93 replies to this topic

[Tom Henrik]

Alright.

How about a sail-ship? You know the ones with 3-5 masts

[michael_gry]

OK, but decent photographs of those have been hard to find.  I may have to use a painting to find a decent subject (which I normally do not like doing as it is plagarism).  I usually work from imagination or photos, but as long as you don't mind a not-so-faithful re-creation of another pic (with additions) then I will get rolling when I have a free minute.

[DakaSha]

How about a giant sloth and aliens destroying a metropolitan city?

edit: make the city las vegas and throw in a nuclear explosian while your at it.

[A. J. Raffles]

DakaSha, on Jul 5 2006, 06:58 PM, said:

How about a giant sloth and aliens destroying a metropolitan city?

edit: make the city las vegas and throw in a nuclear explosian while your at it.

Drawing on personal experience there, Daka?

[DakaSha]

it could  be a dream of mine

[Sean]

Wow, amazing artwork.

Why can't everbody be graced with such talent!

[michael_gry]

Ok...I have shrunk down my pics to an incredible extent.  Let's try this out (I just ain't too happy about the quality of these images


here is a photo of me with a picture I did in Iraq for a competition for a Division Contest (Division Print competition).  I did it on Butcher paper with (you guessed it) a ball point pen:
 MYDIVPIC__1_.gif   198.29K   190 downloads
I adjusted it with photoshop to make it stand out better:
 MY_DIV_PIC_adjusted.gif   112.04K   217 downloads  
if you look on the ground you can see my dead snake (my personal favorite part of the picture.  My name is in the lower left hand corner in a stone (I doubt if you could see it from this resolution)

this is a black and white of the photo I got it from: (this edition of the magazine came out after I had already done my picture.  I found the original on a 1ID website and had no clue that this particular pic would become so iconic.  I guess I just have a good eye
 photo_divprint.gif   124.62K   178 downloads
and this is what artist Dale Gallon did with it.  My picture was taken away from me and sent to him.  I never received the picture back and he never gave me credit for the original drawing.  To say I am a little miffed would be an understatement
 DIVPRINT.gif   81.17K   173 downloads

[DeathDude]

Wow that looks really good what ya did, like the close detail done on the soldiers especially the clothing , bummer though about that guy who gipped you on the drawing and not getting credit that's a bummer.

[Juni Ori]

Excellent work, but don't worry, that copycat *Canalis Analis* couldn't compete with you! Yours has far more realism and feeling in it!

[michael_gry]

You know, they never told me that my picture was going to be redone.  I had like 2 days to make the damn thing.  I used materials I had on hand at the time.  We use the butcher paper to give classes on, and every soldier carries around a pen.

Only when I was finished did I find out the truth.  Somebody came over and picked up the picture and took it away.  Later on I was told that I won the contest.  I asked what the prize was and they told me basically that a professional artist would redo my work and then sell it.   They sent it to him and as far as I know he still has it as nobody from the 1st Infantry Division can seem to find it.

he sells the prints (  www.gallon.com/bigredone ) and I have absolutely nothing to show for it.  **sigh**  I did get a commendation on my annual performance report  

[Tom Henrik]

You know... looking at his "professional" work, I have to say... It sucks compared to yours.

For one thing, he doesn't know perspective at all. The two guys at the back, are clearly standing outside the archway - but their guns are inside it. This is very clear on the soldier at the complete rear (who - if this was a real squad - should be looking behind and protect their asses. Something you as a soldier would know, and your drawing and the photo show that the soldiers are indeed keeping a watch to other directions. Not just straight ahead).

Anyways... The way those soldiers hold their weapons (again, unprofessionally) up into the air - their guns will be outside the archway where they guys are too.

It seems kinda obvious to me that this artist has never been in the military himself. While the soldiers in the front might last in battle, the other two guys would be killed on day one. They are not protecting their flanks, and their weapons are not ready to fire in the direction they are looking.


All in all - his picture is a lifeless image of cut-out soldiers, while yours show live soldiers who are fit for combat. Thus your drawing has much more life, attitude and sense of realism and action.

The "professional" artist might know how to colour stuff, but in terms of drawing skills he can't compare to you.

[Juni Ori]

I'm so totally agreeing with Tom. Just had difficulties to say things, so I just said it short: Michael is far better. And I don't agree that this "pro", or whatever he think he is, can use colors. They suck, imho.

[Japofran]

Indeed, your stuff is great. And I don't like what that guy made out of one of your works either.

[taikara]

As a warning, I'm going to post what I can already tell will be a very unpopular opinion.

But first, I'm just going to say again that I think that you have posted another  very nice example of your skill.

Yes, it sucks that some artist took your picture and is making money off of a remake of it. However, I disagree with the other opinions given here, and I rather like the artist's rendering.  And I also have to point out that what that artist did with your work, you have also done with some unknown photographer's work (I think people tend to forget that photography is art, as well). I don't see anything wrong with this - you didn't simply claim someone else's work as your own, you recreated it and reinterpreted it, just as the artist who used your work as a subject didn't simply sell it and claim it as his own - he also recreated and reinterpreted.

It's okay to be agitated, obviously, but I think I would look at it another way - if this image is good enough to be printed in a magazine, and sold by another artist using his own interpretation, what's preventing you from trying to sell your own version? You're certainly good enough to do so.

[Tom Henrik]

I agree with Tai. You should try to sell copies of your work