Here's the cover for 'The Last Unicorn'. It's getting there. Still lots of work to do. Those of you who saw this yesterday got to see the drawing at lunch. I started the painting at 9 this morning. I'll be working on it till about 6:oo, tonight. So a couple more hours.
I need to acquire some materials for 'The Hobbit' before I finish it. I am still debating whether to do in it oils or digitally. 'The Last Unicorn' is digital. I will do Smaug in oils, now that I think about it. That's a special project for me. In the meantime, I'll be doing some other paintings in the computer (like this one).
The text boxes will have a coloured border and a high key, low-textured, parchment-like field.
P.S. Added the newest update to show where I stopped for the day. Still have lots of work to do (esp. on the unicorn), and not sure if I like the border colour on the boxes, yet. I'm thinking I might make them a blueish colour.
P.S.S. The final, as well ~ unless there is something that looks like it needs changing.
I love the sketch. I think I would omit the squares in the final piece (or have them in a layer). It is good to have the type in mind, but I am not sure I would commit yet to the boxes.
ReplyDeleteFor one thing, I do not like the box over the unicorn's legs. It is taking up too much horse real estate.
Thank you, Christina. I had heard one other negative critique about the boxes. I wanted to hear some other feedback before I cut them out. I think they are going to go away, completely. Plus, I want to put in the dead scrub on the back cover. Thanks for the feedback. Those boxes were kind of an afterthought. They are very abrubt in a very delicate painting.
ReplyDeleteI like the final but I feel like there needs to be more crispness and detail on the unicorn. I know it is a wraparound, but the background elements seem more sharp and in focus that the main character. I really want to see the unicorn pop more. I like the boxes removed.
ReplyDeleteI fixed it. I like this a lot better. Thank you for pushing me. If there is something else that looks off, let me know. I'd like to be able to make this as tight and professional as possible.
DeleteThank you, Christina. You're right. I do need to put more work into this one. I was thinking about that all today, whether I should either knock back the castle and create some more atmospheric perspective and sharpen the Unicorn. I really appreciate the feedback a great deal.
ReplyDeleteCould you post a crop of just the front cover larger?
ReplyDeleteOkay, so what I did was post the front and back covers with and without text. This should give you a better idea.
ReplyDeleteI had also only previously published low red jpegs up here. I included high res jpegs for your sake. The colour is truer and the contrast, as well. Also, there is more clarity. My idea for the unicorn was to contrast her with the environments on the back cover. She is magical and her world shimmers. The real world of King Haggard and the people she meets is hard and clear, full of regret and loss. I used the rain as a way to soften the unicorn (albeit too soft in the beginning, I think. You'll have to let me know if it works, even now) and create an environment in which her colour contrasts completely with her surroundings. In all, I wanted the Unicorn to be the contrasting element. She is a fish out of water.
ReplyDeleteYou know, there does need to be some colour variation in that sky on the cover. Too purple.
ReplyDeleteThere is something lovely and soft about the unicorn, but I am torn. I think for the market you are striving for, she needs a little more "pop". Something about her needs to really grab the eye.. I feel like some of the background shapes are a little too amorphous. They can be blurry and lack detailed, but I would like to see more recognizable shapes. I am usually not so picky, but since these are portfolio pieces...
ReplyDeleteAlso, I would make the type more dreamlike. Chuck can probably give more concrete thoughts of typography design, but the name over the unicorn's legs really bothers me. She is so white and Shimmering, I do not like to see type over her.
There is something getting lost in translation a bit, too. I've found that when I upload images to this site, they lose a lot of contrast. I have uploaded the same image to facebook, here, and Deviantart (and sometimes my own blog). I'll have to make special images just for this site, I think.
ReplyDeleteI am uploading a different image sans the shine on her horn. I think she pops more without the complication of the glow. The contrast should be enough. I did play around with putting the author up with the title, but it makes the bottom seem very out of balance.
I'd be interested to heat what Chuck has to say.
I'm uploading the newer images, now.
Yeah, see, you can tell the difference in the unalterred image (the whole cover featuring the unicorn without her glowing horn) and the individual covers. I've had this problem before. I don't know what the deal is. Maybe a combination of jpeg quality and translation to the internet? I don't know. Maybe it has an effect similar to 'making a copy of a copy'? Either way, I know how to fix it. It just means more work and more files on my computer.
ReplyDeletePastels can be a challenge to color correct. I am liking how she pops now.
ReplyDeleteMe, too. I like the rocks better, too. I think the big problem here is an easy one to solve. Planning. I just painted this without any preplanning or value studies. I had a good sense for what I wanted. But I was stuck. I did some research and figured out some ways to fix it. But, I think, in many ways, I just need to move on to the next image and learn from this. Plan. I was itching to just finish something. Good learning experience and the lessons I learned about composition will help me to create faster (and better organized) paintings in the future. Luckily this is a digital painting, so I can play around a little with it and not worry too much about severe damage to any original.
ReplyDelete