Wednesday, August 18, 2010

IF_Star Gazing

This is my illustration for Illustration Friday's prompt Star Gazing. It needs more work, but I thought I'd go ahead and post it anyway, I haven't been posting on Illustration Friday as much as I would like lately. I'm not liking the way his face turned out so I may go back and rework him. Anyway, thanks for all the well wishes and prayers. My back is getting a little better each day. You are all wonderful. Thanks for stopping by and for taking the time to leave such kind and thoughtful comments. You make my day! or night ; )

 and here is the amended version, what do you think? better or  worse?

I'm going to have to let it marinate before I decide...

25 comments:

  1. Hello? Testing..1,2,3...testing... Does this mic work? Ahem.

    Well, my lovely friend. This little boy is more than precious. I want to reach out and pinch his chubby cheeks! You know, he kind of reminds me of that boy from Polar Express? Ah, something about shining stars that give the Christmassy feel to anything, I suppose... I hope your back is better! (hugs)

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  2. Oh thank you Amalia for the sweet words and well wishes.

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  3. Well Karen, I was just about to comment and had the image on the big screen when I suddenly had to work (uggh) so the image stayed there for twenty minutes! And in that time I noticed the wonderful circulare movement of the compostion. The boys arm etc.

    I like his face a lot. Gee maybe you could jus tweak the edges of the mouth upwards ever so slightly to give the hint of the beginning of a grin? Really, the face is grande.

    So is the glow of the piece. Great how you have played off the blue against the ocher-rey orange.

    cheese form Oz :)

    err I meant to say cheesr from OZ.... err well you know what I meant!

    PS glad you are feeling better

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  4. PS I was so happy with my IF piece I decided to keep it to myself

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  5. that's not fair, I want to see it Andrew!

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  6. maybe you will decide to give us a peek... and I think it's his ear, it's off,too high, and so is his mouth, it's too far to the left, my vision is warped, I'm apparently having Picasso vision today, which might not be bad if I was good at it. Ah well, I will fix him tomorrow...

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  7. I like the subtle design on the hat and shirt, the soft focus. It's got a dreamy bed-time story feel to it. I'm glad you posted!

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  8. I love your palette here and the softness of the light. Those elements combine really well to create a magical atmosphere. Great job!
    Also, thank you for stopping by my blog and for your kind word. I appreciate that!

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  9. Wow! I'm so inspired by what you've achieved with your artistic talent..

    I'll visit your blog more often.. hopefully, I'll be able to learn a few tricks :)

    ET@www.doodledsgn.blogspot.com

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  10. well now that you mention it :)

    the mouth doesn't look odd to me, I spend all my time trying to get crooked faces ! The ear maybe needs more earlobe? :)

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  11. It looks great to me, I agree with Andrew. I like the mouth but like you said the ear looks a bit of. I would try to bring it more to the eye, a little bit more in to the face?? If you know what I mean, I wouldn't say it stand to high.

    But anyway, the glow of the stars and the darker background gives it that cozy Christmas feeling. It is an adorable piece!! No matter what you change the general feeling is just right to me!

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  12. thanks all, you are so supportive, I just love it, I'm all smiles now :)

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  13. Hey Karen! I'm glad to see you're up and around. I pray that you make a complete recovery. Great illustration. Love the mystical quality combined with the innocence. Actually he resembles an image of Andrew Finnie I have in my head of him as a boy! :o) I like the way you did little sparkles of light on his face instead of on big low. I probably would have went with the glow and missed this great effect! very nice work Karen... as usual!

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  14. This is so sweetly illustrated! Nice luminescent effect! :o)

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  15. Hi Karen, beautiful illustration, the light around the star creates an atmosphere of peace, right? Really very beautiful.
    I read that your back improves, that luck. I hope that soon you're definitely right.
    Besos.

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  16. Hi Karen, I like the 2nd one. The boy has such a serious expression...which is fine. Other than that I don't see anything wrong with him. I think the whole illos is lovely

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  17. Exceptional job! Love how you illuminated this boy's face with the glow of the stars.

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  18. this is my first time here, I am sorry to hear about your back, pain is a hard thing. So glad you are feeling better. I like the second one better, the deep colors draw me in. It is quite wonderful.

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  19. thank you for all the well wishes and kind words

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  20. OMG K! Are you kidding? Needs more work? THIS IS FANTASTIC! I love this piece. This is truly among my favorites from the theme. There is such a comfort derived from its message. I love this. Have a great week, K!

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  21. Fantastic work, Karen! I love how the stars glow. Your work keeps getting better and better. I actually liked his face..he has a thoughtful look upon him..and I must say that I prefer the original piece's foreground and the other's background. (I suppose it's because I like the tender softness of the child's face with the softer lighter tones). The background is indeed stunning in a darker palette. Glad to hear that you are feeling better!! Have a wonderful week ahead!

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  22. thanks Shirley, I always appreciate your input, I may go back and do a combo of the two or lighten the shadows on his face in the second one. I was wondering if it was too much, but I was giving myself some time to just stare at it before deciding

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  23. Oh, that little boy's expression is just out of this world. Beautiful. x

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Thank you for taking the time to comment! You are the best!!!