This is a color/composition sketch that I've had on my plate for years... literally.
It's for a good friend who has been incredibly patient with me. Joe Amaro. He spent a lot of time and hard work on a very cool custom Green Goddess figure for me, and in return, I'm doing this painting of his castle Grayskull in a scene that hopefully harkens back to the origional magic of the the Box and Poster Art for the origional Masters of the Universe line. This will be fully painted when completed that will hopefully pay homage to other fantastic MotU painters like William George and Earl Norem. Your thoughts are welcome!
20 comments:
Oh MAN!!! If there was ever a piece with so much potential, it's this one!
I absolutely LOVE the composition and intended lighting!
You know it! :)
Especially when you consider... this will be 18" x 24".
Think... painting style like I did on the Volume 3 #1 He-Man.org exclusive cover. ;)
Oh man..I cant wait to see this done. So far so good.
Oh, that's amazing and it will be even 'amazinger' when it is finished. The only small thing (and it is not a ctit of this piece in particular as it's a shared quality of all these scenes): Why is there no one fighting / no physical contact between enemies? The Fisto vs. Beast Man scene in the foreground - wouldn't it be an opportunity for some heavy contact sports wizhout bothering the main composition?
That's a good comment Jan.
I wanted it to be the moment the second even just before all heck breaks loose here.
The focus should be on He-man first, Skeletor second, and all the rest after that.
I do need to work on the dynamics there between Fisto and Beastman as they are too stiff right now.
I could see Fisto swinging through a punch on ol' Beasie but I worry if that wouldn't take away from the big guys... where the focus should be.
But we all know Beastman's walking away from this one with a broken jaw at least... If he walks away at all. ;)
This looks like it will be amazing.
I see what you mean.
Some thoughts then on the composition: Ok, Beast Man and Mer man are mainly framing the scene. Fistos fist is directing a line to Skeletor, and his left arm is guiding a more subtle line to He-Man, other lines (Rap Jaw, the cliffs, the heroes on the background) are very nicelely leading to the focal conflict - but maybe Fisto's head is to close to the lower right 1/3 point, which may lead to distraction. And maybe we could use another line from the Sorceress on the castle's toqer.
Like the comments Jan! Thank You! I'll see what I can do there... :)
(BTW, are you the "jan" that does the FourHorsemen's forum and website maintenance? Just curious as I don't know of any other "Jan's") :)
Nah, I am jut one of those org-lurkers - if I were the other Jan, I should probably be cracking on bringing up the next round of fantastic voting, not posting on an art blog.
But just in case: if you're here, Jan, we love you and please let us see the weapon choices soon!
Whoa! Nate this piece is gonna be off the charts!! Now I know you want He-Man and Skelly to be the focal point so I assume you would have Fisto, Beast-Man and Mer-Man quite dark in the foreground right? Otehrwise they might just hog some of that limelight intended for HM and Skel.
I love the forboding feeling of the sky and how all the characters are "lined" up and just about to charge into battle.
Thanks Andrew, yeah those foreground characters are intended to be dark. They'll probably fall darker than what they are in the end. They may get a heavier color cast over them to push them more into shadow.
Oh, sorry, I have still one question: Why did you decide to let Skeletor stand more to the side and not in the line of He-Man's charge? Wouldn't the conflict look more tense and exciting if the two enemies would clash the next moment?
And two more ideas. Why not let the havoc staff point towards He-Man's head and let Teela look over her shoulder towards the arrival of the hero?
I'll stop bothering you, no worries! ;)
More good comments Jan! Thanks!
Skeletor should be in the line of charge... That may not be evident in the sketch, but you're right there.
I'm leaving his pose close to as is, it's a not to his very pose in the classic Grayskull box art. ;)
I'll play with Teela's head position... It's not a bad idea, would help the focal point too...
She may be more concerned about the ghouls attacking though... we'll see. :)
What's your handle on the forums? :)
Thanks for the feedback. I have to admit; I don't even know the box art anymore. ;)
As for Teela: I think she could be just surprised be He-man's sudden arrival. But ok, that may not be very warrior-like :)
> What's your handle on the forums? :)
I don't know...
R u sure u want to know?
Isn't it more fun this way?
A real - mystery?
No?
LOL, just curious that's all. I like to know who I'm talking to.
If you wish to remain anonymous... that's cool.
I haven't sketched Teela's head yet, I agree with you on the point that a warrior would be focused on her threat... not her support. BUT, we all know she has a bit of a crush on the MAN, so yeah... it's still possible that little lass could be distracted for just a second... :D
Well, my name is not Acrostic, but... ;)
Very cool illustration! Battlecat is my fav HeMan character. Keep up the awesome work!
David
battlecatjunkie@yahoo.com
2-bad here, Nate.This is one of the most fantastic pics I've seen Nate. It may look like a simple sketch, but it deserves to be a comic cover. Awesome.
Absolutely love the composition of this work in progress!
When completed I am sure this will be venerated as one of The Great pieces of MOTU artwork.
Massive!
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