Ragnarok's art projects

john bunsenburner · Sun May 24, 2009 2:44 pm

I am into modern art(mainly because i make random objects and say: Another work of art finished) for example I poured a heart out of different colored molten plastic bags... Looks awsome, im giving it to some chick some day...
Now seriously: Your work is amazing, rag! I am not really into the whole modernerly drawn action figures(and find your relationship with them disturbing on a whole new levle) but your doing a good job at it. Trysomethign classical someday, landscape or a interior(your action figure's HQ?). Also I loved the sculpture you made and i suggest you ahve another few goes at 3D things they always look cool.

Ragnarok · Mon May 25, 2009 2:15 am

john bunsenburner wrote:I am into modern art (mainly because i make random objects and say: Another work of art finished)

How odd. That's the exact same reason I don't take parts of modern art seriously.
Now, don't get me wrong, there are some forms of modern art which are fine, but it's the ones which are something like a paperclip stuck in half an eraser that take the biscuit.

In my opinion, if it could have been done by a toddler group, it's status as art is in very real doubt.
Actually, I recall a TV program that did just that - took the work of a toddler group and showed it to modern art "experts". Responses were frequently along the lines of "Well, it appears to be a lesser known artist, but they know what they're doing and it could make a good price at auction."

Now seriously: Your work is amazing, Rag!

Well then, you obviously hold a higher opinion of my work than I do. To be quite honest, I'm usually mediocre at best.
I get occasional strikes of relative (and certainly not flawless) brilliance like "Excessive Force" and "Not to her liking", but mostly, it's nothing special.

I am not really into the whole modernly drawn action figures (and find your relationship with them disturbing on a whole new level) but you're doing a good job at it.

I don't quite see how I'm managing to be quite so disturbing that I need a level all to myself, but... well, I'm an author as much as (if not more than) an artist and so I develop my characters' personalities and background in depth.

Yes, I know I "interact" with them... but let's be honest, you could make a very good guess how a conversation/other interaction with someone you know well is going to go. Any character I've created (particularly Silva, the cyborg girl), I know well enough to do that kind of thing.

The only odd thing really is that I choose to interact with them - and well, I don't think anyone who's been around this site for very long maintains any pretence that I'm normal, save for appearing human. For me, that's actually one of my lesser diversions from the norm

Try something classical someday, landscape or a interior.

That rather depends what you mean by classical. I have done a number of things which aren't action figures kicking the snot out of each other if that's what you mean.

Still, the thing is, I use my character's personalities to drive concepts, ideas and as a motivation.
In other words, it's interesting for me to draw one of my characters, because it helps tell a part of their story. Scenery or static objects with no story don't elicit that same interest, which is why I don't normally bother.

"Not to her liking" (currently the most popular of my pictures on Deviantart) only exists because of the character's personality.
However, I suspect it's popularity may possibly have less to do with that than the fact it depicts a cyborg girl in a corset.
But it did extract a couple of "LOL, funny" responses here, so I suppose it is possible that the 4th wall breaking humour has something to do with it.

Keeping with tradition, my current WIP is... more of the action figures. Part way through sketching basic forms.
Yeah, I know there are a couple of small tweaks that are needed, but I'll deal with those as I go.

Really keeping with tradition, it's got Silva in it, albeit with some adjustments, namely more muscle and redesigned bionics - the last set, although alright, were designed on the fly and couldn't reasonably be drawn in certain positions, so needed changing.

I didn't particularly want break from the character's traditions, but then again, it was needed, they'll not be a total change... and let's be honest, a lot of the rest of the character has changed fairly heavily since the start. A different shorter hair style; a change of hair colour (becoming auburn rather than dark brown); down a couple of cup sizes; custom trousers; her grenade pin necklace... the list goes on.

Seriously, compare Excessive Force and the third ever drawing of her. Although you can tell it's the same character (mostly because of the consistency in the bionics), it's still a vast difference.

Now I think about it, the reason I'm concerned is that this is a revision that's changing (even if not too major) one of the character's two most obvious traits, the bionics.
The other obvious trait is of course her gender, but that, like her left handedness, heterochromia and strong personality, isn't ever going to change.

mark.f wrote:They were as funny as hell (at least to people who got the inside jokes), but the figures were crudely drawn box people.

Hey, don't knock it. It works for xkcd. :tongue3:

Moonbogg · Mon May 25, 2009 2:21 am

Dude those are some sweet drawings man. I didn't look at all of them yet, but I will go back later. I used to do a lot of drawing myself and I really enjoyed it. I like your abstract sketching style. It looks alive and fills the drawings with character.

Ragnarok · Tue May 26, 2009 3:15 am

Moonbogg wrote:I like your abstract sketching style. It looks alive and fills the drawings with character.

If you're talking about things like the Confederate sentry, that's just what I do when I'm doing a "low effort" drawing. I never developed it deliberately, although it is a nice way to draw, because it's not finicky. It doesn't pretend it's trying to be perfect, which takes some load off me as the artist.

Update on the WIP:
http://ragnarokeotw.deviantart.com/art/Image-123753884

Ragnarok · Thu May 28, 2009 12:54 am

An update on the WIP:
http://ragnarokeotw.deviantart.com/art/ ... -123958618

And some ranting, if you feel like reading it:
http://ragnarokeotw.deviantart.com/journal/24988572/

judgment_arms · Thu May 28, 2009 6:01 pm

Nice...
Very nice, actually.
Of course I'm speaking primarily of your art.

I sympathize with your rant, Hands and feet tend to cause me a far amount of annoyance.

To breath life into the dyeing:
How are those models coming?

How I managed to miss this thread up till now...

Ragnarok · Fri May 29, 2009 3:27 am

judgment_arms wrote:I sympathize with your rant, Hands and feet tend to cause me a far amount of annoyance.

Hands aren't something that troubles me too greatly.
It usually takes me one or two attempts to get them sorted. Feet are a much lengthier task that usually involves removing at least one shoe.

In other words, if you can't do it easily without one, use a reference - it'll save time and work out better. "Cheating" has it's virtues.

To breath life into the dying: How are those models coming?

Slowly. Very slowly. When I find spare time, I've got so many projects that demand it that little gets spared for the models. A stage on the models demands a couple of consecutive hours, which I usually end up filling with other things.

The LRC alone is proving very time hungry right now, and the models are less immediately necessary than other things.

How I managed to miss this thread up till now...

You treat it like it's somehow criminal to have done so.
It's a thread about (mediocre) art in a spudgun forum. I'm a little surprised it gets any attention at all.

For those that are paying attention, an update on the WIP:
http://ragnarokeotw.deviantart.com/art/ ... -124082868

judgment_arms · Fri May 29, 2009 8:33 am

Ragnarok wrote: You treat it like it's somehow criminal to have done so.

Meh, I was merely irked that I hadn't been around enough lately and missed more than a few good threads, this one included.

Does Marco have a Jap T97 grenade?
Coming along quite nicely, my friend.

Ragnarok · Fri May 29, 2009 2:21 pm

judgment_arms wrote:Does Marco have a Jap T97 grenade?

Not quite. Like it says at the start of the thread, Marco's a character set in the Warhammer 40,000 universe, and that's what most fragmentation grenades look like in that world. However, I believe it's things like that which Games Workshop based their design on in the first place.

thedeathofall · Fri May 29, 2009 5:48 pm

Well, its been a while since i browsed through your work. I will say that it has gotten better. You have gained much skill, even in the little time that i have seen it.

Not that it wasn't good before, but now it makes me wish i could draw. You really seen to step into your character. These are honestly some of the best sketches/drawings i have ever seen.

Ragnarok · Fri May 29, 2009 9:17 pm

thedeathofall wrote:I will say that it has gotten better. You have gained much skill, even in the little time that i have seen it.

Thanks. It's good to hear that people think I'm improving. I think I'm improving, but an artist should never trust their own opinion of their work too strongly.
Still, if you think these are some of the best sketches and drawings you've ever seen, then you've obviously not seen all that many! They're alright, but they're a long way short of brilliant.

Not that it wasn't good before, but now it makes me wish i could draw.

It's not as hard to learn as you might think- anyone can learn to draw. It's mostly a case of learning to draw what you actually see, not what you think you see.

Anyway, take a look at the links below, and you'll see where I started out. The trick is persistence. Even if it doesn't look great to begin with, each time you practise, you'll get closer and closer to being good.

~~~~~

And as promised, some more stuff.
A very quick and crude sketch I did today

And some OLD stuff.
The very start of when I decided to take up art as a hobby
First piece that I'm still pretty happy with
And the first time I ever drew Silva, who is now undoubtedly my main character

c11man · Fri May 29, 2009 10:30 pm

very nice drawings!

funny how you quick and crude sketches are about 17.5 times better than my best work ever...

Ragnarok · Fri May 29, 2009 11:55 pm

If you think that, you probably wouldn't want to know about the people that I say similar things about.

Ragnarok · Mon Jun 01, 2009 10:02 pm

Regrettably, no art update from me, I've been busy with other things.

Instead, I offer insight into a man called James Harry Castell in my DA journal.
He's an engineer you've almost certainly not heard of, but whose inventions you have almost certainly run across - at least in a modernised form.

He's also a relative of mine (if a somewhat distant one) - and on occasion, an artist.

Ragnarok · Fri Jun 05, 2009 2:08 pm

Sorry about my lack on input around the site, but I've been busy.

Art update:
http://ragnarokeotw.deviantart.com/art/ ... -124893468

The request in the artist's comments for advice and criticism is extended to here. Remember, there's no requirement to be a good artist to be able to tell me where things don't look quite right.