Right. It's time to get down to business!
I have been far too neglegant on these threads as of late, so here goes!
Bergy: I am loving the comic book dynamism. It will be interesting to see how this pans out and what colour pallet and what painting method you will choose. I always enjoy your paintings sir, so this should be a belter! Great concept!
Forest: Your WIP is giving me attitude! How rude!!!... ha! This is a good piece with some brilliant textures and plenty of interesting narrative. In my opinion I think the smoke-to-monster effect will be best served with the smoke looking as smooth and smoke-like as possible. I know you have more up your sleave, but at the moment it looks more like wool than smoke. Get this right and it'll look awesome!
Digital Dave: I like this concept and the slightly sad feel to it that you have captured. You have a unique style Dave that I really like. I still feel it's a bit bright though. It may just be me, but I think that the piece would benefit form a darker pallet of mid-tones and shadows. You're the judge, my friend, but that's what I think.
Catzombie: Once again this is going to be ace! Your line art was great and Tarra's face is beautiful, so if anything I would say that the composition is fine as it is and the fact that Tarra is obscured and sort of wrapped up by her beast is a very strong point. The painting has an emblematic feeling to it that I love and not being able to see any more of Tarra than you have already drawn is perfect. But, keep going with what feels right for you and I will look forward to seeing where you take this.
Helmighs: Glad to see you again on this challenge. This is a genuinely creapy concept that you have come up with, but I must confess I preferred the first version of the 'Friend Beast' because it looked much more sinister. Your second one is good too but, for me, looks a bit too agressive and therefor the feeling of creapiness is replaced with a sense of threat. So, it depends on what you want to achieve. Also, lovely rendering on Tarra's face so far!
Lady Madusa: Hey there. I like this, it's gentle and therefor a bit different to the rest. It looks bright and clear too, so I look forward to seeing what rendering methods you use. Cool beast!
Rrushadow: Welcome to the forum! The scan came through fine, but it's a bit early to be giving feedback. So I will just say: make sure you have a solid idea before you start. Your style looks somewhat nieve too, which is fine if it is styalised. Listen to the advice that is given to you and don't take critisism too personally and you will learn loads form this crowd! Enjoy!!
Gnuchi: Hey! This is looking great. Lovely rendering and a great concept. I like the cape running along the bottom, but once again I can't help thinking that the composition would be helped if you were to complete the shape. Your piece has created two sides of a trangle, down and left from Tarra (our right), the along the bottom where the cape curls a little at the bottom (our) left. Then there is a void from there to the bull's head. For me, it would look more complete to have an object or an effect that linked all three sides of the triangle. See what you think. I love your style, so I look forward to seeing where this goes!
Disco Matt: There's that monkey again!! Ace! This is a great sketch and I want to see where you go with this. Please keep going with this, it looks fantastic!
Zinc: I like the simplicity of this. It's still a WIP and so I will await the rendering. I look forward to seeing what you end up with because your attention to conceptual detail is ace.
Jonny Marvel: An interesting concept. And I have seen what you are capable of in IFX magazine so this is going to be great. At the moment, it's too much of a sketch to critique, hence I will not!
Grumbleputty: In your frist sketch your Tarra was by far the scarriest Tarra of all the concepts so far. That should be the key feature in this painting for me. What a great idea! As it stands, the beast looks good and the environment is fine. Work on Tarra though and make her stand out and this piece will be a winner!
Anyway... That just leaves me to comment on my own guff! This is the latest update of my work. I have started to draw in what's under the glass, but I don't like it so for now I will just show what work I have done on the main ogres! I am experimenting with a different style here and trying to achieve a more 'painty' feel. I am stuck on the texture for the ogre's skin, but it's still early days yet. I just want to get the bulk of the painting done and then I can worry about the different textures later. And to answer the various contributors who asked if I am going to lighten it, the answer is YES, but probably when I'm finished!! Hope you see some promise in it guys and girls!