A different kind of WIP

mattsterbenz

mattsterbenz

New member
It\'s still miniature related... hope it\'s ok being on here. :)

There\'s an indy Grand Tournament that\'s going to be in Phoenix in a couple months, and I\'ve been commissioned by the organizer to do an oil painting. This painting features the top two armies of last years tournament. It will be made into prints and also silk-screened onto shirts given away at the event.

Here\'s a small crop of the painting. The entire board measures one foot by two feet. The other army featured in the painting will be Wood Elves. Both of the characters were supposed to be \"inspired\" from the army book art.

I need to redo that chainmail, I didn\'t have a small enough brush! Looks like crud... Anyhoo, onto the painting:

tidesofwar.jpg


Would love to hear some thoughts on this. Hope I can do Chaos some justice in 2-d :D

-Matt
 
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artfreakydude

New member
I know you\'re in the beggining stages of your painting, but right now there\'s a few things that can be addressed.

Compositionally I think you can push your painting much further. He\'s pretty much centered in the canvas. His pose can be much more dynamic. The perspective also feels very weak. You have foreground, middleground, and background, but you have no elements linking them together, and thus the piece feels quite flat. The gold trim on his armor is nice, but the reds could use some work. You also need to decide where your light source is coming from. Is it coming from the sun behind him or is it to his left (which is how you have him shaded currently)

I would recommend finding a LOT of reference images. Frank Frazetta is a good place to start.

Hope I didn\'t come off too harsh ( i went to art school, which pretty much removes my soul when talking about this sort of stuff [you should hear what i have to say about that last transformers movie])

best of luck
 
mattsterbenz

mattsterbenz

New member
Cheers for the comments! :)

@artfreakydude:

Thanks, I appreciate the feedback. Firstly that image is a crop of the full canvas so does not reflect the actual painting\'s composition (the wood elf was only sketched in at the time, I didn\'t include it in the photo). Light source is coming from his left as he is at the edge of a forest. I included the pale muted colors in the background to keep attention drawn to the two heroes. More details will be defined that will help tie them into the scene (lots of branches, rocks, etc). The static/holding pose on the Chaos lord was a request of the client, as the Wood Elf is launching the assault.

Don\'t worry about being harsh. I didn\'t find it harsh at all. Plus I have very thick skin :)



We had some great weather last night. Got down to 71 F, so it was actually tolerable outside lol. Was able to get a couple hours worth of painting done in the garage.

I\'ve got a new update here. Decided to upload the full canvas to avoid any future confusion :) Started getting the Wood Elf blocked in with color as well as the very darkest part of the woods on the left. Since very subtle dark highlights are easiest to paint over a black foundation, I began painting the background on the left black. There will be lots of little highlights from the glowing sword on background and foreground objects. Mostly branches, rocks and trees. There will also be hints of a Treeman and Dryads in there too. I was thinking of adding some tiny red dots here and there too, to look like glowing eyes in the forest.

Not too sure how I will go about equipping the Wood Elf. Still need to come up with the armor design, as right now he\'s just blocked in green. Probably some kind of leafy armor like on the Wood Elf armies book.

Got rid of the Chaos guy\'s chainmail. He doesn\'t need it, and I don\'t feel like painting it :D. Added some green reflections from the magic sword.

tidesofwar2.jpg


Cheers,

-Matt
 
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starchaser1

New member
One thing is becoming very aparent YOU SIR HAVE BUCKETS OF TALENT .
I love the the green reflections i think it adds to mood of the peice, and the motion of the elfs cloak is spot on. Cant wait for your next update:D
 
mattsterbenz

mattsterbenz

New member
Cheers guys :)

Here\'s the finished painting. Still awaiting a coat of varnish, but that can\'t be done for a couple more months...

Right now some spots are shiny and others aren\'t so it makes some things look strange because of the glare. The treeman\'s head that\'s visible just above the sword is much darker and more subtle, for example.

1.jpg


I\'m not much a fan of the wood elf, dunno why.

-Matt
 
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Recoil889

New member
Ok, ive looked at this for a while, and somthing has been bugging the hell out of me. I think ive nailed it though, the focal point is the wood elves sword. Although that is the initial point of focus, there is nothing else on the piece that attracts my attention, so my eye goes from the sword, and wanders off. I think what this piece needs is somthing to guide the eye around...I think another issue is that the figures look like they are pasted on top of the scene, but not actually apart of it. I think part of the reason for this is, other than the sword, its not apparent where the light source is. If it is above, the backround should not be SO darkly lit. It is possible to create a dark, moody feel without directly going twords blacks and browns.
Sorry if it seems harsh, but maybe its a new look on it..
 
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shakes

New member
hate to say this when youve come so far but to me it looks asthough hes trying to do a point or something. his legs look like a big oval. personal preference ofc, but i feel he would look more realistic if he had his lower right leg pointed more towards the elf asthough he were bracing himself for an attack. his left foot planted were it is but his right about twice the distance from his left than it currently is. wider stance to put it simply. atm it looks like a light push would know him over.

just my 2 cents, the rest of it i love, colors look great and i think the back-drop is amazing. there is on other thing, its something to do with the elf but i cant put my finger on it. he looks somehow inbalanced.

shakes
 
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