SPEEDPAINTING CHALLENGE nr. 7!

[Michael]

OK, as I got nice input, I decided that we make three challenges connected. So it'll look like this - this week - concepting, second week - environment and action painting, third - mood/atmosphere/environment painting.

So let's begin. Concepting. This week's challenge is about concept the Twins. They can be of any race you can imagine, of any sex - they can be both male, both female or mixed. The Twins live in fantasy world - one is a great warrior, second one is very powerfull mage. They need to fill each other's weaknesses, being impossible to defeat. They are famous mercenaries.

They need to refer to description that follows.

"They were always called "the twins". It was a joke for the ones that knew them, an insult in the mouth of the ones, that hated them and fear them. Mostly because they ... didn't look like twins AT ALL. They were born 8 minutes one after another. The first one that came out was called "XXL" - even then the baby was enormously big and had impressive resistance to pain; three hard slaps weren't enought to make it cry - the name sticked to it for the rest of it's life. Second one was called simply - "Tiny". Father was affraid, that it will come out crushed by XXL or won't come out at all - who would fit there next to ExtraLarge? Maybe the old witch was wrong and there's only one? But it came out - crying as hell. The very interesint thing was the day after - Tiny didn't cry at all, it was.... watching. Staring at everything all around him, as it could recognize all those things. The witch said it has "a sight".
When they were two years old - they had amazingly strong telepatical bond between them.

They were separated as they were 10 - they both went to the Academy - XXL was sent to learn the ways of sword and hand-to-hand combat, Tiny was sent to Mage Academy. They both escaped from it three years later. They were accused of murdering a mage. They were acting in self-defense, but it didn't matter.

They lived in the street - the best and very severe school of surviving.

Now they are the most sought-out mercenaries in all the Fareu'thun. They worked everywhere - from the king's chamber, being close bodyguards, to swamps of Mutnersendth, hunting lizards.

XXL is not very intelligent, but also not dumb, as many merchants found out, as they tried to cheat. Very few had their arms and legs not broken. He( She )'s incredibly strong, very tall, broad shoulders. Wears armour, that he(she) made him(her)self. Fights with double sword.
Tiny - is opposite of XXL - small, a bit of a tummy. Wears a simple robe. The only ornmented thing is his belt."


DEADLINE - SUNDAY THE NEXT WEEK 12:00 GMT +01:00.

GO!!

[David Ciprian]

So we can ignore the gender stated in the description, right?

I don't really understand the difference between week 2 and 3

[CHK]

Ok! This is going to be a hard one to come up with....I need some inspiration...

[Michael]

A little of explatation...

Gender is free of choice, as stated. The challenge is to concept an ADULT version of them. The yearly description is for you to make a connection with the characters... I hope it worked :).

As for inspiration - they can be of any race ever created. You can create your own race, too. There is little of the description, because I want you to try to come up with original designs for them, I didn't want to put any certain image to your head, I want you to create your own. :) If it's too hard, I can make more detailed description - just say a word. More ambitious guys/girls would work alone, though :) :p.

The difference between second and third week... You'll see :). If I'd try to explain it, I would ruin the surprise element :). So - patience. :D

Any more questions - fire away!

[Pedro Toledo]

Really nice challenge.

I´ll try to join it.

I have a question though... I don´t understand the "double sword"... Is it two swords? A really big one? One with two blades?... I don´t know... Sorry... :o

[Michael]

It's like a halbard, but on both sides of the pole there are swords. Something like Darth Maul had ;) Double bladed weapon.

[LittleFish]

double sword... okay, quick search on google. the first one that came up is sort of what i was expecting - standard fantasy thing - similar to halberd, but larger blades. There are many types of blades though that can be affixed. On the second page of the google search, there was a very nice picture of a double bladed ninja sword. Also, there are many ethnicities of characters that can be chosen, many types of battles, many focuses of mages, good or evil characters. Hope this gets some of you out of a rut. Use your imagination! :D Have fun.

edit: Oh yeah, and above all, read the brief again, and again, and again, maybe 20 or 30 times until you can quote it. That will help put images in your head. Don't worry about originality compared to the rest of us when it comes to that picture you see. That is your image.

and yes, the gender of both of them is entirely up to you. two guys, two girls, a guy and a girl... a ..., no wait, I think that's it for this brief.

[Sonic-X]

THIS IS WHAT I WAS WAITING FOR - THANKS.

INTERESTING CHALLENGE TOPIC, CANT WAIT TO SEE WHAT PEOPLE COME UP WITH.

FIRST WEEK CONCEPT ,IS THAT JUST ROUGH WORK
OR JUST THE CHARACTERS NO BACK GROUND ?

I HAVE NEVER PAINTED ANYTHING IN MY LIFE SO THIS IS
GOING TO BE A HOLE NEW EXPERIANCE FOR ME AND HAVE
TO LEARN SOME SOFTWARE.

[Smack Monkey]

So just to be totally clear we are just doing concept sketches this week right? No finished work? I like the description, very detailed.

[CHK]

Ok! Here my first attempt!...What do you think? I'd triedto go for a sort of crab man or I don't know!! The smallest of the twin would ride his broth' as a mean of transportation if you see what I mean...

[Sonic-X]

chk very nice idea.

[David Ciprian]

Damn, we have similar ideas, only that mine is about spiders not crabs

[Corky13]

Argh...i wanna join this :D

damn i already know how this week will end :( everyone have their pics and i simply forgot to post or were to busy to do something -_-...gnaaaaa

[Michael]

SonicX - Yeah, just characters for now, no background :)

Smack Monkey - this week we make concepts, but still you need to put a lot of effort into it, it shouldn't be rough - the more detailed characers - the better. :)

Corky13 - don't you dare forgetting the deadline or posting it! Or my XXL will hunt you down :D ....


.... you'll se :D :ufo:

[CHK]

David Cyprian<<I might change my mind, actually I'm working on a new idea....hehehe...:D .

[Sonic-X]

WHY SO LITTLE INTEREST IN THIS CHALLENGE ?
DONT PEOPLE WHANT TO PAINT.

THIS IS A GREAT TOPIC AND LOTS OF POSIBILITIES.

I EVENTUALY GOT MY CHEAP GENIUS TABLET TO WORK IN PAINTER
SO NOW I AM THINKING OF IDEAS FOR CHARACTERS.

A WADCOM TABLET IS VERY SCERSE WERE I LIVE AND INCREDIBLE
CONECTION USE TO STOCK ONE AT 10 TIMES THE PRICE OF THE GENIUS WIZARD PEN 5x4 NOW THE PEOPLE THERE DONT EVEN KNOW WHAT I TALK ABOUT WHEN I ASK THEM -TIPICAL.

ANY WAY LETS SEE WHAT EMERGES FROM THE ABYSS CALLED MY BRAIN.

[Smack Monkey]

Originally posted by Michael-3DT
SonicX - Yeah, just characters for now, no background :)

Smack Monkey - this week we make concepts, but still you need to put a lot of effort into it, it shouldn't be rough - the more detailed characers - the better. :)

Corky13 - don't you dare forgetting the deadline or posting it! Or my XXL will hunt you down :D ....


.... you'll se :D :ufo:

Ok so finished pictures but just the characters, got it!

[Pedro Toledo]

First of all, thanks a lot for the explanation about the "double swords" :D

Here is my entry. (does it have to be 800x600?)

They are NOT humans, they have short legs and (probably) a blue or purple skin color... I´m not sure yet.

XXL armour is made of some dragons and a lion skins he´s got for lunch... He doesn´t really needs it since his skin is even stronger... but what a hell... He thinks it´s cool.

Tiny´s robe is bigger than him, his hands never shows up, but he never uses his hands...

Hope you like it!!!

C&C are allways wellcome!

Cya

[CHK]

Hey Pedro, really nice one you have here. I like the expression of XXL. OK here is my second choice... Hang on just some cleaning before posting...

[Sonic-X]

pedro that looks realy great - so how long do we have to wait for the color- 1 week ?

[Corky13]

hmmm nice contribution Pedro :)

ok i am too afraid of Michaels XXL :D so i drawed a sketch in shool..nothing great and i think i have to redo it...his sis is barely seeable and his arms are a bit wonky <_<....

hope ya like this 2hour work anyway...(isnt it nice that the teacher is just to dumb to stop me drawing and teach me <_<)

http://home.arcor.de/corky13/wsg01.jpg

[ROB]

Pedro Toledo very nice work!
I've been very busy this week and I havent had time to get drawing :( , hopefully I'll be able to get something in by Sunday.

[Pedro Toledo]

Thanks a lot guys!! :D

Sonic - Yes, I think I would be posting the color version next week... :roll: I don´t have more time this week :(

Corky - Nice one you got! The girl reminds me of Sandman´s sister (Death). I like it.

Cya

[CHK]

Okay guys this my second version of XXL and S. I sketch them out with a bit of color . It is still a rough but I'll try to make some cleaning by Sunday...

Corky-Nice sketch! Done in class? Wow! I would not support people drawing during classes because that disturbes your attention ( I was the last in all fields except for fine arts...hehehe!). Hey maybe you should fix some body balance and bit of proportion (no offence!).

Btw, not so many posting so far ,where's Everybody?

[Pedro Toledo]

Very nice! I really like your style.

[CHK]

Pedro- Yeah! It's a kind of too cartoony don't you think?! Did you do yours in PSD or Painter? It looks like a Painter painting.

[Pedro Toledo]

No man... I really don´t think it´s too cartoony. It´s a sketch, ok, but I can "see" it in a realistic rendering (if that´s your goal ;) )

About mine, it´s psd. Although I´ll probably use Painter for the colored one.

[Sonic-X]

CHK - VERY NICE -GREAT SKETCHING STYLE ,HOW DO YOU DO IT.
DO YOU VISUALISE THE HOLE THING AND JUST DRAW OR DO YOU
BLOCK OUT SHAPES FIRST TO GET PROPORTIONS RIGHT OR WHAT.

YOU MAKE IT LOOK SO EASY.

[enjoiskating543]

very nice paintings so far.. and sonic-x , you see that light on your keyboard above the words capslock? make sure that's off next time you post

[Sonic-X]

AND WHY WOULD IT MAKE A DIFFERENCE WHETHER MY CAPS ARE ON OR OFF- PLEASE ADVISE.

[enjoiskating543]

ask chris about it, it's obnoxious in my opinion, anyway i won't go any further into it with you, keep this thread on topic

[CHK]

Sonic-X - Thanks for asking! Here are a brief description on how I sketch it out!
1) swiftly block out your vision...very quick ("speed painting thread"). I use "squar chalk" in Painter 7 for that. I didn't like so much the way XXL carried his weapon (looked like he was roaming....)

2) Redraw on a second layer based on the first sketch with adjustments.

3) Blocking major colors (I wanted them to be a bit like frogs, so green-muddy color was appealing to me)

4) Finishing by adding highlights here and there based on the direction of your light.

...and voila!!

[Wampyr]

here's a quick painting i did at school for a concept of XXL...it's not done but i think i'm gonna redo it anyway...with the same character design.
http://matrix.senecac.on.ca/~bmlarond/wip.jpg

[Michael]

Good work so far, guys :)

Wampyr - pretty nice idea - 4 handed. make him in full posture shot.

CHK - really good sketch. Nice entry.

Pedro - really nice one :D Great chading. The XXL's face looks a bit off, maybe too small. But reaaaaaly nice.

KEEP POSTING!

[Smack Monkey]

here's my entry. The shading is SUPER rough just wanted to fill it in with something. Hope ypu like.

[inspired]

wow, really love this thread... always watching every weeks challenge, and all you guys really got some skills... well, if i got SOME drawing skills i would think about entering this one, cause the subject is soo cool, but well, my drawing skills arent big enough to fit with my fantasy and imagination... :) but good luck guys! really love all your work so far

i especially love chk's one

[ROB]

Hey inspired,
You should join in! You can’t get better at drawing without practice, you'll be surprised how fast your skill improves.
;)

[Sonic-X]

ok- this is not the greatst artwork ever but what the hell.

this is my idea for tiny for now -sucks a bit.

i,m going to redraw this with xxl on the week end because it is difficult to draw at work.

comments welkom - need all the help i can get

[Undertow]

well i had a lot of second thoughts of posting this because of the high standard, grrr:) but yeh what the hell maybe it'll encourage others because theres are better.

well anyway heres a concept of xxl but its kind of a little small for him so maybe i was thinking it could be tiny....or is it to decorated or something? comts and crits welcome.

and yeh i know it sucks...

[victim335]

Workin' hard now to draw their bodies and make them look more like guys from the description.
chk - your techniques are amazing,
Pedro Toledo - marvellous sketch, please don't make them aliens, better fix lenght of their legs or something.
It's a pleasure to take part in something great like this.
(I'm new to this kind of stuff, please say me if I made something wrong or violated rules or misunderstood the idea... well you got the point, I respect you all, guys, don't want to amke you angry cauze of me lame being lamer)

[Wampyr]

Allright, I completely re-drew XXL, I had to fix proportions and decided to go with i different style of illistration for it. I'm still working on tiny, but it shouldn't take too long to finish him.

[smallpiece]

unfortunatly I don't think i'll get my coloured version finished in time, so i'll have to just post my outline sketch:roll: , you should get a fairly clear piture of what i'm doing.........the only thing missing is the tattoos on XXL's body that where performed by Tiny as a form of protection....

....Exellent drawings by all:) :D :) ,keep it up:D

[CHK]

Wow! Even more entries...

Hey guys, here is my latest update...I think I won't be able to finsh it before tomorrow (Sunday...). I'll try anyway....Quite busy this days...
Done so far in less than 6 hours....Not that speedy... The tree thread was much faster....

ps: Sorry Icheated in addidng so kind of background, hahaha...! And light effetcs...

Pps: victim335 - Is it really mouse drawing?! Not bad at all... I thought it was scanning...

[Wampyr]

awsome work CHK, i really like it.

ok, I finished painting Tiny and added him in with XXL. i'm not sure much time it took in total, i havn't really been working on it constantly, just here and there throughout the last couple of days.

[victim335]

Originally posted by CHK
Pps: victim335 - Is it really mouse drawing?! Not bad at all... I thought it was scanning... [/B]
I used Creature House Expression 3, a free beta version of microsoft sponsoret vector-based tool, everything is made with help of mouse,download this expression thingy and check out attachment if you dont believe, also you'll see a newer scetch of xxl by doing this. I add color on later steps in photoshop (again only with help of mouse)

[Wampyr]

nice man,

I'm stuck with just a mouse too, since i can't afford a tablet right now. ...stupid lack of money....

[CHK]

I know how hard it is to paint with a mouse and what you've done so far Victim335 is some good work. I now have my wacom and can't live without it. I have tried some cheap ones and they do reasonable work too...What I mean is a tablet is worth the expense if you are going 100% into CG.

[Smack Monkey]

unfortunately I have to go out of town tomrrow so I can't get allthe colouring finished. This will have to do until next week. What do you think?

[victim335]

Still kickin' with the mouse

[Michael]

One more hour left!! If anyone has anything left to post - POST! :D

[victim335]

Still just me and my mouse

[Michael]

OIK, guys, the deadline is here, so TIME TO VOTE!

There weren't many posts here - it seems that this "free concepting" challenges aren't very popular - so I have to ask you all, participants - do you want to continue the challenge - the next one was aiming to put the character you created into the scenery and paint them as they fight. I'll give the description of the scenery later. So I'm asking you - do you want to continue this, or want me to come up with another idea for the challenge?

[CHK]

Well! I think another idea would be good to change. Actually I was feeling like not having the strenght to keep on darwing my same character in another posture. But that's my opinion somehow...hehe!...

[victim335]

I like idea of challenge sequel, but...
It would be better to see works of other artists too, and keep it a chalenge, not a showdown of 3-4 designers, we need something simple and dynamic, like previous contest. The idea sounded easy enough and there vere tons of posts there

[Wampyr]

I supposed it would be best to start something new, perhaps we could come back and finish this one in a later week...

anyway, i suppose i'll cast my votes:

CHK - awsome work(no other comment is really needed).
Pedro Toledo - good character design, and welll done image.
SMack Monkey - can't go wrong with snakes, would have liked to see it fully coloured though...

Honourable mentions:

Victim335 - nice work, but could have use a bit more of a difference in the size of the XXL to Tiny character, keep on mouse'n it!

[Brownboot]

I didn't have time to finish mine up. I've been swamped with college application stuff...

1- CHK
2- Pedro Toledo (that owl is awesome)
3- Wampyr

[CHK]

I forgot to put my vote...

1-Pedro : For the amazing style
2-Vampyr: NIce coloring and I like the floating guy...
3-Smack monkey: Awesome shading for a quick one...

[Pedro Toledo]

CHK - Very nice mood since the first sketch!

Corky13 - Reeeaaaaaaally like the style.

Wampyr - I like the armor look, and overall character design.


Thanks everyone for the nice coments.

Michael-3DT - I´ll check XXl´s face on the next fase ;) If there will be a next fase.

victim335 - Thanx, man. But as I said before, they are not hummans. I think I´ll keep the short legs. Thanks anyway :)

I would like us to finish this challange. I really think it´s a very nice oportunity for practicing, but unfortunatally we did not have many entries... So if the challange stops I´ll understand!
Although I think I´ll do the fight scene anyway ;)

That´s it! Cya...

[Sonic-X]

Mine is way to late for contention but i thought some one might like to see my two characters.

I don't have access to the internet on the weekend which makes it only possible for me to post early monday morning when i get to work.

Any way i drew this last night.

[ROB]

My Vote:

1- Pedro
2- CHK
3- Wampyr


Michael-3DT,
I would like to continue on with the challenge, I've been working on my two characters but just didnt get time to finish them this week.

[smallpiece]

....Votes...

1 Pedro
2 CHK
3 wampyr

I think it would be good to continue this theme, however, this is quite a time consuming challenge, hense the unfinished entries, which i would imagine was part of the reason for so little entries.........guess we'll see what next week brings....:)

[Corky13]

1) CHK - For the originality of the characters nd the good mood
2)Pedro - Very good shading and overall design
3) Wampyr - For the very interesting creatures

[LittleFish]

1. CHK - I prefer the imagination of the first concept. (thanks for the quick "tutorial" too)
2. Pedro Toledo - are they lion-like? Good concepts, excellent shading. I enjoy your drawings.
3. Wampyr - nice concept, good bold colors.

and to Wampyr and victim335, I am quite impressed with your ability with the mouse

Michael-3DT -- just a thought/plea: if you leave this week open to allow any entries on this same concept, there should be at least a couple more before next week, if you wanted to continue on the same topic. (unjudged now, but still in the runnning for weeks 2 and 3)

[Pedro Toledo]

Sonic-X - Sorry you lost the deadline.

LittleFish - Yes, they have lion-like nose and upper lips. Nice you saw that :)

Sending a close up... If it´s against the rules, I´m really sorry about it. If that´s the case, Michael, please delete it!

http://pedrotoledo.com.br/imagemforum/step01b.jpg

[Michael]

Sorry guys that I post it so late, but I''m literally dead - have too much work.

1. CHK - 19 points
2. Pedro Toledo - 17 points
3. Wampyr - 10 points
4. Smack Monkey - 2 points, Corky13 - 2 points.

The winner - please post your address details to ben@3dtotal.com with number of Texture CD of your choice.

CONGRATULATIONS TO ALL!! :D

As for the next comp - I think it will be good to continue, but NOT as I planned. I will give a description of a characters and a place that you will attempt to paint. For those who wnat to stick with their characters - they CAN stick to them :). For those that have their characters, but want to paint from my description - they CAN do it.
it just seems that most people find it hard to loosen their imagination run wild... maybe I go too fast... :)

For those all that would like to concept their characters - THEY STILL CAN, post them here to receive input. The concepts won't be judged, it's just for practice for the ones that have time and ambition :) ;).

For everyone else - SEE YOU ON SUNDAY!! :D

[Pedro Toledo]

Congrats - CHK!!!

Thanks Michael for organizing the challenge.

See you sunday.

[CHK]

Wow!:D Thanks too all guys. Congratulations to all of you. I hope there will be more entries for the next round. I just want to say :" Grab you pencil and go for the speed painting. You'll learn a lot by practising and participating..."
Thanks Michael-3DT, Pedro Toledo, LittleFish, Corky13, smallpiece, ROB, Sonic-X, Brownboot, Wampyr, victim335 and all the others...
Ok here is a little glance to my next attempt....

[Corky13]

concrats to CHK. ^^

errr to get this right= The winner of a weekly gets a TextureCD ? O.O .... if so ... *feelsMotivationBarRising*

[Michael]

Yes, that's right - the prize for winning the challenge is TEXTURE CD of your choice. :)

[Mr. Bluesummers-3DT]

That's a nice sketch CHK you posted last minute there. I like it.

--BlueSummers

[CHK]

Guy BlueSummers>Thx, Was a quick one 5 minutes sketch. I'll send some more later...