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Thread: February/March 2014 Light Challenge: The 12 Dancing Princesses

  1. #1
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    Default February/March 2014 Light Challenge: The 12 Dancing Princesses

    The version of The 12 Dancing Princesses from Andrew Lang's Red Fairy Book is a sweet, romantic story. Each night, the 12 princesses descend through a series of forests to their hidden dance hall:

    Quote Originally Posted by The Red Fairy Book
    They went down, down, down, till at last they came to a passage with
    a door at one end, which was only fastened with a latch. The eldest
    Princess opened it, and they found themselves immediately in a lovely
    little wood, where the leaves were spangled with drops of silver which
    shone in the brilliant light of the moon.

    They next crossed another wood where the leaves were sprinkled with
    gold, and after that another still, where the leaves glittered with
    diamonds.

    At last the Star Gazer perceived a large lake, and on the shores of
    the lake twelve little boats with awnings, in which were seated twelve
    princes, who, grasping their oars, awaited the princesses.

    [...]

    On the other side of the lake the garden boy saw a beautiful castle
    splendidly illuminated, whence came the lively music of fiddles,
    kettle-drums, and trumpets.
    So here is my map: the path of the dancing princesses.

    ### LATEST WIP ###
    Click image for larger version. 

Name:	12-Princesses-rev1.jpg 
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Size:	2.12 MB 
ID:	62079

    The basic elements I want are in place, but I'm happy to get any feedback or suggestions.

    This was done mostly in Photoshop and Inkscape. I am heavily indebted to OpenClipart.org for the flowering tree and the castle, both of which I modified in Inkscape and exported as a bitmap to Photoshop. The rest of it -- caves, spiral stairs, and bridge -- I made myself. This also uses a texture from cgtextures.com to provide some visual variation on the dirt areas.
    Last edited by wdmartin; 03-10-2014 at 05:03 PM. Reason: Correcting a BBCode error

  2. #2
    Guild Artisan madcowchef's Avatar
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    I like the change in the trees as you decend. If you matched the line style on the trees with the castles it would feel much more unified. A simple border would give it some nice polish. The story is a great choice for the challenge.

  3. #3
    Guild Adept fabio p's Avatar
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    I like it, but I think that if those "levels" with the stairs and the red castle are situated underground, you should change their background, because it's too similar to the cloudy sky on the surface level.

  4. #4
    Community Leader Bogie's Avatar
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    Very interesting. Great job with the spiral stairs.

  5. #5
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    Okay, here's a revision.

    ### LATEST WIP ###
    Click image for larger version. 

Name:	12-Princesses-rev4.jpg 
Views:	83 
Size:	2.37 MB 
ID:	62219

    - Added a frame, handmade in Inkscape

    - Added some engraving lines on the castles, excluding roofs because the lines there made it feel too dark. These were done using this action plus some masking.

    - Tinted the sky blue to differentiate it from the caves.

  6. #6
    Guild Adept fabio p's Avatar
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    Adding a frame is almost always a good thing; I would also add a box with a title or something similar.
    Is there a reason why the castles are now checkered?

  7. #7
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    Quote Originally Posted by fabio p View Post
    Is there a reason why the castles are now checkered?
    Yes, it was supposed to make them look engraved like the trees, because of madcowchef's comment that "If you matched the line style on the trees with the castles it would feel much more unified."

    I'm not entirely sold on the effect. It doesn't match the shading on the trees terribly well.

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