Plant Spirit by ghostlyCavalier on DeviantArt (original) (raw)

From ProjectComment

This is a really wonderful image. It really attracts the viewer's attention due to it's very nice contrasts. I really like how your mostly managed this image with green tones with slight red accents. It works out very well and makes for a nice whole image. The character is also very cute and the way you've depicted her in this image works with and off of that for a great effect.

I really am very impressed by your usage of color and light in this image. The way the orb glows onto her makes for a very interesting image and really directs the viewer's attention straight to the character. The way you depicted the light in this image definitely is the biggest improvement since your older piece in my opinion and it shows off nicely what you've learned in the years since.

With the contrast generated onto the character I wish there was a bit more of the light present in the background. Especially the dark vines/roots in the foreground could've benefited a lot from a simple rim lighting edge, so integrate them more into the same world as the character and the orb. That said I am very impressed by how much you managed to convey in the background in a very simple, yet clear way. The background very clearly is dark and cold, contrasting to the character and her orb and it's very simple as to not distract from the character.

On a bit more of a nitpicky point; I think the top part of the image could've been more cropped. I get the look you're going for, but the entire top half of your image is (almost) completely black to the point where it feels like a lot of wasted space. Even just a few minor details of things reflecting a slight amount of the light from the orb could allow for a cool effect of dark or scary things in the darkness being just illuminated enough to be spooky. I get how you're going for the full darkness against the lighted orb of the character, but I feel like you could've done more with half your canvas here.

On another nitpicky note, the pose of the character is a bit confusing. She seems to be sleeping, but her pose is not a natural sleeping pose; it seems more like she's propped up against something. I think if you had painted in a tree stump or something similar at her back/shoulder that would lend the pose more stability and believability. If there's nothing for her to lean against it seems like a very awkward pose to be sleeping propped up on her arm like that, she'd more likely be fully on the ground. Furthermore, I'm not sure the perspectives of your character and your background line up completely. The way her legs go behind her and the angle for the ground seem to conflict to me.

These are minor issues though; this really is a lovely piece of artwork and you conveyed the character and the world in a very striking and beautiful way. It shows your growth as an artist very well. I hope this comment was helpful to you and I hope you'll continue to improve in this manner.