OOPS!

ntl

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Asking for guidance on this composition. watercolor on Fabriano 11 x 14″ wc paper. Injured small plane. Pilot holding rifle near it, (not threatening) close to the edge of the landing strip, passenger 2nd from V Left, near center of strip, looking toward another pilot, also on far side of strip, looking toward her, that pilot’s passenger at V Right edge. Background is an open forest, basically tree trunks with some foliage, dirt and grasses. Foreground is a dirt landing strip and people. Crits and Comments deeply appreciated. Thanks in advance.

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What will the sky look like? There will be a lot of it.

I think it's going in the right direction, but maybe need to see a little more of it (like the landing strip) first. Are those lines straight? There is a possible illusion because of the bottom edge of the paper where it is taped. Just want to make sure your lines are even with the paper and not the tape. I'm sure it is, and it's just fooling my eye. I also like the angles of how each person is standing here.

Good start. I'm curious about this one! :)
 
Is this supposed to be an action scene? Nobody's moving. Given your description of foliage and dirt strip, there's nothing to critique until you put them in.
 
Arty, Don,
Thanks for your responses.
No, not really a lot of sky as a lot of that space is forest, trunks, foliage, grasses, etc.
Those lines are indicators for the rule of thirds, hoping to get things into artistically "correct" placements.
" I also like the angles of how each person is standing here."
Good, that is actually a major question, how do the people look. I hope they'll look something like those do on the painting, esp re sizes, compared to the plane.
I want to be sure of the people placement before doing the dirt strip. I expect to paint around them.
At that instant, time did come to a standstill as 3 people watched the pilot. So yes, it was an action scene though no one moved.

I really don't know anything about wc. Right now I'm working on a 7x5" study to get an idea of how to do the trees and ground.
 
Okay, thanks for the redirect from the other thread about the plane.

Everything about your description up there, and what you're able to show at this stage, tells me you're on the right track. I like the zigzag placement of your people.

Looks like you have a good idea how you're going to proceed, and it's hard to say more until we can see more, if that makes sense. I like where this is going. You're smart to be doing the prep and the studies while planning it out. :)
 
Hi, Terri, I do realize the difficulty of saying anything at such a point. I hoped this information (the drawing and the people placement) would be enough to okay it as a good composition, or not. It doesn't really fit (I don't think) is any of the main shapes for great compositions, except possibly the L shape.
I'm already not happy with the study I started, glad it's 7x5" rather than 11x14...
So I'll work on it any to learn, then do another.
Thanks for checking in. :)
 
Hard to say at this point but I feel the people are spaced too far apart for composition. Once they are sized for their placement that may change.
 
... just paint it and paint it again and again till you are happy with it. You won't learn as much playing with stick figures as you will by getting involved int he process. You have to allow yourself to fail, again, and again, and again. There are no short cuts.
 
I like this - however, to my eye, the scale of the people to the plane is off. It doesn't look like the people would fit in that plane. It's hard to tell on what you provided, maybe you're going to push the plane back?
I agree with Wayne, if you're working on composition, just paint, don't worry too much about the details
 
Sno, thanks. I think I'll be moving the pilot and passenger a bit toward the V Left.

Hi, Wayne, thanks for the encouragement. YOU'RE the expert at ala prima in oils. I never made it to the "well, maybe" stage, and certainly not in WC. I'm doing rough drafts and working on the basic structures of the piece. I may even make a diorama of this one to help me see it better. When I get close to the idea in my Mind, I'll just paint.

CaliAnn, No, the plane stays pretty much where it is, but I will make the cabin a bit bigger. This plane is quite small, a two seater, side by side, with a tiny bit of space behind the seats for storage. The rest is pretty much engine and fuel tank. It's probably about 18 to 24' long. The two passengers will probably get a little taller.
 
This is a 9×6″ study for a piece that will be 11×14″. This is basically the placement. The 2 figures on V Left will be closer to the plane, looking at the third figure who is several yards away. The fourth, V Right, near right edge (off the paper here) is also looking at the third figure.

Is the composition okay? How can this be better? Maybe a 9×12? For the 11×14, maybe move the plane, etc, off the edge, a bit toward the center–more on the other side if the 1/3 line, so the pilot is on the 1/3 line with the passenger closer to him? The other two will be farther away by a few yards in the larger piece. Any thing else? C&C requested, and thanks for looking.
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I like how this is going. It only need to be wider now to fit the figure on the far right. I think the placements are good! (But I always did.) I also never thought the plane looked off because of how you were going to do this background, and it looks like it's coming together very well. :) I didn't realize the trees would be this high, and I really love that part.
 
Thanks, Arty! I plan to use 11x14 paper for this. The actual plane was about 20 feet long, the trees 15 to 20, so there will be a lot more dull sky. This is all totally experimental. Going from this size, 9x6" to 11x14" is ahead of me...:unsure:
 
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