Cian006 (Focalor)
Bio-
At first, when I was reading through the bio I was struggling with understanding what the artist was trying to get across. I knew the character was female, but there was also talk of a male form. The quickest and easiest way to clear all this up was to put the History First. Once I had an understanding of what the character was about, I smiled. It is a great idea with originality. The artist even went to the lengths of describing the homunculi's inner workings. I can tell there was a lot of thought put into this characters background and history.
The only real problem I found, was that I had to struggle to find where the concept of 'wayward demon' came in. I found some reference in Focalor's personality description, but I kind of felt it wasn't solid. The character is evil, no question about it, but there was little reference to her doing 'good' other than the sentence 'She is rather empathic to others (has a soft spot for cute furry things).'I think if Cian worked this concept some more into the History portion, illustrating her empathy, it would help round her out into what I was looking for.
Sketches-
I love that back shot with the tattoo...yum...But in more seriousness, the character is well illustrated here, and the sketches do their purpose in helping to illustrate what couldn't be described in words or in the final version.
Finished-
I like this in black and white. There are just things you can't accomplish with color when playing with lighting and values such as here. I'm not sure if it is the artist's intent or not, but he seems a little blurry, and with a little more defining lines, he could stand out more boldly. The background seems a little bland, and I believe if the window or bar that is right behind him was positioned more to the left it would help balance him. At the moment the piece feels like it is right heavy. I have to give kudos for the pose. I know from experience that doing arms stretched up over the characters head is rather difficult. Cian also did I nice job in the depth and side angle of the body as well, even with so little in the picture to work with. I love his lips too…those are nice yummy and kissable.
Serkeruiz (Raufeir)
Bio-
Short and to the point, but it really only covered some brief history. It felt more like bullet points. Despite that, Serkeruiz does touch the 'wayward Demon’ in the description rather well, and I found myself liking the maimed demon...I really wish I could know more about him in detail.
Sketches-
Ah well the first thing I couldn't help but notice was he was missing his manly parts x_x I don't know if this was on purpose, self censoring, or if that scar that is running across his groin and inner thigh is the result of the maiming. I think this could be cleared up if Serkeruiz put this information in the Bio.
Finished-
Mmmm ,pale skin on a black back ground. My favorite in this finished piece is his hair. It's just so...short in the back, and looks like it's the cool fuzzy kind that I so love to touch, mixed in with the messy longer bangs in the front...The best of both worlds. The limited hues of reds and blues is a nice strong contrast, particularly the blue of the clothed arm sling. Great color choice on the artist's part. The tattoo on his legs is marvelous; I almost wish I could see more of it....niiiice work on the melted hand, it came out realistic and believable. The only thing that I would try to fix is the arm sling, it should sling over his shoulder, than behind his back and come out again near his elbow. You should be able to see both of his shoulders.
Demona (Malick)
Bio-
How doesn’t like an angel that is hell bent on, well, creating hell on earth? Demona’s character Malick, reminded me a lot of the angel Michael from Angel sanctuary. Foul mouthed, loose cannon and a trouble maker that does things just to test people patients. The high light of his character though is the tad bit about his halo. A wonderfully original idea I might have to test out my self.
Sketches-
N/A (which is sad ‘cause it’s a really good character)
Final-
When I first looked at this piece I was drawn to the wings. I liked the solid shape of them, and how they match his green hair. The halo, I wasn’t to positive what it was about till after I read of the Bio…and I realized that would be a hard feature to draw., it might have worked a little better if it was made to look more 3d. I believe this can be achieved if the two side gaps in the halo were filled in with a darker brown. Not a 100% positive though. I liked the opacity of the curtain or sheer fabric. The circles in the background are pretty neat as well, a brush?
Bard (Asyem)
Bio-
Bard had a poem to go with his character, and I think it really helped for me to get an idea about the character. The best line in the whole poem is the final line “Learning that he was living . . . The Clockwork Eternity. “ A made a big Oooo sound at that line. I’m not too positive how the “bad angel” comes in, because it seems that Asyem is charged of crimes he never actually commits…so in a sense he could be considered –bad- by other’s. I think adding in the tid bit that he is reincarnated after each death might clear up some confusion…and a reason as to why Asyem is being cursed to this death each and every time, that is…if the gods were trying to punish the humans for not believing in them any more? I got the feeling that it was left to interpretation, and I think it’s a wonderful idea that could be broadened and worked on into something more solid with more time. I love the character, I’d like to see more of him <3
Sketches-
I was drawn to the idea that his hair draws in light, and as much as I dislike the color purple, I love it as an eye color. Nice simple sketch illustrating the color, and scars.
Final-
Bard is such a budding artist, he’s one of those people that I love to watch grow. Each new piece that he comes out with shows new promise. It’s exciting to watch him ^^…this one is no exception. I know from experience how hard painting in black and white is on the computer, and he did a wonderful job of not letting it get that ‘blurry’ effect of using the smudge tool to much. Asyem’s calm expression is chilling, and you can –see- him remembering everything from his past lives. I kind of get lost in the section where the arm and the tree meet. I can’t tell the depth, I think moving Asyem over to the left so that the tree is more behind him would clear this up. I think it would also really help to create some more darker values and with brighter ones as well to create some more powerful contrast to match the mood of the painting. ..That could easily be fixed in Photoshop with the Levels feature or the Curves….Mnnn and one other thing I really like are the textures of the surfaces.
Veilchen (Ulrich)
Bio-
First thing I noticed was that there was troubles with the English and maybe some translations difficulties x_x, but I cut Veilchen some slack, because despite the few mistakes that made it fuzzy to understand, it was actually really good as a whole. The past section was described in a story fashion rather than Veilchen just telling me about it, which I really like as well. Made it seem more alive.
Sketches-
I liked how Veilchen showed the before and after he fell drawings. Beautiful long graceful hair, neat angel’s uniform…because angels in a uniforms are HOT…and who doesn’t love an angel that turns evil and gets all kinds of nifty scares and burn marks? double hotness. I also like the fact that there is a simple color chart placed on the sketches or near them. Really helpful.
Final-
Wonderful portrayal of the fallen angel. Evil and menacing looking even with a stoic face. He has an air around him that screams ‘Don’t take another step.’ There’s wonderful brush work on the hair, scars and surprisingly his buttons and the metal work. The only thing that really bothers me is that the clothing of his jacket doesn’t seem to fit and fold properly onto his body frame. I actually like the muted colors, it works with him well to fit the atmosphere. The back ground on the other hand seems forced, like artist wasn’t sure what they wanted. I would actually suggest giving him a darker background of deep reds almost black. Not completely though, jut enough to make his lighter skin pop out more and bring more focus onto him, so his hair doesn’t seem to blend in with the trees. Great character.
oo4 (Xlaire)
Bio-
The bio was put together well. I had no problems with reading through the information and clearly understanding it (after oo4 got ride of the html coding >>). It bordered on the sappy side with a hint of emo, but oo4 character Xlaire meet the idea of the contest nicely. The best part is actually in the notes where oo4 describes where Xlaire’s name came from. I’ve always had a soft spot for taking my time and researching into names for any of my own characters, and it was interesting to hear some one else’s conclusions and reasons behind picking a certain name.
Sketches-
I know this might sound weird, but I found more interest in the sketch page than the final drawing. It’s nicely designed, outlined nicely, and highlights the characters main features. The cut and paste look of a home made scrap book is a nice touch. Color chart included. The only thing that I would like to see worked on, is the last full body drawing of the clothing. All the other ones are full color and the full body seems to get lost in the back ground. Simply working on the line work making the lines thicker would do wonders. No need to color it in, just make it more bold and solid lines. I like the heart scar too.
Finished-
Nice pose, and it doesn’t look too forced but rather relaxed. It also helps to reflect the characters personality. I see the same method of using patterns for the background being used, which I really like, but I don’t feel they are as effective as in the sketch. I think some strong solid whites are needed some where to balance the grey background. I had to squint and look closer to notice that the patterns where being used in the background as well, when looked at normally it just looks solid. The clothing’s folds works well, which is why I think the pose looks more natural. Hehe, and the stubby little bat wings are a cute touch. It’s a cool style, and I think graphic design is something oo4 should seriously look into.
Silvareiel (Sanael)
Bio-
I found some of the information was repeated over more than once, but putting that aside it was a wonderful concept. An emotionless fallen angel that devours souls to keep her ‘light’. I liked her sense of innocent child like curiosity for things she couldn’t understand. I wasn’t to positive from the description how her wings worked, I found it a bit confusing…I think this would be better described on the sketches page, a visual being a better choice
Sketches-
I would have liked to have seen an illustration of the wings and where they came out of her back here, and a more defined sketch of the wings sizes in comparison to each other. Other than that it’s a nice profile of Sanael face and quick information.
Final-
Her expression is lovely, and I feel it expresses her personality well. …that mixed in with her looking upwards, like god was watching her child like movements to hide what she had just done. Kind of like…a child looking up to their parent with chocolate all over their face….only a little more gruesome. I think the moon would have been better off placed more to the right of the window bar, not strictly smack dab behind it with the wing over lapping it. It might help to balance the left out a little more. The smashed windows are a nice touch, and with out them I doubt I would have noticed they were in fact windows. The blood could probably stand to be a tad bit darker in places where more is collected. The collected light splatters on his face and dress are excellent
RePietEnterprises (Airakuel)
Bio-
A well chosen name, and again I can appreciate that RePietEnterprises took the time to research into the name for the character. There was a great deal of information about this character that was already created before the contest was assigned…so one could argue that RePietEnterprises character wasn’t –completely- new like I had asked. The idea behind the contest was to set everyone on a more equal ground and taking something that mostly every one had a good general knowledge of the species (angels and demons) and build from there… leaving room for self interpretation of course. But none the less, I found the newer species and fictional world that RePietEnterprises had created appealing. All though the character is a winged being it self, it is more like a guardian to animals rather than humans. I like how the information was presented and how there were visuals included.
Sketches-
A nice illustration of the various body piercing from different angles. I also like how Airakuel is standing on the tips of his toes lengthening his body. ..I could easily see him dancing and in various flexible positions. I wasn’t too positive what was on his finger until I read the Bio. I think a close up of the hand and a little blurb of what it is might help. Adding some written notes to describe what is what and a color chart would also help to avoid having to go back and forth between the sketch to the bio for the information, considering that the final doesn’t have color either.
Final-
Great wings, and the expression on Airakuel face, a mixture of pleasure and pain, is wonderfully portrayed. It could use some clean up in presentation. Cropping, and level adjustments…Easily fixed in a few seconds. I was a little unclear what he was sitting on, but I think it’s safe to assume it’s a branch coming out from the side of a cliff…The upper portion of the body is beautifully done, and he actually looks like he’s sitting on the branch. I would suggest finding some resources for the legs, the feet are wonderfully done (so cute!) but his legs don’t seem to be in proportion to his upper half of his body…or if one was lazy, one could always just crop it out of the drawing in a computer program…but I’d really hate to say bye to those feet. It’s a hard decision to modify sense the medium is in pencil. Wonderful ^^
Wot (Cibliss)
Bio-References
Easy to fallow and well written. There was –a lot- of writing and information, but it was all intriguing and held me all the way through to the ending. The writing was well enough that I actually didn’t need too many visuals to get the picture and idea of the character. The character is demonic, but individual in his charms. There were only a few photo links that were included but they were helpful.
Final-
Four chapters in all and it still left me wanting to read more at the end, I could seriously see this being continued. Say with reincarnation, or Cibliss taking an Orpheus like journey to hell to rescue poor Henry’s soul. There should be a warning label at the beginning though “Tear Jerker”. In all seriousness though, it was a wonderful story that meet exactly what I was hoping for in the concept of the contest. I really wish I could go more into what I liked…but I loved it all T_T. I read through it twice…and I couldn’t help but smile over the author’s explanations and interpretations, with bringing the angel/demon concept alive…I really do hope Wot continues it…and if you do drop me a line >>....<3
Chainbound (Aleksander and Jabari)
Bio-
The thing that drives me crazy about Chain bound’s characters is, once you finish reading over the information she has this habit of gripping your attention…than leaving you hanging….just enough information to make you want to know what happens afterwards. The sad part is, I know that information hasn’t been thought up yet because that’s the point of creating rp characters…Truth be told Chainbound was the inspiration for the contest…and even though she didn’t win, she gets kudos for being inspirational. I dub her the queen of making characters. Seriously, every time I turn around she has a new one just as interesting as the last.
Sketches-Final
I got a little of everything in this contest ^^! from writing, digital, traditional, and Chainbound brings up the last with 3D. I must admit I like Aleksander more than I do Jabari. Maybe it’s just the abusable factor? In Alek’s sketch, I like the split of the modern clothing overlapping the Egyptian garments…and the illustration of the ‘white angel that is below the information. Hmm, and I love red heads, and freckles are always a plus. I must admit though, that I laughed hard when I saw the picture of Jabari….I had to tell Chain bound to keep it pg13 even if he was soft under that skirt x_X
