scythe (updated with details)

[foster]

been sitting on my hands lately.

how many of you will be going to san diego comic con?

jon

[behemot5]

well.....an other gooood pic......i like it a lot

[Payback]

Brilliant as usual. :D
Always a pleasure to see your work foster.

[sin]

holy crap dude, thats intense

[Scotty]

WOW, like a nightmare, but way cooler. :cool:

[ChadTHX1138]

I hope to be going again this year, I have been attending for 10 years now, dont know though. Last year was a tragedy for me, I had a rental car no more than 20 minutes and some teenage french canadians (claiming they dont speak english, yeah right, nothing against canadians though) slammed into me and my girlfriend on the freeway...geez. Other than that the convention was pretty impressive because of the larger scale.

Anyway will you be in artist alley again this year?

Sweet piece too by the way!

[bizarde]

I have a strange feeling that she had some different type of object in her hand ... light saber?! ... hmmm maybe just me!
I love the way you paint flesh, and not only =)

[AfroLaxMan]

foster-
I was curious where you come up with your skin tones? I have just started painting, and I am still learning how to "see and observe" color. Skin eludes me more than anything it seems, which is why I ask.

[jayceel]

Please post more of your rough sketches also. Just got your book, awesome stuff. :)

JayCeeL

[Arcipello]

nice stuff...but theres something about the eye that bothers me, it doesnt seem right for some reason:(

other than that:)

[MindCandyMan]

I'd recognize those pants anywhere! Looks fantastic Jon! If you can pump out art like this while sitting on your hands you are more talented than I thought heheh. This one is great jon...I love it!

[tegehel]

Nice one, Jon!

Comicon, here I come! See you there.

C.

[daarken]

awesome stuff jon. i love your palette and the glow of the shirt, cool cool. i would love to go to comicon, but alas i am broke with no transportation :P

[foster]

the color of skin, there are so many on this forum that could answer this better than me and for that matter paint skin better than me. i usually approach skin color universally, i mean i take all of the colors in the piece into account. what dictates the color of the piece is the nature of the lighting. mostly i rely on the trick of desatuated colors for most of the skin and play up the areas that have more blood flow, ears, cheeks, nose, hands. also i try to cool colors down as the form turns away from us. that is pretty much it for my approach at this point.

tegehel, you have been busy and busy making some really cool work. glad you will be in san diego.

arcipello, the eye, the eye! i don't know ho i feel about it yet. wanted it to be catching some of the light.

bizarde, this is an illustration for a specific scene in a book. so i was keeping to a brief as it were.

mcm, always too kind, but thank you.

jayceel, i am trying to improve my drawing skills before jumping into the deep end again.

chadthx, i hope you go again. love to talk with you.

scotty, sin, payback, behemot5, thanks!

jon

[SaltyDog]

wonderful piece as always...although the shirt hanging down from the chest bothers me a tad. I will be at the comic con, will you be there signing copies of your book?

[AmadorL]

Hey Jon I should have posted before you got on a roll and replied to all. Well I Just got you book from Amazon and I am enjoying it now. I have bought a few books for reference for the future when I get better. I was hoping to see some tuts on how you work in the book but maybe on the next one. In any case love your work. I would defiantly buy the next one. I know you have a couple of tuts here on CA.
Well keep up the good work.

Best regards
Amador

[facezero]

hi~ jon
your work alwaysgood!
mm may i link your home? aleady do it.. but if you don't want it~ i'll remove,,
can i?
so... have a niceday~ see you

[JoshuaTheJames]

GOD D*** it!!!!!

WHo's up for more illustrated movie posters??????????


Jon you should have done the MATRIX movie poster...

enough of these photoplop movie posters...

-Joshua

[AfroLaxMan]

thnks jon, i appreciate it. I will consider those ideas on my next wip.

[Smeagol71]

Hey Jon, hope all is well!

Nice! I especially like the creepy guys in the background!! Heh heh heh!

[GhostofMacbeth]

Looks good ...Will be going to San Diego. Wandered by your table a few times last year, I think ...

[boehmke]

I'm going next year....

[Landmate]

I like your way of rendering muscle definition.

Im finding the face not very feminin, and the upper leg seems rather long.

[deviousg]

awesome stuff. haven't seen the lady death thing I don't think.. :chug:

[krayz]

Great piece!

The colours you chose are awesome indeed. That blue... mmm.. goes so well...

Love the dudes in background. Adds that extra something to it.

Can't wait for your next piece..

[Jeremy McHugh]

Been a fan of your work for some time, Jon.
Seeing stuff like this reminds me why!
Fantastic painting.
---Jeremy
An artist who is usually in lurk mode, but occasionally peeps out of his burrow to say howdy.

[foster]

daarken, as i have said to andrew, i veraciously eat up what ever you post and i am constantly surprissed by how much you get better in what seems just days. you already paint much better than this old man and i have nothing left to do but learn from you.

saltydog, thanks and you are right the shirt still needs something.

facesero, i am more than flattered to be linked by you. i believe i have you on my links page but i will make sure. i gain my association with with your talent.

joshuathejames, how are you? are you going to san diego? what's going on with your work?

smeagol, where is the web site! bring it on brother!

ghostofmacbeth, stop by the table if you get the chance.

boehmke, save up! there will be lots that you will want to buy.

landmate, the legs are long but i left them that way just to experiment. as for the femininity of her face, well, i don't have a problem with it, she is not exuding sexuality but my female characters never do. i am not sure i want them to be about that, especially when they are supposed to be in mortal danger. it is tough for me to paint emotion and strength into a face and keep it the male ideal of attractive. i am not being very clear. i guess i think you are mistaken to find the need to have her be beautiful, or rather the male ideal of beautiful in this industry, while swinging a huge scythe in the dark in hopes of saving her own life. then again i could have just not been up to par on painting a hot chick. please do not get me wrong i am glad you mentioned this as it needs reflection.

deviousg, thank you but allot of credit needs to go to dave dorman as this is his comp and his character and del stone jr. is the magnificent writer that created the situation she is in, and believe me it is intense.

krayz, thanks man, at this point and with how slow i have been working i can't wait to see the next piece either.

jeremy mchugh, thanks for writing and i really dig your site. some cool stuff there.

now i wanted to say thanks to DODOWA for the inspiration on this painting. his work has been amazing and has given me new impulses. thanks!

jon

[el coro]

shhhhiiiittt....glad to see you postin', jon. i was wondering what you'd been up to. really like the piece. i dont see you work enough in this pallette, and the glare on her back is really on point. you are truly the master of the forshortened forarm! dope as hell foster. dope as hell...-c36

[Landmate]

interesting, well it that case you better scale her breast size down a notch :P

[foster]

common landmate, as i said i am glad you mentioned it and it does need thinking about. no need for sarcasm.

her breasts are not that sensual in this case either. she is wearing some kind of clingy s and m outfit (not of my design) and even in that case she is not posed in any overtly sexual way. i have been told, i don't know how many times, by art directors "make her boobs bigger" "where are her nipples" these things are just the cheap tricks, quick fixes to sex sells.

i thank you once again for your comments but when the tables are turned don't get quippie, we all can learn.

jon

[Landmate]

sorry man. you seem a bit uptight about this.

chill ^^ its still a great picture, even though she is "not beautiful" :)

which is what you wanted to capture, so its all good right?

[GhostofMacbeth]

Thanks, I will do that. Will be hanging around the Front row artist alley stuff or possibly a booth since Dave and them mentioned maybe doing a booth this year.

[foster]

landmate, that's funny i would have said this about you. i thought i was just explaining my work process. trust me i am relaxed i just worried that you did not take my thoughts on the level in which they were intended.

did i not read your post right, about her breasts that is, no smiley faces and rather short. so i was concerned that you thought that my disagreement was about you (which it is not).

i don't understand the "chill" it is something someone says when they retreat into a defensive posture and you most certainly do not need to do that. your first post was well written and concise.

jon

[daarken]

jon: hahaha, you are going way overboard there, but thanks! i have yet to learn your skills at composition and color. i was feeling a little nervous before i read your response because tonight i am going to some high school prom to draw peoples portraits for $5 a pop. haha. but i feel better now, thanks jon.

[chriswahl]

Very nice. Always love seeing your work.

I think her chest is fine. But the way you've arched her back, makes her look like a hunchback and I think this is what makes her chest area seem to protrude. I think the main bend of her back should be lower down.

Maybe painting background over the hunched area will fix the problem.


Hope I'm making sense.

[davi]

very well done
the "aura" around the body gives off an almost wet look, for some reason she looks a bit "hump-backed". Not sure if anyone commented on that, i'm too lazy to read.

great job as always!

[foster]

i think you guys are right about the back. first i will try to sink the chest into her torso more as i was trying for the haunched over look, but if that does not seem to work i will try to straighten the back.

thanks

jon

[killing.people]

foster:
the rendering is stellar. i love the arm and her gimcracks detail. i personally like her face.
i think her legs look weird. i think her back looks weird too, but i like it. it is an amazing piece of artwork. my boss's monitor is really dark and alot of images get messed on it, so please keep that in mind with my comments.

-killing

[KingOfChaos]

Excellent :) I especially like the detail on the scythe itself. also thought I would remark that I own a similar weapon. A modified farm tool that was turned into a weapon of war and is now hanging on the wall in my living room ;)

[plouffe]

Hey foster,

Nice image. i like it. Just a crit though.

Is this a man or a women ? Or something inbetween =\. RIght now I really cant tell what the gender of the person is. The face is too generic It tells me its a Male though it could also be female( theres nothing manly or women like in the face hehe ) . ON the other hand im looking at his/her chest and it appears to have breast! But then i look at the legs and arms and looks VERY manly. EIther the Breast arnt suppose to be there or this women is Very manly.

Just my thoughts anyways.

[tegehel]

I have noticed that the legs are "excessively" long, but I actually like it a lot in this case. It gives an extra-ordinary element to that character who already is extraordinary. I reminder me a bit of an insect-like humanoid, perhaps a deadly praying Mantis, ready to strike.

Not "quite" human, or subtely freakishly human, is what makes this picture so successful to me.

The back didn't bother me, nor did the front, to be honest, but see what changes you can make, if it indeed improves it.

C.

[plouffe]

WOOPS!!.. i didnt read the second page hah! only thought there was 1 page.. my bad.. Hmm anyways i guess my crit was brought to your attention before me..

I agree she doesnt have to be beautiful!!! as in big boobs and wearing makeup and what not. Heck Rosie O'donald isnt beautiful at all she's fat and has a big head and shes far from good looks.. BUT SHE STILL LOOKS FEMININE.. YOu could still keep the muscles on the arms ( maybe make them smaller) and keep the long legs .. im fine with the breast but i would definetly touch up the face ( its a nice face very nicley rendered though i do not associate the face to being female) The face needs to be a bit more feminine. I cant quite put my hands on what makes it not look female like.

Anyways in all GREAT image. though i would do some touch ups because to me anyways this looks like a man with boobs..

HOpe you dont take offense to this crit.

[Teyon]

I like it. I think it's cool. I'm going to Siggraph this year (or atleast, I plan too) no plans for any other cons. Are you doing covers for the comic or only posters? Is the comic even out yet? She's one of my favs from the series design wise and I think the entire point of her is that she isn't some super sexy babe. No, she's meant to be the average woman off the street put into a dire situation (she usually is attractive though...not overtly but in a more average way). I always loved her look for its simplicity. You and Phil Hale have always been big inspirations to me, glad to see ya keeping busy and hope to see more work in the next Spectrum!

[daarken]

no detail shots? wahhhhhh!

[tegehel]

Far from me to start a philosophical discussion in an Art forum, but I think the previous "feminine" argument merits reflection: Most artform is an subjective experience wherein the viewer is the ultimate critic of his own perception; and since no viewer has had the same exact life experience, memories and cultural, economical, social and sexual background - which ultimately influence our artistic cognition - it is fair to assume that each person's conception will be slighty different, if not drastically so.

Since this forum is International, one must also remember that the cultural differences will be particularly noticeable, notably within the art itself, be it the representation of a particular subject matter or simply the way it is rendered. For instance, Asian art style versus Western art style.

Additionally, most (modern) societies have the unfortunate tendencies to objectify women - which is after all based on an antediluvian patriarchal system. The objectification is generally sexual (just open a fashion magazine) but more often than not is also a hierarchical system where the women are classified as sexual objects, bimbos or, if taking a stand against this trend, bitches. In any case, it visually and critically belittle the women's place in society to a barely or non-human object of juvenile idolatry or irreverant repudiation (hence the name Objectification) and thus denigrate women their rightful place as equal to men, artwise and otherwise.

Unfortunately, unless one's truly aware of this cultural phenomenon, one will most certainly view this statement as purely feminist (which it is) but without understanding the historical and cultural influence it has on our society and, by association, our art and the way it is perceived.

Whereas it is obvious to me that Jon did not objectify the woman in this painting (as opposed to my yet unfinished painting Jedi-Chix - purposefully objectified), I find it quite interesting to read the reaction of those in the audience who seem to want a certain canon of beauty to be applied to all women - perhaps particularly if painted by famous artist?

Personally, I think this woman is beautiful _because_ she is strong, regardless of physical attribute. I "sort of" understand landmate's breast reduction point, but I think that it was misguided in this particular case. Most men artists (and some women too, let's be fair) do draw extraneous mammary surfaces for the enjoyment of the Drooling Ones, and it certainly is getting old if it was obviously made for shock value (or marketing purpose), but in this case, it is obvious to me that sexuality is unconsciously present at best and not the focus of attention. Also, if you study Jon's art in general, you will see that sexuality is not a particularly strong factor in his painting (sorry Jon, but that's the way I see it). Therefore, the physiology of his character is to be taken at face value and not subliminally as to influence the hormonally deficient amongst us.

In other words, opinions are like assholes, everybody's got one. Beauty is on the eye of the beholder. Ultimately, Jon has the final word. You can argue all you want: he paints, he decides. The man has the Kung-Fu Knowledge of the Paintbrush™ , so what do I do? I observe and learn.

Cheers, :chug:

C.

[foster]

well this has been great for me. i do not want to give the appearance of not wanting feed back. there are times when you make conscious decisions and some times you need to explain them. but i know that even these things need reflecting on and can be changed.

but i like her face.

cos sent me a paint over that helped with the back quite a bit. actually i just tried to replicate what he did onto my larger file. thanks cos!

i shortened the legs as i think i was probably just too lazy (never be too lazy) to correct them.

things are a little rough here and there but i hope it is a better picture.

thanks to all for their help, and especially landmate, although we may have disagreed i have a modified perspective on this from all the input.

cyril, you are funny and quite right. i wish i could have formed words as helpful as yours on the issues at hand. thanks.

jon

[foster]

detail 1

[foster]

detail 2

[mushuhaha]

omg, thank you.... and daarken's persuasive power.

[Grendel]

I like the poeople in the back, great rendering and emotion here and the cool ness of the blue realy sets the atmosphere of the whole thing. This was done in painter or real life?

[Oblio]

uh oh .. ah wow...

Oblio was just passing trought and felt the need to stop and admire.
Now Oblio says "Thx again Jon. You're always cool - Oblio can't wait to see the whole project done! Keep it up buddy!"

Oblio goes...

[daarken]

i cant believe how awesome the forearm is from far away, and up close it is so simple, you are a freakin genius! you know what? i actually like the original better, i think you should stay with that instead of the updated one. i think everyone knows that you really appreciate all the feedback, and really try and take suggestions into your pieces, but sometimes you need to do what feels right to you and stay true to your own vision. but anyway, it is still a great piece, and thank you for the detail shots!

[tegehel]

you know, now that daarken mentions it, I might agree. The mirrored image with the longer legs and the original torso was more appealing to me too. I can't quite figure out why. As I said, you'll get a lot of opinions here :)

C.

[I.was.ink]

I like if this new version, but flipped the other way, and I loved the brighter glare of the first one. I agree with daarken as well!

One small point I found: the right side of her face seems a tad wide, and since her head is coming out from the shadows it only seems right that it is not as wide but actually closer to her nose. I may be wrong, but Im just trying to help you out here friend.

Those close up shots help me out so much, cuz they help me see that every stroke doesn't have to be "photorealistic" and "smooth". That's a problem I'm having right now with my figure paintings and seeing all these strokes and lines makes me love your piece so much more. Thanks!

:thumbsup:

[I.was.ink]

Sorry guy's I felt this one had to be on the first page.

Bumperoo! :D