July 2016 Challenge : The Desert Hound

[ThomasR]

Here is a revised version. I redrew the main lines and left the crowded version behind. I also lowered the opacity of the plateau's rim and strata. What it lost in detail I hope it'll gain in readability when shaded and colored.

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july 2016-4.jpg

[Ilanthar]

Looking good ! And really impatient to see the next steps.

[ThomasR]

I finally found some time and a way to get the right representation of the relief details.
Here it is :

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july 2016-5.jpg

I'll try to tackle the dunes during the afternoon.

[- JO -]

Really great !

I can't wait to see the result !

[ThomasR]

Thanks -JO-. I've still got some issues to solve but I'm closed to finishing the linework. My wrist and fingers hurt like hell but I'm quite happy with the result so, it was worth the pain. Here's the result. Feel free to tell me what you think.

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july 2016-6.jpg

Next step : filling the big blanks.

[Warlin]

Great work Thomrey. I like the different texture you show between the dunes, the cliffs and the mountains. Well done.

[ThomasR]

Thanks Warlin !

I'm trying something with colors but I'm not sure. One other thing is the sun in the sky. It's hard to sell the desert part without the sun but with it in the frame, I'm worried about the shading. Also, I'm a bit stuck with the shadows. I usually use an overlay layer but here, it brightens the red of the rocky hills. Should I use a darker red in normal mode ? What do you think ?

### Latest WIP ###
july 2016-7.jpg

[waldronate]

I agree that the sun is a nice part of the composition, but that angle is going to be tough to pull off from a shading perspective. We're looking at the backside of the front mountain range and there won't be much at all to see except shadows. Even the back range is pretty tough at that stage.

The nice thing about photos of very late afternoon or early sunset is the beautiful atmospheric effects like shadows. It's also what makes those same compositions a real PITA to deal with when drawing them. Realistic-style shadows like that probably wouldn't work well with this sort of illustration, anyhow.

The shading that you currently have in place implies to me a much higher sun angle that's off to the left of the page. It's a good angle for this sort of illustrative style, but the sun wouldn't show if placed there. This might be a case where not putting the sun in place might work better.

If you can, you might consider adding a gradient to the sky to approach a more neutral sky color near the horizon to sell the distances. You could also brighten the gradient slightly from right to left to imply that the sun is just out of frame. I would recommend similarly modulating the land features for aerial perspective, but it might not work well with this particular style.

[ThomasR]

Thanks for your help Waldronate. I removed the sun and tried to use the gradient tool and here's the result. Maybe it's not enough in the light depart ment but it indicates where the sun is and now, I've got an angle for where the light's coming from. Good call !

### Latest WIP ###
july 2016-8.jpg

[- JO -]

It works very well with the sun just out of sight !

May I suggest just one detail ?

It's the river on the far end. It looks great when the picture is little, but when I zoom in, I think there's too much laces, and it kind of distort the perspective. With less laces, or if you draw them more "flat", I think it can improve the impression of perspective.

Désolé, je suis pas trop fort en anglais... pour être plus clair : les premiers lacets de la rivière, tout au fond, me semblent bizarre : ils donnent une fausse impression du terrain. Le premier semble remonter (alors que l'impression devrait être qu'il s'éloigne) et les 5 suivants donnent l'impression que la rivière fait comme une route de montagne : ils font descendre la rivière de manière assez abrupte, alors qu'on imagine bien qu'un désert est plutôt plat. A mon avis, il suffirait de faire moins de lacets ou alors de les rapprocher, pour renforcer l'idée de perspective et d'éloignement.

Ceci dit, c'est vraiment qu'un tout petit détail : le regard est plutôt attiré par le temple et la statue...

Anyway : great work ! I can't wait to see it with details and textures !!!

Thanks a lot !