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Kaytara — Travellers
Published: 2011-06-09 04:13:44 +0000 UTC; Views: 4238; Favourites: 236; Downloads: 54
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"The creatures could do naught but screech and flail as long as he held the key, but there was still a ways to go, and their swipes seemed to come closer each time..."Started and abandoned in 2007, finished now. I'm glad I waited. I'm still not happy with the background and the composition. But now I just want to be done with it.
A pair of... astral travellers? If I ever figure out exactly what's going on here, I'll probably write a short story or somesuch. Until then...
Detail shots here: kaytara.deviantart.com/art/Tra…
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Comments: 20
HAH! I knew I recognized your style from seeing it on GitP ages ago. This picture confirms it
Also, I still love this picture, since way back when I first saw it.
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Wow! The contrast between the light and dark colors is fantastic! A dark unicorn! nice idea! An amazing picture!
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I love the detail on this. The unicorn is beautiful and the man just draws you in, especially when you can't see his eyes. I'd love to hear a short story on this.
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The use of soft blues and violets lend an ethereal quality to this piece.
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Thank you, I'm rather fond of it myself. ^^
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Black unicorn is badass!
Alright but seriously now.
The palette consists of purple, black and cool blue hues primarily with some glimpses of pink and yellow. There is a high contrast between light and dark between most of the foreground imagery and background.
The background is simple but effective in setting the mood and atmosphere nonetheless, and the sky is somewhat reminiscent of watercolors left to 'bleed'.
The position of the traveler's head makes it seem as though he were staring directly at the viewer, engaging us further.
While the traveler's companion is beautifully rendered, I believe this is where the issue with composition occurs...because the unicorn is painted in the same color as the traveler there is no contrast and the two figures blend in with one another...Also it doesn't seem as engaged with its surroundings as the traveler is, unless isolated as in one of the detail shots in which it also appears to be eyeing the viewer, however this is not apparent in the full image. And perhaps the trees or pillars could have been worked on a little further.
The winged creatures disturbed by this sudden intrusion to their home, seem to be a cross of the prehistoric and fantastic. Their body language, in particular that of the creature in the foreground gives the painting more life as it conveys to us that there is a reaction to the travelers...The painting is more than just a static image. It has life.
Lovely detail on the travelers both, source of light a little confusing, isn't the right side of the trees/pillars to the left be lit up by the path the travelers stand on as well (it does look like it give off light)?
All in all, it is still a lovely piece, that is both captivating and engaging leaving us all with the impression that there is a story waiting to be told.
(Here is my review/comment, don't have premium membership and deviantart won't let me write a critique)
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Thank you for the extremely detailed critique. 
You're probably right about the composition with the unicorn, though I think this might also be a situation sensitive to individual monitor calibration. On my monitor, there's a clearly visible lightening of the unicorns flanks (due to the light), making a clear contrast between the unicorn and the edge of the traveller's cloak - though arguably they still register as two parts of a whole, as one figure. In retrospect, making the unicorn some other colour might have been wiser, but this was one of those "I want him to be black, so black he shall be!!!!11!" issues. XD
You're right about the light source, it was one of my major worries about this. My idea was that the light source is the start of the bridge far behind them, with the surroundings also being bright and full of diffuse light, and the surface of the bridge being rather reflective. The columns are meant to be semi-translucent, but it didn't come out that clearly and that's probably where the image gets confusing. Light in general is something I often struggle with. :/
I am particularly proud of the way the birdie beast (that's my nickname for them XD) came out, so I'm overjoyed that someone noticed it. ^^
Once again, thank you for the wonderful comment!
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Aaaw, your welcome, receiving such a long response-comment in return makes me feel special too...especially after seven months in customer service industry hell...I am never going back there EVER.
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Oh, wow... really intriguing! I like it!
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Wow! Amazing use of colours & I love those winged creatures, they're so interesting to look at
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this is beautiful. i cant help but think that the person and the unicorn are the same person but in different forms they fit together so well.
and the creatures. wow. they look amazing. 0_0 wish i had though them up for my own stories.
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I think the unicorn is my favorite. So lovely
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I would lobe to know the story behind this scene, it loks so fantastic and intriguing!
The characters are nice too !
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Gorgeous work! I love the details and the colors are beautiful.
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