(05-11-2013, 02:34 AM)Warburton Wrote: hi man, this piece has lots of potential and you've made a good start on it. That being said it's still in a early stage and it's pretty tough to read whats happening, so it might be tough to do a paint over at this point. That being said i can give you some tips on what i feel could use some more work, then once you've worked into it some more and pushed it to you max, then it'll be easier to address your weaknesses.
so first point is your message. What are you trying to show us? I get the impression that it's an ocean scene and i can kinda see a plane with some random tornado/ tentacle creature behind it. Try and make it more clear as to what this thing is and try and show us what it's doing.

second thing is your focal points and lighting. The comp doesnt seem too bad but theres no contrast in anything to push forms and focal points. Think about edges. The ones on the plane are going to be sharp because their close and it's a focal point but some tentecles in the background might be softer. All your marks are exactly the same and it's making an action packed scene look boring.

thirdly is your values. Put your image into black and get a fresh eye on your piece, you'll probably notice things you didnt and help push them further. This is a pretty tough pointer because your values is something you have todecide yourself when you set up your scene. Where do i want my lightsource? what am i trying to show? how could my lighting push to mood im going for? where are my focal points? you get the idea. I would recommend studying some film stills with a similar theme your going for here, check out how they tackle lighitng and values and try to duplicate it.

Sorry if this came across as abit harsh, i didn't mean it to be, i just know from looking at this that you can push this further. Just remember that it's by going out of your way to address stuff outside your comfort zone that you become better.

hope this helps, i look forward to seeing it in the future.