't see the arrow buttons at first. I know you probably want them to be fairly opaque in order to maximize your art's coverage (and rightfully so, it's very nice), but I think you could really benefit from making the navigation of that panel darker and more obvious. If people see the arrows, they WILL know to click them. That way, you could use the space below for some more content
Just a couple suggestions. I always find it better to let the site speak for itself rather than having to explain it to your visitors. All-in-all, I'm really liking it though. It's very clean and stylish. Well done!
EDIT: BTW, I'm using the newest Firefox and everything looks in-order. I re-read your post and thought I'd be a bit more helpful to your specific request.
http://trunkfilms.com/
Hmmm... the first version of the site didn't have the popup descriptions because I thought they were a bit too distracting BUT the feedback I got was that, though the images were nice, people wanted descriptions... it seems I can't quite win with this one! o_O
I'll have a play with it and see if I can find a happy medium.
Cheers again for having a look.
Also, I'm using Chrome on XP and the slideshow section isn't centered with the layout:
Pop up descriptions are now gone and replaced with static descriptions as part of the image, which are hopefully less distracting.
Site is now displaying properly in Chrome.
Ta!