Just to make things complicated, I'm on a desktop flatscreen monitor, and I really like the laptop version. Then again, I love super-saturated colors.

I love the colors in the sky and clouds. So pretty!

Well I guess it's good that both versions are here so you can go with which ever one you like better? I wish that everyone can see the version I've been seeing from beginning to finish because that's the way it was meant to be. The SUPER SATURATED version I guess isn't THAT bad, it could be a lot worse, but I did find it odd in places. *Shrugs* I'll never know. =A=;;

Thanks though~ But yeah, just to make sure, so the "laptop" version you see is like really really orange right? And then the one for monitors is a little more mute in comparison huh?

The laptop version is more orange, yeah.

Mmmm yeah. Weird. It shouldn't be like that but if you like it then why not. xD;

FIRST OF EVERYTHING: CALM DOWN. Having a different vision on two different monitors is perfectly normal. Now. It all depends on which version you like more. I personally prefer the second version, even if I can't say exactly why. It's...more like before a storm. The first one is like, well, in the middle of a beautiful sunset. But man...THIS IS AMAZING (and I should admit that I was waiting for this EAGERLY). I-I CAN'T EVEN. You're a goddamn MARVELLOUS ARTIST. I can't start commenting on just a single details because THEY ARE SO MANY. Your style is flawless, your coloring makes everything like a masterpiece and...ugh. I love you.

Let's see. God. Symbolism. I love it but I suck at finding every meaning. And-WARNING, from now on my English will probably be ever worse than usual 8DD

-Is that, in the beak of the crow, the classical red thread of destiny of the Chinese culture?

-Uhm, the white dove is usually a symbol of peace...

-The costellations ARE GREAT! But I'm too ignorant to actually get which are the ones you drew...*sigh*

-The chess pieces are a really intriguing detail...I wanted to draw them as well! Now. I'm too ignorant (again) about chess (too) to understand if they represent John and Sherlock or if one piece would eliminate the other one...

-The Ferris Wheel is...the London Eye?

-I love the arrow in John's chest, exactly where he actually has his own wound!

-The clouds are just marvellous. And...I don't know if they represent troubles that are coming closer or if they are fading away.

-The clock maybe is there because they're almost always out of time?

-The lighthouse represents...wisdom and intelligence through ignorance and stupidity/or love that makes everything simpler or more bearable against troubles?

Sigh, sorry. I probably just wrote a lot of bullshit ^^;

AND WOAH, your summer projects seems pretty exciting! *w* Take care and tell us how is going on from time to time, mh? *hugs*

Edited at 2011-05-02 01:16 am (UTC)

WHEEEE I'm so late in replying, I hope you actually get this message? I know you don't check LJ as often as everything else. ;w; But anyhow, GOSH IZU you're too kind. ;w;

Anyhow, I think I've come to terms about the monitor thing, since it seems like something that can't be helped anymore. I suppose it makes me feel kind of better that everyone else has the same problem more or less then. >w>; Just saying. But that aside, I'm curious though, what monitor are you using? It sounds like you have a desktop as opposed to a laptop. o3o

And awww, don't worry about your English mucking up, I mean, for one thing it's not. But really. XDD I have to say that the thing about symbolism is that it really is open to interpretation and I think I had originally attached multiple purposes to various symbols anyway. XD Like, the red string for example. I love that people are picking up the Ferris Wheel is a reference to the London Eye though. I did try to draw the actual London Eye but it was too hard. @w@;; So I just made the pods a similar shape instead. And GOSH, everyone's picking up on the constellations! I think I'm surprised because for a good while I wasn't able to see them too well when I was working on this, so I thought they'd be overlooked. xD;;; You're right about the Chess pieces though, one is supposed to represent Sherlock and one is Supposed to represent John. owo But which one is which? ;D The only thing I feel kind of bad about is that I really could've put even more thought into all the symbols though? I mean, I feel bad for my research being mostly Google searches...=w=;

Thannkkss sooo muucchhh IIZUUU~~~ >3

wow! u are doing amusing trips! i hope u can enjoy very much!
as for the art
is awesome! i love it!! \o thanks for sharing

Thank you so much~~
And I'm sure I will enjoy my trip(s)~~ >w

I think everyone's monitor displays differently. I post a lot of photos in my journal and am careful to get them looking how I want them to on my monitor, but then I will occasionally see them on others' monitors and they do not look the same. Not to mention different room lighting and other considerations. Your art is great: you're very talented and the conception/design is very clever. Thanks.

Yeah I don't think It's something I can really help, so I think I'll only have to worry about the color printing the same as what's on the screen. =w= Thanks so much though~~ ;w;

This is really gorgeous!

If you are concerned about how to calibrate your monitor, try this free program, now my images always turn out the way I want them to.

http://quickgamma.de/indexen.html

Oh thanks! I'll give it a shot. :D

Thank you!

The violin strings have shadows. They have individual little shadows, oh my God. That is detail, right there. Oh! The blackbird has a little red thread in its beak. There are constellations in the sky! ♥

*Keeps staring for a while longer*. O_O All of this is gorgeous. Wonderful work, as always. :D

LOL-I was going to say HOW CAN YOU SEE THAT?! And then I realize it was in the detail shot. xD;; But anyhow, thank you. I try, although I feel like I can still do better on details sometimes, the Violin is actually a little wonky in my opinion. =w=;;

BUT THANKS SO MUCH AGAIN~~!

I adore how the London Eye looks like a compass, and how the black bird has a red thread in his mouth. Details and symbolism like these are what I love!

Oh, and I like the super saturated version the best. The reds are redder. :D

YES! You totally caught that right there, the compass that is. xDD So the ferris wheel is actually 2 symbols in 1. Well, that was my intention anyway. Thanks so much Fearless Jones~~

The art is so awesome! ♥

Thank youu~~~ ;w;

First off, terrific work, utterly amazing! I've been impressed with all the Sherlock art you've shared, and this is no exception.

Also, let me just say, on monitor calibration, I feel your pain, baby. But, I think I can help!

First, question: how much of your work is intended for print, and of the work that is, how important is it?

The thing is, you will never, ever see the same color twice on any two monitors, especially not between LCD monitor of a laptop and a non-LCD desktop monitor. Beyond the actual hardware, ambient lighting, battery settings, hardware and operating system varies entirely too much; one major rift you cannot hope to control is the difference between Windows and Macs. Macs default to a 1.8 gamma, and Windows to 2.2, and that, as much as any other factor, makes a DRAMATIC DIFFERENCE in what your viewers see.

Even given the same set of hardware, say, two iMacs, monitors can also vary drastically based on the users' preferences and needs. For example, I have chosen the adobe RGB (1998) profile for my iMac because I do so much photo printing on it, but I've also used the ProPhotog display profile in the past. The difference between the two is significant.

Or, try this: sit down in front of your laptop, adjust the angle of the monitor for your height, and then get up (without moving the monitor) and pretend to look over your own shoulder. Or, just slump down a couple of inches in your chair, or lean forward onto one elbow on your desk. See that? Ridiculous, right?

And we cannot even begin to take into account stuff like iPads and smart phones (I do 75% of my casual browsing on my iPhone or iPad. In fact, I hate to tell you, but looking at the two images on my iPad, they're almost totally identical). God, and I can't even begin to explain what happens to color information when doing image compression (saving to JPG or PNG) or when posting to sites (like Flickr or Facebook) that do server-side auto compression to ensure optimal download speeds.

So, I hope that convinces you that you simply can't worry too much about the minutia of your color calibration if all you're worried about is displaying your images to online viewers.

HOWEVER, if you ARE concerned about printing, let me just leave a few brief thoughts, and then suggest you drop me a line if you want to discuss in more detail.

If you're doing a lot if printing, yes, I would absolutely invest in a decent size, good quality external monitor. It will make your life much easier, if for no other reason than to give yourself more space to work (you can run the laptop monitor and external screen side-by-side then put all your tool palettes on the laptop screen, for example, and paint in the large monitor). It'll be much easier to calibrate a "real" monitor for whatever printer you're using, too.

The printer you use most regularly is important. You should always assign your image the color profile of the your selected printer (media) profile before you do your final color adjustments. For whatever reason, that is incredibly hard advice to come across, but it's the only way ti really control what comes out of the printer (again, if your have no idea what i'm talking about, drop me a message and we can discuss).

If you can afford a monitor calibration tool, I would invest there, too. For about $70, you can get the peace of mind from knowing that your monitor is as "real-world" as possible.

I really hope this information helps you, even if it's only to let go of the stress you seem to have about this. Your work is fantastic, so don't worry: your talent shines through pretty clearly.

OK wow, thanks so much for this I learned a lot. o__o I've really gotten over worrying about having an image show up the same on every-monitor out there. You're really convincing. Now I know about PCs and Mac moniters being wildly different, but I haven't even thought about iPads and smart phones and stuff like that! o__o So yes, like you said the only think I probably have to worry myself over is the printing coming out the same. I would like to say that pretty much any work I do on the computer should be intended for print.

I don't and can't do a lot of printing right now since the only printer really available to me are form the labs back in College. I would really like to discuss this with you in more detail but I imagine that it would be a little hard while I'm in a different country then from my usual printing station now. But I am looking into getting another monitor, are there any suggestions you have?

My school has calibration tools available for borrowing which is really nice, so I'll probably check one out when the semester starts again. Anyhow, thanks so much for dispelling most my stress on the issue. Do you mind if I contact you in the future with questions perhaps?

ooooooooooooh ooooooooooooooh <3<3 There is so many elements in that picture O A O It's so beautiful and interesting <3<3<3 My fav part are those constellations <3 You are amazing dear : V : as always <3

And oh boy you travel so much Ö A Ö ~~

Saddyyyy~~~ God, I'm so late in replying I've missed talking to you. ;A; But thanks so much, I'm very happy you like this. ;v;

Gosh, yeah jeez I do, too much. I think next Summer I'm going to be in one place for the most part. o__o

Zenyyyyr <3 : ^ :

It's okay! You've been busy like me so we haven't had time to talk much : v : 3
But yes this is lovely! many elements and amazing colors <3

XD Well I'd love to travel even a little bit : ____ : Well after 2 weeks I'm gonna go London!! <3 Miss youuuu How are you now? <3

Saddddyyy~~~~ >3<

God it sucks that everyone's always so busy. WHY YOU DO THIS TO US LIFE YO?! = v =;;;; Hahah, well anyhow, good luck with everything~~ Hope you get out of the busy-ness, that's always nice. But you did say, you're going to London! OAO Ahhh! You lucky duck! That's awesome~~! Tell us about it! I might actually get to go to London the summer of next year. My parents were talking about it. O v O I'm good, jet lagged but I'm doing well thanks~~~ >3< (I just wished I had more time to draw/post stuff hahah but I always hope for that lol)

Love your art. :D I don't even attempt landscapes at all. OTL

And your compositions are so lovely. ; u;<33

and your hands. <33333333333

MMMMM MAYBE YOU SHOULD~~! O v O
Then again, I'm not really doing landscapes per say, I've always loved drawing clouds and because I seem to be rather decent at them, so it always feels a little like cheating. xD;

Thanks so much thou~~ ;3; Though, HANDS?! REALLY? I think I suck at hands still. xD;; I mean, they are just kind of..passable. =w=;

It's gorgeous. Now I want to read something based off this picture. Good luck with the jet-lag, btw

Man, I want to read something based off this drawing too now that you mention. o__o I have no idea what it could be about though lol. xDDD But thanks~~~ Although I actually love having jet-lag, since for me it just makes me go to sleep early and wake up really early which is nice. ;w;

This looks like a normal problem. My Laptop does the same thing, but I really can´t help you about the problem. If I want to be sure about the colours, I just print the picture xD

Wow, this looks impressive! I can see how much time and effort you put in it, and it´s really good! I am still very much impressed with the colouring.

Gah, too bad I don't actually have a printer that's easily-accessible. xD;; But I'm sure there are ways to go around/make sure of this sort of thing. You did say Laptop so at least I know what you're looking at is likely to be my intended colors. OvO

Thanks so much though~~ >A

Oops, in hindsight, maybe I should've done my gushing post here rather than in the previous one. 8D
(And, just a quick, but heartfelt, kudos for the violin...god, as a violinist, it makes me me wibble when I see it drawn correctly. <3 <3 )

ALSO. WHY YOU NO COME TO SEATTLE. D8 It would've been smashing to meet up...I could've taken you to this excellent pho place, and an award-winning donut place...and then ORCAS. YAY ORCAS. Come on, baby, the Northwest Coast is hauntingly beautiful- promise you'll love it. <3

Guh, I need to go read the previous post then. o3o Hahah, kinda annoying when comments/replies are all out of order, but then again what can you do right? Anyhow, Gooosshh yeah violinnn, I'm really flattered to hear from a fellow violinist that it's drawn correctly. Although I wish I had Arthur (my violin) with me when I drew this, would've been even more accurate since right now the whole violin looks kind of wonky to me. =w=;

WELL I THINK I SHOULD VISIT SEATTLE. I THINK I HAVE FAMILY THERE. IT WAS EITHER SEATTLE OR SAN FRANCISCO. THEY BOTH START WITH S. IT'S CONFUSING. D8 I would really love to meet you in real life thou~~ and GOD PHOOO I LOVE PHO!!! *A* Gosh, you know how to bait me, WITH FOOD! O___O

OHMYGOD YES PLEASE COME
I WILL BE EXPECTING TO HEAR ABOUT YOUR ARRIVAL DATE SOON, YA HEAR

GOSSSHHH Probably next summer if I do. OAO But I asked, I do have a cousin in Seattle and not San francisco...THIS TRIP JUST BECAME MORE PROBABLE. OWO

YAYYYYYY 8D !!!!

i'm glad i checked for an update of this after looking at the wip, because it's awesome! i have to say, i quite like both versions, but much prefer the laptop one just because i personally like strong sunset tones and high-contrast coloring. i think it makes the composition look more dramatic and emotional. on the other hand, the pc version is easier on the eyes and the details are easier to catch because the darker tones are more muted. man, how big of a pain was the violin to draw? x__x i drew a guitar for a still-life class once and it was a paaaaain and came out so 2-D looking.

i'm sorry i can't help with the technical problem; i've only ever used laptops =/ there is a definite difference in the impact and "feel" of the picture between the two versions above. i would say stick to what you like, but it might be worth doing some calibration so the differences aren't too great. sorry, that's really not much help. also, ADD LONDON TO NEXT YEAR'S SUMMER PLAN SO WE CAN MEET UP YES? (i'm not even there yet and already planning orzorzorz)

Mmmm sounds like you've got a Desktop Moniter. =w= Well anyhow, sounds like people like the laptop version regardless even when it's SUPER SATURATED. o_o The violin was ok, it was the neck part that was a pain because it took me forever to find reference that kinda matched that. Otherwise I was just kinda...piecing stuff together. =A= But thanks so much~~~

I think I might really get to go to London next year. o__o I mean, my parents are talking about it, but yeah! It's...a possibility! O___O

God, that's gorgeous!

Thank you~! :D

Your color choice and painting technique are really impressive, z!! Even in the little details like the clouds and the clothing and the birds, wow. The more I look at it, the more I like it! And you've got the time of day just down right, it can't be easy to translate. I love it, it's beautiful.

As for your colors, Photoshop (is that what you're using?) has a lot of built in tools such as the Levels, Curves and Info palette that are independent of you monitor display; they pick up on things like the percentage of color in any given spot on your picture, or detect the amount of black/white/red/green/blue in a picture. Our teacher told us that even daltoniens can manage to edit colors usign these tools. If you want, I could put together a little crash course explaining it? Anyway, I like the saturated version best, the other seems to lack contrast!

Awww thanks, though I feel like I'm not so much "painting" still, I mean, there's things/ways I can go about painting digitally to make it even more like..."painting" (lol I'm not making any sense). But aw, thanks, I'm really happy with the birds actually! They turned out a lot better then I expected. OwO Clouds have always been something I loved to draw, although now that I stare at this, I feel that my clouds are a little chunky. xD; Don't think I had a time of day in mind when I drew this, just colors. But I guess it's sunset more then anything else. o3o Anyhow, thanks again~~ ;w;

Are you using a laptop monitor? The less saturated one looks REALLY de-saturated on my screen, but on a desktop screen it looks close to the normal (top) one. Ah well, I suppose whatever monitor you're using the first one will always look A LOT more contrast-y in comparison. =w= I've used levels and curves to edit stuff, but it's usually with the guess and check method, I've gotten a little more hang of curves since I've been using it a lot more for this, but it's still generally guess and check for the most part. It would be nice if you can explain it to me.

In any case, it's a very nice style!

I am using a laptop monitor, a super super bright laptop monitor, haha. There's just no formatting for all screens, I guess. I'm always having to edit stuff on my laptop once I see it on a monitor pfft. Ahh, but I'm not much of an expert when it comes to editing, so if you already know how to more or less use those panels we're pretty much in the same boat, then.

Thanks~~ ;w;

And Oh! Well in that case what you're seeing at the top should be what I want everyone to see. That's good~~ =w= I wish all computer screens had the same output, like how all USB plugs are the same! Shouldn't this be something that's implemented in the technology?! Well anyhow, at least everyone else is working with pretty much the same problem, can't be helped then. =w=

(late reply is late.)

Ahhh this is awesome! Love the colors/perspective and wooooow that sky! I am IN LOVE with that sky. <333 so much dramatic contrast *3* Pleaseeee draw morrreeee and NEVER STOP. EVER.

Hmm, I work off of a laptop too, and it's Mac so the color calibration is even more wonky going from that to PC, I think. Honestly just go with whatever looks good on your own monitor?? That's what I do :'D

Gah, totally jealous of your jetsetting-filled summer! *has to go to school, is bitter* Hope you have fun visiting your friends/family :) I've always wanted to go to Taiwan AND Singapore T3T ugh mad jealousyyy

(Sammeee, I'm late late late as well no worries.)

DUUURRRRRRRR AH MY GAWD, THANKS SO MUCH DEAR~~!!! >A< I'll never stop drawing in general for sure since I'm useless otherwise, and with Sherlock in particular, well, still obsessed and going strong. I've got too much passion to keep drawing then stop anyway. =u=

Ahhh, mac. Yeah the colors on a mac is wayyyyyyy brighter then it is for PCs. But yeah, just whatever looks good on your screen. I'm done busting my brain over this issue too anyway.

Awwww, i-isn't your summer coming soon then? ;n; T-thanks though, I am having a lot of fun, I do hope you can visit Taiwan AND Singapore someday though~~ Lots of good eats. =u=

This is fabulous! I love the sense of movement in it, time and space and light and sound. Gorgeous work.