I think it needs more contrast. The easiest 'zing' at this point would be some drama. It would help give it a focal area as well. Here's a quick 15min photo-manipulation of pushing the contrast and adding some texture to the back wall.

The texture on the wall would push the fabric forward via a contrasting texture, instead of being smooth on smooth Some stronger lighting would guide your eye to the upper surface of where the cloth drapes over the brick's corner. Here I've only raised the forward highlights just a bit, darkened the mid-tones of the background, and punched the foreground shadows to get a more contrast driven 'pop.'

Drawing, WIP?

Okay, I need everyone's opinion on this one. Without a complete redo, how can I put some zing into this rather boring drawing? Contrast is a little stronger than the photo.

Here are the four latest paintings I've done. I'm working on a companion piece for the top one. I'll post it soon.

re:

some quick value and color comps of my challenge piece that i did before getting Tyler's comments. i know this comes across as more of 'safe' composition more than something extremely original and groundbreaking. i'll do some more experimenting with different images to see if i can come up with other solutions.


ALSO:
great to see these guns are still alive!
i'll suggest that when it comes to design, variety is your best friend, so do ALOT of variations. but of course doing 'alot' takes time, so skip the rendering at this point and work on the fundamental silouette, grab a sharpie. it's easy to get caught up in the details and think that they make the item, but a good silhouette with cool details will totally kick-ass!

that being said, i really like these shapes! i would counter Vince and vote for the middle one, as its the most original. but be careful of the overhand handle on top, and its similarity to a wang. i made the same mistake in my designs and didn't catch until much later.

guns

So tonight I just got the urge to dive into some gun concepts. A while back, Geoff and I collaborated a little and he came up with these, which were great.

Sounding off those, I wanted to get some Wild West feel into them. These are quick sketches referenced from an old Colt rifle, and some early Winchesters. On the top two, I literally turned the colt revolver on its head; I like the barrel extending from the bottom.

I'm going to do a more refined drawing once I figure a design out. Which ones coolest?

WIP

I'm doing art challenge for Jon Schindehette's ArtOrder blog doing this illustration of a dude lost in a dungeon. These are 2 variations each on 2 different compositions that I like, switching up the light source and weapon.

Thoughts?

Grandpa's Baby

For those not at the show this was my favorite new piece I think the best watercolor I've done so far. It's only 6x6in. but I learned some new things painting it.