These top three drawings were some of my sketchbook sketches for Odin. The bottom is my final.
Odin is the All-Father of the gods. He is the god of the hanged (one story has him hanging himself to get ultimate wisdom), god of arcane magic, god of the wild hunt, god of the storm, god of the rain, god of the harvest, god of wisdom, and god of victory. He is the Zeus of Norse mythology in many ways. He collects half of those who die in battle (the other half go to his wife Frigg) where they prepare for Ragnarok in Valhalla where they kill each other every day, only to rise again whole and drink and eat together. Odin is also known for his eight legged horse "Slepiner," having two Ravens symbolizing thought and memory, having two hunting hounds, having a winged helmet, and for having only one eye (he gave it up for wisdom/ to see what would happen at Ragnorak). When he moves around in the mortal relm, Odin disguises himself by wearing a floppy hat to hide his one eye.I struggled with how to show Odin. As the All-Father he is an impressive being. While he wanders the earth he is a wise old man with a big hat. I decided, having seen to many greek god pieces, that I did not want Odin to be shown on his thrown. An eagle horned norseman seemed to predictable. It would make a more interesting image to represent him in his disgused form. I took the compositional risk and had Odin face forward to make him seem stronger as he stairs straight at the viewer with his single eye. I kept Odin's ravens as the main symbols for what this form of him represents. He is a wise watcher more than a warrior in this image.
I chose to try out a different style with this piece. I tryed an additive style with touches of reduction. Here I also added a hint of blue in Odin's eye to emphasize it.
5 comments:
I think that out of the two drawings, there is not a better drawing because depending on how you handle each style; they’ll turn out great at their own style. About the size, I would like to see it bigger, because it leaves room for more details. However, if you're not looking into more details then perhaps staying with the current paper size is good because you don’t have to enlarge your strokes/lines. In terms of colors I think it already works with black and white. Unless the color will enhance the overall imagery, it is not necessary. Then again, it could dramatically take the drawings to the next level. I though the portrait is good, but it'll be even better if you move it to the figures, in addition to the background. When I think of fantasy, I think it's more of the environment that really captures the essence of the world, although we tend to focus more on the characters. Overall, I think it depends on what you want to show or capture in the drawings.
I notice...
-both work have very organic, free flowing lines
-the right work has softer shading/lightings and the one to the left is intense
-both work are some type of humanoid form
-the drawing takes up the whole media
I feel that both are strong in their own way. However, the one on the right, the horn goes off the page and so you lose a little information with that. Another thing is that even though on the right drawing, the dark makes it look very mysterious or mythical, I think the dramatic light and dark works good too.
Your questions: Should you draw the image bigger or smaller?
My answer: It's up to you. This is your work and it's how you want to show it. However, if you you want, you could draw the figure so that it fit in the piece of work.
Colors?
Hmm… I say it looks great in B/W because you have them close up seeing only the face.
Great Drawings!
Notices: Miranda
I notice the subtractive of the paper
I notice the variation line usage and value together
I the picture on the left have more line variation
I notice the characters same to bring a story behind it
I believe that the image on the left with the guy on the hat is more stronger because I can see the greatly detail you are trying to include in your work. I do see them in a larger scale.
I notice a very small use of color in the eye.
I notice that both pieces mainly use a reductive technique.
I notice the Odin has more contrast.
I respond more to the process where you combine the additive and subtractive methods. I like the change in value and contrast. I think it would work well to use bigger paper.
I notice a old face in both paper. I notice very dark markings all around the paper. I notice a background in the one on the left. I prefer the one on the right. The one with the horns. The bigger you make, the better however, you have to judge if it is worth the time when it is the same composition just that it is bigger.
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