Dragon Magazine - Pirate - Updated

[lyon]

It looks like the issue this painting is in shipped a couple days ago so here goes.

I was logged as "ultramarinez" but changed my name to "lyon". Go figure. Hope ya like the painting. This is in the April issue (#318) of Dragon:

http://www.howardlyon.com/forums/pirate/Pirate Final No Map.jpg

Howard Lyon
www.howardlyon.com

[Elwell]

Howard, that's really, really nice. I wish there was a little more flow and action to the pose, and the buckles on the turn-downs of the boots don't make any sense to me, but otherwise it's a great piece.

[thomasaurus]

I'm in love with those clouds, wonderful work on them!

Could this mean this issue deals with pirates?! *goes off to store to buy Dragon mag*

[MindCandyMan]

awesome...pure awesome

[jca]

yea this is awesome.. although the buckles on the boots do need a belt on it.. how else would it tighten?!?

[I.was.ink]

Wow! Terrific handle with the paint.

Is this traditional or digital?

Crit: imo the pose is too stiff. Im not sure if I should think he's a bad guy or good guy. Is he looking below and past the treasure chest? The reason why I say this is cuz since its in the foreground, my eye focuses on their once Ive looked at the pirate(also because of its dark values.) Great piece, but those are some things I thought I'd point out. :)

Also, I'd like to see a less generic pirate. y'know, unique in some way, when I think pirate "your" type of pirate comes to mind. So maybe next time you could come up with an extremely diff. version/costume on a pirate. That way it'll be a great piece, but an even better one, cuz no one has seen a pirate like yours!;)

hope I helped.

-iwasink

[Withdrawn]

ooooh nice... great job. Great atmosphere. My only comment is that i'd increase the headspace... show us more of those beautiful clouds ;)...and maybe you could paint in the bottoms of some palm leaves.... or maybe i should shut up and learn to paint :P

[DanSTC]

YARRR!


Great job, Howard! I look forward to this issue.

Also, I really dug your piece for the "elemental" issue (currently in your avatar) featuring the fire-song bard. Your spell-effects are excellent eye-candy!

[DanSTC]

Originally posted by I.was.ink


Also, I'd like to see a less generic pirate. y'know, unique in some way, when I think pirate "your" type of pirate comes to mind. So maybe next time you could come up with an extremely diff. version/costume on a pirate. That way it'll be a great piece, but an even better one, cuz no one has seen a pirate like yours!;)


An excellent criticism. This pirate, while very solid, could literally fit in just about anything...if you ask me, it needs that extra bit of pizazz about it that will have people immediately thinking of both the artist and D&D.

For example, you could add some sort of glowing arcane sigil to the pirate's eyepatch, or add some other sort of unique fantasy flare to the pirate's costume. A pirate with a D&D fantasy gaming "twist" like that would be quite an attractive pirate, I think.

[Slowflo]

Great piece Howard,
Nice touch with the 'X' marks the spot on the tree, scratched in with the hook methinks.

I'm fine with the compositional elements as you know where roughly text will be covering it .

[lyon]

Thanks guys!

Elwell - About the boots... doh. I swear I had some reference for those, but I must have been delusional. I will have to add the straps in there. Thanks for spotting that one! :)

nor - Thanks and I believe that they are adding a solid pirate class in this issue. Should be fun.

MindCandyMan - Thanks!

jca - Thanks and I will fix the boots. :|

I.was.ink - This is digital, though I am starting a big oil painting of it, treating this one as a comp for it. I'll have to convince the Mrs. to let me hang it in the entry to our house. About the pose, I struggle with that in all my pieces. Something I do locks the people in. I had some help in the form of a paint over on this one by a very talented artist and he fixed it. At one point so had I but I must have re-stiffed him... something I am definitely working on. I feel like it had gotten a little better with each piece. As to the generic-neww of the pirate, that was a part of the art order, for good or bad. They wanted "the pirate," asking for a traditional rendering of him. They also wanted a peg-leg, but with the path and the hook as well, it seemed like he must be a lousy pirate to get so mauled, so we left off the peg-leg. So my goal was to paint an icon of what a pirate is. Hope that makes sense.

Withdrawn - I played with the composition quite a bit. It may have worked better the way you are describing it. I have found in the few paintings that I have done for this client that they like the characters pretty big. I don't think I could have gone much smaller without losing the face too much. I appreciate the input though. I need to go paint some more myself. :)

DanSTC - Thanks! As I mentioned to I.was.ink, I was aiming for the "icon" pirate. That's what they wanted, but I probably could have deviated a little more. Very cool idea bout the eye-patch. I might need to go back to this piece (when I fix the boots :)) and try adding in some more fantasy elements to see what happens.

Slowflo - I am glad someone spotted the 'x'! :) I always like that kind of stuff in paintings, signs that the character has been in the scene before you saw him. Rockwell was amazing at that. Thanks!

How

[Ant4d]

great colors and mood. love it. always pleasure to see your paintings.

[fukifino]

Ultramarinez...Lyon...whatever the name. I would like to have your baby. (Just as soon as medical technology allows it.)

I love the work you've done for Dragon so far. (Your fire bard piece was leagues above the cover image too...wtf is up with that?)

[slaine978]

I think it's great!

[liquidwerx]

Nicely done Howard. Love those clouds. :)


~Malachi

[el coro]

turned out great dude. always nice to see stuff from u.-c36

[DanSTC]

Personally, I think pirates in a fantasy setting work best if they don't have too many overt "generic spaniard pirate" thematics to them. There are many ways of acheiving an iconic pirate look without resorting to the generic stereotypes, especially when you've got the vast resources of a fantasy setting like D&D to toy with. That's not to say you shouldn't have at least a few things that'll make the person who sees the image go "oh, that's a pirate" of course, but putting new twists on familiar themes is a pretty darn good idea.

For example, you could make the pirate a troll, orc, or some exotic race, and then push cultural themes blending them with the sea dog iconics. (Naturally, mongolian-style pirate themes tend to work best for savage races like orcs.)

If the pirate HAS to be a human, then pushing things like exotic equipment or interesting fantasy game twists to familiar themes is a good route. The bird on the pirate's shoulder might be the familiar of a cutlass-wielding sea sorcerer, for example...or the animal companion of a two-weapon wielding sea ranger. Likewise, the familiar hook-hand could be replaced by an animate construct of some sort. An evil pirate captian necromancer could be flanked by cutlass-wielding skeletal pirate servents. Admittedly these are pretty predictable solutions, but really, the possibilities are endless.

[TARGETE]

This Piece turned out great Howard, This has alot more grit then your previous digital work looks more and more like natural media. With oils you can get a textured build up rather quickly but with digital its a little struggle at least for me. My only crit would be his stare looks like he is staring at the ground..perhaps him staring at his treasure or towards us a little will involve us more with him. Thats me knit picking ofcourse :)..please post that oil when your done.

JP

[Sammich]

Hey Howard, it's Sam Nielson. I love pirates no matter what, but I'm especially fond of this painting. I'm always amazed at your use of color.

[chukw]

Gyarrrh, Matey! That's a fine piece, and if ye have to stick to the client's wishes, so be it. At least that isn't a macaw on his shoulder! I've viewed this piece several times and I always get hung up on the contrast at the lower legs and boots- compare to values elsewhere in the same plane. Maybe some blowing sand could give you some atmosphere here. Avast! While I'm at it, what is the light source on the pirate? That hot glow on the horizon would indicate sunrise or sunse, yet the specular on his hook ferrule points to a higher light source.

[nardfrog]

I think this is your best piece that ive seen. The atmoshpere you have created is great, but also the charcacter is very nicely rendered and there are no awkword places on him. I also like how you kept the image tight around his head and torso to keep the focal point there. Great clouds.

[DanSTC]

Originally posted by chukw
Gyarrrh, Matey!

YARRR

Batten the hatches! Secure the mainsail! Polish the poop! Arm the torpedoes! Whoops.

[jester]

Yohooooh!

I just love it!

:D

Jester

[Kulimar]

Wow that;s nice. I love the warm colors.

-~-

[lyon]

Ant4d - Thanks!

fukifino - So with the whole baby thing. Do I have to be there? Thanks for the compliments! Dragon has been really good to me of late getting me work. It is a blast.

slaine978 - Thanks!

liquidwerx - Thanks Malachi. I have always been fascinated with clouds. The kind you see during the monsoons. You know what I am talking about being in Tucson. I hope they are good this year. It almost makes the summers worth it.

el coro - Thanks a ton. I am sad I will not be headed to see ya at the conference over there. I am sure you guys will have a blast. Are you going to the San Diego Con?

DanSTC - Okay, okay! Now you are just making me look bad. :) Great ideas. Dang, it would have been really cool to do it with another race, add some more into it that relates to D & D. Something with some magic in it. I seems so obvious now... Great thoughts I will be sure to have in mind on my next piece.

TARGETE - Thanks! I can't wait to get back over to the easel on this one. Nothing beats it. I went back and forth on what to do with his stare. I wanted his eyes up, but didn't want him to look right at you. I might need to go back and play with it a little more. I will be sure to post the oils!

Sammich - Sam! Cool. I hope that you are going to be posting your work here more. I can't believe the stuff you are doing. Gotta get Alan to post here too. Thanks for the compliments on this piece. It was a fun one.

chukw - They wanted a parrot! but they are really cool to work with. Very flexible. I played with the contrast on purpose to keep the focus in the areas I wanted it. I know it doesn't make real world sense, but I think it works for the design. I guess not if that is what you keep looking at. Heh. The hot glow on the horizon happens whenever you look at a pirate. That is like rule #17 or something. I think light is consistent except for that glow. It was the type of thing where it looked better with it, than without, even if it wasn't consistent with the time of day. I appreciate the scrutiny on this piece though.

nardfrog - Thanks! I had some good crits on the WIP to help this one along.

DanSTC - "Polish the poop." lol

jester - Thanks!

Kulimar - Thank you.

I had a few minutes so I went ahead and added in the straps on the boots. I think it was a good move. Thanks to those of you who pointed this out. :) I also played with the face a little.

Here is a little larger version.

http://www.howardlyon.com/forums/pirate/Pirate Final New Boots.jpg

[azjohnl]

Looks great! Love the colors and brush work. Very nice. As far as the stiffness not really an issue for me here, i think overall the pose gives a good feeling of tension that works here :)

[schmu_20mol]

great image ... thx for sharing

[Hanuka]

looks like someone has to freakin attend the workshop ;) the hair is killer, clothes are killer, clouds are killer. the only thing that somehow looks a bit off is the ground, being less detailed than the rest. but i think thats working well anyway. "thx for sharing."

[TARGETE]

Howard, that little stare already makes me get involved with this guy, he is looking like a pirate I want to get to know. Before he seem to be shying away like he was afraid to make eye contact, he is a tough sea dog he fears nothing.

awesome man.

JP

[lyon]

azjohnl - Cool! Thanks for the response. There were some good suggestions and observations made by others and I think they helped a lot.

schmu_20mol - Thank you.

Hanuka - I would love to attend to attend the workshop. I don't think I will make it this time. I am sure it is going to be great for those who are going. Sounds like they are planning some great thing for those attending.

TARGETE - JP, thanks for the input on this one. Changing his gaze made a big difference. Don't know what I was thinking before. Thanks again! Always good to get input from you.

Thanks!
How