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Wenchworks — The Consort II
Published: 2008-11-02 14:31:43 +0000 UTC; Views: 9909; Favourites: 388; Downloads: 0
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Description
My style and medium have changed significantly in the last five years, so I've been going back and re-visiting a couple old paintings. This painting was the first to sell well as a print, which mystified me because I was really disappointed with the painting--it did not look on paper the way it had looked in my head. The old version is here: [link]Big thanks to my neighbor, whose name I don't have permission to put online. She posed for me, and was very nervous about it, but did a fantastic job. I could not have gotten the perspective drawn properly without her, and I hope that I captured at least some of her exotic beauty! I should probably note that she is not a wicked consort, but a very sweet kindergarten teacher.
So I'm really, really interested in an honest critique. Do you like the new style better than the old? What do I need to go back and re-capture from the old?
Acrylic on masonite, 11x14
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Comments: 58
mmm bad or good comment first? I'll start with bad so the good can chear you up and you dont completly hate me >.<
I looked at the old picture and what first caught my eye was how different the dragon was. The old one has a better flow to it's pose and it's vibrand colors gives it life. When this one is stiff and has a very sad tone to him along with the fact his scales arent realistic at all. He looks more like a clay decorated statue in my opinion. Looking at your other dragons I find this to be a pattern. Your poses for them are classics and although they have bright red to them the colors dont give them enough life. This is sad because it kinda kills the realism of the picture. If you wish I could refer you a few dragon artists that I know of. Their coloring style might not be as realistic as yours but their anatomies are as close to real as you can get. And going from there you could look up lizard pictures to get a better feel of how they should be colored.
Now the good comment before you hate me too much ^^'. You have greatly improved your coloring since then and you catch a better realism both in drawing style and colors when it comes to humans and backgrounds. I have lost my hability to mass produce drawings a few years back. I still draw but I dont think I will ever acheive that kind of quality anymore. This is what I used to want to acheive so I am glad you did ^^ I know how much work it is
Don't hate me pls x.x
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I don't hate you at all! Thank you very much for your detailed critique. I definitely need to figure out how to draw scales on dragons better. I have piles of reference photos of lizards, but I have had a lot of trouble trying to make the 'jump' to painting them properly. John Howe is my favorite dragon painter, and I've tried to copy his style, but clearly I've failed.
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look up nara87 and Wen-M both on deviantart, now in both case they arent realism but they might give you ideas for better anatomy and poses. Some times to get better realism its better to have a line schematic then real pictures to get the shapes right. With your skills I'm sure you can adapt them to your coloring and then you'll have dragons more alive then real dragons.
I dont always like wen-m's cause his details get bulky but he has interresting designs.
nara87 has incredible scales not colored in a realistic way although beautifully but definetly designed realistically
dinosaurs pictures, 3d models and so on might be good inspirations too
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I'm really, really amazed at the difference between the two. This is so much more 'mature', showing how much you've grown in the last couple of years. I really like the new style a lot better!
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Holy crap, ww, that is STUNNING!!! When did you start using acrylics and why aren't you using oils? Yes, it is much darker than your old style, but it works so don't knock it. Her right hand is especially nice. There's something funky going on with her left wrist, but I didn't even notice that until I started looking more carefully.
Very good. RH would be so proud.
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Sigh, I wish I could go back and take Hull's classes again--AND TAKE IT SERIOUSLY THIS TIME!!!
I tried oils, but could not figure them out on my own. I am still looking for a class. I can't manage to do really basic things like make the paints a nice consistancy, and doing blending.
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I think there's a certain innocence in the older piece, which I found appealing. I like the placement of the dragon much more in this one though. The jewels and chair look better now too.
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Sometimes people buy for something simple as composition and color and generally buyers seem to love purple in fantasy work. The older version "pops" with contrasting colors and subjects looking in different directions. This one is much more sofisticated and soft. I guess it depends on taste and what goes good on your walls.
Joanne
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This... si so incredibly beautiful. Seriously. I *love* it.
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Honestly:
your work improved so much!
The composition is better, the skin tones are marvellous and the colors & light /shadow are so much more executed! just BRAVO
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Thank you, the praise means a lot, coming from you.
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You make me blush!
Thank you
I just love your work - also the older ones, but its a joy to see your improvment
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This version really shows how much you have grown as an artist!! The colors are rich, the proportions well done, and the details are just beautiful!!
Love it!!
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Not to mention the perfect coloring and fantastic creativity to go with it 
Plus all the great details that make this wonderful artwork !
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Beautiful work. She has very interesting expression, love how you did her hands too..
Using opaque media you manage to achive the realistic effects very well, your beckgrounds have got more depth and detail , the faces of the characters look fine and delicate. Although your elder watercolor work remails very beautiful, I love your new style and quiet colours more
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I like the new style; it shows definite improvement in technique. The colors feel much... heavier, in your recent work, as opposed to the lighter feel in a lot of your older pieces. I rather like both types of coloring, and I think they serve different purposes, so I hope you use both types of coloring as you see fit
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The thing that appealed to me from the old painting that is missing in this one, is the vivid saturation of the fabrics. This one is natural and elegant, but nothing pops out to me and goes whoosh, like those vibrant violets did beforehand. Just a personal opinion, of course.
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Thank you for giving me your opinion. I am kinda struggling now with finding a "happy medium" between realism and bright colors. I like the mood of the new painting better, but when it is placed side-by-side with the old painting, it looks very dull and lifeless.
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I have to say I think the new version is absolutely beautiful. It definitely shows how detailed you can be. The jewelry is perfect. Nothing in the scene really looks as if it should not be there or was just 'thrown in'. It all looks as if it is truly a part of the really rich scene. Personally, I prefer dark colors, so naturally I would have to say I like this one better. It simply shows how much your skill has indeed grown over the years!! Love it!
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Gorgeous work! I absolutely love your color use here and the addition of the jewelry really makes this one stand out. Beautiful work!
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I the new style is better. It's more of a realistic style and I really like it. What has improved mostly though is probably the way you use colours. The newer version looks more like a complete peice, both colour and compositionwise. The older one looked more like different elements put together, and this like a complete scene if you see what I mean? I really wish I could paint like you do. But maby I can get there in ten years or so
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╬ Wow this is so much better i love the expression the face specially the details^^ and the background^^ everthing you have improve^^ i like it very much^^
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Great perspective and colour work, her positioning is great and creates a stately feel to the painting. Nice work.
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I really like both in different ways. The face/expression/hair/luminous skin of the old version is lovely. The greatest strengths of this picture in contrast are the reality (and beauty) of the subject and the skill of the painting.
While the pose fits the previous painting perfectly, it bothers me a bit in this one (well, just the fingers, the rest is excellent). I'm half expecting someone to add a caption saying "Invisible Piano!!!" 
But returning to the comparision - they're not the same picture... the really striking thing about the old version (in my humble opinion) is the expression, and that's totally different in this one. She looks older, more regal and confident. Perhaps what you originally intended.
Great job anyway.
PS I really like the flowers!
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Good point about the hand pose. I should have taken more photos, and had the model try a few more things, instead of just copying the old pose.
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This is definately my favourite of the two, the colours are much richer and the woman looks more realistic, the background adds to the final piece and the armour on the dragon/wyveryn looks fantastic!
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I love it when artists do this, its so cool to see how much they've improved. The old one is beautiful but the new one is just freaking amazing!
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Your use of light and shadow has improved immensely. Your skin tones are more lifelike, and the depth of perspective is better. You've move from a 2D feel to a more 3D quality. There's also more movement and I've noticed that your backgrounds look more detailed. You keep improving with each piece.
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Thank you for your comment!
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Both versions are lovely, but I think I prefer this one. This one has more of a... Regal quality, shall we say, then the old one had. The colors were more vibrant in the original, of course, but this one suits the theme better.
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Thank you. I am particularly worried that my art has, as my sister put it, "got too many darks." Particularly when I put the new and old version side-by-side, the old version draws the eye better than the new one.
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I definitely like this one better, it looks so much more...professional? Like a more mature version of the other one.
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This is really great, the composition is so much better and the colors are really rich 
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Wow, this is really improved. I still like the old ones but now they have more depth.
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You can definitely see the evolution of your skills over the time.. this one is much darker and much more refined than the other one (which I think is too bright to indicate an evil consort). I think the flowers work better in the outdoor scene, though - they seem a little out of place or random here. But the improvement is there!
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You're right, the flowers probably should've been left out.
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Still... I suppose we could pretend she really likes flowers and had them brought in to make the place look prettier? Or maybe they keep the dragon docile XD
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I think your underpaintings really help, now that I look at the old work. I miss the vibrant colours, but I can't exactly tell you which style I prefer.
This is beautiful, I especially love the skintone.
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Underpaintings make a big improvement, but a lot is also just in the switch from transparent to opaque medium. I tend to work quite transparent with the acrylics, but I also do a lot of light-over-dark, which you really can't do with watercolors.
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The atmosphere in this one is much better and the style is definitely more developed.
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I like this newer one much better. The one thing that caught my eye about the older one, though, was the brightness of the colors, purple in paticular. But I also really like the darkness of this version.
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The brightness of my older work -vs- darkness of the newer pieces has been on my mind lately. I'm not sure if I need to be trying to lighten up again.
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I don't know. I really like it both ways, so I suppose it depends on the subject of the piece itself.
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This piece compared to the older version really shows how you've matured in your own style. I like how this one looks realistic yet still maintains that fantasy feel. I like that the colors, shading and lighting look so natural and loose. You've really done a great job and your talent shines through!
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I like new style better 
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