I’ve started a new personal project to create a series of illustrations based on some of my favorite kid lit books. These are a couple that I have started based on E.B. White’s Stuart Little and Roald Dahl’s The BFG.
Though I’m pleased with my progress so far, I am not entirely happy yet, so I’m looking for feedback from all you artists out there (non-artists are welcome too!). Please send any critiques and suggestions my way. I need your help to make these illustrations stellar.
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Dani, these are beautiful illustrations. I think the reason you’re feeling like they’re not finished is because they both would benefit from a more defined light source/
In the first one, there are minimal shadows. Stuart is adorable and has a lot of detail…while the background is a little sketchier.
In the second, the moon is behind the character and to the left, the light source is coming from the right. I think if you bump up the light source and make it even brighter you might be pleasantly surprised!
All in all though… these are some stellar illustrations. :)
I am having trouble believing the depth of field of the first image. I think that the horizon line might be too high? Other than that, I think it’s a great piece. The character pops off the page and is very rich and nice textures in the foreground.
I really like the night background in the second piece. It is a profile “shot” so the BFG looks flat, but the construction or character development is very nice. I really like the ears and nose and chin. Maybe if the “shot was a 3/4 or maybe a lower angle. That might emphasize his size with the foreshortening that would happen.
Overall: experiment with angles and foreshortening. Your rendering and character design is beautiful.
2 Cents Disclaimer: You are much more accomplished than me and your skills completely stuff mine. Your work is very rich.
take care! :)
Greatstuff Dani,especially knowing that you plan on taking them even further.
I agree with Renee’s comments about the Stuart Little background and add that the BFG could use another element to establish scale. I become confused whether the girl is small or he is large- maybe something under him.
I look forward to seeing these again- they are magical stories aren’t they!
Thanks for the post and being willing to share.
For me, the BFG’s proportions don’t seem very gigantic. He looks like a normal sized old man carrying a doll or very tiny person in the bag. I would try playing around with his shapes — smaller head, broader shoulders, larger/longer hands?
You could also use a lower point of view for the perspective. Like you’re on the ground looking up at the BFG instead of looking at him straight on. He would seem to tower and you would have the opportunity to focus more on the child’s expression. OR you could be looking down from above which then you could add surrounding items on the ground level which would give a frame of reference to compare the size of the BFG to.
As for Stuart, he looks great. The background seems a little thin when compared to his solidness. I think you could use lighting and some color shifting to help create more depth in the background. Also… the grass further away is larger than the grass in front. I would somehow differentiate them to look like shrubbery or add some long grass along the sides in the foreground.
The colors, textures and line quality in both of these are great :)
I really like the stuart little piece. I’m a big fan of really tight characters in the foreground and a really simple “messy” background. I don’t actually do it myself, but I’m starting to.
Anyways, I think that the BFG could use some work. The profile running shot is kinda boring. It’s not very dynamic. But, you don’t have to be dynamic for everything. Another thing that seems weird is that it looks more like the girl is small instead of the guy looking big. I really don’t know why though. Maybe because there’s no reference as to how big the giant is. Maybe if he was stepping over some houses or something to show the viewer that he’s a giant. Am I making sense? Sometimes I ramble on and on and make no sense. Anyways, that’s my two cents. Other than that, they’re looking really good. I’ve been a fan of your work for a couple of years now. Keep up the good work.
Thanks! Keep the feedback coming guys. There is definitely stuff in every one of these comments that I will use. All of you are awesome.
FYI – Neither of these illustrations are done, especially Stuart which I started just yesterday. That is why parts of the illustrations, like the background, are still sketchy.
I think they’re good. If I were to say anything as far as critiques go, I would say make Stuart look a little less like he does in the movie, but that’s just me. I get influence from movies myself… Just a thought. Nice work!
Saw this and thought of you with regards the BFG pic. Scroll down a bit on this page: http://www.shanedevries.com/search?updated-max=2008-07-03T15%3A59%3A00-07%3A00&max-results=20
Hi Dani! I’ve been following your blog for quite some time now, and I can’t tell you how much your tutorials and general insight on your growth as an illustrator has inspired me and helped me put things into perspective. It really helps emerging artists like myself. So thank you so much for sharing with all of us.
Now, onto the illustrations…”The BFG” is probably one of my favorite stories ever. It’s hard to interpret something like that in your own way, when people equate Roald Dahl’s stories to Quentin Blake’s illustrations. So I love what you did here. But I agree with those who said that there should be some sort of perspective buildings or something in the background to illustrate the size of the BFG. As for Stuart Little…well, I kinda like it the way it is, other than scattering a few minor details and shadows here and there :-). I hope this helps. Once again, thank you for every thing you do!
Hi Dani,
I’ve really valued all the helpful tutorials you’ve given us and greatly love the style of the art you share.
Stuart Little’s outfit is absolutely adorable and I love the color choices. However, I keep feeling like the image needs more action. . .perhaps interacting with another character in the book or running towards something?
The BFG’s facial expression is great. . gives a lot of emotion. I’d change the color of the little girl so that she pops more. She currently doesn’t pop as much.. maybe use some of that light magenta you have in the BFG’s hair?
Hope that helps!