Zenith by zilla774 on DeviantArt (original) (raw)

Overall

Vision

Originality

Technique

Impact

Consider your color muscles flexed - and damn, they look good.

Adding more color has been something I have been working on with my more recent works, so it was really cool to see an artist I look up to not only have the same goal, but to see the way that they execute it as well.

And what a wonderful execution it is. Your warm colors on the top half are brilliant and totally attracted my attention to the thumbnail. I like the way that you used the reds and cooler pinks to draw our attention immediately to the eye sockets and the sunken, glowing eyes within them. The violet colors do a nice job of drawing us *into* the eye sockets. I like the touch of green up near the hairline to accentuate those dents in the bone - It's nice and subtle, so instead of being like, "Hey guys, I'm a complimentary color!!!" and being super jarring, it is rather pleasant. I also like the way that you used the

I like how how you worked warmer colors into the cool half to pop her nose and cheeks. it ties to two halves together nicely, and helps point out that this half is soft and fleshy. I think had you used only cooler colors that it would have given the piece a rather disjointed feeling. Well done you.

I also really like your choice to do the bone/skull half in the warmer colors. I think most people would have chosen to do the fleshy, live half in the warmer colors, what with the warmth associated with life thing. The reversal of that here is not only terribly eye catching and bitchin' to look at, but it lends to the idea that fleshy/live half is just a cool/calm mask to hide the rage/death/anger that lurk on the inside of the subject. It makes for the dead part to be the active part of the piece, while the live part is passive. Very, very nicely done.

The only critique I feel that I can give is that normally I am not a huge fan of cutting the work directly in half like that, having had the rule of thirds drilled into my brain for so many years. But you really make it work, so it's not so much a critique as it is a "hey, way to make that work! kudos!"
I also would not have minded if there more cooler pieces in the hair area to set and define, as well as take us farther back. But that is only opinion.

I think you did a wonderful job, and thank you for the great example in using color effectively.

Also, this is my first critique, so if it is a bit rambly, well, that's probably why. <img src="e.deviantart.net/emoticons/s/s…" width="15" height="15" alt="" title=" (Smile)"/>