So obviously I can't decide how to crop this one. I think the middle one is the best composition - but unfortunately I'm a little too much a fan of that cool stuff I worked so hard to paint at the top. Sigh. Here's the story excerpt from chapter 5 of part 5 of my story:
Elren stood in a pool of light. Bits of dust sparkled like infinitesimal snowflakes as they glided lazily through the air. There was no sound but her own steady breathing as she waited.
Three blades stood around her: stabbed into the sandy ground of the arena...
Suddenly the sand beyond each blade rose up into mounds. The mounds began to take rudimentary form, arms and heads appearing and stretching out into the air. Dark holes opened where eyes should have been, while fingers sprouted from their wrists to form hands...All three of the earthen creatures drew their blades from the ground.
Elren’s blood rushed hot through her veins. Her fury filled her and gave her focus. She drew power out of her own body, sweet life and essence flowing from her fingertips into the blades in her hands.
8 comments:
the middle one is my favorite, and probably the best layout, but I really like the original. Do you have to crop it?
Oh and I think I want to read your story. Care to email it to me?? I hope you are enjoying Pixar. I miss seeing you around. Have a great day!
I can see what you mean about the middle one's overall composition, but I think the first is the best - I love the spotlight effect it creates, and I think that adds drama to the piece. I'd crop a bit more from the sides before cutting off the top.
The only thing that I would really bother to change is actually Elren's expression: her features don't look (to me) like someone who is focusing lots of anger or concentrating very hard.
Btw, I thought her hair was red? Is it just gold because of the lighting?
I like the first picture better. I agree with Angela that I'd rather the sides be cropped a bit than the top. I really like seeing the light enter through that circular hole in the ceiling. It gives a stronger impression of the setting than the cropped images.
Is the observer one of the three she is fighting, or a character? I like the top layout best, as the foreground figure shares the viewer's sight, the fullness of the scene makes more sense. The letterbox crop doesn't really make it more cinematic apart from convention. I agree with the others that cropping the sides towards a column (or book-page) format would better convey the gestalt of the onlooker.
I think the bottum one makes the best compostion, but it is cool to see all the other stuff going on around her. But you don't have to decide; you can post them all and we will all enjoy them. Very cool.
My main question is, are you just painting this for fun? Because this would make a really great book cover, in which case the more standard vertical cropping makes more sense. Seriously Jon, if you want a side occupation of cover artist, you could be a smash in the publishing industry! If you want a good portfolio piece to show off to get that kind of work, go with the vertical cropping, and leave a little dead space where a title could go in. Don't put the title, just leave some room for it. And I am concerned about the figure in the foreground. It is very distracting. If you must have it there, make it more subtle; turn the head more so the face shows less feature. Faces are very powerful focal points. I'm left wondering too much about that figure: who are they, what is their feeling about the scene in the middle, are they friend or foe, what are they going to do? And I think you want the focus on the middle. If it is just another one of the sand people like in the middle, make it equal with the others.
This looks great, Jon. You have gotten so amazingly good. I'm, so incredibly proud of you! Can you teach me, now?
so this is the one you thought looked like me, right? the resemblence is amazing! maybe I should die my hair like that? and wear my Lamanite sandals too?
she doesn't look very furious, beautiful art as always though, and I think the middle one is the best, but you could maybe crop it a little higher to include more of your detailing?
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