I am seeking input. I have always had an uneasy power struggle with the "line" in my illustrations. There are times when I thought I should hide my line completely, and paint the scenes and characters dimensionally in form (letting value and tone do the heavy lifting). At other times I miss the line quality of my sketches, and try an approach that keeps the drawing alive. Usually I'm somewhere in the middle. Even when an illustration is a detailed oil painting I generally don't hide my initial drawing completely.
So, I decided to have an illustration style smackdown with myself (...that doesn't sound exactly right...). I need to create a cover illustration for a story that I've written and am trying to get published. I did the exact same illustration, first in oils, then as wash over a drawing. Both pieces are initially created using traditional media, then scanned and finished in Photoshop. The one with the darker blue background is in oils, the lighter one is the tinted drawing. I am curious to hear comments. One look may be better suited for a younger audience. Does one look appear to be more dated? Please post your reactions to each, preferences, observations, etc. Thanks.
