ChoW#227 :: Xmas 3week Special : 4 Horsemen of the Apocalypse

[Martheart]

http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii293/chowarchive/CHOW_Headerimage/QUEENOFCHOW_logo-2.jpg



ROUND #227 :: Xmas 3 Week Special :: The 4 Horsemen of the Apocalypse



DESCRIPTION

Because the holidays are coming up, we are giving you three weeks for this next ChoW!

The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse

The Four Horsemen are described in the Book of Revelation and appeared when four of the seven seals of a scroll in God’s hand were broken… Four monstrous beings appeared, all riding a horse in different symbolic colors: red, white, black and pale. The beings represent aspects of the Apocalypse: Conquest (or Pestilence), War, Famine and Death.

The story of the Four Horsemen has inspired many artists, old and new. This round it’s your turn to show your interpretation of the Horsemen.

Design the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse!


Design one or more of the Horsemen
Setting and time period is completely open to your interpretation, as long as the colors and themes remain the same as in the original story


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Four_Horsemen_of_the_Apocalypse

http://www.illusionsgallery.com/Four-Horsemen-Mikh-L.jpg


Happy Holidays and Good luck! See you all next year :)



PLEASE NOTE THE RULES AND THE DEADLINE TIME

---------------------------------------------------------
DEADLINE:
SUNDAY, January 9th, 2011


Deadline is Sunday, at 9:00 pm (GMT +1).
Check your timezone (http://wwp.greenwichmeantime.com/)


---------------------------------------------------------
THE RULES
If you do not stick to these 6 simple rules, you will not be added to the poll.
---------------------------------------------------------

:right: 1) FOLLOW THE TOPIC.
It's about designing the character of the topic. The environment or side characters are far less important.

:right:2) SHOW AT LEAST ¾ OF YOUR DESIGN.
This is not an illustration contest, but a design contest. Show your whole design!

:right:3) POST YOUR FINAL IN THE FINALS THREAD.

:right:4) INCLUDE WIPS WITH YOUR FINAL.
Show your work in progress and post (links to) this in the finals thread!

:right:5) SAVE YOUR FILES IN THE FOLLOWING FORMAT. Chow##_Nickname
example: "CHOW#100_Oblio.jpg" ;)
No final.jpgs please!


:right:6) PLACE THE IMAGE IN A FRAME WITH YOUR NAME/TOPIC

http://i73.photobucket.com/albums/i222/ChowPics/frame.jpg
(you can add CA logo, etc).



About quality - as general rule: if your shapes and values are not decent - you are out. Watch proportions, perspective etc. we need perfectly readable shapes and coherent, consistent values.

_____________

BE PROFESSIONAL - only finished and good quality entries will be taken to the poll. Icemoon and Arthemis IX will make the selection.
Please review these helpful reminders if you have not done so already.

:right:ON GETTING TO POLL (http://www.conceptart.org/forums/showpost.php?p=1891823&postcount=15)
-------------------------
:right:NEW ROUND RULE: WIPS PLEASE! (http://www.conceptart.org/forums/showpost.php?p=1910999&postcount=27)
-------------------------
:right:SUBMISSION FORMAT REMINDER (http://www.conceptart.org/forums/showpost.php?p=1911002&postcount=28)



PLEASE REMEMBER TO WRITE YOUR COPYRIGHT INFORMATION UNDER THE IMAGE IN THE FINAL BURNING THREAD SO I DON'T HAVE TO HUNT YOU DOWN LATER!

[ianthegeek]

Can I be the first to say "SWEET!!!"

[kittymeow84]

nowai!! epic challenge. not sure i'll enter but WOO

[reginanegra]

epic with a capital E!

[kxu]

I will try my best ! :lounge:

[Parsakoira]

i can not miss this one

[troyzart]

Oh man, this is going to be awwwwww-some!

[MittyMandi]

oh man
I will BE THERE LIKE FOURSQUARE

[Partisan]

Dude ! :wtf: I think my head is going to explode this is so damn epic ! ....its beyond epicness ! its ...beyond words !...this is and will be the best CHoW of all times !

[eeedward]

Wow this sounds awesome~! I've never done one of these ChOW things before but it looks like it would be fun ; u ; I cannot wait to see what everyone else comes up with!! Good luck everyone~!! :D

[Nele Klumpe]

Yayy! I already wanted to design them a few years ago but never finished. Great opportunity to pick that topic up again. Hehe :D

[Partisan]

A liiiiittle question to our lovely MOD......could we bend the rules a little further this time ? I dont even know if its technically possible but ...as I plan to draw all four horseman I would like to know if we could enter more than one picture this time , would like to draw 4 separate pictures to do each horseman justice ...as it could become a little blurry with the 4 horseman on a single 1000 by 1000 pixel picture (the final entry uploaded)....

I know maybe a odd question but of interest to me, as I said I dont even know if its technically practicable (concerning the voting)

so long
Seb

[ArtByManon]

Aaaaah yes!!! I wanted to do this when CGHub did it a while back but didn't have time.. so will try my damndest to do this one!!

[Parsakoira]

started working on with the conquest, ill try to illustrate all 4 of them!
http://imgur.com/bZdcJ.jpg

[Aly Fell]

How about Four Bikers of the Apocalypse, as in 'Good Omens' by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett? Or the four other horsemen: Grievous Bodily Harm, Answer-phones, Cruelty To Animals and Embarrassing Personal Problems! ;)

[Dranyer]

i love that book!
also wondering about non-horse interpretations

[Partisan]

soooo than its now the time for me to learn how to draw horses >..> I knew this day would come ...*sigh*

[Gobi]

soooo than its now the time for me to learn how to draw horses >..> I knew this day would come ...*sigh*

I said so... "i have to practice animals one day or other..."
:anime:"We haz to practise faces!"
"true, true..."
... an now we have to practice animals :asspat:

We accept the challenge:cheerleader:

[JanJager]

Great topic

[ChrisProof]

YAY, great topic
now to get to drawin horses....:painting:

[Thélema]

First time drawing horses lol... I must not miss this one >.<

[Wiggen]

Pretty sure it doesn't have to be horses. The horse is just the vehicle. That show Supernatural made them into cars. I mean the setting is supposed to be up to us and horses would look pretty weird in a deep space setting or something. Or under the sea.

Definitely jumping in on this one for my first CHOW

I'd also like to know if we could interpret conquest as pestilence. =/

[neutral.]

Horsing around with some comp.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v642/sentone/CA%20CHOW/horsingaround.jpg

[Niva.]

That is a great topic. I hope to have time during this break to maybe handle one or more of these. Dubaya, Chenny, Obama and Nancy lookalikes anyone?

[kissorkill]

Heres my rough quickie now that i have my tablet back!! Famine!

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y203/b_milum/famine.png

[lancer_idenoure]

picked a nice, cheery topic for the holidays huh? haha awesome!!!

[emerging]

this is more epic than anything! i am IN all the way. I think this might be pretty ambitious but i am going to try to surpass myself! I expect some amazing work from everyone!

and i want to be second to say SWEEEEEEEET haha

(f*cking excited haha)

[DefiledVisions]

Emerging, yeahh! :yum:

[Suneater]

As already stated, this is beyond EPIC! I haven't done these as much as I vowed to myself I would, but I'm definitely in this time!

[Parsakoira]

working on the famine and conquest
http://imgur.com/WsfDO.jpg
http://imgur.com/TfF3e.jpg

[matias]

Wow, sweet topic, I've wanted to do this for a while, ever since I heard Johnny Cash's 'When the man comes around', check it out really great song about the pale horseman! I think I'll be throwing all my Cash on and getting into it!!

PS Great start Parsakoira, love that armoured up horse!!

[JaneMag]

How about Four Bikers of the Apocalypse, as in 'Good Omens' by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett? Or the four other horsemen: Grievous Bodily Harm, Answer-phones, Cruelty To Animals and Embarrassing Personal Problems! ;)

I actually designed the Four Horsemen for a client theatre earlier this year, and they specificly asked that I made them motorbikers. ;) It was darn fun, but they were made in a very simplistic and funny style, so this time I'll go for epic and serious stuff. I think.

...

Or maybe I'll just go with the colourful almost-chibi style of mine again, so I have more of that in my portfolio. We shall see.

[ArtbyWard]

How about Four Bikers of the Apocalypse, as in 'Good Omens' by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett? Or the four other horsemen: Grievous Bodily Harm, Answer-phones, Cruelty To Animals and Embarrassing Personal Problems! ;)

Sure! Go wild on this one :D, we don't want to limit it to skulls and horses. Also, I've read a post in the ChoW suggestion thread about The four horsement being four businessmen of today's world. That's also an interesting approach. They have to be riding something, but thats up to everyones imagionation!

[JaneMag]

Pretty sure it doesn't have to be horses. The horse is just the vehicle. That show Supernatural made them into cars. I mean the setting is supposed to be up to us and horses would look pretty weird in a deep space setting or something. Or under the sea.

Definitely jumping in on this one for my first CHOW

I'd also like to know if we could interpret conquest as pestilence. =/

You, Mr(Ms?) just gave me the most wonderful idea. But I won't spill until I've got a sketch for it! I WAS THE FIRST WITH THAT IDEA!!!!!!!!! :ilaekae:

[GEB]

Damn Parsakoira that is sweet!

Could I do one as a centaur, a literal interpretation of hourseman?

[Ironbyte]

Also got to say it, Epic!

Made a start on war.

[GEB]

Here's my sketch for a centaur war

[reginanegra]

parsakoira amazing start! i especialy like what you did with the horse's face! scaaaaary!
i dont know if i am pointing out things you have already noticed, but the front leg that is bent, the part between the knee and the hoof which is called metacarpus i think, needs to be a little longer and the hind bent leg looks a bit off too. maybe it needs to be brought down a bit and some curvy muscles added... not sure.. hope that was helpfull :)
edit: oh you fixed the hind leg and added another marvelous idea for famine. in this one i think the legs need to be a bit larger and thicker, they look too frail to support such a massive horse. especially the front leg thats on the ground. other than that its gorgeous! keep it up. will you do all 4 riders?

[Vulgar`]

This should be one for the books!

[reginanegra]

You, Mr(Ms?) just gave me the most wonderful idea. But I won't spill until I've got a sketch for it! I WAS THE FIRST WITH THAT IDEA!!!!!!!!! :ilaekae:

unless the idea you actually came up with is space-ships or someting like that, i believe everyone who has seen supernatural, at the first mention of 4 horsemen, thinks of cars..... so you cant be the first ;)
me on the other hand as much as i like that idea, i am going to go with the more traditional but epic horse. :P

[Parsakoira]

thank you GEB and Reginanegra! An update for Famine and started sketching the War out!
http://imgur.com/9RiA7.jpg
http://imgur.com/upZPa.jpg

[Pixeltuner]

I'm gonna go with Pestilence instead of Conquest. If that excludes me from the poll or anything so be it, but I think I can seperate War & Pestilence better theme-wise than War & Conquest and make 4 more distinct characters :)

[fudgeloaf]

Daaaamn im so excited i cant calm myself down to draw!

I have a question though seen as though its christmas! am i able to interpret the Conquest Horseman as Santa (seen as though he takes over an entire month anyway) also the horse would be Rudolph and undead n stuff? Is this too much stretching of the rules?

EXCITED!

[eeedward]

Oh gosh Parsakoira your horsemen are looking fantastic~ I love how confident Conquest looks, and Famine's horse kinda looks like it's melting ; u ; Famine in definitely my favorite so far of yours~ :D

gloombunny~ loving the hair on your horseman xD

GEB~ that centaur is epic ; u ;

Looking amazing so far everyone, very inspiring~!!

[Dana_T]

Parsakoira: Really EPIC start!
I'm afraid I won't be able to start sketching anything out until finals are over (yeesh) but I promise to get at least ONE horseman done by the deadline.
Great challenge! I look forward to seeing more works in progress :D

[Partisan]

Just thought of it , if someone needs some inspiration to put himself in the right mood for an Apocalypse here are four killers albums to do so :

Dimmu Borgir - Abrahadabra
Darkened Nocturn Slaughtercult - Follow the calls for battle
Demonoid - Riders of the Apocalypse
Thyrane - Symphony of infernality

[electric_sandal]

great start everyone.

rough of conquest

http://i363.photobucket.com/albums/oo79/electric_sandal/conquestprogress-1.jpg

[GEB]

Small update
Rules Scmules I say...

[Ardescoere]

This is going to be the first one I actually have time to contribute to and it happens to be something I've wanted to draw for years. So... excited!!

[GEB]

eeedward: You're too kind

parsakoira: Damn but you work fast!

Want to try and beef up the horse part as more of a charger warhorse. Lots of proportion issues to deal with too...

[Gobi]

Good work so far... love the concept from you, Parsakoira. Nice ideas electric_sandal and GEB ... gloombunny, kewl start ;)
Can`t wait for the next WIPs :D

so... ma first ideas to conquest...

http://fc09.deviantart.net/fs71/f/2010/354/9/5/apocalypse__conquest_wip_by_gobijin-d359ent.jpg

[Nikola Marinkovic]

I have to do this one! :yum:

parsakoira - ur fast man! looking good!

[fudgeloaf]

Parsakoira- Damn you getting yours done quick they're looking stunning i especially like how you gave the horses a unique feel.

Formic Acid- great start im interested to see how the far right figure looks, already looks like he means business!

KissorKill- dont forget to use reference if your struggling mate and the horse!

Gloombunny- Looking good, he's coming across as not at all impressed at the moment to me due to his stance, which could be a good way to go but maybe have his sword raised or something to show him more menacing and have more of a presence? but still early days ay :)

GEB- cool take on the horse+man haha looking forward to more, think you'll do all 4 ?

Electric_Sandall- good start and style hope the picture stays to the brief and portrays a horseman though as at the minute I find it hard to tell. hope this helps.

Gobi- Cool start reminds me of the judderman or lich king haha




So heres my sketch so far starting out with line work this time and enjoying the result more. Think i have rudolphs anatomy wrong need to beef him up more too and maybe santa needs the same treatment.

Help is always much needed!
1125711

[xabian]

Fantastic topic with already some inspiring work!
My work for death so far, plan on doing them all if time allows. Never really drawn many horses before so if there's anything to be picked up on that please do tell

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_1R_UyBc2oRk/TQ951aLP1EI/AAAAAAAAANA/gdvkgRYZSM4/s1600/Death.jpg

[Parsakoira]

Xabian - I strongly suggest looking for reference pictures for your horse's anatomy, and how horses move/run/walk! I like the character though, it would be more creepy if it didnt have any eyes. just suggesting :)

[kxu]

Plague

The Bible says that and it will be followed by many, which refers to Zechariah 10:3 -
5, where the prophet meets his "flock" and then after being "crowned", waging battles
against their enemies (preaching). This rider is thinking of deliveries ("Beasts of
land "), whose characteristic weapon was the bow, the terror of the Roman world in the first century


"And I looked, and behold a white horse, and he sat thereon had a bow;
and was given a crown, and he went forth conquering and to complete his victory. "
- Revelation 6:2

War

The Knight of the Red Horse, which has a Great Sword, symbol of war
bloody. It is believed that it represents the scourges, the means by which
"God punish them and overwhelm those who worship the beast and false prophet.

"Another came forth, a fiery red horse: and he that sat upon him was
granted to take peace from the earth, that they should kill one another, and was given
a great sword. "
- Revelation 6:4

Hunger

The Knight of the Black Horse, carries a balance and brings with it the second
some, justice (the fair protection), according to others (most students) the
economic collapse and famine, because the balance would be a symbol of food and rationed
exorbitant prices.

"And I looked, and behold a black horse, and sitting on it had a
balance on hand. And I heard a voice like that in the midst of the four living creatures
say: "A liter of wheat for a denarius, and three quarts of barley for a denarius, and
do not do damage to the olive oil and wine. "
- Revelation 6:6

Death

The Knight Horse Baio (yellow-green: the color of the corpse decomposes)
brings death, deprivation of the earth plane, being the last rider.
The popular tradition has perpetuated the idea that this last animal was a mare
squalid and not a horse. The citation accompanying the Hell is
traditionally represented by the leviathan to swallow the victims, for the
eternal death.

"Then I heard the third creature:" Come, "and appeared a wild horse and the name of
rider was Death and Hell followed him closely. "
- Rev-6: 7

[Partisan]

so here is my first (very rough) WIP of the King of all Kings ( or Conquest ) had to do it twice because my Photoshop crashed on me in the moment I`ll tried to save it ...

not yet to see is that I`ll plan to make a caparison that is covered with crowns ...the crowns he collected from the sovereigns of the doomed mankind

[GEB]

Partisan: Me likey!

Quick update

[GEB]

Forgot to att... Doh!

[Partisan]

and boys/girls just to know , you have about 5 days for each horseman so dont rush, take your time ...dont know why but I wanted to mention that ^^

crits soon to come ...

so long
seb

[romediggity]

great start everyone.

rough of conquest

http://i363.photobucket.com/albums/oo79/electric_sandal/conquestprogress-1.jpg

Awesome man! Really a new idea for a horseman! Cool

[Tyea]

Last night I thought "Dragons!" and drew this sketch.

1125805

[GEB]

Ooh this one's fun! Starting to render now. Crits away!

[Gobi]

death and famine (overlook plague and her right hand...:P )WIP...
Good work, Bro!, kewl idea to avoid horseface :P
GEB: really,really nice one
Bethany K.: dragons! nice idea

http://fc09.deviantart.net/fs71/f/2010/354/3/8/apocalypse__death_wip_by_gobijin-d359szw.jpg
http://fc08.deviantart.net/fs70/f/2010/354/6/7/apocalypse__famine_wip_by_gobijin-d359t4o.jpg

[kxu]

first horse need more pratice before start real.

1125864

[Parsakoira]

Progress shot of the War (the head is just temporary solution, i have yet to figure out what kind of a head i want it to have)
http://i.imgur.com/bWwn2.jpg

[Partisan]

just a few details, but took some time ^^

[MasterStryke]

okay guys. epic topic

but.. did I misunderstand it or do we have to design 5 horsemen ??

[Gobi]

i think he want us to draw one or all four horsemen ;)

[Partisan]

or two or three, you decide ...its just so you dont have to paint all of them if you dont have the time to do so

[sanya]

Now THIS is a CHOW I can get behind. :D

[APW]

If you're a fan of the game "Darksiders" this should be a dream come true!

[Gobi]

If you're a fan of the game "Darksiders" this should be a dream come true!

true, true :D

[Parsakoira]

If you're a fan of the game "Darksiders" this should be a dream come true!

I think that game gives the 4 horsemen of the apocalypse no credit or honor at all D:

[APW]

Gasp! haha i see your point, i still thought it was a great game, i wish it gave the 4 horseman a more Distinct feel though

[Carnifex]

not sure i'm gonna produce a finished pic for this challenge (with xmas coming up and me already fawning over the epicness of parsakoira's pics), but while on the bus i had some time over and this idea.
they'd be driving a tank, street sweep car, ice-cream van and ambulance,respectively.
(the idea behind famine in this case is that ice cream isn't really the sort of food to live on, and she's supposed to be one of those perfect soccer moms from the commercials, you know, "kinder pingui/milchschnitte" and stuff. death is always cleaning up after war,and writes bad poetry)
(yes i know i'd have three weeks to finish up,but i don't particularly feel for this topic,in terms of bringing something new to the table)

[ENNEX]

Awesome! :D

A little more inspiration for everyone:
Check out dwinbotp's entry for the Theme Song CHOW
http://conceptart.org/forums/showthread.php?t=170852

And since someone mentioned Supernatural...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u1EzU9sLQ6I

[Gobi]

i haz do it the drunkn style... right hand is better, not kewl, butt bedr... left hand sucks now... an se hip ._.

http://fc08.deviantart.net/fs70/f/2010/354/e/0/apocalypse__famine_wip2_by_gobijin-d35apac.jpg

haz to say...

http://www.grapesofrad.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/FUUUU.jpeg

[romediggity]

http://i196.photobucket.com/albums/aa205/RomeDog_2007/deathConcept.jpg
Death concept! gotta set the mood first :)

[kxu]

Up from river.

1126036

[zy.]

Hey all-

New to the site and thread. Excited though, and have a quick question for the mods before I dive in:

While Character of the week rules state that 3/4th of your character must be visible, because there are 4 there are some interesting compositions that can be made, where 3 of the 4 might be fully viable, but the last only partly. Where does something like this stand?

Thanks!

[Keppo]

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b31/Kepponen/waeee.jpg
This is gonna be 'war'
... i hope <.<

[Broken Lawnmower]

Aw hellz yeah! I haven't really been around to do these for a while, but I'm most definitely getting in on this one. gonna see if I can do all four!

[Vablo]

Good job guys so far, keep it up with those beauties!
My start on Conquest, still struggling with the pose and everything but I thought I'd share it anyway. :) This is a good practice doing horses, I'm quite confused by their anatomy...

http://img689.imageshack.us/img689/3406/conquestwip1.jpg

[AndreRuben]

Parsakoira thumbs up! i guess you did nothing but paint them since this chow began? keep up the enthusiasm =)

GEB nice aproach, i thought of minotaurs also tbh, but the soon i did it, i decided i wouldn't go for minotaurs.. lol just want to practice horse and riders instead.

Xabian nice ride!

Partisan Isn't conquest supposed to have a bow instead of a sword? I'm just pointing that out.. Spite of that, i also humbly think that the king of kings as you said should really hold a sword for the sake of it xD


Well I'm going to take pestilence instead of conquest due to the bigger contrast between it and war. I'v doodled stuff for all the characters but i started to develop death first.

here's my progress so far:

[Partisan]

AndreRuben: officially he does has a bow , youre right BUT I found it more important to highlight that he is the King of all Kings ...and so here comes my latest WIP ...the crowns took me ages ....

[Axazel]

Here are the concepts of my riders thus far... horses sold separately. subject to change~

http://i53.tinypic.com/29386ee.png
http://i55.tinypic.com/282pa1k.png
http://i55.tinypic.com/vh95yd.png
http://i56.tinypic.com/2mi11n8.png

[Broken Lawnmower]

electric_sandal: Cool idea, very original. There's a lot of ways you could go with the colours and i'm looking forward to seeing how it turns out.

Bethany K.: Don't know if its allowed but I think "The Four Dragonmen of the Apocalypse" would be pretty sweet.

GEB: Only thing I can really think of is that maybe it might be a bit too dark (especially his right hand). Other than that though its great. Some strong horse anatomy and I really like the armour.

kxu : That's actually not a bad idea. we have until what? Jan. 9? Plenty of time to get some practice in before the main event.

Partisan: Hot shit. Very hot. Can't wait to see the colours.

Carnifex: It's too bad you don't think you're gonna finish this one. Your concept for the Four Horsemen is one of my favourites!

Parsakoira: Dont really know what to say. Oh wait, yeah I do. "Bad. Ass."

Gobi: I...think I get what you're trying to say, and I would say try finding some hand refs online or even using your own hands. Nice concept though!

romediggity: I love it! It really does create a strong mood. Also, I know that you're probably not going to leave him as just a black silhouette, but I gotta say, I kind of like the idea of Death being just a black, horse-and-rider-shaped void - as though even the light that touched him died. I know its not really in line with the whole pale horse thing in the Bible, but the Bible can suck it.

kxu: Not very much to crit at the moment, except that the horse anatomy could use some work. I like the composition, with Death coming straight at you.

AndreRuben : Awesome! Gonna be really interesting to see how you render those flames. The horse concept is great.

Keppo: top notch rendering, but is that the whole image? It would be nice if it were zoomed out more so that you could see the entire horse as well.

Vablo: Very nice. I really like the muted colour palette. I know its still pretty rough, but some parts of the horse and rider are kind of blending into the background (such as the horse's mane and ribs, and parts of the rider's flag). Try kicking up the value contrast between the horse/rider and the bg to get more fore/background seperation. Also personally, I like the pose.

Axazel: Interesting concepts! I particularly like the last one (Death?)


Anyway, here's some linework for Death:

[Parsakoira]

vablo, nice start dude! id wish some more color variation there though!

[Martheart]

Hey all-

New to the site and thread. Excited though, and have a quick question for the mods before I dive in:

While Character of the week rules state that 3/4th of your character must be visible, because there are 4 there are some interesting compositions that can be made, where 3 of the 4 might be fully viable, but the last only partly. Where does something like this stand?

Thanks!

Since you don't have to design all four horsemen (just one is ok), you have to apply the 3/4th rule to at least one. I don't mind if the other three are not exactly 3/4th. However, if you want to show your awesome design skills, I do recommend showing more of your characters then just the upper half ;)

[Ceinwen Fang]

oOooo. I did a Plague pegasus a couple of years ago. This (http://i282.photobucket.com/albums/kk249/newniec/Plague_by_howlinghorse.jpg) one. (Not sure I understand the idea of Conquest, I'd rather do pestilence or plagueI think. Gonna go and read up.)

I'm definitely in. Sketches later hopefully.

[Dionesiist]

I'll give this one a try. May not be able to compete, but eh, tough life.
For some reason I started with their steeds. I tried to make them show the traits of each horseman, hence War's horse has a buff helmet, making him resemble either a bull or a dragon [by engravings and the wing-leg guards], both brutal creatures. Conquest's horse is vain [conquerors may or may not become vain having subdued others], and I had the idea of a viking longboat, since they were uhm... maneuverable and vikings used to be all over the place. To further enhance this, I gave the horse masks on its side, hanging from the saddle, similar to how vikings would hang their shields outside the boat. Or that's what the media wants us to believe.

http://i181.photobucket.com/albums/x256/Dionesiist/scan0036-2.jpg

I honestly don't like Famine's steed, so it's subject to change.

[ArtByManon]

thank you GEB and Reginanegra! An update for Famine and started sketching the War out!
http://imgur.com/9RiA7.jpg
http://imgur.com/upZPa.jpg

I love your black horse - but i'm going to point out a horse nerd problem!! You have two legs of the horse on the same side off the ground - and horses trot with diagonal legs off the ground. So to me, it looks off balance because of this.
Otherwise... super creepy fantastic!

[ArtByManon]

Want to try and beef up the horse part as more of a charger warhorse. Lots of proportion issues to deal with too...

Check out these breeds on google:
Ardenne's, Percheron, Clydesdale, Shire, Breton, Fresian. They're all chunky and impressive!

[ArtByManon]

Fantastic topic with already some inspiring work!
My work for death so far, plan on doing them all if time allows. Never really drawn many horses before so if there's anything to be picked up on that please do tell

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_1R_UyBc2oRk/TQ951aLP1EI/AAAAAAAAANA/gdvkgRYZSM4/s1600/Death.jpg

Yup, i'd second the go for reference -there are MILLIONS of pictures of horses online -a nd men on horses too!! At the moment it looks a bit strange (which to be fair, could work), but it's legs and where the legs join the chest look a bit off. I actually think it would look v cool if you over lengthened the neck like you have and made the head small and stylized - could turn out very creepy...

[ArtByManon]

Partisan - WOW, love your crowns and the image... very dramatic!!

[xabian]

Parsakoira's Cheers dude, still not got the horse perfect but its getting there. Also, totally sick designs so far, can't wait to see more of them!

AndreRuben Thanks man, unique and awesome design yourself!

ArtByManon Just noticed your post so haven't been able to see what it would look like but I am thinking of going along the lines of making the horse a little bit more like a crazed beast almost like it could be an ancient descendant of the horse as old as time itself, who knows but one thing is for certain you've given me some cool ideas!

So yeah, small update really, detailed the rider a little bit more and refining the anatomy on the horse, although its wrong I quite like its head being so thin and sly, I'll have a play see what happens. Also made the rider a little bit fatter, didn't want him all skin and bones or he might be too similar to famine

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_1R_UyBc2oRk/TRBsp-IQVnI/AAAAAAAAANE/jxZ4rSMo6z8/s1600/Death+update.jpg

[electric_sandal]

Got to working with some color. for "conquest". any critique is welcome. I haven't given thought to a horse in the picture. might try something a little unconventional.

first time on concept art. great diversity on here. usually in 3D. so this is a great break. Thanks.

I think some great stuff is coming along. Keep it up ya'll.

http://i363.photobucket.com/albums/oo79/electric_sandal/conquestprogress-2.jpg

[Partisan]

electric sandal : two things I would mention

1. The skin is to toneless, try to get more contrast by using a wider variety of dark colors and highlights.

2. the cloth/scarf wrapped around her is one time opaque and another you can see through it, maybe you would change this

edit: hey and all of you celebrate with me this post made me Level 3 ! :muscle:

[Vablo]

Thanks Parsakoira and Broken Lawnmower. :) Also, nice sketches Dionesiist, looks great!

Second wip, I've added more colours and values to the pic->

http://img189.imageshack.us/img189/2875/conquestwip2.jpg

[Keppo]

Keppo: top notch rendering, but is that the whole image? It would be nice if it were zoomed out more so that you could see the entire horse as well.

Oh, it will be zoomed out, my horse is just in really really early stage, so i wouldnt really want to show it yet XD
http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b31/Kepponen/warru.jpg

Notice Chi-Rho (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chi_Rho), Constantine the great had a dream about symbol, 'under this symbol you will defeat your foes' or something like that. I thought that it would be fitting for war, but maybe it would be rather something that conquest would wear <.<

[xabian]

Looking good guys!

think I'm done with the deign on death, think I'll colour when I've got the others drawn.

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_1R_UyBc2oRk/TRDOr5tPWAI/AAAAAAAAANI/zfdXrHd4BFQ/s1600/Death+update+02.jpg

[Partisan]

so guys for now I`ll stop working further on The King of all Kings as I like it so far , added a last touch of details, shadow and a minimal background ( to not distract the eye ), will add something onto the banner and the cloth will get some extra love at a later date, some detail shots can be seen in my SB

The second pic is a quick color study I think I`ll stick to that minimal use of colors for now.

I will now work on Death as I had a nice idea last night, that he has no actual horse but rather he has a large throne, that is carried around by hundreds of skeletons, a ever moving mass like the crabs in Pirates 3 Worlds End, that carried around Jack Sparrow and the Black Pearl ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jDxBthfat74&feature=related )

so long
Seb

[AndreRuben]

Death progress

[Partisan]

last small update before carrying on with Death, a yet simpler approach on color, I do like it more than the first one plus i pushed out the contrast

[Partisan]

a first sketch for Death...like 5 mins ...to say that it is "rough" would be shamelessly understated :bashful: but I wanted to share it nevertheless ^^

[eeedward]

WOW~! Everyone's is looking amazing! It's awesome and very inspiring to see everyone's interpretations ; u ; Looking forward to the final versions! Good luck and Happy Holidays everyone!!! :D

[zy.]

Partisan- really nice king of kings. love the heads on both. the horses rear seems to be stretched too much horizontally. Also, the shadow of the cloth on the mans face falls in such a way that it gives the impression he doesn't have a jaw. Which he may not ;) but I thought I'd point that out.

ArtByManon- famine = super scary! I love the sickly dripping hair on the horse, and the scale is really nicely designed. The front part of the horse seems larger than the rear, and the head looks elongated at the jaw line. Near the lower rear of the head, horses have very rounded jaws. Great pose and concept!

[Partisan]

I thought of that too but its painted over an actual foto of a horse so its the horse that looks funny ^^, concerning the shadow you are right, I`ll try to paint it another way and see how it looks

[romediggity]

<a href="http://s196.photobucket.com/albums/aa205/RomeDog_2007/?action=view&amp;current=deathConcept2.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i196.photobucket.com/albums/aa205/RomeDog_2007/deathConcept2.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>

[romediggity]

http://i196.photobucket.com/albums/aa205/RomeDog_2007/deathConcept2.jpg
lemme try that again...lol

[Stovieheed]

A rough start to my very first CHOW. Have always wanted to tackle the horsemen. Im starting with Conquest.

http://www.conceptart.org/forums/picture.php?albumid=4567&pictureid=26484

[Ludic]

Getting reference and stuff...I gotta tell you...Horses are F''ckin scary D:...

[IDP]

This should be an interesting round.

Thought I'd try a different setting so I'm going for a western theme, inspired by films like Pale Rider and High Plains Drifter. Here's a rough sketch to work out the composition.


1126805

[zy.]

IDP- Ah ha! I really love your idea. Death as hanging forever is great. can't wait to see more. esp how you light this puppy. nice lines though.

[eeedward]

@IDP: Ahhh~ your horses look amazing ; A ; And I really like your idea of making this a western theme, I think it's quite unique and I cannot wait to see the finished version. Good luck~! :D

[emerging]

started working on one. i want to do all 4 lol

[Tyea]

Alright, here's my first attempt at giving critiques to everyone's concepts. I'll apologize in advance if I miss anyone.


emerging: Sweet. Looking foreword to seeing this developed more.

IDP: Great original concept, and your horses look amazing.

Stovieheed: Can't say much since it's just a rough sketch, but Conquest is looking a bit small compared to the horse. Good start though.

romediggity: Like the mood painting in post 80. Your latest post though, Death's left hand is backwards. And you should think of sharpening up your concept before adding colour.

Partisan: Great stuff so far.

AndreRuben: The concept is cool, though I hope that the smoke doesn't completely overtake most of the forms of the horse and Death, but nonetheless good job.

xabian: I like your horse, though its legs are on the short side. You could tighten up the rendering a bit more before colouring as well.

Keppo: Great rendering on the armour so far.

Vablo: Good. Only critique would be that the yellow outline on the drapery is too bright compared to the rest of the picture, and I find my eye being led there.

electric sandal: Interesting concept. Apart from what others said, her right arm is too thin. While the detail of her armour looks great, it is a bit distracting around her left elbow and I had to sort out what was going on there, and I didn't notice the bow and arrow attached to her left arm for a while.

Dionesiist: Like these sketches so far, nice details, would like to see how they end up with the riders.

Broken Lawnmower: Nice sketch.

Axazel: Cool concepts so far, though I can't tell which is which, that will most likely be solved when you work on it more.

kxu: Nice. Though you should look up reference for the horses body as it looks a little odd here. Keep up the practice.

Gobi: Like the concepts, keep going.

Carnifex: I like what you have going on here, you say that you can't add much more to the topic yet so far your idea is quite different than what others are doing.

Parsakoia: I have no critiques. These are awesome.

GEB: Great idea. The horse body looks as if it's turning away from the viewer though the human torso is turning towards the viewer, making the body have too much of a twist.

fudgeloaf: Only thing that looks off is the way rudolph's front right leg is constructed, and his left antler appears to be coming out of his eye. Otherwise things look good. Keep going.

gloombunny: Nice use of colour. The horses neck appears a little too skinny though.

kissorkill: Skin tone is good but some of the anatomy is off. Interesting placement for the scale.

Formic Acid: Great sketch.

JanJager: Can't say much about this but I like how you placed them riding. Would like to see this idea expanded on.

I think that's everyone. I'll post a better, more serious sketch of my idea of war before I disappear for Christmas.

[Carnifex]

the thing is, people will most likely vote for the more traditional concepts again. and as much as i like using chow for producing portfolio pieces, when the general public isn't interested in them, what's the use of producing said portfolio pieces specifically for this challenge?

the second thing is that i'm not really feeling the characters with my own concept. i'd love to come up with something spelling "all-impending doom", but parsakoira's already perfectly captured that, and i can't come up with anything really better. i feel like it's quite the uphill struggle to be original without falling into clichés, but at the same time to capture the voters' attention and preference. most seem to prefer cliché.
or maybe i'm just overthinking things. anyway, i don't have the desire to create currently.

[Carnifex]

nono,it's okay,it was more of a general statement.

[kissorkill]

Take 2, doing war right now. this is a composite image which is why the sizes are so different. They will be fixed when I am done. The horse was a mother haha, I have never drawn or painted one before so I had no clue what I was doing.

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y203/b_milum/war.png

[Partisan]

the thing is, people will most likely vote for the more traditional concepts again. and as much as i like using chow for producing portfolio pieces, when the general public isn't interested in them, what's the use of producing said portfolio pieces specifically for this challenge?

the second thing is that i'm not really feeling the characters with my own concept. i'd love to come up with something spelling "all-impending doom", but parsakoira's already perfectly captured that, and i can't come up with anything really better. i feel like it's quite the uphill struggle to be original without falling into clichés, but at the same time to capture the voters' attention and preference. most seem to prefer cliché.
or maybe i'm just overthinking things. anyway, i don't have the desire to create currently.

As for me its that I cant just paint whatever I want to, because I lack the needed skills, so I have to go for what develops out of the rough scribbling I start with to feel confident enough to participate at all , plus its a decision ... I really dig the very biblical, more conservative approach on the theme so I did this first...

I am planning on another one, a more unique one but first of all I wanted to do just a few fine pics, of the first idea that comes to my head, when I think of the Riders of the Apocalypse...and ( maybe sadly, dont know ) this idea is quite cliché

Furthermore I am not quite sure if I do manage to do all 4 Horsemen in time ( I think I`ll only manage to get 2 at the very most 3 done) so my second more experimental approach has to wait for now and will not be part of my CHoW entry, because I did decided to do so ....and this has nothing to do with producing pictures for my portfolio or trying to catch votes. Heck, what would I need a Portfolio for anyways? I am at the very beginning of my Art experience, doing this for like half of a year with some effort, years away from making money with this, I simply dont need to produce something for my portfolio, all I want is to participate and by doing so getting better even if I get bashed a few times ^^

So as for me ( matching the cliché part you mentioned ^^ ) I am just here struggling around with my own problems trying to get better technical-wise for the moment, so -sadly and unfortunately- even if I want to produce some groundbreaking concepts I lack the skills to do so

In the end its just making a decision what you like to go with on the one hand ( more biblical, down to earth, plus little creepy elements to spice it up, in my case ) and what your skills allow you to do on the other, and somewhere in between I find a little comfort-zone ( most of the time ) that gives me the confidence to compete against all the others that are way better than I am now ^^

But thats just for me!

Hope that helps a bit !

oh and: :hugsmile: HUGS FOR EVERYONE FROM ME!

so long
Seb

[Axazel]

Everyone is working really fast! I'm really impressed.. Perhaps I'm working a bit slow. I might have to choose just one.

Here is the rough of War on his horse.. I have never been good at designing swords, but I am really wanting to make this one right. I want it to have a presence. Any advice will be MUCH appreciated.

http://i52.tinypic.com/24xpgnc.png

[Partisan]

the best advice I can give you is to use a reference , there are tons of pictures of swords around , look at them for a while try to figure out what makes them sexy looking and internalize that. Than maybe start from a existing one and develop it further ....its a very hard thing to design something from scrap. To reach that point its very important and inevitable to train your head to know whats needed, and that works best with looking/working at/with reference material for a very looooooong time .

[Axazel]

the best advice I can give you is to use a reference , there are tons of pictures of swords around , look at them for a while try to figure out what makes them sexy looking and internalize that. Than maybe start from a existing one and develop it further ....its a very hard thing to design something from scrap. To reach that point its very important and inevitable to train your head to know whats needed, and that works best with looking/working at/with reference material for a very looooooong time .

Ah, much like the figure... Makes sense. I suppose this applies to environments as well?
Thank you very much for the support~ I'll start studying up right away.
Yours is looking fantastic, by the way. I really like the piece around the neck of the horse. It feels tangible.

Thank you again.

[J@n!t]

I can't believe I'm doing this... I'm no concept artist but, uh, I love ponies! Also have a soft spot in my heart for the bible stories they don't read to you in Sunday school.

I have a composition planned out on paper and I'm starting to do each individually. Here is the beginning of Death. He will be the smallest and waiting in the back, just watching. Since War and Famine are his means of killing, he gets to saunter up all easy-like.

[Axazel]

Oh yeah... My Famine.. ah. Well. In my head it works out great. On paper it's shaky. It will be better in color.. I hope.

http://i56.tinypic.com/2qly0b8.png

[Tyea]

1126978

[Partisan]

Bethany K. just a quick one as I am going to sleep now ( its 5:14 here in Germany ) there is a serious issue concerning the perspective its impossible, even by bending very far to one side, that you have a under and overview at the same time. Either his legs or his shoulder has to be redesigned.

so long
Seb

[zy.]

Bethany K. just a quick one as I am going to sleep now ( its 5:14 here in Germany ) there is a serious issue concerning the perspective its impossible, even by bending very far to one side, that you have a under and overview at the same time. Either his legs or his shoulder has to be redesigned.

so long
Seb

Not sure I agree, as the eye is at a midline. Could be wrong, but the body looks ok to me. However, the arm gun facing us has a round opening, yet the arm is tilted down. So either raise the arm more, or tilt the gun barrol.

[romediggity]

http://i196.photobucket.com/albums/aa205/RomeDog_2007/deathConcept3.jpg

This is going great dudes! This is my first CHOW and I'm glad to participate :) All critiques are welcomed! Hello to anyone who reads this and have a Merry Christmas!

[emerging]

just an update. the horsy is obviously coming later :)

[Broken Lawnmower]

colours!

[kxu]

Need to know if can do something like that?

1127004

[lancer_idenoure]

lookin great guys. dropped out of the last one, so im really gonna try to finish this. big project though :/ essentially 8 characters (4 riders + 4 mounts) im still ideating right now but i might have something to show by tonight.

tryin a new rendering style, emerging? scritchy scratchy! :D

ps make a sketchbook!!

crits tomorrow (maybe)

*edit: eh not much progress, but i started the sketch for conquest. i was gonna do one big illustration but i couldnt find a way to cleary fit in all 4 without doing pretty much a straight on side view (which i thought would be kinda boring), so i decided to do one illustration of all 4...O_O ive gotta get my ass workin!

1127067

if i do finish all 4 ill gonna try to make a piece with all of them, but i doubt ill be able to get that done by the deadline. we'll see

[Naphtali]

Didnt get to finish the muse... so here is my try for this...

The Red Rider... the warrior

[Naphtali]

crap it is huge... i even tried to reduce it!

[Benza]

@Carnifex, many here are afraid to copy each other, but why not learn from it insted, if u find a composition u like why not use it for your own, if all to similiar then give cred to the one u copied from. This isn´t a dead serious competion. At least for me it´s all about the learning process. The same composition can have a tons of diffrent finished renderings depending on light, colours, rendertechniq and so on.
Merry christmas everybody..

[Urötskidoji]

Wow, 5 pages already!

Im just gonna leave this initial sketch here and go away for christmas. Be back next week folks! Happy christmas!

[Gavage]

This is a rushed post with a shamefully poor and equally speedy sketch attached just as a bit of a reminder to myself to come and whip it up into a decent concept once Christmas is out of the way. Thank you for making this a three week special - Christmas preparations have been snatching up so much time the last few weeks and making it really difficult to get artwork finished off. Really cool topic too!

With this one I'm looking to keep it relatively modern because the horsemen represent things that are already big problems in the world. The idea is to depict them on a carousel with the base representing Earth and the top symbolising Heaven and Hell. The actual character concepts (the most important bits!) are in my head but not really sketched in well; but as I said, this is rushed, don't know quite when I'll get a chance to post again before Christmas so just presenting my idea in the earliest stages for the lulz. Good luck and Christmas cheers, yo.

[Bnoch]

So far I've chosen to stay pretty close to the literal subject matter, but I'm sure I'll stray off a bit and end up in "WTF land" at some point. More Armor, accessories, weaponry, effects, anatomy, lighting, etc will be coming up after I've found a nice comp with the shapes i have.

3 weeks is a lifetime. Should be some nice thoughtful images in the final thread.

[Naphtali]

So here is my line art...

After all the chain mail... my hand hurts...

[Naphtali]

GOSH it is still flipping huge... I am dropping it far.. i am sorry guys..

[GEB]

Missile: That's an awesome idea!

Bnoch: Epic!

Meant to post my update yesterday but ended up getting really drunk... just working up the armor. Will deal with values and light at some point. Too much twist on the body I read earlier? Damn! Can I get a second oppinion before I attemp to deal wit hthat task :(

[ArtByManon]

Parsakoira's Cheers dude, still not got the horse perfect but its getting there. Also, totally sick designs so far, can't wait to see more of them!

AndreRuben Thanks man, unique and awesome design yourself!

ArtByManon Just noticed your post so haven't been able to see what it would look like but I am thinking of going along the lines of making the horse a little bit more like a crazed beast almost like it could be an ancient descendant of the horse as old as time itself, who knows but one thing is for certain you've given me some cool ideas!

So yeah, small update really, detailed the rider a little bit more and refining the anatomy on the horse, although its wrong I quite like its head being so thin and sly, I'll have a play see what happens. Also made the rider a little bit fatter, didn't want him all skin and bones or he might be too similar to famine

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_1R_UyBc2oRk/TRBsp-IQVnI/AAAAAAAAANE/jxZ4rSMo6z8/s1600/Death+update.jpg

Its still worth looking at the skeletal structure of horses though - cos at the moment your horse looks very rigid - even if its a freaky freak horse, its got to look like it could move fluidly. If youw ant examples of ancient breeds of horse, look at przewalski's horse and then look at the early types of horses from fossil records... (they were the size of dogs ;) ).

Sorry, I realise i'm being a horse bore...

[ArtByManon]

Partisan- really nice king of kings. love the heads on both. the horses rear seems to be stretched too much horizontally. Also, the shadow of the cloth on the mans face falls in such a way that it gives the impression he doesn't have a jaw. Which he may not ;) but I thought I'd point that out.

ArtByManon- famine = super scary! I love the sickly dripping hair on the horse, and the scale is really nicely designed. The front part of the horse seems larger than the rear, and the head looks elongated at the jaw line. Near the lower rear of the head, horses have very rounded jaws. Great pose and concept!

I've not done any drawings yet... so not sure who you're talking to :)

[ArtByManon]

Missile: That's an awesome idea!

Bnoch: Epic!

Meant to post my update yesterday but ended up getting really drunk... just working up the armor. Will deal with values and light at some point. Too much twist on the body I read earlier? Damn! Can I get a second oppinion before I attemp to deal wit hthat task :(

Its a supernatural being... For me the twist looks fine, its meant to be a freaky creature right?

[GEB]

Thank Christ for that! I'm finding it very hard to think without bursting into tears today. The thought of restructuring his anatomy was just too much to take!

[electric_sandal]

Conquest update. not sure if I'll continue working on it this week.
everyone's entries are looking great.

http://i363.photobucket.com/albums/oo79/electric_sandal/conquestprogress-3.jpg

[matias]

Ok, so I'm going with a western theme too, (dammit IDP, beat me to it! :P) Wanted a motley band of scouts type feel, raggedy old uniforms, top hats & feathers and such. I've always loved that theme and period, going for more of the quiet menace, or impending doom. Dont know how much I'm breaking the character 3qtr rules, but hey!

Bnoch Awesome stuff, great sense the horsemen being unleashed!! Also a good example of reference in action!! It works!
Partisan Conquest is looking really strong, fits the mood nicely!
Emerging Wow, really different concept, looking forward to seeing it develop!!
Parsakoira Dude, I loved the blank temp-face on your War wip, kinda suited it! Quickly becoming a fan of your work!

[reginanegra]

bnoch we pretty much had the same ideas (not to mention same references!) but i like it too much to give it up no matter how friggin awesome your piece looks! keep it up! and i ll just try my best :)

[Stovieheed]

Managed to work on this for a little bit today. Still very rough

http://www.conceptart.org/forums/picture.php?albumid=4567&pictureid=26496

[Gobi]

matias really really kewl idea to make it the western style!
electric_sandal many details, i like it :D but i think her head is a little... wide? have no idea

new famine... i haz idea, that her belly could eat mankind an spit out the souls on the exhaust on her left shoulder, wich were collect by death... an without ancientbaton an failhand^^... hope u like it

http://fc06.deviantart.net/fs71/f/2010/356/1/b/apocalypse__famine_wip3_by_gobijin-d35ervf.jpg

/edit I ARE LVL 2 GLADIATOR, whoooot?

[JaneMag]

unless the idea you actually came up with is space-ships or someting like that, i believe everyone who has seen supernatural, at the first mention of 4 horsemen, thinks of cars..... so you cant be the first ;)
me on the other hand as much as i like that idea, i am going to go with the more traditional but epic horse. :P

Oh no, I didn't mean the cars or bikers. :P I was thinking of seahorses :)

[lunipard]

a quick scetch, i just discovered this awesome topic and got some inspiration...
no one else had the idea of famine being a skinny model/anorexia girl? sweet! not sure where to take this yet, but i will probably concentrate on famine and maybe add pestilence later, perhaps they will be sisters.

[lunipard]

Oh no, I didn't mean the cars or bikers. :P I was thinking of seahorses :)

oh damnit i thought your idea was sealions or something similar. but i see how your idea is better in all ways :P

[Partisan]

progress on death , trying to achieve a look like he beeing a sublime killer (with all possible meanings of the word sublime ^^ ), thats why I gave him two sickles (slit slit ) instead of a Scythe ( hacking splattering),the mass of skeletons carrying his throne ( which is still totally out of shape, I know ^^ ) around still just hinted will work on that tomorrow- Promise!

First Idea for famine will be : A little, crippled half mummified, smoldering guy standing on a huge Scale ( much like a giant siege tower ), he will be on the one side of the scale demanding to balance his weight, but what the mandkind doesnt know is that every single ounce put on the other side of the scale makes him exactly that much heavier, so its impossible to balance the scale because he will be allways heavier at the minimum of his own personal weight ....and thats how he causes famine...

And War will ride a chariot, drawn by some supernatural beeings not yet disclosed ^^

quick sketches will follow soon, know that they all have different kinds of rides but I hope that wont exclude me from the voting...maybe I see it that way because for me they dont ride alongside onto a battlefield its more like everyone has his own part ....for example:

On a arbitrary battlefield , there will be the King of Kings chasing for the King/General/Champion who guides the Armies, War beeing in the thick of it slaying everything that moves , Death follows in his wake determining and collecting the death, and Famine standing on a huge hill weakening the Armies, sucking the live out of them. This could be seen metaphorical or figuratively , one time the four not to be seen in person but by their acting and the representation of this on the battlefield and the other case the four actually beeing there doing their thing ^^.

Wish I could draw with oil ....would make a huge 2m per 3m painting showing that scene, sadly I know nothing about drawing in oil *sigh*

[ArtByManon]

Matias, i love your concept...

Here's Pale so far.

[Parsakoira]

thanks yall for feedback :)
http://imgur.com/2MurB.jpg
http://imgur.com/zCP4u.jpg
http://imgur.com/mdNev.jpg
http://imgur.com/Qne6r.jpg

[Ceinwen Fang]

Just done some quick thumbnails. Doubt I'll have time to finish them all, but you never know. I'll pick a particular one if not.
They're all quite contemporary ideas i'm afraid =P no sword and sorcery or biblical stuff Just my own take on the theme

http://i282.photobucket.com/albums/kk249/newniec/sketchbook/december%202010/thumbs.jpg

Parsakoira, wow, ok your horse anatomy isn't perfect (who's is, they're hard!), but its close, and the mood and technique you've got is amazing.

JanJager, that's a nice composition, I'm not sure I'm convinced by the colours yet

Kissorkill, oh wow guts, aren't they usually lower down though?

Gloombunny - my favourite bit is the horse's headpiece. Is the centre of balance on the rider quite right - i'm not sure - maybe he needs to lean forward a bit?

GEB yours is just cool.

Electricsandal - I like your take on the word conquest =P

Gobi - Either your horse's face is too short or the lower jaw is too long. Admittedly its a fantasy carnivorey beast, so I suppose its not essential to get it right.

Fudgeloaf - yours creeps me out for some reason lol. I think Rudolph needs more neck and less tail?

Xabian - Check out some horse skulls and leg joints, the bones are the key!

Partisan - Your horse is looking too cool for school :] Feel the speed. I like the metalwork too. I'm not sure about the halo. Its not so convincing a picture, takes some realism away. But it fits the theme really well I guess.

Kxu - The horse shoulders look a bit like human shoulders. Horse legs join onto the chest much further down. Like the composition and skull though

Keppo - Is that a burning city reflection in the sword? Cool. Shiny armour :]

Vablo - Loove the texture and colours in yours. The horse head looks too short to me but other than that its nice.

Andreruben - Beautiful, bit more depth n itll be really haunting

Dionesiist - Awesome saddlery detail and I like how they are getting their own individuality as opposed to being just steeds.

Axazel - your War is a fantastic concept. Might just be me but the horse looks like its smaller in frame than War... not sure it'd be able to carry his weight?

Brokenlawnmower - I like how its going, feeling the spookiness.

Urotskidoji - oooh, looking forward to seeing more. I love Death especially. Conquest and Famine's horses have really long legsand big heads, maybe experiment with proportions when you work them up.

Missile - good ta know I'm not alone in doing a more modern approach. Interesting idea with the carousel. Quite an ambitious concept though, good luck.

Bnoch - Whooosh, that's me being blown away :)

Lunipard - haha, I had that idea too... sorry to say. Mine's holding a pair of bathroom scales though... at least that's a small modification?

Artbymanon, great horse musculature!

Sorry I havent had time to comment on everyone's.

[GEB]

Pulled some time out of ass to do some more. I'm gunna call war pretty much complete, though I'm sure I could spend days fine tuning. Crits welcome.

Parsakoira: They look wicked! I love the colour schemes

Larchist: Thanks for the compliment. Is yours a napoleonic theme?

Love to stay and chat but I've off out for a Christmas meal. Laters!

[Carnifex]

damn parsakoira,that's pure design sex right there.
only crit i have is that war's arm kinda looks like it's bent backwards awkwardly instead of forward. it's the folds on the cloth.

[Ceinwen Fang]

Not totally decided on my War one. I drew a fox hunter, thinking maybe I would do a humanity war on nature idea with extinct animals and stuff hanging from the bridle and burning trees, etc. But its seeming a bit ambitious now. Gonna think on it a bit more.
The others are Death - obesity epidemic, Famine - starving supermodel, and Conquest is a businessman banker type guy.

[AndreRuben]

More progress. I have to start the other finals also. And if i have time i'll do a composition with all 4 together, but using another theme, kids in wooden horses pherhaps! =)

[Axazel]

My rough for death.

http://i54.tinypic.com/2l8hf6x.png

[eeedward]

LOL Time to sound like a total creeper...Parsakoira I totally want to have babies with your art...that is all ;//u//;

*rolls away*

[Parsakoira]

haha eeedward, im not sure if i should take that as a compliment or what 8D

[Pixeltuner]

So I finally got around doing something myself. Not really thought over and all so the design is pretty standard but hey: gotta start somewhere :p

[Suneater]

Here's my try at war, seeing some excellent work here, guys

http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii147/patrickkod/WarSketch.jpg

[Axazel]

AndreRuben – Nice veins up the side. It’s looking rather sickly. The hand grabbing the flames of the horse is very well done. Right now the horse feels stocky, but I think that's because I’m seeing the ends of his legs as nubs. Seeing the connection from leg to ground should fix that. Can’t wait to see the next version~

GEB – There is great movement in this. Loads of good things happening.

Larchist – It will be interesting to see where you’ll go. Thanks for the input. I want war to look like he’s going to just run the horse into the ground- like he is too much for the poor thing. Is this sort of what you’re getting, or should I go about it in a different way other than scale?

Parsakoira – They each have their own strengths. I like the face piece on conquer. The details on famine such as the breath from the horse and dripping from the scale are delicious. The mood in death. But War is my favorite. You have here what it takes to make a good image – movement, texture, and solidity, and then some.

ArtByManon – Your Death/Pale looks like it’s set in stone, and yet so fluid. This is going to be very beautiful. It looks like if you keep the background that way, it could ultimately flatten out all of your beautiful rendering. I don’t know if you have greater plans for that texture. I could be very wrong.

Partisan – I love the sickles already. I look forward to where this is going.

Lunipard – haha, I do have a shell of a woman of sorts.. but not a skinny model. I have a feeling I’m really going to enjoy seeing yours finished.

Gobi – For a second I though the cloth over her eyes were sunglasses. Haha. The teeth are beautiful. I really like the idea of the exhaust being souls. What is the sling for? Is it holding on to something, or fashion?

Stovieheed – I think the headpiece of the horse is really strong. Neck is a bit funny though, kinda chunky. I’ll be watching for your next version!

Matias – I’m really looking forward to yours. Your composition is strong and colors look good. Two things I can really learn from.

Electric_sandal – dang. You don’t hold back on detail do you? Your bow and arrow are really great – very real. I feel like I’m being hypnotized .

Naphtali – Does he ride a horse too? That would be a mind trip for sure. I wish the file were a bit smaller that was I could see it all at once. But I like what I’m seeing. Good luck with the rest of it!

Bnoch – This is looking SO intense! Your famine is probably my favorite of all of them, along with their horse. Keep going! I’m really excited!

Lancer_idenoure - The crown is the strongest part so far. I think it is cool when people manage to make a full length piece with all of them in it. Good luck with all of them. Based, off of your icon this should be cool.

Broken_Lawnmower – It’s like toxic sludge! Your horse’s face is really capturing. Are you going to be doing all of them?

Emerging – Everything is so fleshed out and tangible. The lighting is great and the face-neck connection is really unique. I don’t know why, but I’m really digging those teeth. I’m looking forward to the horse.

Romediggity – Finised one already? Dang! You made the chains into very effective legs. It’s a little hard to inderstand what is in his left hand. Is it an orb that sucks in spirits? The skull and hood are the best part for sure.

Bethany K. – Yours is really different from all of the others. You might want to add some thickness to the armor. Right now, they look like sheets as thick as paper. If this is what you want, then no prob. I figure a big guy like that is probably going to pack some heavy armor.

J@n!t - Yours reminds me of those old western comics. The skeleton is so cute. The colors are actually really great.

Kissorkill – War’s horse is really wonderfully rendered. Is this your final composition, or just a character ref. sheet kind of deal? I’ll be excited to see what you do with these guys.

IDP – Can’t tell who is who, but the one spitting is the coolest. It would be kind of ironic if that one was famine.. what with drought and all that. All of your figures are looking really solid. I’ll be looking out for your future stuff.

Keppo – Your metal is looking really great. It’s a little disjointed just because the metal is really rendered but nothing else is. Obviously a temporary problem. Can’t wait to see the full deal.

Vablo – This is great. I can’t really say much… I would read the book if this was a cover.

Dionesiist – Your sketches are awesome. I think it’s really cool that you’ve gone into designing the horse, and are obviously giving it a lot of attention. It should turn out really strong. I look forward to your next post.

Out of time.. more people later.

[eeedward]

@Parsakoira: @_@ It's supposed to be a compliment...but...OTL;;;

I just really love your art D: I will fangirl and oogle all over it now

/creeper >_>;;;

[Gobi]

Gobi – For a second I though the cloth over her eyes were sunglasses. Haha. The teeth are beautiful. I really like the idea of the exhaust being souls. What is the sling for? Is it holding on to something, or fashion?

the sling is for the exhaust... but i think, if there is a mouth in her belly, the exhaust could come out of her body,too^^
thank you

[romediggity]

http://i196.photobucket.com/albums/aa205/RomeDog_2007/deathConcept4.jpg

[ArtByManon]

My rough for death.

http://i54.tinypic.com/2l8hf6x.png

Gorgeous movement and atmosphere...

[ArtByManon]

Update - wanted death to be like an oozing sore. In one description the colour pale is described as corpse coloured... LONG way to go yet. Wasn't sure about the gaping mouth on the rider, any crits on that? Obviously I've spent most of my time on the horse so far, so just gonna keep trucking. I want to do War next.

[Partisan]

quick note from me, and with no offense at all, but to me its like death riding on the horse of Pestilence, the horse is very cool and sickly looking btw ! but as I said, to me it looks like Death stole the horse from Pestilence .

so long
Seb

[Truepinkas]

Wow, so many of these look AMAZING already...

I'm not sure if I'm actually going to be participating, but I thought I'd share this super quick sketch of the idea I had for War on his red rocking horse.

[DarkRyuukin]

thanks yall for feedback :)
http://imgur.com/2MurB.jpg
http://imgur.com/zCP4u.jpg
http://imgur.com/mdNev.jpg
http://imgur.com/Qne6r.jpg

Wow... These are fantastic! I especially love the chaos symbol on conquest's flag (and I think you tried to incorporate it into his helm am I right?) As well as war's horse's bleeding nose/mouth. Death as well is amazing... especially the texture and coloring of the horse. I wish I could fully express how great these look!

[Broken Lawnmower]

Axazel: I wanna try to, but it might come down to the wire. I don't know whether I should do them one at a time or do what Parsakoira did and kinda have them all going at once.

Here's a little rendering update (mostly on the horse)

[JanJager]

@Truepinkas
Nice take. Can bee really nice with the light from the window.
@ArtByManon
Great rendered horse. It stands very good on the ground. But I think you shuld have some kind of soft shadow under it.
@romediggity
Definitely death.
@Suneater
Great action Inventive design. Perhaps work a bit on the leg anatomy. Are there a special purpose to have cloven hoofs.
@Pixeltuner
Good start. I suppose you going to work out legs and feet's a bit more.
@Axazel
I like the atmosphere.
@AndreRuben
Nice. Looks like a real supernatural creature.Hope you render it out a bit more. It such a good idea.
@GEB
Great rendering.
@ larchist
Good start.
@Parsakoira
Great. Very powerful design, rendering and colours. Perhaps ref the legs and hooves.
@matias
Nice take. Can bee very cool with the red skie.
@electric_sandal
Wonderful details and design. Perhaps work out the cloth. Looks a bit rushed compeered to the armour.
@ Bnoch
The action is awesome.
Broken Lawnmower
I like the design idea.

Sorry for not criting all. So many great entries.
I could not resist going for the medieval. even thou this topic could bee so cool with a new twist.

[Sean McClain]

elecric sandal: this is really interesting,...I like the
design alot, nice choice of colors, one thing that jumps
out at me is that there is not much subtle temperature jumps
in the color, like miniscule atmospheric perspective from the arms to the
things on her back...it's also a bit busy, I am not sure
where to rest my eyes...keep at it though its looking great!

mattias: ah yes ders goina be'A opacolipps come sundown I recckin'
nice start, I like the atmosphere a lot, look foward to seeing
the progress shots...

stovieheed: nice start! keep at it.

gobi: pencils nice! nice design, I like it keep it up...

lunipard: very origional, look foward to seeing what you come
up with.

partisan: Oils are great, but that sh$% has to dry and
plus it's expensive...however you should get some and
learn how to use it it will help your digital work
for sure! it's looking great nice mood, camera angle, composition
sweeeet!

artbymanon: nice concept the horse looks great, the anatomy
is looking a bit abstract, I am not sure I buy that his
arm is that long, cant wait to see it done:).

Parsakoira: these are just looking fantastic, and your getting
it done so fast! your ideas are great along with your painting.
the design of the guy on the purple horse is looking a little
week, I would like to see the pallet on his horse incorperated
into his own outfit, cheers!

larkist: nothing wronge with your own ideas mate! nice job
blocking out there shapes so fare you can tell them apart just
by looking at them,look foward to seeing what you do:)

geb: cool one so far, great atmosphere going on!

andre rubin: cool idea, getting a little mooshy, some reference
would help...I like your color pallet. look foward to seeing it done

axazel: Totally wicked!!:O

pixeltuner: nice start, the anatomy on the horse is off,
I'm sure you get it looking sweeeeet!cheers:)

suneater: nice start, lov the linework, reminds me of the
nazgul at the gateway to mordor:)

romdigity: creepy santa apocolyps....

truepinkas: YAAaaaaaaaayyyy......

broken lawnmower nice mood! I love that wispy cloth he has...

janjager:nmower: nice horse anatomy, human too:), the pallets
are working together well, more detailing to go I am sure
you have a while, keep it up, cheers!

well here is what I have so far,...can anyone tell me if they can guess where
I put the focal area,...if so how stronge is it? not sure about that front of the horse does it look right in perspective?

[Artfix]

I'm really liking some of these. Apologies if the liberties I'm taking with the creatures is outside of the brief. I plan to make them all color coordinated and what not at least. The idea is that they're riding scavengers which everyone finds especially loathsome. I think the fourth one will be on a Monitor lizard thing.

I'm also considering putting the four of them in separate images--I really like what some of you have done using four separate images with corresponding color palettes.

[zy.]

This is absolutely terrifying! I vote mouth open for sure. Nice work! (they bleeding eye, hooves, and gaping skeletal mouth really creep me out!)

Update - wanted death to be like an oozing sore. In one description the colour pale is described as corpse coloured... LONG way to go yet. Wasn't sure about the gaping mouth on the rider, any crits on that? Obviously I've spent most of my time on the horse so far, so just gonna keep trucking. I want to do War next.

[Parsakoira]

apparently i forgot to upload death...
http://imgur.com/h0FQG.jpg

[electric_sandal]

update on conquest. thanks for the critiques. trying to get around to them all. really good observations.

http://i363.photobucket.com/albums/oo79/electric_sandal/horseman2copy.jpg

[ArtByManon]

quick note from me, and with no offense at all, but to me its like death riding on the horse of Pestilence, the horse is very cool and sickly looking btw ! but as I said, to me it looks like Death stole the horse from Pestilence .

so long
Seb

No offense taken!! I am going for Death as 'pestilence, plague' etc - looking at the translations death is sometimes called pestilence too!! all very confusing. But am going to do the white horse as Conquest - so hopefully that should remedy the fact that my Pale is a bit rotten.
SO, you've confirmed to me that I've got it right with regard to the pestilence thing - yay!

[GEB]

Wow this thread is all go! I hope I get some time to work on some of the other horsemen. Would love to do them all

Electric sandal: You've got some really nice rendering on her. I reckon on your next piece, just take a little more time to figure out the proportions and you'll be sweet!

Parsakoira: Jealousy is so ugly, so I think I should just say nothing ;)

Artfix: Love it can't wait to see it develop

Sean McLain: Nice, but I think there are some proportion issues. His head looks a little small to me. Also a horses eyes are on the side of its head. Get yourself some nice ref images it really will help you

JanJager: Loving the feel of these. I especially love deaths crazy long neck! Creepy!

BrokenLawnmower: Awesome goulish look. Puts me in mind of the undead guys in Return of the King

[Naphtali]

First tonal pass... Really trying to push my coloring and shading here. I got some feed back on an earlier piece and directed to a good tutorial sight... really applying what I learned on there, here.

[GEB]

Well I think I'm gunna stick to the centaur thing but with death I'm thinking a pegataur (if that's a real term) as death arrives on swift wings. I may well have made a rod for my own back as I intend to have the flesh as a pale ghostly green vapour and the cloak as rags and smoke a bit like the deatheaters in Harry Potter. God help me...

[ArtByManon]

GEB I love your energetic sketches and I love the centaur theme - I get so hung up on realism that I think mine become too static at times.

I think Pale is finished I keep continuing with the detail but you can't see it from a distance anyway! - but I might tweak a bi tover the next few weeks.

[GEB]

Thanks mate I've only recently started doing these initial B&W sketches and I really feel they help as they're so easy to adjust and edit. Your horse is beautifully done, though I think the cloak needs work. Maybe a classic dark one would contrast more or one made of the same flesh as your horse like a cloak of skin! Yuck!

[Parsakoira]

Soon finished the Death, only needs some detailing and final refining, but everything else is in place!

GEB: your Death sketch is looking great so far!
ArtByManon: Very creepy horse! love the bloodshot eyes and all!
http://imgur.com/wDdON.jpg

[Stovieheed]

Right, worked a little more on this. I wasnt happy with how the rider was developing so changed it up a bit and borrowed the idea of the vanquished Kings crowns being held as trophies form Partisan among others. I already have the severed heads of the slain on his steed so decided to have Conquest showing of the shiny trinkets. Please let me know if there are any major issues folks. I have to go to work now. :(

http://www.conceptart.org/forums/picture.php?albumid=4567&pictureid=26515

[ArtByManon]

Thanks mate I've only recently started doing these initial B&W sketches and I really feel they help as they're so easy to adjust and edit. Your horse is beautifully done, though I think the cloak needs work. Maybe a classic dark one would contrast more or one made of the same flesh as your horse like a cloak of skin! Yuck!

Mmmm I'm liking the cloak of skin idea - might have to do that. I kind of wanted a flowing cloak, so skin wouldn't really move like that, but if it was human skin... well, it would be soft like suede wouldn't it... mmm gonna have to play again! might start War first though!

[Dionesiist]

Well, I have some doodles and a mostly finalized sketch of War.

http://i181.photobucket.com/albums/x256/Dionesiist/WarSketches.jpg

http://i181.photobucket.com/albums/x256/Dionesiist/War-1.jpg

[his sword will be put together, I ran out of paper -_-']

[Gobi]

Dionesiist war looks really angry. like it :D
ArtByManon your horse is amazing :o
Broken Lawnmower i like the glow, looks great!
GEB awesome, cant wait to see more details!


the apocalypse starts small...
http://fc03.deviantart.net/fs70/f/2010/357/4/d/apocalypse__lego_wip_by_gobijin-d35hhoa.jpg

[kiwigarbage]

Ohhhh Parsakoira. You are intimidating. I feel the presence of those Horsemen! I hope you're saving processes of these so you can take us through a tutorial of how you achieve your textures! (if that's not too asinine to hope for).

Wonderful stuff, so inspiring this go round!

[Suneater]

Made a start with conquest today, in the interpretation of the False Prophet (antichrist).

http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii147/patrickkod/FalseProphetWarSketch.jpg

[Axazel]

An update on death. Thanks JanJager and Sean_McLain for your support~

http://i54.tinypic.com/122jcjq.png
http://i51.tinypic.com/2eutlef.png

[Nikola Marinkovic]

so many great entries!

i don't want to miss all the fun. :)

here's mine speed start on death.

[grenogs]

I havent done one of these in such a long time, but i may just concider this one. I think the biggest problem here though is the concept, mention "the four horsemen" , and everyone instantly thinks, biblical, fantasy and all very serious stuff, and everything becomes very cliche' . But if you think more humour, or aim your ideas towards what would be suitable for children, then all of a sudden anything is possible, and the box becomes a lot easier to climb out of. This could definetly be a good round. (I cant believe no ones added a christmas theme yet, could defenetly imaging rudolf kitted out ready for war)

[GEB]

Howdy quick update as I seem to have got a bit drunk again... Still issues to work out but I'm kinda liking the way it's headed though I think I need to make the horse half a bit more boney...

[Carnifex]

attempt nr.2.
speedpaint. it works ok as an illustration, but i gotta plan it out better, this one's pretty static. not sure if it comes across as very characteristic.
also high time to study horse anatomy.
artbymanon - pretty damn scary.

[ArtByManon]

Axazel - I like it, but its not as dark as it seemed before, and a little on the soft focus side? I think it would be more forboding if it wasn't so soft and you maybe tried some hard edged brushes with it? Just personal taste really for me. I still really love the elegance of it and the sorrow.

Carniflex - I love the beasts look on its face, looking forward to seeing it pull together and thank you, glad you think mine is scary!! haha..

[Parsakoira]

I seem to have got a bit drunk again...

I could use that :<

[Axazel]

Axazel - I like it, but its not as dark as it seemed before, and a little on the soft focus side? I think it would be more forboding if it wasn't so soft and you maybe tried some hard edged brushes with it? Just personal taste really for me. I still really love the elegance of it and the sorrow.

I think that sounds like a good idea. I'm not quite sure where I'm going with it.. I just don't want it to look bad xD

Thank you.

[Ironbyte]

Thanks for comments, will try to post some soon :)

Had a stab at death today. Not sure about leaving him mainly bare bone or (edit) go for something like the second?

[Gobi]

gloombunny I think the second has a bit more movement in it ... i think it looks better
Carnifex good start, especially I like the "horse" ^^
GEB very, very cool. I cant wait until color comes out.

[Partisan]

progress on Death not yet sure about every detail might change a few things ^^, and a lot of lighting remains to be done, not to mention the dozens of skeletons ^^

[WrAtH101]

All of the designs and concepts of these characters are AWESOME on here!! Ill be posting mine soon lol :D

[Arepa]

Omg this is exciting i wanna try :D

[Nikola Marinkovic]

horses are soooo beautiful. :bounce:

ok.

here's an update. i'm really liking where this is going. i think this will be my best piece so far. :bashful:

[lunipard]

ArtByManon: maybe blood stains on the cloth? it seems strange to me that a man surrounded by that much blood could avoid getting it on his outfit :P

[Ceinwen Fang]

I always do this, start tightening stuff up then ttally go off the concepts. I think I've made it overcomplicated for myself? Well, here are WIPs of death and famine. As they are. Might start them over

http://i282.photobucket.com/albums/kk249/newniec/sketchbook/december%202010/deathwip1sm.jpg

http://i282.photobucket.com/albums/kk249/newniec/faminewip1.jpg

Sean McClain - I do think the chest on the horse is too narrow slightly. Eyes a bit low down too. Your colours and composition are great.
Artfix your beasties are AWESOME. I adore the one on the far right.
Electric Sandal, are you planning on adding a bg? Somehow she seems to be hovering in space, the grey is a bit flat, and doesn't do your awesome character rendering fully justice.
GEB - skillz. Wow.
Artbymanon yours is so realistic its especially creepy. The horse makes me wince ina good way. The tail just looks painful. the only thing I am not keen on is the upper portion of cloak. Looks more like hair than fabric, I recognise you're going for the ragged look, but its a bit overdone maybe.
Gobi - haha! Their expressions are priceless. So chipper.
Suneater - Nice lines. Horse nostrils are further forward than that. Your lively poses are some of my favourite here.
Axazel - For War I just meant that I think the horse simply doesn't look physically big enough to carry the demon. I love the despair in your Death's eye, very evocative. Shame you can't see it zoomed out.The horse face and neck are rather thick and short, I love the ghostly brushwork though.
Gloombunny - I'd say the first, its easier to read as a composition and your bones are really nicely done. The second looks a little like he is falling off to me, may just be me tho

[lunipard]

thanks for the comments on my Famine! more motivated to work on it now :)
but before i read all that i took on Plague...

just throwing out values right now. even though i found great references for the horse i am SO thankful that i studied their basic anatomy few years ago.

i picture her as a fever, a wild, running fever that sweeps. the rider is a young girl, the picture of innocence, as i wanted Plague as something treacherous (you know how it's just belly pains in the beginning and then BOOM you're vomiting blood). the horse is gonna look crazier too.

any ideas and crits/comments are much welcome.

[lunipard]

i guess you guys made me really motivated :P

i did a really quick job of a bg, inspired by her pose, it looks like she is refusing something offered to her, and, being a skinny model, she doesn't want anything to eat of course! in composing the bg of a thriving oasis to the left and a desert to the right, the pic can be interpreted as someone who voluntarily starves herself, and thus is a symbol of famine, or that she herself causes famine around her.
i love double meanings ;P


still a bit unsure about it so be harsh with me!
now i am off to sleep for tomorrow is the main christmas day to us swedes. i might return the 25th. :)

[Nikola Marinkovic]

last update for today.

great work everyone.

[Partisan]

a last update for today

[ArtByManon]

Lunopard - thank you, very good point which I will
Remedy!
Larchist, yeah seems the coat is a bit pants... Will try something different then drench it in blood!

[zy.]

Hello all! I'm new here, I've taken a break from art, but am starting to get back into it. I downloaded the open source program Gimp and decided to give it a go.

Y'all and been inspiring the heck out of me the last few days! So thanks :)

This is war and the read horse... When I first read the description I thought, "BLOOD AND FIRE!!!", but opted to go a little more conservative and at least keep all the blood contained...

I used a reference for horse veins to get that right (I love google), and a horse picture to get the head angle correct. I'm using the software Gimp, and (omg why!?) a track pad....

Please please all cc welcomed. I have a separate layer for pretty much every component, so editing shouldn't be too bad. Thanks all!

** Also, I'm not sure this is within the rules, as you can't see 2/3rds of the guy. I am planning on drawing him out in fully body, but thought this was the best way to see the details of the horse. Would this be dq-ed?

[Broken Lawnmower]

excellent work all around, everybody!

I think this is finished. crits? I'm not too sure about the scythe myself. Might change it later.

time to start war!

[eeedward]

Ooooooh Partisan I LOVE how you did the light shining on the chair from those lamp things *^*

[Axazel]

I'm posting soo much. sorry all! Just want to make sure I'm on the right track. Critiques welcome!

Is this a bit better?
http://i52.tinypic.com/2eydy55.png

[zy.]

larchist- Cool to see a different approach. Love the scale =D And yep, death is one heavy mother f*er! Keep it up!

lunipard - Plague: Love this action shot. No cc, can't wait to see more!! (ps I *hate* it when I have a little stomach ache and the cough up blood... the worst!) Famine: great perspective on the horse, and I like the idea. The girl's leg seems a bit short. I'd recommend checking out some photographs of super skinny models, a lot of the "anorexic model" pics on the web have been photoshopped, but it should still provide some useful info. Keep it up!

Nikola Marinkovic- Looks great, anatomy on track. The houses in the background are a nice touch.

Partisan- Really cool. Cant wait to see the hands when they're finished, looks like that'll be a really interesting part of the piece!


Broken Lawnmower- really like your choice of color! Anatomy all looks great. It looks like the light is coming from in, and also under, the horse. Correct?


Axazel- I love the concept here. The reflection adds so much! Definitely on the right track!

[Parsakoira]

Oh how i fucking love my PC, it went and corrupted my Death file, it was already fucking finished!!!!!!

[APW]

Every is doing amazing!
My version of death....
Revelations 6:8- And power was given to them over a fourth of the Earth, to kill with sword, with hunger, with death, and by the Beasts of the Earth.

[lancer_idenoure]

after seeing bnoch's wip i decided to just go ahead and do all 4 of them. this sketch took me all day O_O tried to work out everything before i started painting, so i had to do a lot of researchy things and find some refs. proud to say famine's and death's mounts were non-reffed :) not liking the design of those 2 though, theyre pretty cliche. ill have to play with em a bit more. anyway, heres the lines and a 5 minute color test.

1128285
1128286

this is BY FAR the biggest file ive ever worked with. the original is more than 2200x7500 pixels @_@

crits tomorrow guys, i promise!

[ArtByManon]

I'm posting soo much. sorry all! Just want to make sure I'm on the right track. Critiques welcome!

Is this a bit better?
http://i52.tinypic.com/2eydy55.png

Much better, I love this image - the only thing i'd change is where the reins are - it looks like they are attaching to the front of the horses neck, and then going round the neck like a collar - rather than the reins direct from the mouth to the hands of death?

[ArtByManon]

ZY - i love your concept, really unusual idea for it to be veins!!

[Ceinwen Fang]

Cheers zy =D holymoly yours is gorgeous, but yeah, I don't think itd count as a character design? This is only me 2nd chow but you can't really see enough. Shame cause I love the composition as it is. Horse made of fire veins, so cool. And your lighting is masterful. Maybe if you zoomed out and finished the rest of the figures to the same detail?(OK, I'll admit I just want to see an entire fire veiny horse) Bit of a mission, but would be worth it.

Oh man Parsakoira you have my sympathy, at least you still have the previews you posted here?

Lancer-idenoure, the main thing I see is Famine's horse's left leg is in the wrong position, if the right hind is back the left fore would be too. War's horse's ears look a bit donkey ish too. maybe tone them down a little :] The blank space to the left doesn't do anythign for me. Kind of wedges them into the right hand side a bit. Think they'd pop a bit more if there was more space to the right than left, or else maybe a really close crop? Or maybe you were planning to put in a landscape there.

[Bnoch]

Really nice iterations from everyone. Parsakoira and Jager have some hotness brewing.

Here's some progress. Plenty more to slap around and adjust. I'll be breaking out the characters individually after making the lineup comp that I dig.

Boo-ya.

[GEB]

Bnoch: That's crazy good!

Parsakoira: Man it was looking so good! What you gunna do, try and repeat it or do it different?

Have a great Christmas all, look forward to seeing your work.

[Partisan]

progress on Death, looks not much but took a lot of time , and about 40-50 more skulls to come :nohope:

and Parsakoira to cheer you up thats the exact same thing that happened to me as I tried to save my King of Kings for the first time ...my photoshop made it into a "1. rider" file "rider" beeing the file type and "1" beeing the name >..> had to start all over again ...

and yeah happy holidays from me too

so long
Seb

[Partisan]

/edit

[Gobi]

Yeah, happy holidays to you all :D
Free hugs 4 all!

[kxu]

happy holidays cya soon! XoXo

[brentos8]

Sound like an awsome idea, gotta make some time to try this out, never done it before.

Awsome post bnoch!

btw where do you post the finals?

btw happy holidays to all!

[Parsakoira]

Happy holidays everyone! :3

[Suneater]

Made a start on Famine, took me a while to come up with a proper idea so there's rather less progress than I would have liked.

http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii147/patrickkod/FalseProphetWarFamineSketch.jpg

Merry Christmas everyone!!

[Nikola Marinkovic]

little update..


need to do some things around and to stop getting distracted by details!

and of course i need to make whole picture more 'alive'.

Bnoch & Parsakoira are my favs so far! great work!

[Nikola Marinkovic]

and yes. merry christmas everyone! :)

[emerging]

bnoch - that is insane!

merry xmas everyone

[Bnoch]

Thanks all for the positive feedback. Keep on keepin' on in the new year!

Murray Chranzaunikestivus (Cur-onz-on-ik-est-a-vus)... the holiday everyone can celebrate!

[Ian Barker]

my progress so far:

http://img218.imageshack.us/img218/3544/4horsemen.jpg

[Carnifex]

so much epicness in this thread. happy holidays to all.

[APW]

GEB, Parsakoira, and suneater: EPIC!
Update:

[zy.]

Bnoch- epic. Love the comp and emotion! The horses look spot on and riders are really interesting. Only comment- might not be an issue in the end but right now it's difficult for me to figure out where the light sources are... really awesome though! Can't wait to see more.

[zy.]

Happy December days to all =D

[lancer_idenoure]

ok heres the promised crits...this is gonna take a while *_*

Liffey: im likin your start. nice colors. add some oranges? theyre kinda just standing around right now though, you might want to give them some sense of purpose or have them walking

Nikola Marinkovic: your details are comin along nicely, just watch out for letting the overall color get too washed out. right now you have the same hue of blue throughout the whole painting. go in with some overlay layers and add some varying hues and levels of saturation. also, i cant tell from the illustration which rider it is. it looks like a black horse, but the rider looks more like death.

Suneater: awesome designs :) lookin forward to seeing those colored. are you planing on having all 4 in the same piece? just check the anatomy on war. his arm is bent back awkwardly and his torso blends into his waist, making it look short, and his shin is a tad short as well which adds to that

Partisan: thats lookin sweet man, just push those values to make things pop more. and oh god good luck with all those skulls O_O haha i hope youre planning to have them get less detailed as the go back? it might help to copy and paste a skull or two here and there as well. same thing for conquest: push those values. (his horse's butt is stickin out a bit to much too :>)

bnoch: @_@ what the hell that is TOO good! only crits i have are to check the anatomy on conquest's arms. his left (the one holding the bow) doesn’t quite seem to connect to his shoulder and his right arm and shoulder look too small. move both of them up (including his right shoulder) and make his right arm bigger. other than that it looks AMAZING!!

APW: hmm thats a nice interpretation. lol at the frog :) just try not to make the transition from skin to bone that abrupt. maybe have some tattered skin hangin off the bone to make that smoother...haha thats gruesome. also theres a bad tangent of his front paw (the one touching the ground) and his hind legs. where theyre placed along with the abrupt skin-bone transitions made me think he had an extra joint on his right hind leg. hope that helps :]

Axazel: pretty much the same thing ArtByManon said. that and i would change the legs to have some joints instead of the straight lines they are now. some subtle colors would be a very nice touch too :) your other sketches are lookin great, especially war. im hopin to see those colored

Broken_Lawnmower: nice glowy effect :] just same thing i said to Nikola Marinkovic: dont let it get washed out with the same shade of color. right now the green is all the same hue. add some variations of warmer and cooler greens, along with some more saturation in certain areas to make it pop a bit more. heres an example of what i mean::] (http://ruanjia.com/contents.asp?ID=314)

zy.: wow nice concept. i agree though, youll wanna show more of the character. also, a lot of areas are way too saturated. leave some areas of interest as they are, but tone down the rest of the painting to add some more focus

lunipard: thats a good start. and maybe change plague's pose to something other than a jockey's? check the foreshortening on famine's horse and her anatomy too. i think her hip should be wider. you can look up pictures of starving people on google for ref (kinda disturbing though :/) and make some harder edges. i know theyre in the early stages, but having to go and fix those later can be a pain.

larchist: thank for the crit. and yeah, i was planning to have hell in the distance behind death. fixed famine's horse's legs too (i hope). yours are comin along nicely. haha death is sweet (shout out to obesity im guessing?) id just change his cape/hood thing. its lookin kind of "little red riding hood-y" if you know what i mean. also, famine's arm is bent back strangely. its a little too far back. bend your own arm back in the mirror for an easy ref.

gloombunny: i like the second one, but yours and bnoch's are kinda similar now...hmm maybe a mix b/w the 2. like have some bones showing through the tattered cloth. nice start :)

Carnifex: the colors and the mood are lookin awesome. i agree with you though, its a little static and the anatomy could use some fixing up. his legs are gone too :( keep at it man

GEB: haha drunk...nice :) thanks for droppin by my sketchbook btw. war is lookin seeeexxy! lovin that sword. about the body twist, its up to you if you wanna change it but i think itd be worth it to got in with the liquefy tool and play with it a bit. i you dont know, got to FILTER -> Liquefy. hope that helps. nice start on death too :)

Gobi: haha legos. nice :D not sure which to crit though. ill go with the older posts. those are nice concepts, i just recommend getting some refs for the anatomy. that always helps. are you planning on coloring it?

Dionesiist: hawt design, sir! only crit so far is that the proportions look a little squashed. try lengthening out everything a bit. like i said to GEB, you can play around with the liquefy filter.

Stovieheed: i love his pose. thats lookin intense :) just check the horse's head, its not really lookin like a horse. nothin a quick trip to google images wont fix ;)

Parsakoira: damn dude, youre busting those out! bummer about death :( that always sucks pretty hard. you might be able to save the image from this forum and then blow it up and paint over it...:/ its better than starting over completely anyways. theyre all lookin awesome though. maybe tighten up the areas of interest a liiiittle bit more. we've got like 2 more weeks left too, are you planning on painting all 4 of them? id love to see it :D

ArtByManon: ...damn that is creepy. especially the bloodshot frog eye on the horse *shudder* all those details are a bit distracting though. soften some up along with the edges in places you dont want to bring interest to and that should help.

Naphtali: nice start man. im liking the design. just dont be afraid to push those values even further! i dot know if you plan to give them a horse, but if you dont, you might wanna color them correspondingly. conquest=white etc...

electric sandal: thats starting to look pretty sweet. the forms arent reading very well though. take a break from all the detailing and really think about the planes of her form and think about how the light is hitting them. you can go in with overlay and multiply layers so you dont lose all the sweet details

Artfix: thats pure sex :D lookin awesome man! im just wondering how youre gonna fit the 4th guy in that composition. looking forward to more (and a bigger picture! ;))


ooohh what did i get myself into??? >.<


Sean McClain: thats a nice start. to answer your questions it looks like the focal area is her head because of the high contrast between her hair and skin...which im guessing is what you were going for. the horse' head looks too close to the body though, like it doesnt have a neck. move it to the left to fix that. it would also help to add some more saturated colors in areas you want to pop more. looking good :)

JanJager: great color schemes as always :) theyre somewhat early on right now so i wont crit much, but just watch out for getting into details too much. for example. on famine, from a distance the forms arent reading so well because you went in on the muscle details a little too early. just something to think about. cheers!

Truepinkas: haha nice idea man. hope you can participate :)

romediggity: santa coat? lol awesome. just make sure your forms are reading. pick a light source and think about how it falls on the subject.

Pixeltuner: thats a nice start, just check the horse's anatomy. its legs are bent the wong way. hopin to see more :)

AndreRuben: thats lookin awesome. love the veins. just push those darker values to make the forms read more. hope you get to finish!

matias: awesome colors so far. thats working really well as an illustration but for character design, its good to be able to see the front. youll just have to make their silhouettes be very readable ;)

Missile: the anatomy is lookin solid. id just suggest against the head-on view. you cant see the 4th rider and its kinda static.

Urotskidoji: nice sketches so far. especially like death :) famine looks a little plain though. have a good christmas!

kxu: looks to me like thatll fly with the rules. just try to distinguish which is which a little more so you can tell without the labels.

emerging: awesome take on the topic. lookin forward to see more :D

Bethany K.: thats different. in a good way. his leg pose is a little static though. i think his left shoulder should come down a bit too.

J@n!t: thats a nice start. he looks a little tired though. i dont know if that was your intention, but thats how his pose is reading. have fun :)

kissorkill: those are some crazy muscles! maybe a little too crazy, you might wanna tone that down a bit. looks like youre using a body builder for ref? other than that good start.

IDP: the anatomy looks great. only thing i have to say so far is that you might wanna beak up the "top line" of the composition. all their heads are just about level right now.

xabian: the values look good so far, just a bit more contrast. check the horse's anatomy too.

Keppo: that rendering looks fantastic, just check the anatomy and proportions.

Vablo: ooo that looks preety :] i think the flag looks a bit stiff though. good start dude!

fudgeloaf: that sketch is lookin good but which horsemen is it? rudolph's neck is too thick and his legs are missing a joint.

Formic Acid: hahaha lovin that sketch you get a great sense of personality just from the silhouettes. lookin forward to seeing more progress :)


.................................................. ............................................im dead now >.< that took FOREVER! hope it all helps.

and i might as well post what little progress ive made today. started establishing some background and lighting. ill probably go in and change death and famine a bit, im still not happy with their designs.

[FightingSeraph]

To Electric Sandal: Yours, by far has to be the most original and creative take of the bunch. Plus, it doubles as an angelic assassin.

To Partisan: I really dig your take on Death and the halo you put on conquest is genius. (Same goes for Axazel and Clockwork Bunny.)