Birgitte-Gustavsen on DeviantArthttps://www.deviantart.com/birgitte-gustavsen/art/Vannvidd-301538495Birgitte-Gustavsen

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Vannvidd

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(C) 2012 All Rights Reserved, Birgitte Gustavsen


In my bid for the national autumn artshow, I resurrected this old idea [link]

I felt very good about it for quite a while. Then doubt crept in, and a week after I had sent it in I had an image in my mind of the same idea but framed and done differently...and it would have looked much, much better then this one. I bought two slices of cake for comfort. It was either that, or cry :shifty:

Another issue I realized that probably sparked my doubt is the lack of force in the face and the flat eyes. It lacks expressive emotion that grabs you.

I spent ages on those suckers...not to mention the jelleyfish with all their appendages. I really, really wish I hadn't wasted so much time on those, when the result is too busy and lacks force.

I think I may need more cake :paranoid:

As said with the drawn version, this is the reason for the name:


I kept the title in Norwegian because in its translation it loses some of the point. The strict translation is insanity, but if you break it down to the three first letters, Vann, it means water. All right, not exactly a marvel of wordplay. I just got a visual idea that I liked and the title just dropped into place. (the other part probably comes from Vidde, which is an open stretch of land in mountains without much trees, or Vid, which means broad)
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© 2012 - 2024 Birgitte-Gustavsen
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AffirmativeSelf's avatar
:star::star::star::star::star-half: Overall
:star::star::star::star::star-half: Vision
:star::star::star::star::star-empty: Originality
:star::star::star::star::star: Technique
:star::star::star::star::star-half: Impact

Brilliant job. The extensive detail in this is amazing and looks painstakingly done. I love the look of the jellyfish and the technique you used to make them, really worked well. Also, to have some indication that he is biting near that area, could have easily been forgotten, so great that you added that in, but the open flesh could look a bit like if he was chewing on it for a while, and if so, the octopus or squid with have reacted accordingly I think, and not have this elegant look and placement of the tentacles, but this is just minor and could be left to speculation.

Another minor thing I guess, would be the hair. If floating under water, hair would move freely up due to it being lighter than the dense water of the ocean, and would be completely disheveled. If he were to be swimming up, his hair would be plaster to his face and have no waves or curls. Also fighting the beast, would have caused him to probably move abruptly, therefore the hair would too, but I can completely understand that for the sake of beauty the hair was left compact and neat.

The only thing I couldn't quite figure out, is the area around the arms. At first, it seemed to me as though there is a tentacle coming out of his right arm, through the suction cup that is showing through the tear in the flesh, but I thought to myself that this wouldn't make much sense, because he would be biting himself. Or might he hate himself for being this way? But then I noticed that you could see the inside of his flesh like you see the inside of the sleeve of a shirt. So the tear must be of both front and back of the sleeve. I think you could have made the jellyfish near the right arm, move or bend round this area, to indicate a bit more what is actually happening to his arms, so might get a better clue what he is made up. But other than this I can't really find anything else, this work is perfect.

Again, fantastic job and please continue.