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SkillZombie [2011-06-17 21:01:44 +0000 UTC]

Overall

Vision

Originality

Technique

Impact

As your travels continue, you find yourself in another distant land presented in the form of a vast forest. Although you have traveled through and have seen many a wood during your adventures, there was something very different...about this particular grove. Each tree's crown had taken on a vivid, green glow sitting above you head as it a perfect image of the strong life forces resonating throughout their lush forms. The sounds of forest animals resonated through the tree, but unlike most sounds, there was a strange rhythm about the sounds being made through the woods, as if they were all in sync with one another. It was almost as if it were the very pulse of the world itself, keeping the forest green and thriving. As you marveled through each and every clearing and grove you passed, you eventually come across one that is quite different that the others. In the center of the clearing was one solitary tree stump. Oddly, the stump was roughly a few feet higher than you were and upon its surface were many ordinate carvings. Many of them appeared to be Chinese characters upon its surface mixed with small drawings of a monkey standing upon trees and looking about. Just as you began to read more of the surface, a shadow was then cast above you. You crane your neck upward only to find a rather surprising sight. Standing on the top of the stump was a figure. At first it appeared to be a young woman, but a closer look upon her revealed that she was covered in a very fine, flesh-colored fur. She was dressed in an ordinate, regal-looking garb and her head was topped with a beautiful golden mane of hair that flowed within the forest breeze as elegantly as her clothes. She stared down upon you with a fearless and confident gaze. You immediately realized who you were looking. Just that moment, you realized you were in the presence of the fabled Monkey Queen...and you were trespassing on her land. Monkey Queen, created by *aditya777, presents us with another rather interesting portrait of a strange and enigmatic being. A very nice and professional looking presentation and beautiful design brings all of the magic and mystery of this piece to the viewer's eye.

Immediately, one can see just how much work and quality was placed into this piece on its compositional scale. On a detailing standpoint, the piece looks quite good and the signature styling of the artist resonates vividly throughout. The cloth and hair almost appear as if it they are flowing right before your eyes in this piece and the color usage really breathes quite a bit of life into this piece. The strong, emotional expression of the eponymous Monkey Queen draws in more of the imagination as if to what type of character this individual could be. A stern but just leader, or merely a cold and ruthless slayer of those she finds unjust? Many of these factors build upon the compositional elements and bring out all of the personality of both the piece and the artist's style as well.

Now that all of the positive points have been highlighted in this piece, there are still some parts that could really be brought up to bring out more of the best in this composition. Starting off, while I praised the initial design of the piece, there's still more that could be done with the clothing of the subject, more specifically the headdress. The primary shape looks good, but I feel that there should be some kind of gilding or metal texture to its appearance to bring out more of the regal elements of its shape. The same could be said about the rest of the costume's depiction. The emphasis on color shading is good, but there really isn't much to highlight as much of the outer parts of the clothing design have a rather rushed appearance to them. Many of the broader details need to be implemented in order to bring out that much more of the personality of the piece; build on what you have here and then add into it. You have no idea how much more you could bring out from this piece from adding more depth to the detailing factors of the piece.

From what this piece has shown me, there's no secret that this artist has quite a bit of talent. However, there are still parts of this little gem that could use a bit more polish and sharpness to its cut and shine before its true beauty can be realized. Monkey Queen can best be emphasized and described like a beautiful tiger lily bud sitting alone in a clearing. The inner beauty is clear and once it manages to open and display all that it has to offer, the admiration and love of its form will be celebrated. Until then however, it must first grow from its budding form of potential before its glorious petals meet the sun's gaze. Nice work Aditya! e.deviantart.net/emoticons/c/c… " width="20" height="20" alt="" title="Clap"/>

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tga-leylo [2013-10-12 00:30:53 +0000 UTC]

Really love it! Interesting concept...also...how are there NO comments on this even after it's been a DD? The heck?

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