Thanks for all of your comments, guys - I really appreciate the honest feedback.
timzcardz, it's funny you should mention that...um...just kidding. But really, I'm a bit upset that I never got to do this kind of stuff when Barry was still around and active. It really would have been wonderful to meet him if I ever had the chance.
Also, thanks for the comments on the Collins painting. His eyes seem to be pretty consistent with the photograph, I think. But, it's definitely possible that I could have been a little off. I'm really still debating, so I'll have to give it another look or six.
Mark, you da man. Thank you. And from what Dean tells me, your painting should be going out quite soon.
jacksons, thanks for the kind words again, especially regarding the Mantle. I blame Dean. Let's leave it at that.
Regarding the eye colors, it's all done with research, mostly through books and magazines. Sometimes, though ti can be tough, I have to guess based on the approximate value of the person's iris compared to the retina. Even that can't be exact though.
The feeling with Collins that I was trying to go for was just what you mentioned - having a focal point in his eyes. The light I was trying to achieve was to be reflected from outside of the dugout for the most part. In other words, in the dark dugout, I wanted Collins' head to peer out and seem to glow. And in such a case, it seemed that his blue eyes would appear almost crystalline. You may notice that on a bright day with cloud cover, the pigment in a person's eyes will be really chromatic, sometimes even more so than with direct light from the sun. I guess that was really the effect I was trying for.
Graig
|