Digital Paintings (religous)
mod
Normally when I sit down to draw, religous symbols and figures don't jump to my mind. But I was asked to draw some things that could be used as power point backgrounds for a church. They gave me a list of songs and I supplied the backgrounds. For most of them I used photos they supplied or used basic shapes, nothing to fancy. But for a few I did dust off the wacom. I really don't want to get into or spark a religous debate so keep the comments about the art.
They are listed in the order of how long I wokred on them.
32hrs
12hrs
4hrs
1hr
They are listed in the order of how long I wokred on them.
32hrs12hrs4hrs1hr
Replies
Pretty good stuff, especially given the nature of the project and the time commitment.
I think your color choices in particular serve the religious themes--very rarely is any art posted on this board needing 'safe' and 'serene' color choices but these do and are well served by them. They're a bit softer, gentler. I think the most successful one to me is the last one, because it's more starkly graphic (in terms of abstract imagery not gory-graphic) and implies more than it shows.
The others, particularly the first two, seem like they could really have been pushed by using better reference. Say what you will about Gibson's Passion as a film, but it is undeniably evocative in the particulars of Jesus' crucifixion. The cross, the crown of thorns, the horrible nails... they all seem quite real. In the second picture, the cross comes off as just a little too cartoony. Not that in this case would a realistic, violent depiction be germane to the project, but I think it would be served by grounding it a little bit better in somewhat more realistic rendering of the materials. Similarly, the first one has a lot of nice things going for it (especially the colors, as mentioned), but is hindered by the blotchy abstraction of the clouds and the strangely anachronistic fashion in which Jesus is dressed. It's not clear what he's wearing, but it almost looks more like a modern interpretation of a choir robe or like rather than the more traditional depictions of Jesus' garb. Not that you have to stick to historical fashions, especially considering this portrait appears to be rendering Jesus as Christ the Resurrected, with the itinerant flowing white robes. I guess all I'm saying is that the picture would be better served by making the draping and folds of his clothing a little more traditional--the very long, open sleeves look more like a wizard than the Son of God.
While it's very well intentioned and for the most part your execution carries it off, it's just that religious art is more than a little tricky (as I'm sure you've discovered) and traditions are upheld in it often times for very good reasons
They also look a tad aon the muddy side. They only one the doesn't really is the last one.