Santharian Development

Well here is the Black Unicorn from the Venlaken Enclave.  The Black Unicorn is a wonderful animal and it was my pleasure to draw her.   I am impressed with the detail the writers have put into the creature descriptions.  This helps the visual artist greatly.   However as always I may have missed some details that are important to you.  Please let me know what needs tweaking :shocked:.  And let me know what you like ;).

Hey there Seeker *waves*

I absolutely love the background on this one! The unicorn looks good too, you're watching it and you feel that there's something wrong and can't tell what, but then you realize that it is as disproportionate as the entry describes them to be! I would have two suggestions but as I don't know anything about digital drawing I have no idea if they'd work or not.

The front legs, I'm thinking, could be a bit longer, or better, maybe you could elongate the claws quite a bit, to match the length of the back legs - this way she would keep the dragony look and become even more eerie when you'd try to imagine her normally walking.

The face muscles are so well defined that I don't know if this one would work: maybe you could add more teeth/fangs, therefore giving her a wider and more ferocious mouth?

Oh, and I'm also thinking that if you give her teeth and horn a yellowish look would somehow point to her scavenging nature. I might be wrong on this one though.

All in all it's a good work here, and as the one that wrote this creature I can only be excited seeing it come alive :D

Yay! Seeker strikes again! I told you that locking him in the Art Room deep under the library was a good plan. He ain't going nowhere!

Another excellent picture, Seeker. I agree with Smith that the front legs look a bit shorter than the back legs somehow. And, perhaps darken the fangs and horn a bit? They seem quite white and distract from the overall dark feel.

Otherwise, keep up the good work!

We've got another winner here, Seeker! Very cool picture! :D

A small suggestion on the front legs: Currently they both are in the same position - maybe you can move one of them a little forward and give it an angle, this would capture the motion better. I'm no horse export, but if a horse stands up that way it usually is irritated or something and its feet are moving furiously. That could be expressed a bit more with changing the leg positions, at the moment the front legs look a bit unnatural.

I also see that the horse is blowing off some steam so to speak, maybe that could be strengthened as well a bit? E.g. by letting the steam contrast better with a darker background, or by letting that steam change its colour to something darker, which wouldn't be totally wrong for a semi-mythical beast like this one.

These are just a few ideas of course. I also love that environment you've created here as Smith says - great to have our beasty embedded properly! Vewry fine work once again!  :thumbup:

Wow Seeker, he's great!  I love the red eyes and fangs.....it's so weird and creepy to see them on a horse *shudder*  And the ribs and the feet and the definition in his neck and face!  *shudders again*

If you did decide to alter the legs a bit then this pic might help you out - although the angle of the horse's body is different, because he's rearing randomly, playing, rather than the show/circus-horse I think you might have taken the pose from.  But it might help see how the legs could go anyway :)

(http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f192/EllaDude/White20Horse20in20Sunset.jpg)

I just wish the picture was a bit bigger. (this one, not your's ;))

Marvellous! The only problem I have is with the light/shading. Especially on the belly behind its leg should be more shade, me tinks, like in the unicorn , here (http://www.santharia.com/pictures/enayla/unicorn.htm)
I'm generally a bit unsure from were the light comes, even if it is diffuse in the Venlaken Enclave.

Seeker, this is truly amazing!  What a stunning picture!  I am so impressed.   

You really seem to have a splendid feel for Santharia as an artist, in style as well as ability.  Not to mention the speed with which you work.  Due to our high standards here, it can sometimes take a while to get a picture integrated to everyone's satisfaction.   The unicorn is gorgeous and spooky at the same time. 

My critique would be that it's almost TOO beautiful for such a beast, but I would guess that elongating the legs somewhat, as has been suggested, would  probably do enough to warp the proportions suitably and add to the "monster" look of the creature.

You get a standing ovation from me!  :clap: :clap: :clap:

Very nice pic, Seeker. :D

As far as the front legs go, it is the forearm that needs to be lengthened, from the shoulder to the knee.  The cannons (knee to the pastern) are long enough as they are.

Very nice - seems you've an eye for the macabre. I may have some giant crows for you someday....

An excellent representation of one of our more elusive beasts, Seeker!

I'm seriously impressed by the speed with which you bring these images to us. Keep it up!

*Leans forward conspiratorially, and whispers* Go check out my Eanian Warg in the Bestiary. We need more warg pics!

EDIT: Actually, accept this Aura boost as recognition for your sterling work. (Not meant as a bribe, but if you choose to accept it as such........)

OY, mate! I called 'em first!
May I add, Seeker, that water reflections really excellant? Didnt notice that the first time.

Changing up the legs and lengthening them really made a big difference.  Thanks.  I also made other alterations based on the other comments as well.  I think it looks much better.  Any last touches?  Especially Smith in Exile I would like to get your view point as the creator of the beast.  You made a comment about the claws, Do you think it is still needed after the changes to the legs?  Let me know.

As for my future endeavors.  I have already been intrigued by the Swamp Stalker thanks to Alysse.  That will be my next task.  However I think it may turn out to be a tough one.   

P.S.  I appreciate all the positive comments.  I am having fun drawing for people who appreciate this genre of art.

I think it looks great now ;) Quite a bit scary I'd say, as it should be :D Changing the position of the legs made the claws look really good. Also the mouth is better now. A good looking beast that you don't wanna be around :P

 :thumbup:

One small suggestion from my side (and this is minor and completely up to you if you integrate it or not), but perhaps there could be the edges of the ripple visible that would have been made by the claws exiting the water? Only asking because I saw the water drops falling from the claws and was looking for the ripple, then I realised that it's probably out of sight behind the tree trunk, but the edge could still be visible if the ripple was big enough. But like I said, that's your choice. Otherwise, great picture! We're lucky you found your way to us :D

Thats a good suggestion Irid.  That will only take a couple minutes to incorporate .  I will wait a few days and see if any other suggestions come in and then I will do one last update.

Here's a nice (kinda) off-topic:

Daedhirian: Oh Sweetie, how many times do I have to tell you?
Sweetie (his Black Unicorn): Hrmmph?
Daedhirian: Look. Carcass on the ground: food. Carcass walking around: not food!
Sweetie: Om nom nom nom nom...
Daedhirian: All right, that's it! If you don't stop I'm gonna deal in golems from now on!
Sweetie: *starts squealing*

:P

LOL Smith!

Seeker, I love this picture! And its nice to see some more of Venlaken and Nybelmar in general being illustrated!

Deci

Looks pretty perfect to me, Seeker, so no further larger changes necessary from my point of view! :cool: If you integrate Irid's suggestion I'd say it's pretty much done!  :)

Artimidor, here is the final version.  Also want to point out that my name is spelled differently than what you posted with the Bone Tree.  Bradly Van Camp  Capital "V"  and Capital "C" American spelling I think.

Okeydokey - thanks for the final version! Will be included next update of course :D

And oooops... Sorry for misspelling your name! I made sure that I didn't write "Bradley" or something, and then you run into another trap at one of the next letters... :lol: Anyway, I've corrected that now - if your browser still displays the old version, just refresh the page that displays the picture. Also I've given your Forum portrait a nice shiny border now - hope you like! Oh, and you've now also officially achieved "Apprentice" status! *points at plaque next to your name*  :thumbup: