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BrokenApollo — Lithium
Published: 2010-09-12 07:59:23 +0000 UTC; Views: 866; Favourites: 19; Downloads: 20
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Description
I... just spent about 4 hours on this. It's 4 in the morning. It started as a random sketch inspired by Evanescence's song "Lithium," and my vague memory of the music video. I wasn't going to finish it mainly because I was kind of reluctant to try seriously drawing a piano... but all of a sudden, it's... 4. And I did this.I think I need to draw really late at night more often.
Brushes by `thundercake ... they make drawing so much easier, wow.
Sorry if I'm not very coherent.
Critique this! What could use work? I probably won't change anything this time but I always make note of what people say and keep it in mind next time I'm drawing.
Good night~! DX
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Comments: 21
Wow... draw late at night more often.
The hair.... the hair is brilliant. I have no idea what you did but it really looks like hair. the ends aren't to harsh and the subtle waves really bring it alive. I also like how it's not in the exact center. You can tell you spent a lot of time on it.
The dress... I love the color and the lacy ruffles. The string on the back is subtle yet incredibly effective. and the upper part hugs the girl's body in a way that isn't suffocating but is clearly being worn. I'm not sure if that makes sense but I see sometimes it looks like clothing was just painted on top of a body, this fits nicely to her.
My concern is in the skirt part. Fabric is a pain, especially flowing fabric that doesn't simply fall. Considering the challenge you took on, you did very well, but I will say that it does seem to come off as a little flat and unrealistic. There are a lot of lines still that could be worked out trying to use value to show the ruffles. Around the stool there is this bubble shape and then there are lines in the flow. I understand, but sadly it does make the picture seem flat because “there are no lines in life” as I am constantly told by teachers. I wouldn’t say anything but so much of this picture is so beautiful I don’t want something so small yet obnoxious to interfere.
I would recommend looking at some fabric tutorials or even drawing from life. Put your husband in a flowing dress and ask him to sit on a stool for a while.
I love the trees. Simple yet incredibly effective. The leaves frame the picture well and fade and get smaller and darker as they get farther away. Incredibly well done.
Your perspective on the piano keys is superb. My only nid-pick is the dark lines around them. Everything is so soft and beautiful and then there are these harsh lines on the piano keys. I know piano keys do sort of have those lines, but maybe you could use a lighter color or blur them a little so they aren’t quite as bold? I don’t know.
Overall this is a fantastic piece. It’s soft and subtle with small details that really bring it together. There is feeling to this work and my god… it is gorgeous.
Fantastic work.
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Thank youuuu <3
I actually wasn't happy with the corset part of the dress, it wouldn't look right! I re-did it a BUNCH of times and finally settled on this. I'm glad you think it looks okay though, I wonder if I was being too critical lol
Ahhh yes the dress. I know, it's all wrong. D: I couldn't find a reference.. and it was the last thing I painted (you can always tell, can't you lol).
I told my husband what you said. xD He laughed.
Hmmm. I guess I wanted to show the spaces between the piano lines. I could have made them lighter though. I suppose the white of the keys would show through wouldn't it.. I'm glad the perspective looks right though : D I was kind of scared of trying to draw them.
You're wonderful. <3
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You're welcoooome. Less than three.
Well I really like it the way it is, I don't know what struggles you went through to make it this pretty though. I hope it wasn't too bad. And you are always your own worst critique. :3
It's not "all wrong" just... less strong than the rest. No refs huh? well go to plan B. Just tell your husband that one of the greatest dress models of the 20th century was a man. (this is a sad truth. His measurements were used to make women's clothing... yay fashion)
I'm glad he enjoyed it. If you can get him in a dress please show pictures XD.
I understand. It's not a bad thing, just a recommendation.You did a very good job with them. I'm glad you put them in, the detail holds the picture together.
I would take everything I say with a grain of salt since I'm no great draftsman or artist mehself. But I try my best.
I wouldn't say I'm wonderful... but... I knows you are.
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Pfft I always listen to what people have to say. Don't be afraid to say mean things to me. I don't get hurt. Unless you're trying to hurt me. Then I might. But you wouldn't do that.
o.o
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I'm overly worried about hurting people and/or being liked. So I apologize too much and am overly careful... 
I would never try to hurt you D8 you are way too awesome and nice. I wants to make you happy! So be happy!
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I agree with this critique. The only thing I would add is that I think the way you were going with the skirt of the dress was to make it look like water and waves. The crashes at the end of the skirt work really well. Where it seems to be going wrong is on the top. You clearly outline the dress where she sits, when you should probably blend it a bit more. The same should be done with the bottom of the skirt, under the stool. Perhaps just a wash of the darker blue? It needs more shadow and less of the natural light blue.
The hair is absolutely stunning. The only thing I could suggest is a bit of highlight. It's fairly dark compared to the dress and it's surroundings. Even a few strands of light would help.
The rest is amazing. My favorite part of your paintings will always be the way you draw nature. Those branches and leaves are so natural looking. You should do a tutorial
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Pfsh I didn't see your comment in my message center lol
I do see that the fabric's all wrong at her butt. I tried, but I didn't try that hard lol since it's the last thing I was doing. >.< I also couldn't find any good references for some reason. Google search fail. I should do a cloth/folds study... hmm..
I wasn't sure if I should make the hair light or dark. 
And are you serious? lol My trees and nature are the things I'm least pleased with in my drawings! They always look wrong and sketchy and unfinished. I tried harder on this piece though.. Omg you should get `thundercake 's brushes. I don't use anything else anymore. They are amazing. For once the texture actually shows through.
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The hair is fine dark lol. It just needs some natural light 
Do you know how to make `thundercake 's brushes work with PSP? They're PERFECT, but the brush gallery for Paint Shop Pro only ever has picture brushes and text. Nothing meant to be used as an actual paint BRUSH lol.
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Hmmmmm. I think I can. Save them each as a transparent gif and turn them into brushes in psp. o-o I wonder if TC would let me upload them to DA. o_o I'll see what I can do on friday when I'm home.
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I'm not going to go crazy in depth (is sleep deprived), but I'll point out some things.
It would be nice if there were more details.
For example, the wood piano takes up quite a large chunk of the picture, but it doesn't really seem convincing as being wooden, it looks more like a bunch of brown. I think you could improve it by giving it a wood grain texture, perhaps some sort of design on it would make it less plain ex. [link] . Also, the piano is sort of set up strangely...keys just sticking straight out of it...here's another pic of a wooden piano [link] Another thing, the color of it seems a bit drab...not entirely sure how to explain, but something feels off when I see that color.
The black keys, it's nice that you did add highlights to them, but they still look flat. I think they need to be drawn to look a little bit taller and they need to "stand up" a bit where the keys meet the piano (instead of it just being a straight horizontal line, which implies that at that part, the black keys are level with the white ones)...probably need to add some highlight to the part on the black keys that faces the viewer too.
On the white keys, I like how you tried giving it an aged/old-beat up look...you should probably try applying that sort of concept more to the rest of the picture too. [Some suggestions] Darkened areas, cracks, peeling paint/wood, etc, on the piano; a darker forest setting...branches that are more angular. What type of feeling are you going for? I listened to the song twice now...now I'm watching the MV (I'm beginning to feel ridiculous). I'm not really sure exactly what sort of image you are going for. Evanescence...would want to evoke emotion...or perhaps have sort of this dark yet dreamlike feeling to it. Is the girl supposed to be pristine or as beat up as the piano? Okay back to the white keys, there are two sides that are visible: top and front. They look like they are the same color, but they should be different values (one side darker than the other)...where is the light source?
Stool...stuff I said about wood earlier applies here too. Perspective on it seems off. You have it flat as if the camera is level with it, but it doesn't match that the piano keys imply that the view is from somewhere higher than that.
wow...and I said that I wouldn't go in depth OTL
briefer...dress folds seem unnatural--also needs some better definition (folds can look so beautiful with the right shading), hair seems like an okay start, but gets blobby looking (especially around the ends), she looks rather stiff and the center composition looks static, skin shading greyness looks awkward
I like how you took the time to have the strings go through the eyelets in the dress and how the keys are set up with the black keys in the correct spots in relation to the white keys.
Well, I can't cover everything, but I hope that was helpful...
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Oh wow thank you for this.
The color does need more contrast. The monitor I was working with is crap, it looked a looot lighter than it actually does.
Thanks for all the great points. O_O I'm still learning, any advice is always welcome.
And being a musician myself it kind of irks me when instruments are drawn looking or being used wrong (like the hands of a violin player... so many people draw it wrong D: ) so I had to make the piano actually look right. If I were any more anal I'd count the octaves. ._.
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Haven't seen the video, but this is wonderfully evocative. My friend Angel is on lithium as well as a few other meds, I can see her in this piece. Beautiful.
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Ahh thank you. I'm glad I could touch you. That's the biggest compliment anyone can give.
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...
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Draw late at night more often.
I particularly like the dress, which looks very much like it's turning into seafoam and waves. Beautiful. The hair is so darn layered that it looks like I can reach out and touch it. The branches give the image an overall sense of privacy and intimacy, while the texture on the piano makes me feel like I've walked in on something epic and a little forbidden (I don't know how to describe this feeling, but that's the way it is).
I'd like to find something wrong, but I can only think of one thing that would make this piece better -- seeing her hands at the piano playing.
Other then that, I wish I could press favourite twice! 
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Ahh I never replied to this. o-o
I tried to draw her hands playing but no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't get it to look right. So I cheated and pushed her elbows way too close to her body and hid her hands lol. I do love how the texture on the piano came out. And thank you again. ._.
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