Thursday, November 19, 2009

Stepping Stones


I admit I'm doing double duty with this piece. I'm using it for this week's WaWe adventure prompt, but also IF's unbalanced.


Crossing the creek by way of stepping stones, was not as easy as Victoria thought it would be. Only one of them on this adventure didn't seem to have any trouble: Whiskers. Cats were just nimble that way. Claude on the other hand, didn't even make it to the first rock without sliding in. Well, "sliding" wasn't exactly the word to describe what he did, more like "galumpfed" in. Thank goodness Nevin wasn't around to see this. As far as big brothers go, Nevin was the worse. He always complained about how clumsy and klutzy Victoria was. It was a relief he wasn't here to see this spectacle.

What do you guys think? Sometimes my work feels flat. Do my pieces convey action, movement, expression or do they feel flat to you too? Honestly, the truth may be painful sometimes, but that's how we grow. Thanks!

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

I think the reason you feel your image may be flat is you have only one value. To see what I mean open it in Photoshop and turn it to gray scale.

To make your image sparkle you need dark darks and bright whites. Currently You have neither. The darkest part and the brightest part should be in the same place and that place should be the center of interest.

Michelle Henninger said...

Thanks Lyon. I have such a hard time with that. In this illo, where would you put the darks, and the lights? I just can't seem to get my head around this issue. Blurgh.

roberto M. said...

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thank you
Roberto

Vanessa Brantley Newton said...

Michelle I love the action. It's great and the composition really works here. I agree it is a little flat, but you got some great areas that you can highlight in there. Wendy has been doing this for a long time and she gave you some great advice on! Now you have even more watercolors now to help confuse you even more he he he! You know I'm just joking. I'm so glad that you like the gift. Enjoy it please!

Linda Kay said...

Michelle, I'm double-dipping this week too with my "character" being used for IF. You & I have the same problems with value. I struggle with "medium value syndrome"!...it just always seems to turn out that way, but I'm working on it. You always have wonderful action going on! That is a real plus & it's very important & his is a fun image & great for portfolio.

Julia said...

This is great Michelle - I agree with Vanessa and Linda, there is fantastic action going on. I love how the dog is looking at Victoria! I'll echo Linda as well to say that I'm weak in emphasising light and dark values as well... something I continually try to work on.

Mônica said...

Michelle, I think your work is terrific. Your compositions have action, mood and detail. You are good at creating characters and inventive with perspective.

Values are not easy, I also find it hard to apply correctly...