Yellow SubmUIRine (09/06/2004)

[B]

Might as well continue ripping off Beatles (or ex-Beatles') song titles for these...

Mc19-codigo Xii by Marzo Comics
Good piece. I like your art style, and your work is definitely better in colour. You should really have just submitted this rather than all the individual pics, as others have mentioned. Can't add anything to the comments on the individual pencils. The colour's a bit flat, more shading would be nice.

Bathype 2 by KAZ
Again, a great piece. Really nice design, gorgeous armour. Nice drawing as well, I like your style. The knees seem realy small.

Hulk Vs Thing Movie by Mshadow1023
Nice collage. Cool layout.

Superbrooke by cmeza
Art notes please. Good costuming, nice colours, good work on the cape and skirt. But I don't know what you actually did...

Doc Strange Movie by TheDoctorIsIn
Welcome to the DCG! Pretty good debut. Well Frankensteined, for the most part. Depp's head seems rather too big, and it's position is odd. Lighting is all over the place. Cool background.

On Patrol by mr e
Good clean-up and collage. Spidey seems a bit too bright.

Old Robin Hood by hellzzyum
Nice drawing, nice colouring. I like your art style as well. (After all, I've been saying that to everyone today!) Great background, very nice and moody. The skin seems a bit too yellow.

Dazzler by sensor girl
Cool. Nice, simple piece. The hair looks good, and that's some nice power effects. I'd have masked out some of the interference circles caused by the lens flare, it gets distracting in spots.

Genisis: Lois Lane by Juvenilemike
Another fine piece. Maybe its just me though... but her head looks kinda small. It's positioning is also odd. The neck just looks weird, not sure exactly why. And the skin tone's between face and hands don't match. Costuming's nice. It's cool to see more "normal" costuming rather than the usual Superheroey stuff. The shirt's well done, though you're right about the colour. I'll believe you when you say that's the compression, though. The colour of the skirt is nice, though. Oh, and one more thing, that I forgot last time... it's "genEsis."

Gotham Magazine by trekkie
Nie drawing, a good departure for you. Experimentation is always good (he soapboxed). He seems kinda chubby, though. And his expression is incredibly goofy.

Supergirl by Superman20
Nice piece, as always. The neck area looks weird, I think there should be more shadow cast on it. The right (screen left) hand looks a bit stubby. And as usual, I'm not sure I like the huge difference between the hard ink lines of the costume and the softer pencils of the face and hands.

Anniversary by B
I'll freely admit I really like this one. And I also really like Adam's choice of thumbnail pic.

Polarized by digitized
Nice piece. Great colours, and the latexy texture is well done. You point out what would have been my main nitpicks, the lack of details in the costuming. You could also add seams to that list. Another thing: the hair's (a) too bright, it needs more shadows and (b) kind of blurry, especially around the edges. She needs to have more free-floating strands around rather than just slightly blurry edges. It'd look more realistic.

Re:2 Submission by SaLty wALLy thE BayDAFisH
Decent movie poster. Cool logo. The layout's nice, though I'd have found a pose for the character on the right (whoever she is) that matches Milla's. Easier said than done, no doubt, but that's what photo manipulation is for... Honestly, I think you could have benefited from spending more time on this.

Spider-man 2 by Carlo De Amicis
Very nice work. Great post-production in Photoshop, my hats off. The colouring job is great, very nice shading. He seems a bit too bright though, I'd have laid in more shadows. Also, the left (screen right) arm is way too short, and not just because of the perspective.

Black Widow by Nom De Plume
Good piece, particularly nice belt. Thanks for the Art Notes! You mention most of the points I'd have brought up.

[dperceful]

selected uir

marzo comics: is it just me or is marzo comics captain bolivia with an alternate name? sorry if it's not. i agree with b, just submit the finished product if you have a colored version why double up the gallery space with basically another version.

bathype: very cool. i like the armored look.

lois lane: first off, great typeface font....excellent choice. a lot of people would have just slapped down some arial or times new roman...you got a type face...nice roots to the character being a reporter...before the days of word processing. i love the semi trans top...very lois. selma is a good casting choice. with all of that said, is she wearing a dress or pants? the reason i ask is that it appears to me that she is very wide in proportion to her upper half. if it's a skirt, and her legs are somewhat open...well that would explain it. it also could just be that bit of white where the text lies that i giving off the effect. i like the hair....my thing with it is that her hair has a slight red tint to it...the hair behind her head doesn't have that same look to me. the hair looks good, maybe just a coloring issue, or it could be me. nice work...can't wait to see the rest of the series...i liked this one better than the perry white from the other day.

anniversary: my favorite pic of the day. i hate re-critiquing your work....you know what i liked and what i didn't before, but with that said you still get a uir. i like the moon...a perfect addition to any batman piece. the jason todd touch is nice, i think doing pieces like this, or like welshcats or bill t's, it's those little dc or marvel universe touches that we really geek out on, i know i do. essex challenged you to do a dark piece, and you succeeded...i still would have like to seen some more dynamic lighting from the moon and other sources (just because you do it very well imo)but i understand the somber look your going for here. other than the cowl ears being a little short for my taste, i think bats looks fine. you could have thrown in some bats in the distance for a batman touch, but it's not needed. the rain effect works, except for the lack of water bouncing off headstones, you seem to have the reflected water effect on bats and the awning over his parents grave. anyway...good work, your really cranking out some nice work.

polarized: i agree with your own art notes. take the time and try the little things...they really spice up the image. on the hair, be careful on using whatever tool you used, the green has washed out into a yellowish color in spots. still....nice work, good signs of improvement from your prior piece.

dan

[Shaylinn]

Mc19-codigo Xii by Marzo Comics – Nice colored piece. Even for this style the colors are a bit too flat though. Maybe a bit more of a cell type (I think that is the term) shading and personally I think the pure white edges on the black are a bit jarring. Maybe using a bit more gray shade would help.

Bathype 2 by KAZ – I really like the armor style look on this and the shoulder/cape area is really cool. I do have to agree with B about the knees though, especially the screen left one.

Hulk Vs Thing Movie by Mshadow1023 – Nice simple layout and gets the point across very well. The texture on “ate Battle” makes it a bit hard to read and at first glance the patterning on “THING” seems a bit more jungle print rather than rocky.

Superbrooke by cmeza – Lack of art notes makes this very hard to critique…. Guessing you did a recolor costuming job… The blues of the costume look very flat and lacking in depth its still pretty obviously a nude/seminude recolor. Some more contrast work would help with that. And the folds on the skirt are defying gravity but the cape is pretty well done.

Doc Strange Movie by TheDoctorIsIn –Decent first submission. I like the surrealistic background, very appropriate to Dr. Strange. But it would really help if you put a bit more information in your art notes detailing what you have done. From what I can tell its Neo’s body with Johnny’s head and added lightning effects. Johnny’s head seems a bit off in angle, size and lighting from the rest of this image. It would probably have worked better a bit smaller and flipped so that he is looking the other direction to more closely match the position of the original (Neo) head. Welcome to the DCG.

On Patrol by mr e – Nice collage of the images. The one thing that jumps out at me on this one is the blur effect. I understand what you were going for but with the screen left arm being totally crisp while the screen right is completely blurred it seems a bit off. Maybe a bit more blur on the one and a bit less on the other would still preserve the illusion of motion without standing out so much.

Old Robin Hood by hellzzyum – Nice drawing and coloring job. I really like the gritty style but as B mentioned the skin tone seems a bit wonky… to me it is a bit too orangey.

Dazzler by sensor girl – One of the few times lens flares actually work. A bit more info on what you did would be appreciated – Did you just add the flares or work on the original image at all as well? Either way it looks nice but like B mentioned you might want to consider removing some of the reflections from the flares as they tend to distract.

Genisis: Lois Lane by Juvenilemike – Really sweet piece and I love the style of her outfit. I think the skirt/pants are actually falling a bit low on her hips for a professional look but that could just be me. I really look forward to seeing the rest of this series.

Gotham Magazine by trekkie – Very cool effect and a nice image. His cheeks seem a hair chubby but a very cool piece.

Supergirl by Superman20 – Nice drawing I really like the hair on this piece. As B mentioned there the screen left hand looks a bit short and there is something a bit off about the angle that the screen left shoulder is making headed into the hair.

Anniversary by B – I’ll have to come back to this one. I can’t adjust the contrast on this monitor and its displaying extremely dark so I’ll have to wait until I get home….

Polarized by digitized – Nice piece and no real critiques beyond those in your own notes and offered by Dan and B.

Re:2 Submission by SaLty wALLy thE BayDAFisH – Nice movie style poster. I would maybe have suggested either brightening Milla and her companion or darkening down the glow on the mob scene below them. The eye is drawn first to the brightness of the street light and not to Milla and Co.

Spider-man 2 by Carlo De Amicis – Really gorgeous digital coloring on this but the screen right arm looks as if it is missing the entire forearm… I’m not sure if that is because of the foreshortening or the arm position.

Black Widow by Nom De Plume – Same comments as the previous version and thanks for the explaination on the difference in the gauntlets.

[B]

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by dperceful:
anniversary: my favorite pic of the day. i hate re-critiquing your work....you know what i liked and what i didn't before, but with that said you still get a uir. i like the moon...a perfect addition to any batman piece. the jason todd touch is nice, i think doing pieces like this, or like welshcats or bill t's, it's those little dc or marvel universe touches that we really geek out on, i know i do. essex challenged you to do a dark piece, and you succeeded...i still would have like to seen some more dynamic lighting from the moon and other sources (just because you do it very well imo)but i understand the somber look your going for here. other than the cowl ears being a little short for my taste, i think bats looks fine. you could have thrown in some bats in the distance for a batman touch, but it's not needed. the rain effect works, except for the lack of water bouncing off headstones, you seem to have the reflected water effect on bats and the awning over his parents grave. anyway...good work, your really cranking out some nice work.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Thanks, Dan. I hope to continue cranking out nice work for the foreseeable future. http://www.comics2film.com/UBB/smile.gif

It's also an honour to be mentioned in the same breath as Welshy and Bill, I must say.

re: the moon: as you say, I was going for a particular look. I did add a bit of a glow around the moon, but looking at it now, even I can barely tell it's there. I also did consider doing more with the lighting, but when I tried, I found it just hurt the effect in my eyes.

re: the rain: Again, thanks. I should indeed have had some reflecting off the headstones, shouldn't I? It's weird how you remember to add something to an effect in some parts of an image (as you noted), but forget to in others... http://www.comics2film.com/UBB/tongue.gif

[Shaylinn]

Well I made a promise and I always try to keep a promise so...

Anniversary by B -- This is a truly gorgeous piece. You managed the challenge you were given beautifully. I think the rain effect came out great. And the overall atmosphere is perfect for the scene. I loved the subtle touches like the Jason Todd headstone.

[B]

Aw, shucks. Thanks, Shay. I'm glad you liked it. The credit where credit's due department asks me to mention that the tombstone for Jason was Dan's idea.

As an aside, I actually got fan-mail for this piece! That's so cool... not something I've gotten much of.

[Juvenilemike]

Okay, I finally finish my exams tommorrow so expect a huge in depth Uir and resplies to those that have Uir'ed me Friday night. I would like to say thanks though. I'm really proud of this series, and considering the approval I've had and the fact that the best is yet to come I'm so pleased. So thanks guys.

Mike

[Juvenilemike]

Okay, a bit later than I promised, but here I am all the same.

MC19-Codigo XII
by Marzo Comics
I agree with the others that this should have been the sole upload. Possibly with the pencils only version after. It not only clogs up the dcg but it detracts from the impact of your picture. The block colours work well for the style you're going for, although maybe some light shading would help. Also the white edges on the black jackets don't sit 100% with me, but I might just be tired. :0

BatHype 2
by KAZ
Looks good, the leg behind the shin guards is a nice touch. Although I didn't pick up on it immediatly the knees do stick out as being noticablly small. I'm still not sure if I like the concept (not a big fan of the mecha-batman) but the execution is great.

Hulk vs Thing Movie
by Mshadow1023
Come on, you could have done a lot more work on this. Definatly a step back from Hydro-boy. For a start, although the eyes line up the noses are almost miles apart, breaking the idea of the symetrical image apart from the outset. The 'thing' texture looks more like a leopard print than bricks. You could ave spent a little more time and made this a lot better. A dream of yours deserves more surely? So how could you improve it? Manip either hulk or the thing (or both) to match them up better. Find some way of framing their faces rather than just the slow fade. Either that or use a border on the poster. Use a simple font that can be seen from a distance. Maybe two fonts, but no more. You wan the changes to be startling and exciting. If you look at any poster there's rarely more than two fonts in use. There's more but that's enough to start you I'm sure. I don't mean to sound angry, I'm just a little disappointed, you're better than that.


superbrooke
by cmeza
Again no art notes?!?! The costuming is good, although the pleats on the skirt seem a bit artificial. The cape is really well done, I always have trouble with capes, and I'd love to hear how you did it. Adding a shine to the costume would distance it from the recoloured look,as well as adding some shadows to the cuffs.

Doc Strange Movie
by TheDoctorIsIn
Welcome to the DCG. That's one weird picture you got there. Might I suggest for your next one, you try something a bit easier. Maybe a just a costumed casting choice. As it is, there's quite a few problems with the picture, but you've clearly got a strong view on what you want the film to be like, so why not take your time and make one (easier but) good picture. Rather than a complex one that doens't work as well as it could once you've improved your skills.

on patrol
by mr e
The blur is a good touch, and a strong step towards bringing spidey into the background. Unfortunatly the bright highlights on spidy don't match the moonlight which is why he doesn't quite fit. You can get round this by using an ambient light, like sunlight or lots of distant lamps, and turning the flash off.

Old Robin Hood
by hellzzyum
It's great pencil sketch, although the inking seems to have overshadowed (*!pun!*) the character. If you go to www.agent44.com (http://www.agent44.com) he goes through his process which might help in getting those shadings to match the colours and blend a bit better. It's still a really cool picture though, with lots of style and grit.

Dazzler
by sensor girl
The makeup on this is amazing. The hair too. Did you make the bracelet as well? If so, it looks a little as though it was made via a filter, which is fine. However if you want to blend it a little more continue the lighting where it bends around the wrist. It could just be a weird effect of the light though. Lens flare works real well, with this pose, and the background brings it together.

Lois lane
by Juvenilemike
C'est moi! Okay so a few points were raised and they're all right http://www.comics2film.com/UBB/wink.gif

B: Genesis!!! Fortunatly I just double checked, and I've got it right on the finale (should be up tommorrow). The peice was made from a body and head. The head is a little small, but not much. I think the reason it looks small is because of the "weird" neck. I should have shadowed our left hand side of her neck more. That's why it looks off. Darn! Actually I think its also because the shirt isn't symetrical (on purpose). So thanks for pointing that out. The hands too. Doh! I guess I just forgot to keep them up to date. Maybe she drives with her hands out of the car window?

Thanks for the kind comments about the font dp. I spent a while searching (www.1001fonts.com). The *skirt* is right. It was originally white hot pants. Mandy Moore (oragne backgrounded base pict) had one knee locked out and was sorta sticking her hips out. The hair is a combination of me not fully recolouring it, but is mostly due to the fact that it's really thin and thus the colour from her skin is picked up more. Kinda like when you wear a mesh top and the skintones show through.

Shaylinn: The skirt is pretty low, but not super low. Okay..it's like a millimeter above super low http://www.comics2film.com/UBB/smile.gif. Basically I wanted Lois to be sexy but in control, and not in a slutty way. She's wholesome, but knows that s pretty girl can get more tips than well... a geeky photocorrespondant (right jimmy http://www.comics2film.com/UBB/wink.gif)

Thanks all for the support. I'm glad you all like it, and hope you enjoy the finale up tommorrow I think.

Gotham Magazine
by trekkie
It's nice to try a new effect, but here I don't think it really works. Mainly because without the text there's no way I'd of thought that was Bruce. His neck blends into his jaw making him seem fat. Especially around the ear. I agree with others that his expression is kind of goofy too. The idea is cool, and I'd love to see it done with a photo, but here I think it just doesn't carry.


Supergirl
by Superman20
I don't have time (or motivation) to review pictures where the artist won't give any notes just now.

Anniversary
by B
Okay I know you want to improve, so please don't be offended. It's a good strong peice, and a definite response to Essex's challenge. The concept is great, and often done, providing mood in abundance. I think that the 3d render elements stand out waay too much though. You want batman to be the focus, his pain, his loss, his battle. Instead (for me) the first thing I noticed was the tombstone behind with the strange point. The marble effect looks more like water, and it just distracts from the rest. As for the Waynes' stone, the sharp edges are a little too sharp. Add some random lighting (via photoshop dodge et burn) to make it seem more photorealistic. I'd also get rid of the 3d stuff in the background. Add an overhead light of some sort, and then have the rest of the graveyard in shadow. Empathsize his lonliness. Only him and his parents know the real bruce wanye. It's only with them that he can let down his defences. The rain looks good, especially the bounce of the fence (nice touch) I think having some seriously blurred close up rain would help too. So just supersize one of the rain layers and then blur (guassian) it more and lower the transparency a little.

As for batman himself, I can't quite make out much of him, so it's hard to tell what was intentioned. But that's not a problem in itself. From what I can see his head looks a little too rounded, too much like the current batgirl. His head should maybe be a little more square (especially his jaw). The cape is perfect though, congrats.

So overall, it's good. Its very good. But I think you attempted to show that you could do everything the scene needed, but it wasn't required. I have a definite aversion to 3d work, so any elements that I see in 3d work that I like have usually gone through a lot of post render work. In order that you minimize that try and think your way through the picture.

Okay i've gotta take a rest. I'll come on and try some more tommorow.

Mike

[B]

Whoa. now that's a UIR... Thanks a lot for the comments, Mike. Don't worry, I don't get offended by critiques, even when I disagree with them (and I do to a degree in this case). I know they're just intended as helpful advice, and I'm cool with that.

The main problem you seem to have with the piece is the overall composition and concept rather than any specific problems. Alas, I rather like the composition. I didn't actually want Batman to be the focus of the piece; I wanted the Waynes' grave to be the focus, because the piece is more about them than about him. Batman is (intentionally) in virtual silhoutte. The audience isn't supposed to see what he's feeling. And how could we understand? No one can! It's the ultimate private moment -- just him and his parents, and no one else. Not even the audience. The audience is as much an outsider here as anyone else would be. Maybe it would've been better to make it more personal, to show more of his emotions and his pain, I dunno. But that's the concept I came up with and which I was trying to achieve. And I stand by it. If I was aiming to show Batman's feelings, you'd be able to see his face.

I agree with most of your specific criticisms though... the oversharp edges, Bats' head, the need to add more rain at the front. I'm quite happy with the marble texture though. And I must admit that the first thing I notice when I look at the piece (though I'm obviously far from being the best judge!) is the Waynes' grave, which is as it should be.

I probably should have done more post-production, you're right there. Certainly, darkened the background of the pic and brightened the grave and Bats. There has to be something in the background though, simply because there would be. I do think it's too bright though.

Again though, thanks a lot for the comments. I have mentioned before that I need to start bouncing stuff off you in advance, haven't I...? Shame I never got around to doing so. What's your email?

[Juvenilemike]

Juvenilemike hat hotmail dot com

Okay, well with a bit more perspective on the picture. I can see what you were going for, both my idea and yours were variations on the same theme, but you're right in that they thus require sublty different executions. There's a few more things you could think about then, to further the theme. IF you raised the grave more, it would echo the pedastal theme (the way that all children worship their parents). Also, you might want to think about having a tree in the extreme foreground with just a branch cutting across bat's head. It would have to be uber-blurred, but might save teh work on him, and reinforce the focus point of the grave. I hope you didn't think I was putting you down man, it's all about levels and relativity. How good your current pic is to what's expected of you. And a lot's expected of you http://www.comics2film.com/UBB/wink.gif

Mike

[B]

Well, you did refer to it as a "good strong piece", so I sort of figured you weren't putting me down. http://www.comics2film.com/UBB/smile.gif I know that the better the artist, the more critically one should look at their work. I know I nitpick a lot more with pieces by the Welshcats and Marrows of the world than I do for many others. And I guess I probably am somewhere in the Top 15-20 artists on the site... (He said modestly. http://www.comics2film.com/UBB/wink.gif An artist I respect tremendously actually says Top 10, but I'm not sure I agree.) So I guess a lot is expected of me. And I certainly hope to live up to that!

re: your further comments, I like the idea of raising the grave more, wish I'd thought of it myself. The pedestal theme is very much something I was going for, though more subconsciously than intentionally -- I didn't really think about it per se, but as soon as you mentioned it, I was thinking "yup, bingo!" A foreground tree is also a good idea. I'm not covering up Bats' head though, I want that oh-so distinctive silhoutte in the piece.

Oh, and thanks for the email! I'll see about sending you a preview of the next thing I have enqueued...

[This message has been edited by B (edited 06-13-2004).]