[Twice]

yuppi first reply. Not typical agent style, but it proves that you can do other things. (but we knew that.) Love it.

[Ragnarok]

I like it =)

I think the legs are too short, as well as I'd have made a bigger horse, but maybe those would be more comic proportions.

[Masamune]

tight tight tight... but im already missing the ol' comic/loose feel of your other artwork. oh well, that pic rocks!.

Later,
Masamune

[Masamune]

i just had to post this after i saw that ragnarok posted just before me.... hmmm... TWO square soft weapons on the same page right next to each other heh. (btw, masamune is from a japanese tale about two swords, and i think ragnarok is the norse equivalant to doomsday. jus a lil' side info, thats where square soft got their names from)

lates

[6 hen 2 kids & a red]

Really nice drawing.

I think the eyes of the man appear to be high and wide. And the rear of the horse is a little lumpy.

[sacrelicious]

Looks good! I was going to say that the horse looks small too, but then I looked at a picture of me on a horse and the proportions are about the same. I'm 6'3" though, and I think most Europeans from that era were pretty short. Just thought I'd toss that in there for you to chew on.

Edit: Looking at it again, I think the problem is mostly in the legs- they seem too short. Other than that, everything is okay sizewise.

[ April 25, 2001: Message edited by: sacrelicious ]

[Pat]

Cool piece. Does that spear look crooked to anyone else? Kinda like its bent in the middle?

I like the wood-cut like approach to your hatching lines. The museum folks should yum it up.

-Pat

[Awetopsy]

agent, once again great work... it looks like if he stood up next to it he would be a little tall. other than that I dont see any probs.

[mellowsmoothe]

its hard to criticize when i'm an avid agent fan, but they are right. the horse is too small for the guy, no matter how you look at it. the best way to tell is if you imagine him standing next to it. its back would need to come up to just under his shoulders...(whereas now, its back is below his chest) can you imagine it? one thing that erked me, if im spelling "erked" right, is that i know his hand buldging because he is holding the spear but it looks more like it has a tumor. he he...one more thing...the horses legs as well as the conquistador, both should have longer legs...uh that's it. yeah, its great though...hope you still believe that.

[agent44]

thanks guys. It's hard to see these things sometimes so it helps to have someone elses input. I can pretty much agree with all you said.

Masamune - interesting little lesson in mythology. Thanks.

[neebhore]

Looks awesome, a well executed line drawing, much kudos is due sir.

[surferboi]

i havent spent much time looking at horses, but i belive their hind legs larger at the base of the horse then what you drew. Also it looks to me like its hind leg overlaps the base of the horse. Im not sure but i think it is a much smoother transition.
Im trying to be helpful but im worried that i dont know enough about horses.

[Rob M]

I have to agree, the horses hind end doesn't look right. It seems a bit smaller than normal. Also, horses are pretty sleek animals, the transition between leg to rear should be smoother and larger, the muscles should extend quite a ways up the horses end almost to the top.

Hope that made sense and I do like the piece!
It's definetly different than your regular work.

[DarkGarden]

Well, everybody else is critiquing the horse, so I'll go left, and talk about something that might help the style.

I love the drawing, the technique is great, and it's a real departure from your clean line drawings. Great!

If you're wanting to give it that old style wood cut look though, this might help. When you ink the illo, get a white ink pen, or use a quill and some titanium white, and where your shadows are to grade out to white, use it to crosshatch your black linework a bit. I took a sample from the horse's neck, zoomed in, and did this quickly:


You'll find that it smooths the grade a bit, and really gives the feel of an old woodcut. If that's the direction you want to go anyway

Again, great work agent.

Peter

[ April 25, 2001: Message edited by: DarkGarden ]

[saripol]

nice shading...

[edible snowman]

criminey, where did you get all this energy from? you drew a lot before, but now we get treated to at least one a day. its cool.

[black_fish]

Pretty nice. I think there are a lot of problems with the horse anatomy, but since I suck at horse anatomy (as I have clearly demonstrated it before ) I can't help you on that. The etching style is very nice.

[swampbug]

Yo agent, The only thing I'm seeing in the horses front left leg, and back right leg. They are at strange angles that almost makes me feel that the horse is about to slip and fall. (besides that small quarrel with the legs) All else is sooperfantastik!

-tom

[ April 25, 2001: Message edited by: swampbug ]

[agent44]

This was a commission for a local museum here in AZ. They wanted a 14x11 inch pen and ink Conquistador on a horse for an exhibiton missions in the south west. This is the first of three drawing they want done for the exhibit. I would really like your thoughts on it. I don't have to show it to them until next tuesday so if I need to make changes that's fine. Anyway, let me know what you think.


[ April 25, 2001: Message edited by: agent44 ]

[wayfinder]

black fish, you suck on horse anatomy? eww...

anyway, agent44: what kind of horse is this supposed to be? right now, it looks very much like a pony, with sturdy, short legs, a long mane and a broad body. i think that a conquistador would have used a horse as classy as he could find, so i'd go for longer legs, a slimmer body, and a trimmed mane. also, as has been said a number of times already, the hind legs look wrong. i guess there's nothing wrong with using a little reference there. and as for the angle of the hipbones, try to overlay a quick sketch of the horse's bone structure, just some lines for spine, ribcage, hips, legs, and see where the angle is not possible. also, try to get a feel for where the horse's weight is supported and tilt the shoulders and hips accordingly. i also get the feeling the the hooves (hoofs?) have a too high radius, especially at the bottom. these look more like a camel's hoof, almost.

hope that helped! great rendition!


[edit: this was my 100th post. yey for me. i'm useful! i'm having a *wonderful* time]

[ April 26, 2001: Message edited by: wayfinder ]

[Sergenth]

Saripol and DarkGarden hit on the point I like most about this pic, the hatching! Great 3d form is suggested by the lines

As for the horse, it is a bit out of proportion and the hind quarters of the leg are a little short, but overall, I like the strong, exaggerated style... the way some sculptors like Rodan would exaggerate the anatomy of human hands.

Yeah, legs on that horse need to be lengthened. Shouldn't be too much toruble if you are interested in changing it

wayfinder: don't forget that camels have toes!

code:

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(_UUU_)

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[ April 26, 2001: Message edited by: Sergenth ]

[agent44]

well, it's safe to say that I, like black_fish, suck on horse anatomy, too. I really apprecdiate the comments and suggestions. I especially like that effect DarkGarden, thanks. Anyway, I don't know if I'll have time to fix it seeing how the deadline is pretty tight. I showed the final to them and they liked it so I'm leaving it. However, for future reference I will, work a little harder at the anatomy.

[Negative]

well i won't be nice. I don't like it, couse i know your style, and this is not you! nothing impressive in this pic, boring boring boring. of Course, your skills are good, but on the other hand you do better in your own way.Btw i don't like the shading. It is like from an old history book for kidz

[Dthind]

Great detail on the horse. Overall Impressive.

[darkgoth]

wow! That's some awesome shading. Really sweet. Looks almost like a woodcut

[Rage-lion]

Yeah, not your typical Agent44 style, but it would work for a museum piece. It has that old world feel. The, what is it?, "Woodcut" old print feel. I can dig it.