I Dream of Fish WIP

Can't wait to see it done. You better get crackin times wastin!

I'm working as quickly as I can, Laschae; and I'm really leaning on the power of PS to bust this out!

The background will pretty much look like this, but I may have a schooner poking in on the right side:

Mmmm Van Gogh would approve of that sky :) Delightful palette John, your touch always makes me smile and sigh with a hint of envy and a heavy dollop of admiration.

I just adore this process...watching your art come alive, John. And to top it off, I'm never disappointed at the final piece. This one is shaping up beautifully, as usual! Go go John!

That's going to look awesome with the golds/oranges and the blues in there. Color theory rules!

Is she holding a butterfly net? How wonderfully surreal!

Any chance you'll be offering this as a print?

She isn't holding a butterfly net, but that is such an awesome mental image that I think I'm going to try it on for size!

I'm going to check into other sites for prints other than DA -- I hope that I can find a better deal.

Thank you for the compliments and support, guys =)

Oh pretty!!! Coming together beautifully!

Thanks, Roz =)

At this point, I've done basic coloring on Shauna without adding lighting. I've also put a fill layer of the Mauve background color on color dodge blending option at 25% opacity to brighten and unify the background elements. I also applied a grain filter to the fill layer to add texture:

I'm thinking of doing a radical change to my background colors. I might change my mind in the morning!

Hmm I think I like the cooler colors better...tough call they both look fantastic.:hearts:

I have both backgrounds saved, so I'll finish the fish and the cats and then let the two options fight it out! Thanks for weighing in with your observations, Laschae! :hug:

The lighter version is somehow more "dreamy" or ethereal, at least to my eye.

I think I may actually get rid of the cats! The piece has a more formal, profile-ish quality, and I don't think the cats add effectively to the feeling of the picture. We'll see if they come back =)

I am a bit of a kitty fan, but I understand your thought process. Maybe you can do one with the kitties just for us? :P Hahah that sounds so whiny!

I think the sky has lost abit of its drama though, in the changes you have made. When I compare to the first one, I think the sky looked just so intense and vibrant, I don't know how you keep that though when you soften the tones. Maybe it's a tradeoff.

Do the original background and the cats bring more to the image?

The cats are definately a complication of the fish theme, though I think for me it's a cute notion that cats dream of fish :)

If you could marry the deeper sky with the lighter foreground... I don't know, maybe it wouldn't work due to the way light is supposed to work. I just really loved the sky in the original. But if I had to "score" it, I think the lighter version has more going for it and it is enough to relegate the original.

Edited to add I adore the goldfish :D

Like this?

Yay!

Now I feel like a spoiled brat who whined until she got her way LOL Of course if you feel it doesn't speak to your heart then you make it whatever hue and tone is right for you :) The mere fact that you invite people into your artmaking process is incredibly generous and I would hate to think I abused my position of observer :) Plese feel free to tell me to piss off if my comments distract from your creativity!

<3 @ John.

Thank you so much for giving me feedback! I have five different versions of this fighting for dominance, and I deeply appreciate someone with your sensibilities cherry-picking the best of each and creating a Frankenstein's Monster of Fabulousness!

One thing that I've learned long ago is that no one has developed an eye for aesthetic detail like that of an accomplished 3D renderer -- I take your comments very seriously. A lot of traditional art or 2d sites will have have vague positive or negative comments, but 3D artists have to power to focus in like a laser on what works and what doesn't.

I actually really like this solution, and I'm starting to think that the cats are cooling off the bright foreground, so they're in!

Ooooh I like that one! The fish are really popping off of the picture. :ham2:ham2:ham2:ham2:ham2