09-19-2017, 08:01 AM
Hey there. I really like the idea, and the setting. You've got something going here. I think, and these are really large scale things, so you may want to think about them on the next piece instead of this one -
1) You could try for a more stimulating composition & pose. If you pull this down to its basic shapes it's a triangle (the figure) on a background which is pretty flat (doesn't have any particular perspective at work, and is divided exactly in half). [Side note: It's almost always more interesting/attractive to the eye to divide things at 2/3 or unevenly in general, rather than splitting things equally]. Try researching composition and how different kinds of curve (s-curve, spiral) can be used to guide the eye around the picture.
2) You could benefit from exploiting visual hierarchy more (especially with values). The eye is always drawn to the areas where there is most contrast in the values. In your piece, there's a lot of that contrast in the architecture at the back. But I feel like you want the focus to be on the figure. So I'd tone down the background contrast. You do have a lot of contrast between the figure's neck and the background, so my eyes are drawn there, BUT the paleness on the head means that it isn't clearly defined from the backdrop. Really squint your eyes so that the image is a blur, and you'll see that the figure appears almost headless.
1) You could try for a more stimulating composition & pose. If you pull this down to its basic shapes it's a triangle (the figure) on a background which is pretty flat (doesn't have any particular perspective at work, and is divided exactly in half). [Side note: It's almost always more interesting/attractive to the eye to divide things at 2/3 or unevenly in general, rather than splitting things equally]. Try researching composition and how different kinds of curve (s-curve, spiral) can be used to guide the eye around the picture.
2) You could benefit from exploiting visual hierarchy more (especially with values). The eye is always drawn to the areas where there is most contrast in the values. In your piece, there's a lot of that contrast in the architecture at the back. But I feel like you want the focus to be on the figure. So I'd tone down the background contrast. You do have a lot of contrast between the figure's neck and the background, so my eyes are drawn there, BUT the paleness on the head means that it isn't clearly defined from the backdrop. Really squint your eyes so that the image is a blur, and you'll see that the figure appears almost headless.
- Sketchbook -