mountain music

I’m working on an illustration and I really am in need of feedback. It doesn’t really seem to be working no matter what I do to it. It’s about music you can hear in the mountains. The noises from the wind and the mountains, and noises of a stream. And instruments you might hear, like flutes and bongos and shaking instruments. I kind of hate this. Does anyone have any ideas? Or should I just scrap it?

The one of the left has the view of the mountains, and the wind and rain streaming through. I need to add more to that left side obviously. The one on the right is cropped and the composition is a bit better. But you can’t see any mountains. Also, they both have digital elements, but in an obvious and bad way.

Comments (2) left to “mountain music”

  1. Allison wrote:

    okay, first of all, I do not see any “obvious” digital elements. It looks like you made this all by hand. second of all, I love that drawing of the guy with antlers and bongo drums the best. it’s so folksy, whereas some of the other characters aren’t quite going in that direction (which might be fine). third off all, I think that the more faint and in-the-background-mountains are working particularly well. the painted ones, not as much. I like the first composition more, actually.

  2. Bill wrote:

    I wasn’t sure if mountain music meant folksy or like… something else. I was thinking like Architecture in Helsinki minus the electro beats?

    I think I like the contrast of the painted mountains versus the faint mountains. I didn’t want to overwork the image, so in the final I just threw another drawing on the left side of the horizontal composition. It’s done!