[Art] Some Pencil and Some Ink

[Henderson]

I've been really busy lately and haven't posted any art for some time. So, for your unbiased critique and evaluation, here's some stuff.

The first two are my first printed pencil works. Still learning about materials and techniques and how they will look when printed, so I would do a couple things differently if I had a second chance. Anyway, I'd still appreciate some opinions.

First, a piece from ICE's Powers of Light and Darkness book (which should be on shelves by now). Image copyright 2003 Iron Crown.

[Henderson]

The second ICE pic :)

[Henderson]

This is one that was rejected by another publisher :(

[Henderson]

And one other rejected pic. Thanks for looking.

[veinglory]

Love that second one. great stuff. I think the pencils are nicer than the inks -- better contours, less sketchy.

[MetalMan]

Craig -

Those pencils are incredible. I can't make any comments on how they're going to look coming off a press as I have no experience there... they'd look great in a PDF though :)

I like the hanged man but I think that the "weight" of the image is thrown off by the body (i.e. the focal point) of the image being so far off to the side. The market piece is good too but it really seems too "open" to me (personal preference). It's got some nice elements (especially the kids) but the rest of it just looks ... well... normal.

[Mya]

Great looking work - your figure drawing is superb, and I love the simple, austere look of the second pencil piece, particularly the smooth walls, and that swirling distortion in the middle of that robot.

I'd agree with MetalMan's comments on the ink pieces, but the perspective and style are still very strong.

[Yanner]

Awesome work!


-Yanner

[Dilly Green Bean Games]

That looks awesome. I have always been a fan of Image until they had a slight downhill effect. But that looks great!

[Eric Lofgren]

Craig, as ever, your work shines with talent. The first two are outstanding. The second two are lacking in some more blacks. Otherwise they are typical of your abilities. It takes a bit of guts to lay the ink on in any piece, but it's worth the effort. Mignola's work is probably the best example of effective blacks in a design.


Once again, excellent work, Craig :cool:

[mahubrahd]

love your pencils work shows a nice rendering ability on your part. and strong shading.

i love the first two pieces...
lovely.

some how womething is lost in the inked pieces, like you rushed.


-aris

[fireMonkey]

Damn, that's some nice work! Especially the pencils. You should put together a few pages together and try to submit a short story to Heavy Metal magazine. They love that Euro comic look.

[Brak1]

Tossing in my two bits, here. The first two pieces are great. I was thinking "Heavy Metal" as well.

I actually like the "Hanging" quite a bit. Nice atmosphere and composition. I see what MetalMan is saying about the weight of the piece being thrown off, but to me that adds to the overall effect - slightly disturbing. A few more shadows on the crowd might punch it up a little, but overall it's my favorite as far as image layout goes - though I do like the pencil technique on the first two.

-bob

[Jon H]

I think the inked pieces are pretty good - it's just that the pencil ones totally kick their ass! They don't stand up so well next to the sheer class of the pencils.

You have a really strong style in pencil Craig, and it's one that personally really like. Very classy, classic sci-fi look to your faces. The rendering is sensitive, something again, which I happen to like.

Got to agree with fireMonkey there - that first one particularly has a real "European" style to it.

[Steve T. Laws]

John said what I was gonna say.

Your pencils are superb. You really know how to put a picture together with them.

Your inks, while grand, are missing just minor elements you can afford with your pencils. ie. Hangedman, the jump from light to dark seems a little abrupt and the eye flow a wee bit jerky. The second ink pic, looks fine to me, looks like you went all out, the only failing I can see is that it looks, the only word that comes to mind is unfinished. The eye follows first umps through the normal sequence of sectors. If you gave some lights and darks to focus on, you can control where the viewer looks next .. . .

Or some such psuedo-sophisticated mumbo jumbo spouted by a quasi-artist, while drinking half and half.

[Storn]

Henderson, I think you have a wonderful style. There is this thread of 40s-60s classic illustrators that really appeals to me. I see bits of Kurtzman, Wood and some of the spanish guys like Garcia Lopez.

Just awesome stuff.

I think, like others, the Hanged Man has great design in it. But I really love the street scene, the kids playing tag... not all grim and gritty. You show a range of emotions in your work. Something I aspire to.

[GreyT]

that's definitely nice stuff, I'm especially impressed with the way you modelled the character's face in the first piece, nice handling of tones (not to mention your anatomy's dead on)

shame about that rejected piece, for the amount of detail you must have poured some time into it

[Henderson]

Wow! A lot of responses! Thanks for taking the time to share your opinions/feelings everyone. I really appreciate it.

veinglory-- Thanks! I was pleased with the figure in that second one.

James-- Thanks! On the hanged man, I wanted the body and beams to frame the action of the men charging the fortress, but I guess the foreground elements draw the eye away from the center. Maybe the hanged man and beams should've been a silhouette?

Mya-- Thanks for the compliments! Especially on the figure drawing- something I work on a lot.

Yanner-- Thanks!

DGB Games-- Thanks!

Eric-- Thanks a lot! I agree about the inks (and Mignola is the man).

Mahubrahd-- Thanks! You're right. The inks were rushed. I was trying to open up and work in a faster, looser style as time was short.

FireMonkey-- Thanks! Heavy Metal, eh? That would be cool.

Brak1-- Thanks! Another vote for Heavy Metal. Those guys are really missing the boat by not hiring me! :) Glad you liked the hanged man. Yeah, the crowd needs some darks.

Jon H-- Fear my ass-kicking pencil! :) Thanks a lot, Jon. Glad you like the pencils.

Steve-- Thanks! You're right on all counts about the inks.

Storn-- Thanks for the compliments. I guess my influences are clearly seen (is that a good thing?). I was actually looking at lots of Wood's stuff while working on that project. That was the feel I wanted.
And finally, someone who likes the market picture! :) I know it could use some polish, but it was one of my favorites to draw. I liked the figures/personalities in it.

GreyT--Thanks! I was pleased with that face :). And, yeah, I was disappointed with the rejection, but I learned a lot from the project overall.


Thanks again, everyone.
Craig

[MetalMan]

Originally posted by Henderson
James-- Thanks! On the hanged man, I wanted the body and beams to frame the action of the men charging the fortress, but I guess the foreground elements draw the eye away from the center. Maybe the hanged man and beams should've been a silhouette?


I'm not sure but I didn't get the idea that the men where charging the fortress. The only three men visibly armed are on the right-side of the image and everyone else isn't seen with any weapons. Compounding the misdirection is the foremost two figures of the crowd. One has his hands balled into fists while the other seems to be consoling him with his hand on the back. I read that as anger but that the men where being led back to the castle by the armed men after the execution.

Eh, whatever... pay no attention to me. Its a good piece that I would have used anyway and been happy to use it :)

[Woolsey]

wow.









oh, and "lizardmount" rocks.