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apox0n ā Shall We Go in a Barrel?
by-nc-nd
Published: 2009-12-27 10:10:30 +0000 UTC; Views: 1301; Favourites: 30; Downloads: 52
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Description
i really never thought i would finish this. i never intended to finish it, when i sketched it. but then i got to thinking that i've never drawn Bahamut without lines like this. i've drawn a lot of his other characters, but never him. and that's just not fair anymore. so i have fixed the problem! ha-ha!also, it's been ages since i did 'real fur,' so that needed fixing, too.
it's based on omg ACTUAL EVENTS, whereupon two furries got the chance to meet each other face to face, after five years of bugging each other back and forth online.
a most epic birthday present indeed.
brownie points to anyone who can figure out where this is supposed to be.
that should give you a hint.
image and Zero (c) myself,
Bahamut belongs to
PS. for those wondering, this is rougly 104 layers. i'm kinda sorta ocd over layers. but it makes fixing things much easier.
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Comments: 29
I enjoyed this piece and loved the facial expressions...you caught the characters' moods extremely well, and Zero grinning as she's speaking really impressed me, the muzzle seemed like it would move naturally had this suddenly become animated. Bahamut's smile is hard to detect given the lighting and shadows, but I can tell it's there, and his eyes are very striking, but that's about all I can really pick out of his face, but more on the shadowing later.
It's good to see them both in shorts and actually enjoying themselves; most of the time from what I've seen and read they're carrying on some sort of fight for survival or otherwise serious effort.
The background detail is very well done, though it seems to be missing something, or it could be the lighting...
Anyhoo, here is the breakdown:
Vision & Originality - I gave you three and a half on both of these because I've seen a lot of illustrations of Niagra Falls, or clones of them...I think if added some height or a slightly different shape to these it would have wowed me a bit more. The originality also ties into this because I'm not sure WHERE this scene is taking place...you give no indication whether Bahamut and Zero are taking a visit to "Our Earth" or if they're in their home dimension...there is no indication of either. I think having added a few details like, perhaps humans gawking at them, or others of their own kind enjoying things as well....or perhaps a couple of silhouettes of some exotic flying creatures may have given this piece more punch. When I'm left to wonder about exactly WHERE they are when a familiar background is used, it takes something away.
Technique - You certainly got your technique down, and the technical quality of your work is there. I can see the texture in the hair and fur of both characters, the folds in their clothes, tarnish on the railing, the clumps of grass beyond the area and so on...keep that up, it works REAL well for you! My biggest nitpick is that it just seems a little too dark, and if you brought up the lighting on Bahamut and Zero a few shades the detailing would have been more pronounced. This is an area you shine in, and I felt I could have given you even more than the 4.0 rating had you gotten the lighting to showcase them better.
Impact - Well, when this illustration first hit my in-box, I thought "hey, pretty!", but it didn't do much more for me beyond that. This is mainly because of the first two scores...the background was recognizable, but that alone can't make as much of an impact as it could have. Again, the addition of some indication to which WORLD they were on would have swayed me to bump this score upward.
OVERALL - 3.5 - This is NOT a bad score, considering that I call a 2.5 "average". You still are very consistent with your character details, and your background is finely-done, but despite it looking like Niagara Falls, it still comes across as a little generic. You got so many pieces down so right, but it's those little details and visual cues that are keeping this illustration from being a "That's a nice piece!", to "OH MY GOD...FAVORITES...NOW!!"
Keep up with your backgrounds and lighting, and keep doing what you're doing with the character details. I think you've got a huge amount of talent and skill, but there are still a few pieces of the overall puzzle that haven't been put into place yet. I've got little doubt that you'll be looking at a completed puzzle over the next few months, and that's something I'm really looking forward to.
Continue on your path, Zero; you're doing a good job. e.deviantart.net/emoticons/s/sā¦ " width="15" height="15" alt="
--Brother Abram
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hmm... i think you're definitly right about the background missing something. i'm not sure what, though, (besides shading, i think it could definitly use more of that). since it's based on what actually happened, i'm reluctant to add something fantastical to the mix. but adding people might be too much for me to handle. (or photoshop, at this point ;_; )
i'm not sure if you've been to Niagara before, but the only way you can get down close to the falls is via the Maid of the Mist, or one of the 'Behind the Falls' tours. the majority of viewing happens above the falls, before they go down, which is why i couldn't add too much height to the horseshoes behind them, without making the bottom of the piece larger, and taking away from the subjects
i'm definitly going to have to darken my screen a bit, though. i work with a rather bright screen, and i've noticed a lot of things i do show up darker to other people because of this.
i'm glad their clothes worked out well ^_^ that was something i was really worried about. i'm usually pretty awful with clothing, so i had to use myself as a model... which... meant lots of running back and forth to a mirror, lol.
thank you very much Brother Abram! as always, i appreciate the thoughtful feedback :3
i shall work ever harder upon improving!
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ZOMG! It's like, in all three of the glorious Ds!
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ASDFGHJKLFSDF-YOUR ABILITY TO GENERATE THIS MUCH DETAIL IS GIVING ME SEIZURES, STOPPIT! D8<
...XD Awesome work.
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:3
thanks Zee!
I'LL TRY NOT TO BE SO AWSOME.
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We could totally see this coming, but you always manage to amaze us with the load of painstaking details you put in! And you so hit the atmosphere, and shading looks really nice!
Is that your RL cloths you have?
- And... nothing's wrong with lots of layers - that's why they are there for. to help and ease!
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lol, thank you!
i like to try (once and a while, lol)
those are indeed my real clothes ^_^ my lucky hoodie and my favorite pair of shorts. i... can't remember what Baha was wearing, though... so... he got stuck with a blend of RL and RP stuff, lol.
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Lookin' really nice, both outfits 
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lol, i think i may have to, at some point. although really it's not that hard 
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Layers are gewwwwd. SO is all the detail, like clothing folds and fur and - everything. And the facial expressions/poses you've painted really make this come alive! The falls add some really nice movement to.
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lol they are! they make life so much easier. :3
thank you! folds are one of my weak-points, i'm glad to know i'm improving on them! and the falls took ages to get right
thank youuuu :3
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Oh, and I see you lightened up the colors, that really does bring out the facial expressions and more of the details.
That's worth about another 1/3 a star overall, now that I can see more of the details...keep up the excellence, my friend...you're doing awesome!
--Brother Abram
"You got two in a row outta me...that's something else..."
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i... i don't think i lightened anything... did i? (Maybe with my mind? o_o)
thank you, though!
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I already knew the background behind this, so I need to excuse myself from making a guess...
Technically, the blue guy is still a candidate for another Coin Hoard...Hmmmmmm....
--Brother Abram
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lol, i'm sure he'd appreciate it.
not that i'm playing favorites or anything
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Ah! Truly beautiful
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thank you! i'm glad you think so ^_^
i... do a lot of dodge and burning. and smudging. there's lots of that, too, lol.
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Sounds like a lot of work...but the way that pic came out it seems totally worth it
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That is simply awesome, if I do say so myself!
You are epic, my dear. I love how this looks, and yes it has been ages since you did any fur, so this is simply epic.
Thank you so much! *CLINGHUG*
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thank you! i did try ^_^ i'm glad it worked out, and i'm glad you like it!
for a while there i wondered if i could even still do proper fur, lol.
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Oh my god this is amazing <3 The water looks so real! It's Niagara Falls isn't it?
Also love how you did the clothing folds and designs and the FUR <3 It looks great~
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BROWNIES FOR SHELA!
:3
thanks! the clothing took me a while to figure out. i had to be my own model for how it folded... which... meant running back and forth to the mirror a lot, lol.
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