Azathoth Work in progress part 4
I've been trying to flesh out some of the less addressed areas, such as the servitor character in the foreground, and the orangish tunnel near the top. It feels like it is starting to gel together, so much of the remainder of the process will be various tweaking and fine tunings. I think the servitor is helping add a sense of Azathoth's vastness, though the balancing issue is to mot make it sap all the attention.
~Paul
~Paul
Wow, that thing is seriously messed up. The way you can almost make out shapes in the chaos is far more disturbing than having it given to you on a platter.
The only thing I don't like is the servitor- he stands out from the image a bit too much, with the light behind him. It's good that it's obvious that he isn't part of Azathoth, but the halo effect around him/it draws too much attention, imho.
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I know 'seriously messed up' is a compliment, thanks! I have often felt than some visual obscurity helps with horror type illustration, as if too much is depicted, there is no room for the imagination to take over. A static image can never compete with the ever-changing imagination and mind's eye, so the painting merely becomes a foothold.
I'm glad you said that the servitor stick out from Azathoth, as after I have worked on a painting for some time it gets increasingly hard to know if it's communicating what I mean it to. So, I really appreciate the input. Since the last update, I have given the servitor some front lighting, which tones down the halo effect. That effect was partly due to the digicam shot, which blew the contrast out of whack. One of the main purposes for the servitor, painting-wise, was to give some sense of scale. To set Azathoth back, I used a much more limited and desaturated palette with lower contrast (these are the effects that atmosphere will have over a distance). However, the double edge to that sword is that the servitor has more saturated colors and contrast- giving it a lot of attention. I think you'll probably prefer where it now stands.
I suppose another option would have been to make the servitor really tiny, but I think the up-close detail and grossness adds some interest.
thanks for the input, much appreciated!!
~Paul
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Hey glad to see some purple popping up on this piece.
Keep on it!
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I couldn't ignore the purple-loving demographic. People have needs.
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The painting is coming along very nicely. It is definitely calling my mind back to the artwork of the old horror comic books during their heyday.
Are you familiar with the art of Barry Windsor-Smith? At this wip stage I can see some potential similiarities, mostly in the highlighting of colors.
The nodules are really starting to pop off the page too.
Sorry that is rambling so much. I looked at the god for too long, it hurt my brain.
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Thanks for the ramble, 'Toof!
I missed the brunt of the heyday when the heyday was the present, sadly, so I vicariously enjoy what it must have been like by trolling through old copies of books and comics. I am familiar with BWS, but I can't say I've seen his color work. It was his Conan comics that I know the best, I love the stylized anatomy. Now that you mention it, I could easily see this painting in one of the issues... something with a completely unpronounceable name. "Arise, HGK'Shud-XmNk, beast of hell!!!"
It's best to wear polarized lenses when viewing any of the elder ones.
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And now I know what the view is like from the inside a sarlacc pit. I find the new source of like mesmerising, and it helps fight for some of the attention from the servitor. What this composition needs is 1 more eyecatcher, one more source of light perhaps, to draw the eye elsewhere on the page and hence cover the page.
Love,
Community College Art Critic.
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Dear CCAC,
Did you spot Boba Fett in there, yet? One Cthulhu Kewpie doll to the first person to spot him.
Much like the servitor looking darker than it really is, the light from the 'tunnel' (for lack of a better word) is a bit overexposed. It's more like a pinpoint of light, and the highlights of the tunnel increase with rate an intensity, blending into that pinpoint. Hopefully you'll like it as much if not more. Perhaps I could scan some parts of it for the next update, just so people can get a more accurate idea of what they're seeing.
If you look on the upper right, you'll see some sort of opening with more of that strange red fluid stew poring out if it. Since the last image, I have drawn more attention to it. I agree, the servitor can't be the star of the show. And, because it;s pure chaos, nothing should be the star!
many thanks for the input, guys, it's very much appreciated!!!
~Paul
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Hey, nice new blog! I like this piece a lot and am very interested in seeing how it comes together. I'm curious about the perspective of the piece. Do you see that hole in the top center as being above the viewer's head, or is it receding into the distance on a horizontal plane?
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I honestly didn't think too much about perspective when I was making sense of the scribbling and doodlings phase of the process. I know I wanted the lower portion (below the two reddish "slime-falls") to be below the veiwers' eye line, and it did cross my mind that the light tunnel would be a bit above. I guess if I had to pick a point, I'd say the mouth in the center would be it. The servitor seems lines up with the viewer, but it could be floating at any real point in space. But, another part of me was having fun with just letting go of any real logic, as we're dealing with a being of chaos, the "idiot God", where things perhaps just don't make a lot of sense to a weatern mind. Rather liberating, I felt.
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exxxcellent
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This drawing of Azathoth is one of the best deciptions I´ve ever seen of the vastness and utter weirdness of one of Cthulhu mythos creatures. Truly a piece of art!
In my opinion the "servitor" figure, being on the first plane of the drawing gave the correct sense of scale and madness of the scene. Also, this drawing was perfectly in accordance with the description of Azathoth from Lovecraft: "Outside the ordered universe is that amorphous blight of nethermost confusion which blasphemes and bubbles at the center of all infinity—the boundless daemon sultan Azathoth, whose name no lips dare speak aloud, and who gnaws hungrily in inconceivable, unlighted chambers beyond time and space amidst the muffled, maddening beating of vile drums and the thin monotonous whine of accursed flutes" - Perfect!
Also, have you ever read the short stories of Clark Ashton Smith? He was a close friend of Lovecraft and wrote several mythos stories, and with a correct "lovecraftian" perspective, not the manicheistic view given by August Derleth... Anyway, if you did not read anything about him - of which I doubt
Hehehe, I would love to see your rendition of Rlim Shaikorth from the short story "The Coming of the White Worm", or a battle between an Elder Thing from "The Mountains of Madness" and a Sloggoth...
Again, wonderful work!
Cheers,
Da Goff Rokker
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Wow! I am truly flattered by your comments! And it's clear that you are more than familiar with Azathoth's reputation, which generally makes it harder to match with a static image. I suppose the only place I have broken the description would be the 'unlighted chambers'... but how interesting would it be without light?
I am familiar with Smith's name, but I have been a bit of a purist with my reading. I've pretty much stuck with just HPL for the most part. I've tried some related works, none of the bigger names, however, and was a bit disappointed. I suppose I ought to give others a try. Thanks for the suggestion!
A duel between a shoggoth and an elder thing, eh? It'd be hard for me to make it look like the elder thing had a chance (I have a bias, I am afraid). Now a shoggoth against the Great race of Yith (maybe the shoggoth was on revolt), that'd be harder for me because I'd be torn between two favorites.
I'm also quite flattered that you called the first image art, thank you. It dawned on me the other day that these are probably the first non-commissioned Lovecraftian pieces I have ever done. Until now, it's always been for art directors with specific ideas in mind. But, this time, I picked the subject matter and how to approach it. It takes on a whole new meaning for me and is very liberating.
~Paul
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Paul, really, you deserve all the praise for your work! I`m not only a huge HP Lovecraft fan, but a long fantasy/sci-fi illustration admirer also, and I think you are truly gifted!
When I first visited your works webpage I was deeply impressed, not only by the sheer quality of your work - after all why do you think you were invited for that Switzerland exhibition? Talent, my friend!
As for my previous comments on Clark Ashton Smith, I`ve to admit that I`ve read some other Cthulhu mythos authos and did not liked them at all too, but IMHO Clark was different, with a style and ideas very close to Lovecraft (at least regarding his mythos stories), as if their works are almost the same...
And I have to agree with you, an Elder Thing could not stand against a Shoggoth... But your laser gun toting Great Race of Yrth could have better odds, after all it just defeated a flying polyp...
rule!
Cheers!
Da Goff Rokker
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OK, if my head swells anymore I won't be able to leave my apartment.
Are there any good collections of C.A.S.'s work? I'll need something to read on the long flight.
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