U Dead Again

mfw I drew this last year and never posted...



Going for Lycanroc moon if possible.
Tier: Complex

 

Claimed!

 

@EmBreon : Done!

I’ll start with a quick reminder that we’re moving away from allowing poses that are copied from other artists’ work at higher ranks. I’m not going to judge it too harshly this time, since this is an older image.

So the first thing my eye is drawn to when I look at this image is Lycanroc’s glowing red eye. You’ve got a really awesome effect going on there, that really makes it look luminous. In fact, that’s true of most of Lycanroc’s body. It’s got really bright highlights on just about every edge that would be lit up by the moon. I love the contrast on Lycanroc, as it really catches your eye. Meanwhile, the dark shadows, by juxtaposition, make it look even more menacing.

While I’m talking about catching the eye, though, I want to mention one aspect of your composition that you may not have considered. While Lycanroc’s eye is the focal point of the image, as I look at the picture for sustained periods of time, I find that the place my eye rests the most is actually the small patch of sky between the moon and Lycanroc’s left shoulder. I think this happens for two reasons: For one thing, the moon is by far the brightest object in the image, so it naturally draws attention to itself. Secondly, the point I’ve described is about two-thirds of the way toward the right and top edges of the image. According to the “rule of thirds”, it’s often a good idea to divide your image into thirds and try to focus the image around one of those points. If Lycanroc’s glowing red eye had been at the point I described, instead of close to the center of the image, then I don’t think I would find my focus being pulled away as much as I do now.

I love all of the detail you’ve put into the background and foreground around Lycanroc. I can see individual needles on the trees and blades of grass. The moon is especially beautiful. I mean, really, everything here is absolutely gorgeous. The one note I have on the background has to do with the way you’ve shaded your bare trees. You opted to shade them with a very dark green hue, which does look really cool. I particularly love the tree that’s farthest on the left. The one issue with the green shading, however, is that it doesn’t have much contrast against the greens and blues in the background. The third tree from the left, for example, blends right into the pine tree behind it. I think part of the reason this happens is that the green shade is basically uniform, with none of the darker brown details that you can see on the lighter parts of the tree, or on the shaded parts of that far left tree. I think your brown trees could have used a slightly darker shade, on the absolute darkest portions, to differentiate them more from the objects behind them.

Overall

This is a really great, polished piece. The only obstacle here is the fact that the pose is not original. Since you created this image before the new guidelines were put in place, I’m going to waive that for now. The fact that you’ve done such an incredible job with it helps, too. So, you pass, and Lycanroc is captured!