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SilverFlameWanderer — Beautiful Hope
Published: 2008-10-15 23:52:20 +0000 UTC; Views: 2603; Favourites: 98; Downloads: 0
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Kiriban prize for *ChrisabellI am so sorry I took so long. Classes have been keeping me busy and I haven't had the length of time to spare to really dedicate myself to working on this. But I love the result.
Here is beautiful Hope strolling through the misty forest in autumn. I like the kind of spooky feel the moon and the mist has on the image. I thoroughly enjoyed this process.
Please give me critique on this--not the character since she's not mine--but the art itself. Style, technique, the water, all that jazz. The water looks better scanned than in real life, and I don't like that. Be polite, but tell me what I can do in the future to do better. And, I know...the shadows don't all match up. Unfortunately that's a result of working on this in patches of 30 minutes over nearly two months.
I also apologize if her coloring is a little off. The colored pencils are shaded a little differently than the digital image.
And I don't know how many times through I listened to Coldplay's beautiful album "Viva la Vida." Spectacularly haunting music.
Hope copyright *Chrisabell
Image copyright Ashley Mutek.
Prisma colored pencils on Bristol board.
October 15, 2008.
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Comments: 55
Aww, you're so sweet. Thank you!
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Thank you! I remember really enjoying working on this piece
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No prob- you have a lot of great stuff
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This is simply amazing, the fog effect and the background is just perfect 
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One thing I see is the gradient in the sky. While the sky is always lighter around the sun (like you portrayed), it is usually even lighter on the horizon, only reaching that deep blue when you are looking straight up. Water is hard to do, I still have tons to learn there! But it seems like the current isn't following the shoreline. It also seems that the water should be fairly smooth, because it looks like a tranquil river to me. And the only other thing that doesn't seem right is where the grass ends and the sky begins. That horizon line is too sharp, I think.
But, enough critiques! You really did a good job with this and I hope you think so too! I love her hair! The shine, the texture, the crimping. It is just gorgeous! She is very beautiful herself. The hair has to be my favorite part of this piece, though. Very nicely done!
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wooooow this is absolutely amazing ._____. !!!!!!!
the mane and tail are ssooo shiny
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It`s awesome. This picture definitely is one of your best drawings, horse looks just gorgeous, and I really like the background.
And if you are asking for critique, only thing that could be different in my opinion is sky. Somehow that blue tone don`t go so well together with the horse and earth tones. But the rest is awesome!
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Wow, it is reallybeautiful an you did the fog very well done, Nice markings as well
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I really love her beautiful mane and tail, but I love her wings the most. They are so unique, the way you combined bat wings with feathers is really neat. Her tail seems to drag the ground at a different level than her back hooves.
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This is pretty!
The hair looks like cotton candy!
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I can't really find anything to critique - it all looks so beautiful! (Her shiny mane and tail have distracted me from finding anything at fault, you see. 
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Haha, thank you love
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Wow, this is really beautiful ^.^ I especially love how you shaded the mane and tail. The whole thing looks so real 
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White colored pencil over a light layer of color
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Awesome, thanks!
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One word for you:
WOW.
Amazing colours and the mane & tail are just... wonderful!
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wow! the mane and tail are... beautiful... O.O
I would darken up the front legs, and make them more contrasting, because its a little hard to see them. Also, her eye shape is funny... more human than horse. Maybe you could darken it around the eye/shape it more. I don't know, it could just be the scan. 
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And maybe add more details to the background... mebbe.
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Wow 
the details and the horse looks so good!! 
Incredible!
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Um...wow!
Gorgeous picture! The colouring is great!
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First of all, this looks simply _amazing_. I'm totally in love with her mane/tail, looks like it must've taken a while to color/shade though >_<
I've read all the comments and I just have some more things to add.
I totally agree with Kate about darkening the bg a little and, adding to that, I think some sharper shadows on the wings(not only on the body) would look good too and some more details on the feathers. I got kind of sad to see all the details on the waves of the mane/tail and on the grass and see the feathers looking so flat comparing to the rest. And you could have made the part where the wing muscle meets the body muscles smoother because it doesn't look quite like the muscles of the wing are attached to the ones in her body.
I'm getting pretty confunsing, I hope you can understand what I mean.
About mixing colors, I actually learned that from you(because of the black coloring).
Lately, I start out by picking up all the colors/shades that I think that can be blended to get a specific one, like with black where using black, blue, purple, white and grey adds more depth and life to the color. So, when I go color Pollux for example, I immediately pick up around 9 different colored pencils to get his chestnut shade of coat(yellow, golden yellow, red, orange, mangenta, reddish brown, brown, light brown and so on). It takes some time to blend all the colors correctly but it pays off in the end.
But anyway, this is getting way too long. I truly LOVE this one, it look simply fantastic Ashley! You did a great work! And don't worry, you're not the only one who's struggling to improve, I haven't been very happy with my works lately...
Well, keep up the awesome work! I know you can get where you want, you have all the skills and will to reach it!
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WHOA-MY-GODDESS!!!! 
She's absolutely freaking PUUUURFECT!! o.o
I love the style you used for her, the shading and even the background. Again, I will faint for you.
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*helps you off of the floor* Haha, this really makes me smile big
I'm so thrilled
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she's beautiful, and I honestly don't really have any criticism for you. I've always admired your talent with colored pencils, it's truly amazing.
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Oh wow. This is what I've been waiting for. I mean, wow!
First of all, superb shading on the mane and tail. They look great. The shading on the mare is great too, but could be a bit stronger in the shadows, since it's a night scene. The mist is perfectly pulled off, especially since it's hard to make things even softer in colored pencils.
The background could be stronger (and darker) to really seal the deal on this picture being set at night. The water could be darker as well, and reflecting alot more of the colors from above.
But wow. I still love the picture. I really can't wait to see more from you, and I haven't gotten that feeling since Elfwood!
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This is what I was hoping to hear. I was afraid to darken it because I liked the brightness, but I completely agree with you on all accounts
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this is really pretty the only thing i see that could improve the image would be where the wing meets the body the joint might look better if it was covered with skin instead of looking more like an insect wing attachment it is very good though i wish i could draww like this i cant draw animals alll that good ;]
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Interesting thought...
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Woah, that's really weird... I started a drawing about two or three weeks ago that has almost the exact same background, only darker
Critique... hmm... I love the mane/tail, they look pretty awesome, with all the waves and shine ^^ Maybe define the joints a little more? Joints are the hardest part to 'make up', lol, I found that out the hard way 
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Haha, that is strange. Great minds think alike
Interesting tip. I really need to work on my shading...seriously...depth is a huge problem for me
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very nice! i love the pose and the character design. great job. how did u draw the mist?
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White over a light layer of color
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Beautiful! I love the colors, and your detail is amazing. The mist is very cool, I love how you achieved that effect.
As far as critique, hmm I can't really think of much to critique. Is she standing on the bank of a stream? If so, maybe that could be a little bit clearer, it looks very similar to the mist. But other than that, I don't really see anything else. Your anatomy is good, the wings are amazing.
Very nice work!
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Thank you, on both counts. I noticed that too. Water is a huge weak point that I need to strengthen. Thanks for enforcing that!
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its very pretty ^^ you've done a great job on the shadows and highlights but the hightlight are slightly to manga like, and not amazingly realistic. Hopes forhead is a bit odd shaped, maybe a bit too flat, but its hard to see. and just to hit you when you're already lying down. i thought the water was fog >___< i was thinking that i should comment on the pretty fog... wooppsss... anyway the wings are amazing (says the idiot who just started drawing wings herself) Just amazing!
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Haha, this makes me smile. Thank you so much. I got that feeling too, but I was afraid of losing too much of the highlights by toning it down. Another point I'll keep in mind. Thanks for the compliments and crit!
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It's lovely! The wings are very nice, and I like being able to see the individual feathers.
Great trees too!
I -really- like how you've done the mane and tail, they look very real!
Definite 
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Thank you so much. I had fun with her mane and tail
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You're very welcome!!
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woah, that is amazing. I love the mood of this, the mist is really cool, and the hair looks gorgeous!
hmmm critique...there's nothing about the composition or anything, but maybe you could use a wider range of colors and blend them, like on her body use more grays and different yellows and such. that's the best I can think of
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I'm starting to get braver with that. I started using a little purple in the ground and in her mane. I wasn't sure about her coat though, but I'm keeping that in mind. I think I used every gray (cool and warm) that I own, lol. But I'll definitely keep those colors in mind. Some of my pencils are sadly very long and unused
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