The Temple of Dagon

Still in the early stages, I thought I'd post it now to get the full benefit of your advice when it counts the most... What is working for you even now? I can provide HTML versions of my WIPs so that they could be viewed against a black background if you find them useful... Otherwise you can't actually see the detail which gets bleached out by a lighter background

While it isn't necessary to know the back story of any given piece (the art should stand or fail on its own merits) some of you have expressed a desire to hear about the concepts behind my work so read on if you'd like or proceed directly to critiquing otherwise...

Native Americans indigenous to the true north tell legends of the Wendigo- a cannibalistic spirit which can possess those who have tasted the flesh of men. By all accounts, anyone touched by the Wendigo is no longer human but I haven't come across any indication that the victim actually changes shape. My solution was to depict them as feral, hence the crouching pose and also to make their form light resistant to indicate that they are evil. I didn't really want to do the glowing eyes bit but was left with little choice. That having been said, I attempted to restrain the eldrich glow as much as possible. By the same token, I've added a rimlight to help delineate the form

Totem poles loom in the background partially to acknowledge the culture I've borrowed from to create this piece and also to suggest that this crime will not go unpunished. But mostly because they look so damn cool and they will really tie the composition together when I have a final version of the background

Generally, I don't include thumbnails when I post a WIP but this time it seems useful since my original composition was in portrait format (if you look closely, you can even see my layout designs) but then I switched to a more cinematic approach. Do you accrue that was the right choice? Keen eyed viewers who are also Ranma fans might notice P-chan on one of the totem poles... He will be making a triumphant return in the final version

i like the coloring.. maybe sharper detail around the edges of the figure. right now the totem poles seem more important than the foreground. i don't think the glow needs to spread outside the eyes that much, if at all.

the moon seems a little dim/fuzzy for the amount of corona it's throwing off. also the shading of the poles suggests a different source of light, almost like a street lamp or something on this side of them.

it will be interesting to see where it goes from here.

Herr Burke- How nice to hear from you again! Your advice remains invaluable

The background was a placeholder, only meant to indicate what would eventually be there but I didn't want to call that out so I could hear your thoughts on what the final should look like. The background you see now is close to final but still has issues; call them out now so that I can nail it down and focus on the foreground

I've toned down the cast light from the eyes for now but that might have to be increased slightly. The rimlighting on the crouching figure is deliberately rough at this point; it needs to be there for delineation but since I haven't finalized the anatomy, there is no point in attempting to nail the rimlight now

Currently, the foreground elements need to be resolved so that is where I will be focusing this round. Are you viewing this against a black background?

yeah, that's looking good with more darkness. and there's the victim's face too, so we know what's on the menu tonight at chéz tötém

Here is the final version-

Herr Burke, contact me if you want to use this as the illustration for The Wendigo by Algernon Blackwood, as we discussed in the past...

blackwood's tale is going into the upcoming issue, and we've agreed that this pic would make a nice accompaniment. if we have your permission, how about a larger version (900 pixels) for an independent feature page? that can link to an even higher resolution if you care to provide it.

My timing is never this good... Wonder what changed? Anyway, the pic's in the mail