Childrenbook Project

[neiy0]

hey i see you took the idea of making the grass more scattered, it looks really good now. I do, however, think that the background doesnt look as rugged or african like if it is blue. I quite liked the orangish brown instead, it also worked well with the dirt and the childs clothing..
One idea on how to make the kid seem as if he were going into a dream would to take it into Adobe Photoshop and give it a ripple effect, which would distort the image enough for the reader to believe that he was going into a dream, but not to much to make the image completely distorted..

Anyways just suggestions, I like where its going, and A+ on the scattered grass/dirt effect..:)

[olympus]

Yes, the leaves much better now, and they have a nice organic/cartoon feel to them that i like. I'm not quite sure what it was about the 4th monkey, that made him look scared, but he looks better now.

I like your new title illustration better than the last version, but i think it looks a bit sparse. Will there be a backround?

[neiy0]

i say keep it "sparse" but change the background color to orange..anyways, I just wanted to let you know that there aren't Tucans in Africa, but Hornbills, which look pretty much the same, I attatched a pic for a reference if need be..

[rubberduck]

neiy0: Thanks, I'm glad you liked the scattered grass, but I changed the cover again :o I think this is going to be the final cover, so I hope you guys like it;)
About the Tucan, I never said it took place in Africa:) It is a dream so;) But thanks for the info about the hornbill.
I really like the suggestion about taking(the image where he's going to sleep/dream) into Photoshop and give it a ripple effect, thanks;)

olympus: Thanks guy;)

[divaid]

It would be a really nice cover, but I just don't like the elephant...

[neiy0]

Nice duck, I really like this final cover, the colors really match well, and everything seems to go, plus it gives it a kind of adventerous look, and I suppose thats what your going for..;)
About the tucans, I was talking about this project of yours with my dad and told me that tucans werent in Africa, and I said I wasn't sure if it was set in Africa, but I would check it out..
Thanks about the ripple effect, and good luck with the rest of it..write if u have any problems..are you in college or what?

[rubberduck]

Sorry for the lack of updates, so here they come, 3 of them;)

divaid: We all have different taste:eek: ;)

neiy0: Thanks buddy, tried to create a dream effect, not sure I like it though, may play some more with it in Photoshop.
About college, let's just say, that was a long time ago;)

[rubberduck]

Does this look like he's dreaming?;) or not?

[rubberduck]

another one......

[Borg]

Whoa...that looks very nice.......bout te dream thing, i think it would be more recognizable as a dream bubble thing, if the misty border was a bit lighter....or whiter

[neiy0]

Yeah I like that dream effect, i do agree with Borg, that maybe there should be more of a distinction between the dream and the room.. It doesn't look quite right, try making some sort of halo type ring around the dream picture, but make it suttle, and blur it a little bit.. looks awsome though :)

[dreezle]

Hey there Rubberduck,

Looks like your book is coming along nice. Have you already contacted some publishers? They can give you some handy tips that can help getting your book published. Have you already figured out how many pages there are going to be?

Greetings Dreezle

[secobb]

I agree with borg theer is something a little off with that dream bubble. I think you should try less blur in the dransition.

[rubberduck]

Thanks guys;) I redid the dream effect, let me know if it's any better or worse.

dreezle: Thanks, no we haven't contacted some publishers yet, not sure when I'll be finished illustrating it, but we will soon I hope. It may end up being 20 or 22 pages;)

Here's another try at the dream still...

[Jason-Lavoie]

H he he, good try dude, but it just doesn't cutt it, i look at your work and its amazing, and then you see this badly done (which looks like an outer glow and a bevel surface) on the outer part of the dream buble, but i do not know what to do with it either... just try a whole bunch of stuff, AMAZING DUDE!

[Borg]

i reckon White mist around th outside would be better...maybe

[rubberduck]

:( :D Here's another try...

[neiy0]

yeah that looks better duck, but there is still something that makes it look kinda funny, i dont know if there should be such a solid distinction between the dream and the room, contrary to what I said before... Other than that it looks good, but try bluring the images together alittle more, not a lot, but just a little..:)

[Chris-3DT]

don't hesitate to let the lamp overlap the dream-bubble - it can add more depth to the image :)

[rubberduck]

Ok guys, is this better? If not,..... help:cry: ;)

[neiy0]

hey it looks better with that second one that u did, with the thick blurry whitish/yellow effect. One thing I noticed, I was below the computer and noticed that when I was below it, there seemed to be more shadows, and I thought that looked really really good. Because if you think about it, who really sleeps with that large amount of light on? Most children only sleep with the door cracked open, so there really wouldnt be that much light. Try having a light in the background, that would light up the childs face enough, as well as the lamp and pillow enought to see what it is, but not to light. That way the dream, which is brighter, seems to be the bolder aspect of the picture, what you are getting at. This, I believe, would make the scene seem more like the kid is dreaming, and make the dream bubble more pronounced..

Dont sweat over this to much...haha..good work ;)

[rubberduck]

neiy0: Thanks for the suggestions ;) I appreciate it

I hope this is better

[olympus]

much better :), I liked the new blurred edge and the compositing and lighting way better on the new image

i'm sure with text in the book explaining all that's happening, nobody will have any trouble understaning that he's dreaming :D.

[Borg]

yeah that looks excelent

maybe if u make a more stylized dream bubble........more bubbly, less sharp pointy edges...............But it definately does look liek a dream and i'm sure teh reader will understand what it is

:cool:

[Rinne]

Wow, that's totally amazing :eek:

[neiy0]

i'd like to say awsome duck, but i cant see anything? all is see is a question mark inside a box?

[neiy0]

nm i see it now, haha, its awsome, thats waaaay better, thats the keeper right there

[secobb]

Yeah i like that last one you did the best! It looks dreamy now. GJ

[rubberduck]

Thanks guys:) I guess it's a keeper;) I can now move on to the next image and yes, when the text/poem is added under the image the reader will for sure know that he's dreaming, btw each image will have a poem under it;)

[goat]

lookin good. red may be too strong of a color for you lamp shade. it can take your veiwers eyes away from the rest of the page. the color red is is the color the eye is most dra to. think of a stop sign. they are red for a reason. I'm diggin this man. keep it up. can't wait to see this thing done.

[neiy0]

agreed goat, i believe that if the red were say a darker shade of red, that it would not bring so much attention to it.. I would say stick with the red though, because it gives it such a warm feeling..just darken it a smidge..:)

[rubberduck]

Thanks;) but I have to stick with the red, because the kid has a lamp like that in real life, but I see what you mean about the color;)

[Cracadoo]

Rubberduck I'm glad i see that you stil doing great job. keep up!!!

[MonteCristo]

I'm sorry RD, I don't wanna be a party pooper here, but given the work you have put in to making all these chara's I think you coud do a lot better with that render. At the moment, it looks dull IMO I think the camera angle of the boy sleeping is boring, the lighting feels flat and unexciting, it could better convey night-time too. The texturing of the duvet is a missed trick with plain blue, this is a kids room, so why not make it colorful patterned and exciting? The same goes for the lamp.

Look, I know you doing his for a grade, right? Well, I'm not gonna sit here and say great, when I KNOW you can do better, and you will grade better if you get this a bit more detailed. All you gotta do is say to yourself "What can I do to make this more interesting?" I know that there are deadlines to think about but still, go for it all the way. Work your ass off on this thing. I don't want to make you feel bad here, there's no need for you to do that. All I'm saying is rethink that last shot. not the monkey part, that seems ok-ish, but the sleeping kid below. if this is a picture book, for kids, then they need to be fun and lively I reckon.

[secobb]

Maybe put some sort of monkey patern on his bedspred. Or some sort of jungle patern on his lamp.

[rubberduck]

MonteCristo-3DT: No problem, when someone opens their mouth and critique your work, that helps you improve it.

I changed the bedspread and the lampshade, hope it's better.
I rendered 3 different camera angles too, which is better A, B or C? I know A has a different picture in the frame, just ignore it;)

I'm not going to put the dream effect(the monkeys) into the image untill it looks good enough, so please c&c on it as soon as possible so that I can finish this image ;)

[Superkid]

its looking great rubberducky

i personally like c the best of all the angles, b is a close second

keep up the work !

[DramaticDigital]

I just noticed this thread today and I enjoyed going through every page. It was like reading a book about the progression of creating images for a book. Hope that made sense. You do some great work!

I like that room a lot! It looks way better. The red lampshade kind of drew your attention away from the rest of the scene. Maybe for the dream take the cleaner looking image on the bottom of page 18 and just blur out the edges of the dream. I don’t know if you’ve finished the cover yet but I was thinking maybe you could have the boy in his room but have parts of the jungle in his room. Like a tree limb and vines coming down in the back and the animals in the room.

[DramaticDigital]

As I was looking through this I thought it reminded me of a book I had when I was a kid but I couldn’t remember the title. Now I remember it is called Where the Wild Things Are. Here’s is a picture of the cover:

[olympus]

one quick suggestion for improvement, i'm imagining external lighting, if the kid is trying to sleep the lamp probably wont be on.

here is what i think might be a good layout of the lighting -

[Wishkah]

Where The Wild Things Are! The most fantastic childrens' book ever written! My Gods...I haven't seen that for years...

Eh...very nice scene, too ;)

[MonteCristo]

Good man RD, that's a lot better. Personally I would go for C as well. :)

[ido]

looking great rubberduck :), I like A and C. and I love the angry monkeys.
but I think the lighting is'nt good enough. look at some night movie scenes, they are almost never realy dark, they always use some kind of a lighting trick (like blue or green lighting for example, for the "dark" parts) just a suggestion :)

[MonteCristo]

He's right actually, maybe switch the light off, and cast a really cool-blue window shadow map over him.

[Borg]

yeah.....definately blue light

[ido]

I agree but I think that maybe he will need more then one light to make it work, and look good. I would try one spot behind the camera, one like MonteCristo suggested and the lamp can stay, and also maybe another key light :) rubberduck play with it until you think it looks good :)

[Trevorn]

It's funny, in reality I think your lighting is acurate. My kids always have a lamp on at a low setting and the windows shut up tight... To keep out those wild monkeys.

But dramatically I agree it would look very cool with the blue light casting shadows through the window and the side lamp off. This is a story so drama becomes more important than the reality of the situation.

Great work Rubberduck:)

[neiy0]

hey duck I agree with pic. C, and i also like the fact that the other people here brought up the fact that he probably wouldnt sleep with his lamp on, but I dont know if many kids sleep with their windows open at night.. I was thinking if you wanted to stick with an internal light, go with a night light..cause i know i sure had a ninja turtles one :)

[rubberduck]

Superkid: Thank you, I think I going with C ;)

DramaticDigital: Thanks!;) Great idea for the cover, I like it, but I think the cover is finished(wish I had thought of that) and good suggestion for the dream image too. Where The Wild Things Are, is a great book, love the illustrations in it. Thanks again

olympus: I see what you mean and made some changes;)

Wishkah: Thanks

MonteCristo-3DT: Thanks ;) Cool blue light it is

ido: Thanks, believe me, I have played with the settings alot;)
There are 4 lights in the scene now, hope it's better

Trevorn: Thanks man;) Blue light in this next image

neiy0: C it is;) I may drop the internal light, depends what the people have to say about this next image:)

[rubberduck]

Another one......brighter

[MonteCristo]

This is looking a lot better, I hope you'll agree, thought I prefer the darker of th two shots.

[Borg]

i'm sure Monte's right....but personally i like teh lighter one.

although it could be just my screen making it darker...i can hardly see teh bed in the dark one

[ido]

first I want to say I like the brighter one better :)
but I think you are trying to get realism with the lighting when I think It is more important that the lighting and image will be interesting (and it it is only my opinion :)).
look at this gollum image for example, it is night and if the lighting was realistic you woulden't have been able to see gollum well. the image was more important to the creator than a realistic lighting effect.
one of the good effects you managed to achieve is the light contour on the blanket (I don't know how you got that effect but it is very good imo) it is usually achieved with a back light, if you can get more of this effect all over your image it will make it look better imo, the details and depth of the image will be more apparent, and this way you can have high contrast of dark and bright without loosing the details.

btw it looks good as it is, what I said was just a suggestion :)

[Avatar-3DT]

Amazing work this far! I must agree with ido on the light account! Its more important to create the sensation that to get accurate fx.
I do suggest you something you could try on your scene:
add a tree to the light map so, through the window, the shadow of a tree arise. Then add a very soft volumetric and a cloud particles to simulate dust into the air.
It will bring some night magic into your scene. Keep up the good work!

[rubberduck]

Thanks guys:) I really appreciate the suggestions to help me improve the image;)
I added a map to the spotlight coming through the window and cranked up the volumetrics too, is it better or worse? Too much?

[MonteCristo]

Yup that's looking better and better, but drop the volumetric levels, It looks like his hallway is on fire.

[Avatar-3DT]

Yeap, go almost half of that and your ok! The window map looks awsome!

[rubberduck]

Thanks guys:) Decreased the volumetrics and took it into Photoshop to add the dream effect, hope it's ok, if not, let me know;) Either way I'm going to work on the next still, ......the air will be filled with bananas:D

[neiy0]

Hey it looks alright, but I think the dream is to crisp and clear, try making it a little more fuzzy..then it will look good:)

[ido]

looks very good rubberduck :)
I agree with neiy0, maybe you can try making the fuzzy edges of the dream a little wider...

[Avatar-3DT]

Here is a suggestion how you could fix the "dream" thing. First of all excuse me to have used your images without asking for permission.
I used the older "volumetric" affected image, paste over the dream in photoshop, erased the margins with the soft eraser the used tha smudge to create the warp fx.

[rubberduck]

Thanks guys:) Avatar: I like liked what you did and played around with it some more in Photoshop and this what I came up with, what do think?

Here's another render/Photoshop version of the angry monkeys

[rubberduck]

and the monkeys.....

[neiy0]

it looks better rubber duck..but funnily enough i actually prefer Avators, because it looks more like the dream is trying to suck you in. and there are bits of excess light from the dream trying to escape..

cheers:)

[Avatar-3DT]

rubberduck, when I did the "dream image" I thought about it like it was one of the comix thinking bubble. The small pieces of dream leading to the boy's head are meant to show where the images are coming from. As from the dream I see you used a filter. It has a nice effect but you can do better. I used the eraser with the pressure down to 30 to erase the margins and to give the "dream bubble" a roughfly round form. Then I used a medium smudge to make the warp effect. the same tehnique I used for the smaller bubbles.
As for the monkeys, the render looks awsome indeed. If you allow me I will me them seem to be part of a dream too.

[rubberduck]

I'm sure you guys are getting tired of seeing this image, I know I am:o
Here are 2 more versions, whis is better A or B or...?
Here's A

[rubberduck]

Here's B

[neiy0]

A most def..

[Avatar-3DT]

I can understand your impacience my friend. Take a break from this one if you need so but do not close the image because it needs adjustments. If I were to choose, i would choose A. But there is too much volumetrics in that image and you need to do the small pieces of dream coming out from the boy's head.
My advice? Put it aside for a while, work on another piece and when you feel ready for it, return to this image for further adjustment.

[neiy0]

agreed avatar

[rubberduck]

Sorry for the lack of updates, been too busy helping some friends fixing/building their computers.

Avatar: Thanks for you advice;) So you like A with less volumetrics, right? And with a small piece of dream between the boys head and the big dream bubble thing, I may not have an update today, maybe tomorrow;)

[secobb]

I would have to disagree i like B

[neiy0]

nope A

[secobb]

B B B B B beeeeeee

[neiy0]

A is so much better, B doesnt look realistic at all, it looks weird...A A A A A A Ayyyyyeee

[Avatar-3DT]

neiy0, secobb, I trust you are not 3 years old and, aldo its not my thread to moderate I will ask you to stop imediatly. You did spoke your opinion so there is no need to pursue with childish naggs and spoil rubberduck's working thread. Please, respect his work.

[neiy0]

haha yeah thanks avatar..it was about time we did stop, sorry duck, no harm done i presume..? I'm just anxious for u to post another thread..

Cheers..:)

[secobb]

Sorry about that. I diddnt realize the fun police were so strict here. I give good long insightfull crits all the time. one fun one and i get railed. I guess i know the mood of this forum. Sorry again for acting out of line.:(

[DoperMan]

Avatar although i am not a moderator i must say that you overreacted just a tiny bitsy bit too much, they only posted 1 excess reply due to their enthousiasm for this thread and the reply such as secobbs on your reply i must say it was excpected and justified.

Said that, If now you feel that my reply is offensing in any way possible, delete it, since I myself dont want to give such a matter any more length and spoil Rubberduck's thread.

just my 0.02 $


By the way I like A better. great work rubberduck

[MonteCristo]

Yeah, Avatar's been a little highly strung ever since he accidently chopped his own hand off with a scalpel. So perhaps it was little bit OTT. But we'll pour some oil in his tea later. :D

Peace guys.

signed,
The Fun Police. :smug: :dance:

[neiy0]

HAHA this is funny, thanks FunPolice, you're my hero ;) Come on DUUUCK we need something to look at here, we're waisting away

[Rockymaru]

Originally posted by ManiHack
I like its its very nice.
But he's a little too symmetric, you should add a flower pinned to his fur or something to break the symmetry.

Agreed. Also, maybe consider adding bumps in the arm and knee area to give the impression of joints.
Nice look though.

[RickStefani]

I love this thread but I do not think the dream buble is working. IMHO, I would think maybe a close up of his eyes closing then have him in his bed like you show. next have him sitting up with warm lights and the bed now in a tree and the monkeys around him. Something along those lines. Just a thought.

[secobb]

Thanks fun police. Here is an idea Ducky. Maybe make the monkey’s full screen and have the kid in the bed floating around in their world. So it would feel like he is immersed in THEIR world rather then them "invading" his. It would be more of an "escape" if it were he who was transported away rather then his imagination bringing something into his. I find that children are often consumed by there imagination therefore they are transported away adults often daydream and bring fantasy in as a "visitor for a few moments. I don’t know if that makes sense but I think it would make the mood a little more youthful.

[neiy0]

interesting idea, i am going to be proffesional and say I like how it is already..but it would help if duck would actually post something sommmmtime..haha

[rubberduck]

Ok, I've finished building 2 computers for some friends:crazy: :D and formatted a third, to reinstall XP because of a Damn:mad: :grr: virus and this is what I come back to:eek: :haha: :dunno: Now boys, can't we just all get along:roll:;)
I really appreciate the c&c's and suggestions, but I'm going with Avatars suggetion, less volumetric and a smaller bubble between the boys head and the dream bubble thing;)
Great ideas though;)

Had some time today to work on this scene.

[rubberduck]

Here's another, the first one was too dark

[DramaticDigital]

Hey yeah! That second one is definitely an improvement. Is the ground supposed to be grass? Maybe try to define the ground a little more.

And avatar, sorry to hear you cut off your hand. You should really be famous for doing such great drawings one handed.

[neiy0]

Hey yeah duck, the second one looks extremely awsome. one suggestion though, you might want to have the little boys hand on the zebra, to show that there is friendship between them, since he and the zebra go every where through out the book..

ooks awsome though:):)

[MonteCristo]

DramaticDigital -- "And avatar, sorry to hear you cut off your hand. You should really be famous for doing such great drawings one handed."

Is that possible? Drawing with one hand..?
:p :p :p

:D

neiy0 -- That's a really good suggestion.

Rubberduck -- Listen to neiy0. :D

[neiy0]

shazaaam!

[Avatar-3DT]

Well, I must confess i didn't lost my hand. I keep it in a jar on my table. :D
rubberduck, indeed the second image is better. Maybe that zebra could use a mane if you can provide. And a little more back light could prove useful.

[DramaticDigital]

See below. Somehow got posted twice

[DramaticDigital]

I just meant that if he did his sketching live on a bridge or something it would be really exciting to watch. i.e. making him famous. Or at least in my book.

[Rockymaru]

Originally posted by rubberduck
Here's another, the first one was too dark

That is ... beautiful. Awesome lighting and good composition. The boy seems to be glowing FROM the light, and that's a nice little touch.

[CountZero]

As I've said before, a very ambitious project. The last scene (kid zebra and sunset) looks great, but the one before this, the one where the kid dreams about the monkeys in the jungle, well, I don't like the way you made the "dream buble" (that is showing the jungle). I don't like the way the edges are blurred, and together with the strong contrast of the colours in the bedroom contra the jungle the image feels agressive IMO (the blur makes it look explosive, and almost all of the jungle scene is blurred). I got no good soloutins though, so I understand that it must be hard to make.

Edit: OK, in B there no problem wit hthe contrast. Anyway, a more cloud-like bubble might work better.

[rubberduck]

Thanks to all of you guys;) I hope I improved this image by doing some of the suggestions, like neiy0, avatar mentioned.

About the dream scene, I will go back to it, when I have finished this scene;) and hopefully improve some things in it;)

Here it is........

[DramaticDigital]

The new foreground is good except now I think it is too bright. Maybe try keeping it the way it is except make it a little darker. I like the boys hand on the zebra. That was a very good suggestion.

[ido]

I like this last image, its very good :)
the only thing that looks strange is the rocks texture and shape, it looks a little like a dead animal, a lion or something like that :)
I'm not even sure it is a rock, is it?

[neiy0]

agreed ido

[DoperMan]

now that's what i am talking about. :D

[rubberduck]

Thanks guys and sorry for the lack of updates, just been so damn busy:o Hope to have some updates to post late tonight or tomorrow;)

[neiy0]

it's been an eternity haha..im looking forward to these new posts, because all I've been looking at is that Boxx competition..ahhhh:dance:

[rubberduck]

Here are the promised updates, 3 images and an example of what the text will look like, that goes with the images

[rubberduck]

another one

[rubberduck]

3rd one

[rubberduck]

and the text example

[NoJo]

Wow! Looks awesome! Genius!

[Cracadoo]

Just one question:
When will you finish the book?
Dont wanna repet myself but... GREAT WORK!!!

[neiy0]

loos awsome :dance:...but I couldnt see the text for some reason..another thing, the 2nd image looks kind of bright, i dunno if thats just me..

[neiy0]

o wait i can read it, nm :)

[Avatar-3DT]

Awsome! You're doing a great job buddy! My only crit is that the images look a little to blury but its your call. Its a dream after all. Great choice of text and vignetes by the way, 'tho I don't think green is "the way".

[neiy0]

agreed duck, it gives the feeling of christmas..the vines look to christmasy, try going with brown vines, and some sort of tropical flower or somehting, that way it will give off the effect of ruggedness, and it will seem more dreamlike, and will capture the readers attention more... i'm sure u dont just want the readers to be looking at the pictures, but also reading the text as well... ;)

[ido]

the images are great rubberduck :) and I like the text page design. are you going to do a new design for each text page or is it going to be the same in all the pages? How are the edges of the picture pages going to look like?

[rubberduck]

Thanks guys:D

I/we hope to have it finished this month and then we're going to copyright it before we're sending it to a publisher in New York that we have contacted, so we'll see what happens;) .

Avatar-3DT: Do you mean the tree race image? It may be a little to blurry, but I was trying to make it look like they're in motion, swinging;) Too much blur?
You don't think green is the way, the text or the vignetes?

neiy0: You're right, it does look a little like christmas vines, I'll play around with it some more

ido: I think all the text page design will look the same and I still playing with the picture edge/frame;)

Is this better for the text page?

[neiy0]

yeah thats a lot better..also cause it contrasts well with the rectangle images..and it kind of gives it a more tropical feeling

nice :dance:

[Daniel]

haven't checked out this thread in quite a while, you've done some great work man, I'm impressed.

[Avatar-3DT]

rubberduck, I guessed you were trying to mimic speed and moovement but the image is very "rich" and the characters tend to blend too much into the background. The blur is necessary so here is what I sugest. Try to add a fill light to add some delimitation between characters and background. The monkeys can hardly be seen. As for the green doesn't do it I meant the text.

[ido]

I like both text page designs, maybe you can use them both and make many more, a deferent leaf/design for each page or group of pages (maybe you can also use things like bananas, grass and rocks for the text pages design. things that are in the picture) . this will make the book a lot more interesting :)

[MonteCristo]

Yeah, you are doing some good stuff here: the palm leaves with the poetry will look great I can tell.

Two crits:

1. The boy swinging through the trees. He is a little bit too blurry in my opinion and needs to to stand out from the page a little more.

2. The shot where he is grinning is not working, mainly because his expression is more like an insane smile, as if he's gonna pull a knife on the reader! He needs to be a bit cuter here. The eyes should not stare so much, they should probably look a little half-closed. Check out: Jenn's Portfolio (http://www.jenndowns.com) she is the resident guru for expressions and morphs. You need more warmth in this face.

Keep it up though, you are going to do very well I think.

[neiy0]

agreed monte cristo about the devil smile with the little kid..he kinda looks like a perv or something..

[rubberduck]

Thanks again guys, really appreciate the help & suggestions:)

The image where the boy is swinging through the trees, I'll work/tweak some more, you're right about it being too blurry

The image where he's smiling/grinning, I tweaked some, hope it's better;) I did check out Jenn's portfolio, great stuff there;)

Great idea ido, for the text design pages;) So here are some examples....

I changed the text color too, is this ok or should the text be black?

[rubberduck]

another

[rubberduck]

and another

[rubberduck]

and the boy

[Avatar-3DT]

If you are writting that text in Photoshop you could add a shadow to it to make it more clear. As for the boy he still looks a bit weird. If you allow me I will try to draw you a reference to help you with this.

[neiy0]

yeah no offence duck..but he kind of looks like he just made woopi..the other things look better..but i prefer a single theme for the text..

[rubberduck]

Thanks;)

Avatar: Yes, I'm doing the text in Photoshop and will play around with the drop shadow and yes if you got some spare time to draw me a reference:D He's is supposed to look like he just won something;) Appreciate it


neiy0: :D made whoopi, I/we may keep the single theme for the text, it's going to be too busy

[Avatar-3DT]

Quicky sketch in Photoshop. Not top noch but I hope it will help you.

[neiy0]

try these photos..the open mouth apporoach might be good. because then the boy doesnt look so perverted..if u get my gist

i thnk u should keep the text them one..because yeah it gets to complicated and cluttered

[neiy0]

sorry forgot the photos..

[neiy0]

here

[rubberduck]

Thanks guys:) I'll make some improvements on the face a little later tonight, I hope

[rubberduck]

Ok;) I hope this is better? Yes, no?;)

[Avatar-3DT]

Here to annoy you again buddy:p Try to make the space between the nose and the upper lip lower (move the mouth upper), keep the rest of the mouth just like that. As for the eyes, you will get a better effect if you make the lower eyelid into a streight line.

[neiy0]

yeah he kind of looks high now... or really dazed and confused

[rubberduck]

Ok guys;) here's another go at it, A or B? I hope you pick one of them;)

[rubberduck]

In this one, the hippo asked the boy if he cared for a ride, the boy said yes and the hippo felt so soft to him, that he fell asleep and the hippo is swimming away from the shore/bank.....

[Jason-Lavoie]

Ha ha rubber, the kid looks like he wants to kill me... or.. somthing ELSE (ha ha) but i wuld choose A... the hippo thing is cool... i had a pet hippo once... it died though, so i got a dog :)

[ido]

I like A better rubberduck:) and the hippo image is cool. I hope you will have time for the text pages, it will make it look 10 times better. I think you don't have to always frame the text with objects, in some images one object in one corner will be enough (one or two bananas with a soft shadow under it, or one smaller tractor in one of the corners)

[MonteCristo]

OK, RD what is called for her is a little bit of subtle post production. Here I have shaded the teath, and appled a sharpen filter to the image. There's probably more you could do, but it shows you the difference. Peoples teeth are really quite subtle things. Your mouth is a cave in effect, so direct light only contacts with the front teeth in most cases. After that, its a question of amient light. By selecting the teeth area I went over the back ones with a semi-transparent black soft brush. Hope this helps.

[rubberduck]

Thanks for the tip/suggestion:)
Reworked it in Photoshop, is it ok now?;)

[MonteCristo]

Yup, That's much better. :D

[Avatar-3DT]

Allright Monte! Allright rubberduck!! Thats the way my man! Now you have a perfect smile and a really cool hipo scene! Well done!

[neiy0]

Shazaam! we finally got an answer.. keep that duck!!! good job monte cristo..! yay..this deserves a :dance:

[neiy0]

hey two things i did notice was one..the background looks to much likes props, try putting like a palm leaf in the foreground or something..with a shadow on the boys shirt or whatever.. and also the boys shirt doesnt look like fabric enough..it just looks like it was painted on in photoshop. apart from that it looks awsome!;)

[MonteCristo]

:D :D :D

[rubberduck]

Thanks guys!:D Guess what....? I'm done with all the images for the book, yeahh:D Just got some minor adjustments too a few of the images and I'll post a thumbnail page with all the images later today, if I get time too do it:o

Thank you! to everybody that have helped me with suggestions/critique and so on to help me complete the images :D I really appreciate it

BTW, I saw Landis had gotten a new toy, well I got a new toy too the other day:D

[neiy0]

haha nice duck..been playing long? or just started? i have played drums for six years..what kind of set is that?

[neiy0]

noooooo!!! this is the end..well it's been fun, really fun..u're a very talented person..good luck with ur book..and i hope to read it in barnes and nobles someday as best seller! woooo :dance:

[rubberduck]

Thanks neiy0:D I hope it gets published too, if not, it is was a great challenge and lotsa fun:)

About the drums, I'm a beginner, played on one of those practice drum pads for about 3 months and now got the real thing, yeah:p Not sure what kind it is, it's a GP, whatever that is?
Payed close to $400 for it, it's new btw
So did you put a pillow or blanket inside your bass drum?;)

Here's a thumbnail page of all the images inside the book
I'll post a bigger version of an image if someone would like to see it bigger;)

[Avatar-3DT]

So I guess you're ready. Good luck and updated us with the result.

[neiy0]

looks awsome..im guessing u emphasize the hippo quite a lot;) haha..
yeah I put a pillow and two towels in my bass drum..what kind of cymbals did u get?

Where do u live out of curiosity?

[secobb]

Hey Ducky very very nice! You did a super job! Thumbs up five stars!

[3Dan]

Hi there Duck,
Just checking this thread. I't's been a long way since it began - so it's finally over?
Let us know when they release the book.

[rubberduck]

Thanks guys:D :D

Yes it's finally over:p :) I will keep you updated and let you know if it gets published or not, Thanks for your interest in this project.
I wish I could show each poem that goes with each picture(that tells the story), but I can't do that, sorry;)

neiy0:About the hippo, we had talked about having the boy fall asleep up against the tree, but decided that the hippo should ask the boy if he cared for a ride, so he falls asleep on top of it instead, that's why there are several pictures of it;)

About the cymbal, it's about 18 inches in diameter, came with the drumset

KY. USA

[Cracadoo]

Congratulations for finishing your book, Rubberduck. I hope that music will not drag you away fom 3d art :). Realy great work!

[Corth]

Just gotta say, good luck with getting it published! that would really be awesome, I havn't posted in this forum before, but I have been following it. I don't have kids myself, but I'd buy it for my brothers kids (I'm not sure how the spelling goes for the correct term for that, so... brothers kids!) :)

[ido]

great work rubberduck :) I will buy it when it will get published :D
:dance: :dance: :dance: :dance: :dance: