What's my name?

alx · Post by **alx** » Sat Feb 16, 2008 4:14 am

I don't generally post unfinished art but I am having a problem naming this piece so I would appreciate your feedback. What do you think I should name this beasite?

Feel free to give your criticism as well, since this thing is only around seventy percent done. The final will be posted here once the thing has a name

Eternities End · Post by **Eternities End** » Sat Feb 16, 2008 4:57 pm

Smiley is the obvious choice

JJ Burke · Post by **JJ Burke** » Sun Feb 17, 2008 2:18 am

yeah, too obvious if you ask me. slightly creepier would be a sort of ordinary, neutral name. or maybe, the mall has just closed for the night and i'm riding my bike home through the meat packing district and this guy is standing on the sidewalk and i don't look at his face until i'm already passing him because he whispers '__________' and i crash my bike into a pile of rusty pitchforks ('__________' being the title).

is his back on the fence, or is he standing a few steps away from it? in either case, the lighting of the fence demands more responsive highlights/shadows on the guy. and what's going on in the bottom right corner? maybe this stuff is already part of what you intend to do, i don't know. just trying to be of service. keep up the good work

alx · Post by **alx** » Sun Feb 17, 2008 5:53 am

...Because you don't know where they are! (I stuck them in a goose in a pond in a castle northeast of Moskau)

I prefer an honest critique over worthless flattery any day of the week, so spare me nothing and speak your mind. I may not agree with you but I will always respect your integrity

To answer your question, he is supposed to be standing about a yard in front of the fence and there is plenty of work to be done before I can call it a day

Also, I have cropped the piece for detail- the actual work is larger but I was looking for feedback on the name, less the work. Don't mistake me, I value your input and I will post a larger version here after I've given it a bit more consideration

How awesome was it to hear your narrative of the piece? Not exactly the way I would've described it but bitchen in it's own way. Kinda flattering, actually. I can't hear what he whispers, possibly because the forum is censoring you. Please email me your notion of the title

Eternities End · Post by **Eternities End** » Sun Feb 17, 2008 10:33 pm

You should give him a hat, the top of his head looks like a penis...

alx · Post by **alx** » Fri Feb 22, 2008 12:52 am

Okay here he is without the hat but more or less complete

Hat version coming soon

decadence · Post by **decadence** » Fri Feb 22, 2008 1:57 am

Needs something behind the fence to add ambiance.

JJ Burke · Post by **JJ Burke** » Fri Feb 22, 2008 4:23 am

i like it, it's cool, but since you said 'more or less' complete, i take it you wouldn't mind more armchair criticism.

decadence has a point about the emptiness of the background, if your goal is to present a full reality. right now i think it has a kind of stage play quality (as if the fence is a prop, and a lighting director is working a couple of gels) which is effective in its own way.

i still think a layer of highlights, pale and stark like the light on the fence, would be good on the figure. the fence shadows suggest a light source a little higher than the fence top, not too far away. bouncing that off the guy would give you 3 elements acting upon each other in a little ecosystem, so to speak.

anyway, i'm not here to teach you the right way.. just trying to lend another perspective to the group observation. that's what i hope to receive when i share something in progress.

ps. in my previous post, i typed '_______' meaning 'you fill in the blank.' that was just an imaginary jumpstart to help you choose a name for the illustration without having to name the character.

alx · Post by **alx** » Wed Feb 27, 2008 12:55 am

Here is the final version- now with hat wearing action!

A big thanks to everyone for taking the time to help out, I really appreciate it. I have dedicated Mr. Smiley to y'all

@Burke: You know that I respect your opinion, so I want say that I deliberately omitted the background to give the picture a painterly feel and also to cultivate minimalisim. For that reason I declined to bring any further detail to the fence (actually, I tried to put less detail into the fence but then it looked flat) but I get the feeling that Herr Schmilen will not be making an appearance on the cover of Fantastic Horror...

Speaking of which, I've resampled Magi so if you don't have it by tomorrow send me some hate mail and I will get it to you (rough week)

JJ Burke · Post by **JJ Burke** » Wed Feb 27, 2008 6:10 am

au contraire monsieur ledante, the finished product is a lovely thing in its own right. i don't follow all the advice i get, and i don't mean to give any disguised as gospel.

and this illustration, more than others, would lend itself nicely to an FH-style cover. plenty of space to list contents and such. seeing as you already nailed down issue #4's cover, we'd likely wait a while before putting you up front again. for more immediate purposes, i'd be happy to take this as an 'inside' art piece with its own display page.

but we should pursue any FH plans over at the FH forum. keep everyone in the loop that way.

Eternities End · Post by **Eternities End** » Wed Feb 27, 2008 9:02 pm

yah that looks way better now

Enkil · Post by **Enkil** » Wed Feb 27, 2008 11:28 pm

I'd hate to run into that badass mother fucker walking down the street at night. Reminds me of a mix of Chicago in the '20s and Silent Hill.

The Temple of Dagon

What's my name?

Say my name, bitch!

What's my name?

You can't hurt my feelings...

Give me back my hat

All done