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I really like piece, the way she's coming towards us, and the angle. I absolutely adore the shadow on this, too. The way it defines her is perfect.
The only thing I have a problem with are the hair and the stairs, they kind of wrench you out of the immersion of real life horse Cadence to cartoon world. The stairs could be dimmed by making them a pastel brown instead of the dark green you have. It would go better with the color scheme you have going on.I would also suggest some overlapping layers to even out the colors so they don't pop out as much, or even painting her hair on.
Overall it's a beautiful piece of art, very pleasing to look at.
The only thing I have a problem with are the hair and the stairs, they kind of wrench you out of the immersion of real life horse Cadence to cartoon world. The stairs could be dimmed by making them a pastel brown instead of the dark green you have. It would go better with the color scheme you have going on.I would also suggest some overlapping layers to even out the colors so they don't pop out as much, or even painting her hair on.
Overall it's a beautiful piece of art, very pleasing to look at.
Yay, a finished piece!
Pros: The solarized approach gives it a dramatic feel. The realistic portrayal may add to the sense of Cadence’s isolation as she ascends.
Cons: A real horse’s face, with its tiny eyes, and lacking any particular emotion to start with, can’t carry much weight in conveying what Cadence is feeling in her ascent. Also, real horse faces are less cute than show ponies and therefore somewhat less relatable. Her horn shadow doesn’t seem to conform to her mane.
Nitpick: The dots in the background (stars?) are little streaks and not dots, and they all point in different directions; when stars streak in a photo, they all point in the same direction (or in consistent curves in a time-lapse photo.) If you were grabbing photo references from the web, as I suspect, you could have just grabbed a starfield as well.
Overall, this is a creative approach which I will place in the upper tier.
Pros: The solarized approach gives it a dramatic feel. The realistic portrayal may add to the sense of Cadence’s isolation as she ascends.
Cons: A real horse’s face, with its tiny eyes, and lacking any particular emotion to start with, can’t carry much weight in conveying what Cadence is feeling in her ascent. Also, real horse faces are less cute than show ponies and therefore somewhat less relatable. Her horn shadow doesn’t seem to conform to her mane.
Nitpick: The dots in the background (stars?) are little streaks and not dots, and they all point in different directions; when stars streak in a photo, they all point in the same direction (or in consistent curves in a time-lapse photo.) If you were grabbing photo references from the web, as I suspect, you could have just grabbed a starfield as well.
Overall, this is a creative approach which I will place in the upper tier.
I was sick last week. Quite sick. Had to spend a couple of days in bed sick. Couldn't even finish my story and didn't read most of the entries until the event was over sick. It sucks, but at least I managed to whip out two art entries and even got gold. That'll do wonders for my self-esteem.
Well, that takes care of the excuses, now on to talk about my entries.
Nod Your Head hit all the right notes for me. I really enjoyed reading it and I enjoyed creating art for it just as much. Something about Cadence's arduous task made me envision her in many ways as she climbed on and on. I wish I could tell you why I thought of a real life horse, but I can't remember how I came up with that only that I loved the idea.
So, I started working on this piece in-between coughing fits by searching for a picture of a horse facing forward (my folder of horse pictures didn't have one, surprisingly. This has since been rectified), and started painting over it, trying to emulate the shading on it with Cadence's pink palette. As tedious as it my sound, I had a blast trying to make the shade as realistic as possible. Then I looked for a picture of a narwhal facing forward so I could get a grasp on how a central horn is placed in the head of a mammal, and worked with that. Then, I thought about where could I get a good view of open wings, and after look ing at several pictures of birds, I remembered the logo of Tristar Pictures and proceeded to kick myself for not using that as a reference from the get-go.
And then I went and half-assed her mane. I put some effort in emulating the shape of her mane, but as the meds started to kick in, so I didn't give it my all in making it blend all that well with horse Cadence. My bad. Also, I initially wanted the background to be more complex, perhaps show the previous segments of the neverending staircase fading and blending with the starscape, but none of my sketches won me over. Ultimately, I decided that the simple background made Cadence stand out more, so I went with that.
Overall, I'm mostly satisfied with this piece, I wish I could go back and focus on Cadence's mane and perhaps do a better job with the actual stairs. Perhaps try a few different poses for her and see if I can a more powerful piece.
Nevertheless, I had a lot of fun, and now I'll address particular feedback.
>>dragon discord
I'm glad you liked this so much, even in spite of its shortcomings.
Ah, yes. I've mentioned some of the issues I had with Cadence's hair, but while I admit that they deserved more polish, the idea of a realistic horse with a cute and colourful coiffure came across as silly and lovely to me, so I left it in.
Regarding the stairs, I only chose that tone because it's what I got after I did an image inversion of Cadence's pink colours. In hindsight, I should've used a different shade which popped out more on the black background and got along better with Cadence.
Duly noted.
>>GroaningGreyAgony
One one hand, I could make an elaborate argument about Cadence's journey dulling her senses to the point where she no longer physically manifests the inner turmoil inside of her. On the other, that tres leches isn't going to eat itself, so I'll just concede that point.
I do not know why, but I kinda want to hug a horse after reading that.
Yeah, I take the blame on that one. I made the effort to figure out how the horn would cast a shadow over Cadence's skull, but as with everything relating to her mane, I lazied it and just made black triangle shadow rather than actually follow the shape of her mane.
I didn't notice that until after the deadline was over. I just fumbled with the spread and scatter options of the Photoshop brushes and jiggled my mouse around until it sorta looked like a starry sky before calling it a day. I'll use a reference next time.
Anyhoot, I'm glad you liked it, and I'll do my best next time as well!
Well, that takes care of the excuses, now on to talk about my entries.
Nod Your Head hit all the right notes for me. I really enjoyed reading it and I enjoyed creating art for it just as much. Something about Cadence's arduous task made me envision her in many ways as she climbed on and on. I wish I could tell you why I thought of a real life horse, but I can't remember how I came up with that only that I loved the idea.
So, I started working on this piece in-between coughing fits by searching for a picture of a horse facing forward (my folder of horse pictures didn't have one, surprisingly. This has since been rectified), and started painting over it, trying to emulate the shading on it with Cadence's pink palette. As tedious as it my sound, I had a blast trying to make the shade as realistic as possible. Then I looked for a picture of a narwhal facing forward so I could get a grasp on how a central horn is placed in the head of a mammal, and worked with that. Then, I thought about where could I get a good view of open wings, and after look ing at several pictures of birds, I remembered the logo of Tristar Pictures and proceeded to kick myself for not using that as a reference from the get-go.
And then I went and half-assed her mane. I put some effort in emulating the shape of her mane, but as the meds started to kick in, so I didn't give it my all in making it blend all that well with horse Cadence. My bad. Also, I initially wanted the background to be more complex, perhaps show the previous segments of the neverending staircase fading and blending with the starscape, but none of my sketches won me over. Ultimately, I decided that the simple background made Cadence stand out more, so I went with that.
Overall, I'm mostly satisfied with this piece, I wish I could go back and focus on Cadence's mane and perhaps do a better job with the actual stairs. Perhaps try a few different poses for her and see if I can a more powerful piece.
Nevertheless, I had a lot of fun, and now I'll address particular feedback.
>>dragon discord
I'm glad you liked this so much, even in spite of its shortcomings.
The only thing I have a problem with are the hair and the stairs, they kind of wrench you out of the immersion of real life horse Cadence to cartoon world.
Ah, yes. I've mentioned some of the issues I had with Cadence's hair, but while I admit that they deserved more polish, the idea of a realistic horse with a cute and colourful coiffure came across as silly and lovely to me, so I left it in.
Regarding the stairs, I only chose that tone because it's what I got after I did an image inversion of Cadence's pink colours. In hindsight, I should've used a different shade which popped out more on the black background and got along better with Cadence.
Duly noted.
>>GroaningGreyAgony
A real horse’s face, with its tiny eyes, and lacking any particular emotion to start with, can’t carry much weight in conveying what Cadence is feeling in her ascent.
One one hand, I could make an elaborate argument about Cadence's journey dulling her senses to the point where she no longer physically manifests the inner turmoil inside of her. On the other, that tres leches isn't going to eat itself, so I'll just concede that point.
Also, real horse faces are less cute than show ponies and therefore somewhat less relatable.
I do not know why, but I kinda want to hug a horse after reading that.
Her horn shadow doesn’t seem to conform to her mane.
Yeah, I take the blame on that one. I made the effort to figure out how the horn would cast a shadow over Cadence's skull, but as with everything relating to her mane, I lazied it and just made black triangle shadow rather than actually follow the shape of her mane.
The dots in the background (stars?) are little streaks and not dots, and they all point in different directions;
I didn't notice that until after the deadline was over. I just fumbled with the spread and scatter options of the Photoshop brushes and jiggled my mouse around until it sorta looked like a starry sky before calling it a day. I'll use a reference next time.
Anyhoot, I'm glad you liked it, and I'll do my best next time as well!