Astronaut Hamster needs help

Stigerea 2020-09-22 19:51:52 UTC #1

Hello fellow artists! I really need some feedback because I feel so overwhelmed...
I decided to participate in the Galaxy Cutest contest by Clip Studio x Samsung x Wacom, the theme is "the cutest character in the galaxy". So I had this general idea of a hamster shaping his own galaxy with food and other animal friends. Then I had some sub-ideas and now I really need help to decide (also sorry for the number 2 being so rough but the tablet service exploded in the process). Also some corrections about the compositions will be nice, but it's not my main focus in this stage.

Some refs:

I really feel pressure because I'm preparing 2 exams for university in the process so feedbacks will help save me a ton of time instead of figuring everything by myself (and also because obviously I'm not an expert).

Thank you in advance

moirae 2020-09-23 21:28:09 UTC #2

To be honest, I'm not entirely sure what's happening in 1 and 1.2. I take it he's in a hamster ball in space, but I can't tell at the moment how he's shaping his own universe. 2 is clearer concept wise, but if you want to nail the "cutest character" brief it makes sense to see the character's face as the big, round eyes are going to be the main selling point.

gui 2020-09-24 17:01:42 UTC #3

Unless the rules of the contest demand that the character is drawing, you could envisage to drop this idea as it seems it prevents you to use your character to its full potential, as moirae pointed out.

PeterH 2020-09-24 19:31:10 UTC #4

Hey so I looked at your art blog while thinking about what you are doing here. You have a great photo study of a mouse and some berries, so the concept of cuteness is solid.

Pandering with the tablet might be a great idea, maybe try turning the camera angle of 2 around to include more of the character. You could have it sitting on the tablet drawing and have the mirror of what its drawn on the tablet happening in the background.

As far as 1 goes, flip the guy in the big ball around so its running left to right in towards the middle of the canvas, and get to drawing. Considering what I have seen from your blog you should be fine.

Also, try not to stress. Good luck!

Stigerea 2020-09-25 10:43:57 UTC #5

Sorry for not have replied faster, but thank you all! You gave me much more inspiration, I'll post the corrected versions soon

Stigerea 2020-09-27 14:51:39 UTC #6

So I cleared my head and worked during a more quiet day.
Following your suggestions, I (think) made it more readable and I changed the concept into "the cutest character in the galaxy tablet". I think it's kinda funny like this.
I'm not totally sure about the size of every element, I'm gonna revise them with fresh eyes.
What do you think about it now?

Stigerea 2020-09-28 17:08:18 UTC #7

Looking for feedbacks!

PeterH 2020-09-28 23:21:04 UTC #8

Ok! So now with some color I am seeing where you are going with the ideas there.

However I do not think that the tablet portal in the top corner is clear enough to quickly convey what it is. And that problem might be compounded by the competition being on social media where its going to get compressed and reduced by the social media sites.

So I think making that part larger and more obvious would be really helpful to telling the story.

Looking cute!

Stigerea 2020-09-29 08:56:11 UTC #9

@PeterH thank you, you made a very important point! I should also make a stronger silhouette, that part needs some work

Stigerea 2020-09-29 13:36:50 UTC #10

WIP
I centered more the hamster, made the space less empty (but I need to adjust a bit the stars), made a bit more clear the hand and some elements

gui 2020-09-30 12:25:46 UTC #11

The overall composition is still unbalanced. I think you can fix that by lowering the tablet in the top left corner. It would also make clearer that the hamster is getting out of it. Finally, it would help clearing up the overall composition in allowing to remove the rocket and maybe the astronaut which don't seem to serve any real purposes except for distracting the viewer from the main elements.

Stigerea 2020-09-30 12:34:31 UTC #12

@gui thank you so much!
The only thing is that I'm not sure if it's okay to delete things from the background, since a lot of people told me it was too empty and boring to watch.
I now think that's too cluttered, but without those things, it would be seriously empty.
I'll make some version with those elements shrunk and deleted so we can find a solution

Stigerea 2020-09-30 13:40:36 UTC #13

A bit of progress with shrunk objects

the same but without elements

greyscale ver to show the values

PeterH 2020-10-01 01:43:26 UTC #14

Looking good!

Don't be afraid to have objects overlap themselves if you are feeling the background being too empty. The overlaps enhance the depth immediately and might help with that cluttered feeling you mentioned. Good luck fiddling with it!

Loving the colors on his ears and face

gui 2020-10-01 13:51:37 UTC #15

Lowering the tablet will not only fill the void but it will be useful because it will make the overall piece better understandable. Don't hesitate to place it about halfway on the left border or so, or halway between the planet and the top border.

Stigerea 2020-10-05 21:28:39 UTC #16

Ok I temporarly died to study for an exam lol
I adjusted the tablet and the hand so it doesen't get so unbalanced and did some rendering, it'll get more serious tomorrow

cedricgo 2020-10-06 15:23:37 UTC #17

This is awesome, haha! I like where this is going