New Piece- Atheslan

Post finished and unfinished work here for critique and appraisal.
Post Reply
Chantal
Posts: 55
Joined: 13 Mar 2006 01:29 am
Location: Floating around in my head ^^
Contact:

New Piece- Atheslan

Post by Chantal »

http://www.deviantart.com/deviation/49079579/

Well, I've been working on this piece for maybe a month, on and off. And I have to say, I'm really proud of this. Its of my to be maraquan draik, Atheslan in his native home of a far away planet. ^^ He's an arctic dragon and lives in the northern parts of his world, where everything is covered in ice; even the sea floor. So Atheslan's showing off his little glacier cave, probably going out to explore some new ruins or something.

This has to be my best piece to date, and my first good background I've ever done. Not to mention I love how I colored everything. Over all, I'm extremely proud of myself and will most likely make a blog out of this for Atheslan. ^^ And a page. A little critism is okay, because I know there are flaws but please try not to rip it to shreds. ^^;; *is really proud of herself*
Aurinona
Posts: 187
Joined: 18 Jan 2006 11:47 pm
Gender: Female
Location: North of the Cheddar Curtain

Post by Aurinona »

I really like his design- simple, but pretty. Very nice colour choice on the fin- reminds me of my Xyriah's wings, but more muted. ;) (Not calling design theft! Just saying you have good taste. *laughs* ) He looks nice and floaty- there's a good sense of being underwater.

A couple of minor crits that should be easy-ish fixes if you want:

I'm a bit curious about the necklace- is there a hole in his fin there? Is it split down the middle of the necklace? Or should the fin maybe be pressed down beneath it? (Just something to consider)

As far as the background goes, the little details you worked in the back are neat- subtle, but they add a bit of depth to the picture. I think the ground nearby starts to flatten things out, though- for some reason, strong lines like that tend to really catch the eye, while a bit of a curve will look more natural. If you do go back into the ground there, the green plants ( or anemone? coral? Hard to tell) take away from the 'icy' feel you were going for. They look a little bit warm and inviting. :D

Also, the ice could possibly stand a bit more blue in the shadows to play up a feeling of coldness, too, but I admit there's a difficult balance to strike in a piece as desaturated as this one is, since anything too bright will stand out more than you want.

Anyway, it's pretty and the effort definitely shows!
Chantal
Posts: 55
Joined: 13 Mar 2006 01:29 am
Location: Floating around in my head ^^
Contact:

Post by Chantal »

Hehe, very pretty combo I have to say. Xyriah looks really good in them. ; P Though, *blushes* I have to say I completely forgot she had a similar combo like Atheslan's. Ah yes, his necklace is something I was going to explain in his page. But I can indulge here, no biggie. When these dragons are born, their fins haven't grown in yet. Kind of like horns, they start as small stubs and grow as they get bigger. Depending on their size, will depend on the size of their frills and fins.

Atheslan has thick frills and average sized fins. He's a mixture of his parents, who his father had small frill but large fins and his mother had medium frill and average fins. His necklace/choker, is put on before his frills start to grow in, then the frill just grows on top of it. Have no clue how to draw that, so yeah...xD But that was my idea for it. And the reason for the necklaces are to tell who is in what group since a lot of times the families in the area get together and hang out if time permits. That and they love coral and pearls, so some would have necklaces, others chokers, maybe bands on their legs or tail.

Little things here and there. Nothing too big or detailed, subtitle jewlery. And they're all for natural, so everything they have is made out of coral or the plants around them. Speaking of plants, they're those colors for a reason. Something colorful as to grow there in an icy place like that. It gives color and life to the things they make. They're very...curious and creative so lots of different colors is better. And I'll try and remember that for the floor, I have to say it was a pain to do, even more so than the cave. I had no clue how to make it seems less, stiff.

Think so? I hope it does, I really do love this guy. ^^ *snugs Auri* And I'm glad you like him, he's been getting called goreous, beautiful, stunning...you'd think he should be a girl. xD Wow...that was long. >>; Sorry about that. ^^;
Gazella Dama
Posts: 75
Joined: 21 Jun 2006 03:08 am
Location: Behind You
Contact:

Post by Gazella Dama »

That's very visually pleasing. I'm not going to critique it, just thought I'd point out that it makes my eyes feel happy and content, which not many pieces do. It's very...soothing.
Chantal
Posts: 55
Joined: 13 Mar 2006 01:29 am
Location: Floating around in my head ^^
Contact:

Post by Chantal »

Gazella Dama wrote:That's very visually pleasing. I'm not going to critique it, just thought I'd point out that it makes my eyes feel happy and content, which not many pieces do. It's very...soothing.
*flushes* It soothes you? That's neat but its pleasing to hear that. ^^ I'm glad it has a good effect when looked at. Cause personally, I love the picture to death, but I was worried if my novice abilities on backgrounds would show through. xD
Post Reply

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 20 guests