Can I get your opinion on the Pale Lord image I just finished for EN WORLD?

[feeb]

Hi everyone.

I know I created a username here before, but either the new re-do means I had to re-register, or I've simply forgotten the other username... in either case, I'd like to thank those who responded to my last post, and I'm here again to get similar feedback on a new image.

The description & outline of the Pale Lord is here.

And here is my visual interpretation:

I'd greatly appreciate feedback. At Robert R.'s suggestion, I put it to you here to provide the input, as it's your opinions that truly matter. Thanks in advance. I'll check back often to see what the reactions are.

PS: I'll post this in another thread, but since this one gets the traffic, I thought both threads would be a good idea.... (daemonforge thread...?)

 

[kenjib]

I love it! The grain of the picture is fantastic and I love the glowing spirits that fade into the fog. The only thing I wonder is how this archetype fits in with the description. When I read it I imagined someone a bit more bold and not as skulking. However, the picture is really great so I wouldn't worry about it. It's really very evocative and I like how he's shielding the child spirit. It seems like he's standing in front of a great host of spirits. I also get the impression that he's good and bad at the same time, and there does almost seem to be a kind of underlying dual aspect to him in the description (he represents both sanctuary and death).

 

[RangerWickett]

This is a great interpretation of him as the leader of the spiritual warrior hosts of Skaukator, and for that, I thank you. However, I hope some day we get a chance to portray him also in his role of uplifter of the living. He does not just guard the dead, but he encourages the living to make best use of their limited time.

It's amazing how you managed to have his sadness come across even though his face is obscured. Great picture.

By the way, I've been writing the Pale Lord in my DF fiction, so this is quite a boon for me.

 

[Teflon Billy]

Phenomenally good

I would like to see more from your portfolio

 

[Aitch Eye]

That is really, really, really just so very nice. Really. It's great that Daemonforge is getting pieces of this quality.

It manages to get the clashing moods and aspects of the character and place in the same image. Looking at it, I can sort of make the Pale Lord flick back and forth from seeming very human to very inhuman, and the tenderness pushes away the creepiness of the figure in the lower right. It's not just weird and otherworldly, but gets across the emotional content of the story.

It also makes the character seem (and I'm not putting this very well) completely one with his place in the Daemonforge universe. It's important that the Patrons seem like the embodiment of something deep rather than just characters playing a role.

I like this a lot, and set it as wallpaper (which might make take my wife aback tomorrow morning). Thanks.

 

[The Burned Man]

hah, here it was. I started a thread of my own completely unneccassary...

Great to see that everybody likes it.

 

[Upper_Krust]

Excellent!

I liked it in the other thread and I like it here just as much!

Can I ask:

- What medium is it? (airbrush?)
- How long did it take you to do?
- Where can we see other examples of your work?

Keep up the good work!

 

[Tanager]

Very nice!

Nice contrasts between the sharp edges of the face and dagger with the softer contours of the cloak. I'm not so sure about the spirit on the lower right, something bothers me about it, maybe the direction of it's gaze or perhaps it's lack of grounding the depth of field (is it meant to be touching the figure? Is his hand meant to be on his shoulder?).

But otherwise excellent!

 

[Horacio]

It's spooky, it's scary, it's shadowy, and it's very well drawn...

I love it!

 

[Fenros]

Well done.

This is a very nice piece of artwork my friend. Well done. Your composition matches very well with the discription behind the Pale Lord.


Reminds me a little of the Spectre from DC Comics. But that's a good thing. We don't see much of him, lower half of his face, his left hand, but what we do see in nicely drawn and rendered.

The only weak spot I can think of is with the spirit of the child. His hand up against the Pale Lord is a bit odd. I think this is mostly because you don't really see what his hand is up against. Of course we assume its the leg, but the visual confirmation isn't there and that's why the brain maybe thinks its kinda odd. In addition it could also be because the Pale Rider does seem to adhere to the physics of lighting, but the light of the child's spirit doesn't illuninate the area he is huddled up against.

To me though, that's no big deal, who can say how the light of one ethereal being effects another right? Personally, I'd have had the kid's hand (looks like his left hand) to not be up against the Pale Rider like that. Maybe instead have the kids hand up near his face with the back of the knuckles just about to cover his mouth . . . like he sees an evil spirit in which the Pale Lord is guarding him from. But if you still go with the hand against the Pale Lord thing, I'd go with the back of the hand facing the viewer with the shapes of the fingers seen individually instead of the palm foward sideview.

Another tiny itsy bitsy criticism that I have is definitely more from personal taste. It concerns the child spirit's shape. Now, you've gone for the bright illumination that obscures surface detail...and that's fine. But I would've liked to have seen some indications that mirror his previous physical form. Things like hair. The shape of the kid's hair would've been nice to see. I would've even gone so far to indicate some clothes even. Like something he must've been wearing before he passed away.

All in all fantastic job. Looks great. And yeah, I'd love to see more.