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[AUG] Rampant.

Discussion in 'Art Gallery' started by VeloJello, Sep 1, 2017.

  1. VeloJello

    VeloJello weird bird

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    [​IMG]
    Rampant (Adjective) - marked by a menacing wildness, extravagance, or absence of restraint.

    Going for Kingdra (85+) - though I won't turn my nose up at a Seadra (65+) or Horsea (55+). Given that Kingdra is a Water-type, I believe that this qualifies for the August prompt. :>
     
  2. Morru

    Morru ever so slightly

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    Claiming.
     
  3. Morru

    Morru ever so slightly

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    CONCEPT // FIRST IMPRESSIONS

    Rampant is a bold thing to title a submission, aptly demonstrated by the definition of the word that you conveniently provided. “Menacing wildness”, “extravagance”, and “absence of restraint” are all concepts not to be taken lightly, and tall orders require equally tall results.

    But I say it with certainty that this piece does not fail to deliver; it carries its title with as much strength as that displayed by the Kingdra, in all its fierce majesty, over its watery domain.

    Here is art that exudes mood both blatantly and subtly, to great effect—and it is in this seeming emotional paradox that Rampant excels in. The churning waves easily evoke power, but the gleam in the Kingdra’s eyes also suggest something unbridled, making the wildness of the scene all the more menacing.

    It takes a good amount of talent to impart nuance on a piece that is essentially ‘Pokémon-using-move’, which is a quality that’s clearly present here. From the overall composition to the finer details, this piece pulls all the right emotional strings befitting the scene: powerful, uncontrolled, and most importantly, rampant.

    FORM // SHAPE

    We now travel to the technical aspects of art, and first up on the spotlight are the forms and shapes present in the piece, focusing on the two main components in it: the Kingdra, serving as the subject, and the waves, acting as a supporting element.

    From the get-go, Kingdra is immediately recognizable. There’s no mistaking it for any other Pokémon, or at the very least a reasonable Pokémon fan would be able to distinguish it as a Kingdra over, say, a Seadra. It’s undeniably fantastically drawn. A side-by-side glance with official artwork, however, reveals some deviations in the anatomy. For instance, your Kingdra has a visibly wider neck, taking on a more fuller proportion over Sugimori-Kingdra’s bowling pin-like neck and body. Rampant-Kingdra’s tail is also more elongated and serpentine, and while there’s not really any official media to my knowledge that shows Kingdra’s tail when outstretched, it’s fair to assume that it wouldn’t be as long as that depicted on the piece.

    Differences are also present when we move to the face. The operculum (or the facial scale that covers the gills; forgive me, my marine biology is showing) of Sugimori-Kingdra prominently curves at the cheek area and extends outward into a notched, finlike structure, whereas in Rampant-Kingdra the operculum is seemingly reduced and gives way to a fin more readily. Because the operculum is reduced in Rampant-Kingdra, its snout-ward flap is also lost (though admittedly this flap is less apparent with the most recent Sugimori art since its head is tilted slightly upwards in that depiction; see the GSC art or any of Kingdra’s sprites or game models to see what I mean—Kingdra has a loose W-line on its cheek region, and it’s the first dip/curve of the W that is the snout flap of the operculum, with the operculum itself being the second dip/curve of the W). Furthermore, the pectoral fin (the smaller, white fin at the base of the operculum) in Sugimori-Kingdra is ovate (oval-shaped), but is more truncate (halved-square) in Rampant-Kingdra. The head protrusions on Rampant-Kingdra are also noticeably stubbier at the main stalk, with the extending branches looking cramped.

    Let’s step back a bit—I’m mentioning all these departures from the Sugimori art not that they detract from the piece. In fact, it’s clear that the stylization is deliberate, lending overall to a more realistic form. Earlier I noted that Rampant-Kingdra has a fuller proportion, and what I largely mean by this is that it’s been drawn with a much more believable musculature. In addition, the changes you made with the head come together nicely, granting the Kingdra a more streamlined appearance. The absence of the opercular snout flap puts more emphasis on the sleekness of the snout, subtly drawing further attention to the glowing attack the Kingdra is performing. My only criticism of the changes you made is a small one, and it’s regarding the branches of the Kingdra’s head protrusions; I feel like they could benefit from being less cramped. There’s something regal about them being elongated like they are in official media, as though acting like a crown, which in my mind fits the imagery of Kingdra’s design as a character. Elongated branches like this are also a prominent feature of the real-world animal (seadragons) Kingdra is most likely based on.

    Now let me move on to the waves—water is so infamously difficult to get right, but you got it down excellently. You did a great job at it as a whole, from the foamlines down to the body of the water. I noted the waves as a supporting element above, but that does not discount the significance they add to the piece. They are equal parts realistic and painterly, which is something I personally am fond of for digital works. Most importantly though, the motion they convey pulls the viewer right into the scene, and it is in this show of power that you do justice to the title. Chaotic though the waves may seem, their composition is such that the volume they possess is almost tangible. I also like that you’ve arranged them in a way that they gravitate towards the Kingdra’s attack, which lets us know that this is all Kingdra’s doing. Art that elicits this much emotion is something to be applauded, so pat yourself on the back!

    LINE // DETAIL

    Same drill as the previous section of this curation—focusing on Kingdra first as it’s the subject, then on the water.

    The line work on Kingdra is top-notch, down from the more defined outlines to the inner strokes. They’re clean overall, with only very, very minor places that need polishing (I hesitate to even call them flaws since they’re incredibly tiny and practically unnoticeable to most other viewers without zooming in on the picture, but for reference there’s a hairline that feels out of place on the leftmost side of the Kingdra’s dorsal/sail fin just beneath the outline on that area, and the outline on the top arc of the Kingdra’s curled tail end jumps a bit. Safe to say that this is being highly scrutinizing so neither really affects your grade negatively.) I love the added lines throughout the Kingdra’s body, again reinforcing the touch of realistic musculature prevalent in the way you’ve depicted it, as well as providing more detail on its scales.

    Now for the water there’s no hard line work, but the lines and the strokes that do make up the ripples on the waves are pretty satisfying to look at. The detail here is amazing, from the glow on the Kingdra’s attack to the pinpricks of sea foam. I appreciate that the wave on the right is translucent and we see the curve of the Kingdra’s body beneath it. I have two comments about the water though that I think could have been worked on more as far as detail is concerned. The first one has to do with some foreground strokes looking a bit unpolished, seen mostly on the lower left-hand corner of the piece. I think there’s room to smooth out the strokes in that area so it doesn’t appear out of place with the rest of the water; you can get away with it if it was on the background, but since it’s up front and the surrounding areas are much more detailed, it’s something that caught my attention immediately. If that was an attempt to do a foreground that’s out of focus then I think extending that region where there’s less detail would help in that regard. The second thing I would have liked to see is more flecks of water around the Kingdra’s body since I’m assuming it had just breeched the water surface. Of course both of these comments don’t negate the insane dedication to detail that is present in the piece.

    COLOR // SHADING

    Moving forward to color and shading! I think it goes without saying that the color choice on this piece is stunning. I find it interesting that you did away with the yellows on the Kingdra’s belly and chose to have it be the same off-white/light blues as its fins. Along with the waves, the result is a piece that’s largely monochromatic and dominated by cool hues, yet the piece obviously maintains nuance in terms of tonality. As such, I believe you made a good choice by dropping the would-be warmer yellows of the belly, because the contrast would have detracted from the piece.

    The lighting is likewise praiseworthy, from the specks of light on the Kingdra’s snout down to the interplay of highlights and shading on its scales and throughout the rest of its body. The major thing I’d like to draw attention here though is the dorsal fin. The shading on it is just fantastic! I’ve had the (mis)fortune of spending days in a lab examining fish fins, and the texture brought about by the shading on that fin is so good I can almost physically feel the membrane. Amazing.

    OVERALL COMPOSITION

    I’ve already talked about how this piece exudes power, and the main thing that pulls it together is the composition. The dynamic positioning of the Kingdra and the churning waves gravitating towards the mystifying glow of the Kingdra’s attack come together in one awe-striking ensemble.

    So far my suggestions for improvement have been minor (and rightfully so), but one thing I believe could be really worked on to make the piece even more amazing is the background, specifically the sky. While a wash of color isn’t inherently bad or anything, I fully believe that you have the talent to make it more than that.

    GRADE

    I’ve thought hard about this, and though it’s been a no brainer that you pass, the question has really been at what evolutionary stage that you do. I’ve come to the conclusion that you pass at Complex, or Seadra’s stage. Honestly I wouldn’t hesitate to pass this at the tier above Complex, but Kingdra is another tier above that. It’s really close though—if you wanted, just a few tweaks to make the sky stronger and you’d be set to passing at Merciless.

    MISCELLANEOUS

    Kingdra is definitely a Water-type and I reckon this fits comfortably even under ‘spectacular storms’ or ‘weight of water’ so you definitely qualify for the August 2017 Monthly Theme. $5,000 bonus reward for you!

    You know how to reach me if you want to discuss this curation further! Forgive me for the lateness, stuff kept getting in the way of finishing the grade rip. Hope all the above didn’t sound too harsh, too. It really is a fantastic piece!

    @VeloJello;
     
  4. VeloJello

    VeloJello weird bird

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    OK I MENTIONED IN THE CURATOR CHAT HOW COOL THIS CURATION WAS, but thank you again! I can tell that you put a lot of thought into this curation and I really appreciate it! Also like I mentioned in the curator chat, I accidentally merged all of the layers together in the main file of this piece so I'm just gonna go ahead as-is and claim Seadra and my 5k! Thanks again!