ART WAR | 2D | Zarlfion, Soulbound Flame | JBLunar

jenniferbrincho 2017-02-18 05:11:24 UTC #51

Looking awesome! Seems like you struck the perfect balance on the details I think a little fill/rim light on Zarlfion's shadowed side would bring him out more, but that's just my opinion. Excited to see the colors and effects as you progress 👍

jblunar 2017-02-19 01:25:35 UTC #52

Ty @jenniferbrincho for the tip, I tried out a rim light on his left side and can really see how it helps pull those details away from the foreground.

Here's my first shot at the colouring, Hard to describe my thought process here, but I tried to wield the colours so that Zarlfion would remain in the focal point as well as make best use of his greyish tones against the rest of a coloured backdrop. I also darkened the area around the snake sentinel just to reduce the intensity of the light emitting from his scepter. The lower sentinels are slightly desaturated thanks to being out of the light source, which helps keep them from drawing attention, but at the same time fill in the empty space and add to the scene.

More to come in the following days, but please send me your critique if you have anything! I cannot thank you all enough for the wonderful feedback I have been receiving and it is helping me to improve at every turn.

jblunar 2017-02-19 23:08:18 UTC #53

Here's some more development for today. I've been concentrating on adding detail to the environments, fine tuning the sentinels as well as re-balancing the light from corner to corner.

jblunar 2017-02-21 01:10:27 UTC #54

Getting there slowly but steadily! Here's my progress from today, finishing off the background details and perfecting Zarlfion himself.

jenniferbrincho 2017-02-21 01:54:34 UTC #55

It's looking great I really like the way you've handled the colors and effects. Strong entry for sure!

sheyenne 2017-02-21 04:51:45 UTC #56

The evil ones are really cool in the background, I like them.

tablar 2017-02-21 05:34:45 UTC #57

hey good working composition and dynamic. Love the colors!

jblunar 2017-02-21 22:06:04 UTC #58

@jenniferbrincho, @sheyenne, @tablar, Thank you ever so much, all of your kindness fills me with determination

Now then, this piece is looking close to finished, I did a few bits of editing in the areas that looked out of place, fixing up the poses, gestures and overall demeanour of the sentinels in order to make them stick in the composition without drawing too much from the main purpose of the image.

Zarlfion is looking complete at this stage. I've deepened the light affecting his armour and created some interlinking shadows where the two different light sources collide. I also added a bit of motion around him, from the dust catching light on his left to the dust nearer his right leg. I spent a lot of time tweaking and reiterating until I felt it all looked correct, especially since the trickiest part is to try and keep Zarlfion as the main focal point with all of his monochromatic tones; let me know how you think it looks.

Now then, I can begin constructing the character sheet with the changes made to the characters portrayal, i'll start posting my progress as soon as I can!

jblunar 2017-02-26 11:33:55 UTC #59

Hey everyone, sorry for a small hiatus, I've been pushing through to getting my concept sheet in good order and ready to go for the final date. Here's how its looking so far, i've pumped as much information onto one sheet as possible, and overall it's looking close to finished, i'd love to hear what you think

jenniferbrincho 2017-02-26 16:51:20 UTC #60

Niiiiice! All the details are very well thought out, and the signature moves are an excellent addition. I'm having a hard time reading the backstory paragraph at this size, but that may be because my eyesight isn't the best Also, I realize it is compressed to 1100 x 1100, so maybe at full size the legibility will no longer be an issue.

jblunar 2017-02-26 20:51:47 UTC #61

Thank you ^^. I'll post a larger version to give you a chance to read the small text, i'd like to know if it is too small as well but it's hard to tell when i'm working on it from close up. I crammed a lot into the paragraph, but I may be able to scale it up slightly with a little space on the right of the paragraph.

jenniferbrincho 2017-02-26 22:14:15 UTC #62

Ah, yes, that is a little easier for me to see, though still on the small side. Here's what I'm thinking...

I like what you have to say in the paragraph, but to me it seems a little long-winded for a concept sheet. Maybe you could try a slightly more concise version, something like this:

"Two enemies, conflicting forces bound together through nefarious magic, have been chained to the confines of specially constructed silver armor. The result was a champion with their combined strength, both dragon and human. But such power was not meant to be trifled with--now Zarlfion exacts vengeance on his jailers with an elusive mix of a knight's discipline and a dragon's bestial chaos."

Then the type could be bigger and the paragraph would stay roughly the same size as it is now.

Anyway, that's my two cents! No pressure whatsoever.

jblunar 2017-02-26 22:18:00 UTC #63

Agree with you on that, I can get into the habit of extrapolating for the sake of it. I'll see what I can do to shorten it all, and thanks for the edit, its still giving off the same message. I'll try using it as a guideline.

jblunar 2017-02-27 01:15:01 UTC #64

Here are the results of the tweaks. I've enlarged all of the text across the image, and given a shot at the revised paragraph. Hopefully it will be easier to read from a glance.

jenniferbrincho 2017-02-27 01:56:16 UTC #65

Looks good to me! Excellent precis of your former paragraph.

jblunar 2017-02-27 12:12:15 UTC #66

I feel like i've reached the point where everything is as complete as they are going to get, so it's finally time to show the submissions:

ART WAR 2D | Zarlfion, Soulbound Flame | JBLunar

Username: JBLunar
Email: jbrianw15@gmail.com
Websites: www.lunareyesillustration.com
www.lunarcrestedeyes.tumblr.com

Team: Fantasy

Final Concept Sheet

Final Illustration

jblunar 2017-02-27 12:28:32 UTC #67

Thank you a thousand times to everyone who had a look at the progression of my champion, posted feedback or supported me with critique. All of your help has pushed myself to make something that challenges the potential of my work and I will strive to better my own practice with the lessons learned throughout this experience.

Now finishing up, i'm mostly likely going to be continuing on with some of my own projects i've put on hold since the advent of this competition. I'll always be around on this forum to post a few experimental ideas and help others as best as I can, but if you'd like to follow me in my own journeys, come and check up on me every now and then on my blog : www.lunarcrestedeyes.tumblr.com where I post work weekly. I'd love to keep in touch so please feel free to have a look.

So thank you once again, and I wish everyone who are still completing their submissions the best of luck and the swiftest of successes.

jenniferbrincho 2017-02-28 04:05:23 UTC #68

Congratulations! 🎉 😁👏

It was a pleasure following your progress and watching Zarlfion's tale unfold. You did an excellent job on your entry! Glad I was able to meet you through the forums. Keep on making art and telling interesting stories

sheyenne 2017-02-28 04:10:05 UTC #69

Congrats for finishing it! Nice work.

jblunar 2017-02-28 10:43:38 UTC #70

@jenniferbrincho You've really given me a great deal of support and i'm incredibly honoured to have met such a wonderful artist such as yourself, thank you so much. I can't wait to see what you'll be coming up with next.

@sheyenne Thank you, here's to us both reaching the finish line! Your work was very inspiring to see unfold and you deserve all the best!