Good start! One small warning: this project is about the environment, not about the characters. The requirement, if illustrators choose to put characters in their environment (which I personally think is better without) is that they take no more than 10% of the total size of the image. OK? So keep that in mind: it's about the location not very much about showing the characters.
In the absence of numbers, I'll just count the thumbnails (first row is thumbnails 1 through 6 and so on).
Thumbnail #7 has potential. It could be from within the tunnel, from the point of view of the apparition, looking down the rails to where the Signal-Man is (or could be). While you don't have to show the apparition, it can be suggested (some kind of strange cast shadow or a mystical glow in the foreground, etc.). In terms of placement, it would be better for the Signal-Man to be lower in the picture than the top of the apparition. Remember, what is at the top of an image tends too look in control, dominating, while what is at the bottom seems dominated, vulnerable. Therefore, swapping the vertical placement of the characters would make this relationship more obvious.
I love the #13 thumbnail. Again, it has the same problem: the character is too big relative to the room left for the environment. Yet, you could push far back the Signal-Man and his light could still shine brightly, blinding the viewer. Moreover, you could introduce sharp silhouettes of items in the foreground (blades of grass, railroad mechanics to make the tracks change direction, etc.).
So those are some suggestions to get you onto your next batch of thumbnails!
By the way, the canvas doesn't have to be a square. It can be any ratio that best supports your composition, OK?
Good start! One small warning: this project is about the environment, not about the characters. The requirement, if illustrators choose to put characters in their environment (which I personally think is better without) is that they take no more than 10% of the total size of the image. OK? So keep that in mind: it's about the location not very much about showing the characters.
ReplyDeleteIn the absence of numbers, I'll just count the thumbnails (first row is thumbnails 1 through 6 and so on).
Thumbnail #7 has potential. It could be from within the tunnel, from the point of view of the apparition, looking down the rails to where the Signal-Man is (or could be). While you don't have to show the apparition, it can be suggested (some kind of strange cast shadow or a mystical glow in the foreground, etc.). In terms of placement, it would be better for the Signal-Man to be lower in the picture than the top of the apparition. Remember, what is at the top of an image tends too look in control, dominating, while what is at the bottom seems dominated, vulnerable. Therefore, swapping the vertical placement of the characters would make this relationship more obvious.
I love the #13 thumbnail. Again, it has the same problem: the character is too big relative to the room left for the environment. Yet, you could push far back the Signal-Man and his light could still shine brightly, blinding the viewer. Moreover, you could introduce sharp silhouettes of items in the foreground (blades of grass, railroad mechanics to make the tracks change direction, etc.).
So those are some suggestions to get you onto your next batch of thumbnails!
By the way, the canvas doesn't have to be a square. It can be any ratio that best supports your composition, OK?