Grim Reaper Artwork : Complete

[Spike]

You may be a king
Or a chimney sweeper
But sooner or later
You dance with the reznor.demon.co.uk/reaper.jpg]Reaper

PS; For an extra point, name that film...

[myk]

Well done. I don't know about the movie, but BÖC did Don't Fear the Reaper.

[Xanthier]

Spike said:

You may be a king
Or a city sweeper
But sooner or later
You meet with the reznor.demon.co.uk/reaper.jpg]Reaper

PS; For an extra point, name that film...

Bill and Ted's Bogus journey of course...but iirc it's chimney sweep sweeper.. and it's dance with the reaper :P

[Spike]

Dagnammit. I haven't seen that film in years, so forgive my hazy memory.

[myk]

On similar grounds (in relation to the quote), roman emperors had a jester or similar follower that would say "memento mori" to them, to remind them that they would also die (be caught by the reaper... not that the reaper per se is roman), all their power notwithstanding.

[VileSlay]

very cool man. I love that scythe and the wings. keep up the good work.

[Fletcher`]

Heh. Cool.

[Ultraviolet]

Sweet dude!

Sweet dude!

[dsm]

Holy crap! Now here's a drawing I need to pay close attention to :-)
That means that your drawing is kickass Spike.

[Shaviro]

It's a great drawing, but is he supposed to look so...happy?

[Fletcher`]

That's just it's hood doing that.

[Spike]

Shaviro said:

It's a great drawing, but is he supposed to look so...happy?

In the original sketches, the Reaper was minus it's jaw. Like Ravage says, it's just the way that its cloak gathers.

[myk]

Death traditionally grins (thos being a poetic vision of the bared teeth of the skull.)

[DOOM Anomaly]

8D Now Thats one guy in which I want to be in the good books of :D
That robe and scythe are Biatching! Sa-weet job dude!

[Coopersville]

IF I DO NOT HAVE ANY CONSTRUCTIVE CRITISM FOR THE AUTHOR, I WILL NOT MAKE A POST. I MAY NOT INSULT AN ARTIST'S WORK! IF I DO, I WILL FACE THE WRATH OF EITHER DSM OR BIGBADGANGSTA

[dsm]

Coopersville said:

He is just standing there....

Who cares whether he appears to be moving or not?
Look at the damn shading quality, look at the damn proportions - only the work of a damn specialist can achieve this...imo.

[Ultraviolet]

If one wants to debate the aesthetic purpose of him "just standing there," just picture this: Death dancing a jig. Might be a fun piece of art, kinda like the dogs playing poker, but a bit odd just for a drawing of the reaper.

[Little Faith]

Actually, there is several images from the middle ages and the renaissance that depict the "danse macabre": Skeletons playing various instruments while dragging people along in their dance. These people should depict souls giving themselves up to death's mercy.

[Spike]

I always preferred the idea of Death being a sombre character - more a symbol of the end of life. IMO, the idea of him in a dancing/action-like pose would ruin the meaning of it.
He reaps souls, but he doesn't necessarily enjoy it... it's a calling. And maybe i'm reading into it a bit to much.
At any rate, this is one of my many interpretations of Death, and i can't be expected to cater for everyone's tastes ;P

[myk]

From what I see death's dark sense of humor and the dancing dead are mocking man's false sense of pride, when he is really small and passing. Medieval pageantry had a lot of pagan influence behind it, and was often cruel in an inhuman if not ungodly way.

[dsm]

myk said:

From what I see death's dark sense of humor and the dancing dead are mocking man's false sense of pride, when he is really small and passing. Medieval pageantry had a lot of pagan influence behind it, and was often cruel in an inhuman if not ungodly way.

Sense of humour? Death?

Death performing at the comedy club:
"Hey! Who killed this microphone!? Oh well, I guess it was me..."
:-P

[Coopersville]

Look at the damn shading quality, look at the damn proportions

Yes. The shading is good, but what about the proportions? He's standing straight with one arm held up. Frankly, it looks like a tree with some skulls lodged inside.

[dsm]

Proportions have nothing to do with the way a character stands. Proportions are about e.g. how big his torso is compared to his legs etc.
So he's just standing there and so what? A good drawing doesn't need to have a shitload of movement put into it (it's all fake anyway - a drawing doesn't move)
- Boy, some of you guys sure don't know good drawings when you see 'em - you all judge the drawing from something as stupid as whether the characters in the drawings move or not.
Pathetic.

[myk]

I don't see what's so special about proportions anyway... kind of like when people talk about "detail" in a WAD. Artwork is best when it defines its own standards instead of relying on a gimmick (I feel like Carmack now!) or external standard.

[LorD BaZTArD]

heh, Cool sketch. IMO, the best death charcater in my opinion, is the Death from Terry Pratchett's Discworld series, in some strange way, he reminds me of that character. Heh. Good work spike :D

[Xanthier]

Spike said:

Dagnammit. I haven't seen that film in years, so forgive my hazy memory.

You are forgiven, Awesome fellow artist...

Hey did you use ink for your medium?

[Spike]

Coopersville said:

Yes. The shading is good, but what about the proportions? He's standing straight with one arm held up. Frankly, it looks like a tree with some skulls lodged inside.

Let's see... when it comes down to it, the drawing is based upon what resides within my head. The pose isn't filled with motion or expression because i don't see Death that way. To depict it moving, or full of anger, would be to concede the idea that the end of life is something that is relished by the figurative 'Reaper'.
IMO, it's a neutral act. Death comes, and that's all there is to it. The Reaper doesn't enjoy it, nor does he abhor it. 'He' simply is, and 'he' has a job to do.

Next point, the shading was indeed intended to look organic and flowing, as if the folds of his cloak could be anywhere and everywhere, permeating every soul on the Earth. The skeletal form obviously suggests death, and the blade of blood was also a conception based on this idea. Finally, the star on his forehead is an odé to the Reaper's Wiccan roots as well as his Christian ones.

Criticise all you wish; the fact remains that this depiction is true to my vision - the same goes for pretty much all my drawings.

Coming up... Don't you just hate clowns...? >;)

[Vampirajay]

Coopersville said:

Frankly, it looks like a tree with some skulls lodged inside.

Oh my god, YOU are SO right, it does look like a tree doesn't it? I mean every tree I have EVER seen has arms with fingers and holds a scythe. oh and every tree on my street also has robes. You dick, where do you get off slagging off peoples drawings? ooh, hang on...let me guess.you can't draw can you? because if you could draw, you would know the difference between constructive criticism and slagging off someone elses drawings. So come on....lets see your wonderful drawings then....

[dsm]

Indeed, this coopersville is beginning to show the IQ of a bone - I thought he was an ok guy until he started acting like a jerk (that means seemingly looking for all the slightest bad things in a drawing). The last bunch of posts I've seen by him is nothing but pointless bashing.

Tell you what, I have this great urge to delete some coopersville posts because they don't really contribute to these threads at all. Unfortunately, that would make a bunch of whiners bitch about what an "evil tyrant" I am.

Oh yeah, coopersville was the guy who wanted to make a Manga style Doom comic wasn't he?

[edit]

You dick, where do you get off slagging off peoples drawings? ooh, hang on...let me guess.you can't draw can you? because if you could draw, you would know the difference between constructive criticism and slagging off someone elses drawings. So come on....lets see your wonderful drawings then....

Just went through Coopersville's drawings on this forum and guess what? He can't shade his drawings for shit! Not to mention that all his drawings are cartoonish and some of them slightly misproportioned, so I guess that he's so frustrated about his own lacking skills that he absolutely has to diss every drawing that has shading superior to his own shading OR has to pick on drawings that are slightly less advanced than his own.
Now Coopersville can get a taste of his own medicine - how does it feel to get the shit criticized out of your drawings huh? huh? HUH? Just check the fanart index and look under Coopersville's art threads and you'll see what I mean.[/edit]

[Fletcher`]

LorD BaZTArD said:

heh, Cool sketch. IMO, the best death charcater in my opinion, is the Death from Terry Pratchett's Discworld series, in some strange way, he reminds me of that character. Heh. Good work spike :D

Mort. Good book.