Wacky Reference Wednesdays, No. 122
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
Labels: Color / Color Studies / Covers / Details / Mythos / Painted / Penciled / Wacky Reference Wednesdays |
| Mythos: Captain America, Cover (detail). 2007. Acrylic and gouache on bristol board, 11 x 17". |
Before I began work on the final book of the Mythos series, Captain America, I did a great deal of research to familiarize myself with the times, places, and historical figures from WWII. The first piece of art due was the cover and (to my disbelief) my editor, Steve Wacker, approved my first concept: an homage to the first cover of Captain America Comics, in which our hero punches the daylights out of Hitler. My design differed in time and point of view, focusing instead on the charging Captain America. Hitler's terrified face is only seen in the reflection of the shield.
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| Digial Color Study |
After hours of careful rendering with a fastidious eye towards detail, I scanned the finished painting and sent it off to my editors who were very pleased with the result. I also sent it to my dad (one of my first editors) who, apparently, is a history buff of sorts. He got back to me immediately with some disconcerting news: Hitler's hair was parted on the wrong side. It turns out I was a little too fastidious with the reference, painting Hitler as I saw him rather than what should have been his reflection. The irony is that I had the presence of mind to reverse his uniform, but somehow forgot the rest.
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| Pencils |
No photo reference today, folks—just wackiness. But if you really want to look at pictures of Hitler, be my guest. And if you want to see me doing my best Cap grimace, look no further than Wacky Reference Wednesday, No. 49.
That's a great catch on your dad's part. Kudos to him!
ReplyDeleteYeah, I couldn't believe it when he said that. He rocks.
ReplyDeleteA made a T-shirt of this : D
ReplyDeleteNice!
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