The Art of Argument

Evan Black

Member since: 2007
Location
Logan, Utah, United States

I finally have time to part the clouds and impart a "first draft" for perusal and approval. I've deviated from the description here and there, opting for a more symbolic representation of the Mulls' relationship; I'd like to know if the changes are acceptable. First, rather than place any troops in the background I decided to bring them (well, one of them) forward, to be painted half and half. I've put Obar in a disturbingly small loincloth rather than a toga-like robe, but can redraw that should this not work. Also, I've given Seema a personal hairstylist (which wasn't described) to help convey the luxury of her lifestyle, but it seems to throw the picture out of balance a little, and I'd like to give Obar something/someone as well. Does he have a penchant for slave girls, or perhaps a valet droid?

I.J. Thompson, what do you think? Does the symbolism of the scene work? Is there enough corpulence?

Comments

I. J. Thompson

Oh my GAWD, this is more perfect than I could have hoped!

I LOVE how you've brought one of the troops/guards into the limelight - not only is he amazingly drawn, but he serves to show us exactly how these two people relate to each other. In fact, I could even see this exact scene having taken place in the past... like, maybe they had an odd number of mercenary guards, and they're both fighting over the last one! All I would ask is that the paint on the armour be sloppy/hastily done. Love love love it!

A valet droid? That could be perfect, if you care to add a whole other character. What about something low to the ground, to balance out the lizard monkey? Maybe he could have a tray of exotic drinks on his head, a la Artoo Detoo. Or, you could balance them out by giving Obar tons of gaudy jewelry... I leave this to your imagination, good sir! Even the four characters just as they are is a dream come true! Also, I love the loincloth idea - WAY better than the typical toga I'd written!

Wow. I'd better get to work on the wiki entry! :)

Evan Black

Okay, good. I was afraid I might have gone a bit too far with it. The request talked about the two of them not interacting at all any more, so I'm glad that you're okay with me "turning back the clock" just a bit. I do plan on making the trooper's paint job being really sloppy, because the goal of these two is to fight over him and not necessarily do a good paint job. I also gave them rather Earth-like paintbrushes because I thought it would communicate the action of the scene better than whatever Star Wars tool would be used to do the trick.

I also planned on placing the valet droid low to the ground behind/to the side of Obar, precisely to balance out the lizard monkey. I may add a little more jewelry too, perhaps to both Mulls; they just don't seem gaudy enough yet.

Evan Black

Well, I was hoping to get more done on this over the weekend, but at least I got a droid added. Let me know what you think!

I. J. Thompson

Awww yeah! That's one cool little droid! Gonna have to find a place for him in the story... ;)

Wonderful work again, man. It's always such a delight checking out every new piece you do!

I. J. Thompson

Nice work! It looks that you are highly expert artist. Your post is an excellent example of why I keep coming back to look at your excellent quality illustrations that is forever updated.

JUST KIDDING!!! (mods, don't ban me by accident!) :D

Seriously, this just keeps getting better and better, Evan. Great colours and 'brushstrokes'! Got a colour in mind for the droid?

Evan Black

Given Obar's propensity for the color red, I was thinking of giving him some red trim, and maybe a bit of gold as well. I'd like to up the contrast on him a bit with some lighter and darker greys as well, but I don't want him to distract from the focus of the picture. I might save him for last in the process for that very reason...

Do you have any preferences?

I. J. Thompson

None at all! I'd like to see what you come up with. :)

Evan Black

New update. I haven't done the Mulls themselves yet, but I wanted to see what you thought of the other picture elements so far. Do the paint strokes look okay on the trooper, or does it need more? The monkey-lizard is blue because I thought Seema would want a blue one, but I can change it to a more traditional color if you want. LF-Red turned out well, but if you see anything you want different, let me know.

I. J. Thompson

Everything's great, man! I'm just enjoying the updates, at this point. :D