Wow. Awesome image. Great effect on water and fire. Excellent work!

Beautiful work...

Wow!! I just love the effects! The pyro-technics and the smoke!!

This is wonderful superb artwork !!!!

Very good work!

Simply a classic looking scene, I love one's like this of ships at sea engaged in battle

This is great ..amazing scene and effects...Just Outstanding!

Awesome scene. Can almost feel the heat of the battle. Superb attent to details in this. HAve to fav ya again...

What a magnificent sea battle. Great work-had to duck from the cannonballs and sea spray...lol

Well, well, where to begin? Firstly the scene is excellently lit and your postwork depicting the action is highly comendable however the way you have the ships sailing and some of your arguments to support this to some of the other comentators simply does not wash. Further more you do a disservice to ninteenth century marine artists and, yes, some were fanciful in their work but many would have known how sailing ships were managed and painted their scenes accordingly. You say the wind is shown by the masthead pennants (yes they are pennants not flags) then why are the sails not angled to catch that wind which is after all their main means of propulsion. You say the ships are sailing this way to avoid being raked. I am afraid I find this to be totally incredulous. The ship that has the windgage i.e the one to windward has the complete advantage to rake the the other one by manouvering to cross the others stern. The ship to leeward cannot do this, remember the wind, and therefore would risk disablement and capture as the rudder could be shot away never mind the carnage. Most single ship actions came about after a long chase sometimes lasting many hours and sometimes days as each would try to gain advantage over the other. The one thing I have to say is that you are the first artist on these pages to show all the courses properly furled for action and that is a real plus. All in all though apart from the sailing you show great artistic merit for maritime art!!

Stunning scene, powerful image! Excellent!

marvelous

For watchman2005: Thanks for the good points you managed to squeeze through the venom. I don't mind criticism - ships always attract it and I have often learned something from it – much of it though, has been completely unnecessary, given the fact that I have never professed to be an expert, or to be illustrating 'the technical art of sailing' or the technical details of ship's, but merely conveying a mood... a romance, or whatever you want to call it. I'm not going to listen to you telling me I am doing a disservice to marine art of the nineteenth century! That was completely uncalled for - no body respects it more than me, but of the many thousands of illustrations and paintings that exist from that period, many of them are wonderfully fanciful, done by artists who have no connection with sailing. I used the generic term 'flag' rather than the precise word 'pennant' because total precision at that point was as unnecessary as your need to be petty is now! There is no need to insult people that way in any form of critique. I am quite accustomed to the English language, thank you. If you look at my illustration called 'Size Zero', you will find grossly distorted impressions of woman that I have concocted to illustrate an idea - these inaccuracies help to convey the concept - and that is acceptable in art. Just as your genuinely wonderful (and I mean that) collection of nude women, occasionally portrays them in a mildly physically unrealistic manner, beautiful though they are. Again, it's art and I have no problem with it. I do have a problem with petty venom though and what you see in this mere illustration or mine, some others who have a knowledge of sailing have found no real problem with – they have made allowances and agreed that in life, as in art, just about anything is possible and so very often laws and rules suddenly do not apply.

By the way, watchmen2005. About your image called 'Evening Landfall'. Traveling under full sail towards dry land as dusk approaches, with what look like a fairly animated sky and a choppy sea as weather elements, and the possibility of small craft afoot, is advice that has never quite made it's way into any technical sailing manual to my limited knowledge, and never will!

Wonderful composition work. Your lighting and water materials are very well done.

Actually, E-brink, Kenwas and Watchman's comments ARE correct. Your sails indicate the wind is from the stern blowing forward, while your masthead pendants indicate a wind blowing from the ship's beam (from the sides toward the ship). If the pendants are blowing a-beam, then the yards and sails would be hauled around almost fore-and-aft, to catch the wind. Actually, though, your render of the seas indicates NO wind, hence no waves. A flat calm. This would put both ships in a becalmed state, no movement, hence no bowwaves, with the sails hanging and flapping loosely, due to the lack of wind. Granted, you state that you are posting an image that is not to be taken realistically. But then, why have you spent the time to render good lighting, smoke effects, explosions, shot splashes, etc...? Even tricing up the lower courses (sails) into battle sail configuration correctly. (this was done to minimize flying debris or sparks from the guns, catching the lower courses on fire) As I have mentioned to others who have rendered a scene like this in the past.... research, research, research. As I have also mentioned to others posting similar images, if you intend to post an object or place, or event that actually happened, or existed, such as the period of the Great Age of Sail, you must expect that there are people (such as myself, Watchman, et al) who know this subject well, and will invariably comment extensively on it. You ask for crits, both critical and non, so take them and learn from them, from persons that may just know a bit more about the subject than yourself. You have a good start, looks really good, but just study the subject a little closer, is all....

What a well done battle scene! I can almost hear the cannons roar and the orders being shouted aboard the ships. Terrific image!

All pettyness aside! This is a beautiful representation of a battle scene! You have done a fantastic job at creating an excellent work of art! Dam the experts and so called well meaning critics, that often tend to go overboard in their critiques! You are a true artist! :) 10+

Superb!!! Fantastic artwork!!!

FitArtistSF: Your latest comment is almost not worth answering because all you seem to be doing is siding with someone for you own purposes and you have just had the utter cheek to criticize me for doing something correct... and then telling me to do the research for it! Once again for your own petty purposes of attacking me: ie the courses (or sails). It is also a pretty rhetorical criticism, so I don't really think you want a reply. But here's one, anyway: I accept that you seem to know your stuff when it comes to the technicalities of shipping, so let's all learn from this shall we. I have studied your work on the models you are making and I am very pleased for you. You seem very proficient at it... and you have even managed to create a technically accurate hull there were no existing plans for - that's some research. When you get to the sails. Would it be possible to provide extensive morphs so that users can manipulate them better - that's a genuine suggestion because I often want to remove the sails from various models and do my own. However, during my recent batch of pictures I would not have had the time. It was an exercise that had to be done quickly and I was exploring the many possibilities I had in my mind - almost like a glorified sketch pad. In the same vein, if I asked you to do a model ship in a short time, it could not possibly be as accurate as the excellent job I am sure you would make it if you had more time. This is not an excuse for anything. I think many of my marine pictures could pass scrutiny on many levels, giving that they are supposed to be pleasant pictures and not technical drawings. I am my own worst critic - far worse than you - but I am also pleased with much of my output - it was a good overall exercise and most people like them. Personally, I don't think the sails on my picture are particularly full of wind, and although, I do try my very best and am eager to listen to good criticism. I am only at issue here with the fact that technicalities and not everything and sometimes they are not all that they seem and do not always apply in real life or to a moment in time... but my most important worry here, as I have already pointed out if you research the rest of this page, is that some of the so called criticism leveled at me here today is entirely laced with vindictive remarks and venom. I may well post another ship next. You are quite welcome to comment on it in any way you choose and I will listen to what you have to say. I'm sure the picture will not be perfect, but I will have gotten someway towards my goal during it, maybe?

Great effects ,Beautiful colors,Excellent work,

Superb scene! excellent work! 5+

This is a very beautiful image! Excellent work of art! Very well done! Five stars!

Wow fantastic detail and composition!

Awesome Scene!! Excellent Artwork!!

Well done!

Beautiful setting, ships, water and sky.

My dear friend, Precious artwork, Impressive!!Congratulations !! A million of stars**Sorry by signing so late.To have that to write the same thing in English to all, but are few the words that I have in English to say Happy Tuesday. Hug in Your heart.Luminous Blessings. Ludy

Very nice realistic scene in Bryce ! Love the details Have a nice day Virginie

fantastic artwork, excellent image!